kacie

So i bid on some baby fish an aquabid and they came today. I was so excited about them, but now I am just so worried. I hate this feeling when you don't know if the new fish will adjust to the tank and tankmates and not just keel over from the stress! They are so small.

I got a trio of Australohero "oblongum" (chanchitos?). Anyway they are very cute and I hope they make it. I will post pictures tonight or tomorrow.

I am worried it is too cold in my tank. It would warm way up if i put the lights on BUT that would further stress those babies out. What to do? i could move them to my warm 20g but I just got over a case of worms in there. Any advise anyone.
Kacie

Shawnie

congrats on the babies! cant wait to see pics....they are relatively new to the home hobyists.. and ive not seen much info on them..they remind me of a JD with a bit of a yellow color ...I hope other members have more info!!! its always best to purchase fish you know everything about so you dont have issues down the line

kacie

Hi Shawnie, I read up as much as I could on these guys, but it doesn't lessen my anxiety about how small they are, or make more info on them available. Kacie

Shawnie

theres not much out there on them...i hope you find what you need! its scarey for sure
hopefully some members have had them

kacie

Well they are very still. Two at the top of the water and sadly the smallest one resting on the bottom. I can only tell they are alive because the fins are not flat.

I started this post not because they are unusual fish but because I wanted some fish acclimation advice.

Would it be more stressful to move them? Should I leave them be? Or Turn on the lights to warm them up? They should be able to withstand these temps but maybe it was very warm in the heated styrofoam packing box and 65f is too much shock? Also my tetras and Gymnos have been a bit bossy. If anyone thinks I am wrong for not doing something let me know.
Kacie

kacie

Sorry it is sideways but here is a picture from this afternoon of the biggest one in the foreground and you can see the two smaller ones in the back corner.

Attached Images

IMG_1272.JPG (514.3 KB, 86 views)

kacie

Oh whew! After I posted I went back downstairs and they had all moved around. Maybe they were asleep? Sorry I'm having a conversation with myself here but I need an outlet for my nerves. Cross you fingers for them.

Shawnie

65 is very cold...are you sure they can handle it that low? cooler temps make fish slow down anyhow as their metabolism slows down..what are your tank parimeters? did you test the pH in the bag of water they came in to compare to your tank? they are cute lil things

kacie

I did not test ph... I did do a very slow acclimation. I've found posts on other sites by the guy who sold me the fish. That was my main research, reading his posts of the adults in his, unheated tank, breeding etc. So I know they should be kept in 60-70 degree water. I've read about others keeping these fish with similar tankmates but that doesn't make me feel better about putting babies into 65 degree water. thus my panic..
Thanks for talking to me about this though, Shawnie.

Shawnie

wish i had more info...was hoping some other members might ...good luck with them!

bolivianbaby

Congratulations, Kacie! I keep hoping Btate sees this thread. Maybe you could PM him? He's really good with the unusual species and their special requirements. Keep us posted on their progress! They're beautiful fish, but I couldn't find anything about them online.

btate617

Hey Kacie

I am very jealous!! I have been looking for these fish for 2 years.

The aren't really rare in the hobby but you for sure don't see them everyday. I think they started coming around '06-'07 more often.

Like all Australoheros (same as Gymno's) they can take the cool down and that will also bring out their best colors. However if they are small I would probably put them in a heated tank and skip the cool down this year, say around 76* F. A very cool species glad you found them.
They have no scientific name as they have not been found in the wild in forever.....so until they do and know where they come from you will see these under many names. They are believed to possibly be a color morph of Australoheros Facetum, but like I said noone knows for sure 100%. Most people simply call the "chanchitos".

Some reading for you.
http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=371
Most of what you will find is on other forums, just hobbiest talking about these fish and their experience with them. If you want to know what forums let me know.

Here are some pics I pulled from google so you know what you have to look forward to.
Great fish Kacie , good luck with them.





Brian

LauraJoe

kacie

Thanks all. They are looking good. Hanging out at the top of the tank, hope they are okay with that. They are less than half an inch. I can't wait until the lights come on in the tank to really see what they look like. I'll post more pictures. They have adjusted to the tank so I'll leave them be for now.
Thanks Brian for posting the pictures. I thought these fish would be a nice contrast to my gymnos and when i saw the opportunity to grab some I took it. Especially because I could read posts buy the breeder and knew he was raising nice fish.
Kacie

kacie

Hi got some better pictures tonight. The fish are doing well and eating. Thank you everyone for dealing with my panic. All is well!

Attached Images

	rsz_dsc_0009.jpg (289.4 KB, 57 views)
	rsz_dsc_0019.jpg (925.1 KB, 23 views)

iloveengl

Awww cuties! They're gonna be stunners when they're all grown up. Congrats on the new fishies!

Lucy

Very nice looking fish, congratulations!

Tony G.

very beautiful fish indeed! hope they are doing great!

aquarist48

Hello Kacie and congrats on the new additions. You have some beautiful fish there! Thanks for sharing and keeping us updated!
Ken

btate617

The new pics are great Kacie. Even at that size they are showing good color!

Brian

kacie

I was very excited when I saw the blue in the fins. Even the smallest one has blue fins. Loving these cuties.

btate617

so I was thinking, and I think you should send them here and let me look after them.....

kacie

You sure you can't find them in Canada?

btate617

Just giving you a hard time.

I know of a few people up here who have them......just waiting for them to spawn them.

Brian

kacie

An update they are doing great but now the temp is 60f in the tank... They are still very active and beg for food. I've been feeding them as much as they'll eat three times a day but they shouldn't be eating that much in such a cold tank should they? I've also seen some glancing...but besides that they are greedy little piggies, exploring the tank and trying to steal food from the 4 inch gymnos... Just hope the tank doesn't get any colder and that they are okay at that temp.

Amanda

Why don't you just get an adjustable heater & set it at a low setting? That way it at least takes the chill off the water. 60* is very cold...

kacie

Do you know what brand would do that? Could i just look for an adjustable heater?
Also 60 is what I was shooting for temp wise for my Gymnos.

Neji

I agree with you Shawnie. Perhaps you can change the temperature from 65ºC to 84ºC? But do it slowly because if you change it very fast, they will get very stressed.

Good luck!

iloveengl

According to this http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=371, their optimal temp is around 74 degrees F.

"In 1894 Dr. Ludwig Slaby wrote, "The chanchito should be kept in water at from 10 to 20 degrees Reaumur (50 to 68 degrees F)[...]. This being said, the chanchito was clearly as hardy as were the people of the 1800's, but as we all live a more 'comfortable' (and longer) life in this, the 21st century, please bear in mind that it would be most beneficial to maintain your chanchitos in a practical range of 22 to 26 degrees C (72 to 78 degrees F), with a raise in temperature of 28 to 29 degrees C (82 to 84 degrees F) for breeding purposes."

It seems that low temps is outdated information; though they can survive it. Amazing fish.

Many heaters come with adjuster knobs; just check the heater before you purchase it. I can't recall the brand of mine, but I got them at PetsMart.

btate617

That is a decent article of the "chanchitos", I have read it a few times. But the low temps really isn't outdated info, these fish come from southern South America, where it is cold. Yes you can keep them around 75*degrees forever and they will not wither away like Gymno's, but you will never bring out their color fully and some think they may not live as long as possible. Also they where they originally come from, they may go through temps swings of 20*C daily during times of the year.

Like said you CAN keep them at high temps, but I would read through as many forums as possible(which is where you will find most of your info, although lots can be found if you dig although most of it is scientific papers) and read what people who have kept them successfully for years)(which in most cases 3-5 is long term for most with these fish) have said, and also learn what many have found out the hard way with keeping them at high temps for long periods of time.

95% of what scientific papers, including the one here, when talking about where these fish are found is actually very cold water, in temrs of what we think of when keeping fish at home. (Yes we have come to enjoy heat in our lives and some
other things we find important, as we have changed and the whole hardy part and being comfortable, where these fish come from has not changed, they are not now found in the warm waters of Mexico)..... most of these fish you come across(chanchitos, australoheros, gymnos species) are not far removed from where they are found, they just havent been around the hobby long enough. Email the people who are collecting these fish and ask
what type of water they are finding them in. Just my thoughts.




No they shouldn't be eating as often, which is why I mentioned possibly skipping the cool down with the fry. You should probably be feeding the gymno's 3x's a week in 60* water at most.


Brian