New Sajica "T-Bar" Cichlid

Here are a few pics of the new "king of the tank"

 

Very nice! Congrats!

 

Very nice! Glad you got one! Makes me miss tbone

 

Very nice! Glad you got one! Makes me miss tbone

Tbone was my inspiration to get one! I got it Wed (just took me 2 days to get some decent pics). It doesn't bother anyone so far, but the apistos try to steer clear of it, the praecox school much tighter now, and it doesn't seem to mind getting slapped in the face by the tail of a bumbling cory now and then. It's already practically the biggest fish in the tank, but it surprises me when I see it go in and out of some of the smaller caves, crevices, etc that the apistos use.

 

Here are a few new pics now that the T-bar has settled in (almost 3 weeks now):

 

Man that is an impressive looking fish!

 

Here's a new shot, now that it (I'm thinking "he") has been in the tank about 6 weeks...

 

Man I love that fish! Yep looks like a he

 

Man I love that fish! Yep looks like a he

I think so too - he's truly become king of the tank - a true "centerpiece." The other fish do prefer to "avoid" him, but he doesn't bother anyone. He chased my male apisto around occasionally for a couple weeks but it seems that was just to make sure it was clear that he's in charge. I have sight lines broken up so they don't even see one another too often.

 

Here's the big guy now - just about 2 1/2 months since I got him!

 

Beautiful! And those eyes~~~

 

Awesome. I'll soon be trying some sajicas again. I'll be getting 2 or 3 and picking a keeper as they grow

 

I have three, and love them! My male has his little nuchal hump and is adorable.

 

Awesome. I'll soon be trying some sajicas again. I'll be getting 2 or 3 and picking a keeper as they grow

Sounds like a good plan!

 

I have three, and love them! My male has his little nuchal hump and is adorable.

I'd love to see some pics!

 

I'd love to see some pics!

I will certainly try. They are very, very active little things. And they're nest building again so very busy! I'll dig up some old pictures and try to get new ones later today.

These are over a month old but you can see the blue and yellow on the dominant female at the time. Other two had orange fins and not much other color. They both outgrew her and I've got a second female and a male now where when they were that age they were identical. Watching cichlids grow is fascinating.

 

Great pics - thanks! Love your turquoise rainbows too!

 

Great pics - thanks! Love your turquoise rainbows too!

They're terrible pictures but hey at least you can see a bit of their pretty colors. They're all gray as babies. But those beautiful blue eyes and their look at me personality made me fall in love immediately.

 

Just a few recent pics of the big guy - I've had him 3 and a half months now - you can see in the 3rd pic how his dorsal and analfins now extend back almost beyond his caudal fin. He certainly doesn't miss any meals!

 

Man he's an awesome looking fish!

 

Man he's an awesome looking fish!

Thanks! I have to say I'm happy with the overall tank stocking. I was a little worried for a bit as he was making it a point to briefly charge at my male apisto whenever he saw him, but the two of them seem to have worked things out and now live together peacefully. The tbar still "throws his weight around" with the other tank mates, but not in an aggressive manner.

 

That's good to hear. Glad it's working out. My 75 was similar to that with the big gold severum and the other inhabitants. He was constantly chasing kosmo the festivum around and the smaller severum rocky. But now it seems they've figured things out. He will still take a shot at the random diamond tetra though

Sometimes they just need some time to get it right I suppose

 

Just adding a couple recent pics - I've now had him for a little over 5 months!

 

Beautiful fish!

 

He's looking great. Hoping some of my babies turn out as nice as yours

 

Awe I love his little face.

 

He's looking great. Hoping some of my babies turn out as nice as yours

I'm excited to continue seeing yours grow!

 

Here are a couple pics I took today - it was feeding time - he was all excited and wouldn't sit still!





(Not sure why the 2nd pic makes it looks like he's got a dent in his head - some sort of glare or something because that head is as round as ever!)

 

Beautiful! That's one awesome fish!

 

I've now had this guy a little over 8 months - still rules the tank!

 

Man he looks more and more impressive each time I see him. Congrats!

 

It's tough getting good pics of this guy anymore as he's always moving because every time I approach the tank he thinks he's being fed. (He doesn't miss many meals). When I try to put my phone right up to the glass to reduce glare, he barely fits on the screen. Here are a couple I got today, almost 10 months now in the tank:

 

Beautiful fish! Are his eyes that turquoise blue in reality?

 

Beautiful fish! Are his eyes that turquoise blue in reality?

Absolutely! One of the cool traits of a sajica cichlid

 

Wow, that's awesome. Does he have a name?

 

Wow, that's awesome. Does he have a name?

He's simply known as "T-bar" in our house

 

Tbar is looking awesome. That's one of the things that cracks me up about sajicas... They are Little pigs that seen to always be starving

 

Tbar is looking awesome. That's one of the things that cracks me up about sajicas... They are Little pigs that seen to always be starving

So true! I feed my cories at night when the lights are out. But if I hang around a few seconds, I see a big dark move across the tank. He gets a lot of their sinking wafers. I have to be so careful how and when I drop algae wafers in for my bn pleco - if T-bar sees it, T-bar gets first dibs, and pleco gets whatever T-bar leaves behind. The praecox rainbows are quick enough to get their share at feeding time, but everyone else must be target fed!

 

I pretty much have to over feed their tank so my catfish get some food

 

Today was a day of mixed emotions for me. I've had a standing cash offer for my tbar cichlid for a couple weeks now. I really miss my apistos, and another tank is not going to happen. I've weighed the pros and cons, and today decided to sell my tbar. He's going to a nice 65 gal setup where he'll still be the feature fish. Now I'll have to live vicariously through Max and company with tyguy7760 Here's one last shot of my big-brained buddy: