# yahoo! bought some black occies today!!! :D



## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

hey guys just thought id share a few pics of my brand new black occies!
in hope of getting a pair i bought a big and a little one, tried to take a few side shots with an ordinary ol' digi camera... anyone able to give me an idication on what sex they are???
hope i got 1m/1f coz they were $40ea!
cant really complain tho, i got 1 fish free coz i traded in some juvy bristlenoses


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

Congratulations on finding some. I hope they pair up for you. I love those cute little plecos!


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

Congrats!
i got some black occies as well, still small and im growing them out right now.
they are very very rare to find in toronto and aussi


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## Hyperion (Dec 2, 2007)

im so jealous and angry at the same time. I cant find these fish anywhere and everyone time I ask someone about they look at me like i just asked if I could keep aliens in my aquarium under water.

Where did you find them, online or in a LFS?

I've never seen them referred to as Black Ocellatus, i've always known them as Lamprologus Stappersii or Lamprogus Meleagris and i guess one of the common names are Pearly Ocellatus and now Black Ocellatus. Here are some more interesting links if you want more info on them

http://cichlidforum.com/articles/l_stappersii.php

http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/ot ... eagris.htm


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## CichlidAndrew (Jun 29, 2005)

*Hyperion*, 
I am pretty sure that stappersii a.k.a meleagris is a totally different type. I think black occies are lamprologus specious. Not sure though.


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## Xenomorph (Aug 6, 2007)

CichlidAndrew said:


> *Hyperion*,
> I am pretty sure that stappersii a.k.a meleagris is a totally different type. I think black occies are lamprologus specious. Not sure though.


Yes they are *Lamprologus Speciosus* also known as Black Ocellatus.

Males usually are a little bigger then the females and both will display intense colours when spawning. Nice fish, although a bit expensive. On this side of the pond one can get wild caughts for 16-20$ each.


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## Fire_Chair (Apr 7, 2007)

I only paid $2-3 a piece for mine.


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

thanks for all your comments :thumb: 
can anyone help me with sexing these lil critters???
im gonna buy another lil one, hopefully female coz i heard they are cranky lil buggers if you dont get the male a harem to keep him happy...


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## Multies (Mar 9, 2007)

i got mine for my paracyps 

mine are a bit too young to tell if they are males or females. i got 5 of them 
mine are like 1 and something inches..


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

awesome! just got 2 more lil' ones :thumb: 
woohoo i got 4black occies now :fish: :fish: :fish: :fish: 
what is the recommended tank size for these fish? theyre in my 24x15x15inch tank...
not sure if they will need to be moved to one of my bigger tanks later on, what do you guys think?


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## reelbigspikey (Dec 12, 2006)

Yeah, those are Lamprologus speciousus. Both those and stapersii are often sold under the name "black ocellatus." As for the sex, the best way I've found is to look at the "snout" of the fish. Males and females have a different slope of the nose.


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

reelbigspikey said:


> Yeah, those are Lamprologus speciousus. Both those and stapersii are often sold under the name "black ocellatus." As for the sex, the best way I've found is to look at the "snout" of the fish. Males and females have a different slope of the nose.


ahhhh okay cool thanks mate...
which is sex has a steeper drop off from the eyes to snout?


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

oh man  
i just observed the 1st agressive behavior with my black occies!
out of all 4 i have 1 thats going aroud flaring gills and getting cranky...
he's claimed the shell bed up the right hand end of the tank and all the others stay down the other end :lol: 
all of which are slender and lighter in colour and cruise around where as the little cranky bugger is darker and stocky with a broader head!

could this little fella be the alpha male?
hes especially determined to challenge 1 of the others and now has miniture nips out of its tail...

what surprises me is the multitude of behavior that is seen when keeping multies, brevis's and occies 

if anyone can shed light on what this means i'll be stoked 
cheers :thumb:


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## reelbigspikey (Dec 12, 2006)

Males have a longer snout than the females, and are generally a little bit larger. Females tend to have a short, steep slope to their snout.

The behavior of the most aggressive one probably indicates it is a male, or it could just the most dominant of 4 females. Try to see if you can tell any difference between him and the less dominant ones. The one he attacks the most might be a subdominant male.

You can generally rearrange the shells to find a home for the one that's being picked on. Find a spot that is out of direct line of sight from the dominant one's territory, and plop a few shells down.


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## aaxxeell (Jul 28, 2007)

yeah thats what *** done, created a rock wall divider down the centre and 2 major shell beds at each end with a few random singles at the front...
im gonna be building a 2 tier stand for some 3ft tanks, cant wait till i get them some more space


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## m_hsiao (Feb 13, 2008)

multies where did you get your black occelatus from?


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