# Archocentrus community in a 185



## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I just got panamensis and hrp fry, 1" or so yesterday. Each species are in 20H's in my fish room growing a bit. I'm considering doing a small growing specie tank with my 185 60"x24"x30"tall. And wanted to get some thoughts. I've never kept panamensis or HRP but I couldn't pass up 8 hrp for $1... I also got the boliviense yesterday too

This is what I've got to work with. They are all seperate now in either 20's or 29's.

6-panamensis (1 inch)
4-boliviense (2&3 inch)
6-cutteri (1.5-2 inch)
8-HRP (1 inch)
2-pink cons (3-4 inch)
2-grey cons (3-4 inch)
1-male myrnae (4 inches) (looking for a female) :fish:

Any thoughts as to what I should/could put in the tank? I should mention that I've got the ability to make like a two tier system set up in the tank with large flat rocks (18"x18") or do you think they'd all stay at the bottom anyway?

And for those that know me... Yes... I got HRPs :roll: :lol: I need to see what all the fuss is about :thumb:


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Very awesome TFG!! I can't wait to see pics of them!
:thumb:



> And for those that know me... Yes... I got HRPs I need to see what all the fuss is about


Why?  :lol:

They are just Convicts will blue coloration! :lol:

Nah, if I seen them I probably would have tried them as well.


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## Vincent (May 7, 2004)

I think 3-4 pairs could live comfortably in your tank. I have a 72x18 125G with pairs or trios of cutteri, HRPs, longimanus, and nicaraguensis. My cutteri pair used to have half of the tank, but they've mellowed out recently. They were more aggressive than my HRPs.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Well maybe I'll just leave the convicts out of the equasion... Besides, I'll have fancy convicts in there! :lol:

In your opinion should I wait for pairs to form in the small tanks first? The 185 won't be available for a few weeks... It's got some big dogs in it now that would make short work of that Archo list! :lol:


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## Vincent (May 7, 2004)

Since they're still small, it would probably be ok to put all of them in there and remove some as they grow.


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## mok3t (Nov 28, 2008)

pics!


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Great Idea mok3t... I might just do that tonight..


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## mok3t (Nov 28, 2008)

TheFishGuy said:


> Great Idea mok3t...


Wooo! Go me!!


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## jcushing (Apr 6, 2008)

i had my 1" HRP's for 2 weeks before they were 1.5" and spawning...

i bought 4 1"ers for my 30gal and i had to remove 1 already, they other is ok, but not happy....

just something to keep in mind... i know you have plenty of experience with cons, but i was surprised how quickly they grew and spawned.


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## terd ferguson (Jul 31, 2007)

jcushing said:


> i had my 1" HRP's for 2 weeks before they were 1.5" and spawning...
> 
> i bought 4 1"ers for my 30gal and i had to remove 1 already, they other is ok, but not happy....
> 
> just something to keep in mind... i know you have plenty of experience with cons, but i was surprised how quickly they grew and spawned.


I had just the opposite experience. Mine took forever to spawn. I got them at an inch back in August of '08. I've got five, two pairs. One pair just spawned for the first time a couple of weeks ago.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

I took some pictures  232 of them! LOL Sorry it got kind of late for me... At any rate, here they are:

Myrnae and some cutteri:









Boliviense:









Panamensis:









Female Convict:


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

what are the 2 fish on the bottom of the first picture?


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Cutteri


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

Well i have 1 of those sold as a bolivian ram :? he is in a 20g with 2 dojo loaches will he be fine or do i need a bigger tank?


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## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

Nice looking fish. Where are the HRP's?


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## blackgloves (Oct 17, 2005)

dude... how many tanks do you have or do I even wanna know?


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## conoholic (Nov 12, 2005)

well he has a rescue store in his basement so id suppose alot of tanks lol i kno atleast a 600 or 900 gallon or sumtin like that


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

1400 gal DIY (currently darn close to finished) http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=186328
800 gal pond
240
185
50 breeder
6-29's
6-20's
Soon to be four or five 55's, a couple more 20's and atleast eleven 10's. Half of the fish room has been re-done, the other half needs it now but I've got to finish the 1400 first. And trust me, what I have in my basement is peanuts compared to some I know.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

All that and I forgot to answer where the HRP's are. Well, to me, they look just like 3/4" convict fry so I didn't see the need to post a picture, plus their tank was a little messy (glass) and I didn't feel like cleaning it :lol:


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## blackgloves (Oct 17, 2005)

ok next question 

How much money do you spend alone on food for all these fish? and I promise this is my only "money/spend" question for you


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Not as much as you think. Purina makes a pond food for aggressive catfish that is pretty much the same as cichlid food as far as percentages and ingredients. It's $17.95 for a 50# bag. A bag lasts about six months here. The hard part is keeping it fresh so the food doesn't lose it's nutrition... Every once and a while I'll get some brand name can of food as a treat and the fish end up wasting it and wanting the pond food LOL I only have 15 tanks set up... There's a lot of people out there who make my set ups look silly, tanks ranging in the hundreds set up in their basement...


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## con-man-dan (Aug 19, 2006)

TheFishGuy said:


> And for those that know me... Yes... I got HRPs :roll: :lol: I need to see what all the fuss is about :thumb:


I have been away from the forum for a while, but when I started reading this thread my jaw dropped and I kept asking myself "didnt TFG always say they're nothing but fancy cons and would never own any......"

With a tank that size, you should be good to go on a genus tank. The only crossing I'd be worried about would be the pink/grey cons obviously, and possible the cutteri.....but cutteri come from the "yellow" con family, and I've mixed "yellow" and "black" cons before without crossing. 
Cons and HRP's have been witnessed in the wild coinhabiting the same small streas with no signs of cross breeding going on.

If you had some nanoluteus to throw in there.....you'd have the whole spectrum of con-cousin rainbow lol.


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## con-man-dan (Aug 19, 2006)

Also, now that you have both cons and HRP's, you should start to see the differences (subtle as they are) between them. My HRP's are not the standard LFS Danli variety, which to me DO look like turqoise cons lol. My female Rio Monga HRP shows a LOT of color while rearing vs my con female turning almost pure black/white.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

These came from a breeder that I know personally and I've seen the parents... Yet I'm still not impressed! :lol: :lol: opcorn:


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## con-man-dan (Aug 19, 2006)

I will give you that....there are many HRPs I've seen that were just *meh*. I have seen a few of the older Danli race that were nice but these were spectacular examples. The Rio Mongas I have seen tend to be a bit more attractive to me, imo. The deep blood red of the caudal and pelvic fins really stands out and they don't have that green "wash" over the body.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My 8 are about an inch and a quarter, and still look like cons...


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## con-man-dan (Aug 19, 2006)

well they're always gonna "look" like cons lol just like A. chanco and red isletas will always look like a barred citrinellum. IME, they won't attain the size of cons, and the aggression level is a good notch or two down, like a cutteri. nothing like con or spilirus level. still, not quite as tame as myrnae, nanoluteus or septemfaciatus


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Isn't a chancho indeed a midas anyhow?


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

That last one seems like a cross with hrp seeing the blue on the bottom like that...


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

She's all convict. Third of fourth generation here...


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

beautiful :thumb:


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Thank you


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