# Salvini info



## vodoochild (Feb 26, 2011)

I have always wanted a salvini and my lfs finally got some juveniles in. I never kept them and was wondering if anyone has advice on temperment and tankmates. He will be going into a 75 gallon with a breeding pair of cons, juvenile texas, and a juvenile jack dempsy. Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

I'm posting to be able to follow this thread. I too have the same question. :thumb:


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Salvini are my favorite CA cichlid. Very beautiful and fun fish to keep. They can hold their own very well and a spawning pair is lethal to any fish in the tank. Salvini can be very aggressive. They are a predator after all and someday may actually be put in the Parachromis family. They don't call them mini guapote for nothing. Salvini are cautious fish and like to have a lot of plants and cover to hide in. They like to stalk prey and like to feel secure because of natural predators such as birds and other.

As for tankmates they do need to be put with other fish that can hold their own as well. Such as Convicts, Jack Dempsey, Firemouths, and other. In the wild they are found with Firemouths and some other species related to the Firemouths. If they are kept with docile or peaceful fish they can surely kill them. As for your stocking plans I don't think it would work. You already have a very aggressive tank and for long term it won't work. What are you planning to do with your pair of Convicts, Texas, and JD? Is this a long term stock? The Salvini can go with the Convict pair in the 75 but that' s all you can keep long term. The pair and the Salvini. However, it's not very fair for the Salvini. You could keep the Salvini with one of the two (JD or Texas) long term in the 75 but nothing else. Texas's can be bully's and pick fights with other fish that they really shouldn't and can't win.


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## vodoochild (Feb 26, 2011)

I am getting a 120 gallon, but that wont be for a bout a month or two. Its only a 4'x2'x2' though. I was going to house them in the 75 until i got the 120 up and running. I thank you for your advice. I hope this plan can work for the 120, but know I am unsure because its still only 4ft long. Was hoping the depth would help.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

CiChLiD LoVeR128 said:


> someday may actually be put in the Parachromis family. They don't call them mini guapote for nothing.


There often called a mini-trimac, as well. Placed in the Parachromis genus? IMO, that is pretty unlikely.

Juan Miguel Artigas Azas figures a trimac is salvini's closest relative:http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=109
The markings are very similar between the 2 species and some strains of salvini have very similar coloration to a trimac. Mature salvinis, particularily males, often develope an upturned mouth like that of a trimac......can't say I know of any other CA cichlid that developes this kind of mouth. The mouth of a Parachromis is completely different then that of a salvini.

Some ichthyologists figure a salvini is closest to a Thorichthys species. The spot on the gill plate as well as ports below the lip, that they share in common with Thorichthys species, leads them view the species this way.

A mini-trimac is how I view the fish. A smaller, somewhat more piscivourus version of a Trimac. In behavoir and in the look of a very mature deep bodied male, IMO, really resembles a trimac.

The classification of salvini is currently in limbo......so it is temporarily called exCichlasoma salvini. Which genus it actually ends up in, who knows? It may end up in a new genus, all of it's own.[/url]


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Thank you very much Bernie! I didn't know that. I just was reading somewhere that they may be put in the parachromis family not sure where it was though. Sorry for the wrong information! Thanks again!


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## duds (Apr 16, 2010)

*CiChLiD LoVeR128*, you said a salvini could go with a pair of cons but it wouldn't be fair for the salvini. Is this because of aggression when the cons breed? Any possibility a well decorated 4-foot tank would work with a pair of each in the long-term?
Another question was about the suggestion of having a lot of plants and cover. With cons in the tank the plants would likely be "replanted" where ever the cons please... do sals do well in a tank with no plants but plenty of rock/driftwood cover?
*vodoochild*, I hope these q's are in line with the thread and not a hijack.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> CiChLiD LoVeR128, you said a salvini could go with a pair of cons but it wouldn't be fair for the salvini. Is this because of aggression when the cons breed? Any possibility a well decorated 4-foot tank would work with a pair of each in the long-term?
> Another question was about the suggestion of having a lot of plants and cover. With cons in the tank the plants would likely be "replanted" where ever the cons please... do sals do well in a tank with no plants but plenty of rock/driftwood cover?


Yes, the reason why I said it wouldn't be fair for the Salvini is the aggression from the Convicts. The Convicts would put their aggression on the Salvini which is good for the pair to work as a team but bad for the Salvini and I would feel sorry for it. In the cookie cutter on this forum for a 55 gal there is an option for a pair of Salvini and Convicts in the same tank. I have never tried this so I don't have any knowledge and have no place telling you it will or will not work. However, I have kept two pairs of Salvini. One in a 40 gal breeder and the other pair in a 55 gal and both pairs took over the entire tank. They left no room for anything else. After having this experience and other experiences of breeding CA cichlids in the past has lead me to the conclusion that pairs are better off being kept in their own tanks without tank mates unless of course the tank is big enough and allows room for multiple pairs and it depends on the species. IMO I wouldn't try a pair of Convicts and pair of Salvini in a 55 or any 4ft tank for that matter. I just don't see it working. A pair of each species could possibly co-exist in a 125 but yet I would still be worried of what could happen. For me personally I find it much better to keep my fish in species only tanks and keep dividers handy if they are cichlids. Yes, I know there are species of fish that don't tolerate their own species but I don't keep those :lol: . I just don't agree with mixing other species together. I have found mixing to lead to disaster.

Yes, I could see the Salvini doing well in a tank without plants just a lot of rocks and driftwood. Although I just use plastic plants. I always have and always will. No matter if you have a spawning pair or just a single cichlid they are still going to dig pits and move stuff around. That's just making a territory and part of being a cichlid. I think you will have better results if you had plants but they will do well without.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

vodoochild said:


> 120 gallon, 4'x2'x2'


That's a good size tank. JD, texas, cons......all potentially suitable tankmates for salvini, IMO.

Kept salvinis now, for over 10 years in a variety of community tanks. Had numerous pairs breed, probably close to 100 times, altogether....and always in the community tank. Pairs and lone males can be quite aggressive. Lone females can be aggressive as well, but usually considerably less so. Though it's not really recommended to breed them in the community tank, it certainly is possible, with out too many problems. Since I know it is easily posssible to successfully house breeding pairs in a cichlid community tank.......surely, a lone female has fairly good chance of working out in a 120 gal with a texas, JD and cons!

As long as there are suffecient tankmates to spread the aggression, and there are a lot of hiding places, the tank has fairly good chance of working. Housing male CA together in the same tank can be very hit and miss.....it can work out, even for years, and all of a sudden, one or the other becomes very intolerant of it's rivals. At some time or another, you may end up having to remove an aggressor or a picked on fish.... but that is the reality of just about any cichlid tank.

Female salvini can be reliably sexed by a spot or blotch on the dorsal fin, which males lack. If you get a female, you definately increase your chances for success, with these kinds of tank mates.


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## vodoochild (Feb 26, 2011)

I want to tank you all for your advice and knowledge. After some thought I spent 20min in my lfs picking out a beautiful female salvini. I cant get a good pic, shes always hiding in her cave. As soon as shes a bit bigger and bolder I will snap some pics. I really appreciate all the input. Thanks again.


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