Big Fish With Small Mouths?

[Rorie]

hmm, i am thinking the keyhole could be good.... two at 4.5 inch could look nice!

I wonder how easy they are to get a hold of...

Anybody got info on them - best kept in pairs? I have just changed my background to jet black (see a post i'm away to put up) so their colours will compliment that well i think!

 

[england]

Keyholes are a beautiful mid sized cichlid, i kept a pair together, also another tank kept a singular male, both worked well.
Also have a look at kribs, Pelvicachromis pulcher http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/92382-kribensis/

See my old male and female here....

keyhole cichlids, you can see my old male and female
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/65964-keyhole-cichlid/

also another nice cichlid at 3inchs checkerboard cichlid/ Dicrossus filamentosus ...


blue acara, but be careful of getting a green terror by mistake, very similar looking as juvi's http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/63652-blue-acara/ again sometimes it works with cardinals,sometimes not

 

[Rorie]

I hear if i have two kribs, during breeding, they can take over the tank?! I guess this is not the case with keyholes?

Your keyholes look pretty big in that photo (a good thing!). How long did they take to get that large?

 

[england]

I never had a problem, i kept both pairs in the same tank, the keyholes took around 6 months, just over to get near full grown

 

[Rorie]

I never had a problem, i kept both pairs in the same tank, the keyholes took around 6 months, just over to get near full grown

Got any photo of them with other fish, or in the whole tank so i can see them fully grown? I always struggle to visualise fully grown fish!

 

[england]

iam looking, this is all i can find at present, hehe...hope u have a magnifying glass

had a koi angel / large gourami / aswell.

 

[Rorie]

iam looking, this is all i can find at present, hehe...hope u have a magnifying glass

had a koi angel / large gourami / aswell.

haha, i cant even see the fish in that photo! hahah! Look harder .....please

 

[england]

tried mate, problem is i have 10.000 of pictures of fishes,,,,after about 20 folders ive given up...

 

[Rorie]

tried mate, problem is i have 10.000 of pictures of fishes,,,,after about 20 folders ive given up...

haha, i know the feeling! No worries, thanks for trying

 

[england]

go on google and search keyholes in the pictures section

 

[drobbyb]

My M. lacustris

In this video you can sorta see what kind of an active colorful display this species has. Turquoise rainbows are known for having a blazing orange to white stripe that runs along the top of their head. They can control this "breeding stripe" and they can turn it on and off in an instant, and if you keep them well they display this coloration often. If you keep femals with the males, you will see why they call them rainbowfish. Their coloration intensifies and varies with mood, water conditions, proper diet, etc.

They really are amazing even though some would say that all this display and color in a fish isn't attractive. If you sit and watch them close up, you will see that there is a lot more to them than the first glance.

Here's a video of a member on this forum's Turquoise rainbows spawning and showing the breeding stripe pretty well.

And they all start out looking like drab silver fish.


I just thought that I could point out some of their best qualities. This is but one species of rainbowfish, each species has their own unique behavior and beauty.

 

[Rorie]

Thanks for the videos, though I can't get the first video to work.

I see one video has angels too. But the size of their mouths seems to be similar- would the rainbows not eat up my cardinals too? Are rainbows bottom dwellers?

 

[Rorie]

I managed to get the first video to work now - think it was just my iphone playing up!

They do look pretty - the ones with a bit more colour in them that is

I guess i have three questions

1) will they eat my Cardinals?
2) I am thinking about getting cherry shrimp - will they be eaten?
3) What part of the tank would they hang out in?

Thanks!

 

[drobbyb]

Rainbows are mid to top dwelling fish, although they can be found all over the tank. Rainbows have medium sized mouths but their throat is narrow keeping them from eating small fish.

I kept an angel with my rainbows. They pretty much just ignore other species if you keep at least 6 rainbows. The more the better with them though.

I checked the links and they work. I'm not sure why you can't see the first video.

 

[Rorie]

I think we hit 'post' at the same time so you missed my post saying that the link works

Will rainbows eat shrimp? If the answer is no, then i think i will be getting some rainbows....or keyholes! Anybody know if keyholes will eat shrimp?