Feeding my Gourami

[Mogo]

Hi Laurie,

The skull deco that you are talking about is the kind that sits on the substrate at the bottom of the tank, right? This has me a little puzzled, as gourami's don't have a habit of staying close to the bottom of the tank, let alone going in low dark enclosed spaces. And doing this happily, protecting the area from the mollies, hmmm...along with your physical description has me wondering if in fact, you do have a cichlid.

If you could, please post a pic, really interested in finding out what you have. But the important thing is that he's eating well and active. Both are signs that Alfred is happy and healthy.

 

[WingedWren]

Heh! In the instance of the skull bit, I was talking about my plecostomus. Inchworm had asked how he was doing. Sorry to confuse you there! I'll take a picture one of these days so I can finally know what Alfred is. Someday when I can steal my parents' digital camera for a day or two.

Laurie

 

[AquaNut]

I know this is a little late, but WingedWren, Alfred is definitely a cichlid! I saw several Alfreds in my lfs yesterday. The girl who was working didn't know what they're 'really' called, but they came in as Masked Bandit Cichlids. The fish matched your description of Alfred *perfectly* - everything from the colouring and stripe that extends up the dorsal fin to the long bony feeler fins. I'll be back at the lfs tomorrow and the owner should be working. I'll ask her what they're actually called.

 

[Alien Anna]

Aquanut,
is this a picture of Alfred?

If so, its a picture of Acarichthys geayi, otherwise known as Guianacara geayi, or Bandit Cichlid. The only thing of concern that I've found out is that its a schooling fish, but other sites say it's very territorial and should be kept "in a rowdy cichlid community". One site described it as a Malawi Cichlid (didn't give the Scientific name so I presumed they were talking about a different fish) but most described it as South American.

So I suspect you ought to find Alfred a few girlfriends. Do post to the New World Cichlid section for more info, if the photo rings any bells.

 

[AquaNut]

Hmm. Nope, that's not Alfred. He is a SA cichlid, though. Their African cichlids are in another tank. He was in with baby sevs and things like that.

 

[AquaNut]

Alfred is a FESTIVUM!!!!!! Otherwise known as a Flag Cichlid or Festive Cichlid.

 

[funkifish]

My blue gouramis stay on the bottom and feed on the bottom...i dont know why but they do..they just clean it right up......everything i have seems to be a bottom feeder (even neon tetras!)And i tried all kinds of foods on my gourami, favorites are betta bigold and sinking wafers

 

[Inchworm]

Here's a link with a picture of a Festivum. Nice looking fish.

http/www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1