What Type Of Tilapia Is This

[pbase5583]

http/s1056.photobucket.com/albums/t367/panosNoFlex/?action=view&current=46b14d06.jpg

 

[GShorty1981]

its not a tilapia its a...Paratilapia polleni from madagascar really cool fish

 

[pbase5583]

i bought it from an aquarium store and it said tilapia on it?

 

[GShorty1981]

Well it sort of has tilapia in the name, but like 'Heros' and 'Cryptoheros' dont mean they are related, just that they are similar....like to me a Sajica is very similar to a Severum in behavior and shape etc.

Ok anyway what you have is a polleni, which is quite a find, i have only ever seen them once in all my years of fish keeping and i had no room for them back then deffo a fish i'd like to keep in the future.

they are very similar to oscars, they will eat any small fish, temperament i have read thye are sort of like a Texas....some are crazy nasty, others placid, it will grow to 12" so will need a 4ft 70g minimum.

heres the picture so others can see

 

[pbase5583]

ok that deffinately is my fish, the guy said he will triple in size in the future. but he is sooooooo timid and shy. Any advice on what he likes. He loves bloodworms but he is kept with a small asian needle nose gar, black ghost knife fish, tiretrack eel, angel fish, and 4 rainbowfish. I just got rid of some fish in my tank because I felt it was overstocked. Of course they are all babies and I will get a bigger tank when they grow a bit, but I've searched them and who could possibly be theyre tankmate at that size. I know for a fact the rainbowfish and angelfish will be an afternoon snack. But he is an alarming 1 inch. lol.

 

[pbase5583]

another question, how did you "blow up"the picture to that size?

 

[GShorty1981]

by typing

at the other end.

yes he will kill pretty much all your fish you have in there.

its definitely not a fish for the beginner, what size is your tank in feet etc?

this is whta he will look like

 

[pbase5583]

well at his one inch state its a 65 gallon, 3 ft x 18" x 2 ft and he loves it, i have fake plants and mopani wood in it. all my fish are bigger than him by far, the rainbowfish about double his size, bgk 6-8 inches,( cant tell) asian needle nose gar 8 inches, tiretrack eel 8 inches, angel a little bigger than him, i was thinking either when he gets bigger and i upgrade keep him becuase you stated he was rare, but i love my bgk to death, favorite fish by far

 

[dbanner]

by typing

at the other end.

yes he will kill pretty much all your fish you have in there.

its definitely not a fish for the beginner, what size is your tank in feet etc?

this is whta he will look like

Sorry to jump in here, all I wanted to say was, I was going to get a polleni before but decided not to. Looking at the pic there of the adult/sub adult I think I might of made the wrong decision lol awesome looking fish IMO

 

[josh_g]

Ive wanted one of these for ages but can't find them anywhere. Nicest looking cichlid IMO

 

[dbanner]

You can get them mailed ordered from Trimar aquarium if your in Uk? Iv used them many times. In the past iv had rainbow snakeheads, dovii, delhezi birchir, ornate birchir, red Texas, red terror, red devil, Lima shovelnose catfish ad jaguar with not a single problem with any. You get next day delivery before 12pm if ordered before 11am and an "alive on arrival guarentee". They have polleni in now for £8.99 for a juvenile and delivery is £12.95

 

[josh_g]

Hey thanks I will check it out. I've never had luck with having fish delivered as I live on an offshore Island in the U.K so places generally wont post here. Worth a shot though

 

[pbase5583]

yea i found 3 bigger ones here in the states but i dont want anymore lol. Maybe in the future i will get another one and start a breeding tank of 125+ gallons

yea i found 3 bigger ones here in the states but i dont want anymore lol. Maybe in the future i will get another one and start a breeding tank of 125+ gallons

 

[josh_g]

nope wont deliver to where I live

 

[dbanner]

nope wont deliver to where I live

Ah that's a shame