My new addition

First off, since we dont have a Madagascar Cichlid section, I posted this in the section that is closest.

Yesterday I drove out to Lacey to pick up some Loaches and some wood. While I was there, I kept eyeballing this amazing looking fish. After about an hour of talking, I decided to get it also. Thank you again Jen, I definitely owe you, he is beautiful.

What I grabbed was a Paratalapia Bleekeri. After spending all morning reading about this fish, I have come to learn that the Bleekeri and the Polleni are now classified as the same species. (kinda like the Synspilum and the Melanurus) But from what I read, the large spot fish was originally referred to as the Bleekeri which grew much larger 14", and is a bit more peaceful and more rare to find. Whereas the Polleni has smaller spots(kinda like the Texas has small spots while the Carpintis has larger) grows to max out between 10" & 12" and can be far more aggressive. So apparently since there is a distinctive difference between the 2, the experts still have decided to lump them together.

But I am sticking with calling mine a Bleekeri. Here it is:

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Nice find Shawn. Very nice fish and a great addition to any sizable cichlid tank. I owned one 15 years ago and mine grew out to 14' inches and owned the tank. I had him for about 10 years till he jumped out one night. When I purchased him they were not on the market long so the price was crazy expensive. Now they are more common but still hard to find.

Looks great Shawn! Glad it could go to a great home...looking forward to updates in the future

sweet looking fish. How many giant tanks do you have Madness? =)

binbin9 wrote:sweet looking fish. How many giant tanks do you have Madness? =)

It depends at what size you consider giant. I have 8 tanks over 200 gallons.

I am glad you made it down there! I know that i was really impressed by her collection when I went down a few weeks ago to get my red texas fry. I am planning another trip next weekend if she has anything left.

Madness,

I currently have a 8 inch polleni and a 4-5 inch bleekeri..... if they end up not wanted to spawn (in the future), maybe you can borrow one of mine to get some fry going around here. Since you have the Barry white water and all

lloyd378 wrote:I am glad you made it down there! I know that i was really impressed by her collection when I went down a few weeks ago to get my red texas fry. I am planning another trip next weekend if she has anything left.

Madness,

I currently have a 8 inch polleni and a 4-5 inch bleekeri..... if they end up not wanted to spawn (in the future), maybe you can borrow one of mine to get some fry going around here. Since you have the Barry white water and all

LOL You may want to contact Jen sooner, I am pretty sure she wants it all gone very soon. And I will keep in mind your offer. Not sure of the sex of mine. (I probably should have looked before putting it in the tank) It is very nice looking, so it wont be going anywhere anytime soon. (as long as it plays nicely)

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"LOL You may want to contact Jen sooner, I am pretty sure she wants it all gone very soon. "


I agree! she won't have her stuff for very long! unfortunately for me, i won't have time until next weekend to do anything, as I am now coaching everyday after I get done teaching. I really hope that others on here help her out too. Her fish were/ are amazing.

nice bleekeri, I miss mine, but my tank is much more peaceful.

This guy is very mild tempered.

Nice pickup. I'm liking how pronounced his/her spots are. Looks big, maybe 10-12"?

Congrats on your new fish Madness...very nice

Thank you all, it is about 7"

Great fish, I miss mine as well.