New Pearsei in the house!

After a long wait I finally got my male Pearsei (Thanks madness!)

Here is the boy at madness home before I picked him up.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

He is a bit thin... but Im sure he will put on the size! He is 8.5" and will soon join his girl in the 210g after a little quarantine time.
Here is the female (Pork Chop) apx 9"+
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Those are some good looking fishes

Thanks!

Not many raise these guys, they get HUGE but are gentle giants.

awesome! I look forward to seeing them swimming side by side! does that male have a more stream lined body, or is it just the view i am seeing on this old laptop?

Nice D, glad to see you finding something to put in your tank (your fish still look overfed to me... hahaha) either way you should name that male "skeeter" (doug funnie's friend)

lloyd378 wrote:awesome! I look forward to seeing them swimming side by side! does that male have a more stream lined body, or is it just the view i am seeing on this old laptop?

The male is very streamlined. This is kind of unusual for most of the Pearsei Ive seen. There a few however form different collection points that are more elongated. Will wait and see how this one turns out.

Anthraxx wrote:Nice D, glad to see you finding something to put in your tank (your fish still look overfed to me... hahaha) either way you should name that male "skeeter" (doug funnie's friend)

The Pearsei are major piggies (They are not overfed just big boned! )

He kind of looks like a "skeeter"....

Llyod,
Here is an example of the elongated pearsei I spoke of, from Rio Lacanjah:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Howz his personality? Has he gotten use to you?

He is in the 56g right now and is like a bull in a china shop. I had to pull out all the plants because the tank was small and he was uprooting everything moving around. An 8 1/2" fish in a 30" x 18" footprint is a bit much!

He seems shy but not overly afraid. Just started eating (flakes only), but not yet getting that I am the one feeding him. I will wait a week or so before putting him in the big tank. I am using SeaChem ParaGuard to rid him of any parasites. A very gentle product that should clean him up.

DMD123 wrote:The Pearsei are major piggies (They are not overfed just big boned! )
He kind of looks like a "skeeter"....

I think he looks just right.
Maybe Pork Chop will slim down when she has a bunch of babies to look after.

lookin real good D, cant wait to watch them grow!!!

I hope this one has an acceptable temper!

I finally got the boy to eat something besides flakes! Almost one week to the day he finally broke down and ate some pellets. His belly did not look so hollow, and he filled out a little. He just does not have the bulky build of a typical pearsei (yet?). Very calm and mellow with the little midas, pleco and cat he is sharing space with in the 56g. Not sure how long I should quarantine him for.... Its been one week now.

you have more patience than me! I would have moved him over after a couple of days lol!

lloyd378 wrote:you have more patience than me! I would have moved him over after a couple of days lol!

Especially considering that he was quarantined for a week at my place before you picked him up. And I told you he liked me better. He was eating all kinds of pellets for me and even eating out of my hand.

After having issues twice now by adding fish to the tank without quarantining... I am learning to be patient rather than dealing with consequences. Both times I ended up with a parasite, and both times the fish came from a LFS that I will not mention because I feel they provide nice fish but it is my responsibility as a fish keeper to make sure newly introduced fish are safe to add to the show tank.

After my last issue, my girl Pork Chop even stressed to the point of showing a small spot of hole in the head. I feed high quality pellets (NLS, Omega One, Hikari, Xtreme) and do multiple water changes per week so I know it was not because I was not trying, but due to the stress I caused her by introducing a 'carrier' in the tank.

I will most likely pull her and treat with a bit of metro just to be sure. I have tried the Epsom salt in her food now for about a week. I have not noticed any real changes good or bad with her little spots so the meds are the next step. She eats like a pig and seems fine otherwise. With her in the 56g getting better, I will introduce the male pearsei to his tankmates and then bring Pork Chop back in with him. She is a big girl and I dont want her beating on her man.

I didn't know you were having issues with her.
that really sucks. so what exactly is her problem or what is going on with her

She is just starting to get a little hole in head. I will treat with metro and keep up with water changes and be patient. I did the Epsom salt food treatment to kill the stuff in her intestinal tract but still notice the spots on the outside. They seem to be very slowly progressing where they are looking worse and not healing. I am catching it early so the damage should not be too bad. I have been trying to make sure to include more veggie based foods (Omega One Algae wafers and kelp pellets) but NLS is her primary pellet now.

Thinking about food and proper nutrients, I decided to get some of the Boyd's Vita Chem for her during the healing process. I have a bunch of stuff on order to get my fish first aid kit back up to where I like to have it including melafix and pimafix. But I need to stop the stuff in its tracks first.

Started the girl on her metro treatments. She is mad being in the small tank. I have also been treating with the Boyd's Vita Chem. That stuff is nasty. It has fish oil in it and you know what they say about oil and water... it dont mix. It does go into the tank but you can see an oily film on the surface after use and it will cloud the tank for a bit. I am just using this product during the treatment/healing process and I dont think I will ever use it again.

The boy is now in the 210g and is very shy. I dont know for sure but I think something spooked him. He went in just fine and ate like a little pig. Now he is acting strange.... hopefully he is settling in still. I do wonder if he had an issue with the bifa but I dont see any chasing or anything happening except that the bifa displays dominant feeding issues right now, chasing away the little fish as he eats.

Thought I would comment on the medication I am using. I am using a product from Kensfish made by AquaScience. It is Metronidazole Powder, 100g for $13.95 with 1 teaspoon treating 164 gallons. While it has great bang for the buck, I am concerned with how horribly it dissolves in water. I use a small jar (32oz w/lid) and mix in 3/8 of a teaspoon of medicine and shake, shake, shake and the stuff just does not mix well. It stays pretty granular for a long time. Makes me wonder if it ever really is getting into the water. I have another order coming that has some seachem metro so I will compare the product and see the difference.

Seems that one of the small holes on her head has stopped growing and might even be healing a bit. A few of the others look to be no change. I need to continue treatment till Saturday and will keep her in the small tank for at least a week to see if I can get the holes to heal up, maybe a bit of melafix, pimafix or Boyds vita chem will do the trick.

The Tetra parasite guard works wonders, it is a bit more spendie (80 gal treatment for $4) but the cocktail that he has in it works great for just what you have.

I ran through two treatments of the Parasite Guard with her and I think it took care of the problem at the time. She clearly has the beginnings of a touch of hole in the head. The metro seems to be doing the trick but I know it takes a while for the little pits to heal back up. I read somewhere to use Neosporin on them and they would heal up faster. That seems weird since it has like a petroleum base to it... might try it after this metro treatment.

I wouldnt bother with the neosporin, it will just stress her out more, and the wounds are not getting worse.

Yeah the chase and catch would probably not help.

I took a look at the Seachem metro instructions on-line and found it says to treat every two days where as the stuff Im using says to do it daily. It also has me doing a water change prior to each treatment. I wonder if the Seachem is a more potent dose or what the difference is.

Just a follow up (Sorry bad cell phone pic)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
He is ready to breed! He has been in breeding dress for a few days. He has dug out a pit a couple times now, that Ive filled back in with my water changes. I never thought of a Pearsei as a glass banger but this one has been pretty aggressive about protecting his space.

Ive decided his name is Kermit, and his girlfriend is Pork Chop (I know it should be miss piggy!).

A little update: Last night I came home and found my Argentea beaten up badly in the 210g. Ni idea who did it. Very similar to a recent incident with a firemouth. I think it was the bifa at it again but it never openly shows that kind of aggression. Anyway I decided to put the little guy in the 56g to heal and move Pork Chop back into the 210g. She was healing up nicely from her hole in the head and was unhappy in such a little tank.

So all hell broke loose when I put her in the big tank. Kermit went off on her and attacked her! It did not take long for Pork Chop to realize she had a lot of size on this attacker and she went at him. He freaked out and started to get chased so I had to pull him and put him in the 56g.

Part of me wonders if I have two males. But Im almost sure if they are male and female.

A quick vent job will give you the answer. At that size, it should be really easy to tell.

I should vent them. Ive seen tubes dropped and Kermit definitely seems to look male. Pork Chop was a bit harder to tell, seemed more like an egg tube but maybe not....

After having Kermit in the big tank and seeing how he was I really could are less if I keep him. He just has zero personality compared to the other Pearsei. Pork Chop totally reminds me of an Oscar. Very outgoing and swims all over the tank. Kermit was more of a hide in the background fish. Most likely will put him up for sale or trade.

Kermit may well be a girl as in my experience when a fish digs a pit then guards the territory your usually dealing with a female prepping a spot to lay eggs and not a male. Never seen a male dig a pit without a female present and also without her choosing the area first.

That makes sense as to behavior. But the fish was supposed to be sexed as male from Gage. It looks to be male with its tube showing and it comes to more of a point at the end. I will admit some fish are easier to sex compared to others and these Pearsei have been more of a challenge for me to tell. I have not actually vented them, just saw tubes dropped when they had ate too much or in this case the fish (Kermit) just has its tube down all the time.

Kermit is a male, no questions asked. If you need help venting just let me know. As for females digging pits, thats not completely accurate. I have several males that are constantly digging pits and redecorating the tank. Its just a Cichlid thing.

So I guess the question really is.... If Pork Chop is a girl?

Pork Chop never has exhibited digging behavior, extreme territorial issues (like Kermit), or even aggression outside of feeding (She likes her food!). Whatever the case Pork Chop is the keeper, even if she does not get huge like a male will. She just has personality.

Well let me know, all he did was follow me all over the place when I had him. Maybe he misses me. lol

He seemed pretty happy at your place.... got anything for trade that I might be interested in?

All depends on what your interested in. I have Bocourtti, but small. I have a huge BB female, but she has a bit of an attitude. Or maybe a couple of my rare grow outs, Heterospila and/or Melanurus.

I love the look of Bocourti but I already have a Pearsei and they have similar personalities. Plus Ive seen a few on MFK comment how the combo did not work out well.

I am really not wanting another vieja type in the tank right now. Ive had a BB and it was a sneaky fin nipper. The bifa I have now is probably a bully/killer when Im not looking. If my Argentea heals I might try it back in the big tank again. Most of the fish in this family seem meaner than I would like.

I am looking for something less aggressive in terms of cichlid. My hope was a M/F Pearsei combo, or still want to try a snook.

I still need to figure out something for the 56g too... Let me think about it.

I have 2 smaller Pearsi, that would know its role and grow with Ms. Piggy.

That would be tempting since they came from the same batch as Pork Chop and would have her same build. What is the likelihood that out of three fish you would not have at least one male and female?

Kermit is pretty cool looking but stands out different than Pork Chop. Im sure they are from different locations. I know you like the lean look but Pearsei should be BIG.

Let me think it over about the others. I really do want a BIG male Pearsei in the tank.

I know you aren't thinking about this at this time, but if the argentea pulls through, and it ends up not working out for your tank, i would like to be first in line to buy it. I am really wanting one, but the ones I have seen are too small.

llyod,

I was surprised to find the Argentea had got a beating. It was doing well with the bifa. Since I had the same experience with a firemouth and the only real constant in the equation was the bifa, it had to be the culprit. Hope the little midas can hold its own! Now that Pork Chop is back in the tank maybe the bifa will not be such a jerk.

The Argentea already looks to be improving. I will see how it does and I will let you know.

Hey, what did your argentea look like when he got beat up? I came home from work today to find my 3 inch jag, and my 3.5 inch red dragon flowerhorn with bite marks on the their heads(scale loss, white flesh exposed), and my 4 inch female festae with a perfect bitemark taken out of her tail. I am wondering if it was from tangling from with my bifas......

other possible attackers: 6 inch zonatus, 3.5 inch cuban, 2-3 inch midas, a 4 inch red texas, or my super mellow 8 inch red isletas. I haven't had any aggression in my tank for weeks(since I removed the spawning pairs). and the only thing that I have changed to the tank is adding a cfuv500 aquatop filter

again, I have no idea who would have done this, as they all seem to get along when I am in the room. but remembering this post about how aggressive your bifa is and how my two are from the same batch, I was just connecting the dots. any thoughts out there?

Hey Lloyd, you may want to separate the Festae and the Jag. For some reason Festae and Parachromis especially Jags do not get along. I have heard several stories that they will eventually fight to the death. Mel, myself, Yeun, have had first hand experience in this combo.

madness wrote:Hey Lloyd, you may want to separate the Festae and the Jag. For some reason Festae and Parachromis especially Jags do not get along. I have heard several stories that they will eventually fight to the death. Mel, myself, Yeun, have had first hand experience in this combo.

thanks for the heads up! I will have to do this. do you think that maybe all three just tangled with each other, and that it wasn't one of my larger fish in the tank?

If none of the other fish are showing marks, I would say that it was between the 3 of them. Are there any signs on their mouths to show that they may be lip locking?

The Argentea looked beat up with fins torn. It was kind of laying on its side in the plastic plants with a 'just kill me' look on it. It seems almost as soon as it got put into the 56g it started healing. Much improvement in a short period has me thinking it will fully recover. When I had the firemouth, it looked like it had been descaled, torn fins and could barely keep itself upright but it did heal.

Also an update on Kermit. After putting him back into the 56g, he is a different fish. He swims right up front begging for food and interacting. Exactly what I was looking for in a Pearsei. I dont know why he acted so strange in the big tank. Almost an immediate breeding behavior and zero personality in the 210g.

you may not have been in his breeding behavior in the 210 and more in the I'm pissed off behavior, when males get angry they color up just like that so it could be that he was pissed.

Well he was pissed at everyone! The little midas he shared the tank space with in the 56g was even being chased. He was also very skittish in the big tank, would freak out if you startled him by walking in the room when he wasnt looking. Completely different fish in the small tank. Does not spook and comes up front begging for food. Why the change?

Maybe the water params are different, or maybe you may have some stray voltage in the 210 that he didnt like, which may also explain why the other one got HITH.