Mesonauta acora from Al!

[Discus-n00b]

Here are the Mesonauta acora I got from Al on Weds. These were taken a day after they were in the tank.

[asifgy]

Amazing pics, what camera and lens you using?? sweet fish too.

[William Palumbo]

Oh Festivums!...Great shots as usual...Bill

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks. I use a Canon 5D MkII with a 100mm Macro 2.8 lens. Was tough to get a great picture of these because there is a lot of driftwood in the tank and hard to find an open spot. And I used flash on the camera instead of over the tank except for a few pictures.

Thanks again, mainly thanks to Al for sending me these awesome fish. I'm constantly watching them now....really interesting. And they eat ANYTHING that goes in the water.

[pcsb23]

... And they eat ANYTHING that goes in the water.

better not put your hand in then

Nice fish Matt.

[kent1963]

Man I'm outa cichlids for a decade or so and I don't know what anything is lol what happend to cichlasoma

[ashaysathe]

Very nice fish Matt. Look great. Good add to your setup. Seen these guys many times personally.

[Ryan]

These are my grandchildren! I'm glad to see other people are enjoying this unique, feisty cichlid.

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks all. Ryan, I haven't noticed them being that feisty. Are they more fiesty towards other species or towards others of their own species? Maybe it will come but so far they are calm as can be. A little back and forth in the group but nothing major.

[Ryan]

They are very stealthy. They may look passive, but watch for split fins or missing scales on tankmates. Once all my males got to the 5 - 6" mark they turned aggressive and started attacking adult discus, severums, etc. They dive-bomb from above and hit fish right on the forehead or the first few dorsal spines. It took me a while to figure out it was the festivums because they don't act that way when you're in the room.

[brewmaster15]

Matt,
They look great! Glad they made the trip so well.

I've mostly noticed the aggression towards each other in groups and of course when protecting a batch of eggs anything is game for their aggression..... Oddly, I have 1 pair with a pair of severums and the festivums hide and shy there..

I also have a pair of festivums in a 75 gal with 2 adult discus, 4 wild angels and they are as peaceful as you could want.

2 pair festivums in a 55 with a pair of geos and they aren't a problem at all

Put a group of 10 in a 125 with some port cichlids, severums and plecos and all heck breaks loose ..its like World war 3 in there at feeding time....other than that..its pretty sedate. I think they increase their aggression when in larger numbers.

hth,
al

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Al. Maybe I'll see more aggression once they start breeding.

Heres a few new pics of them. The colors really are nice on these, even if its subtle. Really comes out with the flash of a camera.

[Jennie]

that camera is to die for

[scottthomas]

Great Pics as always. Thanks for sharing your new fish. I like them.

[brewmaster15]

Great Pics as always. Thanks for sharing your new fish. I like them.

I have more Scott! hint hint

-al