# Elliot's cichlid -Thorichthys ellioti



## I_dude

So I went to Menagerie for the first time ever.
I have to say its an awesome store way better than some of the larger LFS's.

Anyways I saw some Elliot's cichlid on sale there.
I've been looking on the web and while there is some info most of it is just cut and paste from the same site.
If anyone has any info on them or knows where I could find good info I would appreciate it.

I'm especially looking for how to be able to differentiate sexes and fish compatabilities for them

Look forward to your responses

Thanks


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## Gargoyle

I've kept the fish, and was able to get a pair by observing them at the store. I took the dominant fish, and a smaller specimen with shorter fins. It worked.

They grew larger than I expected from reading, to a good 5inches for the male. It was a peaceful fish. The female died after about a year, and I never bred them, but the male was here for a long time. It is a great species.

It's not very aggressive, for a Central American. I'd give them at least a three foot tank. They could go in a 2 footer, if they were the only cichlid. At first, I kept mine in a four foot tank with two young but very soon constantly breeding pairs of Archocentrus sajica. That was too much for the Thorichthys, and I had to move them. They lived for a long time with some geophagus, but the Central American ellioti were nastier than the South Americans, and it was an uneasy set-up. 

They got along well with rainbowfish, Buenos-Aires tetras and other larger surface fish. It's a really pretty cichlid.


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## menagerie

I_dude said:


> So I went to Menagerie for the first time ever.
> I have to say its an awesome store way better than some of the larger LFS's.
> 
> Anyways I saw some Elliot's cichlid on sale there.
> I've been looking on the web and while there is some info most of it is just cut and paste from the same site.
> If anyone has any info on them or knows where I could find good info I would appreciate it.
> 
> I'm especially looking for how to be able to differentiate sexes and fish compatabilities for them
> 
> Look forward to your responses
> 
> Thanks


thanks for the comments!!

If you really want excellent info on the Elliot's, PM Macfish (here on gtaa)!! He's the breeder of the ones at the store and should have better insight on sexing


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## I_dude

Gargoyle said:


> . They lived for a long time with some geophagus, but the Central American ellioti were nastier than the South Americans, and it was an uneasy set-up.
> 
> They got along well with rainbowfish, Buenos-Aires tetras and other larger surface fish. It's a really pretty cichlid.


Indeed they are pretty. Well most of my setups are heavilyplanted and low pH and soft water (for angles). This is the one bit that concerns me. Is it appropriate to keep them in soft and slightly acidic water?

I'm surprised they can be kept with BA tetras but hey if you did it it might be possible.
Do let me know if you know of any website with more info on them as I still can't find anything useful

Thanks


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## MacFish

They are a great fish. I hated to give them up but I needed the tank space for another project.

If you want a breeding pair, in the long run I suggest a 4' tank. A 3' will be fine for a while. I kept my original pair in a 3' for almost 2 years. Then the male got very nasty and would relentlessly chase the female until I had to separate her. I made an egg crate divider with a few small holes in it. The smaller female could fit through them and get some peace when she needed it.

That was in a very heavily planted tank so she had lots of hiding spots but he would hunt her down.

They seem to be fairly passive with other fish but are very aggressive with their own kind. My second smaller pair killed 2 extra females that were with them in a 90 gal 4' tank. Again, the extra females had lots of room to get away but the pair would not leave them alone. It was in my work tank and when I came in on Monday, 1 was dead and the other very beat up. She ended up dying as well.

I have read that they actually do better in a slightly higher pH than most CA cichlids. My tanks were all 7.0.

They are also known as Thorichthys maculipinnis.

Here is a great link..

http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=143


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## I_dude

Hey Mac fish,

Thanks for the link. I had already read that one actually it was probably one of the better links.
I am hoping to get a breeding setup with them but my first problem is obviously sexing them. So I want to be sure I get a male and a female to begin with. Is there a particular trait you can see to tell the difference.

Also is one male and female ok or do they require more of a harem with one male and a few females?
Do you breed any other South Americans Macfish?

Also Menagerie (I'm guessing Harold) thanks for pointing me to MAc fish 

Thanks


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## MacFish

It depends how big they are now. When I traded them in, they were quite small. I would suggest buying a small group. If you were to buy 6 of them, I'm pretty sure you would end up with at least 1 of each sex. Let them pair up on their own and remove the rest.

The pair will be fine. As I mentioned earlier, chances are the extra females will be killed.

With mine, the males grew long extension off the dorsal, anal and tail fins. In my original group, all of the females had a black spot in their dorsal fin. This is not always the case and is only found in a few locations in the wild. Of the fry I personally kept and grew out, none of them had the spot.

Typically, the males will have a little more vibrant colour as well.

I am currently breeding jack dempsey's but I've bred a few other Central American cishlids before.

Here is a link to some of the fish I have or have kept in the past. The different albums are on the left side.

http://s48.photobucket.com/albums/f223/MacFish/Fish Pics/


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## I_dude

Thanks for sharing your pics Macfish.
You have a nice assortment of fish.

I see that you kept or keep Apistos - Thats somethign I am thinking about in the future. Need to get a little more expereinced before jumping into something more exotic.

I also saw the Cryptoheros Nanoluteus wow that looks liek an interesting fish. I'm going to have to see if I can find a few of those.

Well but back to the original topic. Even looking at your pics I'm having a hard time deciphering the differences between a male and a female. I'll look again see if I can spot some tell.

Cheers


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## MacFish

Thanks. The Nano's are awesome fish. I traded my group into Harold at the same time I did the Thorichthys. I doubt he has any left. They are still very rare up here. They are also very sensitive so if you do find some, do some research first or you will be wasting your money. I lost all of my fist group of 10 over a 6 month period. 

The second group I had were doing much better but I had learned what not to do from the first group


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## Gargoyle

MacFish - thanks for the info. Mine were very peaceful and at times dominated, but then again, they didn't breed. I gave bad advice on the two footer - thanks for correcting that


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## MacFish

Gargoyle said:


> MacFish - thanks for the info. Mine were very peaceful and at times dominated, but then again, they didn't breed. I gave bad advice on the two footer - thanks for correcting that


Fish behave very differently. I may have just had a really nasty male


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