Cynopotamus sp.

[Jumbie Spider]

Not commonly seen in the aquarium.
Pterophyllum Altums in the background (altum angelfish)

 

[Jumbie Spider]

 

[Westicles]

Love those angelfish!

 

[Jumbie Spider]

Love those angelfish!

Thanks! They are from Rio Vichada Colombia. I think I have a pair in there but never really encouraged them to spawn.
One of these days I might try. The Cynopotamus sp. is from Argentina.

 

[l4nsky]

Now this is interesting. It's not often I come across predatory fish that I know nothing about and it's a rare treat when I do (usually sends me down a rabbit hole of research lol). First glance, they have the appearance of Hydrolycus sp. (like H. armatus) and from what I can find on them, the same predatory behaviors as well, albeit in a much smaller size. Any luck getting them on prepared food? How are they in terms of disposition? Flighty at all or easily spooked? What about water quality sensitivity? Do they appreciate a decent amount of dissolved O2 and water movement like armatus?

 

[Jumbie Spider]

Now this is interesting. It's not often I come across predatory fish that I know nothing about and it's a rare treat when I do (usually sends me down a rabbit hole of research lol). First glance, they have the appearance of Hydrolycus sp. (like H. armatus) and from what I can find on them, the same predatory behaviors as well, albeit in a much smaller size. Any luck getting them on prepared food? How are they in terms of disposition? Flighty at all or easily spooked? What about water quality sensitivity? Do they appreciate a decent amount of dissolved O2 and water movement like armatus?

Thanks, it sent me down the same rabbit hole lol. It's very hard to get info on them (at least for me). They were collected in Argentina (unsure of the specific river). They do seem to appreciate some light currents and have taken frozen cut up fish before, and yesterday I saw one ate a pellet. So I am trying to get them onto pellets to I can just feed them what I feed the Altums. But I recently loaded the tank with feeder guppies and minnows and they were all gone within 3 days. Not sure if it was the angels or the cynopotamus that ate them all, but they were gone.
I'd imagine they would appreciate higher O2 but I am not doing anything special and they seem to be OK for now.
Considering adding some red-tail barracudas to the tank for top-level. We'll see.

 

[Jumbie Spider]

I've added some red tail barracudas to the mix! These will roam the top level while the cynopotamus will roam the floor.
Excuse their bruised snouts from transport...

Regarding the cynopotamus, I've confirmed they eat the Rosie Red minnows.

 

[Edan bandoot]

Do you have any plans on decorating the tank?

 

[Jumbie Spider]

Do you have any plans on decorating the tank?

This tank's been running for about a decade, and has had different styles/looks over the years (and different inhabitants). I've settled down to bare bottom as it's easier to maintain and better for the fishes. I might re-add some driftwood and some plants (I used to have it in there before).
Do you have any suggestions?

 

[Westicles]

This tank's been running for about a decade, and has had different styles/looks over the years (and different inhabitants). I've settled down to bare bottom as it's easier to maintain and better for the fishes. I might re-add some driftwood and some plants (I used to have it in there before).
Do you have any suggestions?

How the heck do you come across these unique species?

 

[Jumbie Spider]

How the heck do you come across these unique species?

Part luck and part connections from being in the hobby. There are some vendors that specialize in rare fish.

 

[Westicles]

Part luck and part connections from being in the hobby. There are some vendors that specialize in rare fish.

Gotcha! I have a 55 gallon communal tank and absolutely no room for another. But I still enjoy seeing your posts

 

[Jumbie Spider]

Gotcha! I have a 55 gallon communal tank and absolutely no room for another. But I still enjoy seeing your posts

Feel free to post updates of your tank. I wouldn't mind checking it out

 

[Westicles]

These are probably a year or so old, but the tank pretty much hasn't changed

 

[Westicles]

I pretty much have your basic Petsmart varieties, skirts, rasboras, dwarf gouramis, cory cats, mollies, red eye tetras, etc. Nothing too crazy but nonetheless it's been fun keeping, observing, and learning from my crew!

 

[l4nsky]

Regarding the cynopotamus, I've confirmed they eat the Rosie Red minnows.

I see that lol. Never a doubt in my mind once I saw their dentition lol. A. falcutus are a nice edition, but now you have 2 (possibly 3) fish with nervous dispositions and no cover.

This tank's been running for about a decade, and has had different styles/looks over the years (and different inhabitants). I've settled down to bare bottom as it's easier to maintain and better for the fishes. I might re-add some driftwood and some plants (I used to have it in there before).
Do you have any suggestions?

Driftwood and plants lol. You don't have to go all in, just something to break up sight lines, something to provide a little top cover, and something for the angels to hide in/behind. I don't have any experience with the Cynopotamus sp, but IME the altum's can be shy and nervous, but some dithers and some cover can offset this. Likewise the falcatus have very nervous dispositions and spook easily, either running into the aquarium walls or jumping when they get a fright. They might benefit from some top cover to hunker under.

Part luck and part connections from being in the hobby. There are some vendors that specialize in rare fish.

Just like with the T hobby, you can buy a lot of extremely rare and unique fish online. The shipping costs are out of this world though......

 

[Jumbie Spider]

These are probably a year or so old, but the tank pretty much hasn't changed View attachment 406054 View attachment 406071

Nice community!! A decent mix you have going there. I actually really like the black skirts, gourami and the helleri. I used to keep a tank of just X helleri and they bred and populated the entire tank...
I came across a really good video the other day on how to breed the black skirt tetras. Kinda neat.
They might go nuts for Hikari micro wafers or bug bites.

 

[Jumbie Spider]

A. falcutus are a nice edition, but now you have 2 (possibly 3) fish with nervous dispositions and no cover.

Thanks. Got 10 falcatus in there. I would say the falcatus are probably the gentler ones of the tank. They are quite curious, and usually approach you when near the tank, and seem to enjoy huddling in their group.
I definitely appreciate your concern though, always good to hear feedback from others.

Driftwood and plants lol. You don't have to go all in

I'll introduce some stuff, I appreciate the suggestion

but IME the altum's can be shy and nervous

These Altums are the aggressors of the tank. Looks can be very deceiving, but they hold their ground pretty good.
The challenge with Altums is more water quality than anything else. I wouldn't add anything that would seriously hurt them.
Think about how difficult it is to get an F0 Altum group to be stable, so I definitely wouldn't deliberately mess that up.

The shipping costs are out of this world though......

Ship air cargo whenever you get the chance. Way more affordable, and much, much safer for the fish.

The cynopotamus though was actually fedex'd and only ran $68 for a group of 4 in a box. Considering they are packed in bags of water which adds weight to the shipment, I thought that was actually a fair price compared to shipping a tiny sling in a light box for $50+.

 

[Westicles]

Never tried the wafers, but yes to the bug bites. It's their crack! Lol