malawi4me Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 Gday I have bought a little saratoga about 10 too 12cm's long and was wondering if there were any experts on them here that could fill me in on them. E.g what size should i expect him to reach in a 6x2x2 on his own and how fast do they grow? I currently have him on flake food but what is best? Would he have been bred or caught wild? What sort is he? he has little orange spots on his scales. How long do they live? Also what should the tank be set up like and water chemistry? Are there any lillie pad type plants you can put in a tank? Any info at all would be tops! Cheers Rob. oh here is a pic of him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 if hes got markings on his gill covers hes a jardini , if not hes a leightharti , from the picture he looks like the latter,get him on to fresh or frozen protein asap , bloodworms are a good start,once hes on frozen prawns etc he should grow about an inch a month until about 45cm when hell slow somewhat, expect him sometimes to just not be hungry , this can last 3or4 days then hell start eating normally again,most importantly these fish are notorious jumpers ,they bust through 3mm glass like wet paper, get some single piece10mm covers made asap more of these fish die on the floor than anywhere else,finally the best floating plant imo that will survive indoors is water hyacynth if you want some pm me next time you come up to sydney or source some locally, good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted January 11, 2005 Author Share Posted January 11, 2005 Thanks mate! Yeh i have been staring at him fo rthe last 10 minutes and his gill plates are plain silver with no markings, so i guess he's a leightharti ? He worries me though as he breaths faster than all my fish in other tanks and he seems to have a black lineing around his fins and they seem smaller than when i bought him. The photo below is when i brought him home. He is feeding like crazy though. I will start him on blood worms this week. are there any main differences in looks or quality in the 2 different breeds? Cheers Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted January 11, 2005 Share Posted January 11, 2005 and he seems to have a black lineing around his fins My leichardti has the same markings. I guess that will fade with age. I currently have him on flake food but what is best? He is big enough for pellets (small size). I suggest any with a high meat based protein level. Hikari or HBH cichlid attackis what I currently use. He worries me though as he breaths faster than all my fish in other tanks Is the tank properly aerated? What else do you have in there? What are your water parameters at the moment? In answer to your other general questions....google Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 the jardini seem to attract a higher price than the leicharti and the jardini isnt such a chronic jumper and imo a nicer colour , but there both a challenging fish to keep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted January 17, 2005 Author Share Posted January 17, 2005 Gday guys Thanx for the info! With the exception of jumping what makes them a challenging fish to keep reddevilman? My sara has definate pink spots on most of his body, does this give indication as too his identity as im keen to know what he is. I started him on floating hikari sticks this week and he scoffs them, he loves em!! also he is on bloodworms wich he also loves. Good news is his tail fins are looking great and he still breaths faster than i thought normal but he is in A1 health, eats well and is in a highly aerated tank. Nearly finished his 6x2x2 tank today wich will be just for him on his own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawi4me Posted January 19, 2005 Author Share Posted January 19, 2005 forget it, thanks to those who gave constructive advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r.d.m Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 as far as challenging to keep this is probably an exageration the main challenge is to keep them in good condition they eat fine and are not too fussy about water but they are a game fish and will jump at the slightest thing(the jardini is not as bad in this respect) hence they either end up on the floor covered in fluff or severly head but the 10mm lid resulting in a bloody nose , a possibility is a lid like a reptile tank (a type of flyscreen) but the main thing is to educate the family to behave themselves around the tank, loud noises and sudden turning on of lights will make them jump but the worst thing in my experience is the pleco , they take great pleasure in attatching themselves onto the saras sides ,irritating the fish to such an extent that the pair of them end up on the floor, i thnk they like eating the slime so good luck with your fish , in asian culture to keep these fish in good condition will bring you good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv426 Posted January 19, 2005 Share Posted January 19, 2005 but the worst thing in my experience is the pleco , they take great pleasure in attatching themselves onto the saras sides ,irritating the fish to such an extent that the pair of them end up on the floor, Wow...thats full on I would have thought that with the Pleco being a bottom dweller and the Sara being top strata they would keep out of each others way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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