Pearl cichlid - Geophagus brasiliensis

gtkmarine

Hi all

Has anyone had any experience with these ?

Attachment:

Pearl Cichlid.jpg [ 127.17 KiB | Viewed 1205 times ]

https://rivers.dwer.wa.gov.au/species/geophagus-brasiliensis/
I had been looking at them for a while now. They seem to grow to a reasonable size 30cm- 40cm. Not sure how they will taste but they seem easy to breed. I managed to get 5 of them back in November 2019 in the hope that they may breed. Wasn't sure if they were male or female but a year later & I now have a batch of fry in an aquarium. I have managed to separate the fry from the adults to stop them from eating them.
Now it's just a matter of seeing how quick their growth rate is.
https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/conservation-management/riverpark/fact-sheets/Fact%20sheet%20-%20pearl%20cichlids.pdf

Not much came up in the search http://www.backyardaquaponics.com/forum/search.php?keywords=Pearl+Cichlids

Got a lot of information on them here https://www.facebook.com/groups/213446672527831

dbird

Very interesting as they are legal in WA, it was a man in TAFE in Geraldton that told me that. I understood that they were slow growing and didn't grow very big but that one looks alright. I am interested to see how they go. He was trying to steer me away from tilapia.

gtkmarine

Hj Don
I didn't think they were illegal as there is hundreds of types of Cichlids & a Cichlid Society in Perth. I was sure they are just a declared pest.
From the fact sheet :

Quote:

Conservation
Pearl cichlids have no conservation value in Australia as they are an introduced species. They
are permitted in aquaria only.

I will post updates as the fry grow, at the moment they are too small to even take a photo of.

Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics