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Question for Manueli owners...

632 views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  SERRAPYGO 
#1 ·
Yo peeps,
since by now it's pretty obvious that my "spilo" turned out to be a manueli, could you guys give me some pointers on what to keep in mind when taking care of this species?
Do they have any special requirements, are there things to keep in mind, which are the do's and don'ts, what do they like to eat, growth rate, behaviour etc. etc. etc....

Thanks in advance... :smile:
 
#3 ·
Another question: I heard they are pretty sensitive to poor water conditions. I have him in a tank with a sandy substrate - could that have any ill-effects on him, and should I change it to gravel-only, or will he be ok, despite whirling sand etc...?
 
#4 ·
All i know is they need big tanks to be healthy and you should add a powerhead cause they are fast swimmers and love the water current...mine is still too shy (only 2 weeks with it) and only accepts feeders...time will tell...good luck on yours...!
 
#7 ·
Sand won't effect the fish, no. Where the hell is Jeff? I thought he coming back today. I'm sure he could fill you in a little. He has that 7 incher.

Another question: I heard they are pretty sensitive to poor water conditions.
The only one I ever had died the first day I had it for no apparent reason. I put him in a healthy, well established tank by himself. His breathing was labored all day and, he finally died over night. He was a little emaciated when I got him but otherwise looked perfect.
Wayne Mah's 14 incher (biggest in North America), took a turn for the worst also, seemingly for no reason. It did finally come around though and now he's selling it for a paltry $750! It would have been mine if he shipped.
But anyway, that's the feeling I get from these fish. A little sensitive.
 
#8 ·
My manueli is doing fine in pH 7.8 and very hard water. I have had him for a little less than 6 months and find that he's not very active and a bit skittish. When I received it, it was emaciated and missing all of its tail. It has gained considerable weight since then and has a perfect tail now. I have not noticed any growth from him but definitely has increased in girth. He does have a healthy appetite and was weaned off live feeders within 2 weeks of me receiving him. It's a beautiful fish and I love the tall dorsal, the huge eyes and the different colors that it displays. Unfortunately, out of all the p's that I keep, the manueli and my largest brandti are the most skittish. Go figure...
 
#9 ·
very slow growers but you can notice the growth.
mine were never picky and ate fish filet, steak and boiled chicken. when feeding feeders all they ever really ate was scales and fins so there was always a dead feeder waiting to be removed.

I had a 3" manueli that was in a tank beside a brandti currently owned by serrapygo. the 3" manueli wanted to rip the face of that big brandti!! I had to cover the side of the tank.

a well established tank and biweekly water changes would be great.
mine accepted food everyday.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the info, guys :smile:


Well, so far he hasn't done much: during daytime, when his tank lights are switched on, he's just staring at the back wall of the tank, behind some plants, but I did notice that he's keeping a close eye on me when I approach his tank. When I turn off the lights, I can see him swimming around a bit, but he mostly just hovers in front of the tank, looking into the room (I think...)

He shares his tank with about a dozen little tetra's and some cory cats, but he has shown no interest in them whatsoever. I doubt the previous owner ever fed him feeders, since he didn't mention it when I asked him about the diet. He used to be fed with shrimps, chicken, fish fillet and smelt, so that's what I'll feed him as well...
On a sidenote: he still seems to be acclimatizing, so I won't feed him for a while. How long would you guys wait until starting with feeding?

I have decided to remove the sandy substrate today, as it puts a heavy strain on the pwerhead and filtration (need to be cleaned of silt at least once a week, and since I'm going on vacation in a few weeks, I don't want to risk anything...)
It also seems to cause fine hairs and a thin layer of silt on top of plants, wood, tank walls and equipment, which looks absolutely horrible (like no tank maintenace has been done for months...
)

Thanks again for all the info, guys, and if you remember other things that might be use-/helpful: it's appreciated...

thoroughbred: the largest manueli I've seen on pictures was about 17" in length, but people say they can get much larger (up to 24", if I remember correctly). I wonder how old a manueli that size would be...
 
#11 ·
DonH said:
My manueli is doing fine in pH 7.8 and very hard water. I have had him for a little less than 6 months and find that he's not very active and a bit skittish. When I received it, it was emaciated and missing all of its tail. It has gained considerable weight since then and has a perfect tail now. I have not noticed any growth from him but definitely has increased in girth. He does have a healthy appetite and was weaned off live feeders within 2 weeks of me receiving him. It's a beautiful fish and I love the tall dorsal, the huge eyes and the different colors that it displays. Unfortunately, out of all the p's that I keep, the manueli and my largest brandti are the most skittish. Go figure...
Aint that weird? A shy Brandti, thats the first.
 
#12 ·
Brandti?
Manueli is the topic.
 
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