Joanna that’s a great job on scaping that tank! Scapeing? Skaping? My spell check thinks all three of those are wrong, lol. I love these fish, they are super cool! I have a 65g that has ecocomplete and black sand in it. The original plan was to put discus and lots of plants. Instead, it wound up being parrot fish and cichlids! So I have fake and live plants, too. I added geophagus tapajos to keep the sandbed filtered (and I swear he’s the only fish that really does his job well), and a bristlenose pleco to keep the algae at bay. Everything looked beautiful for the first nine months. It was filled with anubius and water sprite and ludwegia and jungle val and octopus plant. This tank really works, there’s always something going on and the cichlids have babies all the time so it must be pretty balanced. The sand, though - I love them all dearly, but I’m also sad because the parrot fish and cichlids spend their days digging up the sand to make fishy forts. My beautiful planted tank dreams started to crumble about three months ago. They’ve split the tank in half and dart in and out of each other’s territory like kids having a snowball fight. Plant after plant would be ripped out and sucked into the filter or stripped of leaves in the fray. It really started to look like a barren war zone in there. After a while I noticed that some of the live plants were being ignored, but most of it wouldn’t stay down no matter what I did. So I re-planted the floaters into other tanks, left the plants they ignored alone and added some realistic-looking, tall silk plants along the back of the tank so the top third wasn’t so empty. My fish leave the fake plants alone for the most part, and if they do get loose, they are easy to put back. I can’t tell you which live plants work and which don’t because for example, my sword plant in one corner is thriving, but they dug up the other one. I think it’s more of a digging problem than an eating problem. The parrot fish are worse than the cichlids because they are a bit durpier and clumsier when they barrel around so they cause more damage. But I’m much happier now because I don’t have to keep re-planting, and they’re happier because they don’t have to re-make their forts all the time or put up with my hands in the tank again. So fake plant haters, sorry - but sometimes they are valuable and this is one of those times!
Absolutely incredible!! I was told and shown with full grown and babies to Check the head shape (sideways between the eyes ) one is flatter and longer(male) and the other has a slight rounded shape(female) I could have been given misinformation of course but the four I have found their pair i believe I’m no expert.
Just got two of these albino Hecklii for my 75 gallon....added them to 4 tapajos and 2 electric blue acaras....they are doing very well been in for a week.....sifting through the sand, bullying the tapajos but running from the acara....they are great fish and beautiful.... paid $90 for 2 of them around 2 inches each
My current favorite too. I have 7 in a 45 gallon growout and I am movingvthem to a 340 gallon latter this month. I am amazed at how much they eat and their rapid growth rate. They will be in the 340 with another favorite, the red head tapajos
These fish are stunners! Wow! I was thinking you had a holding female (@2:10, 2:50) but you then said they’re all males and then realized they are egglayers. Love the scape also 👍🏼
The Heckelii are beautiful!!! Nice contrast between them and the dark wood. I also like the val along the back. I used to keep bigger cichilds years ago but after using all live plants they were slowly phased out. Still love the cichilds. I do have some albino Apistogrammas. And also other varieties if them. Great video.👍
hi Jason and Joanna please can you tell me if the Acarichthys Heckelii is a member of the geophagous family and if their breeding and water conditions are very similar? I first saw this fish in your fish room tour videos and thought they was amazing Paul from the UK
Absolutely beautiful fish!!I slept on these.Wish I would have purchased some when I was stocking my 90gallon.Guess I'll have to set up a 120 now😂Thank you Prime Time for the video.Nieeece tank by the way‼️💯
Awesome setup, like the contrast 👌 I have 2 albino left from the pack of 6, and also i have 4 normal heckelii . My question is what should i do for them to show up that colour yellow/orange ish around their top part ?
Usually fish stores will take them because they are easy to sell. We usually don't have any issues selling them in our area. The nice thing is you can remove the egg clutches when you see them above the water line so you won't get any more of them.
I just bought a pair of these recently a rare fish to find my lfs had bred these..not cheap!! A beutiful stunning fish I finally gave in a bought them!
Where did you buy the albino heckelii from? I'm from the s.s. of chicago, and I'm willing to drive an hour or more if need be to pick out and purchase these guys. Thanks, guys.
Seen these today but the normal color variety and i couldn't stop looking at them! I wanted them badly! But my 120 is Apistogramma and pencilfish so guessing these guys are way too big for them? Incredible fish to say the least
Fantastic colonization on the fish. Not much on albino fish but this would cause me to reconsider my thinking. Wonder how they would do with African yellow labs for an all yellow aquarium.
I have one of these in a 40 gallon bow front that I had to take out of my 125 how long do you think I could keep him in that 40 gallon, he's the only one in the tank and right now he is barely 4 in, any opinion appreciated
@@PrimeTimeAquatics mine are not yellow like that on the sides does that come from diet and water parameters that brings that out or are there different variants of this species cuz I see a lot of them that are just pure white and then I see a lot of them that are bright yellow on the side like yours and then I see some of that are bright reddish-orange almost their whole head there must be different variants or strains my water parameters are dead on in my diet is top-notch
Beautiful fish, Looked online after watching the video. Of the few locations I could find they appeared to be of lesser quality, at least in the photos they included, Do you have a suggested source or care to share where you sourced yours?
I got mine from a vendor that doesn't sell to the public. If they are small they almost always look pale - takes a little while for them to start showing color.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Advantages of being in the business. Appreciate you responding and most importantly bringing them to my attention. Keep up the good wok you do, you two
Could you please make a species profile for this beautiful fish? Would also love a profile for Thorichthys meeki ... and any of the other South/Central American cichlids around 5-7" you haven't covered yet! Love your informational videos and I'd be lost without them.
I have found that not to be true. I have had Acarichthys on gravel multiple times and they all lived a very long happy life - on gravel. Is sand preferential? Yes.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics survive is something else. A tiger will also survive in a cage. Its called a (earth)eater. You can do it even barebuttum, but you will see they like sand or small gravell way more. Also if you wanna breed you will need sand. So why not give them what they like and also have in nature.. Its not like sand is more expensive....
So my wife did a thing yesterday and came home with 3 pictus cats. I've never had them, and they look awesome, but I'm a little concerned about them potentially eating my panda Cory's once they hit mature size. I have 125gal tank and I read that the pictus are usually non aggressive, but I've also read that they are very opportunistic eaters and will eat anything they can get in their mouth (typical catfish) meaning smaller fish, and my pandas are quite small. Anybody have any experience with these fish that can chime in and ease my mind or do the opposite?
My goal is to find a male beta that can live longer than 6 months. Man I wish I could get betas from aquarium co-op but sadly they don't deliver to Taiwan
I love the scaping you did on this tank. The fish really show up in it. They are beautiful! Adding these to my wish list lol.
Beautiful fish. Once again JoAnna. You’re killing it with the aqua scapes. Love it.
Spectacular looking fish! I had never seen it before.
That fish is on my “unicorn fish” wish list. Stunning! Thanks!
Hey Ben glad your felling better...
Joanna that’s a great job on scaping that tank! Scapeing? Skaping? My spell check thinks all three of those are wrong, lol. I love these fish, they are super cool! I have a 65g that has ecocomplete and black sand in it. The original plan was to put discus and lots of plants. Instead, it wound up being parrot fish and cichlids! So I have fake and live plants, too. I added geophagus tapajos to keep the sandbed filtered (and I swear he’s the only fish that really does his job well), and a bristlenose pleco to keep the algae at bay. Everything looked beautiful for the first nine months. It was filled with anubius and water sprite and ludwegia and jungle val and octopus plant. This tank really works, there’s always something going on and the cichlids have babies all the time so it must be pretty balanced. The sand, though - I love them all dearly, but I’m also sad because the parrot fish and cichlids spend their days digging up the sand to make fishy forts. My beautiful planted tank dreams started to crumble about three months ago. They’ve split the tank in half and dart in and out of each other’s territory like kids having a snowball fight. Plant after plant would be ripped out and sucked into the filter or stripped of leaves in the fray. It really started to look like a barren war zone in there. After a while I noticed that some of the live plants were being ignored, but most of it wouldn’t stay down no matter what I did. So I re-planted the floaters into other tanks, left the plants they ignored alone and added some realistic-looking, tall silk plants along the back of the tank so the top third wasn’t so empty. My fish leave the fake plants alone for the most part, and if they do get loose, they are easy to put back. I can’t tell you which live plants work and which don’t because for example, my sword plant in one corner is thriving, but they dug up the other one. I think it’s more of a digging problem than an eating problem. The parrot fish are worse than the cichlids because they are a bit durpier and clumsier when they barrel around so they cause more damage. But I’m much happier now because I don’t have to keep re-planting, and they’re happier because they don’t have to re-make their forts all the time or put up with my hands in the tank again. So fake plant haters, sorry - but sometimes they are valuable and this is one of those times!
Yep - sometimes it's fake plants or no plants :-)
Absolutely incredible!! I was told and shown with full grown and babies to Check the head shape (sideways between the eyes ) one is flatter and longer(male) and the other has a slight rounded shape(female) I could have been given misinformation of course but the four I have found their pair i believe I’m no expert.
Just got two of these albino Hecklii for my 75 gallon....added them to 4 tapajos and 2 electric blue acaras....they are doing very well been in for a week.....sifting through the sand, bullying the tapajos but running from the acara....they are great fish and beautiful.... paid $90 for 2 of them around 2 inches each
They are awesome!
My current favorite too. I have 7 in a 45 gallon growout and I am movingvthem to a 340 gallon latter this month. I am amazed at how much they eat and their rapid growth rate. They will be in the 340 with another favorite, the red head tapajos
They’re so beautiful!
Nice job on the tank :)
Happy Monday. Joanna’s done the fish proud with the scape, both look amazing. It will be interesting to see how the val grows in 👌
Thank you!
This may be one of the best looking fish in the hobby. The colors are unreal!
Beautifuly, amazing fish. 🇬🇧
Stunning!! Do they normally sit on the bottom of the tank? Love to get some to add to my tanks but really expensive in Australia and hard to find.
No, they were sleeping at the beginning and I had just turned on the lights. :-)
I just redid my 60 gallon yesterday. Wish I would have waited. Love your 'scape (and the albino heckelii!! Great job guys and Happy Labor Day!
Thank you :-)
Amazing big geophagus fanatic here just bought 4 albino heckeli, can't wait to see them grow out they're about winches now.
MIne seem to be exhibiting more color by the day!
Beautiful scaping with gorgeous fish. Thank you for sharing them.
so beautiful Tanks.
I bought 4 today,really beatiful.
Their absolutely gorgeous!!
I have one in my 90 gallon geophagus tank its a beautiful center piece
Gorgeous fish and gorgeous scape. I just love watching your videos, you guys rock!
Just got my Albino Heckeli from dallas fish gallery! Such a beautiful store!
These fish are stunners! Wow! I was thinking you had a holding female (@2:10, 2:50) but you then said they’re all males and then realized they are egglayers. Love the scape also 👍🏼
They are beautiful.
Wow nice fish you have! Love from the Philippines
From the scape to the fish just stunning.💯👍great job.✌️
Thank you !
That is an extremely beautiful fish. Thank you for sharing them with us.
The Heckelii are beautiful!!! Nice contrast between them and the dark wood. I also like the val along the back. I used to keep bigger cichilds years ago but after using all live plants they were slowly phased out. Still love the cichilds. I do have some albino Apistogrammas. And also other varieties if them. Great video.👍
So beautiful, any suggestions on what they can be kept with?
Absolutely amazing fish, beautiful tank good job on those fish and the tank. fun to watch
Wow that looks amazing great job guys, I love good aquascapes!
I just bought two and they won’t quit fighting. Was thinking of retuning one or possibly buying
1-3 more. They are in a 95g. Any suggestions?
More might help
Beautiful looking fish
Gorgeous fish and scape
Thank you!
hi Jason and Joanna please can you tell me if the Acarichthys Heckelii is a member of the geophagous family and if their breeding and water conditions are very similar? I first saw this fish in your fish room tour videos and thought they was amazing Paul from the UK
Yep - very similar. At one point they were considered Geophagus.
The are stunning! Love them. The changes to the tank also look great!
Thank you!
One of my favorite geophagus!! I have a school of brasiliensis and these are my next pick for sure! 🤩🙌
I got 3 of the non-albino versions of this fish when you got yours. I ended up with just one male. But he is beautiful. One of my favorites.
The standard form is really pretty too!
Absolutely beautiful fish!!I slept on these.Wish I would have purchased some when I was stocking my 90gallon.Guess I'll have to set up a 120 now😂Thank you Prime Time for the video.Nieeece tank by the way‼️💯
That’s a good reason to set up another tank!
Beautiful Aquarium! Aquascape and fish look gorgeous! How large will they get? Would they get along with Red Top Tapajos?
They will hopefully get about 10” or so. I’m a large enough tank it’s possible, but less than a 6ft tank they might fight.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Thanks a lot! They grow large!
Gorgeous additions!
Wow! Wonderful looking aquascaping job! And HECK! The fish are basolutely stunning! Have a greqt week! ~~Ms. PrimeMate **grin**
Thank you! :-)
Oh, that's nice! 😁
Are these fish aggressive? I have a Siamese algae eater, a couple small rainbows and an angel so I was curious if they would be problematic?
They would fit in just fine!
Awesome setup, like the contrast 👌
I have 2 albino left from the pack of 6, and also i have 4 normal heckelii . My question is what should i do for them to show up that colour yellow/orange ish around their top part ?
I think it shows more when they are on dark substrate and background.
Beautiful fish. Tank looks amazing 😁 Nice work.
? We started with 4 mystery snails 6 months ago now have over 80 in a 55 gal aquarium. Can't even give them away. What should we do?
Usually fish stores will take them because they are easy to sell. We usually don't have any issues selling them in our area. The nice thing is you can remove the egg clutches when you see them above the water line so you won't get any more of them.
Very nice tank and beautiful fishes
First watch on Instagram and now on TH-cam
Very very beautiful indeed ☺️👍😍
Thank you!
That is a gorgeous fish! Beautiful tank set too.
I just bought a pair of these recently a rare fish to find my lfs had bred these..not cheap!!
A beutiful stunning fish I finally gave in a bought them!
Hi, does it go well with red head geophagus? Who's more aggressive out of both?
They are about the same. Maybe in a 75 gallon or larger?
Where did you buy the albino heckelii from? I'm from the s.s. of chicago, and I'm willing to drive an hour or more if need be to pick out and purchase these guys. Thanks, guys.
I got these from a wholesaler. Sometimes they will make an appearance at the GCCA swaps, but they are rare.
Seen these today but the normal color variety and i couldn't stop looking at them! I wanted them badly! But my 120 is Apistogramma and pencilfish so guessing these guys are way too big for them? Incredible fish to say the least
Really beautiful fish & setup.
Good Morning.
I love your tanks! ❤️
Thank you!
Hey J&J Man those are sweet ! What a great looking fish.
Thank you!
Beautiful fish. Definitely worth the tank update effort 🙂
Fantastic colonization on the fish. Not much on albino fish but this would cause me to reconsider my thinking. Wonder how they would do with African yellow labs for an all yellow aquarium.
Absolutely love theses 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 xx
I have a question about these fish. There are a lot of places where they call them Acara's. Is this acurate or no?
Thanks
That is an old designation and not used anymore.
Hi nice video, just got two of them. What filteration system did u used for that aquarium?
Just two sponge filters
@@PrimeTimeAquatics wow the water is so clear and clean, Thanks for answering :-)
I have one of these in a 40 gallon bow front that I had to take out of my 125 how long do you think I could keep him in that 40 gallon, he's the only one in the tank and right now he is barely 4 in, any opinion appreciated
Probably a few months or so?
@@PrimeTimeAquatics mine are not yellow like that on the sides does that come from diet and water parameters that brings that out or are there different variants of this species cuz I see a lot of them that are just pure white and then I see a lot of them that are bright yellow on the side like yours and then I see some of that are bright reddish-orange almost their whole head there must be different variants or strains my water parameters are dead on in my diet is top-notch
Just stunning Fish, what a Showcase Tank! I think some Bolbitis Heudelotii would look great in place of that plastic plant. ;)
I think you're right :-)
The fish are so still that I thought I was looking at a photograph at first!
Ya, they love to show off for the camera. :-)
You guys did a great job 👏
The Albino Hecklii is all class! 😎👌🏻
I wish I could find some here in Australia!
I absolutely LOVE these fish. Wish I could have some. But my biggest tank is 67 gallons.
A 67 gallon will work for one. 😀
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Really??! Ooooh, I may have to do it! They are soooo beautiful. Are they all right for a peaceful Community 67 gallon tank? 🤞
It’s beautiful
Beautiful fish, Looked online after watching the video. Of the few locations I could find they appeared to be of lesser quality, at least in the photos they included, Do you have a suggested source or care to share where you sourced yours?
I got mine from a vendor that doesn't sell to the public. If they are small they almost always look pale - takes a little while for them to start showing color.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics
Advantages of being in the business. Appreciate you responding and most importantly bringing them to my attention. Keep up the good wok you do, you two
Just got one! He’s beautiful 🤩
Nice looking fish.
Agree! His videos are just amazing. Can’t wait for more. And he also motivated me to make a fishkeeping channel. 🐠
Gorgeous 😍
Could you please make a species profile for this beautiful fish? Would also love a profile for Thorichthys meeki ... and any of the other South/Central American cichlids around 5-7" you haven't covered yet! Love your informational videos and I'd be lost without them.
Definitely - just waiting for them to get a little larger.
Wow beautiful!
Thank you!
Hello from Houston TX USA, I'm requesting of information on sapphire blue parrot fish any insight on tank mates and other info may help please
This looks like bigger than a 75g! 4:55 Jason, are you sure it’s a 75g?
Yep 😀
Awesome video! Even though I don't keep these fish, it is still very informative! :)
Beautiful..
Do you sell these kind of fish
How big do the albino heckelli grow to. Please.
Thank you.
Somewhere around 8" or so
@@PrimeTimeAquatics thank you so much. 👍
gold rams on steroids 😳
Farmer Jo did a nice job as always. Nice fish but not a super red 😉.
Can we keep with Oscars, they are 3 to 4 inch size?
That might work.
love it
Can I keep hekelii alone? I have 20 parrot fishes..
Sure
How big will they get to be?
About 8-10"
Are they good sand sifters?
Maybe not quite as much as the geos but they do sift.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics would you say a group of 8 in a 220 gallon with support of a wave maker keep the sand clean ?
Nice!
I know right? His videos are just amazing. Can’t wait for more. And he also motivated me to make a fishkeeping channel. 🐠
You must keep them with sand or 1mm gravell. They filter for food
I have found that not to be true. I have had Acarichthys on gravel multiple times and they all lived a very long happy life - on gravel. Is sand preferential? Yes.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics survive is something else. A tiger will also survive in a cage. Its called a (earth)eater. You can do it even barebuttum, but you will see they like sand or small gravell way more. Also if you wanna breed you will need sand. So why not give them what they like and also have in nature.. Its not like sand is more expensive....
Aren’t they sand sifting fish?
Not to the extent that geophagus interact with the substrate, but yes.
How large will they grow?
About 8-10"
@@PrimeTimeAquatics Wow!
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who still has a fake plant or two hiding in the tank 😆
Will Acarichthys heckelii survive in
My guppie just had babies
Congrats! Mine recently did too! I made a video about it as well! 😄
So my wife did a thing yesterday and came home with 3 pictus cats. I've never had them, and they look awesome, but I'm a little concerned about them potentially eating my panda Cory's once they hit mature size. I have 125gal tank and I read that the pictus are usually non aggressive, but I've also read that they are very opportunistic eaters and will eat anything they can get in their mouth (typical catfish) meaning smaller fish, and my pandas are quite small. Anybody have any experience with these fish that can chime in and ease my mind or do the opposite?
I don't think they will try to eat full grown panda cats - probably a little too large for them to eat?
My goal is to find a male beta that can live longer than 6 months.
Man I wish I could get betas from aquarium co-op but sadly they don't deliver to Taiwan
Check out keepfishkeeping.com - we had very good luck with them.
Well……there’s another tank I gotta set up.
Joanna beautiful rescape!
God those blow any earth eater other than German Rams out of the water.
Such a beautiful fish but its a shame they feel the need to dig up plants as that puts them off my list.