Anyone keeping American-Flagfish, Jordanella floridae

Discuss planted aquarium inhabitants
marge618
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Anyone keeping American-Flagfish, Jordanella floridae

Post by marge618 »

I would like to find out more about American-Flagfish, Jordanella floridae. If you have them please tell me about your fish. Pictures would be most appreciated.

Later,
Marge
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Jeff120
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Post by Jeff120 »

Jeff U.

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Aaron
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Post by Aaron »

I've kept them before. They are great for eating hair algaes of all sorts, but they can be downright mean little fish too. I think Dave had one kill off a pair of dwarf cichlids he had.
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DonkeyFish
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Post by DonkeyFish »

I kept them for awhile...still have one. I didn't find them to b terribly aggressive....but once the hair algae was gone I had bought them for and they started porking up on regular food their appetites were voracious. When they started just eating all the plants I traded them in. BUT, there were 4 in a 40g community tank, and they wound up being on the larger size of all the inhabitants.

Otherwise, they're neat fish that really show some great color and have an actual purpose in life :D

The one I still have had been all by himself in another tank (he was a runt and was getting bullied by one of the cichlids in the 40) with some mollies and other passive fish. He's grown now and lives in the other 40 and is quite docile. He doesn't eat any of the plants and basically minds his own business. Which leads me to think their aggressiveness and possible bad behaviour may be a result of keeping packs of them. You know, like how gangs get started.... :lol:
It is not murder if you're killing snails.
ingg
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Post by ingg »

My experiences....

Work well for hair algae, meaner than snot once adults.

Kiled my Nyete female, and beat the tar out of the male. :(

Eat shrimp, eat young livebearers, harass other fish like a high swimming cichlid.

They are quite docile when young. Keep them a year, let the males get full grown, and ouchie! Was no pack for me, this was one male that did it.
Dave
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Sonny Disposition
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Post by Sonny Disposition »

HiYa Marge.

I've kept them on and off numerous times through the years. It's true, they are scrappy, both with each other and with other tank mates. They do eat their fry, so if you want to propagate them, you'll need to either pick mops or rotate a trio through heavily planted tanks with gravel on them. (Leave them in the tank for a week, move them to the next tank a week after that, and then another after that.)

They're also great for hair algae removal and do a fair job at duckweed removal. Since they're from South Florida, they like water with carbonate hardness. They aren't fussy and will eat granules, small pellets and flakes, plus any fry they can pick off.

My favorite way to keep them is in a big tank with a lot of val and crypts. They like the bottom, so if you keep them with sailfin mollies, which like the upper reaches of the water column, or maybe mummichog, there shouldn't be too many problems.

I'm thinking some big nasty swordtails might work well with flagfish, too, but I haven't tried this combination so I can't say for sure.

I used to keep one male flagfish with two or three females. The male will come to the edge of the Val line, and hover there, standing guard. You won't see the females at all, unless you remove the male.

I wouldn't keep them with bottom dwelling cichlids. Both types of fish inhabit the same territory, and so will fight over it. I made the mistake of keeping them with some Cichlasoma salvini, which promptly beat the stuffing out of them.

You can usually find flagfish at the local fish stores. I know that Scales gets them in from time to time.
Bob

You never know what you're going to find, or where you're going to find it. So keep looking.
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krisw
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Post by krisw »

Bob, how would flag fish do with bluespotted sunnies and killifish? ;-)
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Sonny Disposition
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Post by Sonny Disposition »

I think they'd do well with your Fundulus diaphanus but would eventually kick the heck out of your bluespotted sunnies. (Which your F. diaphanus may yet do them also. Keep an eye on them if you've got them in the same tank.)
Bob

You never know what you're going to find, or where you're going to find it. So keep looking.
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krisw
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Post by krisw »

Ah, good to know! I'll stick to traditional algae eaters then. :-)
JMLenke
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Post by JMLenke »

I have had Flagfish in the 55 for about the past year and a half or so.

Big boy(biggest fish in the tank behind the Syno.) killed off the other flagfish, eats whatever he wants and occasionally picks at hair algae. Pretty fish but Im not too impressed. The endlers and swords pick at hair algae more then he does too.

My Flagfish doesnt go near the bottom half of the tank unless he is chasing something. He lives in the top 1/4 of the tank usually on the Vals along the middle back of the tank.
The other Jeff

Master of growing algae and getting better at plants
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