"Heros" ornatus

[Marko Lenac]

a wonder if there is anyone keeping "H". ornatus in europe? recently I tried to bring some from colombia but the local fisherman are to afraid to catch them because they are in the danger zone. thank you for your help!

[L1zakZiz]

alot of ppl didnt know what they got. I mean Aquashops are selling all efasciatus,notatus as SEVERUS so maybe someone hold them and didnt know that. Can u show me some pics from ornatus ? I got today my WC Heros Efasciatus,Severus and Guianacara Geayi

[Marko Lenac]

all those species are not found in ecuador and colombia so I think difficult to find ornatum between them. here is a photo

[Rico Morgenstern]

I know of no aquarium strains of 'Cichlasoma' ornatum in Europe. Some have been imported in the 1980s and 1990s, but as there are only pictures of young to half grown fish in the literature and there are no reports of any successful breeding. If this species would be present in the hobby, it would certainly receive much attention for it is an extraordinarily beautiful fish.

alot of ppl didnt know what they got. I mean Aquashops are selling all efasciatus,notatus as SEVERUS so maybe someone hold them and didnt know that. Can u show me some pics from ornatus ? I got today my WC Heros Efasciatus,Severus and Guianacara Geayi

As can be seen from this post, the usage of 'Heros', though phylogenetically more 'correct' than 'Cichlasoma' can cause some confusion, since it had not been used for more then a hundred years except for the true Heros species like severus, efasciatus etc.. Of course there is no rule regulating the use of informal names, so you can call them whatever you like, but I think there is little advantage from replacing one provisional name by another. Therefore I would prefer to hold on to 'Cichlasoma' ornatum instead of 'Heros' ornatus. Hopefully, a new generic name for the festae group including ornatum is soon to be published.

RM

[blackghost]

a wonder if there is anyone keeping "H". ornatus in europe? recently I tried to bring some from colombia but the local fisherman are to afraid to catch them because they are in the danger zone. thank you for your help!

Please forgive my ignorance, Marko, but why exactly is the 'danger zone' dangerous?
Apart from this, is the habitat of ornatum difficult to get to?
Is ornatum presumed to be rare?

[Bas Pels]

There is some problem with guerillas - who might kill the fishers. I can't blame the fishers not to risk that

The easiest way to get C ornatum? Make peace in Equador, and then go fishing. After you arranged the peace, the gracefull government will not bother you about permits, so that problem will have been solved as well

[Norcal_Cichlid]

Don Conkel told me the biggest problem is the drug dealers killing the fisherman. He mentioned they are in abundance around Medellin which is drug war central. Apparently they are plentiful just dangerous to go after. There are a few in the states of semi adult size with hopefully more coming in soon.

[blackghost]

Thanks for the info Bas and Norcal.
I guess I wont plan to go fishing after all !! (half-joking)

[dogofwar]

I was in Medellin a couple of years ago... to talk with a big insurance company headquartered in the city about IT stuff... It's not the place that it's been depicted to be: it was safe, friendly, easy to get around...

Medellin is often depicted as a bullet-riddled hovel run by drug dealers. In reality it's a picturesque center of industry with a couple of million people. Bogota, which is much larger, is also an amazing place.

Here's a clip from the show: No Reservations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rNL9aNND_A

A buddy of mine was planning to drive to the countryside, where his parents retired... I had to return home or I would have gone with him (and fished)...

I'm, of course, not familiar with the status of the exact place where this fish is found, but old perceptions of the place are often not accurate...

Matt

Don Conkel told me the biggest problem is the drug dealers killing the fisherman. He mentioned they are in abundance around Medellin which is drug war central. Apparently they are plentiful just dangerous to go after. There are a few in the states of semi adult size with hopefully more coming in soon.

[Modest_Man]

I have seen this species in person and they were no where near as colorful as these in the photo. The ones in the photo must be in breeding color. I'll be able to take photos on Thursday the 21st of them again, I haven't seen them in several months.

[blackghost]

I've seen a video of youngsters on youtube and they were just grey. But I believe they grow quite large - 10-12" roughly?? - so I see Beautiful potential!!!
Either way, I'd love to find out !

[Bas Pels]

I would love to be disappointed by ornatus I raised myself

Can't believe it happening, but even if it happens, I still have the experience of raising them

[Modest_Man]

Very, very bad photo I took of them over a year ago. Expect much better Thursday.

[blackghost]

Looks like the same tank I saw the video of.
Here is the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTC6KV5b_Pw

This was from August 08. They have changed quite a bit, and are a lot bigger in your pic.

[Modest_Man]

Yes, those are the same fish. They should be much larger now.

[blackghost]

If you can get some good pics I would be very interested. I'd love to see what they look like now.

[Mark Smith]

In the video, GuapoteMel indicated that he got them from Oliver Lucanus. He posted the video on August 30, 2008. Nearly 17 months later, it would interesting to know if GuapoteMel spawned them yet. He indicated that his specimens were about 3 inches in the video...

[Alex Odesit]

In the video, GuapoteMel indicated that he got them from Oliver Lucanus. He posted the video on August 30, 2008. Nearly 17 months later, it would interesting to know if GuapoteMel spawned them yet. He indicated that his specimens were about 3 inches in the video...

Hi Mark,
I browse other videos uploaded by GuapoteMel and the last Ornatum video dated 3 month ago with adult fish, I don't think he indicated that he spawn them. Is it me, or both Ornatum from last video have bad case of HITH??
http://www.youtube.com/user/GuapoteMel# ... c8Z4aN4OJ8

Alex

[blackghost]

Mmmmm......hard to tell but unlikely to both have injuries in the same place. They do look very stressed. They froze at the beginning of the video, either for the camera or for Mel's presence. I would give them more hiding places, and some dithers. They dont look happy.

I found some pics of similar sized fish - much the same but more rounded noses.

[Mark Smith]

Is Mel out their to update us???