Kelbiri Peacock Bass

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Betaton

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 21, 2023
Messages
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I’m setting up a planted 125g aquarium and I want to put in Kelbiri peacock bass. They grow to a smaller size rather than regular peacocks, only about 12-15” I think. I’ve heard a lot of different things about tank size regarding these fish so I’m not sure if my tank will be sufficient. Also, the tank is in my garage so there will be significant temperature fluctuations and I’m also not sure what temp they need.
 
I’m setting up a planted 125g aquarium and I want to put in Kelbiri peacock bass. They grow to a smaller size rather than regular peacocks, only about 12-15” I think. I’ve heard a lot of different things about tank size regarding these fish so I’m not sure if my tank will be sufficient. Also, the tank is in my garage so there will be significant temperature fluctuations and I’m also not sure what temp they need.

For starters, apparently these fish get to about 18" ( or larger in the wild) and are aggressive which means you will be very limited as to what to mix with them. Aquarium size of only 10"-12" means to me that the fish are housed and fed improperly. Since you will most likely be getting wild caught fish or 1 or 2 generations from wild, they will not have the shrunken size that many fish species get from too much domestic breeding. And keep in mind that fish that grow very large, THINK and ACT very large even when they are very small. :whistle:
Unless you plan on getting a much larger tank in the future, your tank is not large enough for them as adults. You can grow them in the 125 if you get them small but if your tank is a standard 125 ( 72" x 18"x 21" ), it is too small for an adult Bass so you will need to move them by the time they reach about 10" long. The suggested minimum size tank for these fish is 72" long x 24" wide x 24" high. Adults should be in larger tanks than this. Keep in mind that if the fish are healthy and fed a proper diet, they should be growing about 1" per month. That means they will only be able to stay in the 125 for less than a year. :whistle:

The bad news is that no fish will do well with major temperature fluctuations. These fish should be kept in the low to mid 80s consistently. Unless you plan on heating the garage, I doubt these fish will survive. They are a warm water fish that can tolerate upper 70s for short periods of time.

Hope this helps. (y)
 
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