# Young Rhombeus



## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

Hi Guys! im new to the forum but not to the piranha world, i´ve had natts before but i´ve been interested in Rhombeus these days, and i see theres alot of confusion about, black diamonds, gold diamonds, blue diamonds and more and this got me really interested, i´ve seen the differences between the rivers where they come from, but theres one question that wont leave my head how to tell them apart when they are young?

I´ve seen some sites online where they claim to sell a 5" gold diamond, black diamond or niger, and i mean how can they be sure? are there any differences at such young age? or you can buy a 5" "gold diamond" and end up with a niger some years in the future?

thank you for reading guys!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Welcome!

Only way to ID younger ones is the collection point... Importers typically pass that info along. Things in your tank like background / substrate color, lighting spectrum, and diet can also change how the fish appears. Bottom line, S Rhombeus is what they all are.

Its always a gamble, but sometimes you can end up getting something "better" years down the road.


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## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

Thanks Egir!

Would you mind explain me what do you mean by " the collection point"? im glad to read that background,substrate and lighting can change the look of the fish, is there a bigger topic about this in the forum? i would love to read it!

theres just something im wondering... lets say i put a rhombeus in a tank where the background is dark gray almost black, same with the substrate, without any kind of lighing on top of the tank, when this Rhombeus gets to bigger size and it has a darker color will it remain for the rest of its life? or its something more like mimicry? and will its color change again if you change the substrate,background and lighting?

I´ve seen some really black Rhombeus in videos i guess from japan, but this ones dont have any substrate or background, im really curious about whats going on there...

Also i would love to know what makes a Rhombeus change its color to Jet black or black with some diamonds?

thanks alot for reading, and excuse me for the bunch of questions, i just think this is a really interesting topic, and i havent found much about it



Ægir said:


> Welcome!
> 
> Only way to ID younger ones is the collection point... Importers typically pass that info along. Things in your tank like background / substrate color, lighting spectrum, and diet can also change how the fish appears. Bottom line, S Rhombeus is what they all are.
> 
> Its always a gamble, but sometimes you can end up getting something "better" years down the road.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Collection point would be the river they are caught in... different areas have different looking fish of the same species.

Hopefully the species expert Momento will chime in

As for the black, as they get older they tend to darken up... and will typically stay almost silver until 6-10", the gold or blue tones are just a few scales. Most of the super black ones are typically more mature and larger.


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## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

Thanks again Egir, i hope momento can give me some help, while he joins the topic, i would like to show you this pictures:










To me this one looks like a young Rhombeus, i mean the size of the substrate compared to the size of the fish, but as you can see its quite dark, and it looks amazing, im just wondering why this big difference compared to other rhombeus of the same size? heres one that looks to me almost the same size but quite different in color:










This is one the questions i asked you, is it possible to have a fully grown Dark Rhombeus in maybe sand or any other type of clear substrate and do not change the color of the fish because of the mimicry? is it possible to grow up a Rhombeus in a dark environment and then change it to a clear one without changing its color? like this :



















I´ve seen some big rhombeus in clear enviroments but they are not black, they are quite clear gray, some examples:


















Speaking of Rhombeus called "Black or Gold Diamonds" heres a picture of one Rhombeus that looks quite yellow-ish in color, and as you can see its not a small Rhombeus










I just find quite amazing all these differences in color, i have no doubt all these are Rhombeus, but i cant deny either the differences between them, i would love if more of you guys would join this topic!


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

As I said, all different collection points and age... somehow the coloration is a benefit in one environment (likely lighter in clear water, darker in muddy or murky?)

This is my rhom of 11 or 12 years

2" or so









slightly larger



















prob 8-10"



















10-11"




























He is around 12" now, maybe bigger... Thread of his "life" can be found HERE and prob has more accurate info.


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## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

Hi Egir!

i just looked at your pictures and im wondering, did you really meant 11 or 12 "YEARS" old, or Inches? by the way what do you feed him? is he a good feeder?


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Correct, I have had him for around 11 to 12 years, and he is around 12 or 13".

Got him around 1/2"... had a few years of terrible feeding and bad growth. NEVER used live feeders except convict cichlids that I bred in house.

He has eaten mostly Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets, and occasionally frozen foods such as shrimp, talpia, salmon, scallops, squid, octopus etc 
I find the frozen "seafood medley" which is just a bunch of scraps from various trimmings

Eats like a pig, 15-20 large pellets 4-5 times a week, would prob eat more. Has gone 2 or 3 months without eating after tank moves, but thats his decision


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## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

oh i see, when i first saw "11 - 12 years" i tough he was quite small for that age, thats why i asked,
if you dont mind me asking... why do you feed him with pellets? and why only Convict Cichlids?
Thanks alot!











Ægir said:


> Correct, I have had him for around 11 to 12 years, and he is around 12 or 13".
> 
> Got him around 1/2"... had a few years of terrible feeding and bad growth. NEVER used live feeders except convict cichlids that I bred in house.
> 
> ...


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

There are few, if any documented cases of people raising rhoms from such a small size and owning them this long... so size is relative.

Pellets have everything needed diet wise, and prob more than frozen foods because of vitamins etc... and its super easy to open the bag, throw in a handful and leave. Frozen foods and fillets take time to thaw and rinse, have to pick out parts he doesnt eat etc. Lots of fish wont eat floating pellets, so it can take some time to train them... would say its the best thing I have done with this fish.

I had a decent breeding setup, 4-6 pairs and like 8 or 10 10gal tanks for fry, could produce hundreds per week. When the fry would get to be about 1" I would net them and add 50 or more to the tank to add motion and other things except the one rhom. He would pick them off one by one, and by then I would have 100 more to add. Goldfish and store bought fish are a risk of parasites or disease, and not worth risking a fish like this. Goldfish also have thiaminase which destroys vitamin B1 (bad news)


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## Saja (Nov 18, 2014)

Thanks alot for all the answers Egir, its such a shame no one else joined the topic


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

Ægir said:


> Only way to ID younger ones is the collection point...


this

ive owned 3 rhombs in my life and all of them were not documented on collection point. so I wasn't 100% certain which strain I had. one had ruby red eyes, the other 2 were your typical silver look with no outstanding differences. 
with age you will notice difference in appearance and may be able to closely relate them to known species of rhombs but at a juvie age unless you know where they came from...its anyones guess.


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