# Buffalo Heads



## spencer25 (Aug 29, 2008)

hey,
so I have a new tank that is cycling right now and I me and my brother think that buffalo head cichlids (Steatocranus casuarius) look like a good option, interesting and look pretty sweet. I was just wondering of people's experiences with this fish and what advice people had about these fish. Also where do you tend to purchase them and how much do they generally cost.

thanks
spencer


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/s_casuarius.php

I saw one at the last auction and was surprised its an African. Most hump-headed cichlids are S. American.


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## lovejonesx (Feb 5, 2008)

spencer25 said:


> hey,
> so I have a new tank that is cycling right now and I me and my brother think that buffalo head cichlids (Steatocranus casuarius) look like a good option, interesting and look pretty sweet. I was just wondering of people's experiences with this fish and what advice people had about these fish. Also where do you tend to purchase them and how much do they generally cost.
> 
> thanks
> spencer



I 've kept them for years now & besides Frontosa, they are one of my favorites. I've kept & bred Steatocranus Casuarius, Tinanti, & Irvinei. The later two differ in elongatd body shape from Casuarius, but they are/can be, just as striking. 

I got mine (the first ones) way back when they appeared everywhere & were stables in PET DEPOT, as well as the LFS. I don't see them as much as I use to, but I do see them on Mail Order sites & they usually go for somewhere around _$10 - $15._

My experience was that males seem to absolutely HATE each other & it's very important that you have a large enough tank for the amount of humphead/buffaloheads that you have. Males will chase & kill other subdominant males & having enough room to form territories is a good thing. Also females need caves to get away in sometimes also. 

Buffaloheads were VERY EASY to breed & unless you are a very aware & watchful hobbyist, you might know catch the subtle keys & ques & the only way you will know that it ever happened, is when you see the lil almost exact imitations of the adults darting around.

I would caution you to try your best to provide them with as clean & aerated /moving water & conditions as possible, b/c since they are accustomed to fast moving Riverine waters, they do poorly in less than optimum aquarium conditions. 

I can't totally prove it, but I also suspect that in breeding them it's best to try to continue to make sure that as little inbreeding goes on as possible. At one point my stock suffered from this.

It's sooo much fun to see them dart back & forth & amazing how fast they can move.

ljx:fish:


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## joe kool (Jan 24, 2005)

yes, the males will tirelessly chase and eventually kill each other ... so will females, so sit's best to get a few and wait for them to pair then remove all the other specimens to another tank (or buy a mated pair from the start) 

what size tank?


OH and please PLEASE do not buy them (or any other cichlid really) until your tank has completely cycled and stabilized and then just add a few fish at a time not go out and buy a tank full at a time


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