A newby with some Qs about togas

[maverick]

Well Im a newby from brissie with a new found interest in natives, Ive only ever had a few cichlids in my 4 footer but would like to take on a saratoga. Would a 4x2x2 foot tank be sufficient for one and also what sort of filter will handle one of these babies?
Im keen for any info on them as Im relatively clueless on native fish. Any suggestions would be sweet.

Cheers, K

[ekstap]

we have a leichardi in a 4 footer now, he is real skittish, but he is very agressive still, i would get a jardini if i was you, we got one in a 3 footer, only new, but very nice colors, was eating pretty much straight away, and not as syco as the other one, if ya wanna spend a bit more get one, ask the fish store to see what filter is good, make sure it is heated

[maverick]

Thanks ekstap, I saw a 10cm one today for $150 but I might go through livefish.com as Im fairly sure i saw them for around the $118 mark. Thanks again mate

[wombat1100]

hey maverick , dont want to put you off,but you might want to read this link about livefish.com
http://www.thefishtank.com.au/forums/showthread.php?t=332&highlight=livefish.com.au

[bettamuse]

Sometimes it is worth paying a little bit more for a fish you can see and watch feed before you buy.
Also make sure you include freight in the cost of your fish when buying online. Not just the actual price of the fish.
$118.00 for a 5cm fish, I have never seen a Saratoga this small outside its mothers mouth.

$118.00 + $13.95 freight = $131.95

Your better off buying the one you can see for $150 and have it now. Not much of a difference for known health and quality.

Westside pets and Aquarium has a S.jardinii around 40cm for $200 so shop around.

BM

[ihadagoldfishonce]

I have kept S. jardini for a while, awsome fish to keep, as long as you have enough room for him to turn around you will be fine, if they cant turn, the operculums tend to flare out and get infected. Just dont get caught in the habbit of feeding them too many live fish!

[char1zma]

hey there, nice to know you've taken an interest in saratogas like i have just recently.

I just bought home a saratoga leichardt, still very small fella. He's a feisty one when it comes to eating time. Basically eats anything I put in the tank, even tries to nip at my finger or tweezers!!

One thing I'd advise before you go grab a saratoga, is research on which type you prefer. That was the one thing my partner and I didn't do, and as we heard that the season was coming to an end in terms of more saratogas being available, we grabbed the first one we saw which was the Leichardt.

Don't get me wrong, we love the lil fella, although the jardini has the most awesome colors that the leichardt hasn't at this moment. I mean our Sara is still quite young, and slowly seeing color in his dorsal fins but won't be as colorful as the jardini.

Also, whatever you do, don't get your saratoga used ot eating crickets as it can become an expensive matter! At the moment we feed him pellets and maybe once per day we'll throw in a small sized cricket that we purchased at the LFS in boxes.

[wombat1100]

If you want to buy crickets more economically , buy them from a reptile store in a bucket, then u just go back and swap buckets, i think their buckets are $5 at my local reptile store, drop a carrot in the bucket and they last for ages, you can buy whats called "pin heads" they are baby crickets and watch them grow in the bucket as you harvest them for your toga!

[maverick]

Thanks for the info guys, there is a fair bit of info out there on saratogas but its good to get the inside tips off this forum... thanks again