I've always liked the look of them and finally decided to get a batch of 10 when I was placeing a large order of assorted Americans. These fish came to me at 1.5"-2" and at a price of $2.50 each, just above wholesale. Since these guys already had some size to them I decided they should go into the 500g with all the larger fish (3-8") instead of a smaller 125g with the other small fish (which were .75-1"). But when I opened the bag that held the Zonatum I found 2 were severly beaten. These 2 were devoid of any fins, and were incapable of doing anything but flop on the bottom. I was going to put them out of the misery, but then decided to isolate them into a hospital tank. To my surprise they began swimming (if you can call it that, remember they had no fins) and begging for food within a few days. Amazingly this pair healed up entirely and have now outgrown the others by far. This little story shows just how hardy this species is. The largest male now controls a 125 gallon aquarium that also contains a male Heterospilum, male Tuba, and female Barred Citrinellum. He keeps tabs on the others and is begining to get overly rough. I'm affraid before to much longer the Heterospilum will need to be replaced by a tougher cichlid.