That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hey folks, as promised, here’s the first installment of my favorite fish! Just remember everyone’s opinion differs and I would like to see other peoples faves,  too, so please leave a comment if you have an opinion.  Here goes, (in no particular order)!

Copadichromis azureus – This haplochromine is a zooplankton feeder. Males attain a length up to 8 inches with females around half that. A colorful fish, males sport a metallic blue with a white dorsal edge and black fins. Also sold as C. chrysonotus.  They are as attractive as they are interesting to watch.

Protomelas insignis – Also known as P. spilonotus (Tanzania) this particular hap attains a length of about 10 inches, with females at 7.  Males develop a bluish green head with 3/4 of the upper body dark blue while the bottom 1/4 is yellow. Beautiful!

Pseudotropheus polit – This feisty little cave brooder, which tops out at 4 inches, has a nasty napoleon complex. Males become a very light blue with a black face. This fish will keep you on your toes!

Aulonocara ethelwynae – This peacock attains a length of 5 inches, and has an understated beauty.  It is not a very colorful fish, as compared to other peacocks. The body is mostly brown with some yellow accents, and it has a blue lower jaw. The fins are their most attractive feature as both the anal and dorsal are blue to a light purple in color.  A fish that lives around the sandy areas of the lake,  it also needs rock for protection and breeding.

Dimidiochromis compressiceps – This piscivore (fish eater), which is also known as the Malawi Eye Biter, attains a length of 11 inches and is rarely encountered in the rocky habitat. It mostly frequents reed stands and vallisneria beds where its laterally compressed  body can allow it to hide as it stalks prey. Males develop a metallic blue face and body, a white dorsal edge with red tips, and a red anal fin with blue white egg spots.  What is not to love about this fish!

Nimbochromis livingstoni – This 11 inch piscivore has an intresting hunting behavior, and is a blast to watch in action. It partially buries itself in sand and feigns death. It has a mottled pattern of brown blotches on a pale body.  The pale color attracts smaller fish, which are then caught with a sideways thrust, like lightning! Dominant males develop gorgeous dark  blue coloration.

Tyrannochromis macrostoma –  Another predator, this species attains a length of 14 inches and has a peculiar hunting technique, also spectacular to observe. It hovers in a head-down vertical position and tilts its body to one side.  The position allows this hunter to observe its prey in the rock and snatch it out of its hideout.  Males are a blue with yellow-orange in the anal and pelvic fins.

Protomelas steveni (Taiwan Reef) – This awesome species hails from three different areas with differences in colors. Higga Reef variants are all blue with a red anal fin and a white blaze, Ngkuyo Reef variants have a blue head some blue in body, while the back and belly are both yellow, and the anal fin is yellow. Taiwan Reef is my favorite, featuring a blue face and back, yellow body, red anal fin and a white blaze. Simply gorgeous fish. There is also an albino version which is stunning.

Rhampochromis sp. – Open water predators, these “Malawi Barracudas” range in size from 10 inches to 18 inches. They are mostly silver, though a couple species also have yellow anal and pelvic fins. They’re made to chase down prey, natural hunters you can’t help but to admire.
Any Lethrinops sp. or Tramitichromis sp.- These sandy living species come in all “flavors” and I will always have a soft spot for them for the variety of color they exhibit and their unique and interesting behaviors. My favorite variants are the Tramitichromis ‘Red Flush’ and the Lethrinops ‘Auritus Lion’.

In closing, lets not forget that these are my faves I would love to hear from anyone who reads this blog about their favorite Malawi species and variants, please take a moment to give your take in our comments section and as always if you have any questions, let me know! Next up are my favorite Victorians!

Hi, everyone. Jose here. Ever wonder why some people keep certain species of fish over others? Some people like to keep Oscars and Jack Dempseys because they eat other fish, others keep African Cichlids for their colors. Some choose bloody parrots because they are “cute” (hahaha, sorry), yet others of you have angels and rams for their elegant fins and coloration.

My reason for being a “cichlidiot” (cichlid idiot) at first was their color. I started out Mbuna from Lake Malawi. I got a 55 gallon, a bunch of rocks and plants, and kept Pseudos and yellow labs. Well, the plants got trashed, so it ended up being a tank full of rocks. Then I added the Electric blue Ahli and a Bicolor Peacock (let the games begin). That poor peacock didn’t stand a chance between the Ahli and the Mbuna. Lessons learned along the way, my obsession with cichlids of all types and from all regions has contributed to a lot of fun and interesting aquarium adventures through the years. So, away with the pretty little Mbunas and onto Malawi haps, like the Eye-biter, the Livingstoni, etc. I went. Besides the outstanding colors, each species also had some very interesting feeding and breeding behavior that fueled my interest.

Next came the Victorians. These were smaller than the big guys I was used to, but with color and spunk, careful mixing of pairs (a lot of females look alike and you can end up with hybrids) my reason for these guys was the fact that they were almost wiped out due to the introduction of the Nile Perch to their native habitats. Keeping fish like these is a great way to keep species going.

Next for me were the Tanganyikans. The Brichardi complex with its long flowing fins got me hooked, then, I fell in love with Featherfins and Shell-dwellers. Tanganyika is a very diverse lake with multiple types of spawning rituals. You have egg layers, and mouth-brooders, and egg scattering species, all very interesting to breed and observe.

Then we have the West Africans. These colorful and interesting fish live in the rivers of West Africa, and include different types of Kribs, Jewel Cichlids, and not to forget, some of the tilapia species. After a few years, my madness moved on to South American Dwarf Cichlids and then the discus. Breeding them was an accomplishment.

Dwarf pikes and rams were next on my list, and the fun and headaches of keeping Central Americans soon followed.  They are bruisers; big, mean and with a lot of attitude, and even smaller centrals think they are their larger cousins with plenty of attitude for their size.

Finally I ventured into fish from Madagascar (most of which are either extinct or in danger of being extinct), which were a treat to keep. They are a lot like the centrals in behavior and habitat conditions. And I can’t forget to mention the Chromides from Asia and the new cichlid they’ve found in Iran.

Now that I’ve outlined the path of my decent into cichlid madness, I’ll talk about my favorites from each location in some future installments.

Until next time

Jose

Also known as the Tailbar Cichlid, this particular species hails from the rivers of Central America. It frequents areas of still or slow moving waters , hiding amongst root tangles.  An uncommon fish in the hobby, we have been carrying 2″ juveniles for a little while now, along with a beautiful 6″ male in a separate aquarium that also arrived.

An omnivore, Hartwegi feeds on anything from plants to small fish and shrimp. In the home aquarium, I would recommend feeding a varied diet with the staple being greens as it will help to brighten and maintain their coloration.  Males and females both grow to close to 12″, particularly in the wild.  The males are more robust in build, and develop a much denser spangling of red throughout the body than females have.

As for aquarium size, I would recommend a 55 gallon (minimum) for growing out a group, and at least a 65 gallon for a pair of adults.  In regards to temperament, they are mildly aggressive towards other fish, but when it comes to their own they are very aggressive, and it gets worse when they are defending a spawning site.   Have a divider ready if you suspect you have a pair ready to spawn, or there will be a strong possibility you’ll end up with battered or dead fish. Broods can number from 100 to 1000 eggs, and water conditions should be kept stable, with temperature being 76 to 78 degrees, ph 7.5 to 7.8 and moderate to hard water. Provide hiding places for others in the tank to help in minimizing the brunt of the abuse that a dominant male can and will exert on tankmates.

I have read that they are very intelligent fish, and can “play games” with their owner. With the male we have here I can see some truth to that statement, as he is very anxious for interaction. I would highly recommend this species for someone looking to keep a very personable first cichlid.

Until next time,

Jose

Hey folks Jose here, we are going to talk about one of my favorite bad boys (and girls), the Dovii, also known lovingly as the Wolf Cichlid. The Dovii  hails from Central America in Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Males can reach sizes up to 28 inches, while females are much smaller at 15 inches. In the wild, the species is an opportunistic piscivore, feeding on smaller fish. This is an easy fish to keep, as long as you have the space and get a compatible pair.

In juveniles, sexing is tough but can be done.  When I picked out my pair at 2 inches, the male was a little larger and he had black dots below the lateral line where as the female had none. In the store’s aquarium, the male was tough on the female, but a week after they went into my 40 breeder, the roles were reversed. They were shy at first, hiding under the caves that I provided for spawns.

Feedings are a blast. They eat everything! The main diet I feed consists of a marine pellet food made by Pretty Bird called Color Up, Prime Reef flakes, and the occasional (once a week) feeding of live crayfish. Now let me tell you how fast they can grow.  The male was 2 inches long and about an inch and a half high when I got him. I have had him for about seven or eight months, and feed them 2 to 3 times a week, and now the male is about 6 inches in length and close to 3 inches in height! They can really fill out fast!

So now they’re spawning. The spawning was not as bad as I thought it would be. The female was almost gold-yellow with dark barring, and close to her vent she started to take on a black coloration. The male’s coloration became a lot more vivid, but the most striking feature setting him apart from the female (wow) was that his lips and fins turned blue!  The Wolf Cichlid’s courting and mating dances consisted of a lot of gill flaring, head shaking and jaw locking.

I provided caves and PVC pipe for them to spawn on, but the female decided  that she was going to lay the eggs on bare glass. OK with me, because they’re easy to spy on there.  I think I’m on batch number 7, and in each batch (laid like clockwork around the end of the month) she numbered close to 200 fry. Not bad for a 3 inch female, though adult females can produce up to 1000+ eggs at a time. The parents are very protective over the fry, even attacking my hands when I’m working on the tank. Oh, did I mention the Dovii live with two Synodontis catfish that happen love the taste of fry? I have not saved any of the prior batches because of space limitations, but my roommate let me borrow his 10 gallon planted aquarium this time, so I was able to net out 30 fry to grow out. The fry are fed crushed flakes, crushed freeze dried brine and crushed freeze dried mysis shrimp. As of right now, it looks like another batch of eggs is on the way!

Until next time,

Jose

Jose here. A South American brute that can give many Central Americans a run for the money (when it comes to aggression), the Red Terror is one of my favorites. Ranked in the top 5 among cichlid keepers, the festae is not afraid to bite the hand that feeds it, which is good cause feeding it should be no problem as it will eat anything. The downfall would be tank space.  As an adult male can top out at 20 inches, an adult pair would be looking at a 125 gallon just for the pair, larger if you wanted to keep tank mates. Sexing young fish is pretty hard, but it’s different with adults. Besides the size difference between male and female, the male will have blue dots on his body, while retaining the overall orange red coloration. The female festae is the one out of the pair that truly lives up to the name red terror in aggression and coloration. She takes on a very vibrant red coloration, with a black or blue area in three quarters of the dorsal fin. Males lack this marking. An adult pair of Red Terrors tending fry is an awesome and scary sight (scary for the owner trying to do a water change).

A word of caution in searching for Red Terrors if you choose to invest in them, there is another species that resembles the festae, Cichlasoma uophthalmus, the False Red Terror or Mayan Cichlid.  These fish are often misidentified in the trade, or simply labeled as Red Terrors in error, as common names are sometimes assigned for convenience.  You can tell the difference by looking at the spot on the base of the tail. The eyespot on the festae only reaches half way down the base, where on the False Red Terror, the eyespot extends below the midline.

Well there it is now you know!  In closing I would say this is definitely a fish worth keeping.  If you have an empty 75 gallon tank sitting around, and you’re looking for a “WOW” fish with a lot of attitude, Amphilophus festae will fit the bill.

Until next time have fun with cichlids,

JOSE