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

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Among the Cichlids (Family Cichlidae) we find some of the most interesting and highly desirable of all freshwater aquarium fishes.  Nearly all show a startling degree of responsiveness to their environment and owners, with many becoming true “pets” as opposed to animals to be observed only.  Included among the group are Oscars, Jack Dempseys, angelfishes, convicts and other popularly-bred species, as well as a number about which little is known.

Diversity and Range

With well over 1,300 species named to date, and many as yet un-described, this family is one of the fish world’s largest. Ranging in size from 1 to 36 inches, Cichlids inhabit the fresh and brackish waters of Central and South America, the West Indies, Africa, Madagascar, Syria, Israel, Iran, southern India and Sri Lanka.  One species, the Texas cichlid, occurs in the USA.  Found throughout the drainage of the lower Rio Grande River, it is the most northerly of all cichlids. 

A number have been widely introduced, with Oscars (velvet cichlids) being long-established in southern Florida.  I have collected them in the Everglades, and have reports of a great many other introduced populations.

Parental Care

One near universal trait among the family is the amazing degree of parental care given the young. In many cases both the parents tend to the fry, cleaning them and the nest site and driving off potential predators.  The lovely, popular discus (Symphysodon aequifasciata), a native of the Amazon Basin, feeds its young with a modified mucus secreted from the skin.

The Unique “Second Jaws”

Cichlids have a second pair of jaws in the throat.  Known as the pharyngeal jaws, these unique structures process food and have freed the primary jaws to develop an amazing array of adaptations to deal with specific and unusual food items.  Included in this family are species that feed upon bacteria, other fishes, hard-shelled mollusks, algae and an amazing assortment of other food items. 

It is speculated that specialized adaptations have allowed cichlids to become the dominant fish family in many of the ecosystems in which they occur.

African Rift Lake Cichlids

 In Lake Victoria and other water bodies of Africa’s Great Rift Valley live a variety of cichlids that have all evolved from a very small number of “parent species”.  About 90% of these fishes are endemic to a single lake, and the speciation process seems to have occurred in the relatively short time.  Up to 200 closely related species, often termed “species flocks”, may be found in a single lake. 

I’ll cover the care of individual Cichlid species in the future. Until then, please write in with your questions and comments.  Thanks, until next time, Frank Indiviglio.

Further Reading

We have posted a number of Cichlid care articles on our blog.  For information on keeping the popular and aptly-named Red Terror, please see The Red Terror: Cichlid Species Profile .

Ed. Note: Lots of cichlids are featured on our catalog photo contest located on Facebook.  Take a look here and vote for your favorite.

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

Jason here. Working at That Fish Place, I have many people ask me about bottom feeders that they can put into a tank with their African Cichlids.  Since cichlids tend to be aggressive, it can be difficult to find suitable tankmates.  A great solution to this problem is adding a Synodontis catfish species. 

There are many species of Synodontis that grow to various sizes.  Synodontis are great because they are often found in many of the same locations as the cichlids. One of my personal favorites is Synodontis petricola, often referred to as Pygmy Synodontis among hobbyists.  They are a relatively small, in comparison to the other members of the genus, maxing out at around five inches.  This catfish is native to Lake Tanganyika, in Africa, which is part of the group of lakes commonly referred to as the African Rift Lakes and has a pH ranging from 7.0-8.5.  Their coloration is usually brown with black spots.  Their fins are black with highly defined white trim.  Dietary choices consist mostly of meaty foods, but they will also pick at algae from time to time.

Another excellent choice for those with an Afican cichlid tank is Synodontis multipunctata, also from Lake Tanganyika.  In their natural environment, their preferred pH ranges from 7.8 – 8.5.  They have a similar appearance to the Pygmy Synodontis, only with less defined white trim on the fins and a larger max size, as in the aquarium they grow to approximately 8 inches in length.  They prefer tanks with a lot of dark places to hide out.  Like the petricola, they are omnivorous and are known to pick at algae along with their main diet of meaty foods.  They can usually be found under the common name Cuckoo Synodontis, though petricola also shares that common name.

Our most commonly sold Synodontis is a tropical species that tends to swim upside down.  It gets its common name, Upside-Down Synodontis Catfish because of this odd style of swimming.  Its scientific name is Synodontis nigriventris.  Unlike the prior two catfish noted, this one won’t do as well in with the African Cichlids, but makes an excellent addition to tanks with a lower pH, ranging from 6.0 – 7.5.  Full grown they will only reach about 4 inches, and they are active and interesting to observe.  They can be kept with most tropical fish, but they have been known to cause some problems with the smaller tetras.

There are many other many possibilities, when looking for an interesting bottom dwelling species to add to your home aquarium.  There are many different colors and sizes.  Come in to see us or drop us an e-mail at Marinebio@thatpetplace.com if you need any help or advice in choosing a species.