That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Jose here. Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest island, about the size of Texas or France, and has been isolated from the African mainland for over 160 million years. Madagascar is home to more than 250,000 species of which 70 percent are found nowhere else on the globe.

The first time I came across anything from that country was when I first saw a day gecko and thought wow the colors were amazing. And it wasnt until I came across my first Bleekeri at a cichlid show that my eyes were opened to the livestock of that great country. The fish was pushing maybe 11 inches in a 29 gallon and trying to attack anyone that stepped up to the tank. I needed one!!! I eventually got my hands on one, yay fun times. Spartacus ( yes i named him, later found out it was a her.. oops) in 1 year grew to 8 inches and was a pure terror to me, attacking my hand every time it was in the aquarium.

Now I wanted to breed these fish and as luck would have it she had passed away while I was on vacation. So back to Africans I went. Wasn’t maybe a year later that we got in some Paratilapia
Polleni: the small spot. I purchased 3, 2.5 inch fish for my 40 breeder – 1 dominant male, 1 female and a
younger male. The water conditions were ph 7.6, general hardness of 12 degrees and a carbonate hardness of 8 degrees, with a temperature of 78 degrees. They acclimated very well eating that same night. Their diet consisted of nightcrawlers, marine flakes, krill and marine pellets. The less dominant male was found dead 3 days later and the young pair had started hanging out in an ornamental tree trunk. After about a month and a half the male started becoming very aggressive: not so much with the female but with me. After some time of watching him attack my hands, the female caught on and joined in on the fun: sometimes attacking him, who was double her size.

Now here is where my hate relationship begins. At 6 months the male was a little over 7 inches and the female was close to 4 inches. Then came the day I was waiting for: their breeding tubes were displayed and they were both cleaning the top of a rock. Three days later they had laid what looked like about 200 to 300 eggs. The eggs were not laid on the rock like normal Central or South American egg laying cichlids, these eggs were pinkish orange in color and hung on a string which resembled mini grapes in a clump. The male and female’s aggression stepped up to a new level. And now begins the hate. I tried to take pictures of the parents and eggs and each time I did the male would look at me once and turn around and start eating the eggs. I thought nothing of it as it was their first spawn and I was just happy they bred. The second and third times both happened as I was heading to cichlid shows, and while I was away my girlfriend at the time kept an eye on them. They never once bothered the eggs while I was away, but when I got back and I looked in the tank there went the male eating the eggs again, a slap in the face. They never bred again after that. We shortly moved then and in the move I lost both fish. Temperature change was the culprit as it was 2 or 3 in the morning in October. It will be a while before I keep them again but I know I will. In closing they are fun and anyone who have kept Centrals will enjoy Madagascars.

Until then have fun with Cichlids!

 Jose

Please welcome back our “Cichlid Guy” Jose with an article on his experiences with Copadichromis species.

In Lake Malawi, there is a group of zooplankton feeding cichlids known to the natives as “Utaka”. They are the most important and most successful group in the lake. As where most cichlids are bottom dwellers, they have developed into an open water species. Utaka have developed several breeding techniques. Some breed in the rocky habitat and some construct sand bowers in the intermediate habitat, while others breed on the open sand. A fourth strategy is employed by Copadichromis chrysonotus. It is the only known Utaka that spawns in the open water.  In the hobby, young chrysonotus have been confused with young Copadichromis azureus. I have had the pleasure of working with both species, and they are different in size, color, mouth structure and breeding behavior. While the azureus bred under a cave (where he would lure the female with figure eight motions), the chrysonotus bred six inches above the rocks. As much as I enjoyed working with this fish, I have always wanted to breed a species that utilized bowers. The species I came across is Copadichromis eucinostomus. It is found in Lake Malawi, and was previously known as Haplochromis eucinostomus and Nyassachromis eucinostomus. It is found throughout the lake where it feeds on plankton, and its habitat consists of sandy areas in shallow water where males construct “sand castle nests”.

Spawning takes place in the early morning hours. After the eggs have hatched, mouth brooding females congregate into nursery schools and release their fry simultaneously in very shallow water.

After acquiring a wild pair from work, I put them into one of my 75 gallon aquariums. The tank was decorated with caves and a fine Aragamax sand substrate. The water conditions were as follows: Ph 8.8, a hardness of 200 ppm, and a temperature of 82 degrees. Their diet consisted of different flake foods supplemented by occasional feedings of frozen brine and mysis shrimp.

After about one month, the male started piling sand into a mound in a corner of the tank. His color then began to intensify. He went from silver with a light blue face to a light blue with yellow dorsal and caudal fins. From the lower jaw to the anal fin he was black. He then started courting the female to his nest, where she deposited at least two dozen eggs in the normal mouth brooder fashion. At about 27 days I noticed some fry hiding in the rocks. I then removed the rocks in order to catch the fry. I captured 17 fry less than 1/4” in length. The fry then went into a breeder net that was hung in the same tank. They were fed crushed flake and baby brine soaked in Selcon. They ate very well and never turned down food. After three weeks, I transferred them into a 10 gallon tank for growth. This species is generally peaceful at 4.5”. Their max length is 6”, although in the aquarium they can probably get larger. It is definitely worth keeping along with Aulonocara and certain Malawi haps. They are not common along the East coast, but you might be able to find them through forums or specialized clubs dealing with cichlids if we are not able to get them for you. Copadichromis are great looking fish with interesting breeding behaviors. I would recommend if you keep African cichlids to give this family a try, you won’t regret it.

Thanks Jose, as always we look forward to future tales of your experiences.

I’d like to welcome Jose Mendes to That Fish Blog. Jose is our resident Cichlid Pro. In addition to working at TFP for 13 years, he’s been breeding Cichlids for over 14 years and has produced over 200 different species. Check out Jose’s article below on setting up a Nano-cichlid habitat.

10 Gallon Rift Lake Cichlid Habitat

Working at That Fish Place/That Pet Place, I get a lot of questions regarding what type of African cichlids can be kept in small aquariums – particularly 10 gallon aquariums. Here I will try to answer some of the common questions concerning basic requirements and species specifics.

When a customer asks which cichlids are ok for a 10 gallon tank, I tell them to keep shell dwellers. These fish are from Lake Tanganyika and the majority of them only reach an adult size of 2 to 3 inches in length, though some do grow larger.

Let’s start with the tank itself. A regular 10 gallon glass tank is fine. For substrate, I prefer sand like Carib Sea Aragamax which I mix with Carib Sea Tahitian Moon black sand. The reason for choosing Aragamax is that not only does it help maintain the pH level in the aquarium, but it allows the fish to act naturally and bury their shells. My setup at home consists of a small cave in one corner and the remaining area is sand; into which I add 2 snail shells for each fish. For fish up to 2 inches I like shells the size of a quarter. (Medium turbo or apple shells work nicely.)

A 50 watt aquarium heater will be just fine. The temperature should be set between 78 and 80 degrees.

Filtration for this tank should be an outside power filter that turns the tank volume over 8 to 10 times an hour. Under gravel filters should be avoided!

The water chemistry in the lake is very hard with a pH of around 9.2. I’ve found from breeding shell dwellers that a pH of 8.4 or higher and a general hardness of at least 10 dkh is best for them.

Before I detail a few of the species, I’d like to share a few things I’ve learned from keeping and breeding these fish:

Weekly water changes: I’ve always done them and always will. 10% is enough to make a difference in health, vigor, and spawns.

Water conditions in my breeding tanks were all the same and were as follows: pH 8.6, General hardness 15+, and temperature 81 degrees.

For feeding; do not feed worms! Bloodworms, black worms, or tubifex. These will kill African cichlids sooner or later. Appropriate food would be any prepared small cichlid flake. They prefer sinking foods, but not necessarily pellets.

Have patience. Breeding shell dwellers is easy. Start out with a group of 5-6 individuals of one species. Don’t move the shells around and don’t add new fish. The fish will reward you for your diligence.

Now let’s detail some of the species that I would recommend for a 10 gallon aquarium. Once again do not mix more than one species per tank.

Lamprologus kungweensis: Adults reach lengths of 2.5 inches with females being slightly smaller than males. An identifiable trait of this species is the golden/yellow mark above each eye that becomes more apparent as they mature. Sexing is not easy there is not much dimorphism. Besides being smaller, the female is lighter in color and less intensely marked.

Lamprologus ocellatus: A stunning 2 inch fish whose name means “eyespot” due to the distinctive spot, outlined in gold, on the fish’s operculum. In addition to the gill cover, the ocellatus has a gold colored iris, a golden cream colored body and clear fins speckled with blue or gold. Sexing is fairly easy; the male’s dorsal fin is edged in an orange/red band while the female’s is clearly paler and often edged in white. Also, mature females are rounded while males are more oblong in shape. The most distinctive feature of a pair is the size difference. Males are almost ½ inch larger than females and the teeth appear larger and more prominent. One of my favorite shell dwellers on the market is the Golden Ocellatus, which has a golden sheen to the whole body.

Lamprologus ornatipinnis: As the name implies, the appeal of this species lies in its ornate fins which are distinctively marked with a series of striations that vary in color from purple to black. While a mature male may reach a total length of 2 inches, the females are ½ inch smaller. The female is also considerably plumper with a metallic purple sheen developing over the abdomen as she comes into breeding condition.

Lamprologus signatus: Another small but striking shellie, males top off at 2 inches, females slightly smaller. L. signatus are more elongate or torpedo shaped than other Lamprologus species. These display clear sexual dimorphism. The flanks of the males are crossed by dark vertical bands that extend through the dorsal to anal fins. The females are drab with only a slight pink hue to their abdomen.

Neolamprologus brevis: At less than 2 ¼ inches N. brevis is a shiny beige color with up to nine silvery-white bands. Iridescent pastel blue striations mark the upper jaw, the cheek, and the anterior third of the body. Females are slightly smaller and show fewer extensions of the pectoral fins.

Neolamprologus boulengeri: Attaining a length of 2 ½ inches, N. boulengeri is an attractively marked shell dweller. In addition to the characteristic blotch pattern across the flanks, they have a yellow/orange margin in the dorsal and anal fins. The upper jaw sports a vivid metallic blue moustache which continues as a thin blue iridescent stripe across the operculum and flank.

Lamprologus meleagris: The so called “lace lamp” or “pearly ocellatus”, L. meleagris is a diminutive silvery/black cichlid that rarely exceeds 2 ½ inches in total length. Its flanks are purplish with a series of irregular pearl like spots that highlight the scales and fins. The throat is silvery with hint of blue; the eye is set off by a bright blue streak behind the orbit. Females are smaller than males and their colors are not as intense, even when breeding.

Neolamprologus multifasciatus: The smallest of the shell dwelling cichlids of Lake Tanganyika. As the name implies, N. multifasciatus has a “many striped” pattern over its body. The edges of the caudal, anal, and dorsal fins are highlighted with bands of yellowish/orange and white. Sexing mature specimens is simple because though the female is marked the same as the male, she is fully grown at under 1 inch, while the male reaches 1 ¼ inch.

Neolamprologus similis: Similar in appearance to N. multifasciatus but with a larger eye and greenish/brown body color and contrasting light green markings. The bands extend further over the forehead of the fish. Adult size is nearly identical to N. multifasciatus as well.

In closing, I would have to say that shellies are the type of cichlid for people who want to keep cichlids but don’t have the room for a larger tank, (especially college students) and their natural breeding behavior is fun to watch. They are a lot of personality packed into a small fish!