Goldhead

[maddog10]

I have a new trio of Altolamprologus compressiceps Tanzania Goldhead. I have difficulty shooting these fish and am never truly happy with the results. This fish is not exposed properly as it was not in the 'sweet spot' of the overhead flash. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.

 

[iamzrad]

Man, regardless...sweet fish!

 

[danger_chicken]

I hoping to get some of these soon.

 

[F8LBITE]

One of my favs. Nice shot.

 

[RIFT_LAKES_RULE]

Nice Mike!!! I love me some comp's

 

[crazyclowntang]

Nice picture, and sweet looking fish. That fish is the main reason why I think of joining the DARK SIDE! lol

 

[McFluffrichromis]

nice pic. pretty fish.

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

One of my favs. Nice shot.

love the fish...and the shot! man mike im drooling over hear!

 

[Lively]

That is one odd looking fish. Nice shot.

 

[maddog10]

They are designed to fit into cracks and crevices, for shelter and food.

 

[Lively]

I dunno if I'd call it, "sweet" or "pretty" as others have... it is, by far, one of the most interesting fish I've seen. Does it have a personality? I can see why this fish lures some to the darkside... it's a facinating looking fish - but, looks ain't everything

 

[RIFT_LAKES_RULE]

I don't have the Goldhead, I've got Fire Fin comps... and I absolutely love them. They are some of the coolest fish I've had. They are kind of shy and secretive when there's a lot of activity in the house but they do spend a good bit of time cruising the tank as well. My Fire Fin male even got my wife's interest, she's constantly running the mag float across the glass in hopes that he'll run up and attack it which he does quite frequently... No other fish has gotten my wife to clean my tanks before... for that reason alone this fish has gained much respect from me

Seriously tho, I find these guys very interesting and will probably have atleast one comp variant for as long as I have tanks running. They are definitely "Sweet" fish!!!

 

[maddog10]

They come out to see what i am up to, but they don't fully trust me yet. This fish are extremely narrow. If I took a head on shot you would see eyes and fins, and not much else.

 

[Julie]

Those of you who know me from waaaayyy back, knew me as "Lampy". (Tom's place, Fishaholics, and Aquaria Central) I picked the name because the altolamprologous were my *to die for* fish!

Besides being able to slide into small spaces between rocks, their slender size allows them to curve their bodies towards any would-be attackers, and not be hurt as their scales fit together closely enough to repel damage!

Very nice shot Mike, even if not totally in the sweet-spot. Air of mystery is thus lended to the pic!!

 

[Lively]

They come out to see what i am up to, but they don't fully trust me yet. This fish are extremely narrow. If I took a head on shot you would see eyes and fins, and not much else.

Oh! Cool. Take a pic like that!

Hmmm, perhaps the darkside isn't such a bad place... you've a trio - going to breed? I've got to admit - this odd looking fish has definately peaked my interest.

 

[maddog10]

I am hoping to breed these fish, but the male just has the females pinned in opposite corners. I have the tank full of places to hide, but they will not use any of them.

Julie - Have any advice?

 

[Julie]

I've bred several different varieties of comps and calvus. Their favorite spawning cave (for me) have been the large whelk shells I have. The females can fit in, and block the entrance so that the males or other fish can't get in.

I feed my comps/calvus a normal meateater's diet, supplemented with blackworms and other tasty treats. In my case, the males picked one female to spawn with, and seemingly ignored the other(s) in the tank. Other people use other types of caves, but the main idea is that it should be narrow, to help the female guard the entrance, both before and after the eggs hatch!

Best of luck! I have a non-producing trio myself at the moment... need to feed them up a bit, I think!

 

[Julie]

oh, and you might want to give the male something else to chase or look at other than the females! What else is in the tank and what size is it?

 

[maddog10]

Nothing at the moment, but I took Sarah's advice and am going to try a group of Cyps in with them. If that doesn't work, I will probably add to the trio.

 

[RIFT_LAKES_RULE]

Mike, my females wouldn't hide either. I made them caves out of breeding bells. I siliconed a piece of slate to the entrance to make a narrow opening but the females weren't even trying to hide in the rocks much less the caves so I took matters into my own hands... literally... and trained them to go into the caves. Sounds insane I'm sure, but it worked. They were drivin me crazy tho, I had to do sumthin since they were content to just get beat up on. The wife thought I was crazy "training" fish . I did this by catching them, putting them in the cave and when they'd try to come out I'd stick my hand back in the tank, if they went back in I'd leave em alone, if they ran out I caught em and repeated. I know... I know... crazy, but I've got happy spawning comp's to show for it now. Once they "pair" up, the aggression is far less. The male has paired with one of the females, the other female hasn't spawned yet but she know's where she's safe... OMG I can't believe I'm posting this...