dogofwar
CCA Members
The warmer weather has brought lots of spawning to my fishroom.
Most of the Uruguayan fish and a lot of the Central Americans have spawned or on the verge.
Some interesting ones:
Cichlasoma dimerus "Arroyo Chelsea" - Ken Davis collected these a ways inland from Bella Union, Uruguay in a small pond. They look a lot like the Bella Union dimerus (acara shape with green sparkly fins) but seem to have maxed out at ~4.5" for the male and 3" for the female. I have two males and a female. I think they're the only ones in the hobby from that spot. Anyway, they've got a bunch of babies swimming around and seem to be really good parents. I removed the rest of the fish in their tank (extra male and Gymnogeo group) just in case!
Australoheros sp. "Canada Local" - These are from Valentines, Uruguay and turn yellow, black and brown (kind of like old school San Diego Padres uniforms when they breed). I've bred these guys before and thought that they were getting ready to spawn when I cleaned their tank and found wigglers.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Cubayo" - Costa Rican yellow convicts. These are some of the meanest fish I've ever kept and I'd bet most folks who got them have lost the females (I did). Males get yellowy-orange and females turn black with reddish-orange sides when they spawn. Males are reported to get up to 7" or so as well! I keep the male divided from a couple of ladies and place a flowerpot within striking distance. I've got a bunch of fry growing out... and I noticed that today's water change resulted in a new spawn.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Claro" - Red fin Honduran convicts brought to the hobby by Ken Davis a few years back. After a couple of years of these being available in hobby circles, they seem to have disappeared...except in my fishroom. These are really interesting "cons" in that the males grow to ~5" but the females stay quite small. My F1s that I got from Ken are a few years old and the female's barely 2"! The female's turn black as coal when they spawn (from gray with sparkly blue head) and the male's develop really rich red in the tail when they mature. I had a bunch of them in a tank and would have regular spawns...but this time I removed the rest so a pair can raise a clutch of babies.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Panama, Nicaragua" - Jeff Rapps collected these guys on his recent trip to Nicaragua. I got 4 juvies from him, which turned out to include a pair. They were cleaning out a flowerpot for their first spawn in the quarantine tank (at all of 2" for the male and 1.5" or so for the female)... They're interesting looking high bodied cons. They seem to be pretty nasty in disposition as they killed one of the group and some other fish I was growing out. They're now alone.
Mesonauta mirificus - Peru festivum collected by Mike Barber. This pair has begun spawning every other week or so in my 180g South American community. I pulled some fry and was artificially raising them but just don't have the time to dedicate with my new work schedule. Amazingly, they're able to raise fry to wigglers with bunches of other fish in the tank.
...and (not New World):
Alcolapia alcalicus "Soda Lake Cichlid" - I traded some Barolmbi Mbo fish for a group of these guys (and some other Barombi Mbos) from Duane S in Milwaukee. Unfortunately the shipping box got quite cold and lost most of the ones he sent me. Fortunately, two survived and are a male and female. I keep them in a 2'x2'x1' with Ivanacara and some baby Central Americans...tap water...drift wood...78 degrees or so (one of my few tanks with a heater)...basically the opposite of their natural conditions...I stripped the 2" female and she had 6 fry (they're mouthbrooders). It was her second spawn (I let her hold too long last time and I think she spit in the tank). Duane's gonna send me some more ladies.
Matt
Most of the Uruguayan fish and a lot of the Central Americans have spawned or on the verge.
Some interesting ones:
Cichlasoma dimerus "Arroyo Chelsea" - Ken Davis collected these a ways inland from Bella Union, Uruguay in a small pond. They look a lot like the Bella Union dimerus (acara shape with green sparkly fins) but seem to have maxed out at ~4.5" for the male and 3" for the female. I have two males and a female. I think they're the only ones in the hobby from that spot. Anyway, they've got a bunch of babies swimming around and seem to be really good parents. I removed the rest of the fish in their tank (extra male and Gymnogeo group) just in case!
Australoheros sp. "Canada Local" - These are from Valentines, Uruguay and turn yellow, black and brown (kind of like old school San Diego Padres uniforms when they breed). I've bred these guys before and thought that they were getting ready to spawn when I cleaned their tank and found wigglers.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Cubayo" - Costa Rican yellow convicts. These are some of the meanest fish I've ever kept and I'd bet most folks who got them have lost the females (I did). Males get yellowy-orange and females turn black with reddish-orange sides when they spawn. Males are reported to get up to 7" or so as well! I keep the male divided from a couple of ladies and place a flowerpot within striking distance. I've got a bunch of fry growing out... and I noticed that today's water change resulted in a new spawn.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Claro" - Red fin Honduran convicts brought to the hobby by Ken Davis a few years back. After a couple of years of these being available in hobby circles, they seem to have disappeared...except in my fishroom. These are really interesting "cons" in that the males grow to ~5" but the females stay quite small. My F1s that I got from Ken are a few years old and the female's barely 2"! The female's turn black as coal when they spawn (from gray with sparkly blue head) and the male's develop really rich red in the tail when they mature. I had a bunch of them in a tank and would have regular spawns...but this time I removed the rest so a pair can raise a clutch of babies.
Amatitlania siquia "Rio Panama, Nicaragua" - Jeff Rapps collected these guys on his recent trip to Nicaragua. I got 4 juvies from him, which turned out to include a pair. They were cleaning out a flowerpot for their first spawn in the quarantine tank (at all of 2" for the male and 1.5" or so for the female)... They're interesting looking high bodied cons. They seem to be pretty nasty in disposition as they killed one of the group and some other fish I was growing out. They're now alone.
Mesonauta mirificus - Peru festivum collected by Mike Barber. This pair has begun spawning every other week or so in my 180g South American community. I pulled some fry and was artificially raising them but just don't have the time to dedicate with my new work schedule. Amazingly, they're able to raise fry to wigglers with bunches of other fish in the tank.
...and (not New World):
Alcolapia alcalicus "Soda Lake Cichlid" - I traded some Barolmbi Mbo fish for a group of these guys (and some other Barombi Mbos) from Duane S in Milwaukee. Unfortunately the shipping box got quite cold and lost most of the ones he sent me. Fortunately, two survived and are a male and female. I keep them in a 2'x2'x1' with Ivanacara and some baby Central Americans...tap water...drift wood...78 degrees or so (one of my few tanks with a heater)...basically the opposite of their natural conditions...I stripped the 2" female and she had 6 fry (they're mouthbrooders). It was her second spawn (I let her hold too long last time and I think she spit in the tank). Duane's gonna send me some more ladies.
Matt
