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Green Terror - Aequidens Rivulatus
Green Terror - Aequidens Rivulatus
By Shayne
Image
A Green Terror © Shaney
Image
A Green Terror © Shaney
Common Name: Green Terror
Latin Name: Aequidens Rivulatus
Origin: South America
Temperature: 72-80°F )22-27°C)
Ease Of Keeping: Easy-Medium (depends on tank size and contents)
Aggressivness: Fairly Aggressive (especially when spawning)
Lighting: Not too bright
Adult Size: 8 inches (20cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 40 inches (100cm)
Feeding: Anything really. Likes live foods a lot (especially bloodworms, thats my experience)
Spawning Method: Good water condition and the pair should get along as well. Thats it.
Articles And Reviews Index / Cichlids Index
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Green Terror
Green Terror
Green Terror © "Green Terror" By: "The Green Terror"
Common Name: Green Terror
Latin Name: Aequidens rivulatus
Origin: Still or slow-moving river basins of South America, mainly Equador and Peru.
Temperature: 70-80 degrees...this can be temporarily raised to around 82 degrees for medicinal purposes, but a mid-range temperature is best long-term.
Ease Of Keeping: Relatively easy.
Aggressivness: Very Aggressive...Best kept in a species tank, but can be mixed with cichlids of similar size and temperament.
Adult Size: 6 to 12 inches - Males grow considerably bigger than the females, who tend to top out at 6 to 8 inches.
Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallon...bigger is definitely better!
Feeding: Omnivore...will eat pretty much anything, but will benefit from variety and a good source of protein. Some good choices would be cichlid pellets, peas and other veggies, shrimp pellets or krill, and live foods.
Spawning Method: Substrate Spawners...They will spawn on flat surfaces (usually rocks), and can have spawns of up to 400 fry. The Green Terror is typically a good parent, with the female taking the dominant role in tending the eggs and fry. They can, however, be somewhat difficult to spawn. Spawning can typically be induced with softer water and higher temperatures. Comments: This is such a wonderful fish! They are super-aggressive, with loads of personality. There are two main "types" or colorations...the white saum and the gold saum. This refers to the color edging their fins. The males are larger than the females, and their coloration is brighter. The females tend to be a more drab olive, while the males are a bright iridescent/metallic green, with turquoise markings on their face and sides. The dorsal and anal fins of the males develop long points on them as the fish matures. In addition, the male terrors will develop a bump on their heads. (The picture above shows Grumpy Gills, my 6-inch Green Terror. He is of the gold saum variety.)
They prefer a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. They enjoy caves, driftwood, and plants, but be prepared for your terror to rearrange your tank. They love to uproot plants, so stick with hardy ones. I've personally had the best luck with good-sized sword plants. Be sure to leave some open swimming areas. Good water quality is a must, so be diligent with your water changes. You will be rewarded with a happy and healthy (and more colorful) fish!
Frontosa
Frontosa
By H. Blair Howell
© H. Blair Howell, Click Here to enlarge 116k.
© H. Blair Howell, Click Here to enlarge 205k.
© H. Blair Howell, Click Here to enlarge 114k. Common Name: Frontosa
Latin Name: Cyphotilapia frontosa
Origin: Lake Tanganyika
Temperature: 72 - 83
Ease of Keeping: Moderate
Agressivness: usually fairly docile although they are a piscivore and will eat small fish
Size: up to 16 inches for males. Females smaller.
Tank Size: 125 gallon
Food: Feed a good quality flake or pellet when smaller. Larger fish should be fed cut fish or shrimp
Spawning: Maternal mouth brooder. Frontosa should be kept in a colony with one large dominant male.
Comments: Frontosa come from very deep in Lake Tanganyika and have to undergo decompression when they are being brought to the surface of the water. They are a food fish to the locals and are fished with hook and line. Their primary food in the lake is cyprichromis.
Fronts are known to become a pet almost like a dog. Often they will come to the front of the tank to greet their owners and are known to take food out of their hands.
There are many different varients of frontosa. the one pictured here is a Cyphotilapia frontosa - "Mpimbwe Blue
Firemouth Cichlid
Firemouth Cichlid
By Clint Norwood
© Stacy Malbon
Photo taken at Aqualand in Hopkins, MN.
Species/genus: Cichlasoma meeki
Origin: Guatemala and Yucatan
Temp: 77°F (25°C)
pH: Slightly Alkaline 7.5 dH: Hard
Temperament: Normally Peaceful
Adult Size: 6in (15cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon
Feeding: Will take flakes, loves chopped earthworms
Breeding: Egg layer, easy to spawn, parents aggressivly defend their fry
Comments: Gets it's name from the red coloration around it's throat area. The Firemouth is a hardy Aquarium fish that has been around the hobby for a long time
Electric Yellow - Yellow Lab
Electric Yellow - Yellow Lab
By Chrissy
Image
Yellow Electric © Monica Jarema Common Name:
Yellow Lab/Electric Yellow
Latin Name:
Labidochromis caeruleus
Origin: Lake Malawi, Africa
Temperature: Tropical
Ease Of Keeping: These fish are hardy, most problems are from the aquarists not understanding how to properly set up a Rift Lake Cichlid tank.
Aggressivness: Aggressive compared to other fish but one of the most passive Mbuna.
Lighting: Found in fairly deep water in Lake Malawi but lighting seems to be unimportant in the aquarium.
Adult Size: 3 - 4 inches (7.5 - 10cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 30g long tank for a trio
Feeding: Insectivore/Omnivore eavy in plant matter but can stand more protein than most Mbuna. Spirulina flakes make an excellent staple with some veggie treats. Lightly cooked shelled peas seem to be a favorite.
Spawning Method: Maternal mouthbrooders
Comments: L. caeruleus is one of the most well known and widely available of all the African Cichlids. The yellow fish we see in stores is actually a natural yellow morph of the original L.caeruleus which is blue (hence the scientific name). While the blue morph was discovered in the 1950s, it wasn't until the 1980s that they popular yellow morph was discovered due to it being pretty rare in the lake.
Yellow Labs are part of the Mbuna group of Cichlids. The vast majority of Mbuna need a diet very heavy in plant matter, a tank with a lot of rockwork, are maternal mouthbrooders, and are aggressive. Yellow Labs are unique in that they can handle a diet with more protein and are less aggressive than most making them easier to work into other Rift Lake communities.
A tank for Yellow Labs should have as much rockwork as possible, each fish will claim a territory and protect it. Less rockwork means more fighting over the limited amount available. A lot of rockwork also provides a hiding place for a fish being bullied or for a female trying to avoid a persistant male. Mbuna will eat most common aquarium plants and they love to dig things up. Driftwood should be avoided unless you can be sure it will not affect your water-Yellow Labs like a pH of 7.3-8.0. When it comes to territorial Cichlids, the most important thing to consider when picking out a tank is not the total number of gallons but the footprint of the tank. Get the largest footprint you can, a long 30g tank is much, much better than a 29g tank which is taller.
Yellow Labs, like other Mbuna should be kept with multiple females to each male. A 1M/2-3F ratio is fine. Male Labs are mean little wife beaters and left in a pair, the male will often "love" the female to death. Having multiple females spreads the aggression out over several fish. This fish is not an easy one to sex, males generally have more black on the pelvic and anal fins while females have little to none. It is said that males grow slightly larger than females. Males are more aggressive and you can sometimes pick them out by the way they are displaying and attacking each other. These methods of sexing are all a bit of a gamble though.
Yellow Labs are maternal mouthbrooders, the female carries the eggs and later the fry in her mouth for 25-30 days and usually produces smaller spawns, around 10-20 fry. Kept in good condition they will repeatedly spawn. Once the female lets them out of her mouth she will snatch them up if she senses danger but that is often not enough to save them from hungry tankmates. A seperate fry tank is best if you want to raise the spawn to maturity. Fry can be feed the same foods as their parents mashed up to very small pieces and baby brine shrimp.
Copadichromis azureus
Copadichromis azureus
© H. Blair Howell, Click Here to enlarge 90K
© H. Blair Howell,Click Here to enlarge 45K By H. Blair Howell
Common Name: Copadichromis azureus
Latin Name: Copadichromis azureus
Origin: Lake Malawi
Temperature: 75 - 82
Ease Of Keeping: moderate
Aggressivness: fairly easy going except while mating lighting :
Size: 6 inches
Tank Size: 55 gallon
Food: Feed a good quality flake
Convict Cichlids
Convict Cichlids
Male Convict Cichlid © Derreck Friday
Convicts
How to tell the of sex Convict Cichlids.
Notice the longer fins and larger body size of the male. Species/genus: Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum
Origin: Central America
Temp: 68 - 82°F (20 - 28°C)
pH and dH: Not really important
Temperament: very aggressive when spawning, not a community fish
Adult Size: Up to 6 inches (15 cm) normally smaller
Minimum Tank Size: 10 Gallons
Feeding: Omnivorous, eats everything
Breeding: Prolific, a very easy species to induce to spawn, an excellent first Cichlid for beginners to spawn. Convicts might be the easiest egglayer to spawn with the possible exception of the White Cloud Minnow
Comments:
An aggressive fish that likes to rearrange the tank decoration to suit itself. Not a community tank candidate as they will eat any small fish they can catch (with the exception of their own fry). Very good parents, they will spawn continuously. There is an albino variety that seems to be somewhat more docile.
Blood Parrot
Blood Parrot
By : Neil Hinckley
Pinky © 55gSW
© 55gSW Common Name : Blood Parrot
Latin Name : none
Origin : Man made
Temperature : 72-84ºF
Ease Of Keeping : Moderately easy
Aggressivness : Semi-aggressive
Lighting : Dim to bright.
Adult Size : Up to about 8"
Minimum Tank Size : 55 Gallon
Feeding : Will eat most things. A good quality cichlid pellet is a good choice for the staple of their diet, but variety will give the best results.
Spawning Method : They should be fed a rich diet of mostly live and frozen foods. The parents will both watch over the nesting site.
Care
Live for about ten years.
Blood Parrots will do best with a softer substrate, as they like to dig. This trait is the most noticeable when they are preparing to spawn. They also like to have a lot of hiding places. They are shy at first, but after as little as a week and as much as a few months they will begin to come out more during the day and show a more cichlid like behavior. They can be kept alone or in a group and seem to do fine either way. They live for about ten years.
Compatibility
Blood Parrots are a slower swimming fish because of their bent spine. They also have small, mostly useless mouths. This lets them be kept with smaller fish with little problem. However, they do get large and can be aggressive. Like most cichlids they are most aggressive when spawning.
They will be kept with the most success with somewhat larger fish that can stand a little abuse. For this reason the classic dither fish are good choices as tank mates. They can also be kept with some of the less aggressive cichlids. The best cichlid tank mates are either New World or African river cichlids such as firemouths and kribs.
Sexing
This can be a difficult fish to sex. All males have pointed dorsal and anal fins, but fin shape is still not an absolutly distiguishing feature. This is because some females also have pointed dorsal and anal fins. However, not all females have pointed dorsal fins, some have the classic rounded fins. So, it is easy to find a female, as they are the only fish that will have rounded fins, but it is not so easy to find a male. The only time when it is really very easy to pick out a male is when they are in their spawning colors. At this time they will have a more pink coloration on their throats and behind their gills.
Breeding
First of all, a little bit of technical differentiation of terms. For the sake of this article at least, there is a difference between the breeding and spawning of fish. Breeding is the mating of two fish, involving an exchange of gametes and resulting in viable young. Spawning on the other hand is exactly like breeding, except that spawning does not depend on viable young being produced. So, breeding includes spawning, but spawning does not nessasarily mean that they are breeding.
That being established, true Blood parrots, by this definition, do not breed in normal circumstances. They do, however, spawn. Blood parrots are substrate spawners. The male will dig the nest with the female guarding the perimeter. These roles then reverse when eggs are laid, with the female guarding the nest and the male patroling the territory.
Notice that I said in normal circumstances. There were rumors a few years ago that true Blood Parrots were being bred in some fish farms with the assistance of hormone injections. I do not know how accurate this information is, but it has been reported that although they are substrate spawners, they take their young into their mouths after the fry hatch. From that point on they act like mouth brooders.
Also, they can reportedly be bred with convict cichlids in order to get what are called Jellybean or Bubblegum cichlids. These are usually only commertially available in a white or albino variety that has been dyed. The color lasts for a month, more or less, and the dying process can cause significant injury to the fish, leading to increased disease and a shorter lifespan. These Jellybean cichlids are supposed to be breedable however.
Description
There are a few different varities of the blood parrot that are avalible. The most common is the Red Blood Parrot, which, despite its name, is really much more of an orange. There is also the Purple Blood Parrot, who also has a deceptive name, as it is actually much closer to red than purple. Something to be careful of though is that sometimes instead of breeding for the different varieties the fish farms will simply dye the fish.
A third variety that has really only become available in the last few years is called the Love Heart or the Heart Parrot Cichlid. This variety is available in either color, but does not have a tail fin. It still manages to get around fairly well, despite missing what most people would think of as its main means of locomotion, but is obviously even slower that your standard Blood Parrot.
The blood Parrots body is not compressed along any axis, or, in other words, this is a chubby fish. It has large eyes, with much larger than normal pupils. The pupils are often misshapen as well, often being oblong or having a crease in them. They have a beak-like mouth, which is where the parrot part of their mouth come from. They can not close their mouth all the way, but they can chew their food with muscles in their throat.
These fish like to dig, and nothing will stop them if there is something to dig in. They especially like to dig when they are getting ready to spawn. For this reason a fine gravel or heavy sand is recomended. They can have a significant variety of behavior when it comes to aggression. They exhibit the standard cichlid aggresion when spawning, but at other times the fish may be anywhere from very passive to fairly aggresive. Blood Parrots will often fight each other all day long, doing little damage because of their useless mouths and weak swimming, and then when it is time for them to sleep they will all congregate to the same cave and spend the night without incident, only to pick right back up where they left off the next day.
They can also get Black Spot Disease. Black Spot Disease is thought to be a Blood Parrot specific parasite, though I could not find any hard info on it. The first thing to do if Black Spot Disease starts to take over large areas of your fishes body is to check for excess ammonia and nitrate. Blood Parrots can be quite sensitive to these chemicals, and they will often be the first fish to react if conditions are poor. The rapid spread of Black Spot Disease is a common way in which their stress can be exhibited. If all parameters are good, you can treat with anti-parasite medications like Maracide, malachite green, or Jungle's Parasite Guard. Black Spot Disease is not significantly harmful unless it begins to cover large areas of the fish's body.
Origin
The Blood Parrot Cichlid is a hybrid, and so has no natural enviroment other than a fish farm and no scientific name. It is sometimes sold under the name Hoplarchus psittacus, which is really a large green new world cichlid commonly known as the Parrot Cichlid. Blood Parrots and Parrots are two distinct fish with no similarity besides the name and a mouth that looks somewhat beak-like.
There has been a lot of speculation over what fish are bred in order to get Blood Parrot Cichlids. The most common suggestion is that they were made by breeding the Midas Cichlid (Cichlasoma citrinellum) and the Redhead Cichlid (Cichlasoma synspilum). However, below is a list of every pair that I have seen suggested.
Severum (Heros severus) and the Midas Cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus) or the Red Devil (Amphilophus labiatus)
Gold Severum (Cichlasoma severum) and Red Devil (Cichlasoma erythraeum)
Midas Cichlid (Cichlasoma citrinellum) and the Redhead Cichlid (Cichlasoma synspilum)
Severum (Heros severus) with the Red Devil (Cichlasoma erythraeum)
Red Devil (Cichlasoma erythraeum) +Gold Severum (Cichlasoma severum)
Red Devil (Cichlasoma erythraeum)+Green Severum (Cichlasoma severum)
Red Devil (Cichlasoma erythraeum)+Quetzel (Cichlasoma synspilum)
Comments
By 55gSW
"Ah, lets see what can I tell you about blood parrots? I guess the best place to start is to debunk some myths. There are exceptions to any rule as you know but generally speaking BP's have no trouble swimming, or with their swim bladder, they have no trouble eating anything, nor are they shy about eating, they are more docile than their red devil parents but can be very aggressive especially when breeding. Mine has drawn blood defending her eggs! They are thought to be hybrids of red devils and perhaps midas, cichlids but no one knows for sure. As with any hybrid most of them are mules but some are fertile and will breed with many other south american cichlids. BP's and convicts are the parents of jellybeans, and BP's and flowerhorns will give off the variety known as King Kong. These fish will get huge, up to 12" or so. BTW, most BP's will get to be about 6". Unfortunately these fish are targeted by many breeders for dyeing, and also for other in-bred mutations like! having no caudal fins or deformed fins (heart BP or bloody heart!), or deformed dorsal fins (unicorns).
"Lots of people hate them because they are a hybrid but that is rather sad as they really are a fascinating fish. Very shy like most cichlids yet with some dither fish present they become very bold. They have outstanding colors without being dyed especially when they are laying eggs! I have to say that mine has colors that rival any saltwater fish!"
By Dale
"I have three parrots in a 92 gal community tank. I was warned when I got them that they were aggressive and could get nasty. I haven't seen this. They are the largest and gentlest fish in the tank. I thoughtlessly added a small corie to the tank and when the parrot went to check it out a larger corie gently nudged him away and that was the end of it. I never feed live foods so they don't see the smaller fish as a meal.However I would never tempt fate and put a neon in the tank,the smallest fish are swordtails and mollies. I feed flake food in the morning and frozen brine shrimp and blood worms at night.They also get along with the Black ghost knife, the elephant noses, and the sharks(2 rainbow and 1 red tail)."
By Morgan
"I had one gorgeous Blood Parrot in my 65 gallon. He would take food right out of my hand and he was never aggressive. Always a joy to have in my tank one of my favs . I was going to set up a tank just for him when I had to move and tear it down, but ended up not doing so. I miss him so much and he was such a great addition and pleasure to have. I really like them and I have had positive reactions from other fish keepers that have kept these fantastic rotund funny full of personality gentle cichlids. I had smaller dwarf cichlids in there (Golden Eyes etc...), cory cats, ottos, Jurupari, and he never bothered anyone. Hope this helps. I Love them... They can be pretty shy at times though...
Black Convict
Black Convict
Image
Black Convict pair © Ani By: cemc
Common Name: Black Convict
Latin Name: Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum
Origin: Central America
Temperature: 68-82°F - 20-28°C
Ease Of Keeping: Easy
Aggressivness: Aggressive
Lighting: Dim-bright
Adult Size: 6 inches - 15cm
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon
Feeding: Flakes,live food as treats.
Spawning Method: Egg Layer
Comments: This article is all about breeding convicts and raising the fry.
Name : bob
Comments : I have two breeding pairs each laying claim to half of a 90 gallon tank with an 8" aquatic turtle and 10inch pleco. The convicts have successfully protected their fry from all of the goldfish, the turtle, and the pleco. They are very territorial and aggressive when they have fry. The breeding pair also forms very strong bonds. It's highly unlikely the males will ever attack the females
Apistogramma cacatuoides
Apistogramma cacatuoides
By: John Harris
© John Harris
Common Name: Triple Red Dwarf Cichlid
Latin Name: Apistogramma cacatuoides
Origin: Rio Plata, South America
Temperature: 74-78 degrees
Ease Of Keeping: Moderate
Aggressivness: Peaceful
Lighting: Undemanding
Adult Size: 3"
Minimum Tank Size: 15 gallons
Feeding: Carnivore/omnivore
Spawning Method: Cave Spawner
Comments: Apistogramma cacatuoides is perhaps the hardiest and easiest to spawn of the dwarf cichlids from South America. They are a peaceful, colorful, lively fish that come in many different color variants because of selective breeding. The fish pictured with this article is a Triple Red strain, meaning that males have red markings on it's dorsal, caudle and anal fins. They prefer soft acidic water with a pH between neutral and 6.5 and a hardness below 150 ppm. TDS. Tank temperatures should remain between 74-78 degrees, and they do best in aquariums larger than 15 gallons.
These cichlids can be kept in groups as long as there are caves, decorations and/or rockwork for the fish to use as shelter and territory space. They do fine with other South American community fish and seldom bother other fish unless protecting eggs/fry. Breeding colonies should consist of two to three females per male. Feed them a high protein diet of good quality flake food supplimented with frozen or freeze dried meaty foods.
Apisto. cacatuoides is a very prolific breeder. They are cave spawners, so provide caves for them to spawn in such as small plastic or terra cotta flowerpots turned on their sides. Generally, pairs will lay 80-150 eggs which are tended by the female. Males will guard the outside of the caves until the fry hatch, whereupon the females will chase off the males or any other fish that threaten her fry. These fish have such strong parental insticts that it's common for non-breeding females to "adopt" fry that aren't their own, even fry of other species!
The fry can be fed up to 5x per day on microfoods once they've absorbed their yolk sacs and are free swimming. Suggested fry foods are: Hikari first bites, golden pearls, daphnia, cyclops, baby artemia and unicellular algaes. Fry often benefit from having clumps of java moss in their tanks, which contains microorganisms for them to nibble on in-between feedings.
Angelfish
Angelfish
By Clint Norwood
Angelfish
© Leslie Grossheim
Species/genus: Pterophyllum scalare
Origin: South America
Temp: 72-86°F (22-30°C)
pH: 6-7.5 dH: Soft
Feeding: Easy to feed, accepts most aquarium foods
Breeding: Egglayer, attaches eggs to plant leaves, or a suitable substitute; gaurds eggs and fry
Temperament: Normally peaceful, but gets aggressive when spawning and gaurding fry
Adult Size: 6 in. (15 cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallon
Pictus Catfish
Pictus Catfish
By: Yvonne Garcia
A very fast Pictus Catfish © Yvonne
Common Name: Pictus Cat
Latin Name: Pimelodus Pictus
Origin: Columbian Amazon
Temperature: 72-80°F
Ease Of Keeping: Easy
Aggressivness: Peaceful
Lighting: Subdued
Adult Size: 6" (15cm)
Minimum Tank Size : 30
Feeding: Omnivorous (loves frozen or live bbs & bloodworms)
Comments:
Pictus cats are known to be much better in groups of 3 or more, but can be kept alone with little or no problems.
Articles And Reviews Index / Catfish and Loaches Index
Otocinclus Indepth
Otocinclus Indepth
By Becki
Though I'm not an expert on catfish, I've picked up quite a bit of info on Otos over the last couple of years. Much of this has been from looking them up on the internet (planetcatfish.com is a good resource), but quite a bit has been learned from watching these algae vacuum cleaners each day for a few years.
"What can I do to get my Otos to notice the algae disk?"
This is one of the first questions new Oto owners ask when their fish totally ignore the food that is offered. Since all other fish need to be actively fed, some people might start to worry that something is wrong.
A Zebra Oto © Becki Once they clean up any visible algae in a tank, there is still algae and other organisms on plant leaves and tank surfaces that the Otos will eat. It is a good idea to supplement their diet with vegetables, but algae disks or wafers seem to be ignored by almost all Otos. When I had some newly-imported zebra Otos shipped to me at work, I was ready for their arrival with a small plastic tank, some algae disks, and a strip of seaweed. Since they were recently imported, the Otos were very thin, and I figured that they would munch on the algae disks until I could get home and cook up some zucchini. The Otos didn't even touch the algae disks, but nibbled a little on the seaweed. When I got them home, they pretty much immediately started munching away on the zucchini I placed in their tank.
Since it seems the common experience with these fish is that they shun algae wafers, it's probably best to go with fresh veggies or seaweed sheets as a supplement to their diet.
Otocinclus
Otocinclus
Oto Cats
Ottos The Algae Eaters, © Thomas Buck Species/genus: Otocinclus affinis
Origin: Southeastern Brazil
Temp: 68 - 73°F (20 - 23°C)
pH: 6 - 8 dH: Not Critical
Temperament: Very easygoing
Adult Size: 1 1/2 in (4 cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 2 gallon
Feeding: Eats primarily algae, will consume flakes and other normal fish foods in a pinch
Breeding: Similar to Corydoras
Comments: A nice fish to have if you have any problems with algae.
It is harmless to other fish.
Note it's preference for low temperatures.
Kuhli Loach - A.K.A. Coolie Loach
Kuhli Loach - A.K.A. Coolie Loach
Kuhli Loach - Picture © Chantelle CochraneSpecies/genus: Acanthophthalmus kuhlii
Origin: Malaya, Java And Borneo
Temp: 75 - 86°F (24 - 30°C)
pH: 6 - 7 dH: Soft
Temperament: Non agressive
Adult Size: 3 in (8 cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 2 gallon
Feeding: Eats all aquarium foods
Breeding: Egglayer, not commonly spawned in captivity
Comments: Stays hidden most of the day, comes out at night. But sometimes you get a real showoff, look for the most active specimens when buying.
Wednesday 1 April 2015
Keeping And Spawning Corydoras Catfish
Keeping And Spawning Corydoras Catfish
By Clint Norwood
Corydoras Species
© Eric Smith
Origin: South America
Adult Size: Up To 3 inches (7.5cm)
Water Conditions: Soft To Slightly Hard
Preferred Temperature: 68-80F (20-26.5C)
Cute, comical, hardy and friendly, this common aquarium fish adds activity to the lower regions of the tank. Classified as a scavenger, Corys will clean up excess food, up to a point. But they are not garbage disposals and won't eat fish wastes or old rotten food, and they are not a substitute for proper aquarium maintenance.
This little catfish is a snap to spawn. Just condition the adults for a week or two in a separate spawning tank of about 10 gallons. Feed large amounts of chopped earthworms and/or grindal worms and keep the water especially clean. On the night before you want them to spawn change about 2 gallons of water and replace it with some cool water of about 60F, this prompts them to spawn. The next morning you will most likely find clusters of eggs attached to the walls of the aquarium. Remove the adults and in about 5 days the eggs will hatch. The fry can be fed micro worms or baby brine shrimp with a little crushed flake food added after about a week.
Albino Bristle Nose Pleco
Albino Bristle Nose Pleco
Keeping and Spawning Albino Bristle Nose Pleco
Male Bristle Nose Pleco, © Blessed Silence
Male guarding eggs,© Blessed Silence
Male guarding fry, © Blessed Silence
Wrigglers! © Blessed Silence By Blessed Silence
Common Name: Albino Bristle Nose Pleco
Latin Name: Ancistrus sp.
Origin: South America.
Temp: 76-80°F, 24-27°C
PH: 6.5-7.8 but I keep mine in 8.6
Ease of keeping: Easy as long as you keep nitrates low.
Adult Size: 4 - 5 inches, 10 - 12.5cm
Aggressiveness: Peaceful but can hold its own.
Min Tank Size: 29 gallon and up for a pair.
Lighting: Dim to bright.
Feeding: Algae, algae tablets, and vegetable matter.
Spawning method: Cave Spawner.
Ease of breeding: Easy as long as all conditions are met.
Sexing: Males will have a large amount of bristles on its nose; females will have a few but not as large or as many.
The Albino Bristle Nose Pleco likes to have a lot of hiding spots. So you would want to put some caves in, along with driftwood and plenty of plants. They do not seem to eat or uproot plants in a planted tank, although they probably nibble on it here and there.
They are one of the best algae eaters I have ever kept, so much so you will want to start feeding them zucchini or some other form of vegetable matter right away. Once they get used to you feeding them at a certain time each day they will be waiting there for you on a regular basis.
If you plan on breeding them you would want to make sure you have a large enough tank and plenty of caves, this can consist of small flower pots or even PVC pipe, if you plan to use PVC make sure its large enough, so you would want it to be at least 1 ½”. Keep feeding them vegetables and take out any leftovers each day, they are very sensitive to nitrates. The babies will be even more sensitive to it. You will notice that the male will take up residence in one of the “caves”. And one day you might notice the female in the “cave” with the male. Usually they spend there time on separate ends of the tank. If you look a little later on you will notice a cluster of pinkish colored eggs. They usually lay around 20-50 at a time, depending on how old your pair is.
I move the father and the eggs after they are laid it makes it easier once the babies are born. The father does all the work here, he will stay and fan the eggs and the fry once they are hatched, he will also protect the fry from any threat. The eggs will hatch in about 3 days, and then they fry will be little wiggling masses (very large egg sack) and they will usually fasten themselves to the top of the cave. After another 3 days they will have finished absorbing there egg sack and will start to venture out and around the tank. At this point you can put the cave and the father back into the main tank.
You will want to start feeding the fry micro worms, bbs and vegetable matter. They are mainly herbivorous but they need some protein in there diet to grow correctly. You will want to do water changes 2-3 times per week. And in-between meals don't hurt either. They are just as messy as there parents but you have a lot more to clean up after.
There are a few reasons I move the father and his eggs to a new tank. The biggest one is its so hard to catch all those little suckers and move them to a nursery tank. They are just as good at hiding and sticking to the glass as the adults are. Its a lot easier to keep the tank clean if its bare bottom (which all of my nursery tanks are) you have a lot of “stuff” to suck up. Also if you have a lot of fry in your main tank the pair seem to breed less often.
The most fascinating part of all this, is that when the male is ready to breed or is protecting a clutch, he has a bright pink spot on the top of his head and on his tail there's a pink stripe. Shortly after he has done his father duties it goes back to the normal albino coloring
Hoplo Catfish
Hoplo Catfish
Hoplo Catfish © Cyril
My hoplo catfish, he/she is very lively and very greedy.
He is not agresive in our very full community tank,
he has grown very quickly and is almost full size
Enlarge this picture By: Devan Pearson
Common Name: Hoplo Catfish
Latin Name: Megalechis Personata
Origin: Brazil
Temperature: 60 - 82°F (17-28°C)
Ease Of Keeping: Easy
Aggressivness: Sort of Agressive
Lighting: Likes the dark
Adult_Size: 4" (10cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 20 Gallons
Feeding: Shrimp Pellets, Tubifex worms, and other sinking foods.
Spawning Method: Unknown
Comments: This fish is a nice, easy going, and does eat A LOT!
Glass Catfish
Glass Catfish
By Clint Norwood
Glass Catfish © Etrace
Species/genus: Kryptopterus bicirrhis
Origin: Indonesia
Temp: 70-78°F (21-25°C)
pH: 7 + - dH: Not critical
Temperament: Shy and individuals do not fair well alone, needs a few companions of their own species to thrive.
Adult Size: 3in (7.5cm)
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallon
Feeding: Prefers some live foods but will eat frozen foods and flakes.
Breeding: Not known to spawn in captivity
Comments: The glass catfish is named for it's completely clear body color. It is also an unusual catfish in that it swims in the midwater region of the aquarium, not on the bottom. It will school at times, and it must be stressed that this fish will die of lonliness without companions of it's own species.
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