Inside This Issue: BAP Report HCCC Photo Contest Species Profiles: HCCC Trading Post. 50 Years of Fish Keeping The Beginning

Transcription

1 Volume 1, Issue 9 February 1, 2005 Inside This Issue: BAP Report HCCC Photo Contest Species Profiles: - Cynotilapia afra Cobwe - Tropheus moori Bemba - Dicrossus Filamentosus - Labidochromis caeruleus - Pseudotropheus demasoni 50 Years of Fish Keeping The Beginning HCCC Trading Post

2 February 1, 2005 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Photo Contest 2 Cynotilapia afra 7 Tropheus moori Bemba 8 Dicrossus Filamentosus yrs of Fish Keeping 12 Labido. caeruleus 13 Pseudo. demasoni 15 Trading Post 17 Upcoming Events: February Meeting on the 20th in Canyon Lake. BAP Report The BAP program is running along like wild fire. Many club members are having great success with their aquatic pets. In addition to new species being spawned, repeat spawning is also plentiful. Labidochromis caeruleus has been bred by nine different members! A special "welcome to the program" goes to Nick, Robby, Kevin, Diane, Young David, Ryan and Nathan. Current Standings Name Score Pending Greg Charles Robert 190 David D Duc 135 Dave H Paul 105 Lisa 80 Blair Nick YTD Current Standings (cont.) Name Score Pending Brian 40 Jeff Kris JJ 25 by Greg Steeves It would appear that David D has his sites set on the breeder of the year award for 2005 but Charles and Jeff might be able to give him a run for his money. There are many pending reports that will be valid very soon. Keep those fish healthy and breeding. Remember, BAP fish are available to members at a very low price. Mike 15 Diane 30 Dave S. 20 Kevin 20 Robby 20 Ryan 15 YTD HAS Auction in March. HCCC Auction. Tentatively scheduled for April. HCCC Show and Awards Banquet May 14th. July 21st-24th. TCA hosts the ACA Convention. Cover Photo: Thorichthys pasionis by Spencer Jack HCCC Monthly Photo Contest A special thanks to Jessica Miller for judging our photo contest. This month s contest was Malawian non-mbuna First Place: Protomelas ornatus By Blair Howell

3 The Lateral Line Page 3 Second Place: Champsochromis caeruleus By Blair Howell Third Place Tie: Protomelas taeniolatus & Sciaenochromis fryeri By Donald Davis Unknown By Nathan Currie Aulonocara baenschi By Greg Steeves Auloncara stuartgranti Bicolor 500 By Terry Isbell Cyrtocara moorii By Lisa Boorman Nimbochromis venustus By Nathan Currie

4 The Lateral Line Page 4 Placidochromis electra By Jeremy Zahirniak Nimbochromis fuscotaeniatus By Blair Howell Aulonocara sp. Rubescens By Jeremy Zahirniak Aulonocara stuartgranti Maleri Island By Donald Davis Protomelas fenestratus By Jeremy Zahirniak Sciaenochromis fryeri By Gene Janulis Copadichromis azureus By Gene Janulis Aulonocara stuartgranti Bicolor 500 By Gene Janulis Aulonocara stuartgranti Maleri Island By Diane Tennison

5 The Lateral Line Page 5 Auloncara jacobfreibergi By Terry Isbell Nimbochromis venustus By Greg and Lee Ann Steeves Otopharynx lithobates By Greg and Lee Ann Steeves Protomelas stevensi By Terry Isbell Interview with Jessica Miller By Dave Hansen Dave: How did you get your start in fishkeeping and how long ago? Jessica: I started fishkeeping while living in Colorado in I think I really just didn t have much else to do at the time and Cichlids intrigued me so I bought a bunch of books and a tank and things pretty much took off from there. Dave: I understand you have a particular passion for tropheus. How did this develop? Jessica: Also, while in Colorado, there was a fish store that specialized in Rift Lake Cichlids that had a number of amazing Tropheus tanks and I was just very taken with their unusual appearance. Not long after, I learned how difficult they can be and this made them all that more interesting to me. Dave: What is your current setup as far as tanks and types of species you are keeping? Jessica: Er, do you really want to know? I have a 3500gallon pond with Koi. For a number of personal reasons, I have not kept indoor fish for the past few years. My last tanks were of Tropheus (100g s, 75g s and 55g s) and Frontosa (250g). I don t intend for this to be a permanent situation, just what needs to be for now. Dave: As someone who has written some articles, is there anything you are currently working on or has a special interest for you? Jessica: Not at the present time, though can I plug my friend Frank Schneidewind s brand new Tropheus MiniAtlas (German language)? It s amazing! Dave: If you don't mind tell us about yourself outside of fishkeeping? Jessica: How much do you want to know? Being the obsessive person that I am, after selling my fish I launched into keeping cacti and now maintain a greenhouse full of them. I have worked for a software company in Seattle for nearly 10 years on mainframe and AS/400 systems and doing emulation support, and live East of Seattle in a town called Issaquah with my husband and two cats.

6 The Lateral Line Page 6 Species Profile: Cynotilapia afra Cobwe Background: Cynotilapia were first described by Gunther in 1893 as belonging to Hemichromis. Reagan, in 1922, described this genus again using its unusual dog-like dentition for the genus name. Cynotilapia means dog tilapia in Latin. Representatives of Cynotilapia have long, wellseparated, unicuspid teeth, strongly conical in the outer row. The teeth of the inner rows are smaller and irregularly spaced. [1] Cynotilapia afra was the only described species for many years. However, in recent decades work has progressed and there are approximately a dozen named species. I personally think the afra group will eventually be sorted out and a few new species named. The locale variant I have is from the eastern (Mozambique) shore of Lake Malawi, just about at the center the lake at Cobwe. I have used Konings spelling, but have seen this spelled Cobue many times. The correct pronunciation is a little elusive as well: CO-BOO or COB-WAY. This variant has been sold in the hobby as Orange Back Afra, Orange Back Cobue and Afra Edwardi. C. afra has settled in virtually every rocky or intermediate habitat.with males defending small caves among the medium size rocks. C. afra has even established itself in sediment-rich habitats such as.cobwe. [2] Typical water parameters, aquascaping, and diet for Mbuna apply. Adult size for males is 3 to 3-1/2 with the females being slightly smaller. Photo By Chiu Lee by Nick Andreola (Sharkie) several months ago. They were placed in a 45 gal breeder tank with a quad of Ps polits, a group of six 1-1/2 Lab. Perlmutts and a couple of dwarf bristlenose catfish. The male afra is the undisputed king of the tank. Not even the male polit will attempt to challenge him. A closer look at his face shows the probable reason---this guy has some serious looking chompers and he likes to show them off. He is about the same length as the male polit but has a deeper, thicker body. His color intensity tends to follow his moods. When he struts his stuff, he is gorgeous. The F0 females are reasonably attractive with a solid light blue body and hints of black in the tail and dorsal fins. I think that using an actinic light bulb enhances their looks. The F1 female is intriguing. She shows faint black barring and occasionally you can see some yellow coloration on her head and shoulders in the typical male pattern. Her fry have a unique look as well. I will be experimenting with her line to try to capture and hopefully enhance this female coloration trait. The male is generally sedentary. No matter how or how often you River City Aquatics a proud supporter of the HCCC Member discounts: 25% off livestock 15% off dry goods / 10% off aquariums (Continued on page 7) Personal Experiences: I first received an adult F0 trio and an F1 female from fellow HCCC member Chiu Lee Roxie Dr., Suite D Austin, TX (512)

7 The Lateral Line Page 7 change up the rockwork, he will choose a cave, make a pit in the substrate, and hover near his turf. He comes out to swim with his harem on occasion and rockets to the surface at feeding times. He doesn t chase trespassers for any distance like other territorial males I ve kept. Once the interloper is out of his small domain, he returns to his cave. All the other fish generally respect his turf. The females are a little more territorial than I expected but, are generally very peaceful and join with the female polits and young perlmutts in leisurely swims in the mid and upper waters. Conclusions: I highly recommend C. afra Cobwe to anyone with an interest in Mbuna. They are undemanding, colorful and prolific breeders. While the male will determinedly defend his territory, the actual territory is small and the male does not exhibit the same type of random, constant aggressive behavior as a Ps. Polit or a Ps. Demasoni. Species Profile: Tropheus moori Bemba Orange Flame by David Dockwiller Tropheus moori Bembas are native to Lake Tanganyika. In the Cichlid trade Tropheus moori Bembas are known has Orange Flames. In their natural habitat Orange Flames can be found in rocky areas in Lake Tanganyika. In the aquarium environment Tropheus love moving through the various openings in the rock formations that I had in my 75 gallon tank, as well as, eating algae that grew on the rocks. I obtained six Orange Flames from Armke's Rare African Fish located in New Braunsfels, Texas. When I acquired them they were approximately 1" long. When young, Orange Flames are a blackish grey with a light vertical orange marking located in the middle of the body. In adulthood, Orange Flames acquire a body that is deep black with a pronounced orange vertical band on the middle of the body. Their bodies are torpedo shaped with the head being larger and very round. Coloration in both males and females is virtually the same with the dominant male having a more distinct orange band. Tropheus have a reputation for being very aggressive and very active in the aquarium environment and should not be kept with more peaceful cichlids. I have noticed aggressive behavior on many occasions, which is why I will state that anyone wanting to maintain Tropheus should have a colony with at least 12, or unless the aquarium they will be housed in is large (6 feet in length or greater) a fewer number can be maintained. The aquarium should also have many hiding places so that less dominant Tropheus can recover from any bullying males or females. It should also be noted that along with Orange Flames I kept other types of Tropheus in the same tank. At the time all of my Tropheus were kept in a 75 gallon tank. I have had three successful spawns with Orange Flames. Two of the spawns occurred in my 75 gallon tank and the last spawn, which I will write about in this article, occurred in my 240 gallon tank. I was able to raise 5 Orange Flames from each spawn. Each spawn produced approximately 12 eggs. When I acquired the 240 gallon tank last Spring I had already decided to get Amazonia International a proud supporter of the HCCC Member discounts: 20% off Fish & Live Plants 10% off Tanks, Stands, Eheims and Eclipses 25% off Filters and Powerheads 4631 Airport #116 Austin, TX (512) (Continued on page 8)

8 The Lateral Line Page 8 rid of all of my Tropheus with the exception of my Orange Flames. I placed all six of them in the 240 gallon aquarium, noting that the size of the tank should displace the aggression has previously noted. After placing them in their new home I noticed that 1 of the Orange Flames was not eating, of course I realized quickly that I had a problem. I tried to medicate the single Orange Flame but to no avail he soon perished. I ended losing 3 others to the dreaded disease (we all know which disease I am referring to) leaving me with only 2 survivors, a lone male and female. I believe the losses occurred because the tank was new and was not completely established. In addition, the substrate is very difficult to clean since the size of the Aragonite grains are quite small and tend to be picked up by the siphon quite easily. Tropheus need very clean tanks and the substrate needs to be siphoned to remove a large majority of the detritus. It was devastating for me to lose my Orange Flames since they had been under my care for two years. Needless to say, my single pair spawned. I ended up losing the male shortly afterwards. However, I waited and noticed that the female was holding for quite some time, unfortunately she was not holding long enough before I stripped her of her young. I noticed that a considerable amount of the yolk sack was still remaining. Out of the 12 fry I was only able to raise 5 successfully. I believe the survival rate was low because the fry were not kept in a capacity that would allow them to be 'tumbled' with a large amount of aeration. If I had 'tumbled' the fry I might have had a higher survival rate. I have found that when there is a considerable amount of yolk sack remaining on fry, fungus is able to envelop the yolk sack, which can lead to a premature death. The 75 gallon has a substrate that is a light brown and rounded with no sharp edges, which is perfect for Tropheus. The substrate is used in commercial applications as blast sand. The substrate in the 240 gallon is Aragonite. Both aquariums have holey rock for shelter and hiding places. Neither tank has live plants or plastic plants. Both tanks are filtered by Eheim 2217's. The temperature in both tanks is maintained between 78 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The ph in the tanks is unknown since I have never tested the water. I perform weekly water changes equal to 15% of the tank volume. I use fluorescent lighting for duration of approximately 14 hours each day. I feed my cichlids New Life Spectrum pellet and Ocean Nutrition flake. The spawning habits of Orange Flames can at times be aggressive. The male will chase the female until she is ready to spawn. In some instances I have had to remove the female because the damage inflicted on the female was extensive. Photo By Spencer Jack When Photo a spawn By Greg does Steeves occur the male flutters, shakes, and shimmies around the female to entice her to spawn. The female will then release an egg to be immediately taken up by the female. The spawn will occur in the open. What is interesting about the spawn is that other cichlids will not intervene in order to make a meal of the eggs once laid by the female. I have a dominant male Cyrtocara moori that bullies other males when spawning in the 240, but for some reason he will not interfere with the Tropheus. The process will usually yield about 20 eggs by my estimates. The eggs of Tropheus are quite large which is why Tropheus spawns do not yield great numbers. The eggs are cream colored in appearance. The female will hold the eggs for approximately 3-4 weeks. I have noticed that the female will take little bits of food during the incubation process which is something that is not too common with female cichlids. I will strip the female of her babies once I think the time is ready for the babies to feed on their own and will be safely raised in a fry tank (however during the last spawn I obtained the fry prematurely). The fry are quite large after release and are light black/ grey with a very subtle band that is a light grey in the middle of the body. I have noticed that Tropheus fry (Continued on page 9)

9 The Lateral Line Page 9 grow very quickly over time. In 2 months they can obtain a size that is close to 1", whereas it will take my Calvus at least 9 months to obtain a size that is close to 1". The fry tank uses a sponge filter for filtration and the fry are fed crushed flake food. I have also recently started feeding the fry freeze dried Daphnia. I would recommend Tropheus for the more advanced cichlid enthusiast. They are very susceptible to bloat. Some keepers of Tropheus attribute their susceptibility to bloat on several factors: 1) Infrequent water changes 2) Changes in the aquarium environment producing stress on Tropheus 3) Feeding inappropriate foods (Tropheus are vegetarians) 4) Bullying by other Tropheus I believe the most important of the items noted above is to maintain a clean tank (change water once per week, as well as, siphoning the substrate), and feeding Tropheus the right kinds of food. If you adhere to the above you should have few problems with keeping Tropheus. In concluding, I currently do not maintain Tropheus, but I have at least learned from my experience with them. In the future I will probably obtain a colony, especially if I am able to obtain more room for another tank (with my wife's approval of course). Alamo Aquatic Pets San Antonio, TX 10% off livestock Species Profile: Dicrossus Filamentosus by Kevin Simms Dicrossus Filamentosus, or the Checkerboard Cichlid, is an open spawner native to small, slow flowing waters with some still zones in the upper Rio Negro and upper Rio Orinoco, Brazil, South America. The climate is tropical rainforests of South America, and native waters for this fish are ph with virtually no hardness. I obtained 5 approx.5 inch long fish from Aqua-Tek, Austin, TX. Males achieve a size of Inches and are torpedo shaped, with the tips of the tail fin elongated. Depending on mood, they will have a checkerboard pattern down the side of their body. The fins are iridescent blue/red. Females achieve a size of inches and are not as long and not as colorful as males and have rounded tail fins. They will show either a light checkerboard pattern or dark stripe down their side. Females that have spawned will show bright red pelvic fins. Virgin females do not show the red. The fish bred in a 10 gallon tank which contained Flourite and was planted with various cryptocoryne, Anubias nana, dwarf chain sword, and hornwort. The tank was filtered by a Top Fin 10 and water was r/o. I performed weekly to every other week water changes equal to 50% of the tank volume. I used compact fluorescent lighting for a duration of hours each day. I fed the fish Tetra Color Bits, New Life Spectrum cichlid pellets, and live black worms. (Continued on page 10) Photo By Kevin Simms

10 The Lateral Line Page 10 During and after spawning, the female shows a dark stripe down her side, as does the dominant male. I did not get to see the actual spawning process. I know they spawned once before but the eggs either did not hatch or were eaten. I have observed the males displaying for the female. They spread all their fins and shake and also have mock battles. The pair laid an unknown number eggs. The female guards the fry after hatching. I observed about free swimming fry. She confronts any fish that ventures too close head down and chases them from the vicinity. Overall she has been an excellent mother. I was able to remove three of the fry early on, and left the remainder with the mother. Those three are being raised in a separate, bare bottom ten gallon with some hornwort. There are about 7 fry left with the mother now. They seem to be growing faster than those in the other tank. Approximately eggs of the total hatch were viable and hatched after probably about 2 days. When I first noticed them they were free swimming already. I believe they were eating micro-organisms in the algae and substrate. They had no visible yolk sacs. They were able to consume baby brine shrimp at this time. The fry apparently were very self sufficient. There was enough for them to eat in the planted ten gallon to sustain them until I noticed them! I feed twice-three time's daily baby brine shrimp, with weekly 30-40% water changes. There may have been some sucked up into the filter, but I don't think so as they maintained almost constant contact with the substrate. The female is a very good mother. She still guards the fry, even though they appear to be large enough to make it on their own. I plan to leave the ones that are still with her in that tank until they are large enough for me to be able to catch. I started the fry off on baby brine shrimp. These are my first, but it seems that they are growing fairly quickly. Photo By Kevin Simms I did not think I would ever get fry from the group I have now. Four males and one female in a ten gallon! They are very fun to watch when displaying for each other, and the female is a wonderful mother! These are wonderful fish to keep, even if not to spawn. They are absolutely gorgeous! They can be a little shy, but dither fish (green neons) help. I do not see myself without these fish in the future. They are very social with each other and I can sit and watch them all night! I would definitely recommend these fish to anyone interested in dwarf cichlids. They are interesting and beautiful. They are supposed to be sensitive to hard water, although I have only kept them in R/O so I do not know how they would fare in different conditions. I believe water quality and stability are the main factors. They are not picky eaters, although they definitely prefer live food! Give 'em a try, you wont be disappointed. I plan to breed these guys again if possible. The plan is to move them to a 20 long and try with one or two males and three or four females next. I believe that the ten gallon is just too small for these guys and I think they will show different behaviors in a larger tank. Make sure you provide them with lots of cover because when spawning things can get a bit rough. The males will need somewhere to escape the brooding female. Overall they are excellent fish and a wonderful first successful spawn for Dani and I. Lisa s Lair Bookstore Online Books Various Discounts for HCCC Members Visit:

11 The Lateral Line Page 11 Fifty Years of Keeping Tropical Fish-The Beginning by Mike Holtz As I watch the fish in my 125 gallon tank my thoughts take me back to the year Here I am working up a list of what is needed to have the state of the art aquarium setup. There is excitement in the air as I anticipate the finished project. The list of items required is as follows: gallon tank- (larger tanks weren't available or were hard to come by) The tank has a slate bottom and a stainless steel frame. The glass is held in place with a black tar. There is no guarantee on leaks. 2. Wrought iron stand- (as Henry Ford said about the model T, you can have any color you want as long as it's black) You must remember that there are better odds in Las Vegas for getting a stand that is level. 3. Stainless steel top- (comes complete with an oblong light bulb and sits directly on the tank with no glass canopy) - I have often wondered how many people received electrical shocks or the number of houses that might have burned down. 4. Heater (keeps the water temperature fairly stable) Watching TV becomes a real challenge when the heater comes on as lines zigzag across the screen and a buzzing sound occurs. 8. Fish- Your eyes light up as you gaze at all the varieties (actually, the only fish available at the time were Angels, Zebras, Corydoras, Catfish, Mollies, Swords, Guppies, Paradise and Bettas. The exotics did not appear until the 60's) You transport these fish in a paper carton with a wire handle. It looks like you are bringing home food from Hong Fong's Chinese restaurant. At last the tank is set up and the real fun begins. Sit back and relax as you look at the marvel of fish keeping. The Betta and Paradise fish are setting the stage for World War III. What has the Angel fish got in his mouth. Oops, it looks like the Guppy. The Zebra fish must not have liked the water because he is on the floor and looks like a mummy from Egypt. If your tank doesn't leak, just give it time. As far as the tank being level, just put three fifty cent pieces under one of the legs. Handle the top with care as water condensation is on the wiring and the light bulb, it could be dangerous. All in all it was exciting at the time because we did not know any better and could not visualize what the future would hold for the tropical fish hobbyist. 5. Thermometer (It bobs in the water resulting in your eyes crossing as you try to read the temperature). 6. Corner pump (comes complete with an air stone, air line and sponge filter) The noise sounds like Grandma's false teeth chattering on a cold winter night. 7. Gravel (an absolute mustthe latest rainbow colorsred, green, blue, yellow, and purple fade and cause the water to have a tinge of color) Armke s Rare Aquarium Fish a proud supporter of the HCCC Member discounts: 20% off livestock N. Business 35 New Braunfels, TX (830)

12 The Lateral Line Page 12 Species Profile: Labidichromis caeruleus by Lisa Boorman Common Name: Electric yellow, lemon cichlid or Yellow Labidochromis, Lion=s Cove Yellow Synonyms: occasionally seen as Labidichromis sp. AYellow Labidochromis sp. Labidochromis tanganicae (commercial name) Family: Cichlidae Meaning of Name: Labidochromis refers to type of teeth the fish have and to the former name for cichlids (Chromides). Labis meaning >tongs= and chroma meaning color. Caeruleus stands for >blue or bluish=. (This refers to the fact that the first specimens found were white with a bluish tinge to them) L. caeruleus is found in Lake Malawi from Chirombo Point to Charo in Malaëi and Cape Kaiser in Tanzania to Londo in Mozambique. The yellow variety is found between Charo and Lion=s Cove. This fish likes a temperature of 75-80EF. A ph of is recommended. This fish has no clear sexual dimorphism. The differences are seen in dominant fish whether or not they are male or female (usually male). They grow to about 4" long on average. They are a white fish with a black strip through the dorsal fin. Some populations have the black sub marginal band and in some the dorsal is completely white. The majority of these in the hobby are the yellow variety. (It is almost impossible to find the original white type in the hobby) These fish (the yellow type) are a bright yellow with a black line through the dorsal and anal fins. The pelvic fins can be black also. The majority of these fish do not have egg spots. Mine however do. (There is a population with it). Both my males and my females have the egg spots. People say you can tell the males from the females by the male having a thicker black line in the dorsal or darker black anal fins. I find that this shows up on the dominant fish whether or not it=s a male or a female. The only way to be sure of the sex of your fish is to vent them or see a female carrying eggs in her mouth. In nature these fish are insectivorous and are found in a sediment rich rocky biotope with dark caves at a depth of around 20m. They wander around singly and are non-territorial. Males court females upon encounter in the lake. I originally received three of these fish from a local club member. They were put into a 55g tank with a gravel bottom and lots of hiding places and a lot of plants. The temperature runs around 78EF. The ph is in the high 7's. They were slow growing. One day one of them died and was fished out of the tank. One of the remaining Photo By Lee Ann Steeves fish began to put on some size and displaying to the remaining fish. That fish disappeared on me. I moved everything in that tank and there was no sign of it anywhere. I figured that somehow the other residents ate his body in the night. Several months later I cleaned under the tank. (The tank has a cabinet that is maybe an inch of the ground and is covered by a glass top with 2 holes to pick up the tops). I found my missing Electric Yellow. He was very dry. He was just big enough to have jumped out of the only hole he could reach. There are fluorescent lights there too. It must have been an (un)lucky jump. I gave up on breeding them. Several months later she held eggs. I wanted some new Electric Yellows because I knew I had a female. (Continued on page 13)

13 The Lateral Line Page 13 Conveniently someone was clearing out a tank and needed to get rid of 5 small electric yellows (from the same brood as mine). He brought them over. I thought that they were the palest Electric Yellows I had ever seen. They were a lot smaller that their sister too. I knew I was going to have to wait again. Well after a month of good food they started getting some good color again. I then knew that it was diet that kept them looking the way they did. They were all moved into a 90g tank. This tank was full of hiding spots and gravel. I then saw a small one holding eggs. I got excited but she ate them shortly after. After a month or so, the big female (it was starting to get harder to pick her out as the others had caught up in size and almost in color) was holding. I waited 2 weeks to move her to a 10g to release her fry. She kept hanging on to them. It was almost 29 days before she released 10 fry. I put her back into the main tank immediately as I had other fry to put in that tank with the L. caeruleus. It must be almost getting time for them to spawn again. Yeah! I can=t wait. Now wait several years. I had kept a group of these fish going in a 225 gallon tank. They share the tank with Cyrtocara moorii, Julidochromis marlieri, Labidochromis sp. 'mbamba bay', a large pleco and a wild group of Synodontis multipunctatus. They had not spawned in over a year as all the large adults had been killed off earlier. The young ones were finally of a size to spawn. I was actually hoping for a spawn of the cuckoo cats and not the electric yellows, but I knew that if there were any catfish eggs in the females mouth it would be almost impossible to get a catfish fry back out if I let her hold to term. (I typically let the females hold until they are about to release them, and then strip them if I want to save the fry). So after letting the female hold for a week, I set up my tumbler that I bought several years earlier from Wet Thumb Aquatics. I'd never actually used it since my females hold so well. I caught the female and carefully stripped 10 eggs from her. I placed them in the tumbler and set the air up to gently tumble them. I noticed that after another 7 days that the eggs now had tails. I had all caeruleus, no catfish. I tumbled the fry until they could swim on their own (about day 17). The fry were released into the small tank that the tumbler was in. All of the eggs hatched. Not bad for tumbling eggs the first time! Photo By Robert De Leon Labidochromis fry Photo By Lisa Boorman

14 The Lateral Line Page 14 Species Profile: Pseudotropheus demasoni by Robert De Leon Following a long absence from the hobby, I got the itch to start keeping fish again after I bought my son a small tank. It didn't take long before I was picking out a 75 gallon tank for myself. I did some research of the different cichlids I wanted to keep and at the top of the list was a group of Pseudotropheus demasoni. With their smaller size and incredible color, they are still my favorite mbuna. Before going out and purchasing these fish, there are some things that need to be considered. They are also highly aggressive toward each other. Other species in the tank are chased around, but dominant demasoni males save most of their aggression toward their own species. Dominant males will not tolerate other males unless the tank is large enough and there are plenty of hiding places. Although I have kept as few as one male and one female in a tank, I think that they do better in a larger group so aggression can Ps. demasoni are herbivores from the Pombo Rocks area of Lake Malawi. In the wild, males rarely exceed 4 inches but I have seen some 4"+ tank raised specimens. They need to be feed a diet high in vegetable matter. I prefer to give them a good spirulina based flake and/or pellet. I also found that demasoni are susceptible bloat. An inappropriate Photos By Robert De Leon be spread out. Once a pecking order is established, adding new adults to the group can be disastrous. I once picked up seven adults at our auction thinking I could add them to an existing group of 8. After two days and 4 dead fish, a new pecking order was established and things returned back to normal. I suggest starting with a good sized group of one inch juveniles and letting them grow up together to minimize losses. diet, poor water conditions or intense aggression from other fish can trigger the dreaded illness. If the sick fish is quickly put into isolation and medicated as soon as symptoms are observed, these tough little guys usually pull through. Sexing demasoni can be a little difficult. Males and females have the same coloration. Males generally grow larger and have more defined colors, but I have had a few surprises. I was once certain that a specific fish was a male until one morning she was holding. I am not sure as to how long females hold, but I'm guessing anywhere between 3 to 4 weeks. In a (Continued on page 15)

15 The Lateral Line Page 15 large group, it is difficult to differentiate between the different holding females, making it almost impossible to keep track of which one is which and how long they've been holding. I've found that once their mouths look like they are about to pop and their chin is dark black, its time to fish them out and strip them. I've had broods as small as six and as large 15. Fry have the same blue and black colors as the parents. They eagerly accept crushed flake and grow quickly. After years of keeping demasoni, I had never seen them spawn. One day I saw the oddest thing. My dominant male and a female were circling each other on the back glass. I kept watching and noticed the most amazing thing. They were spawning on the calcium and algae encrusted back glass. The female was sticking the eggs to the back glass and quickly turning around and picking them up. She would then follow the male presumably to fertilize the eggs. I don't know if the eggs were sticky or it was the rough texture of the back glass that was holding the eggs after they were dropped. Holding Female Photo By Robert De Leon Once the spawning is over, the females usually retreat to a hiding place for the next couple weeks. I've found that other demasoni will target the holding females but I have never found the aggression to be too persistent. Catching holding females can be a chore as it is easy to confuse them for the other fish in the tank. Once the fry are stripped from the female, I've noticed that they make no effort to try to put them back in their mouths. When I've let the females release in a small tank by themselves, they don't show any post-release care for the fry. Like I mentioned earlier, the fry grow quickly and it doesn't take long before they start chasing each other, presumably practicing for when they mature. Ps. demasoni make good additions to tanks where their proper diet can be maintained. Other species of fish in the tank must also be able to hold their own or the demasoni will walk all over them. Demasoni spend most of their time hugging the rocks and substrate and usually never swim into open water unless it's feeding time. Nonetheless they are highly active, constantly moving in and out of cover and chasing each other around. I would recommend keeping them with other mbuna but I have also had success keeping them with Victorian cichlids, although the Victorians are noticeably intimidated by the demasoni resulting in poor color. The female was sticking the eggs to the back glass and quickly turning around and picking them up CB Pets Spring Branch, TX 10% off

16 The Lateral Line Page 16 Trading Post The Hill Country Cichlid Club Trading Post is for all club members and club supporters to post ads of fish and equipment they have for sale. Members are encouraged to sell their extra fish and supplies via this Trading Post. Businesses the support the HCCC are welcome to submit a sample stock list. Anyone is welcome to contact the parties selling fish, but only HCCC members can place ads. The Hill Country Cichlid Club is only facilitating the exchange of fish and in no way offers any guarantees on items purchased on the Trading Post. Lake Tanganyika E. melonogeny, T moori bemba, S. petricola Enantiopus melanogeny black face 3-4.5" Tropheus moori bemba 1.25" Synodontis petricola dwarf 1.25"+ Shipping Available Charles (S.A.) 12/15 Lake Malawi Wanted Yellow Lab Females I am looking for 2 female yellow labs(proven breeders),at least 2.5 but prefably 3 inches long. Roger. rlfremax@juno.com (S.A.) 1/27 Sciaenochromis Fryeri (Electric Blue Ahli) Females I have 20 adult females waiting for a new home. They are all 3-4" and have already begun to drop eggs. Father is gorgeous with very nice blaze from mouth to tail. Asking $8 each or 3 for $20. Pics available upon request. No shipping. philjackson1@netzero.net (S.A.) F1 Cynotilapia Afra Edwardi Cobwe My last batch of F1 Afras (sold parents to Nick). I have at least 3 males and unknown number of females. They are about 1.5" inches in length. Make an offer. No shipping. Chiu. chiulee@yahoo.com (Austin) 12/7 Labeotropheus trewavasae "Mpanga" juvies " total length, easily sexable, $7 for a pair or $12 for 2 pair. males are still largely blue but begining to develop the rusty adult coloration on their sides. available for pickup only. Ryan. wvalicek@yahoo.com (Houston) 12/29 F2 Fulleborni Marmalade Cats A whole bunch of 1.5" fulleborni marmalade cats. Parents were from Armke s. Some are starting to color up nicely. Make an offer. No shipping. Chiu. chiulee@yahoo.com (Austin) 12/7 Accessories 46 Gallon BowFront Aquarium All Black Trim, Black Stand, Light, and I will throw in a couple of Small Bright Yellow African Cichlids, (Yellow Labs), and I will help you set it up and move it. $200. No shipping. Mike. serialpimp@hotmail.com (Austin) 1/10 Used Tanks I have one 20L with hood and light for $30. Also have two 20H's with glass tops, 2 sponge filters, 1 HOB filter and a 48" light strip all for $70. I will sell everything together for $90. Jeff. jrcaroli@gvtc.com (Spring Branch) 12/27 45 Gallon Breeder Selling my 45 gallon breeder (36X18), with stand, glass tops, and lights for $125 OBO. Currently, being used as a growout tank and running. chiulee@yahoo.com No shipping. Chiu. (Austin) 1/ gallon w/ everything Eheim Frontosas Wood stand, black, Glass tops, 4 light tops, Eheim professional II, Magnum 350, 250 watts EBO heater, gravel, holey rocks, + extras. 6 Mpimbwe Frontosas, plus other fish, Fish food, Cleaning system (like python). $500 for everything! Call or (S.A.) 1/17

17 The Lateral Line Page 17 If you would like your ad to appear on the next issue of The Lateral Line, make sure you submit your ad one week before the 1st of the month. I can probably get your ad in even a few days before the 1st, but there are no guarantees. If you would like to submit your ad, do so at: Remember, only HCCC members can submit ads. Ads will also appear on the club website. BAP Fish For HCCC members only. Check forum for current availability Aulonocara flavescent blue dorsal 6 fry $5.00 Labidochromis caeruleus 6 fry $5.00 Cynotilapia afra 6 fry $5.00 Pseudotropheus polit 6 fry 5.00 Aulonocara stuartgranti Bi-color fry 5.00 Metriaclima estherae "red Zebra" 6 fry 5.00 Aulonocara saulosi 6 fry $5.00 Cyrtocara moorii 6 fry $5.00 Pseudotropheus demasoni 6 fry 5.00 Telmatachromis vittatus 6 fry 5.00 Lamprologus brevis "Ikola sunspot" 6 fry 5.00 Auloncara stuartgranti "Maleri Island" 6 fry 5.00 Various businesses have expressed support for the Hill Country Cichlid Club. They provide our club with meeting places, free gifts and discounts to HCCC members. More information on these clubs can be seen throughout the newsletter and on our website. Please stop and show them we appreciate their support. River City Aquatics Austin, TX Amazonia Austin, TX Armke s Rare Aquarium Fish New Braunfels, TX Alamo Aquatic Pets San Antonio, TX CB Pets Spring Branch, TX Lisa s Lair Bookstore Online books