Physical description: An elongated cichlid whose body coloration is bright blood-red. The body is spotted with iridescent dots that range in color from yellow to turquoise. The eye has a stripe through it and there is a black spot on the gill cover. A dark spot also marks the mid-section of the fish. A fins are red and covered with many turquoise markings. The dorsal and caudal fins are marked with a red and turquoise edge. These colors describe the coloration in spawning colors. At other times the fish is lighter in red and has an olive back. Size/Length: To 5" (13 cm) Similar species: Crown Jewel Cichlid ( Hemichromis cristatus) Habitat: Central Africa; found tributaries of the Zaire (Congo) and Ubanghi Rivers. S: bottom, middle Aquarium: A tank of 30" (76 cm) with a capacity of 20-25 gallons (75-98 L) is sufficient. The tank must be well-aerated. See suggestions for H. bimaculatus. Water chemistry: pH 6-7.8 (7.2), 4-15 dH (8), 73-79 F (23-26 C). Social behavior: A combative fish that is very similar in behavior to H. bimaculatus. Suggested companions: See H. bimaculatus. FOOD: Live; Tubifex , aquatic insects, crustaceans, insect larvae; pellets; flakes; tablets. SEX: Females have brighter colors while males are distinctly darker. Breeding techniques: As for H. bimaculatus. Breeding potential: 7. Breeding is difficult. Remarks: H. cristatus is sometimes sold as this fish. Difficulty of care: 5. A hardy, but territorial fish that must have a good oxygen supply to survive. Recent articles about fish Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees (2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health. Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees (10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine. Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater (12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina. |
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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2009 The copy for fish.mongabay.com was written in 1994-1995. Therefore some information such as scientific names may be out of date. For this, I apologize. Feel free to send corrections to me. |
