Species ID?

[Jonny Googs]

Hi,

A few days ago I picked up some nice dwarf cichlids on which I have been struggling to find information (I know, I should have done research first, but they looked so cool...). Does anyone know what this fish is? It was sold as a 'golden dwarf' cichlid.

http://img458.imageshack.us/img458/1139/cichlid5tn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[a.d.wood]

Hi there,

You're the proud owner of Nannacara anomala, sometimes called the golden eye dwarf cichlid:

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/Nannacara/N._anomala/N._anomala/

Regards

Andrew

[Jonny Googs]

Cheers for that, looks like I inadvertantly bought 3 males... (2 were much smaller and looked a different colour in the shop) Is that going to be a problem in a 60L?

[sixfoottank]

Are you in the UK? The latest edition of Practical fishkeeping has a nice article on this fish.

As for the fish, a reasonable shop would swap back one of your males for one of their females. A pair would be easier for them to sell than two females.

[Jonny Googs]

Yes, I'm in North Hampshire. I may contact the fish shop in question and see if I can swap them, as the larger male is pretty pugnacious all the while the light is on (he calms down considerably when it is switched off though). Trouble is, its not so local (15 miles each way). It might not make too much difference though, as the pH in the local water is too high for breeding (having read up on it in various articles today), although not too high for living.

[mematrix]

Hi Jonny Googs. Congrates on the purchase Thease guys get real beautiful. Here is a pic. of mine
Curtis
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/mematrix/mematrix3/PICT1351.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y74/mematrix/mematrix3/PICT1367.jpg

[Jonny Googs]

Wow! They are great looking fish. I've had to move the bigger one out of the tank they were all quarantining in, as he was just too violent for the others.

They're eventually going to go into a 240L which already has 1m/1f A. Cacs. Would this give enough territories for them to not attack each other? (Particularly if there are 3 festivums going in there as well).

[Greg PL]

I had 2 males (+ 2 females and some other fish) in 1,5m tank. the bigger one was chasing the other for the whole lenght, sometimes 2-3 rounds before the weaker found some way to disappear from eye sight. but there was no harm to any of the fish. the dominant then got his share of running from the female, when she took care of the brood. :)
their children spent a year or so in a 1m tank (5 males, 3 females) and even in brood care managed to somehow stick together, no violence observed.

[Jonny Googs]

The two smaller ones seem to be fighting now as well, I came into the room to find them locked together at the mouth like kissing gouramis. One appears to have a tiny bit missing of his dorsal fin. I'll have another small tank available to put him in until the quarantine period is over soon. Do you think that having only 1 in a tank would take most of the fight out of them, or should I be worried for the festivums after that?

[mematrix]

I had mine in with some L.dorsengeras and the dorsengeras were the more agressive ones. I think that the sevs will be ok at least till you get a female and she decides to become a mother they(the female) are pretty tyranical at brood care.

Curtis

[aspen]

don't be too surprised if breeding happens successfully if your water isn't that hard, i had a good spawn in my medium tapwater, ph 7.8 or 8. they are quite a pugnacious fish esp if they are wilds.

rick