I.Adoketa

[BlackSpyda]

Since only few people in this forum keeps I.Adoketa and have successfull bred them.I am eager to know more information about this species.Has anyone of our members collected I.Adoketa in the wild?Do anyone of us have wild I.Adoketas?What is the natural habitat of these fish and the distribution?What are its different color forms?

[Mike Wise]

Dr. Römer collected I. adokea about 10 years ago (and actually described the genus). He wrote several articles (in German, of course) at the time. He has a good description of the biotope in his book Cichlid Atlas 2. I don't think that there are any real color morphs - on commecial names.

[BlackSpyda]

Dr. Römer collected I. adokea about 10 years ago (and actually described the genus). He wrote several articles (in German, of course) at the time. He has a good description of the biotope in his book Cichlid Atlas 2. I don't think that there are any real color morphs - on commecial names.
Anyway i've seen the difference in colors while searching in the internet and labeled as Black(which are black and white striped) and the red one.Or its just the photography effects that made it look them with 2 different colors?And i believe its not the breeding dress color.

[a.d.wood]

Anyway i've seen the difference in colors while searching in the internet and labeled as Black(which are black and white striped) and the red one.Or its just the photography effects that made it look them with 2 different colors?And i believe its not the breeding dress color.

No, look again at what Mike told you please....

The differences you are seeing are reflecting the different moods of the fish. Generally when in territorial situations you will get the stark contrasting black colour pattern. At other times the more muted tones are normal. What I can say though is that the variation in patterning/spangling between individual fish is wide. For reference one of my pairs a while back (female image first, male second) showing the colour variation to be expected:
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/a_d_wood/adoketa/adoketa_female_001.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg167/a_d_wood/adoketa/adoketa_male_001.jpg

Andrew

[BlackSpyda]

Thanks guys.And again out of the curiousity does anyone have wild I.Adoketas?As i don't see anybody keeping wild form of these.Those who have kept are tankbreed.What might be the reason behind that?Its just because south american exporters exports them ocassionally.

[Mike Wise]

Well, speaking from just my experience, the species is plain MEAN! They would just a easily kill each other than breed with each other. Only a completely compatible pair seem to be successful. Therefore, it's best to start with 6 - 8 juveniles and let them sort it out in a large tank. Usually you'll end up with a good pair and a lot of beat up fish. Of course, you could get lucky and pick just 2 that are completely compatible. Then they need special blackwater conditions - very soft and pH<5.5. Wild specimens are rare because they tend to be rare and wide-spaced in the wild.

[Arcadianred]

It's odd Mike as I have had quite the opposite with their behaviour. Two pairs formed out of 6 (were then separated) and since then I have loads of spawns from both pairs (one always eats the eggs) but minimal aggression (in fact only in the period straight after spawning). Having said this mine are in 3ft tanks with no other fish and plenty of hiding places.

The variation in colour depending on mood, as Andrew says, is massive. Would love wilds to work with but unfortunately they are like the proverbial rocking horse excrement :biggrin:

Mark

[Bev N]

Same here. I've not had any of the aggression that I was expecting to see. I grew mine out in a 50 gallon tank and even put in a few pairs of cacs. They never bothered the cacs but did eat the fry from them.

I now have two pairs in 20Hs with lots of Cover. Both pairs are spawning and we managed to have two fry last a while. I've got to catch one of the spawns and pull them. I think that is the only way we will ever see offspring.

I've been told more than once that this fish are just plain nasty.

[Mike Wise]

Perhaps I needed a larger tank. My pair were in a 20L (30x12"/75x30cm). Once the 2 paired off, they instantly killed the other female and I had to remove the other male or they would have killed him, too. My "pair" were always picking on each other. I think the only reason they tolerated each other was because they could see the other male in the neighboring tank. They would spawn, then the eggs would disappear and they would start shredding each other's fins for a while. Getting a strongly bonded pair is probably the secret to success. Apparently mine were not.

[Bev N]

Actually more than likely in my case it's a classic case of ignorance is bliss. Sometimes I just don't know any better and I get lucky...lol.:wink:

Both pairs are spawning fairly regularly and now it's just a matter of getting those eggs before they do. I would prefer they do the parenting but from what I hear these seem to eat their eggs quite often.

The color changes are amazing though.