Pelvicachromis
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 Female Pelvicachromis pulcher
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The genus Pelvicachromis includes a range of small (7.5 - 10 cm), brightly coloured cichlids which occur throughout tropical west Africa. They typically inhabit soft, acidic water (pH 5.0 - 7.0).
All species form monogamous pairs and use caves as spawning sites. They are easly bred in captivity.
[edit] Species
- Pelvicachromis humilis (Steindachner, 1866).
- Pelvicachromis pulcher (Boulenger, 1901).
- Pelvicachromis roloffi (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1968).
- Pelvicachromis rubrolabiatus Lamboj, 2004.
- Pelvicachromis signatus (Lamboj, 2004).
- Pelvicachromis subocellatus (Günther, 1872).
- Pelvicachromis taeniatus (Trewavas, 1935).
[edit] In the aquarium
Pelvicachromis make ideal aquarium residents. They are relatively peaceful cichlids which can be housed with other species in planted, heated tanks. They comprise part of the arbitrary group aquarists refer to as "dwarf cichlids". Dwarf chiclids are mainly found in Africa and South America.
They can be fed a variety of flake, frozen, and live foods. Pelvicachromis are cave-spawners and will lay their eggs in any cave-like structure such as a clay pot, PVC pipe, coconut shell, etc. The female will initiate the spawning, often displaying or vibrating in front of the male. The female will deposit 50-300 eggs in the cave and the pair will guard the eggs. The eggs will hatch in 3-8 days and become free swimming in 5-10 days.
[edit] References
- "Pelvicachromis". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
