| Pelvicachromis | |
|---|---|
| Female Pelvicachromis pulcher | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudocrenilabrinae |
| Tribe: | Chromidotilapiini |
| Genus: | Pelvicachromis Thys van den Audenaerde, 1968 |
| Species | |
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See text. |
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The genus Pelvicachromis includes a range of small (7.5 - 10 cm), brightly coloured cichlids which occur in tropical West Africa and Central Africa. They typically inhabit soft, acidic water (pH 5.0 - 7.0).
All species form monogamous pairs and use caves as spawning sites. Most are easily spawned in captivity.
Contents |
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 cichlids 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. They are usually great parents and will care for their young very well.
There are many different color types depending on the streams from which they come from. There are yellow, blue, red morphs commonly found in the tropical fish hobby.
[1]Most of the pelvicachromis available at pet stores in the U.S. are bred by breeders in the U.S. It is pretty rare to get wild specimens imported in the United States. This is for a few reasons. . .