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| ARTICLE INFORMATION Author:
Ted Guglielmo |
ARTICLE USE: Internet publication (club or non-profit web site): 1. Credit author, original publication, and Aquarticles. 2. Link to http://www.aquarticles.com and original website if applicable. 3. Advise Aquarticles Printed publication: Mail two printed copies to: Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society Inc., c/o Mike Duffy, 46 East Street Ave., Chicopee. MA 01020 U.S.A. And one copy to: Aquarticles #205 - 5525 West Boulevard Vancouver, British Columbia V6M 3W6 Canada. |
Archocentrus septemfasciatum by Ted Guglielmo Archocentrus septemfasciatum is a small cichlid (My male is about 4 inches while the female is about 2 inches). The male is more deep-bodied than the female and has a black spot in the dorsal fin that is lacking in the female (this is typical of the genus). They are an overall grey with some yellow in the breast portion. The eyes are blue. There are six black spots (depending on mood) running from the center of the body to the caudal peduncle. All of the fins, paired and unpaired, have a yellow tinge to them. The fish hails from Costa Rica, but also can be found in Panama and Nicaragua. They are very peaceful except when guarding fry.
This story begins a few years ago at the Monadnock auction. I purchased some Archocentrus nanoluteus that were Chuck Pixley's. They are a beautiful fish (maybe I can get some back some day). I kept these in a 20 high for a while. I mentioned to Mike Duffy that I had some and he asked if I wanted to trade for some Archocentrus septemfasciatum fry. He was sending my fish to a friend in, I believe it was Texas. Well, the nanoluteus weren't doing a thing for me so I made the trade. I got two males and two females out of the deal and sold one of the pairs off. Of course in the meantime the nanoluteus bred in Mike's tank while he was waiting to ship them out (oh well). I put the fish in the same 20 gallon high with some flower pots and a few rocks. After about 6 months I noticed the female getting a black coloration all across her breast up to her mouth. Her lips (if you can call them that) were a bright white. I looked in the pot and saw a few wrigglers. The male showed no interest. Two days later the fry were gone. This happened 3 or 4 more times. Finally I decided to put in some dither fish. So in went some Congo tetras. This got the male interested in guarding the fry but again the fry disappeared. At this point I had obtained some young Jack Dempseys from the Hartford auction. They were placed in a 40 breeder in my room. They proceeded to spawn with the same result as the septemfasciatum. So I decided to put them together. The Dempseys still didn't get the parenting thing but the septemfasciatum did. Out came the female one day with a herd of fry. She and the male had the whole right side of the tank to themselves. The Dempsey pair was to the left and some subordinate Dempseys were relegated to the upper parts of the tank. I left the female with the kids for a few days but not wanting to tempt fate siphoned some of them out. I have about 30 in a ten which is a little small but I am in the process of moving. I don't hatch brine shrimp (unless absolutely necessary) and I didn't have any cultures of small food around. So they were fed ground flake food. They are doing fine and will be moved to a larger grow out tank after I move. Give these guys a try. They are not as pretty as the convicts of the same genus but then again beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whenever I can get to an auction I will have some to sell and I'll bring a bag to the next meeting. |
