Please note that the following article was put together from notes made by the
author for two articles that first appeared in Ryedale Reporter Magazine and for a single
article that first appeared in the Newsletter of the Greater Manchester Cichlid Society.
A TASTE IN FINGERS? - BITTEN BY THE SOUTHERN MOUTHBROODER
Pseudocrenilabrus philander philander
By David Marshall
Aquarticles
The cichlid genus Pseudocrenilabrus consists of four scientifically named
Dwarf Haplochromis endemic to the African continent. Here they are found in a
variety of freshwater habitats (including rivers, sinkholes, lakes and creeks) abounding
with natural forms of cover which afford protection against the activities of fishing
birds and snakes but, sadly, cannot hold back habitat destruction at the hands of man.
Aquarists in the U.K. are very fortunate, as the four Pseudocrenilabrus
species (although often wrongly labelled) are regularly available through our larger
aquatic retail outlets. I confess a fondness for P. philander philander - the
most easily maintained member of the group.
Hailing from South Africa, this particular fish was known in our hobby for many a year
under the common name of Southern Mouthbrooder but this has, slowly, been replaced by the
name which is much favoured on the European mainland, of Blue Lipped Cichlid (a trait
shared with P. nicholsi).
How did I get bitten by the Southern Mouthbrooder? As males mature their nature changes
from 'boisterous angel' to more aggressive in character. One particular male was literally
a 'raging bull'. On a couple of occasions his bites to my fingers had left bright pink
marks upon the skin. One particular day I was very careless during routine tank
maintenance, and he attacked with full vigour, and whatever the dentition of a Dwarf Haplochromis
is supposed to be, he almost managed to break my skin leaving a mark that took a
considerable time to fade. This aquarist learned another useful lesson.
Detailed scientific study of the natural habitat of the Southern Mouthbrooder revealed
that males rule over territories which can measure as much as 90cm square. Females will
only intrude into this space in order to forage for natural food items and court a
potential mate. Don't panic, as a fish room aquarium of 75x30x30cm will house a group of
sub-adults consisting of one male with three to four females. Fine gravel or sand is used
as a substrate, the aquarium should be well planted, pH7 and have a temperature of 23 C.
My first pair of Southern Mouthbrooders came to me courtesy of my friend Mr. Kevin Webb
(a well-known aquatic photographer in the U.K.) and these fish were F1 and of German
origin. Kevin told me to expect these fish to spawn within six weeks and that the breeding
procedure was so secretive that I would not witness it. As all aquarists know, fish seldom
stick to what is expected, and the pair had spawned within six days of arrival and I
witnessed the whole procedure from start to finish.
A gaining of maturity is often signalled by dramatic changes in colour to the body of
the male. Up to this point both sexes have been orange-yellow in body colour (with males
showing patches of blue and red), but suddenly males literally blossom, with neon blue,
deep orange and turquoise colours coming to the fore.
When compared to the courting procedure of Kribensis, that of the Southern
Mouthbrooder is much less elaborate and 'showy,' allowing a pair to reach the end product
of reproducing much more quickly. Not all reproduction attempts will end in success though
and the much-respected Yorkshire aquarist Mr. Gerry Hawksby noted several young females
who, on their first attempts at motherhood, carried gravel rather than eggs in their
mouths.
At one point so many philander spawnings were taking place in my tanks that
track of the actual number was lost. Whatever the pairing, one thing remained constant in
that spawning always took place atop flat pieces of coal onto which mature females release
around 40 large yellow eggs. The male then releases his milt, indicating this action by
showing a dark orange patch on his anal fin, and his mate responds by taking this milt
into her mouth thus fertilising the eggs held within.
With her mouth pouch bulging with eggs the mother-to-be takes on the appearance of a
mutated frog. She is gently ushered into a plastic bowl and moved to a separate aquarium.
After 8 days the female takes on a dark grey appearance to her body and face and this
signals a successful hatching of eggs. After 11 days the fry will have used up their yolk
sacs so I add small amounts of microworm, and continue to do so until the first fry are
released, which the female takes into her mouth for the fry to consume.
On or around day 14 the female releases her fry and for a further two days they move
freely in and out of the safety zone offered by their mother's mouth pouch. (Gerry noted
that any fry which happen to die at this time continue to be carried by their mother).
Nature now tells their mother to weed her brood of any weaklings, so she begins to carry
out a form of infanticide and there are times when she forgets to stop, thus wiping out a
whole brood.
Fortunately Kevin had heard, through the aquatic grapevine, about the above activity
before either Kevin himself, Gerry or I had bred philanders for the first time.
So we were ready to take action, and thus on day 16, and as early as is possible, we use
one of a variety of methods which has the result of dividing mother from as many of her
fry as is possible, and into a separate aquarium she goes.
The tiny fry resemble small slivers of glass, have jet black eyes and large heads. They
will take microworms, brineshrimps and powdered food for the first fortnight before moving
onto crushed flake food.
By now their mother is ready to be re-united with her mate, but only do this if you
have the room for more fry, because you can take my word for the fact that she will be
carrying eggs again within a few hours of such a reconciliation.
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