Julidochromis ornatus
Shy or Busy Little Beavers
By Winnie Pitzeruse
From the Reflector, Central New York Aquarium Society, February 2004
Aquarticles.com
A little over a month ago I witnessed a member's Julidochromis ornatus for the
Breeders Award Program. He was moving in a couple of weeks and his main concern was his
discus and wild angelfish, Pterophyllum altum. So when he offered me the pair of
Julies and fry I gladly accepted.
As most club members know, except for angelfish, I am not a cichlid person. Who could
resist these bright yellow fish with dark brown stripes? After removing some plants and
adding rocks to form caves I had the 30 ready. The temperature is 76F and pH around 7.4.
Although my water is a little on the hard side I knew it was not as hard as most cichlid
would like but decided I'd worry about that later. After a slow acclimation the 3-inch
male and 2½ inch female disappeared into the caves, rarely to be seen. I knew there was a
good reason I'm not crazy over cichlids, yes there are fish in that tank. The fry were
busy exploring their new home and had no ill effects from the move. The Julies had spawned
again shortly before I went over and although the member caught all the first spawn, he
could only get a couple from the second. These tiny fry also survived the move.
The pair of Julies settled in and started moving gravel from behind the rocks to the
front, which I though was a good sign. I kept watching expecting to see a swarm of fry -
like my angels. Guess I should have done a little research. All was going well until about
a week ago. Suddenly both adults became very protective of their cave and would chase the
fry away. Prior to this the fry were always out swimming around hunting for food. I have a
sponge insert over the filter intake tube and they can be found picking at that as well as
the hard algae that has accumulated on the back wall of the tank. A few nights ago I
decided to sit down (actually lay down as this tank is on the bottom of a 55 stand) and
see what was going on. Watching the cave, still expecting to see a swarm of fry, I saw
movement on the face of one of the marbled rocks. What a perfect hiding place in plain
sight. The tiny fry were impossible to see against the marbled rock until they moved; a
few more were on the back algae wall. No schooling they seemed to go their own way but all
stayed close the cave. The parents showed no interest in their tiny fry but continued to
guard the cave.
While observing this tank I was in for a second surprise. Where did all these medium
sized fry come from? I should have two adults, 15 or so fry from the original first spawn
and a couple from his second plus my new spawn. However I also had about 15 fry that fell
in size between the two spawns.
I can highly recommend these hardy fish. Not only did they spawn shortly after being
moved to a new home but the fry also survived with little care. During the week this tank
is fed once a day with crushed flake food. On the weekends they get a second feeding of
frozen brine, frozen bloodworms or freeze-dried tubifex worms. Normally knowing I have fry
I would be feeding them micro-worms and/or newly hatched brine shrimp. Guess these little
guys did fairly well with out it. I also do a 25 to 30 percent water change every two
weeks.
One final note, if the adults don't see you move they will come out.
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