My First Cichlid

Happy With Their New Home

The initial inhabitants were six Zebra Danios and five gorgeous Guppies, all of which seemed happy with their new home. Their diet consisted of flake and frozen Daphnia and I was very careful not to overfeed them, so the water conditions remained at an acceptable level. Dave carried out 25% water changes every two weeks and by degrees, it was possible to add more fishes to the tank. He had worked out now many inches of fish it was possible to house in our little aquarium, but we, especially me, were finding it increasingly difficult to stick to his original estimation.

Most weekend activities now consisted of visiting various aquatic outlets throughout Sussex where we live and on occasions travelling even further afield. For some reason, Dave and I began to develop a definite interest in Cichlids rather then the community fishes. I was especially taken with the iridescent colours of the fishes from Lake Malawi, but was continually discouraged from buying any, for as far as we knew most cichlids were very aggressive, territorial and extremely difficult to keep. However, there are a few exceptions which can be kept in a community tank and are fairly undemanding with their water conditions, provided it is well filtered and regular water changes are carried out.

Finally, after much discussion, we decided to buy a pair of young Kribs, although at that time, keeping a cichlid species really seemed a very daunting prospect. The pair of Pelvicachromis pulcher were purchased from a nearby aquatic store and we were really impressed that the owner was able to pick out a pair for us. In my ignorance, I was still unable to see much difference between the two fishes, although Dave was more positive and confident that we definitely had a male and a female. As he had obviously done his homework, he took great delight in pointing out to me the differences between the two sexes!

The background colour of both male and female is a pale greyish-green, with two longitudinal black bands. One of these bands runs through the eye from the snout and continues along the flank to the caudal peduncle, while the other extends along the base of the dorsal fin. The rounded dorsal fin of the female is mainly black in coloration with an iridescent gold running along the spines. There are one, sometimes two ocellated spots at end of the spinous area which can extend on to the soft ray. The belly area of the female is a very bright pinkish-red colour which intensifies considerably prior to spawning. Her caudal is rounded and apart from the extension of the longitudinal line is virtually colourless, although some irregular yellow makings may be visible. Overall the female is smaller than the male, being shorter and much deeper-bodied.

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