bolly12345 has put together a video displaying some of his cichlid photography. Most of them are mbuna with a few haps and peacocks thrown in. He also has over 100 plus videos covering everything from setting up aquariums, maintenance, breeding and how to take better fish pictures. For more videos, visit the bolly12345′s African Cichlid Hub channel
If you want to find a zoo or aquarium in your area, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums provides a searchable directory of accredited facilities. The accreditation is done by the AZA, but it is helpful in finding locations that meet their standards. The AZA standards include professional facilities and a commitment to animal care, conservation and education. Check out accredited facilities on their Find a Zoo or Aquarium page.
The Hill Country Cichlid Club serves the I-35 corridor including Austin, San Antonio, and the rest of the Texas Hill Country. The HCCC has been around for less than 10 years, but has already made great strides in the cichlid community. The HCCC is the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program’s U.S. flagship club with many of its members keeping and breeding C.A.R.E.S. species. Club members also enjoy a breeder award program, regular auctions and a rare relationship with local fish stores who not only support the club, but offer discounts to all its members. For more information, visit the Hill Country Cichlid Club website.
If you are involved with a local cichlid organization and would like it to be profiled, please PM Ripple with a paragraph about the club and link so it can be included in an upcoming Club Profile.
Iranocichla hormuzensis is certainly a fish that is out of the ordinary. Native only to Iran and the only member of its genus, I. hormuzensis can be found in slow moving rivers and streams which often dry up and become shallow pools. As a result, I. hormuzensis can tolerate a wide range of water temperatures and salinity levels. The species is considered threatened as many of its native waters are disappearing. You won’t find I. hormuzensis on many price lists since collecting is difficult and captive breeding has been limited. I kept a small group of adults for a short period of time in hopes of breeding them, but like the previous owner, did not have any luck. For more pictures, visit the I. hormuzensis profile page.
Finding gold can be a boom to any region. Especially when economic hardship has been the norm for generations. The Lake Victoria Mining Company has announced another positive result from initial metallurgical gold recovery tests. An environment impact assessment study are soon to follow. As shown in the picture above, several gold mining projects are currently underway or being developed. Hopefully efforts will be made to ensure the mining operations won’t have a negative effect on the lake (i.e. mercury being carried off into the lake). For more information on the latest gold discovery announcement, visit the Market Watch article.
This video shows a great technique for getting Tropheus to feed like they do in the wild. It probably also works for other grazing cichlids like mbuna. What this hobbyist did was pull a flat rock from his tank and while it was wet, sprinkled it with spirulina flakes. When the rock dries, the flakes will stick to it. Then its just a matter of putting the rock back into the tank and watching.
We’ve all seen egg-spots on mouth-brooding cichlids, particularly on male haplochromines. The assumption has always been that the egg-spots spur the female cichlid to “pick up” the eggs and as a result, fertilize the eggs in her mouth. However a new study has found that egg-spots play less of a role in courtship and reproduction than thought. For instance, males with no egg-spots produce just as many fry as males with many egg-spots. Females appear to not need to be tricked into picking up the fake eggs for fertilization to occur. Also, females seem to show no preference in the amount of egg-spots in males. The one place where egg-spots do matter seems to be between males. Males with fewer egg-spots are often the target of aggression by males with more egg-spots. The question seems to be, why are egg-spots even there? Details of the study can be found on PLOS ONE.
Although not a cichlid, piranhas make their homes in the Amazon River Basin. Research has shown that pound for pound, piranha’s have more bite force than any other animal. Great white sharks, hyenas, alligators and even Tyrannosaurus rex can’t match the relative strength of a piranha. For more information on this study and how it was conducted, visit The Australian news article.
This video shows a female Neolamprologus leleupi laying her eggs. She probably got a little confused or just lacks experience, but it gives us a rare glimpse at the egg laying process. You can see the female lay her eggs and then a male comes in to fertilize. At one point a different male also tries to fertilize the eggs. All the while, she is having to fight off other fish who only see a meal.
