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With the upgrade the ACE Team has turned on Pages which allows us to turn great threads into articles. I have created the above articles already and we would like members to share their knowledge and experience. Here is a link to the Pages section of the forum or you can use the tab above our sponsors logos.

http://www.aceforums.com.au/index.php?app=ccs&module=pages&section=pages&id=2

If you want to help out all you need to do is copy the below template, identify a species that has been done and fill in the template. Then post it up in this thread and we will convert it into an article.


Species information

Species:
Synoma:
Common name:
Origin:
Localities/Morphs:
Maximum size:
Natural habitat:
Natural foods/prey:
Water chemistry in the wild:
Predators:
Brood size:
Breeding method:


Husbandry requirements

Minimum tank size:
Sex ratio:
Sex differences:
Tolerance of conspecifics:
Tolerance of heterospecifics:
Water chemistry in aquaria:
Temperature range:
Foods accepted:
Special requirements:


Notes

Some interesting points:

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Species information

Species: Steatocranus casuarius
Synoma: Steatocranus casuarinus
Common name: Lionhead, Humphead Cichlid and Blockhead Cichlid
Origin: Africa: Pool Malebo (i.e. Stanley Pool) and the lower Congo River in both Republic of Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Localities/Morphs:
Maximum size: In the wild they can grow to 10cm (Total Length)
Natural habitat: Fast flowing streams
Natural foods/prey:
Water chemistry in the wild: pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 – 19
Predators: Large fish and birds
Brood size: 40-60 orange eggs
Breeding method: Cave spawner


Husbandry requirements

Minimum tank size: 80cm tank
Sex ratio: 1:1 as they are best kept in pairs.
Sex differences: Males 15cm and Females 10cm growing to about 2/3 the size of the male. Sexing is easy when they are 5cm +. Females have a smaller head and don't develop the nuchal hump that males develop.

Tolerance of conspecifics: Peaceful
Tolerance of heterospecifics: Peaceful
Water chemistry in aquaria: Are tolerant of a range of pH (6.0 - 8.0). Avoid rapid changes.
Temperature range: 24°C - 28°C
Foods accepted: Good quality sinking pellets and can be supplemented with the occasional wafer.
Special requirements: Eggs hatch after four days and the fry are free swimming five days later. They are a cave spawner and hold the fry in for approximately two weeks post hatching. Any sort of pot, shell or spawning log that allows to female to fit in but also tallows het to block the male out.

Notes

Some interesting points:

  • Steatocranus species live in fast flowing stream and as a result have under developed swim bladders. This allows them to maintain contact with the stream bed and rocky structure in which they inhabit.
  • In the aquarium they benefit from rock structure that allows them to hop around.
  • Steatocranus casuarius tend to pair for life and if one is lost the remaining one is unlikely to bond again.


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  • 2 weeks later...

Species information

Species: Stigmatochromis Pleurospilus
Synoma: Cyrtocara Pleurospilus, Haplochromis Pleurospilus
Common name: None
Origin: Lake Malawi, Africa
Localities/Morphs: Specimens have been collected in the far North of the lake Malawi. The catch locations have been at Lupembe sand-bank, Mdoka and at Ifungu.
Maximum size: 25cm
Natural habitat: Shallow sandy bays of depths between 10m and 40m.
Natural foods/prey: Piscavore - hunts small fish in sandy environments
Water chemistry in the wild: ph 7.7-8.6
Predators: These fish grow large and will hold their own against other large malawi haps.
Brood size: Around 25
Breeding method: They are a colony breeder. The males construct a large bower of around 1m to 1.5m in the sand. They reach sexual maturity after 8 months.

Husbandry requirements

Minimum tank size: 6x2x2 foot
Sex ratio: 1 male to 3 or more females
Sex differences: Males have a yellow belly with pastel blue on the head and upper parts of the body. The male has a light blue patterning on the dorsal fin with yellow spots
Tolerance of conspecifics: agressive - in my experience slightly more agressive amongst themselves than to other species.
Tolerance of heterospecifics: agressive
Water chemistry in aquaria: ph 7.8-8.6
Temperature range: 24-26 degrees C
Foods accepted: Will readily accept good quality pellets but as they get bigger their diet will need to be supplemented with regular live food such as live brine, daphnia, shrimp or small fish to keep them in good breeding condition.
Special requirements: A large tank is essential as these fish are large streamlined predators with a muscular torpedo shaped body and are quick swimmers.



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  • 7 months later...

Just a comment that you probably should credit the original authors of these profiles for their work.

Happy to acknowledge the author if I can locate or be advised who wrote the original pieces. When the information was transferred across from the old forum this information wasn't transferred.

I have located the authors for the majority of them but still have a few that I can't put a name too.

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Just a comment that you probably should credit the original authors of these profiles for their work.

Happy to acknowledge the author if I can locate or be advised who wrote the original pieces. When the information was transferred across from the old forum this information wasn't transferred.

I have located the authors for the majority of them but still have a few that I can't put a name too.

Cheers mate, understood.

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