Scienceman Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 A couple of weeks ago when I bought some fish from a local breeder I also bought 2 of these on impulse. The guy had forgotton what they were and is on holidays so I cannnot find out what they are. Can anybody help and also I would like to know if they are OK in a community tank with other low aggression fish like e.yellows, peacocks, blue dolphins etc (the guy said they would be OK). Features: - background colouring is silver/white - 4-5 black stripes on head and body (dont always go completely from top to bottom) - red on back of gill covers and underside of body near pectoral fins - yellow (to greenish) towards tail and on underside (but not on tail) (no access to a digital camera or I would include a pic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scienceman Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Found it - thanks to Jess and Julian who just postes a pic of their fish for sale Astatotilapia latifasciata "Crimson Tide cichlid" However I still know nothing about them and would appreciate any feedback fromm those keeping them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Sounds like a victorian cichlid from the colouring and stripes. Crimson tide perhaps? Look up Astatotilapia latifasciata. Try searching through some cichlid sites, like cichlidlovers gallery malawi mayhem dj gallery victoria cichlids cichlid-forum profiles Hopefully you have enough coal left over to power the generator so you get this message.... GET A DIGITAL CAMERA You can get them for $49.95 from Danoz direct (probably ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 Bugger. If I hadn't spent the last 15 minutes looking up decent photo pages for you, I might have been able to post that before you saw it yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scienceman Posted January 5, 2005 Author Share Posted January 5, 2005 Your efforts are appreciated anyway Andy. Found some info on the web and it seems like they are quite compatible with other fish so should fit well into my community tank. It appears that I have 2 males as the female does not have any red and both of mine do, however the subordinate male refuses to colour up as well as the dominant fish. This is probably a good thing as I read that males can pick on non-spawning females. He does boss the other male around a bit but nothing serious. Do you know if these are a popular fish as I have not encountered them before on the ACE forum or in general cichlid info? They are certainly a beautiful fish (if you like loud and gaudy - which I unashamadly do) and are very active in the tank. I give them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted January 5, 2005 Share Posted January 5, 2005 They go in cycles. Jess & Julian breed quite a few of them and at one major auction they sold very well, and the next, they were much harder to sell. They'll always be asked for as there are very few rift lake fish that are red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffin Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 Hi, A. latifasciata are great fish - one of the Victorian cichlids to actually be quite peaceful. At one point we had 4 males and one female in the tank, and yet there was never any aggression and although the subordinate males were never as fully coloured as the dominant one they still showed plenty of colour. A great fish, in our opinion, and one that is quite endangered in the wild (reports say that up to 75% of all Lake Victorian cichlids have been wiped out, this species is hanging on in a small swampy area attached to the lake where the Nile Perch can't get in - but is under threat due to pollution). As for popularity their biggest drawback is they are too easy to breed! They are very prolific and have a tendency to leave their owners with too many fry to offload - better to give in and accept that they will be providing you with some feeders! I do hope that the interest will be maintained in them despite the fact that they are not worth big dollars, as they are an interesting cichlid to keep that has a lot going for it. BTW they eat anything and can be kept in a wide range of water conditions - so long as the pH is above 7.0. Cheers, Jess (and Julian) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canerod Posted January 7, 2005 Share Posted January 7, 2005 I kept them for about 9 months, a group of 4 males and 8 females, which i got at about 4cm. Males colored up to various degrees based on dominance, females stayed base color with dark stripes. Aggression got serious at times but never homicidal. They are enthusiastic feeders and with scoff anything that fits in their gobs, including live food, live plants (including valisneria down to the roots), flakes, and pellets and they love nori in chunks big enough for them to rip apart as a pack. For a fish that has a reputation for breeding like a blowfly in a dung pile, i found them inpossible to breed and gave up after 9 months and sold them at 10cm without a single spawn. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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