I don't ONLY keep bichirs.....new West African dwarf cichlid - Aquarium Advice

Fruitbat · 01-17-2005, 08:47 PM

For those of you who believe that I'm stuck in a rut with bichirs and bush fish....allow me to introduce one of my latest acquisitions. This is Nanochromis transvestitus, a small African river cichlid. The transvestitus specific name comes from the fact that, unlike almost all other cichlids, it is the female of this species that is the more colorful and bears the fanciest pattern.

This is a young fish...only about 1 1/2 inches long....and I suspect it is a male. The other one is even smaller but has significantly more pattern in the tail so I suspect that one is a female. She's being coy right now so no picture of her as of yet.

-Joe

Toirtis · 01-17-2005, 10:49 PM

Drag queen fish, eh?

**Fluff** · 01-17-2005, 11:35 PM

Nice.

Fruitbat · 01-18-2005, 12:25 AM

Yeah Toirtis.....but the female ought to be a real mind-bender once she gets some size and colors up a bit. Here's a picture of one that I snagged from the web (Fishbase):

I'm hoping that mine will eventually look that good!

-Joe

**An t-iasg** · 01-18-2005, 01:03 AM

I think the fish in the first picture is pretty cute! He doesn't look like what I would call a cichlid. I guess that's the difference between an African river cichlid and a Rift Lake cichlid?

Fruitbat · 01-18-2005, 01:18 AM

An t-iasg...

Almost all of the Nanochromis species are long, slender types with big eyes. The most commonly available is Nanochromis parilus (which used to be shipped in as Nanochromis nudiceps but that is apparently a similar, though different species). I'm trying to get some other species of Nanochromis as well but, though they used to be fairly readily available many years ago, the dramatic increase in the popularity of Rift Lake cichlids means that the river cichlids are no longer imported as frequently.

-Joe

Toirtis · 01-18-2005, 02:24 AM

They are interesting...I have a friend with a few...he keeps open water cichlids, too.

FishLover14 · 02-05-2005, 08:24 PM

Neat Fish!

lmw80 · 02-05-2005, 08:27 PM

very nice looking!

01-17-2005, 08:47 PM	#1
Fruitbat Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Garland,Texas Posts: 1,818 Images: 30	I don't ONLY keep bichirs.....new West African dwarf cichlid For those of you who believe that I'm stuck in a rut with bichirs and bush fish....allow me to introduce one of my latest acquisitions. This is Nanochromis transvestitus, a small African river cichlid. The transvestitus specific name comes from the fact that, unlike almost all other cichlids, it is the female of this species that is the more colorful and bears the fanciest pattern. This is a young fish...only about 1 1/2 inches long....and I suspect it is a male. The other one is even smaller but has significantly more pattern in the tail so I suspect that one is a female. She's being coy right now so no picture of her as of yet. -Joe __________________ Loaches: Botia almorhae, B. kubotai, B. striata, Noemacheilus triangularis, Schistura sp.aff.nicholsi, S. vinciguerre, Sinibotia robusta, Vaillantella maassi Bichirs: Polypterus senegalus, P. senegalus (albino), P. delhezi, P. sp. 'Congo', P. palmas polli, P.weeksii, P. ornatipinnis, P. palmas buettikoferi, P. retropinnis, P. endlicheri congicus, Polypterus bichir lapradei, P. palmas palmas, Erpetoichthys calabaricus Anabantids: Ctenopoma acutirostre, Ct. ocellatum, Ct. oxyrhynchum, Ct. kingsleyae, Microctenopoma ansorgii, Mct. fasciolatum, Trichogaster trichopterus, Belontia signata, B. hasselti, Anabas testudineus, Macropodus opercularis, Betta splendens Catfish: Dekeyseria sp. (L-052)Sturiosoma panamense, Hypancistrus inspector (L-201), Synodontis eupterus, Synodontis nigrita, Synodontis brichardi, Synodontis soloni, Anaspidoglanis macrostoma Barbs/Rasboras: Capoeta tetrazona, Rasbora borapetensis, Labeo cyclorhynchus Tetras: Phenacogrammus interruptus Other: Xenomystus nigri, Papyrocranus afer, Pantodon buchholzi, Oxymormyrus boulengeri, Protopterus annectens andPhractolaemus ansorgei

01-17-2005, 10:49 PM	#2
Toirtis Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 6,768	Drag queen fish, eh? __________________ G. A. Christian Bilou, Zoologist/Writer Founder/Director, Reptile Rescue Alberta Vice-President, Calgary Aquarium Society www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com Polypterid/Primitive Fish/Ctenopoma/Catfish Fanatic 62 Aquariums, 2200+ total gallons, Aquarist since 1971.

01-17-2005, 11:35 PM	#3
Fluff Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: West Virginia Posts: 9,842 Images: 29	Nice. __________________ ~Cindy

01-18-2005, 12:25 AM	#4
Fruitbat Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Garland,Texas Posts: 1,818 Images: 30	Yeah Toirtis.....but the female ought to be a real mind-bender once she gets some size and colors up a bit. Here's a picture of one that I snagged from the web (Fishbase): I'm hoping that mine will eventually look that good! -Joe __________________ Loaches: Botia almorhae, B. kubotai, B. striata, Noemacheilus triangularis, Schistura sp.aff.nicholsi, S. vinciguerre, Sinibotia robusta, Vaillantella maassi Bichirs: Polypterus senegalus, P. senegalus (albino), P. delhezi, P. sp. 'Congo', P. palmas polli, P.weeksii, P. ornatipinnis, P. palmas buettikoferi, P. retropinnis, P. endlicheri congicus, Polypterus bichir lapradei, P. palmas palmas, Erpetoichthys calabaricus Anabantids: Ctenopoma acutirostre, Ct. ocellatum, Ct. oxyrhynchum, Ct. kingsleyae, Microctenopoma ansorgii, Mct. fasciolatum, Trichogaster trichopterus, Belontia signata, B. hasselti, Anabas testudineus, Macropodus opercularis, Betta splendens Catfish: Dekeyseria sp. (L-052)Sturiosoma panamense, Hypancistrus inspector (L-201), Synodontis eupterus, Synodontis nigrita, Synodontis brichardi, Synodontis soloni, Anaspidoglanis macrostoma Barbs/Rasboras: Capoeta tetrazona, Rasbora borapetensis, Labeo cyclorhynchus Tetras: Phenacogrammus interruptus Other: Xenomystus nigri, Papyrocranus afer, Pantodon buchholzi, Oxymormyrus boulengeri, Protopterus annectens andPhractolaemus ansorgei

01-18-2005, 01:03 AM	#5
An t-iasg Aquarium Advice Addict Community Admin Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Criders Corners/Glen Eden (Pittsburgh, PA) Posts: 7,154 Images: 30	I think the fish in the first picture is pretty cute! He doesn't look like what I would call a cichlid. I guess that's the difference between an African river cichlid and a Rift Lake cichlid? __________________

01-18-2005, 01:18 AM	#6
Fruitbat Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Garland,Texas Posts: 1,818 Images: 30	An t-iasg... Almost all of the Nanochromis species are long, slender types with big eyes. The most commonly available is Nanochromis parilus (which used to be shipped in as Nanochromis nudiceps but that is apparently a similar, though different species). I'm trying to get some other species of Nanochromis as well but, though they used to be fairly readily available many years ago, the dramatic increase in the popularity of Rift Lake cichlids means that the river cichlids are no longer imported as frequently. -Joe __________________ Loaches: Botia almorhae, B. kubotai, B. striata, Noemacheilus triangularis, Schistura sp.aff.nicholsi, S. vinciguerre, Sinibotia robusta, Vaillantella maassi Bichirs: Polypterus senegalus, P. senegalus (albino), P. delhezi, P. sp. 'Congo', P. palmas polli, P.weeksii, P. ornatipinnis, P. palmas buettikoferi, P. retropinnis, P. endlicheri congicus, Polypterus bichir lapradei, P. palmas palmas, Erpetoichthys calabaricus Anabantids: Ctenopoma acutirostre, Ct. ocellatum, Ct. oxyrhynchum, Ct. kingsleyae, Microctenopoma ansorgii, Mct. fasciolatum, Trichogaster trichopterus, Belontia signata, B. hasselti, Anabas testudineus, Macropodus opercularis, Betta splendens Catfish: Dekeyseria sp. (L-052)Sturiosoma panamense, Hypancistrus inspector (L-201), Synodontis eupterus, Synodontis nigrita, Synodontis brichardi, Synodontis soloni, Anaspidoglanis macrostoma Barbs/Rasboras: Capoeta tetrazona, Rasbora borapetensis, Labeo cyclorhynchus Tetras: Phenacogrammus interruptus Other: Xenomystus nigri, Papyrocranus afer, Pantodon buchholzi, Oxymormyrus boulengeri, Protopterus annectens andPhractolaemus ansorgei

01-18-2005, 02:24 AM	#7
Toirtis Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada Posts: 6,768	They are interesting...I have a friend with a few...he keeps open water cichlids, too. __________________ G. A. Christian Bilou, Zoologist/Writer Founder/Director, Reptile Rescue Alberta Vice-President, Calgary Aquarium Society www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com Polypterid/Primitive Fish/Ctenopoma/Catfish Fanatic 62 Aquariums, 2200+ total gallons, Aquarist since 1971.

02-05-2005, 08:24 PM	#8
FishLover14 Aquarium Advice FINatic Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Mississippi Posts: 879	Neat Fish! __________________ Dan

02-05-2005, 08:27 PM	#9
lmw80 Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Bristol, Pa Posts: 4,805 Images: 40	very nice looking! __________________ -Lori Join the Eastern PA/Greater Philadelphia Forum! Click here: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/groupcp.php?g=7825 Aquariums are like jello - there's always room for more.

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