# Hemichromis fasciatus dither fish: Whatizit?



## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Been doing some research lately on a true *BEAST *of an African Riverine Cichlid - the _Hemichromis fasciatus. _Of the so-called 'Big Three' of _Hemichromis_ (_H. elongatus, H. frempongi _being the other two) this is the largest-growing, (up to a foot long) most aggressive one of that batch.
And is widely considered to be - one of the most aggressive Cichlids on the PLANET!
Yikes!
Anyway.... there seems to always be, THAT GUY, who specializes in keeping and breeding these sorts of supposedly, unspawnable monsters. This one is Will Lujans (5-Spot Junkie), and this fellow has really done some incredible work with these beautiful fish. Accomplished things in aquarium-keeping with these grouchy fish, that previously were dismissed as supposedly impossible to do....
Anyway, there is this picture that keeps coming up. It depicts a spawning pair of our beautifully colored-up and charming monsters just completely surrounded - OVERWHELMED! - actually, by all of these dither fish.








The tank is a big'n at 6-foot (plus?) in length. So, I can only imagine the sheer numbers of these other fish in the aquarium. The big question is,
WHAT ARE THEY?
They are NOT free-swimming, _Hemichromis fasciatus_ juveniles previously spawned by the parents. To me, they look a lot like something from the _Pelvicachromis _line. But c'mon.... We know about 'over-stocking' to control aggression, and so forth. But, this borders on the totally absurd.
And, for a so-called violently predatory species like_ H. Fasciatus _is renowned to be - those little fish are just basically one 'head twitch' or something from becoming a convenient snack! I mean it's almost like there's a danger of constantly, unintentionally, INGESTING those things. Clogging up the gills! Choking out....
It's kind of crazy looking, and is one of the weirdest visual things I've seen with Cichlids in an aquarium.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Auballagh said:


> WHAT ARE THEY?
> They are NOT free-swimming, _Hemichromis fasciatus_ juveniles previously spawned by the parents.


Those are definitely _Hemichromis fasciatus _fry.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Wow!
From this,








You get all of those juveniles? Crazy! Some of those juvenile fish look like they up past 2, almost 3 inches in length! And, if the parents spawn again (which seems likely in the picture, given their coloration) - that mass of juveniles is gonna tear up that cloud of free-swimming fry almost instantly! It's a wonder there are even any fertilized eggs left to hatch out....
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I guess the parents don't perceive all of those juveniles as much of a threat, until they begin to display adult coloration and configuration? (Jeeze man, when does the slaughter start?).


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## sir_keith (Oct 30, 2018)

BC in SK said:


> Those are definitely _Hemichromis fasciatus _fry.


Absolutely. Anything else would have already ended up as fish food. 😲


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Auballagh said:


> Some of those juvenile fish look like they up past 2, almost 3 inches in length!


I would guess 1" to an 1 1/2" and the parents somewhere between 6" - 10" but it's a picture with out too much to compare size.



Auballagh said:


> And, if the parents spawn again (which seems likely in the picture, given their coloration) - that mass of juveniles is gonna tear up that cloud of free-swimming fry almost instantly!


They might still be protecting them (?). Some cichlids protect their young for long spans (some pike cichlids for example over 6 months!) . But even if they are not Iwould imagine the breeder would remove them before they lay again or even start selling them as they are large enough to sell to other aqurists.


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## Mr Chromedome (Feb 12, 2013)

FYI, a fourth species of 5 spot was recently described, _Hemichromis camerounensis_. The same paper also suggests that _frempongi _may be a synonym for _fasciatus_, but does not go so far as to actually make that change.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Oh man, how cool is that? Someone's gotta tell Will Lujans, the 5-Spot Maniac (Junkie), there's a new one he doesn't have!.
THAT GUY will probably be all over getting some WC specimens of this newly described species.
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He sure did a lot to get _H. fasciatus _out in the community, with his successful spawning attempts....


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Looked on youtube for video of Will Lujan's Banded Jewels. This video shows the same _H. fasciatus _pair (I think) with what I believe are even older juvies. There is less of them but these certainly do look 2-3" (probably the same ones just little older). Video also shows his _H. elongatus _pair with young fry.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

BC in SK said:


> This video shows the same _H. fasciatus _pair (I think)


Nope.
Looked at them in more detail and compared them. I think it's a different pair. The picture actually looks more like _H. frempongi _but I am not certain.


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## Auballagh (Jan 29, 2003)

Whew..... could that actually be the very definition of a 'partially planted' aquarium?
LOL!!!!
There was a LOT more living plant mass in the black beard algae growing out seemingly EVERYWHERE in that aquarium, than in that poor old chewed out, floating piece of Anubias!
- Rocking out to that 90's electronica sound-track....
And on You Tube it shows that Will Lujans labeled the video out as an update on his _H. fasciatus_ pair.
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Notice the separation starting to occur in the striping on many of the babies? The 5 spots on those little guys were starting to emerge! That, and you can actually see flecks of red coloring here and there on some of the babies. And, for a species that is incredibly (viciously!) intolerant of each other in an aquarium... they sure are very indulgent with their off-spring. Can't be much longer than this stage of growth, before the parents start attacking those young _H. fasciatus,_ to push them out of their territory.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Auballagh said:


> And on You Tube it shows that Will Lujans labeled the video out as an update on his _H. fasciatus_ pair.


Right. But as I looked at the fish a little more and compared, it appears that it is not the same pair as the first picture you posted. It's the first picture (what you posted) that I think is _Hemichromis frempongi _


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

BC in SK said:


> It's the first picture (what you posted) that I think is _Hemichromis frempongi _


Nope, I'm wrong with that. _Hemichromis fasciatus_ Found more pictures on the internet of the particular fish as well as _H. frempongi _owned by the same aquarist_._ The male in your picture (on the right) is especially colorful for _H. fasciatus. _ Not too much to distinguish these species, but generally _H. frempongi _ is the more colorful species with more red on it's belly as well as usually less black spotting between the large black spots. As Mr. Chromedome points out, _H. frempongi _may end becoming a synomy of _H. fasciatus _based on dna evidence. Always been interested in the Banded Jewels as my brother had had them briefly before I entered the hobby, and always talked about trying too get them again.


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