# 'Splash of Colour' - Central American Cichlids



## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

There are some very striking species in my 165G CA cichlid tank. As usually happens after a water change, they color up even more and I'm "forced" to take some pics. Here are a few examples of why I keep CA cichlids.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Wow nice pictures. That V. regani pair is real pretty. What is the fish in the 3rd picture?


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Thanks Iggy. The fish in the third picture is a female Hypsophrys nicaraguensis. She's really colored up right now.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

> She's really colored up right now


Yea I'll say! Holy smokes. I looked through every CA profile on this forum, but 'couldn't' find anything that resembled your picture. Thanks.


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## stizos (Aug 2, 2013)

Beautiful photos. I love Thorichthys ellioti


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

stizos said:


> Beautiful photos. I love Thorichthys ellioti


Thank you stizos. If you're referring to the fish in the first photo, It is actually a female Astatheros robertsoni 'Rio Jutiapa' from Honduras. The 6th picture shows the male.


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## stizos (Aug 2, 2013)

My mistake. There had not seen before. Looked at the other photos. But, you see, a great similarity in the image.


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## stizos (Aug 2, 2013)

You have a very beautiful fish. There is a general plan (photo)?


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## texan4life (Aug 17, 2013)

beautiful fish man!


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

stizos said:


> My mistake. There had not seen before. Looked at the other photos. But, you see, a great similarity in the image.


This Astatheros species looks very much like a Thorichthys, especially when young. So I can understand you thinking that they might be 'ellioti'.



stizos said:


> You have a very beautiful fish. There is a general plan (photo)?


I don't have a full tank shot, but the decor consists of silica sand substrate, three large pieces of driftwood placed at each end and the middle, some plastic plants to provide visual sight line breaks, and a few rocks, upon which the fish breed. The odd time they lay their eggs on the driftwood. Here's two more photos of the tank.







texan4life said:


> beautiful fish man![/quote
> 
> Thank you. They seem to do very well in this tank.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

stizos said:


> You have a very beautiful fish. There is a general plan (photo)?


I searched my videos and found one of the tank as it was last November. It shows the whole tank (165G). Here is the link to youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRSgl5qO ... detailpage


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Hey Jim... What's the dimensions on a 165 gallon? I'll be starting a CA 125 gal soon(topic here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=265426), and concerned about an 18" width with a single Vieja/Paratheraps.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

The 165G has dimensions 5'6" x 2' x 2'. I had it made with these dimensions because I already had a stand that would hold it.


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## POPSS (Aug 24, 2013)

beautiful CA. Thanks for sharing!!!


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## POPSS (Aug 24, 2013)

thought you might like this, this is a friend of mine. I got my WC jag from him, he is heavy into CA Cichlids.

I can not hep but smile when I watch it. have the sound on if you can cute tune. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... DInHKJEEW4


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Great looking collection notho. I especially like the A. robertsoni as I just picked one up myself. Any advice on visually sexing them? I'm guessing typical stuff such as longer dorsal and anal fin extensions as well as a bit more blue would indicate a male. I chose the largest and most dominant of the bunch so I am guessing mine is a male. "He" is currently almost 4in and is showing some nice spangling. Hope he colors up like yours though!


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Hi Chris,
My strain of 'robertsoni' is from Honduras (Rio Jutiapa) and there is some controversy as to whether they are 'robertsoni' or another species altogether ('margaritifer'??) They don't get anywhere as large as the the regular 'robertsoni' (5-6" as opposed to 8")) and have much more pink/red coloration as opposed to predominently blues (hence the common name Turquoise cichlid). The females of the 'Jutiapa' form have a dark black patch on the front of the dorsal fin, like some of the Thorichthys species. I have not kept the more common (Mexican) 'robertsoni' but I've read that the males have more blue spangling on the flanks and longer points on the dorsal and anal fins.


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

Chris, I just checked your thread where you've shown your 'robertsoni'. It looks like a 'Jutiapa' and it is most likely a male. As it matures it will show more spangling and color. Here's pics of my male, and then the female.

male (notice the dorsal is completely spangled)


female (notice the dark splotch in the dorsal)


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

notho, thanks for the info. I did think mine looked relatively similar to yours. "He" does have quite a bit of spangling already, you just have to catch it at the right light/angle for it to really pop. He also has some of that pink on his throat that comes and goes. It was actually more prominent when he was at the LFS with the others. Now that I know this guy stays quite a bit smaller, do you know if they behave the same as the "normal" robertsoni's? I only bought one as I've heard they show very high con-specific aggression but if this is not the case I may go back and grab a couple more. How do yours interact with each other?

Thanks.


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Was doing a bit of researching online and came across this thread with some interesting info regarding Astatheros margaritifer.. Now I'm curious to what these fish really are? Have you came across any articles pertaining to this?

http://www.eacichlid.co.uk/showthre...(-All-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait!!!-)


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

As I continue to look into this the more differing opinions I come across.. Some think it's a separate species, some think it's a strain of A. robertsoni, and yet others think it's a naturally occurring hybrid. With that said, one thing they all agree on is that it is a rare fish and may very well be extinct in the wild?


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## notho2000 (Dec 8, 2012)

CjCichlid said:


> notho, thanks for the info. I did think mine looked relatively similar to yours. "He" does have quite a bit of spangling already, you just have to catch it at the right light/angle for it to really pop. He also has some of that pink on his throat that comes and goes. It was actually more prominent when he was at the LFS with the others. Now that I know this guy stays quite a bit smaller, do you know if they behave the same as the "normal" robertsoni's? I only bought one as I've heard they show very high con-specific aggression but if this is not the case I may go back and grab a couple more. How do yours interact with each other? Thanks.


Chris, I've never kept the "normal" robertsoni so I'm not sure what their aggression levels are like. On line I've read that they are 'peaceful' to 'mildly aggressive' towards heterospecifics, but highly aggressive to conspecifics. the 'Jutiapa' are pretty mild all round when with a mix of other fish.



CjCichlid said:


> Was doing a bit of researching online and came across this thread with some interesting info regarding Astatheros margaritifer.. Now I'm curious to what these fish really are? Have you came across any articles pertaining to this?
> http://www.eacichlid.co.uk/showthre...(-All-good-things-come-to-those-who-wait!!!-)


No, I hadn't made a specific point of searching for info. on 'margaritifer' although I had come across the speculation that Jutiapa and margaritifer could be one in the same.



CjCichlid said:


> As I continue to look into this the more differing opinions I come across.. Some think it's a separate species, some think it's a strain of A. robertsoni, and yet others think it's a naturally occurring hybrid. With that said, one thing they all agree on is that it is a rare fish and may very well be extinct in the wild?


Well, I guess it will 'play out' in time. Until then ... ????


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## CjCichlid (Sep 14, 2005)

Yeah, I think I'll stick to believing they are a strain of A. robertsoni. I'm tempted to go back and grab a female as they have another 6+ around the same size.

Also meant to ask.. what are you feeding yours? My guy doesn't seem too interested in anything I've offered thus far (flake, nls pellets, and blood worms). I'm chalking it up to him still settling in but time will tell..


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