Ptychochromoides katria

[Jason_S]

any one with info on this fish...preferably from first-hand experience?

[Dave Schumacher]

ditto! I have been thinking of ordering them for some time and would like to have a tank well prepared for them when they arrive. There is not much info available on them on the net other than their small size (for a Madagascan at least!)

Thanks

[a2ana]

They are not as aggressive as other Malagasy cichlids (such as other Paretroplus). They do well in groups. At least mine do. They are HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO ICH. Sorry for the caps but they are very susceptible to ich. Maintain good water quality and constant temperature. I keep mine at 82 deg, pH 7.2-7.4. I do 40% water change per week.
I tried to provide them with ample hiding placed for retreat with a sand substrate. I feed them shrimp, krill, shrimp pellets, blood worm, and flakes. It took time for them to take to the flakes but they do now.
If I still had my P. Kieneri, I would have kept them all together in the same tank. I think they would do well together.
I have not had any spawning since my largest female is 5 in but the largest male is still quite young, only about 4 in. The others are about 3.5 in.
I know it's not much but I hope this can help.
Good luck,
a2ana

[Dave Schumacher]

Thanks for the info! That is far more information than I've been able to discover anywhere else on the web.

[a2ana]

There is a group on yahoo called MADFISH with a number of people with wonderful knowledge and experience with cichlids from Madagascar.
I am sure you will find answers to your questions there.
Try doing a search on yahoo under the group name of "MADFISH".
a2ana

[Vincent Fu]

I had read that they were less aggressive, and on an impulse bought a group of 6 at 2.5"-3.5" SL. I placed pairs in 20 gallon quarantine tanks but soon ended up with only one survivor from each tank. In retrospect I should have installed dividers.

I put the surviving katria in a 4 foot/120cm tank with a group of 8 Ptychochromis sp. 'East Coast Gold'. Surprisingly, the katria dominated the 2-3" SL East Coast Gold. I have since removed the katria because the East Coast Gold appeared to be displaying spawning behavior.

Is the level of aggression I observed unusual? Did I misinterpret what I read? Are my katria just unusually aggressive?

[Dave Schumacher]

How big were they? I've found them to be some of the most peaceful cichlids I've ever kept. I never tried them in pairs, however. I've always got them in groups of at least 6. I've also never had them bigger than 4-5".

I'll have to keep your experience in mind before I try a pair at home!

[Vincent Fu]

They are the large ones that Old World Exotic Fish sells. I forgot to measure them when I moved them, but the largest one looks to be about 4" SL and the two smaller ones are 3" SL. When I had them in the 20 gallon tanks I actually didn't observe any aggression, but it's too much of a coincidence that I was left with only one survivor in each tank.

[Tom Williams]

IMHO a 20 gallon tank is too small for madagascan cichlids. Although KAtria are peaceful the can be territorial. Unfortunately i would say that your discsater occured due to the presence of just 2 fish in a 20g quarantine tank. The most dominant specimen in all liklihood may have battered the non dominant fish. ALso tehy are very scatty and nervous when small and often jump out of tanks or smash into the sides for no reason. I thin what you have experienced is likely an unfortunate accident.
I hope the rest of the fish do well together. BTW the smallest tank i would recommend would be a 48x15x15 with 60x15x15 being better; these do become bulky fish and as rheophilic species need a long aquarium.

Good luck!

[Marco Arroyo]

This fish was discovered in 1989 by an american team, in the Nosivolo River, Mangoro system, at the level of the village of Marolambo, that is at the same location as Oxylapia polli. However, contrary to the latter, Pts. katria prefers calm water reaches of the river.

According to Patrick de Rham and Jean-Claude Nourrisat in their book name "The endemic cichlids of Madagascar", the talk about this species tellin literaly the following paragraph:

"Pts. Katria is a much smaller species than Pts. betsileanus: the largest adult not reaching more than 14 cm. At the end of november 1995, that is one month later in the year than on our first visit, (1994). P. de Rham returned to Marolambo. On this occasion, he had the opportunity to watch several pairs guarding their eggs or fry. The egg plates were attached to exposed rocks, situated just below the surface. - - - Katria (local name) is presently bred in Florida, the captive line descending from fry that was brought back from Marolambo by Oliver Lucanus in 1995. Altough not colourful, this quaint cichlid of moderate size should attain some popularity among aquarist, as the silhouette of the male with its pronounced frontal hump and the black vertical bands make it quite attractjve.- - - "

I hope this information will help everyone to understand better this great species, greetings

[Protoman]

These post are almost a year old but I did find some useful info but am looking for more. There is not much info (that I can find) on the breeding of this species. I have a pair that has recently spawned (06-29-07) and appeared to have laid eggs in a large flower pot. But because of the position of the pot, I can not see inside. I was able to see what appeared to be a few eggs on the lip of the pot. However by the next day those few were gone. I have not moved the pot to have a closer look because the pair is still located in and around the entrance of the pot. I will wait to see if any eggs do survive. They are the only fish in a 55g. Male is appx 4.5 inches and female is 3 inches.

I don't totally disagree with "friendly species" but mine are not. I had 4 (3 in) fish in a 55g with two species of Protomelas. That was not a good plan. After losses, I kept just the 4 Katria in the tank. I did add 4 smaller ones 6 mos later. I did not see any overly aggressive fish, but I soon was loosing the larger ones from the first group. I currently have 5 left, with the largest being 4.5 inches. When the pair started protecting the flower pot , I removed the other 3 fish. I don't think this is a bonded pair but they are still together after a few days after spawning (egg tubes almost gone). One I am sure the spawning is complete and the male runs the female off and there is no visible signs of fry (I will be patient), I will rearrange the tank and may add the 3 other K's back in, don't know yet.

One more thing on the "friendly"- They may be if the tank is large enough to house the group. I don't think the 55 was big enough for 8 fish, even small at the time and as they grew losses appeared.

Any information or direction will greatly be appreciated. Since this was their first spawn, I am not surprised it may have failed, but I want to be better prepared in the future.

Thanks, Jim

[Vincent Fu]

Laif DeMason spoke at our local fish club recently. He told me that Oliver Lucanus has spawned katria in a tank, but couldn't really tell me any details apart from saying that neglect seemed to help.

How large are your fish? What conditions preceded your spawn?

[Protoman]

The male is 4.5 inches and the female is 3 inches and are kept in a 55g with a water temp of 82 degrees F. The water locally is very hard and and the ph is 7.8 . The tank has a few flat rocks and 1 lg flower pot. Appx 1 week before they paired off they all showed red coloration under their chin and the large male showed red also on his hump. The three other fish (separated) still show the red coloring but the spawning pair have lost theirs. They are feed a mixture of HBH Seafood lovers and Veggie Graze, once a day. Water changes are weekly at 20%. No change in feeding or water changes prior to spawning.

[Protoman]

July 21, 2007
The spawning failed and it appears the male ate the eggs from the flower pot.
I contacted Oliver Lucanus and the only info that may help in the future is water temp. It should be at 86 deg F. Also water quality is a main issue, do your water changes.
I did rearrange the tank and placed the flower pot on the same side of the Emperor 400 to create a small amount of water flow over the pot. This is done with the intention of moving the pair or the male immediately after the spawning.(Not much info avail, all is trial and error.)
I will keep an eye on the younger group as they mature and may have to move them and replace with some dithers.
Will try and keep you up to date.