Benitochromis ufermanni

[Thomas Andersen]

Well, I decided to set up a West African tank a couple of weeks ago, housing a pair of Benitochromis ufermanni, Pelvicachromis taeniatus "Moliwe", and a school of the lampeye Procatopus nototaenia.

Here is the B. ufermanni female…

....and a P. nototaenia male:

[Thomas Andersen]

Exactly one week after the fishes arrived, the Benitochromis ufermanni decided to spawn, and this is how it looks today:

Female guarding the fry....

.....and the male:

[Mark Smith]

Thomas

You seem to have the magic touch with cichlids. Great photos too!

[Lisachromis]

Very nice! Wish my "Westies" would spawn. Just some guentheri but they just won't do a thing....

I love fry pics, especially with parents!!

[westafrica]

Hi!

Great to hear from this successful breeding of this wonderful species, definitely my favorite among Benitochromis, congratulations Thomas. These kids seem to have nice rond red bellies, which is a good sign .

Could you please describe us the different phases from spawning to now, and the behaviour and roles of each parent? Is your water very soft and acidic?

When spawning, didn't the Benitochromis become agressive towards the Procatopus?

If you have more pics I'd be glad to see them o:)

Thanks in advance for your answer.

Best regards,

Jérôme

[Thomas Andersen]

Thanks!

Here is a pic of the tank before the fish went in (and before I cleaned the glass ):

The female incubated the eggs alone the first one or two days, and then the parents started switching the eggs between them several times a day. At the end of the incubation period the male did most of the mouthbrooding. The pH is close to neutral being 7.0 - 7.5.

During the incubation period there was no problems with the Benitochromis couple chasing the Procatopus, but after they have begun to lead the fry around the tank, they have become quite aggressive. Procatopus are very fast and agile fishes though, and so far there has been no injuries.

I plan to leave the fry with the parents as long as possible and take some more pics as they grow.

All the best, Thomas

[westafrica]

Hi Thomas!

Thank you very much for these precisions, it's good to know that even when the fry begin to swim the Procatopus weren't slaughtered, it may give me some ideas . What is your water height in that tank? I like the arrangement of your tank, it looks a little like mine, with less plants (more natural looking but less convenient in case of agression).

I'll be waiting for more photos and updates then

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

Jérôme

[Thomas Andersen]

It's a 325 liter tank measuring 130 x 50 x 50 cm. Here is couple of pics of some of the fry from today, feeding from a Nymphea leaf with the female close by:

[westafrica]

Wow! Great pics, thanks Thomas!

Do you think the fry find a significant part of their food in algae and micro-fauna that they find on the plants and wood?

[Thomas Andersen]

Yes, I think they do, they constantly graze on stones, wood and plants etc.

All the best, Thomas

[westafrica]

Ok, thanks. Do the parents still take them in their mouth at night and / or when a danger occurs, as some Chromidotiapia do, or not ?

[Thomas Andersen]

Yes, they do, both male and female

All the best, Thomas

[westafrica]

Well, it must me a great thing to see then! I don't know for how much time they'll keep doing it, if my memories are right I think my Chromidotilapia used to do so for almost 3 weeks after the fry started to swim...

[westafrica]

Up!

Are there some juvies remaining? If so, are they growing fast? What do you feed them?

Thanks in advance.

Jérôme

[Thomas Andersen]

Hello Jérôme,

yes, they are still there, though the parents has finally given up the attempt to control them - they are all over the tank now

I'm not feeding the fry specifically, the just eat whatever I offer the parents, and of course they still browse algae from stones, leaves etc.

All the best, Thomas

[westafrica]

Up!

I'm coming back to you to have some fresh news of the youngsters : how are they?Are they growing well? Are they still tolerated by the parents? Did you have any new spawn eversince?

Thanks in advance!

Best regards,

Jérôme

[Thomas Andersen]

The fry are doing well. They are app. 1.5 cm now, swimming all over the tank, and yes, the parents are incubating again

[westafrica]

Hi Thomas,

That's great news! I hope the first fry won't suffer too much when the new ones will get out of their parents' mouth.

If you have new pics from the parents and / or the fry it would be great!

Thanks!