Lake Fwa cichlids

[Thomas Andersen]

Are there anyone that are familiar with these cichlids, particularly Schwetzochromis neodon and Cyclopharynx fwae? After seeing them in Lamboj´s book I´ve been quite interested in them, an interest that grow even bigger today as I found an article on Lake Fwa in an old "Buntbarsch Jahrbuch" (the German cichlid yearbook- sadly it´s not, like the Cichlids Yearbook, published anymore)

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

http://burnel.club.fr/Photos/Schwetzoch ... eodon.html

Thomas

[Dave Schumacher]

I've been on the lookout for both species for quite some time with no luck. I am fascinated by all the fish I have seen from Lake Fwa.

[Thomas Andersen]

Yes, they are all fascinating! I´ve been looking for them in Europe for the past year or so, with no luck. Apparently Thoracochromis brauschi are available, and I´m hoping to get my hands on some

[Thomas Andersen]

I didn´t seen your post on Schwetzochromis neodon, Dave - sorry http://www.cichlidae.info/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=426

Any news on S. neodon in France, Philippe?

Apparently both Schwetzochromis neodon and Cyclopharynx fwae were bred in Sweden in the mid 1990´s. I´ll try and contact the guy who bred them and see if he is aware of some strains that are still being kept

Thomas

[Mark Smith]

Hi Thomas

Perhaps you can help me with the identification of the photo of the Thoracochromis in this thread. In Roberts and Kullander's paper, Endemic cichlid fishes of the Fwa River, Zaire: systematics and ecology, in Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters, volume 5, no. 2, it gives the descriptions of Thoracochromis brauschi and T. callichromus. It appears to me that the fish in the photo, and for that matter, all those specimens currently in captivity identified as T. brauschi, seem to look more like T. callichromus. T. callichromus appears to have a more elongated snout than does T. brauschi in the Roberts and Kullander paper. The specimens in captivity, in all honesty, appear half way between the two species.

Any thoughts on this???

Mark

[Thomas Andersen]

Hi Mark,

interesting point! I don´t have the original publication, so I can´t compare it with the pictures. The pictures in the above mentioned article by Peter Schupke (some of them appear in Lamboj´s book), show some quite distinct differences in coloration between Thoracochromis brauschi and T. callichromus. T. brauschi looks identical to the above picture with a red throat and a broad black band in the dorsal, while T. callichromus has yellow around the gill cover and throat and also on the belly and are missing the black band in the dorsal. Does the original paper mention anything on coloration of the two species?

It appears to me that the fish in the photo, and for that matter, all those specimens currently in captivity identified as T. brauschi, seem to look more like T. callichromus. T. callichromus appears to have a more elongated snout than does T. brauschi in the Roberts and Kullander paper

In one of Schupke´s pictures of both species taken immediatly after capture, it actually looks like the fish identified as T. brauschi has a more elongated head and snout than T. callichromus - so have these two species been reversed by Schupke and other hobbyist??

If you are interested, and Dave as well, I can scan the Schupke article and send it to you

All the best,

Thomas

[Mark Smith]

Thomas

That would be great. I would like to see his photos of both species. Did you want to post them here, or to my personal e-mail address?

Mark

[Mark Smith]

You are right, Thomas on the included photo being T. brauschi. I get the impression that from many generations of captive reproduction, the snout of T. brauschi has become a little more elongated than that of wild specimens. The preserved specimen in Roberts and Kullander's paper show a fish with a distinctively more blunt snout than what we see in captive populations. I'm not completely sure as to why that is, though.

Mark

[Thomas Andersen]

Mark, I´ll scan the paper tomorrow, just send me a PM with your email

Thomas

[Philippe Burnel]

here is a paper I have written a long time ago for the journal of the French Cichlid Association.

http://burnel.club.fr/Thoracochromis_brauschi.htm

[Greg Steeves]

Hi all

The above photo was taken by Spencer Jack in our tank of young T. brauschi. This individual was just beginning to get the beautiful color from whence the common name of "blood throat" is derived. I've noticed that with adult individuals the pointed snout is more distinct (this developes as the fish ages). I'm not sure if this aids or hinders the ongoning conversation but thought I would chirp in.

Does anyone have photo's of T. callichromus?

[Thomas Andersen]

Interesting article Philippe, thanks

Gas, if you PM me your email I can send you the article, it contains good pictures of all Lake Fwa cichlids. Even if it´s an old article it´s still protected by copyright, so I better avoid posting pictures from it here.

By the way, I´ve been in contact with Peter Schupke who visited and collected in the area in the 1990´s, he doubts that there´s any left in Germany today.

I´ve also been in contact with the Swedish breeder who bred both S. neodon and C. fwae in the mid 1990´s. He also doubts that there is any left in Scandinavia, but as he owns a rather big fishstore today, he would see what he could do and try and track some down - so I haven´t given up entirely, even if the chances looks very small

Thomas

[tjudy]

I managed to obtain a group of T. brauschi this weekend. Greg Steeve's article on the species on his web site states that the spawns are predominantly male in hard, alkaline water. Does anyone have any information on the water chemistry of the Lake Fwa region where the fish come from?

[Thomas Andersen]

Here are the measurements from the Schupke paper:



Thomas

[Christophe de Medeiros]

hi We have a group of Schwetzochromis neodon but no spawns yet, we also have T.Braushi with youngs but we never heard about Cyclopharynx fwae presence in France, is it still alive and bred in the Europan or US hobby? the only picture I saw was from an old cichlid revue(TFH) I think and this was a long time ago.
xris

[Thomas Andersen]

We have a group of Schwetzochromis neodon

That´s great news Please make some fry and get them distributed

Unfortuneatly I think Cyclopharynx fwae has been lost to the hobby, a great shame as it looks like a stunning and interesting fish

All the best,

Thomas

[Christophe de Medeiros]

Re
As soon as we'll have fry I will let you know.
Xris

[Michael.NEGRINI]

Hi all,

I also hope to see this fish in my aquariums again, I've kept and bred this species during 3 years. It's a fantastic cichlid. Chris I hope yours will do like this soon :

[Thomas Andersen]

Very nice, Michael Can you tell a bit about keeping them? Is it an aggressive species, tank setup, tankmates etc?

Chris: That´s a deal! I don´t mind going to France to pick them up, you have quite a few species in France I like to get my hands on

[Christophe de Medeiros]

Hi
You're welcome at any moment you'll plan to come
xris