Current Occupants

These are the fish I currently have in my fish room.

July 23, 06

Heros cf. efasciatus "Red Headed Severum"

On my expedition I also picked up four baby severums (about the size of a US Quarter). These are red-headed severums, and The Wet Spot in Portland, OR has their mom and dad on-site. I'm hoping by raising four together I will get one good compatible pair out of them. I have had Severums for a long time as pets, and I have always wanted a breeding pair.

1-25-07 - These guys are probably 3-4 inches now. Nice orange-red on their body. Very shy!

January 23, 07

Cryptoheros Sp. "Honduran Redpoint"

A gift from another member for joining the Portland Aquarium club, GPAS. Wow, thanks!

3/14/07

All colored up and giving me 'what for' for even LOOKING at his breeding cave. The female's colors are even more striking. She's hiding in the cave with their fry.

January 20, 07

Cryptoheros nigrofaciatus - Convict Cichlids

I was at the local small pet store (Nature Boy in Vancouver) when I spotted a tank full of convicts. I have been looking for some dwarf cichlids, and these convicts really caught my eye. I thought they were a drab fish, but these guys have gorgeous rainbow colors at the base of their fins, and a bit on the sides. So I got the brightest pair. They are in a tank with the male Lokundje. Right now he is more aggressive, so they are hiding in the plants.

Feb 21, 07

I walked into the fishroom this evening to see mom and dad protecting a brood of HUGE fry (well, HUGE compared to baby bettas, anyway)! Of course by now they have the tank to themselves, since they were terrorizing the poor lokundje, so he was moved to another tank.

January 27, 07

Pelvicachromis Signatus

Today at Wet Spot shopping for live plants for the killifish tanks, this pair caught my eye as they were clearly flirting and showing courting behavior. The female is particularly spectacular with a bright 'spot' on her side which shimmers in green and blue, and she can apparently turn it completely off, then it comes back on again. Right now their colors are kind of plain, but we will see what they look like when they settle in. They are in the 55g with the severums right now. They are quite large, the male being about 4 inches and the female maybe half an inch behind that.

This link has a nice picture showing the female's 'spot'

http://www.apistogramma.com/cms/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=502&Itemid=88

My female with her 'spot'. She can be swimming around with no spot at all, then when she sees the male she turns the spot on, and often shimmies in front of him, showing off the spot. He will run up and nip at her, then dash away again. She is out and about in the tank all the time, but he hides most of the time still.

Feb 24, 07

Hyphessobrycon amandae

Picked up a school of five neat little Ember Tetras from another member at the club meeting. They are happy in a 6g Eclipse full of plants with a snail and an Otto.

Green-eyed Rasbora

Rasbora dorsiocellata

I spotted these in a tank at Family Pet and was immediately attracted to their delicate colors. They are a very nice schooling fish.

from AquariumFish.com

"The green eyed rasbora (R. dorsiocellata) is a tiny species. As the name suggests, it is the brightly reflecting lower part of the iris of the eye that is the main attraction of this species. The true color of the fish is a bright green that can rarely be replicated in a photograph. The dorsal fin is also eye-catching with its white-edged black "flag" marking. This feature gives rise to an alternative popular name of hi-spot rasbora. Although capable of reaching almost 3 inches at maturity, this species is rarely seen in excess of about 2 inches in the aquarium."

3/9/07

Paratilapia Bleekeri

This fish is only halfway to full grown at 6 inches long, apparently the species gets up to 12-13 inches. With a thick body and a mouth like a bass, this is a serious fish! And the colors are incredible. Couple that with a neat personality - he actually pays attention to what is going on around the tank, swims up to greet me, and eats out of my hand - he's already my favorite fish in the fish room. When the 110g tank is ready, that will be his new home, as the centerpiece of the family room. I have read these fish are endangered in their native Madagascar, so I would like to find a mate for him (or her).

June 25, 07

I am arranging to buy these guys I saw on aquabid. I'm excited, they look pretty cool!

Cryptoheros nigrofasiatus Rio Chuloteca Orange

From seller: fishfarmusa

Description: 8 F1 fry, 1/2-1", orange fin convict. Females have orange fins and red bellies, males are a deep purple color. I collected the parents in the Rio Chuloteca Honduras last May. More available at winning bid price.

And also these:

Pair Hemichromis lifalili

You are bidding on one adult pair(male and female) of the dwarf red jewel, H. lifalili. 3" male, 2" female, several more pairs available at winning bid price. Overnight shipping with live arrival guarnateed.

July 3, 07

Here are the lifalili in their tank at home. Everyone arrived safe and well, and they are beautiful!. I'd get a pic of the orange convicts, but they are still hiding behind the sponge filter.

October 7th, 07

Archocentrus nanoluteus - Yellow Convict

Archocentrus sajica - T-Bar Cichlid

I swapped some of the baby lifalili for a half dozen each of these two special from Doran in the fish club. Very nice little fish, they seem to be settling in well. Doran warned me though that the nanoluteus are very delicate, and like things to be stable and the food to come regularly. They have beautiful blue eyes, particularly striking against the yellow body color. The sajicas are hardier, and frankly, they're a bunch of spaz - constantly racing around and begging for food like they're starving. Nice subtle colors on those guys.

Adding to my regular convicts, and my orange-bellied wild convicts, I'll be the Convict Queen if I keep it up! Well, maybe Archocentrus Queen would be more correct. Well, I like the little guys, so I guess that wouldn't be so bad!

Mid - October

At the October fish club meeting I picked up a group of four Fundulopanchax Spoorenbergi killiefish. They turned out to be two pair, and they are gorgeous! They really colored up nicely. I am looking forward to breeding them, but right now I am just feeding them and letting them grow a bit.