Issue # 4 Keeping & Spawning the Mexican Tuxedo
Herichthys bartoni
Beautiful Black Belt Cichlid
Focus on Vieja maculicauda Plus much more
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Hello cichlid nuts and welcome to issue # 4 of the Central Scene. The only magazine dedicated to North & Central American cichlids. Sadly I missed out on Herichthys labridens (Yellow) this year again as I wanted to dedicate a tank to these rare cichlids. Hopefully I’ll get to keep them someday? However, I still had the privilege of keeping a group of Herichthys bartoni some time ago, as I have always wanted to keep and successfully spawn these fish. You can read all about my experience in our first article. We have some great articles lined up this issue. First is UK Tom Williams, who talks about his experiences keeping and spawning the beautiful Vieja maculicauda and Astatheros nourissati. Francisco Gutierrez Franco reports from his latest collecting trip from Southwest Mexico, where he visited the Rio Corzo and Rio Bascam to name but two, in search of cichlids from the Theraps complex. Was he successful in observing them? Read more inside. This issues cichlid profile takes a look at Rocio octofasciata an all time favourite amongst keepers of Central American cichlids. Hope you enjoy the issue, please pop onto our Facebook page, like and post any suggestions that could help us improve the magazine. Until next time…saludos Lee Nuttall Advertising Rates Full Page £80.00 Half Page £40.00 Notes for Contributors If you would like to contribute an article or submit any photography work, then please send all work to the editor of The Central Scene at the following email address: centralscenemagazine@talktalk.net Text can be submitted in email draft or sent in Microsoft word doc. All illustrations, drawings and photography work, should be sent separately in high resolution format (jpeg, tiff) and original size if possible. Photographic contributions without text are also welcome. When sending photographic work, Please do not send with a water mark, as authors and photographers are always credited. Articles and images published in the Central Scene remain the intellectual property of the original author, photographer, illustrator, and any work published may not be reprinted without the contributor’s written permission. 2
Contents Herichthys bartoni The Mexican Tuxedo Observations and spawning in the aquarium
Vieja maculicauda Tom Williams introduces us to the keeping and spawning of the Beautiful Black Belt cichlid
The Search for Theraps Francisco Gutierrez Franco reports from his latest collecting trip down in Southwest Mexico
Astatheros nourissati Tom Williams introduces a beautiful earth eater from Central America
Cichlid Profiles We take a look at the Jack Dempsey cichlid Rocio octofasciata
The views expressed in Central Scene are those of the individual(s) concerned and not necessarily those of the Editor. While every attempt has been made to ensure accuracy, the editor and its contributors disclaim all liability for any loss, injury or other problem arising from the use of information contained herein. The Central Scene Š copyright of Lee Nuttall 2014 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any information retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without the express permission of the copyright holders. 3
The Rio Verde plays host to one of the most beautiful cichlids in Mexico. Threatened by a potential ecological disaster of it’s natural habitat, Barton’s cichlid are very sought after in aquarium circles….Lee Nuttall explains more….
Introduction I have more than a passing interest in the Herichthys complex of late, and when the opportunity arose to acquire a small group of Herichthys bartoni, I just had to jump at the chance! This wonderful fish was first discovered by Professor Alfredo Dugès of the University of Guanajuato in 1890 when he was exploring the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, more specifically the Rio Verde. One particular cichlid specimen was collected and sent preserved to Dr Tarleton Hofman Bean of the US Natural Museum for further examination. These later became the type specimens of Acara bartoni which in 1892 Dr Bean named in honour of his brother Barton A. Bean.
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Since then, over the years Herichthys bartoni has flittered in and out several genera. In 1898 Jordan and Evermann moved it to the genus Cichlasoma, several years later the British ichthyologist Charles Tate Regan briefly included the fish in the subgenus Parapetenia, but then later moved back to Cichlasoma. However, in 1983 Sven Kullander began restricting Cichlasoma to 12 species , therefore bartoni would need to be placed in another genus. It was later suggested that it should be described under the Nandopsis complex by Warren Burgess where you may find the cichlid listed in older literature. Sven Kullander since listed the cichlid under the Herichthys complex where it is now considered and widely described under. However of note, Robert Rush Miller did not support the Herichthys suggestion and named it ‘Cichlasoma’ bartoni in his book “Freshwater Fishes of Mexico”. There are 12 species within the Herichthys complex, 9 valid, 3 potentially undescribed, this does not include the 5 synonyms. It is regarded that there are two groups to separate the complex. First group is the Herichthys labridens group,
the other is Herichthys cyanoguttatus. Which group H. bartoni belongs to is open to opinion, however, many experts believe that it is more likely part of the H. cyanoguttatus group. Diagnostic traits appear to bear little resemblance to the H. labridens group, but black-white breeding colours, feeding behaviour red to purple scales- less zones behind the pectoral fins seems for some to link them more to H. cyanoguttatus? Biotope Information Herichthys bartoni is found in the many Rio Verde valley springs, Media Luna perhaps being the largest. Media Luna is situated in the Rio Verde Valley in the San Luis Potosí state, Central Mexico. Part of the Rio Panuco basin, It is divided into 3 separate biotopes- the main spring, the natural channel and the man-made drainage channels. The water is mainly calm except in the irrigation channels with clear visibility and temperatures between 2732C / 81-90F. Northern ranges can experience much lower temperatures in winter and the dry season.
The natural channel and surrounding Río Verde valley.
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© Rune Evjeberg / Freshwater Biotopes
Water is very hard with recorded readings of 50 GH. pH readings are alkaline between 7.5-8.0. Aquatic fauna is mainly beds of Lillie’s, (Nymphaea sp.) and patches of Algae in the hot summer. The substrate is mainly muddy with occasional sunken wood littering the bottom.
Female normal colour phase
Fish species There are several fish species that live sympatric
Male normal colour phase
with H. bartoni. Cichlid species include: Herichthys labridens (Yellow Labridens) Herichthys carpintis (Texas cichlid). Herichthys carpintis has been introduced and unfortunately have been reported to hybridise with the H. labridens population. Other exotic species of cichlid include Tiliapia Oreochromis aureus Non cichlid species which include endemic and non-endemic species include Astyanax mexicanus, Ataeniobius toweri (Bluetailed goodied), Cualac tessellatus (Checkered Pupfish), Dionda dichroma and Dionda mandibularis (Minnows), Ictalurus mexicanus (Rio Verde catfish) Poecilia latipunctat and Poecilia Mexicana. This unique ecosystem is very fragile and prone to human disruption!
Male, spawning dress
Colour phases of H. bartoni
Females, yellow /blue phase
Yellow Twophase youngmale females strive for dominance
Blue phase Male
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Photography by Lee Nuttall & Willem Heijns
Vieja Maculicauda pair from Rio Zapote, Mexico 8
Introduction Currently I have more than a passing interest in Central American cichlids with many of my aquaria being dedicated to these magnificent beasts. One species that has stood out in its behaviour, appearance and general demeanour is Vieja maculicauda, the humble Black Belt cichlid. Described by Regan in 1905 in his seminal work “A revision of the fish of the American cichlid genus Cichlasoma and the allied Genera” the Black Belt was named for the black blotch at the base of its caudal fin (maculi – spotted cauda – tail – Vieja is the local name for large cichlids although it actually refers to old women in Spanish). Cichlasoma globosum and Cichlasoma nigritum are both synonyms for this species which may pop up in aquatic stores or old literature.
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Generations of captive breeding mean that these fish can tolerate most water types but just because these fish can survive in less than perfect conditions, they shouldn’t be subjected to this in the long term especially if breeding is the goal. I would recommend going for water that is slightly alkaline to neutral, hard and low in nitrates and nitrites. V. maculicauda can also tolerate brackish water well and in its natural environment some strains are found in water that is markedly brackish. Feeding this species is very easily, probably because they have been bred in captivity for a long time. They relish meaty food though I am not sure
how good this is for them in the long run as they are primarily herbivorous. I use a high grade mix of flake food (spirulina, earthworm and brine shrimp) which they eagerly snap up. Alongside this I have found they love cichlid pellets, mussel, and snails which they crunch and swallow. They will also very happily take peas, greens and cucumber. I have noticed at feeding time that the fish can become dominant amongst other fish (although they struggle to out compete my Oscars!) and will definitely form a hierarchy amongst each other with my largest male feeding before the smaller fish in the group. They can also become slightly territorial at feeding time keeping
The Vieja maculicauda display tank is better naturally decorated with large river rocks and pieces of wood and beech tree branches
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away other fish from their area of tank. Breeding this fish is probably best achieved in semi adult fish due to their huge eventual size, as attempting a pairing in fish of adult size could not only cause damage to the fish themselves but also their tank mates and indeed their tank and dĂŠcor; a adult of 12 inches can easily punch through the aquarium side if they are trying to flee over amorous attention. Sexing these fish is difficult and it is often a matter of taking an educated guess. Females are likely to be smaller than males of the same age and they should also be more rotund in the belly region. Males also generally have more pointed anal and dorsal fins. If you are unsure
then venting could be a way to determine sex, just be sure that you know what you are doing before attempting this tricky procedure. Pair formation involves a lot of chasing, body slapping, jaw locking and displaying which can continue for a couple of weeks. During this period the fish will intensify their colour to a predominantly ivory body with black markings between the eyes, on the chin and the black belt will appear more prominent. The female will also start to show her ovipositor if she is satisfied with her mate, this in turn leads to a fattening of the belly as she fills with eggs. Alongside their chasing, these fish will carefully choose a spawning site. They will clean
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A Costa Rica Rocky River bed is the chosen theme for the Black Belt cichlid territory boundaries and spawning sites. The choice of fish will be quite extensive, but be careful when keeping with other Paratheraps or Vieja species due to conspecific aggression. It may work out for a short time, but when they become sexually mature, you will sure to have problems. Very large aquariums would be ideal where you could possibly keep them together with large C. bocourti. My advice would be to keep the V. maculicauda as the main dominant species, then choose, smaller centrals based around their chosen biotope. Smaller Thorichthys and Cryptoheros species are ideal as well as some of the medium species like Rocio octofasciata and members of the Astatheros group. Remember that V. maculicauda has a large distribution range, therefore, will be plenty of scope regarding cichlid species when choosing a biotope specific tank.
Vieja maculicauda is a great fish to base a biotope display aquarium around as they have the widest distribution range of any Vieja species. Found on the Atlantic slopes from the Rio Usumacinta drainage to the Rio Chagres Panama, many different environments, fish and cichlids will be found living sympatric. I wanted to represent a rocky riverbed and as I already had a small group of A. centrarchus, I decided to base the aquarium on a Costa Rica River. The rock placement is quite important in larger aquaria so these were arranged in two points. The large boulder on the left side and the two large boulders on the right side, where the two pieces of drift wood are positioned. By using the boulders as pinpoints, I can arrange the smaller rockwork around them. I wanted to make the left hand side look slightly higher, so arranged driftwood and beech tree branches. The aquascape has plenty of 12
Cryptoheros spilurus
Archocentrus centrarchus
Hypsophrys nicaraguensis
exCichlasoma bocourti 13
Members of the Theraps genus are very sought after in the home aquarium hobby. As a result, this prompted a keen group of cichlid enthusiast go in search for the fish in Southwest Mexico…. Francisco Gutierrez Franco reports
of friends decided to go in search for them and other cichlids such as the elusive Astatheros nourissati, a fish that was on the top of our list. I had arranged the trip with members from CARAC (Comunidad Acuariofilia Regiomontana Asociación Civil). The trip would last four days; our first stop of destination was the city of Tabasco where we visited “Horacio Dominguez´s fish farm”. I did not know Horacio personally and only spoke to him through the internet. The fish farm is an impressive facility which stocks cichlids from Africa and the Americas. We were made very welcome where we were given tips on where to find the cichlids
The Theraps complex is one of the least known in the world of aquarium cichlids. Maybe the delicate requirements to keep these cichlids successfully in the home aquarium aren’t always followed resulting in premature death thus lack of any spawning amongst the hobbyist who have been fortunate to keep them? Whatever the reason they are only a moderate aggressive, small to medium sized fish and very desirable cichlid amongst serious keepers of Central American cichlids! In order for us to enjoy some of the species of the Theraps genus in our aquariums, me and a group 14
Part of Horacio Dominguez´s fish farm complex
Thorichthys pasionis
Parachromis friedrichsthalii
we were after. Horicio showed us many of the cichlid species kept; many were wild caught and first generation fish. That same day Horacio took us to a pond that was originally made by Pemex National Oil Company in search of oil. However this was later abandoned, this pond was filled with water that leaked due to terrain features and later populous fish in the constant flooding Villahermosa suffered during the rainy season. It was in this place where we would catch our first fish which were Thorichthys meeki, Thorichthys pasionis, exCichlasoma salvini and Petenia splendida.
Later we travelled to Chiapas where after a car trip of about 2.5 hours we reached our next destination the Rio Puyacatengo I must say that in this river we discovered a sad sight, an infestation of Hypostomus plecostomus, locally called devil fish. This is a catfish originally from South America that were introduced by man and adapted and since proliferated unchecked. Having no natural predators or control agent, they have had an explosion that saturates the water to such a degree that the sandy bottom appears black by the amount of these fish. However, the news is not all bad as we were able to find Theraps lentiginosus, 15
Tom Williams
Astatheros nourisatti is a relatively recently discovered and described cichlid from Mexico and Guatemala and is named in honour of its discover the late Jean Claude Nourissat, president of The French Cichlid Association. This esteemed explorer and finder of many great cichlids was responsible for establishing many rare cichlids in the hobby including Paretroplus nourissati, Paretroplus menarambo and Vieja argentea and is sorely missed by all who knew him and respected him. Sadly Jean Claude was struck down with Cerebral Malaria on an expedition to Madagascar.
Unfortunately he did not survive otherwise he would no doubt still be discovering cichlids as part of his adventures. It is therefore a fitting tribute that this species carries his name. A.nourisatti was initially described as Theraps nourisatti by Allgayer in 1989. In the paper he states that the fish does not conform to the general merististics for placement in Theraps, so it a surprise that he chose this genus for its placement. All Theraps sensu stricto species are very slender bodied and rheophilic fish with short snouts whereas A. nourissati has a long snout with large lips and is also taller bodied. 16
and describe through the article as Astatheros. This is a medium sized fish with adult males attaining maybe as much as 25 cm, whilst females are a little smaller. A. nourisatti are characterized by a long fairly low body with strong caudal peduncle. The snout is long and the lips are large and fleshy. Unpaired fins are moderately extended with the dorsal and anal maybe reaching to the end of the caudal fin in mature males. The fish has a yellowish base colour with vertical black bars which sometimes show as a large spots especially on the middle flank of the fish. A black mark is found behind the pectoral fins and a gorgeous triangle shaped wine red flush colours the fish from behind the gill plate to behind the ventral fin. The head is yellow and the throat exhibits a copperblue colour as does the eye. All in all there is a strong resemblance to Astatheros robertsoni although A. nourissati is less blue in colour. A. robertsoni should be considered as the sister species to A. nourisatti and their range is overlapping but they have yet to be found living symaptrically. A less similar species is Astatheros rostratus which although similar in colour, it has a much longer snout it is also only found in Nicaragua a country from which A. nourisatti is absent. Astatheros nourissati is very much a rheophilic cichlid which is found in rivers of medium to strong flow although it is reported to prefer stiller areas of water within these flows, this again sets it apart from other species of the Theraps genus which very much prefer and are strongly adapted to cope with fast flowing water. The water of the habitat of this fish is always alkaline and varied from hard to very hard. This has to be remembered in captivity where acidic or soft water could do untold damage to this fish in the long term. A large tank is a must for this species, 1.5 meters being the smallest length which should be considered. Although shy in nature swimming space is appreciated and a large volume of water also gives more leeway should any pollution or water mismanagement occur.
Astatheros nourissati pair in spawning dress Photo Š Ole M. Ekeberg
Keijman in 1995 pointed out that this species did conform to the standards for the Amphilophus longimanus (now Astatheros) group (although it is the most slender of the group) and thus it was transferred to this genus. Recent taxonomy revisions has assigned them to the Astatheros complex, however, studies using a phylogenetic tree has found Astatheros nourissati firmly nestled within the Theraps complex. Should we instead go back to Allgayer original description and refer to the cichlid as Theraps nourissati? As not to confuse, I will use currently accepted nomenclature 17
Rocio octofasciata (Regan 1903)
Etymology: Rocio: Named after the author's Schmitter-Soto's wife - octofasciatus means eight barred; octo=eight and fascia=bar or stripe Common name: Jack Dempsey cichlid Size: Males can attain sizes of 10 inches 25 cm, Females are smaller around 7 inches 17cm. Wild specimens will rarely attain sizes of their aquarium counterparts. Distribution: Rocio octofasciata has quite a widespread range from, the Atlantic slopes of SE Mexico to the Rio Ulua in Hondurus. Exotic populations are found in Florida waterways, where it has been reported since 1974 and recently introduced exotic populations reported to be found in Australia. They are found in a range of habitats like lowland slow flowing rivers, pools and lagoons as well as stagnant ditches. Rocio octofasciata are also commonly observed in the clear cenotes of the northern Yucatan Peninsula.
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Rocio octofasciata pair, the female on the right clearly displays more overall blue on the operculum region.
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Get into Thorichthys Focus on the Thorichthys complex Step by Step guide to creating a Thorichthys meeki Display Aquarium
Cichlid Profiles exCichlasoma tuyrense
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