Fish Folk Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 (edited) I have always enjoyed dwarf Cichlids. A few weeks ago, someone in our fish club posted a photo of a Nanochromis species on our Facebook page. That sent me down a little rabbit hole. There's a bunch of very beautiful little African river dwarf cichlids I've never played around with, and have never seen for sale at my club or LFS. I'm sure someone in the Capital Cichlid group will be helpful when I reach out, but for now, I'm just sharing these little gemstones. Part of the hobby for most aquarists is the enjoyment of learning about and keeping new species. So here goes... Congochromis and Nanochromis are two Genus titles split from each other in 2007. Nanochromis contains about 8 defined species, with several still unverified / unnamed (I think). Congochromis have 5 recognized species. I found a YouTube channel with several of these in a tank. They're loosely related to Kribensis. I may be finding a place for some neat new fish in the near future... Nanochromis splendens Congochromis (?? species, "Green Speckle")... I am going to tag @laritheloud with an invitation to share experiences from keeping some of these! Edited June 12, 2023 by Fish Folk 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 The Nanochromis I’ve seen before but those Congochromis mmmmm’ they’re good!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laritheloud Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 Yes, thank you for the tag and for remembering that I keep Nanochromis Splendens! I absolutely love my little nanos. I kept them in a 20 gallon and they stay quite small and sleek and petite. Originally when I was looking around I was searching for a smallish pair of cichlids that would work as fry control for my Platy colony — and if you’re looking for something similar, then these would definitely do the trick. They are super swift and decisive fry hunters. Plenty did survive to sustain the colony because my tank is heavily planted, but honestly, it was very neat to watch them zip around and search for a snack if you have the stomach for it. Since they are river fish I put a powerhead in the tank with them and they enjoyed the flow. Aside from the fry eating, I found them to coexist just fine with snails, a panda Garra, and a growing pleco (now moved to my largest tank). I hoped I would see breeding activity but despite seeing the two pair off, they never had a successful hatch. I have very alkaline water and suspect they need softer water to breed. If I were to try them again I’d use RO water and remineralize to see if that’ll encourage successful breeding. Nanochromis are also very shy fish. They adore caves and nooks and crannies to call their own. When my pair wasn’t pairing off, they would choose separate caves as their home base for sleeping and hanging out. Don’t be surprised if they spend a lot of time on there between begging for food during mealtimes. right now I’m down to only my female fish — I lost my male pretty recently to what I assume was old age. My fish were wild caught and full grown upon receipt, so I have no way of knowing how old they were; he and she were incredibly fascinating to watch darting around together during the year or two that they lived with me. She’s doing well by the way! Out during mealtimes daily and zipping gracefully from cave to cave. if anyone has any specific questions im happy to answer them. They’re definitely a unique and super cool alternative to kribs that stay quite small and slim. If you’re not looking to have mountains of cichlid fry, I found the literature to be correct in that they are more challenging to breed and require specific water conditions to do so. Hope this helps anyone looking at this genus! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 As a followup, I've just placed an order for several Endler pairs, and (hopefully) a single pair of Nanochromis parilus. Like @laritheloud I intend the Endler reproduction rate to be kept at bay the the Blue Congo Dwarf Cichlids. I'll have several coconut huts added for potential spawning sites. In an ideal world, they can look like this... Right now, my tank is very meh.... I'm going to try to give it a little TLC without screwing up the balance. I'll probably add a heater. Algae will want to all grow back, but I'll try to clear out _some_ of that BBA... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted June 24, 2023 Author Share Posted June 24, 2023 My photos aren’t great, but I bought a pair of Nanochromis parilus. Here’s the female… 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 All Of the Krib variants are fantastic! So many dwarf cichlids, so little time 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 On 6/14/2023 at 2:42 PM, Fish Folk said: @Lennie Saw these somewhere else, but it's the second or third time I've seen them. Looking forward to seeing more about your setup @Fish Folk On 6/14/2023 at 2:42 PM, Fish Folk said: but I'll try to clear out _some_ of that BBA... Ain't that the worst..... I think you may have a bit of what I'm seeing now. The BBA literally starting on a single piece of gravel and then going to the next and so on. It might be the flourite black I have. I'm unsure. I just know it's getting annoying! Best of luck in your ongoing battle. You might try the method, I think it was from aquapros, where he drained the tank and added BBA and let it sit. If I can find it, I'll link it. Essentially, pull the fish, dump in a bunch of hydrogen peroxide and let it sit, then do your water change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 @nabokovfan87Mark’s Shrimp Tanks advocated for something similar. I put a 1/3 of a cup of H2O2 in when I was trying to rid it of the Ill 😷 humors in there and it worked. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted June 25, 2023 Share Posted June 25, 2023 On 6/24/2023 at 9:04 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: @nabokovfan87Mark’s Shrimp Tanks advocated for something similar. I put a 1/3 of a cup of H2O2 in when I was trying to rid it of the Ill 😷 humors in there and it worked. Ah, that's right. He's got a pretty detailed video on the method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted July 5, 2023 Author Share Posted July 5, 2023 Behold! Pre-spawning display… 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted August 3, 2023 Author Share Posted August 3, 2023 Pre-Spawning behavior between a pair of Dwarf Congo Cichlids. Male is not being cooperative… 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted August 4, 2023 Share Posted August 4, 2023 Those pastel colors are something. Great looking fish in that Kribensis group!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted August 7, 2023 Author Share Posted August 7, 2023 Nanochromis parilus, Blue Congo Dwarf Cichlid pair guarding a nest… 120 sec. “Trail Cam” spy footage: 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted August 9, 2023 Author Share Posted August 9, 2023 (edited) This has been going on for awhile today. From breeding other west African dwarf cichlids, I’m pretty sure this is a wriggler relocation project. Females will often determine that babies need to be moved to a safer location… Edited August 10, 2023 by Fish Folk 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 18, 2023 Author Share Posted October 18, 2023 Lost my male a few weeks ago 😒 Ordering a new pair this week 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 My male got sick and passed. But I enjoyed the species enough to order a new pair. Now there’s a trio in here. Here’s “new boy”… 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 24, 2023 Author Share Posted October 24, 2023 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted October 26, 2023 Author Share Posted October 26, 2023 Leading lady. Definitely putting moves on the Mr… Positively opaline beauty…. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 There she goes… he’s still not taking a hint… 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 What do you think it’ll take @Fish Folk? She bulging with eggs. Just not his favorite girl? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 11 Author Share Posted January 11 On 1/11/2024 at 2:17 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: What do you think it’ll take @Fish Folk? She bulging with eggs. Just not his favorite girl? I have had 4x of these (two pairs). The males are brutal partners. What happens is that she'll come out and display for him, coax him into a cave, corner, who knows . . . they disappear awhile . . . I get very hopeful . . . but nothing. I'm sure there must be some trigger or environmental element that I'm just missing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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