February 2011 Lateral Line - Hill Country Cichlid Club

1 

The 

Lateral Line 

Volume 4, Issue 2 February, 2011 

Inside this Issue: 

Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa”: A Spawning Report 

Lake Victoria and a Little History 

The Little Known Arrow Fishes: Yssichromis 

CARES Sheet - Harpagochromis sp. “orange rock hunter” 

Mountain Valley Middle School CARES 

Ramblings # 49

2 

The HCCC is a proud member of 

the Federation of Texas 

Aquarium Societies. 

The HCCC is a proud member of 

the Federation 

of American Aquarium 

Societies. 

Contents: 

Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa”: A Spawning Report 4 

- Benjamin L. Smith 

Lake Victoria and a Little History 7 

- Kory Watkins 

The Little Known Arrow Fishes: Yssichromis 12 

- Greg Steeves 

CARES Sheet - Harpagochromis sp. “orange rock hunter” 20 

Mountain Valley Middle School CARES 23 

Ramblings #49 - Nick Andreola 25 

Cover: Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa” Photo by Benjamin L. Smith 

Our week of winter has come and gone. It 

was crazy to see everyone’s reaction to a 

little snow but even I have to admit, I did 

enjoy the weather (well, the day off work 

anyways). Before you know it , things will 

be blistering hot again and we’ll long for a 

nice cool day as we are experiencing now. 

excited as I’ve ever been about any event 

I’ve ever attended. The speaker lineup is 

incredible and the people attending will be 

from all over the continent. This is the biggest 

undertaking our little club has ever 

committed to so be sure to volunteer to 

make this everything that it can be. 

As we gear up for some big events, the club 

has been abuzz with activity. For the first 

time in more than a year we return to Rare 

Dave’s shop for the February meeting. I’ve 

got together a little slide show on our adventures 

on the Rio Comal. It should be a lot of 

fun. The big spring auction is March 19th in 

Shertz. This should be one of the largest 

we’ve ever had. I’m really looking forward 

to both the auction and seeing everyone once 

again. In April we have the 2nd annual 

Cichlid Exposition at Amazonia in Austin. 

So far Dave has agreed to present and we 

still have two slots left to fill. If you would 

like to give speaking a try, let me know. 

The big news, of course, is our hosting of 

FOTAS CARES in November. This is as 

As for this issue of the Later Line, I was 

pleasantly surprised at the submission of articles. 

We’ve got a good issue with rich 

content. Benjamin, our resident Tanganyikan 

guru has written a wonderful article on 

his breeding account of Enantiopus sp. 

“Kilesa”. I have to admit, seeing this fish 

again has really perked my interest in these 

sand dwelling rheophilics. 

For you Lake Victoria enthusiasts, Kory has 

written a summary of the history of the great 

lake. Keeping with his lead, I submit a review 

of some of my favorite haplochromines 

from the genus Yssichromis. To top it all 

off is a report on the great things happening 

with MVMS CARES. Until next month…..

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HCCC Leadership Group 

Robert De Leon 

Dave Hansen 

JB Edmundson 

Diane Tennison 

Dan Schacht 

Evan Bowers 

Greg Steeves 

HCCC Webmaster 

Robert DeLeon 

HCCC Database Guru 

Evan Bowers 

HCCC Treasurer 

Dave Hansen 

HCCC Membership 

Diane Tennison 

HCCC Librarian 

Takeru Garcia (Austin) 

Walter Wooton (San Antonio) 

HCCC Lateral Line Editor 

Greg Steeves 

HCCC BAP Chairman 

Dan Schacht 

HCCC CARES Chairman 

Troy Veltrop 

Box Exchange Committee 

Dave Schumacher 

Greg Steeves 

Marc Garcia 

HCCC CARES/International 

CARES Committee 

Claudia Dickinson 

Dave Hansen 

Barbara Wooton 

Troy Veltrop 

Greg Steeves 

HCCC Honorary Life Members 

Spencer Jack 2004 

Robert De Leon 2006 

Anton Lamboj 2007 

Dave Hansen 2007 

The HCCC Would like to thank the following 

club supporters. Without you, we 

wouldn’t be what we are! 

Omega Sea 

Aquatek 

Lisa’s Lair Bookstore 

Dave’s Rare Aquarium Fish 

Cichlid Press 

San Francisco Bay Brand 

Zoomed 

Central Aquatics 

Petfrontier 

Leslies Pool Supply 

Darby’s Tropical Fish 

Fish Hobby Supply 

USA Fish Box 

Amazonia International 

Cichlid News 

Ginger Products 

Aquadome 

Pet Barn

4 

Enantiopus sp. Kilesa: A Spawning Report 

-Benjamin L. Smith 

Two male Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa” in a territorial display in the authors aquarium. 

Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa” is an absolutely 

beautiful fish from the waters of Lake Tanganyika. 

It is a sand sifter that builds very 

interesting nests which the males guard with 

great zeal, but little true aggression. The 

males swim in partial circles letting the sun 

reflect off of their colorful sides as the females 

swim by in schools searching for the 

most attractive mate. 

These fish come from the western shore of 

the lake between the cities of Kalemie and 

Kavala, Zaire 1 which is only a 50 Km stretch 

of its 1828 Km shoreline. The water is very 

hard and alkaline and temperatures range 

from 77-79 F 3 . 

Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa” is cigar shaped and 

attains a total length of 6 inches. As juveniles, 

they are silver in color. As adults, the 

females remain silver, whereas the males 

attain their characteristic yellow lips as well 

as iridescent green on their snout and iridescent 

blue down their sides. They have black 

in their pectoral and anal fins and yellow 

and blue spangling in their dorsal fin. 

In nature, the males construct nests that consist 

of a shallow depression in the sand with 

small mounds or turrets of sand lining the 

edges. He will build a number of nests in 

his territory but when a female comes to 

spawn, they will only utilize one of his 

nests 2 . In the aquarium, my fish were not 

able to construct the full 2 foot diameter 

nest. Rather, they placed their small mounds 

on the edge of the glass along the outer perimeter 

of the nest but also constructed a 

smaller, inner circle of mounds approximately 

6-8 inches in diameter. I had two

5 

The slender female Enantiopus sp. “Kilesa”. 

males and two females and only one male 

maintained a nest in the 4 foot long 75 gallon 

aquarium. For tankmates, I used Cyprichromis 

leptosoma “Jumbo”. Both females 

spawned at the same time and the 

clutch size was 13 for one and 15 for the 

other. Of note, if I do a water change while 

the female is still holding eggs, she will spit. 

I encountered the same problem with Enantiopus 

melanogenys. 

My four fish were obtained from Dave’s 

Rare Aquarium Fish and were large enough 

to note the color in the males at 2.5-3 inches 

of length. The water in my tank mimics that 

of Lake Tanganyika, in that it is hard and 

alkaline. The temperature was around 73 F. 

Water changes of 50% were done once 

every four weeks. Filtration consisted of 

two hang-on-back filters rated for 60 gallons 

each. The lights were on a timer to be kept 

on for 12 hours each day. The tank was located 

in a waiting room and the fish were 

very timid and rarely showed their color. 

Décor consisted of a large piece of “holey” 

rock in the center with a smaller piece in one 

corner to provide the females a place to hide 

when they were not interested in spawning. 

The substrate was Quickcrete Play Sand. 

The parents were fed flake and the fry were 

started on Hikari First Bites and then moved 

to crushed flake. 

This is a fairly delicate fish that is sensitive 

to water quality. It is also skittish and will 

attempt to jump if scared, so a nice lid for 

the aquarium is a must. The fish is also on 

the pricey side and so I would not recommend 

this fish for the beginner, though I 

would not say you need to be an expert. 

Bibliography 

Konings, Ad. Back to Nature: Guide to 

Tanganyika Cichlids. 2 nd Ed. Cichlid 

Press, 2005. 

Konings, Ad. Tanganyika Cichlids in their 

natural habitat. Cichlid Press, 1998. 

Cichlid Forum http://www.cichlidforum.com/profiles/species.php? 

id=1961

7 

Lake Victoria and a Little History 

- Kory Watkins 

A boat floats across the calm waters of Lake Victoria. Photo by Lawrence Kent. 

Lake Victoria is my favorite of the three 

main Cichlid lakes in Africa. It is very 

unique with varied speciation and a history 

that is unbelievable! I promise that after you 

read a little about this wonderful basin you 

will be inspired to get yourself some Lake 

Victoria cichlid species and join with others 

who take conservation seriously. 

Lake Victoria is very young if you compare 

it to other large lakes on this planet. Core 

samples taken from the bottom of the lake 

suggest that it is around 13,000 years old. If 

this is the case then Victorian species have 

evolved in a very short period of time. If you 

have ever kept a breeding group of cichlids 

from this area you would know this. Most 

are very prolific and adaptable in a wide variety 

of settings. 

Lake Victoria is 26,600 square miles in size, 

making it, in area, the continent's largest

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lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, 

and the second fresh water lake in the world 

in terms of surface area. Being relatively 

shallow for its size, with a maximum depth 

of 276 feet and a mean depth of 131 feet, 

Lake Victoria ranks as the seventh largest 

freshwater lake by volume, containing 2.2 

million acre-feet of water. 

Lake Victoria receives most of its water 

from direct precipitation (rain). The largest 

stream flowing into this lake is the Kagera 

River, the mouth of which lies on the lake's 

western shore. Lake Victoria lies within an 

elevated plateau in the western part of Africa's 

Great Rift Valley and is subject to territorial 

administration by Tanzania, Uganda 

and Kenya. 

Lake Victoria has a shoreline of 2,138 miles, 

and has more than 3,000 islands. These include 

the Ssese Islands in Uganda, a large 

group of islands in the northwest of the lake 

that are becoming a popular destination for 

tourists. Today, Lake Victoria in East Africa 

is one of the most populous regions in the 

world. The lake provides food, transport, 

and electricity to more than 30 million people. 

Before the 1950’s, Lake Victoria's ecology 

was outstanding with an incredible array of 

biodiversity. It was inhabited by over 500 

species of fish, 90% of which were cichlids, 

all but two haplochromine species; plenty of 

natural action largely untouched with so 

much diverse life. 

Exert from TED case Study 338, Lake Victoria: 

Fishing pressure on the lake began to intensify 

in the early 1900's when the British 

introduced flax gill nets, which soon 

replaced the local villagers' papyrus nets 

and fish traps. With over fishing, catch 

sizes began to drop; fishermen turned to 

nets with ever smaller mesh sizes and thus 

decimated both the breeding adults and 

young of many native species. By the 

1950s the ngege (Oreochromis esculentus) 

The ngege, Oreochromis esculentus. 

was commercially extinct and the labeo 

(Labeo victorianus) was not far behind. To 

compensate, British officials decided to 

stock the lake with new fish. The first 

nonnative species of tilapia (Cichlidae), 

that prospered was the Nile tilapia, Oreochromis 

niloticus, which feeds on the minute 

forms of plant and animal life called 

plankton, introduced in the early 1950s. 

In 1955 the Nile Perch Lates nicloticus 

(Centropomidae) was introduced into 

Lake Kyoga, and when a few years later it 

was found in Lake Victoria, steps were 

taken to ensure its establishment there. 

Despite such changes, the haplochromines 

appeared to be thriving in the 1950s. In 

act, they appeared so robust that some 

colonial administrators favored introducing 

a big predator like the Nile perch to 

eat what they considered bony little 

"trash" fish and "convert the haplochromine 

biomass" into something 

more able for the restaurant table. Ecologists, 

fearing the worst for local species, 

strongly opposed the predator. But in 

1954 illicit Nile perch began appearing in

9 

Lates niloticus, the infamous Nile Perch. Photo by Lawrence Kent. 

commercial catches anyway. Since the 

dirty deed was done, officials continued to 

stock the lake with perch in the early 

1960s. Speculation is that the perch were 

first slipped into the lake by colonial 

sportsmen, just as homesick British anglers 

put trout into highland streams 

throughout eastern and southern Africa. 

Still, for the next decade or so, the alien 

perch population remained small. A 

United Nations sponsored survey completed 

in 1971 found that haplochromines 

still made up 80 percent of the lake's fish 

biomass. 

Then came what Pereti Basasibwaki, a 

Fisheries Research Institute biologist, 

calls the dark period, the years between 

1974 and 1979 when Idi Amin cut off access 

to the lake from Uganda. Until 1978, 

Nile Perch remained a very small proportion 

of the commercial catch, less than 5 

percent. It wasn't until 1979 that the Kenyan 

government took over an idle Kisumu 

facility and work resumed under ICM- 

FRI's auspices. Pilot surveys suggested 

the lake's fish biomass was unchanged: it 

still appeared to consist of 80 percent haplochromines 

and less than 2 percent Nile 

perch. But in 1980 an abrupt change 

showed up in Kenyan waters, and within 

two years it appeared in Ugandan and 

Tanzanian waters too. Nile perch suddenly 

jumped to 80 percent of the biomass, 

and haplochromines dropped to 1 

percent. The ngege, already rare, virtually 

disappeared. Clearly something had 

been building during the unmonitored

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1970’s to cause such a massive explosion 

of perch. As for the Haplochromines, the 

leading theory is that they simply provided 

the predator's fodder. However, 

when Nile Perch were introduced into 

Lake Victoria some 30 years ago to improve 

game fishing, few would even have 

guessed that it might cause the elimination 

of whole species and the degradation 

of the area surrounding the lake. Then in 

1978 a very rapid expansion of the proportion 

accounted for by Nile Perch took 

place, with the result that by 1990 the 

commercial catch had a totally different 

composition, dominated by Nile Perch 

(almost 60 percent) and Omena (most of 

the remaining 40 percent). The haplochromines, 

and the mixture of other fish 

had virtually vanished from the commercial 

catch. 

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ 

Lake_Victoria 

Large Lakes Observatory, University of 

Minnesota: http://www.d.umn.edu/llo/ 

TED Case Studies: Lake Victoria: http:// 

www1.american.edu/TED/victoria.HTM 

Today people like Greg Steeves, Nick Andreola, 

Troy Veltrop, many other hobbyists 

and myself are pushing to keep these rare 

species going. Lake Victoria today is a 

muddy, murky, polluted lake and it is also 

overstocked with predator fish that kill anything 

in sight. 

After reading this I would hope that you 

have learned a little history about the lake 

and are interested in keeping a Victorian 

species of some sort. We need hobbyist to 

step up and offer a spot for a few of these 

species in there homes. Breed them and 

spread the love! Conservation is the key to 

their prolonged existence. So again please 

open up a tank for these little critters you 

won't regret it! 

Ugandan children with a basket full of 

haplochromines. Photo by 

Lawrence Kent. 

References: 

Steeves, Greg. Lake Victoria: A Brief History.“ 

http://hillcountrycichlidclub.com/ articles/Lake%20Victoria%20History.pdf”

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The Little Known Arrow-fish; Yssichromis 

- Greg Steeves 

Yssichromis piceatus in the authors aquarium. 

The arrow shaped cichlids of the Yssichromis 

genus were once a group of open 

water schooling fish that roamed the top 

strata of their native waters. After the Nile 

perch (Lates niloticus) upsurge in the 

1980’s, most species were thought to have 

expired. Later collections not only found 

these species once again but in number 

thought to be greater than before the massive 

ecological changes occurred in Lake Victoria. 

As an ever adaptable haplochromine, 

some Yssichromis survived implanted in 

large cyprinid schools while others took to 

rocky areas for cover. Debate is still ongoing 

as to whether or not these differing 

niches have caused anatomical changes in 

these fish. All Yssichromis make idea candidates 

for the aquarium although only a few 

representatives have ever been introduced 

into the aquarium hobby. 

Yssichromis heusinkveldi Witte & Witte- 

Maas, 1987 

Together with Yssichromis pyrrhocephalus, 

the similar Yssichromis heusinkveldi prior to 

1980 made up the bulk of trawls in Lake 

Victoria. Unfortunately, in the years following, 

Y. heusinkveldi became increasingly 

rare while today we know that Y. pyrrhocephalus 

is becoming more abundant. The 

former species was obviously more readily 

adaptable to changing surroundings while Y. 

heusinkveldi could not cope with predators 

or water conditions. At best, this fish is considered 

critically endangered in Lake Victo-

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A young Yssichromis piceatus male in the aquarium. 

ria. I am not aware of this beautiful little 

animal ever being maintained in captivity. 

Yssichromis laprogramma Greenwood & 

Gee, 1969 

Found in the northern portion of Lake Victoria, 

Yssichromis laprogramma was discovered 

near Nsadzi Island in Uganda. 

“Laprogramma” is in reference to the thick 

mid lateral stripe that dissects the flanks. 

This is another of the small schooling open 

water zooplankton eaters reaching 8.5cm. It 

appears to be just as abundant in its native 

waters now as it was before the Nile perch 

deluge. It is a shame that it has not yet entered 

the aquatic hobby as it would, in all 

probability, make for an ideal resident. 

Yssichromis pappenheimi Boulenger, 1914 

Named for the German biologist Artur Pappenheim 

(1870-1916) Yssichromis pappenheimi 

is native to Lakes George and Edward 

in the left arm of Africa’s Great Rift. Despite 

over-fishing in both waterways, Y. pappenheimi 

still appears frequently in native 

catches. 

This is a very small sardine-like cichlid at 

just over 6cm. Other than a slight darker 

coloration with adult males, both sexes are 

essentially silver fish with uncolored fins. It 

is fascinating to speculate how this Yssichromis 

and representatives of this genus 

from Lake Victoria have got to be where 

they are today and how they are related. It is 

unknown if this is a case of parallel evolution 

or geological seeding. Either way, this 

is yet another beautiful fish that has not 

made it to the aquarium trade.

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Two Yssichromis piceatus males displaying in the aquarium. 

Yssichromis piceatus Greenwood & Gee, 

1969 

The beautiful little cichlid Yssichromis 

piceatus is aptly named as the Latin root 

(piceatus) means “smeared with pitch” referring 

to the black body coloration of the adult 

male. Originally found near Jinja, Uganda 

(Napoleon Gulf opposite the Jinja prison) Y. 

piceatus is known to have had a wide distribution 

throughout Lake Victoria. 

It is a rather small fish growing to 9cm with 

little dimorphism between the sexes. The 

head has a straight incline and is arrow 

shaped (as is typical of Yssichromis; ‘yssos’- 

Greek for arrow). The body is slender and 

laterally compressed. The adult male has an 

all black body with a striking orange caudal 

fin. This same orange hue is found on the 

posterior of the dorsal and anal fins as well. 

The pelvic fins are black while the pectorals 

are clear. The females are dull silver with a 

mid lateral horizontal bar splitting the 

flanks. A black face bar lines through the 

eye and around the forehead. This same patterning 

can be seen on non-dominant males 

only with darker body coloration. 

The teeth are comprised of mainly unicuspid 

and tricuspid structure with the first tooth 

series being the only row completely exposed. 

Much as in Lipochromis, the back 

rows are not always uncovered above the 

gum. Natural food consists of small pupae 

(northern Lake Victoria samples while a diet 

of zooplankton was found in Mwanza populations. 

It is likely that Y. piceatus is an opportunistic 

feeder taking whatever minute 

fare is available at the time. Diet varies 

throughout the year. 

These fish make ideal aquarium residents. 

One must ensure not to house them with 

overly rambunctious tank mates. To show 

these fish at their best, they must not suffer 

any dominance issues with another species. 

Unless one is highly versed in hap-

15 

One can see why Greenwood called this fish piceatus meaning “smeared with pitch”. 

lochromine temperament, the best idea is to 

house Y. piceatus as the only cichlid species 

in an aquarium. Small Synodontis species as 

flavitaeniatus or alberti and some passive 

eels as Mastacembelus liberiensis work well 

for a little aquatic diversity. Y. piceatus is a 

good choice for one wanting to incorporate 

plants into aquascaping. These fish will 

generally not do any harm to all but the most 

tender of plants. The décor of the aquarium 

makes little difference to Y. piceatus. Plants 

or rockwork serve the same purpose and will 

allow these little haplochromines to feel 

comfortable. The deep adult male coloration 

will rarely develops in a bare tank. 

I use a substrate of fine sand as it has been 

reported that similar cichlid species will pick 

up smaller pebbles in the spawning sequence 

(possibly mistaken them for eggs) and 

through the course of mouth brooding, these 

will destroy the embryos. Spawning occurs 

indiscriminately; in no particular setting in 

the aquarium. We have seen most spawns 

occur in the early evening. The developing 

eggs are quite fragile. At around 18 days 

post spawning, the fully developed fry are 

free swimming and released from the mothers 

buccal cavity. Continued care by the female 

ensues for two weeks after which time 

it is best to separate the adult from her fry. 

Fry survival can be touchy as well. Feeding 

of commercially available cyclop cysts, 

newly hatched Artemia, and a mature sponge 

filter will increase survival counts. 

Unfortunately, as with some many other 

haplochromine cichlids, Y. piceatus is very 

rare in Lake Victoria. It has been in captive 

populations for over 20 years but has never 

been bred in sufficient numbers that would 

ensure its survival captive or otherwise.

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One of the most beautiful of all the zooplankton eaters, Yssichromis pyrrhocephalus. 

Yssichromis pyrrhocephalus Witte & Witte- 

Maas, 1987 

Another of the spectacular species of the 

open water zooplankton eaters to have escaped 

the Nile perch (Lates niloticus) onslaught 

by adjusting to another habitat, is 

Yssichromis pyrrhocephalus. Its range is 

recorded as the northern portion of Mwanza 

Gulf, Lake Victoria. The name is of Latin 

origin and translates to “fire head”. It was 

nearly driven to extinction in the 1990’s 

only to take residence amongst rocky habitats 

where it was easier to evade predation. 

Remarkably, the surviving individuals underwent 

apparent morphological changes 

including a decreased eye size, smaller more 

compact head and larger gills (Frans Witte et 

al., 2008). This serves as a prime example of 

how very adaptable haplochromine cichlids 

can be. 

This is another small cichlid with a maximum 

length of 8cm. Both females and quiescent 

males display a body coloration of 

metallic silver. All fins both paired and unpaired 

are largely translucent. The sexually 

active male sports an orange-red blaze with 

a prominent eye bar. The pelvic fins are 

black with orange dorsal, anal and caudal 

fins. One to three ocelli dot the back portion 

of the anal fin. The head is arrow shaped 

with a sleek tapered body akin to other Yssichromis 

species. 

These fish make ideal aquarium residents 

providing that the aquarium sports some sort 

of décor.

17 

Yssichromis sp. “argens” in the aquarium. 

Yssichromis fusiformis Greenwood & Gee, 

1969 

From the Buuvuma Channel west of Nienda 

and Vuga Islands in Uganda (Lake Victoria), 

Yssichromis fusiformis was taken from deep 

waters in open expanses. The body shape is 

of the “classic” arrowhead form common to 

this genus. Males grow to 11cm while females 

rarely reach 9cm. This is a very colorful 

fish with males having a purple coloration 

on the top portion of the body blending 

to a golden yellow color at the belly. The 

pelvic fins are black while the other fins are 

mostly colorless. Usually three orbited 

ocelli dot the anal fin. Females have a bluegrey 

back shading to sliver on the abdomen. 

Yssichromis sp. “argens” 

Originally catalogued from the Tanzanian 

waters of Lake Victoria, Yssichromis sp. 

“argens” is widely considered to be extinct 

in the wild. A small population is presently 

maintained in captivity within the AZA’s 

(American Zoos and Aquariums) Lake Victoria 

Species Survival Plan (LV-SSP). As 

far as I can ascertain, these fish are held in a 

single institution. One can only hope that 

the colony is still strong and can be filtered 

to dedicated hobbyists who have repeatedly 

proved their worth in dealing with propagation 

of endangered haplochromine species 

from Africa. 

This zooplankton feeder was a schooling 

open water species before massive ecological 

changes took place in the 1980’s. The 

maximum length of this species is 9cm with 

no noticeable difference between the sexes. 

There is considerable evidence suggesting 

that Y sp “argens may be synonymous with 

Yssichromis fusiformis. Captive care for Y. 

sp. “argens” should pose no difficulty as it 

has been reared successfully in captivity for 

over 20 years. One should employ a similar 

husbandry strategy as needed for other 

members of the genus.

18 

Yssichromis sp. “blue tipped” male in the aquarium. Photo by Dave Hansen. 

Yssichromis sp. “blue tipped” 

Yssichromis sp. “blue tipped” was discovered 

in 1992 by Yves Fermon and Olivier 

Berthelot off Rusinga Island Lake Victoria. 

This schooling species feeds upon zooplankton 

and will also take small insects in the 

wild. Maximum size is near 10cm for 

males, slightly smaller for females. 

Being an open water species, we house our 

group in a 65 gallon deep tank with a silica 

sand substrate. One side of this tank contains 

a small rock work structure. A few 

strands of artificial Vallisneria are situated 

in the middle of the tank. Filtration is provided 

by an Aquaclear® 300 hang on the 

back power filter. Weekly water changes of 

twenty gallons help maintain acceptable 

conditions. The Yssichromis sp. “blue 

tipped” are housed with a colony of Platytaeniodus 

sp. “red tail sheller” of similar 

size. This mixture works well as both species 

are distinct enough that hybridization is 

unlikely. The rock structure is used by the 

Platytaeniodus sp. “red tail sheller” as a territorial 

boundary but has little attraction to 

the Yssichromis sp. “blue tipped”. Neither 

species is overly aggressive with the other; 

squabbles are restricted to co specs. The 

Platyaeniodus sp. “red tail sheller” prefers to 

remain near the bottom while the Yssichromis 

sp. “blue tipped” are usually roaming 

the upper portion of the aquaria. There 

are occasional bluffing duels between the 

most dominant males of each species but 

these are no more than jetting forward in an 

attempt to back the other up. There is no 

physical contact or jaw locking that occurs. 

Yssichromis sp. “blue tipped” (“tipped 

blue”) as named by Fermon and Berthelot) is 

a very rare fish in the North American 

hobby. It is not held in the LV-SSP program 

so it is up to the hobbyist to ensure its survival.

19 

Schedule of Events 

February 19th 2:00 pm 

HCCC Meeting at Dave’s Rare Aquarium Fish In San Antonio TX. 

Greg Steeves speaking on the Comal River System. 

The club is not responsible for any incriminating photos of Members that 

might be shown during the presentation. 

March 13 

HCCC Spring Auction Shertz TX. 

April 9 

Amazonia’s Cichlid Symposium 

Amazonia International Austin TX. 

May 

HCCC Meeting 

Location and Speaker TBD 

June 

HCCC Auction Austin TX (tent.) 

July 

HCCC Meeting Capital of Texas Zoo 

Austin TX. Speaker Michael Hicks 

August 

HCCC Meeting TBD 

September 

HCCC Auction Shertz TX. (tent) 

October 

HCCC Meeting TBD 

November 4th-6th 

FOTAS CARES San Antonio TX. 

December 

HCCC Christmas Party

21 

Thank you to all out club supporters. We wouldn’t be who we are without you! 


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5418 Glen Ridge 

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(512) 450-0182

22 

Amazonia 

International 


Member discounts: 

20% off Fish & Live Plants 

10% off Tanks, Stands, Eheims & 

Eclipses 

25% off Filters & Powerheads 

4631 Airport #116 Austin, TX 

(512) 451-0958 

http://grandapublishing.com/ 

9722 Potranco Road 

San Antonio, Texas 78251 

210-520-9611

23 

Mountain Valley 

Middle School 

CARES 

In the summer of 

2009 middle school 

science teacher Debbie 

Bumgardner expressed interest in the 

Hill Country Cichlid Club CARES program. 

She had visualized creating a “hands on” 

approach to species conservation with her 

curriculum. After a few conversations and a 

little research the MVMS CARES project 

was born. Debbie had obtained a 75 gallon 

aquarium and once the word went out to 

HCCC members, additional equipment and 

livestock was graciously given to the program. 

Sparky, etc.), the kids were hooked. Each 

day they would diligently check their fish. 

As the first school year came to a close, one 

of the Xystichromis phytophagus was seen 

mouth brooding a clutch of eggs. The first 

successful spawn! The fry from this spawning 

was sent off to the Vienna Zoo. Some of 

this brood will go to the Capital of Texas 

Zoo to be displayed in the brand new cichlid 

exhibit and the remaining young joined their 

parent’s colony at the Mountain Valley Middle 

School for the 2010-2011 school year. 

During the first year of MVMS CARES, 

Debbie was given the honor of being voted 

Teacher of the Year by her peers at Mountain 

Valley Middle School. In addition, the 

administration of both the school and district 

fully supported her involvement and the CA- 

RES effort. 

Teacher extrodinaire! Mrs. B. 

Debbie Bumgardner and Erin Olsen. 

Although the 2009-2010 school year was to 

be a learning experience with the main goal 

learning what would work and what would 

not, the students took an incredible interest 

in the fish. The livestock consisted of Xystichromis 

phytophagus, a CARES listed species 

from Lake Kanyaboli, Neochromis omnicaeruleus 

and Paralabidochromis chromogynos, 

both from Lake Victoria and Synodontis 

greshoffi from the Congo River. The 

students increased their knowledge base on 

these fish through studies and research and 

once the cichlid were given names (Bob, 

Riding on the successes of the first year of 

this CARES program, it was planned to expand 

the number of aquariums as well as the 

number of species being maintained. Additional 

equipment was donated though the 

generosity of HCCC members. Both parents 

and students came though with everything 

from needed items to décor such as rocks. 

Despite high expectations, the 2010-2011 

students, although interested, seem to lack 

the full vigor shown by their predecessors. 

After a small setback with losing a few fish,

24 

and, starting out with young cichlids not 

showing the vibrant adult coloration, a decision 

was made to stock one aquarium with 

colorful cichlids. In this tank, young Pseudotropheus 

saulosi, Cynotilapia sp. “hara” 

and Pundamilia macrocephala are housed. 

The beautiful hues shown by these fish, even 

while juveniles, should interest the students 

and get them involved in what would be 

considered the next step, species maintenance 

of endangered cichlids. Additional 

aquariums will contain Lake Barombi Mbo 

cichlids from Cameroon. Myaka myaka. 

Pungu maclareni and additional Lake Victoria 

species will soon call Mountain Valley 

Middle School home. This year, the Federation 

of Texas Aquarium Societies provided a 

$250.00 award to MVMS CARES that will 

go towards the purchase of additional filtration 

and upgraded lighting. 

More updates will follow on what is certain 

to be a very successful CARES effort! 

MMS CARES would like to recognize the following 

organizations and individuals who, without 

their gracious support, this program would not be 

possible. 

Mike Kaaki 

Pat Mallinger 

Dave Hansen 

Henry Rockward Jr. 

Hill Country Cichlid Club 

Troy Veltrop 

Benjamin Smith 


Paul V. Loiselle 

Dave’s Rare Aquarium Fish 

Robert Deleon 

Federation of Texas Aquarium Societies

25 

Ramble # 49 

- Nick Andreola 

Editor’s note 

I was very happy to get the first in what 

looks like a series of Ramblings by Nick. As 

the title suggests, this is an abstract, humorous 

but brilliant look at our hobby and ourselves. 

I hope you all enjoy this installment 

as much as I did and look forward to the 

second installment which I presume will be # 

59! 

This article was written for multiple purposes: 

I needed one for BAP, I’m a little 

bored with writing species articles and I 

know Greg is struggling mightily to fill each 

months LL with content. I hope it is a fun 

read and at least a little bit informative…but, 

and most of all, I hope it shows that you 

don’t necessarily have to write some dry 

scholarly textbook like article; sometimes, 

just sharing your own unique perspectives 

and observations can be worthwhile. So, 

start a Ramble of your own and let’s see 

where it takes us! 

Many of you with mammalian pets will understand 

this concept. Let’s get down with 

some imagi-math! Let’s say that the typical 

cichlid we keep has an average life span of 7 

years and the average human’s is 75. Applying 

our imagi-math, we could then say that 

every cichlid year is roughly equal to 10 human 

years….with me so far? Using the canine 

reciprocal factor of theoretic ratio continuity 

we will say that the extra 5 human 

years which don’t fit conveniently into our 

imagi-math go to the cichlids first year. 

Therefore at one human year (HY) our little 

cichlid is 15 cichlid years (CYs ) old…..at 

two HY; it is 25 CY etc….. 

Now, let’s do a ‘Bones’ or CSI-like age progression. 

Your attention to the enhanced 

graphics being displayed on the high-res 

screen in your mind, please. See the little fry 

grow and begin to take on adult appearance? 

At one HY our little wiggler has become a 

possibly sexually active teenager. Yes, it is 

biologically feasible (and in some parts of 

backwoods Arkansas; still permissible) to 

procreate with humans at this age! Many 

mouth brooder females will have several 

unsuccessful attempts before finally releasing 

their relatively small first batch of fry. 

Pair bonding fish may also go through several 

dry runs or failures before they get it 

right. This is to be expected; after all, how 

many human couples who have ‘spawned’ at 

this early age do you know that really had it 

all together? 

From one to five HYs (15 to 55 CYs) our 

teenager has moved into the prime of its life. 

Its colors brilliant, fins resplendent and 

slime coat….well…slimy! For both sexes, 

this age range may be their reproductive 

peak. For many cichlid types, just like for 

humans, somewhere towards the end of this 

period the females will become less and less 

active producing babies. I’m not sure if the 

lack of fishy plastic surgeons (and fish 

equivalent breast implant-like enhancements) 

make the females less attractive to 

the males or if the males grow into boring 

NFL-watching, beer swizzling couchpotatoes 

(and unattractive to the females) or 

if the females go through some kind of piscopause. 

I do know that if the male has an 

owner who has paid attention to the Larry 

King School of human reproduction, the introduction 

of young females will usually inspire 

the middle-aged cichlid male to continue 

to father offspring for many years into 

the future. Lending some credence to the 

piscopause concept; I have had very few 

Demi Moore-like older females. In fact the 

cichlid cougar is much more likely to kick a 

new young stud’s butt than to mate with 

him. During this ‘prime’ period, one could 

(and should) expect that both sexes will look

26 

their absolute best and represent their species 

as well as genetics and husbandry allows. 

Dominant males of territorial species 

are able to claim and to vigorously hold on 

to their chosen sites. Subdoms and females 

are fleet and agile; easily able to avoid unwanted 

attention from more aggressive tank 

mates. Any battle damage sustained heals 

quickly. This is the time that you’re most 

likely to get that award winning photograph 

of your show male displaying awesome colors 

with no nips or tears in his fins. 

As our former little wigglers move in the 

‘golden’ years and join the AARC (6+ HYs 

~65+CYs) many changes occur. Just like 

with their human owners, many of our cichlids 

become less active and begin to put on 

some additional ‘padding’. While the fish’s 

‘middle-aged spread’ may not manifest itself 

in a beer belly, it is not hard to see the extra 

bulk when comparing older specimens with 

‘prime’ ones. Just as the thick luxuriant 

mane of the male human thins, grays and 

possibly retreats, the stunning colors of the 

cichlid male slowly fade and/or are displayed 

less and less. For some species, Lake 

Victoria basin types I’ve kept for example, 

the male coloration actually changes from 

the intense reds of youth to a dark, almost 

black base color. If kept without any challengers, 

the aging male will still fulfill his 

previous responsibilities (albeit, at a much 

slower pace!). However, if housed with 

younger males of other species, the former 

tank boss may be forced to step down a 

notch or two in the pecking order. There will 

typically be some fin/scale damage done 

while this transition takes place. The recuperation 

from these battles will be longer 

with each passing year. In the worst cases 

I’ve seen in this situation the old male will 

take on very muted coloration, will claim no 

territory and will spend his days swimming 

with the groups of females. If housed with 

younger males of his own species, very often 

the older cichlid male will not relinquish 

his dominance until he is bruised and battered 

to the point he requires removal or he 

dies. (And Disney tried to make the ‘circle 

of life’ into a syrupy show song!) 

After 7+ HYs (75+ CYs), if the fish are 

given the opportunity to swim out their remaining 

months in your “Tranquil Acres” 

rest tank, you will notice a steady decline on 

their overall health. They may have to return 

to their caves for their dentures, so feeding 

time may be somewhat lengthened. Their 

driver’s licenses will have to be taken because 

the cataracts make the rocks so hazy 

and so easy to run into. Tranquil Acres may 

just have to become an obstacle free zone. 

This may be when the owner has to gutcheck 

their opinions on euthanization. I’ve 

decided that I have enough tank space to let 

nature take its course so my fish room has its 

fair share of geezer fish. But, that’s okay 

with me; I usually enjoy hanging out with 

them more than with some of the young 

punks with all that loud noise they call music…but 

that’s a different ramble. I hope 

you don’t feel badly for these old timers. 

Not long ago, I had a wonderful chat with 

one of my favorite retired breeder males on 

what turned out to be his last day. He told 

me: “Stop with the tears, you’re messing up 

my water chemistry! It has been a glorious 

life …. Room service meals delivered every 

day, maids and maintenance men in every 

week and on call 24/7 and, oh, the females 

I’ve shared my tank with!!!! Hubba-hubbading-ding! 

I had SIX lovely young ladies in 

my last harem---and that was my third 

harem! But the best of all….I‘ve fathered 

hundreds of children (who have moved all 

over the country) and I can only imagine 

how many grandchildren are out there!” 

So don’t feel sad when you lose one of 

your old timers. Be content that you’ve got 

to see the cycle from fry to geezer …and

27 

that your hard work, patience and dedication 

is what made it happen. Now its time to 

really get to know Junior…and who 

knows?...you might just find that you actually 

kinda like that new loud music! 

PS: please, refer to this Ramble (#49) when 

reading the upcoming Ramble (#50) about 

“Why doesn’t my fish look EXACTLY like 

the one in the photograph?”

28 

The Lateral Line is the official publication of the Hill 

Country Cichlid Club. Reprinting permitted to non 

commercial organizations.

February 2011 Lateral Line - Hill Country Cichlid Club

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