Pelvicachromis

Pelvicachromis is a genus of small (5.5–12.5 cm or 2.2–4.9 in), brightly coloured cichlids from tropical West Africa and Central Africa. They typically inhabit soft, acidic water (pH 5.0 – 7.0).

Pelvicachromis
Female Rainbow Krib (P. pulcher)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Cichliformes
Family: Cichlidae
Tribe: Chromidotilapiini
Genus: Pelvicachromis
Thys van den Audenaerde, 1968
Type species
Pelmatochromis pulcher
Boulenger 1901

All species form monogamous pairs and use caves as spawning sites. Most are easily spawned in captivity.

Species

There are currently 11 recognized species in this genus:[1]

In the aquarium

Pelvicachromis comprise part of the arbitrary group aquarists refer to as "dwarf cichlids". They are relatively peaceful cichlids which can be housed with other species in planted, heated tanks.

Female Pelvicachromis taeniatus "Nigerian Red". Photo by Gerard Delany

Pelvicachromis are cave-spawners and will lay their eggs in any cave-like structure such as a clay pot, PVC pipe, coconut shell, etc. The female will initiate the spawning, often displaying or vibrating in front of the male. The female will deposit 50–300 eggs in the cave and the pair will guard the eggs. The eggs hatch in 3–8 days and become free swimming in 5–10 days.

There are yellow, blue, red morphs found in the tropical fish hobby.

References
  1. Lamboj, A., Bartel, D. & dell’Ampio, E. (2014). "Revision of the Pelvicachromis taeniatus-group (Perciformes), with revalidation of the taxon Pelvicachromis kribensis (Boulenger, 1911) and description of a new species". Cybium. 38 (3): 205–222. Retrieved 2018-02-21.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. Lamboj, A. (2013). "A new dwarf cichlid (Perciformes) from Nigeria" (PDF). Cybium. 37 (3): 149–157. Retrieved 2018-03-18.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.