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"This
photo is finally mine and yes, it is acceptable" - this is the
comment I made once I shot the photo in the middle. After two
months, I will just say that now I am partially satisfied. The
reason is the top photo of this fish. While this shot shows the
vivid colors of this species, I always have the feeling that, no
matter how good the picture turns out, still the colors are not well
reproduced. When seeing this vivid red, the blue hues and the
intense yellow one wonders what will it take to get the perfect
shot. This species (one male with two females) were kindly donated
by Francesco Zezza, the Italian co-author of this site, who also
provides his usual Fast
Facts Sheet for this species.
It
should be noted here (for the hobbyist who might consider keeping
them) that our experience has shown this fish to be extremely
aggressive towards conspecifics and other species. Its level of
aggression should be characterized as 'very high' comparable to that
of the most aggressive Malawi mbuna (Melanochromis sp. and
Maylandia sp.). The males will not tolerate each other even if
they belong to the same brood (usually all but one are killed in any
tank), while the females are constantly chased and severely
harassed. Despite the many caves and crevices, the females will very
rarely leave them and this is done only during feeding time or
spawning. I would like to note that, strangely enough, the fry is
not chased or eaten by the male - at least not in the early stages,
when probably they do not represent a challenge to it. Raising the
fry is only possible in many tanks each housing 2-3 males only. Even
then, casualties are the rule rather than the exception.
Photos:
Top photo shot in January 2000, Bottom photo (pair) shot in
November 1999.
See
next page for
more pictures and pictured of fry. |
