🐡 FOTM VOTE NOW - December 2023 Fish of the Month Contest (Cichlids)

PLEASE VOTE!
We have 7 awesome fish entered into December 2023 Fish of the Month Contest. View all the entries and descriptions below and then go to the top of page - click on your choice for FOTM and then click the "cast" button.

Please DO NOT post any comments about any specific entry in this thread...such posts will promptly be deleted.
You are not allowed to update your entry picture once voting has started.

Please note:
Any attempt to influence competition results, other than by casting your allocated vote, is not permitted and may result in your entry being removed and / or further action being taken. You are not allowed to have friends or family join TFF for the main purpose of voting for you. This is a public poll so source of votes can be viewed.

The winner is awarded a neat banner in his profile area and will be featured in a Winner Thread for all to see and to comment. The winner also will be added to our FOTM Wall of Fame .

Poll will close on December 17th at 11:43 PM ET (US).

Good luck to our entrants in the Fish of the Month contest. We at fishforums.net thank you for your participation.

Zebra Lace Angel fish...
"Zebra lace is a beautiful phenotype that has one allele for dark (black) paired with a wild allele at the dark locus, and one or two alleles for zebra. Zebra lace has a darkened body similar to the coloration of a black lace (D/+) but with the extra stripe and the more pronounced lace pattern in the tail of a zebra"
I don't under stand all that, but the two I have must have a blue gene as well, as they have a definite blue shine to them... 2nd picture following the FOM tag... to use for the contest

Here is one of my Neolamprologus similis.
These guys are almost 2 years old now.
I got them in March(I think)2021.
They have bred twice in my tank, and 3 of the fry have lived to adulthood.
Neolamprolgus similis are of the smallest cichlids in the world and are endemic to lake Tanganyika.

This is one of my dominant female Gymnogeophagus Terrapurpura.

Gymnogeophagus Terrapurpura are part of a relatively large genus of Eartheaters native to Uruguay and surrounding areas. None of them have common names, so bear with me! They were marked as an official species in 2016. I managed to obtain a small group of six 2 years ago. What makes these cichlids unique is that because of their natural geographical range, they can be kept outside all year round, even under thin layers of ice.

Their feeding behavior and behavior is also special. They spend most of their day sifting through detritus, picking out microorganisms and ever-present algae pieces. It is interesting to note that due to the fluctuation in water temperature between summer and winter, their feeding slows down significantly during the winter months, commonly going 5-7 days without feeding. Though they enjoy being in groups, they are highly territorial, the dominant ones going great lengths to take over as much territory in the tank as possible. It isn’t uncommon for one fish to occupy 2/3 of the tank. It is interesting to observe their social pyramid. The queen of the bunch, pictured above, spends the majority of her time bullying the lesser, ramming them into the decor and walls and stealing food directly from their mouth. Another funny behavior they have is they spit sand at each other, I assume to establish dominant. I will see them grab sand in their mouth from one part of their claim of territory, bring it all the way across the tank to someone else’s territory, and spit it at their opponent. This is the most petty and halarious thing I have ever whitenessed, and I absolutely love it.

Though these fish are stunning from the side, they are most definitely not from the top. They are near invisible, blending in with the substrate. During hotter parts of the year, their colors warm, and they develop black tips on the fin. They also develop a black throat when breeding, which happens thrice a summer. Once paired, the two are paired for life. Mortal enemies 70% of the time, lovers 30%. These fish exude very territorial behavior when they have eggs. I have noticed that the females lay eggs in small divots, and they are the main protectors of the eggs and fry. The female above maintained probably 2/3 of the tank when she had fry. However good her protection may be, she is the worst enemy to her fry. The 6 times she has had fry, she has eaten 98% of them.

lastly, these beauties are housed in a 55g outdoor patio tank with pool filter sand and DIY cichlid caves; terracotta pots, 2-hole concrete blocks, tile, and driftwood, among others. This tank also has no filter, the 5 species of plants inside the tank do all the heavy lifting. The tank also has no heater. The group of 6 and various small baby gymnos are housed with a couple of Flagfish, which serve as dithers.

Thanks for reading, I hope you appreciate these rare cichlids as much as I do!

edit: confirmation pic:

A. Sp. Winkelfleck (male)

This is a wild caught fish and as such the colouring will be much more subtle than domestic breeds like electric blue acara which is a hybrid bred for colours as well as german blue rams and their colour morphs. He is kept with a female who is a marvel by herself in soft acidic water in a 29 with a few random pangio which leave them alone. The pangio includes a 5 year old myersi which is a giant in itself as well as some smaller shelfordii which are very small as is typical for their species.

He was quite shy when i first received him but has settled in nicely and now greets me in the morning as he looks for treats.

Hey guys.
I don’t know much about this guy other than he’s clearly an Angel fish. I’m still learning a lot about fish keeping in general. We’ve had him for roughly 6 months. No names other than “Mommies Pretty Fish” since that is how my wife refers to him with our son. He’s in a 75 gallon tank with one other Angel, 3 Congo Tetras, 5 Neon Tetras, 2 Balloon Mollies, 4 Swordtails, 2 red shiners, 2 shrimp, 1 Pleco and 4 Gourami. We feed once a day and change water biweekly.

Thanks for the opportunity to enter.

This is one of two angelfish I have in my 55 gallon tank. He's spunky but friendly with his other tank mates. I obtained this fish on 4/2/2023.



Tank age = 1 year 6 months
Water Changes = Usually every other week
Other tanks mates = One other Angelfish, Guppies, GloFish Danio/Tetra, Goldust Lyretail Molies, Panda Garra, Rummny Nose Tetra, Nerite Snails

I Love Cichlids, they are my favourite group of fish due to their beautiful colour and great personalities. Picking one of mine to show was really difficult for me but this fish represents Cichlids in all their glory.
This is Electro️️️my Electric blue Acara (Andinoacara pulcher)

Colour and personality in abundance but also peaceful and well mannered for a Cichlid. Top dog in my South American tank but he rules without aggression and keeps the tank well balanced.

Lives with my trio of Rotkeil Severums, T,bar & Nicaraguan Cichlid, then some bottom dwellers such as Clown loach, Hoplo catfish, Ropefish and a Blue phantom pleco to name a few

Good luck everyone