Hi so a few of you will know about my obsession about Nicaraguan Cichlids they are my favourite fish and I think such a massively under rated fish in the hobby. Its likely because they are not for everyone, they are a bit of a pain to keep but so much personality and colour and for me just the perfect shape.
I've noticed over the years that there are definite differences in appearance, some get a red belly, some have a clean black horizontal line on the female and dot on the male, others have much more irregular black markings on them and some in between.
I want to find research papers on the species to see if there is any information on where these variations come from, their main distributions are Nicaragua and Costa Rica so it could be from there.
I've also recently seen a youtube video where their spawning process was described and it involved the male digging a hole out of the river bank, creating a nest for the pair to raise the fry in. I've also seen a video before of a male Nicaraguan helping a female Dovii raise a brood of fry in order for the Dovii to attack neighbouring Neetroplus who would in turn attack the Nicaraguans. Interesting right?
I'd really love it if someone could point me in the direction of where I can find or may be able to find research papers on the species to see if everything I've mentioned is true and further if there are any more details on them as they really are an interesting species.
Wills
I've noticed over the years that there are definite differences in appearance, some get a red belly, some have a clean black horizontal line on the female and dot on the male, others have much more irregular black markings on them and some in between.
I want to find research papers on the species to see if there is any information on where these variations come from, their main distributions are Nicaragua and Costa Rica so it could be from there.
I've also recently seen a youtube video where their spawning process was described and it involved the male digging a hole out of the river bank, creating a nest for the pair to raise the fry in. I've also seen a video before of a male Nicaraguan helping a female Dovii raise a brood of fry in order for the Dovii to attack neighbouring Neetroplus who would in turn attack the Nicaraguans. Interesting right?
I'd really love it if someone could point me in the direction of where I can find or may be able to find research papers on the species to see if everything I've mentioned is true and further if there are any more details on them as they really are an interesting species.
Wills
