Crenicichla compressiceps

[Cichlids1]

Anyone ever have any luck with these? I currently have 6 and I cannot tell any difference in the sexes. Some say females have a solid yellow tail, without the striping. All of mine have stripes. The Romer atlas say the females are fuller and the marking is not a reliable way to sex them. All of mine are fat as I tend to feed a lot I've got a couple that look like the "Brooding" one pictured in the atlas. They are aggressive little buggers, but they don't bother the non-compressiceps that much. I am debating on just dumping them in the 125g and letting them have a go. Currently they are in a 55g that is gettign a bit crowded. Any actual experiences with them would be appreciated. I'm alos looking for C. urosema and C. cf. regani if anyone know of where I might find them in the States. Thx

 

[Neil]

Cichlids1,
I have had and spawned C. compressiceps several times. They are one of the smallest Pikes, but they are definitely pikelike :twisted: in their level of aggression toward each other. The way that I dealt with them is to put the well-conditioned female in the breeding tank first for several days. Next came the male, who took a beating at the beginning, but could handle it. The female couldn't handle it, as I found out previously by putting the pair in together at the same time. It wasn't long before the female was dead. So after the male took his licks, they spawned and, aside from minor squabbles, were OK together during the next couple of spawns.
Tank was about 6pH, 2KH and 78 degrees, with a powerhead for water current. Lots of caves and cover!!!!!!!!!!!
Sexing is a tricky deal, which sometimes becomes quite easy by the caudal fin of the female, as you have found. Some female will have much reduced vertical striping, whereas it is almost always present in the male.
Often the female will have a little larger non-striped area on the belly and chin - I think white or light olive: As I recall (I don't have these fish here anymore so I can't look at them). The female sometimes has a little narrower vertical bands on the body and they don't run into the dorsal as far or as pronounced. Fins are much the same, but the female probably has lighter patterning than the male (especially in the anal). These identification remarks are subtle differences and might not appear at all. Considering all of them together may lend a hand in a "best guess" for a fairly non-dimorphic fish. Hope that it does.
Working with this fish is an advanced exercise in fishkeeping. Not too many have bred this fish, but once you get a pair and are able to deal with keeping them together without killing each other, there water is no problem and they are very good parents (mother-father-family). Neil

 

[Cichlids1]

I'll go home and stare at the tank for differences some more. I've had them for 6 or 7 months, and I thought I observed some pairing activity but nothing ever came of it. I've done the C. regani before. I picked up some wild ones from Oliver Lucanus at the ACA in Jersey. Still trying to convince them. The "domestics" were much easier. Male and female in the same tank and they spawned. These wild ones seem to want proper water conditions, good foods, etc...the bums

 

[Neil]

Cichlids1,
I know! Can you believe those picky little buggers with their "i'm so special 8) attitude..". Maybe you can tell them that if they don't shape up, you will give them a vacation at the Walmart tanks. Or, you could give in and meet their demands, which probably involves feeding them your Apistogramma!
What are the conditions in their tank? You may want to try low 4s pH, no hardness and addmore current (if you don't already have a ton).
Neil

 

[Cichlids1]

I'll try dumping the pH on the regani. It's at 6 right now and minimal current. I'll put in a powerhead too and stir things up a bit. I'll also try the Wal-Mart threat. Might even hold them by their tails over the toilet bowl too. "Here is your future home!!!" Her belly is starting to pink up again, so this might be good timing. I don't want to feed them my apistos, but I have been known to drop in some A. thomasi and N. anomala on occassion. THey do love their live worms tho, blackworm and whiteworms. They don't pay too much attention to the grindals, I think they are too small for them to bother with...updates to follow, hopefully.

 

[Neil]

Cichlids1,
How's it going with the pikes? I don't know what it is with them, but I love 'em. They, and teleocichla, have caused me so many problems, but I can't stay away from them. So I am curious about yours!
Did you "dump" the pH and "pump" the current on the regani? I was re-reading this topic and thought that that belly-reddening thing might be important.
Any luck sexing the compressiceps?

 

[Cichlids1]

Well,
The compresiceps have went into the 125g. All 6 each have their own area and they don't seem to interact with each other at all. I'm almost convinced I've got all males.
I've tried just about everything with the wild regani. Temp change, raise/lower pH, increase/decrease current, etc. The pair are in a 20L full of java moss and covered with water sprite. They have been associating with each other for a month or so now. No fighting or flaring. They feed together, swim together, hide out in the same cave together. I just introduced some large Acara (AKA: Aequidens sp. "Rock Bass") type fish in the tank. Hoping they will be looked at as a threat and/or competition to maybe increase the bond a little more. The female will have a bright red belly for a few days, then back to normal and I can't find a single egg. If they don't go by May 12th, they are headed to Pittsburgh and Mike Chapell's tanks. Let him stress over them for a while :twisted: When we divided up the orginal group, he ended up with a male notophthalmus. I have found a stray female in my group. So, I've got a divided 20L with their name on it. If I can't keep the aggression down, they'll go into a 55g. But, once I get tham set up properly and other than feeding, they are going to be pretty much hands off. I'm going to focus on some of my Westies for a while.