Guessing game

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Updated title: Alcolapia alcalicus

Look at what I brought home!!! Can you guess the ID of this species. Let's start out with an image of the female. If this turns out to be too difficult, I'll show you a picture of one of the males also.

 

[tjudy]

I know! I know! But the contest just started. Here is a hint: this fish has nothing to do with nuclear enrichment.

 

[ed seeley]

Is it a female Alcolapia? Not sure which of the two species it might be though.

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Alcolapia alcalicus

Good guess Ed. The fish depicted is Alcolapia alcalicus. I didn't show the male, because that would have made it to easy (see below). I brought them home from a recent business trip to Germany. It got me a written warning by the (courteous) wildlife inspector at Chicago O'Hare airport for not making an appointment.

Janos

 

[tjudy]

I was wrong!!!

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Yes, you were. The females are not easy to ID, though. I was surprised how fast Ed figured it out. Probably reading up all night over there in the U.K.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

What kind of water are you keeping them in? Soda water?

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Funny Steve! A good question, though. As you know the fish are endemic to Lake Natron (Soda Lake), where the salinity is pretty high. The person in Germany who gave me my group (a pro through and through!) emphasized the significance of blending the tap water with 1/4 to 1/3 of sea water or the equivalent of salt. I add about 9 grams of table salt per liter (pretty similar to my Iranocichla), and so far the fish are doing great. In Germany, they were kept at about 27 degrees Celsius, i.e., lower than the temperature in Lake Natron. The German breeder has made the experience that higher temperatures shorten the life span of the fish. They are eating various kinds of flakes with no problem.

(I'll save you some for your time "post S.D.")

Janos

 

[ed seeley]

Yes, you were. The females are not easy to ID, though. I was surprised how fast Ed figured it out. Probably reading up all night over there in the U.K.

Just a good first gut guess followed up by a quick Google to check my suspicions! It was the seemingly long dorsal section with hard spines and downturned mouth that gave me the clue as to what it might be, but it was just a good guess really.

BTW very nice fish and hope you do great with them. Do they show any interesting unusual cichlid behaviour?

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

It's hard to tell because the fish are still fairly young. I got a group of about 15 fish, ranging in size from 1/3 of an inch all the way up to perhaps 1.5 inches. All I can say for right now is they are not shy at all, don't mind the open water5 zones, and would eat themselves to dead if I fed them accordingly.