Laetacara curviceps in a community tank

[Glauce]

Hello guys, I'm worried with a pair of Laetacara curviceps that's in my tank by only 10 days now. The tank is setted since january, have 240 liters, black water, ph 6,8, ammonia 0,0 and nitrite 0,25. The tank mates are other 6 south american dwarf cichlids: 1 Mikrogeophagus papilocromis, 1 Dicrossus maculatus, 1 Apistogramma cacatuoides, 1 Mikrogeophagus ramirezi german blue, 1 Mikrogeophagus ramirezi gold, 1 Apistogramma trifasciata. The idea here is to make a south american cichlid community tank, like is made with african cichlids at exaustion. The rest of the tank mates are corydoras, rhinodoras, plecos, neon tetras, kuhlii and dojo loaches, a pearl gourami and a gardneri killifish.

They live in peace, but some trouble is coming. The pair of Laetacara curviceps have arrived 10 days ago with a timid behaviour, stunning blue and yellow colours, all the time swimming together and not bothering with the tank mates at all. It just changed, since 2 days ago. One of them changed the colour, and it's turning black, still beautifull and still looking healthy, but it's basically a black fish now. Also, they totally stopped to swim together, instead that, the black one are sitting at a leaf in a very secretive position, at least 80% of the time, hard to watch, while the other swims around; when the black one appears swimming, is a certain thing to see the blue one on that leaf. The one swimming around is sending away every other fish, cichlid or not. They looks like reproductive couple, but I don't know how to sex them, we thought have 2 males, because description says pointed dorsal and anal fins on males, and the fins looks some pointed on both of them.

Someone have good male and female pics of Laetacara curviceps? It's expected this colour changing to dark in reproductive season? I thought it could turn more yellow or more pale, but black?
Any advice on what to do if eggs appears?

On the pic both blue and swimming together, not protecting a leaf, etc... I'll try to get new pics of the black one.

 

[Hellfishguy]

The female of your pair is most likely guarding eggs or wrigglers. The pair will become very aggressive defending their young, taking over a substantial portion of the tank. BTW, your fish are L. araguaiae; the "sideburns" are a dead giveaway.

 

[Mike Wise]

Everyone who has been on this forum for any length of time knows my mantra: A community tank is not a breeding tank. Hopefully everything will end peacefully, but I doubt it will.

 

[Glauce]

Well, it happened and it ended. Today morning the first thing noticed was the 2 Laetacaras swimming together and being good tank mates to the others again. Then noticed that the one turning black was changing colour back to blue (done by now) and that both lost the interest by that leaf. I think they had laid eggs and then eaten the eggs.

Hellfishguy, after your post I looked after L. araguaiae and my fish really looks more like these, thanks! Do you know how to sex them? I'm thinking if are 2 females, one laid eggs and her friend tryed to help protect the eggs; after conclude the eggs was going nowhere, eaten the eggs. Or, they're inexperienced couple, in a new aquarium, got nervous and eaten the eggs.

Mike Wise, my community tank is not intended to reproduce any species. What happened was basically nature being nature (also called accident), and I was looking for advice. Also my hospital tank is empty at the moment and I was thinking to remove both Laetacaras and their loved leaf to there. Hope they don't do it again so fast, at least to find out if it's really a couple or not and think what to do.

 

[Hellfishguy]

L araguaiae are tricky to sex when not fully grown, but adult males are significantly larger than females& have a steeper forehead. Females are generally the darker of the pair in brood care coloration. Fins on both males & females are pretty much the same length; the males don't grow long extensions on dorsal anal & ventral fins like male L. curviceps. I've never been able to raise araguaiae fry in a community tank - again unlike L. curviceps; the fry usually disappear within a few days of becoming free-swimming. If you'd like to raise some young, siphon them into another tank containing water from the original aquarium. The fry are too small at first to take BBS so I start them on microworms & let them pick on microfauna in Java moss.

 

[Hellfishguy]

The first photo is a male L. araguaiae about 18 months old. The second is a female of the same age.

 

[Glauce]

Ok, tomorrow morning they laid eggs really. Until now they're protecting the eggs well, but already saw the Dicrossus eating some eggs in a seconds time while mom and dad was away. Obviously the Laetacara family can't still on my main aquarium. We're confused with our options, please help me with your thoughts.

I already said that have an hospital tank that's empty, it holds around 35 liters, no sand, no decorations, not cicled and don't have a biological filter, just aeration with little mecanical filter. I think this is pretty bad to maintain cichlids, and if the reproduction keep going ok, they will be lots of cichlids on a small not cicled tank.

I have a second tank that holds 5 fish - fish that are not ok on the main one by some reason:
1 Synodontis nigriventris - pH beginner mistake, this tank is setted to him mainly, so pH here should be higher, but still at 7,0 by now. Also he's the main suspect of biting my corydoras barbels.
1 Betta female, was atacking the gardneri killifish on the main one and was removed.
1 Platy
1 Dermogenys pusilla
1 Dianema urostriatum, that was quarantined on this tank, and when transferred to the main one, almost passed away in 4 days. Still no clue on what happened, transferred the Dianema back and oddly it's looking healthy now.

This second tank is a decent aquarium to hold the Laetacara family, it's a 50 liters, have sand, plants, caves, biological filter and it's cicled, but the 5 fish will need to go to the main one. What looks better to do, I'm really not sure. Because that 5 fish should not go to the main. The Synodontis can bite my corys again, the betta can bite the killifish again and the dianema can feel bad to die again. The dermogenys and the platy looks ok.

Have a third option, buy a fish breeder box and put there just the leaf with the eggs, on the main tank. But mom and dad, will be psychocrazy with that???

 

[Mike Wise]

None of your options seem good to me. You could try to put a partition in the tank between the dwarf acaras and the other fish or do what I did decades ago - buy more tanks!

 

[Happyfins]

One other unsatisfying option: split the pair!