P. taeniatus variants

[MikeR]

I keep seeing that the various strains come from different areas (Moliwe, Lobe, etc.), but I don't know what that means. Is it that they come from different rivers or different parts of the same river? What would the differences be concerning water parameters? The only reference I have at home is the Baensch Atlas, and it only says "in rivers and brackish waters" but isn't specific.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[ed seeley]

Usually the variants are named after the collecting location, but this means that some collections from different points on the same system have different names. The best books to look at are Linke and Staeck's 'Cichlids from West Africa' and Lamboj's 'The Cichlid Fishes of Western Africa'. They don't come from brackish water either.

 

[tjudy]

The names are locations, but not necessarily a piece of a river. Some are names of towns. THere are three basic regions with representative types that come from Cameroon. North of the Sanaga River there are Moliwe and Ndonga that are similar, and Wouri that is different than all other P. taeniatua variants. In the south country there are the spotted morphs from the Kribi River (Lokounje, Kienke, Dehane, Makoure, Bipindi) and those that come from the Lobe River (Lobe, Grande Batange, Nyete). There is also the Bandewouri variety that is collected near the village fo Bandewouri. That place is situated between the Kribi and Lober Rivers in a area where the two rivers are very close together, and probably share a flood plain in high water years. Some of the P. taeniatus collected there are spotted like Kribi fish, and others are not (like Lobe river fish). It is likely the two are different populations near the same town.

P. taeniatus also exists in NIgeria, but they are rarely imported.

 

[MikeR]

Thank you both for the information. All of what I've read suddenly makes sense. I didn't believe Baensch about the brackish water given what I've read here about the fish's needs, and I'm glad that Ed supports that doubt.

Now to see if I can find those books.

Mike

 

[MikeR]

I Google Earthed the locations that Ted mentioned. Kinda puts a focus on things.

Mike

 

[Andre]

Hi Mike

The locations are just a general indication of where the fish come from. For instance, I the "Moliwe" are caught just off the road at the road going to Moliwe.

None of the localities that I have found Pelvicachromis have been salty at all, however I have observed Hemichromis elongatus, synodontis and killies swimming with mullets at Semme beach near Limbe.

 

[MikeR]

Andre:

Thanks for the response. It's nice to talk to someone who as actually been to where the fish are found.

I've never seen any other book mention that the fish are found in brackish water, so I had my doubts.

Can you speak to the conditions in the river at the Moliwe road, i.e., density of plants, water flow (fast/slow/shallow/deep)?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Andre]

Hi Mike

Some parts of the river has faster flowing water, but we did not find any pelvicachromis there. The fish prefer the slower moving sections.

The river has a lot of vegetation along the river banks which provides a habitat for various killiefish.

I normally see the Benitochromis and Pelvicachromis in sandy areas littered with sticks and other debris like this:

 

[MikeR]

Andre:

Very helpful pictures! They seem to like the silty areas with bright light. The tank that mine are in has a loamy substrate, so I will leave that alone.

In such conditions, where do they find the rocks that they are supposed to spawn under? Or do they use wood and such?

Mike

 

[tjudy]

Being cave spawners they will use anything hollow with a small opening. In nature they are probably using holes in logs or in cavities in the bank.

 

[MikeR]

Ted:

I've never had P. taeniatus until this past two weeks, but the P. pulcher I had as a youngster dug into the sand under a rock until the female could barely get under. It used to surprise me that the male could fertilize the eggs since he could not enter. I never tried the flower pot thing that TFH always seemed to advocate, as I figured the fish never encountered pottery in the wild .

I'm watching the P. taeniatus do their dance, and with the exception of different colors, is almost identical to the P. pulcher, including how the females interact with each other.

I'm trying to replicate the conditions the fish found in the wild, and I think I have so far. This makes it more interesting to me than the rather stale conditions I had as a kid (gravel/rock/a few plants).

Mike

 

[ste12000]

Glad your enjoying the Taeniatus Mike..I have kept a few seperate variants over the last year or so and they are stunning fish that are very similar to Pulcher in their habits.
I also set my tanks to be as natural as possible and mine love rooting amongst the wood and Oak leaves i place in the tank. If you are wary of using bright orange plant pots as spawning sites get yourself some coconuts, cut them in half and cut a notch for an entrance, your Taeniatus will soon set up home and provide you with your first batch of young.
I have a pair of P.Taeniatus 'Bipindi' that are very prolific..I have just removed 150 six week old fry from the parents tank ands within a week the female is sitting on another spawn...That will be my 6th spawning in little over a year..Once settled these fish are no harder than the P.Pulcher you compared them with..Goodluck.

 

[Andre]

Hi Mike

The pictures above were taken during the dry season. I would have gone to Lake Barombi this weekend, but I'm having transport problems. Maybe I should go back there on Saturday and take some wet season pictures to compare?

Something else that was interesting to me was that the pelvicachromis were intermingled with Benitochromis nigrodorsalis

 

[peterK]

Hope to see underwater pics, haha

 

[MikeR]

Ste:

I don't have much room to put a coconut shell in the tank. I do have lots of petrified wood in there (a habit I got into as a kid), with pieces leaning into each other.

The tank is so heavily planted that I can sometimes go for a couple of days without seeing any of the two pair of P. taeniatus at all. I have been slowly pulling out bits of plants when I see where the fish like to hang out, while not denuding any area so that the fish don't get exposed too much.

'Course, then the problem may be trying to get the young out when they get big enough to cause their parents some problems.

Mike

 

[MikeR]

Andre:

I would, indeed, like to see pictures of the same river during the rainy season. I wonder what their conditions would be then? Perhaps less detritus given stronger water flows?

Mike

P.S.: Do the P. taeniatus and the B. nigrodorsalis have different feeding strategies? I should think that if they are similar, that the fish would not tolerate each other well.

 

[fishme.]

hi andre

i think it would be very helpfull if you could check the water gh kh ph

and thank's for the pics