Pelvicachromis Pulcher Ndonga

[ivantheterrible]

I've been interested in working with some wild type pelvicachromis. I like the look of Pelvicachromis Pulcher Ndonga but I'm not sure about their care. Would this fish be similar to the typical Nigerian Red Pulcher or would it not be a good wild type krib to start with.

 

[MacZ]

Would this fish be similar to the typical Nigerian Red Pulcher or would it not be a good wild type krib to start with.

You know one Pelvicachromis, you know all of them in my opinion.

Only differences to domestic Pelvicachromis are 1. you get rid of the fry much better. 2. they do better in a proper softwater tank.

 

[ivantheterrible]

You know one Pelvicachromis, you know all of them in my opinion.

Only differences to domestic Pelvicachromis are 1. you get rid of the fry much better. 2. they do better in a proper softwater tank.

I think they will remain a possibility. A reason I am concerned is that I have read that this species is like sacrimontis which is reported to be more aggressive and fragile than other pelvicachromis. I'm not sure on how true that statement is.

 

[MacZ]

A reason I am concerned is that I have read that this species is like sacrimontis which is reported to be more aggressive and fragile than other pelvicachromis.

Honestly, all Pelvicachromis I had (by far not all of them and none right now) were the same in both regards, if we go by baseline aggression and general health. The weaker ones were sick and ridden with parasites, the especially aggressive ones where brooding. And by cichlid standards a basic Pelvicachromis is above average in resilience and fertility.

Can't say anything about the Ndonga in particular, not even sure they are a legitimate form.

 

[ivantheterrible]

Honestly, all Pelvicachromis I had (by far not all of them and none right now) were the same in both regards, if we go by baseline aggression and general health. The weaker ones were sick and ridden with parasites, the especially aggressive ones where brooding. And by cichlid standards a basic Pelvicachromis is above average in resilience and fertility.

Can't say anything about the Ndonga in particular, not even sure they are a legitimate form.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Chromedome]

Ndonga is found in central coastal Cameroon, but the normal range of pulcher is in Nigeria. Due to the considerable separation between their ranges, it seems that many experts are calling them Pelvicachromis cf. pulcher Ndonga. There are slight differences in appearance, but they don't appear to be that closely related to other species found in that region. I would consider them a new species.

Methodology in keeping Pelvicachromis species varies from region to region and country to country, mostly based on local water supply, but also on aquarist's attitudes. Most often in the USA the problem is sex ratios of tank raised young. Not a concern for pulcher but some species have strict pH and hardness requirements to get even ratios.

 

[mathew]

The ndonga I have are pretty sensitive compared to others I keep and spawn. Like the kienke, dehane, njange. These seem to be a little more hardy and easier to breed. Also the male was very aggressive straight away and still is months later. I have tried to separate and reintroduce. I have tried to use a mirror a few times. I really don't know what else to do besides try to get another male and see if he is less aggressive. There is a few species of pelvicochromis to choose from these days. some harder to get than others. I would really like to get lobe again. They seem to be one of the harder ones to find.

 

[ivantheterrible]

The ndonga I have are pretty sensitive compared to others I keep and spawn. Like the kienke, dehane, njange. These seem to be a little more hardy and easier to breed. Also the male was very aggressive straight away and still is months later. I have tried to separate and reintroduce. I have tried to use a mirror a few times. I really don't know what else to do besides try to get another male and see if he is less aggressive. There is a few species of pelvicochromis to choose from these days. some harder to get than others. I would really like to get lobe again. They seem to be one of the harder ones to find.

There are some reports that keepers were able to keep the less aggressive species in stable groups (at least before breeding) which would help spread out the aggression but this method does not work for sacrimontis in particular as they are too aggressive.

 

[Mike Wise]

Ted Judy, who has reproduced many species of Pelvicachromis, recommends using a 'target female' to encourage pair formation. He usually placed a Pv. pulcher female in a glass chimney of an old oil lamp (to prevent mayhem) in a tank with whatever species of Krib he wanted to pair up. The pair would jointly target the target Krib and usually bond.

 

[mathew]

I had the sacrimintos a few times in the past. The last time I had them I finally got a pair to bond and start breeding. The fish store I got them from had probably 60 in a 40 breeder and Everytime I went back it got less and less. It wasn't because people was buying them either. They were killing each other. Thanks Mike I will have to try that with my wallaceochromis humilis also.

 

[Mike Wise]

I kept and reproduced Pv. sacrimontis way back in the early 1980s. I had several pairs of each color morph. None really seemed especially aggressive when together, but I always pulled any pairs and put them in their own breeding tank. I used common Australian Rainbows and Giant Danios as dithers. The Giant Kribs were never overly aggressive towards these either - even when raising fry.

 

[anewbie]

I had a pair of domestic kribs and the male/female would go after each other all day long for about 3 weeks until they decided they were a pair. It was a while ago and the exact species was not labelled - i knew very little about them so i picked up 4 for a 40B. Not sure it is related to this thread but once they paired they were quite interesting until i realized they were going to breed like rabbits with a very high % living despite my ignoring them. the most amazing thing that happened was that after a couple of pygmy cory lost their tails the kribs finally decided they were harmless and the entire flock of pygmy would follow the parents around while they heard the frys around the aquarium to eat mingling with the frys. Effectively hte pygmy used them for protection:
(and yea that was a male cockatoo that was still in the aquarium. He learned to avoid them....)

I had no clue what i was doing but still they turned out to be extremely non-delicate fishes. But not sure it is even related to the species you are talking about. The one thing is that while mine would fight very nasty like for 3 weeks before the paired most folks say it is only for a day or two. I actually thought they would kill each other it went on for so long.

 

[rasmusW]

-Sorry, if i’m hijacking your thread.
How big batches of fry do you get with these?
-i’m still dreaming of getting some congochromis dimidiatus. Though not exatly the same species, i guess the number of fry is somewhat the same?

-r

 

[Mike Wise]

I have had Pv. pulcher raise 100+ fry from a single spawn. I doubt that any of the nanochromines will produce that many.