Pelvicachromis subocellatus Matadi

[fmaletimberwolf]

Hi,,,, I was on your site tonight and found it very
>interesting....I am a new breeder of dwarf cichlids..... I was
>wondering if you could give me some information on Pelvicachromis
>subocellatus Matadi. ... I've been looking for about 2 hours
>and find alot of pictures but no real information...any kind of info
>from breeding to tank set ups.... Want to make sure I'm doing this
>right.... several of my dwarfs are breeding and I have several fry
>from them... but... more information on them would be greatly
>appreciated.......... thanks
fmaletimberwolf

 

[kribs]

In my personal opinion it is one of the easiest to breed and the eggs seem to hatch in various different conditions. i would keep a pr or a trio is a 15 or 20 planted with a lots of hiding places and caves. The water should be soft like 6.0 to 6.5( i kept them at 7.6 regular tap and the fish were fine and the eggs hatched in that water.)

 

[Randall]

Pelvicachromis subocellatus

Dear Fmaletimberwolf,

Your topic has been moved to the "African & West African" Forum. I hope you don't mind.

P. subocellatus is found in Gabon & DR Congo (Zaire) in soft, acidic water (pH 6ish). For breeding pairs, I wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a 20-gallon long tank, heavily planted with breeding caves and a small sized substrate. When spawning these fish like to dig. For general husbandry, 76 degrees F. is fine; for breeding, around 80 degrees should do it.

If you're interested in reading about P. subocellatus and about the other beautiful West African cichlids, please pick yourself up a copy of Linke & Staeck's African Cichlids I - Cichlids from West Africa, Tetra-Press 1994, ISBN 1-56465-166-5. I guarantee that you'll enjoy it.

All the best,

Randall Kohn

 

[Neil]

fmaletimberwolf,
This is a great little Westie. It is similar to other Pelvicachromis in its requirements. Sometimes they breed easily and other times they can be frustrating. But it will be helpful to keep their water fairly soft and acidic with the temps that Randall suggests. I have found them to be a little sensative to water quality. So I would say that the most important consideration is clean water. Regular water changes will serve you well.
Good luck
Neil

 

[fmaletimberwolf]

Thanks

Thank you to all of you that sent me information on the Matadi.....Will be getting lots of hidie holes for them asap......so far the fish I have all seem to be doing great and everyone one seems to be getting ready to breed.... Fmaletimberwolf

 

[coenga]

Pv subocellatus breeding tank

Hi,

here is a link to a Pv subocellatus breeding tank description.


http://www.cichlidae.com/tanks/t013.html

If I had chance to keep this fish, I would use dithers fish in the tank, as it proves for me to be usefull when breeding and bonding a Pv pair.

regards.

 

[tjudy]

I have two pairs. I was not getting a lot of success raising fry until I was able to get the TDS and carbonate hardness down (my tap is very hard though). They seem to spawn in spurts. Two or three spawns in quick succession, followed by a couple months off.

 

[Neil]

That sounds about right on par with alot of other stinkin' westies. Breed, dig-display-dig, nothing, breed. 8O !

 

[dhm325]

A pair of my P. subocellatus matadi spawned about three months ago. The spawn is large, maybe around 60 fish. At what point do they become sexable? I have been looking for spots on the dorsal fin as in indication that a fish is female. So far I have not found any fish that have dorsal spots. I hope that the entire spawn isn't male. The water conditions were TDS around 100 ppm and ph around 6.0. I keep the temperature at 76 degrees Farenheit.

Does anyone know the ph and temperature at which this species produces roughly equal numbers of male and female offspring?

Thanks for your help.

David