Tilapia deckerti (former "Little Black")

[Nebraska_cichlids]

I finally got my first spawn of Tilapia deckerti (former sp Little Black from Lake Ejagham) from fish given to me by forum member and Dutch hobbyist Joop Clement. I pulled a group of free swimmers not one second too early, because the parents were fighting a losing battle against their tank mates in the 125G. I hope to pass some on to other hobbyists this fall before it gets too cold for shipping.

 

[Adoketa]

picturesss!!!

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

Here you go. The pictures of the parents don't do the species justice but are the best I could do last night. Male on top, female at bottom. I didn't touch the pictures up. Particularly the female the females shows intense vertical stripes in the tank.

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

For those of you who want to give this species a try -- I just put for sale up a group of no more than 6 fish on aquabid. The other six juvies that I have are already spoken for by a good friend of mine.

 

[slimbolen99]

How big do they get? Are they about the same size as, say, Tilapia bythobates?

 

[Nebraska_cichlids]

I'd say my largest specimen is about 5".