View Full Version : Central American riverine species
The Central American riverine species Chuco, Paraneetroplus, Tomocichla, and Theraps have been a favorite of mine. They are not very popular in the hobby. I think this is do to they are not very colorful as juvies, aggressive towards eachother, and take a long time to attain spawning maturity. If given 6' tanks with lots of cover, they are a very interesting group of cichlids to keep.
Here are a few photos of the Central American riverine species I've kept.
Tomocichla asfraci
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/CROPASFRACI.jpg
Tomocichla asfraci juvie color
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC03657.jpg
Tomocichla tuba
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC01806.jpg
Tomocichla sieboldii male
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC02266.jpg
Tomocichla sieboldii female
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC01782.jpg
Paraneetroplus bulleri
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC03636.jpg
Chuco intermedius
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC01573.jpg
Chuco godmani juvie
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC02299.jpg
Chuco micropthalmus
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC04177.jpg
Theraps wesseli
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC03938.jpg
Theraps coeruleus
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC04414.jpg
jgentry
06-21-2009, 4:01 PM
Another great set of pics Bobp! You must have tons of rare fish. I've never heard of Tomocichla asfraci, but that is one stunning fish. Unreal orange color on that one.
cchhcc
06-21-2009, 9:49 PM
Another great set of pics Bobp! You must have tons of rare fish. I've never heard of Tomocichla asfraci, but that is one stunning fish. Unreal orange color on that one.
No kidding!
I saw a huge male at Jeff Rapps' place once that was incredible!
james_unknown
06-21-2009, 10:04 PM
i like the sieboldii might be the next type i get time to read up on it
tydus
06-22-2009, 12:27 AM
What a rare and amazing collection you have. The asfraci is off the hook! It is beautiful!
omegablue
06-22-2009, 12:33 AM
Tomocichla asfraci is really nice amazing color on it
straitjacketstar
06-22-2009, 1:00 AM
The color on the T. asfraci is amazing. Love the collection! I've always wanted T. coeruleus but I want T. lentiginosus even more and they're even harder to find. You wouldn't have happened across any of those have you? Pics of them would be in order if so!
Natural_Born_Killer
06-22-2009, 3:18 AM
Lovely shots...
Never heard of these fishes before! Thanks for this :)
The color on the T. asfraci is amazing. Love the collection! I've always wanted T. coeruleus but I want T. lentiginosus even more and they're even harder to find. You wouldn't have happened across any of those have you? Pics of them would be in order if so!
I haven't kept lentiginosus. I believe Don Conkel had them for sale years ago. He had coeruleus for sale on a regular basis. If you want them, contact him for a stocklist or try to get a group order together in your area. A few of us here in MI used do a group order from him and get wholesale prices with a minimum of $500. I remember the coeruleus were dirt cheap $3.50 each.
indiana.dutton
06-22-2009, 7:29 AM
Those are nice fish i particularly like the Theraps wesseli
No kidding!
I saw a huge male at Jeff Rapps' place once that was incredible!
asfraci given the right genes grow huge. I have an old F1 female that is 14" long, 8" tall, and about 4-5" thick. She's a beast! I have to drop the pellets in and close the lid on the tank very fast before she splashes water all over. I've also had F? asfraci that grew extremely slow and most developed a deformed jaw. Their fry also showed this trait. I've also noticed photos of asfraci that showed this same deformity of the jaw. I think someone needs to collect some more asfraci for the hobby.
Here is photo of one with the deformed jaw. Not a good angle but you can see how the lower jaw extendes past the upper and is crooked.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC04381.jpg
Now here is a photo of their offspring with the mouth deformity.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c131/sa85/DSC04372.jpg
ProblEmZ
06-22-2009, 7:56 AM
I've only read about those species! Thanks for sharing pic's I don't think i've ever seen any of these species in person.
Modest_Man
06-22-2009, 12:06 PM
I've only read about those species! Thanks for sharing pic's I don't think i've ever seen any of these species in person.
A Place For Pets had asfraci a few months ago. I wanted them (mostly from that photo of Bob's) but had to pass due to space. :(
Great (former) collection Bob.
i like the sieboldii might be the next type i get time to read up on it
Jeff Rapps has them in stock right now. They are nice looking little Tomocichla. They are relativlely easy to care for. They don't need quite the amount of tankspace the other Tomocichla species need. Just offer them the usual cichlid diet with a bit of spirlina flakes. The largest male i've grown was about 7". Jeff had the large male I grew for sale years ago that I sent to him with a bunch of haitiensis fry. Wonder if that male is still around.