Anything Caquetaia!

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Heyyyyy everybody. It seems like a lot of people here like the species Caquetaia which is native to South America. :) I know I sure do. Love my basketmouth cichlids. So I figured I would put up profiles of each one of them by digging up as much info I can and making a profile for each member of the species. Sooooo, I'm gonna start with the ones that I currently own, Caquetaia spectabile/spectabilis. :)

:D

Caquetaia Spectabile/spectabilis
Caquetaia Kraussii
Caquetaia Myersi
Caquetaia Umbrifera/ "panama green"

:headbang2
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Aug 21, 2005
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Caquetaia Umbriferus - "Blue Freckled Monster" aka. Umbee


Scientific Name: Caquetaia Umbriferus

Distribution: South American - Colombia and Panama river basins

Size: Males to 24"/61cm, females to 13"/33cm

Common Names: Umbee, Blue-freckled Monster, Blue-speckled Monster

Temperature: 72-80F/22-27C

pH: 7 to 8


General Information:

With this cichlid, the name pretty much says it all……… Blue-freckled MONSTER!!!! With males reaching around 24 inches/61cm, the Umbee is one of the largest cichlids available in the hobby and is considered by many to be equal only to the Dovii in aggressive nature and appetite. Males generally have a dull brownish gold base colour with a tendency towards a scarlet blush on their heads. The vibrantly iridescent blue "freckles" on the face on gill plates are what give this fish its distinctive common name. The dorsal, caudal and tailfin show a spectacular shade of blue and often hints of green. Females are generally a little more on the bland size, however they still show the brilliant blue facial freckles and a tendency towards the blue/green coloration on their dorsal and tail fins. Adult males are sometimes described as "all muscle, mouth, stomach and attitude", making these fish a real favourite for those wanting larger, aggressive cichlids. Be warned, as with Dovii's these fish will consider a large area of space around their tank as part of their territory, and will regularly charge at the glass to dispel the invaders, be they animal, vegetable or mineral in nature.

Aquarium Set Up:

As their name suggests, male Umbee's grow to a very large size. At 24"/61cm a male Umbee will need a minimum of a 250-gallon/950litre tank, with bigger always being better. As juveniles, these fish can be kept with other cichlids of a similar size without too many problems, but as they grow, their aggressive nature comes to the fore and by 10", you should be looking to find them a new home, without tankmates. Generally the only fish that a juvenile Umbee will object to is another juvenile Umbee, which makes trying to raise a pair together a little on the tricky side. These fish grow incredibly fast, even for cichlids, juvenile's will often double in size within a few months, going from 1"/2.5cm babies to 5"/13cm monsters-in-training in only 4 months. This sort of growth rate needs to be planned for and having their eventual home of 250 gallons/950litres or more on hand from day one is a good idea.

Umbee's are open-water swimmers, spending much of their time patrolling their territories, hunting for their next meal. Tanks should be set up taking this into consideration, with a sand or fine gravel substrate, rocks and driftwood, much like the large rivers they inhabit. Anything that is included in the tank should be well secured as destructive cichlid behaviour should be expected. Given their size and muscle mass, these fish are definitely capable of destroying almost any fake or real plant you would put in the tank, and a lot of people consider that plants in an Umbee tank are just a waste of time and money. Some type of cave or dark refuge is also a good idea, giving your fish some place to retreat to, should he or she feel the need. Good filtration and regular water changes are essential, as these fish do best on a high protein diet, which leaves a good deal of mess in the tank. Without good water quality, an Umbee will not reach its full potential


Feeding:

The Umbee's natural diet consists mainly of larger crustaceans and small fish. In an aquarium situation, they will need a high protein diet, with vegetable matter being a matter of owner preference, rather than need. Small crabs and live shrimp will be attacked with great relish, along with good quality feeders. It is essential to breed your own feeders to be able to provide good quality and disease free fish. Larger insects, such as earthworns and crickets are also good, along with beefheart and other frozen, high protein items, such as krill. Umbee's are natural hunters and enjoy the thrill of stalking their prey, but can also be convinced to eat good quality pellets that have been designed for large, carnivorous fish.


Breeding:

Breeding Umbee's can be quite a challenge, as they are not tolerant of their own kind. Given the size difference between a full grown male and a full grown female, attempts can often lead to heartbreak. With these fish, it can often be a better idea to spawn them through a divider, where eggs can be fertilised without the female being at risk from the male's wrath. Spawning in this fashion is not the most practical or the most productive form of breeding, but it is far safer than risking your female. As with most cichlids, the female lays her eggs on a flat rock which one or both parents have cleaned beforehand. After fertilisation takes place, the female guards the eggs, while the male patrols and defends the territory. Both fish will be at their most territorial at this stage, and care should be taken not to disturb then, unless you're not to fond of your fingers. With the amount of power a male Umbee has at his disposal he can do major damage.





I haven't personally owned any of these fish yet :((, but I hope to do so sometime in the near future. A truley spectacular fish, but buyer beware. This fish isn't for the everyday aquarist. Feel free to add anything, ie personal experience.









Works Cited:

http://www.worldcichlids.com/fotm/april2005umbee.html
 
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dovii88

Feeder Fish
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santos ur a nut...u are the Caquetaia man...
 

skinless

Feeder Fish
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nice profile. wish i could keep an umbee. monsters
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Yeah, i need to diversify my sources to get dif. opinions
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Aug 21, 2005
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CAQUETAIA SPECTABILE

Scientific name: Caquetaia Spectabilis

Environment:benthopelagic; non-migratory; freshwater; pH range: 7; dH range: 7

Climate: tropical; 26 – 27°C

Distribution: South America: Amazon River basin, along the Amazon River in Brazil from the Madeira and Uatumã River drainages to Gurupá, also in the Araguari River in Amapá, Brazil; in the Branco River drainage in Brazil and Guyana.

Size: Males may reach sizes of 8-10 inches (up to 25 cm). Females are slightly smaller and reach sizes of 6 inches (15 cm).



General Information:

As might be expected, gape-and-suck piscivory has evolved several times in both New and Old World cichlids, with convergent morphological adaptations involving the mouth and jaws. The cichlasomine lineage has produced its own lineage of gape-and-suck predators of the genus Caquetaia Fowler 1945, which have come to be known as the "false basketmouths." They are "false" only in the sense that Acaronia nassa is the original, or true basketmouth: the structure and function of the protrusible mouth in each case is remarkably similar.

Two of the three Caquetaia species, C. spectabilis and C. kraussii, have been available in the American hobby only since the early 1970s (Sterba 1966 records 1935 as the date of importation into Germany), but are now more or less established and continuously available as captive-bred fish in this country. Caquetaia spectabilis hails, in the wild, from the blackwaters of the Rio Negro in Brazil, the Brazilian Amazon basin in general, and parts of Guyana (Stawikowski and Werner 1988). Consequently, it initially entered in small numbers as a contaminant of shipments of better-known cichlids.


C. spectabilis is the most colorful and most commercial of the Caquetaia, as the Latin root spectabil (= remarkable) would indicate.

Ventrally, the fish is bright orange from its face back to the anal fin, and its sides are magnificently spangled in bright iridescent blue. There are two black side-by-side mid-lateral blotches, a third blotch just behind the eye on the operculum (humeral blotch), and a fourth on the upper quadrant of the caudal peduncle. When stressed or when courting/spawning, adults express 10 to 12 dark, indistinct vertical bands. The unpaired fins are moderately produced and have blue interradial streaks. The paired pelvic fins are orange and somewhat fan-like.

This species is essentially sexually isomorphic (visually indistinguishable), with females being somewhat smaller and less elongate than males. When ripe, females are also "fuller" in the abdomen. Additionally, Szot (1993) observed that males reach lengths of 10 inches and have longer pelvic fins, whereas females attain only 7 to 8 inches. They will, however, spawn at 5 inches or so (Szot 1993).

Caquetaia spectabilis can be finicky when it comes to water quality and, in my experience and Szot's, will develop head-hole (usually reversible) if maintenance is lax. I would recommend soft, acid water for these fish, possibly with peat filtration, but, as Szot (1993) points out, "it can prosper over a wide range of pH values so long as extremes are avoided." I concur that higher temperatures are best (around 78 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit) and that this fish is sensitive to lower temperatures (low to mid 70s Fahrenheit).



Conclusion
The false basketmouths are a group of interesting and beautiful cichlids that have been largely unavailable in the American hobby. This situation is happily changing as more and more advanced cichlid hobbyists become aware of, and choose to work with, these lovely fish. These days, they are available principally through the Trading Post of the American Cichlid Association and through more sophisticated retail stores. I'm hopeful they will continue their ascent up the popularity curve and become more generally available.











Works Cited:

http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=25746

http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=273&cid=3780&search=


These pictures aren't mine either

spectabile.jpg
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Here are some more pictures of C. Spectabilis. Not mine though, unfortunately :(



48413634.spectabile3924sm.jpg
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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this ish should be a sticky if I do say so myself :D
 

Mourinho18

Caquetaia man
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Aug 21, 2005
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And I noticed I forgot pics of some umbee's and of their color variant, the panama green. :D

These pics aren't mine:
 
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