I'm gonna guess the male is bigger, but is there any other physical traits you can spot to differentiate between the sexes. I have a few growing out (1.5 to 3in) and having a tough time sexing them.
Austroloheros sp oblongum
- Thread starter james_unknown
- Start date
Males are larger, more streamlined, and tend to have more pointed trailors on the unpaired fins.
male
Not only are females smaller, they tend to be stubbier and show stronger stripes very early.
female
Hope the pics help
male
Not only are females smaller, they tend to be stubbier and show stronger stripes very early.
female
Hope the pics help
Oblongums are an interesting one as far as chanchitos go... The ones in the hobby are aquarium strain from lines in the 80s from best as I can tell. No one's sure where they're found in the wild...but (like convicts) just about every stream in Uruguay, temperate Argentina and southern Brazil has a variation on a theme. It's interesting that the further North you go in South America that Chanchitos are replaced with Acaras (Cichlasoma / Aequidens), which fill the same niche. www.aqvaterra.com has a great overview of bunch of varieties found in Uruguay.
I've found that they prefer a little warmer temps, especially for breeding, than say Red Ceibal chanchitos but are pretty flexible. Males are larger with longer fins and and don't have a square tube when breeding. Chanchitos, including oblongum, seem to like to lay their eggs on places where there is a 90 degree angle: where a piece of driftwood and its base meet, the base of a piling in a river or stream, the corner of an aquarium. Oblongums take pretty good care of their wigglers, hanging them in the slime on tank walls and/or in plants. The babies are small, so you'll need baby brine and/or really fine Golden Pearls. They won't be able to defend their babies in a cichlid community...
I've also found oblongum to be on the more peaceful side of chanchitos. Don't keep oblongums with Central Americans or the chanchitos will be killed. I keep mine with Gymnogeos and peaceful West Africans mainly.
I feed mine pellets and red wiggler worms and do weekly water changes.
Chanchitos are some of my favorite fish because of their personality and variability. I've got C. facetum from Lugana del Diario that will be foot long monsters...and oblongums which are smaller and pretty peaceful....Red Ceibal, Local, Zanja Honda and others fall somewhere in between in terms of size and aggression.
Matt
I've found that they prefer a little warmer temps, especially for breeding, than say Red Ceibal chanchitos but are pretty flexible. Males are larger with longer fins and and don't have a square tube when breeding. Chanchitos, including oblongum, seem to like to lay their eggs on places where there is a 90 degree angle: where a piece of driftwood and its base meet, the base of a piling in a river or stream, the corner of an aquarium. Oblongums take pretty good care of their wigglers, hanging them in the slime on tank walls and/or in plants. The babies are small, so you'll need baby brine and/or really fine Golden Pearls. They won't be able to defend their babies in a cichlid community...
I've also found oblongum to be on the more peaceful side of chanchitos. Don't keep oblongums with Central Americans or the chanchitos will be killed. I keep mine with Gymnogeos and peaceful West Africans mainly.
I feed mine pellets and red wiggler worms and do weekly water changes.
Chanchitos are some of my favorite fish because of their personality and variability. I've got C. facetum from Lugana del Diario that will be foot long monsters...and oblongums which are smaller and pretty peaceful....Red Ceibal, Local, Zanja Honda and others fall somewhere in between in terms of size and aggression.
Matt
I have mine with a small syn and a convict fry in a 55
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