Chocolate cichlid...
- Thread starter Ian21777
- Start date
i have 5 now growing out,the males slightly larger with longer anal fin.the 2 females i have,seem to show some yellow.bred for me a few times.the largest male is 5 inches.the top pic shows the pair(female top) then solo male
Not mine. Comes right up to glass whenever I get close to the tank. The 2 at 4"-5" will compete for food against my 6" green severum pairs and an 8" leporinus
Mine go absolutely crazy when they sense feeding. They jump from the water and snap at the food before it even hits the water, more often than not nipping my finger. I posted this picture a ways back showing them awaiting their food. When they were younger, I did find them to be somewhat shy but once they recognized "the hand that fed them" ... look out! Also, I have several of them in the same tank and they seem to follow one another's lead. These are wild Chocolates, and I believe they are Hyselecara temporalis, although they are definitely different than the other Chocolates that I got about 4 years ago. The F0s show much more brown, and the greens are deeper colored than the others. They are also more elongate which makes me wonder if they are 'coryphaenoides'. They are shown in the first 4 pics. The other strain shows much more rust red and lime green colored (last 3 pics) The pictures have not been altered or enhanced. I find that the colors get more defined and less generally brown once they are mature sexually (~9 mo to a year)
I keep mine with more though only mildly aggressive tankmates than severum that include a bigger green terror,a Vieja melanurum, and similar sized African peacocks. Most fish ignored him and none picked on him, and he has never suffered any torn fin, but he is such a whim that as soon as any tankmates show assertiveness over him, he just runs and hides. Another factor could be I keep him single. If I keep a pair, then they may pay more attention conspecies and less nervous about other tankmates.
Your chocolate isn't shy, it just knows that its out-muscled
Here's my larger one (5")
[video=youtube;rNgQS35aRts]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNgQS35aRts[/video]
I currently have 4 in my 350 gallon and 1 in my 75 gallon. The above video showcases the 4 in the 350 and a picture of the one guy in the 75. The guy in the 75 came to me from a online vendor in about 1/4" of water left in the bag and I honestly thought he was dead upon arrival. So, I took the little guy and put him straight into the 75 and to my surprise about 10 minutes later he was up swimming around the tank and wanting food. He earned the name "Angel" that day and that's what I call him today.
Chocolates to me are very similar to Oscars in their attitude and each one just has a different one. The 4 in the 350 are very easy to tell apart in how they look and what they act like and I would recommend them to anyone that is wanting a cichlid that is not on the overly aggressive side. I do know that some can be a little aggressive, however on average they are very mellow compared to others. After 30+ years of keeping aquariums, I've really come to the conclusion that I have to always have one because of just the way they are and responsive.
I currently have 4 in my 350 gallon and 1 in my 75 gallon. The above video showcases the 4 in the 350 and a picture of the one guy in the 75. The guy in the 75 came to me from a online vendor in about 1/4" of water left in the bag and I honestly thought he was dead upon arrival. So, I took the little guy and put him straight into the 75 and to my surprise about 10 minutes later he was up swimming around the tank and wanting food. He earned the name "Angel" that day and that's what I call him today.
Chocolates to me are very similar to Oscars in their attitude and each one just has a different one. The 4 in the 350 are very easy to tell apart in how they look and what they act like and I would recommend them to anyone that is wanting a cichlid that is not on the overly aggressive side. I do know that some can be a little aggressive, however on average they are very mellow compared to others. After 30+ years of keeping aquariums, I've really come to the conclusion that I have to always have one because of just the way they are and responsive.
