chocolate cichlids with geophagus orange heads...

[Opiate]

give it a go man!! why not!

 

[hypselecara]

thanks mate.
super post and super pics.
I think we are the lucky owners of a great underrated cichlid, one of the most stunning of the biz.

mine a re yellow/black barred only when they fallen asleep and when they are in shock reaction.

have u noticed the papilla near the anus??
I can see clearly a tiny papilla when I look at them half face. this sounds familiar to you?

 

[japes]

Sounds like what you're talking about is the vent/tube: the sexual organ used for reproduction. If by "half face" you mean "from the side" then no I can't say I've noticed it, however I only have the single temporalis. With 6 in your tank I'd be quite sure it's the fishes genitalia.

 

[hypselecara]

....uhm.....I can't imagine vent could be shown up so early.
anyway I know vent is both in males and females.

From the side I can see this tiny bulge of at least 4 of them.
The two I can't see it are the smallest one and the one with the smaller dorsal fin (she got poor colour respect the others but is nasty)....she could be a candidate as a certain female..is it?

 

[flh88cc]

I've got 3 chocolates in my 240. they never pay any atention to anything else but themselves. A little chase or nip here or there but nothing thats a problem. They will even share a log with the severums when sleeping at times. I just love how they change colors so much. Light chocolate when eating. Multi color when crusing. Dark chocolate with vanila swirls when sleeping. The Oscars are a lot bigger than them so theres no problem there. One even shares a rock cave with a pictuscat at night even though there are plenty of places it could be alone.

 

[japes]

....uhm.....I can't imagine vent could be shown up so early.
anyway I know vent is both in males and females.

From the side I can see this tiny bulge of at least 4 of them.
The two I can't see it are the smallest one and the one with the smaller dorsal fin (she got poor colour respect the others but is nasty)....she could be a candidate as a certain female..is it?

Not exactly sure with Chocolates but I imagine at any stage past 3" they would be sexually mature. My lights are off and set on a timer so I can't flick them on for a proper look, but quick inspection with the torch shows no pimple/nipple shaped lumps near the fish's anus.

I'm sure you're aware of all of this but the fishes vent is located behind the anus, and I'm quite confident that is what you're seeing. Males and females will usually drop their tubes sometimes weeks before planning to breed. If you've noticed them shaking their bodies quickly in short bursts then there's a good chance you've got pairs forming.

 

[hypselecara]

unfortunately I can't see pair forming.
It seems their playing everyone versus everyone if u got what I am saying.

I don't want to vent them picking them in the hand for now....

anyway u rule out that the bulge could be the anus,isn't it?

 

[hypselecara]

yesterday I have seen one of them following another one for hours, but not as a married happy couple....seems to be quite aggressive...but no chasing.

for now I haven't noticed any "shake"..that I'm sure is a clue of a courtship

 

[japes]

unfortunately I can't see pair forming.
It seems their playing everyone versus everyone if u got what I am saying.

I don't want to vent them picking them in the hand for now....

anyway u rule out that the bulge could be the anus,isn't it?

I really don't know, a very clear picture might help but I definitely haven't noticed it on my Chocolate

 

[hypselecara]

what kinda food do you give to your chocolates??
I'm using frozen (chironomus and brine shrimps),sometimes vegetables (squash),jbl novo sticks M,Tetra Koi sticks (but soaked before in the water),Sera tabs,and gammarus.
sometimes live food as grasshopers,flies ***

I tried with raw meat but they didn't eat that.