Someone wanted som info on the Amphilophus xilous a few weeks back....well here is some info fa ya:
Habitat: crater lakes of Nicaragua, prefer silty, sandy bottoms that are easy to nest in, larger rocks for territory, but can live on a regular gravel substrate, leaves can be used on the sand to give them something to lift and dig threw, the reason for this they primarily feed on snails, and other small inverts in the lake beds.
Feeding: In the wild they feed primarily on small snails, and inverts. This is done with the molariform phartngeal jaw teeth, and there short, blunt snouts, and wide heads, and deep short bodies. Making it easy to feed in crevices, and on rocks. Much like some algae eating cichlids in the african rift lakes. In captivity you can stick to a staple of pellets, and frozen, but a nice snail colony would be nice.
Color: The normal color is a drab grey, to blue. The body has deep vertical bars, with white seperations. There is exactly 6 vertical bars, on the xiloas, they have white bellies. There is a caudal spot that extends onto the caudal fin. The caudal, and dorsal fins are grey with lighter spots. Other color forms such as the gold morph, exhibit a yellow head and white cheek.
Size: Males were recorded at around 5 to 6 inches fairly small for being in the amphilophus genus. females tend to be around 4 to 4.5 inches.
Breeding: Breeding occurs in the months of october to december, with a peak of activity in november, and a second smaller breeding schedule from july to august, they breed at around 10.5 to 25.5 meters of water. They utilize rocks when spawning, and prefer clear spawning spots.
Tank size: A minimum tank size of 90 gals, would be best for a pair. Single specimen in a 55gal would work.
This is definately one of those species to acquire if you like to watch behavior in cichlids. They are active and beautiful at the same time. Sorry for some gramatical errors, i just wanted to get the info out there.
Habitat: crater lakes of Nicaragua, prefer silty, sandy bottoms that are easy to nest in, larger rocks for territory, but can live on a regular gravel substrate, leaves can be used on the sand to give them something to lift and dig threw, the reason for this they primarily feed on snails, and other small inverts in the lake beds.
Feeding: In the wild they feed primarily on small snails, and inverts. This is done with the molariform phartngeal jaw teeth, and there short, blunt snouts, and wide heads, and deep short bodies. Making it easy to feed in crevices, and on rocks. Much like some algae eating cichlids in the african rift lakes. In captivity you can stick to a staple of pellets, and frozen, but a nice snail colony would be nice.
Color: The normal color is a drab grey, to blue. The body has deep vertical bars, with white seperations. There is exactly 6 vertical bars, on the xiloas, they have white bellies. There is a caudal spot that extends onto the caudal fin. The caudal, and dorsal fins are grey with lighter spots. Other color forms such as the gold morph, exhibit a yellow head and white cheek.
Size: Males were recorded at around 5 to 6 inches fairly small for being in the amphilophus genus. females tend to be around 4 to 4.5 inches.
Breeding: Breeding occurs in the months of october to december, with a peak of activity in november, and a second smaller breeding schedule from july to august, they breed at around 10.5 to 25.5 meters of water. They utilize rocks when spawning, and prefer clear spawning spots.
Tank size: A minimum tank size of 90 gals, would be best for a pair. Single specimen in a 55gal would work.
This is definately one of those species to acquire if you like to watch behavior in cichlids. They are active and beautiful at the same time. Sorry for some gramatical errors, i just wanted to get the info out there.
