Pearl Geo has lost it's nuchal bump

[lanceiswaiting]

I have a 5 inch male pearl cichlid that had a fairly large nuchal hump when I bought him. He was in a small tank full of other pearls up to about 5 inches at the LFS and was the most dominant, hence why I bought him. Since I got him home and added a female to his tank, he has now lost his nuchal hump. This has happened in this the space of a month. Is this normal? He is showing bright colours like he is ready to spawn, is enaginging in a lot of tail slapping, and the female's spawning tube is showing. Kind of disappointed cause I liked his big hump.

 

[lil_pendejo]

Is he getting the same amount of food he was at the store?

Sent from the black hole that is my world.

 

[ryansmith83]

I was under the impression that this could come and go with fish being in breeding mode. Maybe it faded because all the rival males are gone and he has nothing to establish dominance over. These are just guesses as I tend to avoid any fish that has a nuchal hump (not my cup of tea). I know that a friend had a pair of red isletas and the male would only show a large nuchal hump when he was preparing to spawn. After the deed was done it'd shrink back down in a matter of days.

 

[lanceiswaiting]

Interesting. I always thought that once they got it, the hump stayed. Certainly makes sense though

 

[lil_pendejo]

I was always told that it was a fat reserve similar to a camels.

Sent from the black hole that is my world.

 

[koltsixx]

To be honest I'm not sure about why some fish get nuchal bumps and why others don't. I can only speculate based on what I've heard and using logic. With that said I've heard the same as lil_pendejo(lol! on the name) that the nuchal bump is a fat deposit/reserve. I've also heard it's a sign of dominance so as ryansmith83 said the loss of the hump maybe due to loss in rivals so a sign of dominance is unnecessary. It may also be that due to him being in spawning condition the extra fat is being used.

I've had fish lose and gain humps with no perceivable reason as far as I could tell. A Green Terror I had developed a bump despite being third from the top in pecking order in my tank so I'm not sure as to the reason behind the nuchal hump. Perhaps it's just a sign of superior health and condition if so it should come back after spawning is done or when he returns to non spawning condition. Just my thoughts and opinion on the matter.