Rhytisma

[flowerpower]

Don't see many keeping these lately so I thought I'd throw up some pics of mine.
I've had them for about a year and a half, give or take.
In the beginning they were extremely reclusive but over time they've come out of their shells a bit.
They are all aggressive, competitive eaters, which goes against just about everything I had heard prior to keeping them. They even steal food from their larger, more aggressive tank mates.
At the end of the day, this is a species that I decided to keep almost on impulse never expecting that it would claim a place in my ever shrinking collection of cichlids.


Females are about 4":

Male's a solid 6"

Now, out of the 5 that I started out with I have 3 remaining. The other 2 withered away from internal parasites simultaneously while these three remained unaffected. Whether this remarks on my abilities (or lack thereof) as a fishkeeper or the resilience (or lack thereof) of the species- idk. Just happy to have these three turn out healthy and stable.

 

[Maccoy]

I dont Like the part about the shrinking cichlid collection But other then that they are stunners

 

[peathenster]

Very nice! I used to keep them and lost a few juvies too. Maybe there's something to this species.

 

[6 bar]

Yeah, I've lost a fair share of juvies myself. It sucks. This species is known to be quite sensitive. Even some very experienced keepers have had trouble with them. Congrats on the ones you do have.

 

[buddha1200]

looking good ed.

 

[Aquanero]

They look great! I've never kept them but after seeing your pics I think I'll be on the look out for some. I'm impressed.

 

[flowerpower]

Thanks fellas, I'm currently working to thin out the stock in some of my (former) grow outs. When I do these guys will go in with geos and sevs. Hopefully then I'll get some spawning activity going on. Come to think, I haven't seen any courting going on since they were smaller (and before I lost the other two). I hope I'm right about the sexes of these three.
Anyone know who's spawned these?

 

[cichlidfish]

Sorry to hear you lost some The ones you have look great.

 

[DanG13]

If you don't mind me asking where did you get yours? Also with your experience with this species how is the growth rate and what are you keeping with them?

 

[flowerpower]

I got these guys from Ira Harris at about 2.5-3.5". They're about 4-6" now. For comparison, I acquired a group of brasiliensis that were .5" a few months later and, while the female geos are still smaller than the female rhytisma, the male geo is the same length as the male pictured above only bigger bodied. I'm probably comparing a relatively fast grower with a relatively slow grower but you get my point. On the other hand though, compare them to grammodes or any other painfully slow growing species and they're not so bad.
The fact that these guys come from the southern most part of central America has me more inclined to treat them more like an 'eartheater' than anything else: sandy substrate, calm tankmates, and an ever watchful eye out for any rough stuff (especially when kept with rowdier central Americans). I may be completely wrong mind you.