Hemichromis

Hemichromis
Five-spotted cichlid ( Hemichromis fasciatus )
Systematics
Ovalentaria Order : Cichliformes Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae) Subfamily : Pseudocrenilabrinae Tribe : Hemichromini Genre : Hemichromis
Scientific name
Hemichromis
Peters , 1857

Hemichromis ( Greek hemi "half"; Chromis old scientific name for cichlids) is a genus of African cichlids (Cichlidae). The different species are 8 to 25 centimeters long.

distribution

They have their main distribution area in West Africa, from Senegal to Angola . Individual species also live in North Africa , in the Upper Nile , Lake Chad , Lake Turkana ( Hemichromis exsul ) in Kenya , in the Zambezi and endemic to Lake Mai Ndombe ( Hemichromis cerasogaster ) in the Congo or in the Bosumtwisee ( Hemichromis frempongi ) in Ghana.

features

Hemichromis species are moderately elongated, laterally flattened shape. They usually have conical, more rarely two-pointed teeth, which are usually in a row. One or two additional rows of teeth can be present in rare cases and are then more or less fully developed. The teeth of the additional rows of teeth are always much smaller and narrower. The pharynx are not molar-like.

• Fin formula : Dorsal XIII-XV / 9–13, Anale III / 7–10.

Hemichromis species are open-brooders that lay their spawn on flat stones, larger leaves or roots. They form a parent family . The fry hatch after 42 to 50 hours and swim freely 5 to 6 days after egg-laying. They are looked after by their parents up to a size of about 3 cm.

species

The genus can be divided into two groups of species, which differ significantly in size, color and behavior.

• Hemichromis fasciatus species group , 20 to 25 cm long, yellow-brown basic color with four or five dark spots on the sides of the body, one dark spot on the gill cover and a relatively large, more protruding mouth.
  • Hemichromis elongatus (Guichenot in Duméril, 1861)
  • Five-spot cichlid ( Hemichromis fasciatus Peters, 1857) - ( type species )
  • Hemichromis frempongi Loiselle, 1979

Hemichromis letourneauxi

Hemichromis lifalili

• "Red cichlids" , 8 to 12 cm long, reddish or greenish-brownish basic color, often with iridescent blue dots or lines, a dark spot on the gill cover and often also on the center of the body and / or on the tail stalk.
  • Hemichromis angolensis Steindachner, 1865, noun nudum
  • Red cichlid ( Hemichromis bimaculatus Gill, 1862)
  • Hemichromis cerasogaster (Boulenger, 1899)
  • Hemichromis exsul (Trewavas, 1933)
  • Hemichromis guttatus Günther, 1862
  • Letourneux red cichlid ( Hemichromis letourneuxi Sauvage, 1880)
  • Lifalilis cichlid ( Hemichromis lifalili Loiselle, 1979)
  • Hemichromis stellifer Loiselle, 1979
  • Hemichromis sp. "Guinea 1"
  • Hemichromis sp. "Guinea 2"
  • Hemichromis sp. "Bangui"
  • Hemichromis sp. "Neon"

Aquaristics

Some types of "red cichlids" have a strong red color and are popular aquarium fish. However, they are sometimes very aggressive, dig a lot and are therefore not suitable for a normal community aquarium.

literature

• Horst Linke, Wolfgang Staeck: African cichlids I, cichlids from West Africa. Tetra-Verlag, Bissendorf 1997, ISBN 3-89356-151-X .
• Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
• Günther Sterba (Ed.), Gert Brückner: Encyclopedia of Aquaristics and Special Ichthyology. Neumann-Neudamm, Melsungen u. a. 1978, ISBN 3-7888-0252-9 .
• Anton Lamboj : Hemichromis Peters, 1858. In: Claus Schaefer, Torsten Schröer (Hrsg.): The large lexicon of aquaristics. Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-8001-7497-9 , pp. 456-459.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hemichromis exsul on Fishbase.org (English)
2. ↑ Hemichromis cerasogaster on Fishbase.org (English)
3. ↑ Hemichromis frempongi on Fishbase.org (English)
4. ↑ ^{a b} Anton Lamboj : The cichlids of western Africa. Publisher: Natur und Tier, 2006, ISBN 386-659000-8 , pages 96-122.

Web links

Commons : Hemichromis  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Hemichromis on Fishbase.org (English)