Shiny dwarf cichlid

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Shiny dwarf cichlid
male fry

male fry

Systematics
Order : Cichliformes
Family : Cichlids (Cichlidae)
Subfamily : Cichlinae
Tribe : Cichlasomatini
Genre : Nannacara
Type : Shiny dwarf cichlid
Scientific name
Nannacara anomala
Regan , 1905

The shiny dwarf cichlid ( Nannacara anomala ) is a relatively peaceful South American fish from Guyana , up to nine centimeters in size, and belongs to the cichlid family .

features

The females and the males have two parallel black longitudinal stripes, the one in the middle of the body being darker than the one on the dorsal fin. The color between the stripes is white to light yellow. The female often appears in a light to dark brown shade. The dominant males, on the other hand, are colored differently and shine in green-bluish colors. The longitudinal stripes are only slightly pronounced. There is a broad brown stripe on the back. The males are about 9 cm larger than the females, which only reach about 5 to 6 cm. Males can also be distinguished from females by their size. If you don't know the age of the fish, you can differentiate the sexes by the fact that the males have a high, rounded forehead.

Aquaristics

Keeping and care

Dark aquariums of at least 80 cm in length with many plants and hiding places are just right for a couple of this species. For one male and several females, the tank should be selected correspondingly larger. The fish usually stay near the bottom.

Males in particular often react to organic water pollution with bacterial infections, which is usually expressed by eye bulging and rapid death. A weekly partial water change of 25% is therefore advisable. In this case, this attractive color fish with its interesting brood care behavior in the aquarium can survive periods of more than three years.

It is possible to feed with commercial dry and frozen foods, but the menu should be varied. Live food such as black or red mosquito larvae , Tubifex as well as Cyclops and Daphnia are often hunted and eaten.

Outside of the spawning season, this species is generally extremely peaceful towards other pool residents. During the spawning season, the females occupy an area of ​​approx. 30 x 30 cm, which is also aggressively defended against larger co-fish. The defense of the outer area by the males, however, is a bit more half-hearted.

Socialization tip: Calm surface dwellers from South America. When kept together with co-fish that are too small, the larger and stronger Nannacara males often regard them as potential live food. Even adolescent guppy males are devoured if there are not enough opportunities to retreat.

breed

The breeding of this hiding breeder is not particularly difficult. The female usually spawns in hidden places in the aquarium or in caves and, despite its small body size, defends the surrounding area of ​​the clutch self-sacrificingly against significantly larger fish. In sufficiently large aquariums, the male is responsible for guarding and defending the outside area and is only allowed to approach the brood to a limited extent. In aquariums that are too small, the female usually attacks the male violently and often injures him severely. In this case, the male should be caught early and transferred to another tank.

Depending on the water temperature, they hatch after about 36 to 48 hours. The larvae are reburied several times in well-prepared hiding spots by the female. After about a week the fry swim free and should be fed with freshly hatched Artemia nauplii. Dust feed can also be used, but it usually has a negative effect on the rearing result, so that the fish are usually not raised. The fish grow rapidly and after about six weeks they can be reared with smaller types of frozen and live food.

The females reach sexual maturity as early as three to four months of age. What is interesting about this species is that the females practice brood care on Artemia or Cyclops nauplii even before sexual maturity. During the courtship and brood care season, the females show an appealing chessboard-like body drawing.

Legal regulation in Austria

In Austria, the minimum requirements for keeping fish are defined in Regulation 486 in Section 7 and its Annex 5. See also the Wikipedia entry ornamental fish .

Especially for Nannacara anomala the following also applies: The fish must be kept in the harem, i.e. one male with several females. In addition, the following limit values ​​must be observed:

value annotation
Minimum size of the aquarium 80 × 35 × 40 Length × width × height in [cm]
Area for the water temperature 23-30 Degrees Celsius [° C]
Area for the water hardness 0-15 Degree of German total hardness [⁰dGH]
PH range 5.0 - 8.0 Acidity
Maximum value of nitrate 50 [mg / l]

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Wayne S. Leibel, South American Cichlids, page 42, Tetra-Verlag Melle 1993, ISBN 3-89356-172-2
  2. ^ Rüdiger Riehl, Hans A. Baensch: Aquariums Atlas . Ed .: Hans A. Baensch. 15th edition. tape 1 . Mergus, Melle 2006, ISBN 3-88244-227-1 , pp. 744 .
  3. ↑ BGBl 486., 2nd Animal Husbandry Ordinance. Retrieved February 9, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b BGBL II No. 486 Annex 5, minimum requirements for keeping fish. Retrieved February 9, 2019 .

Web links