Biff Is Back !

[hamfist]

Well, after a few months of limited activity on this part of the forum I am back. Having owned no SA/CA cichlids (that weren't hybrids) for that time, I have now re-aquired "Biff" ... a chocolate cichlid I owned back in the summer, and re-homed as I was re-doing one of my tanks.
When he left me, Biff was a rather stressed 2.5 inch squirt. He's now packed on some weight and returns as a 5" fella. He's some before and after pics !

As you can see, he's starting to show some nicer colour. Although as he matures I'm sure the reds will come out a lot more.

He's living in a 300 litre with a small shoal of Splendida rainbows and 3 monstrous Brochis multiradiatus (the biggest of these are OVER 9cm !)

Here'some pics of "Elvis" the king of the rainbows and the Brochis.

 

[markandhisfish]

wow , hes sure put on som size , hes in tip top condition too .

 

[hamfist]

wow , hes sure put on som size , hes in tip top condition too .

He certainly has ... all thanks to MA in Fair Oak, Southampton, where he has been living in one of their big reservoir tanks.

 

[star4]

Wow he has grown, hmmm choccy's do look nice.

 

[walkers101]

aww would love him for my girl here

 

[hamfist]

aww would love him for my girl here

Well, to be honest my "him" could easily be a "her". I haven't studied his/her naughty bits to try and identify the sex. I just think of him as a him that's all !

 

[Graphic5]

Big change there, he/she is a beauty!!

 

[AstonN24vantage]

nice chocolate! i wanted one for the longest time but couldnt find any near me.

 

[snowflake311]

I would say its a girl. Because at 5" the male should start to show a more boxy head. Yours has a female shaped head to me. But only time will tell for sure.

She looks happy and growing up great.

 

[walkers101]

happy? you do know that is stress colours they should look like the one in my sig when relaxed

 

[hamfist]

happy? you do know that is stress colours they should look like the one in my sig when relaxed

No I am absolutely certain. The colours in my pics of his current size are definately his happy colours. Remember I know this fish well, as I kept it for many weeks before. He was the same then.

For him -

happy ...... light brown all over with the large dark brown blotch on the centre of his flank and the horizontal stripe down his lateral line.

stressed .... very dark brown all over, with partial vertical stripes of almost black.

I suspect that mine's background "happy" colour is just a lot lighter than yours. CHocs do vary significantly in their colouration.

 

[walkers101]

hmm well when mine is stressed she has the large bar exactly the same as yours looks ill take a picture

 

[SDWalters]

Definately looks stressed to me!!!

My Chocolate is also a much darker colour when relaxed and goes pale when stressed like yours:


http/i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/Sdwaltera/My%20fish/DSC00200.jpg

http/i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/Sdwaltera/My%20fish/DSC00193.jpg

http/i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/Sdwaltera/My%20fish/DSC00189.jpg

http/i1016.photobucket.com/albums/af283/Sdwaltera/My%20fish/DSC00195.jpg

 

[hamfist]

I still stand by my interpretation of mine's colours. After over 30 yrs of fishkeeping I can tell when a fish is getting stressed out.

BTW SDwalters, your choc is lovely !!

 

[kizno1]

Very nice ive really taken to chocs recently.
The pics are of the fish in its non stressed colour but the reason there different is because its a Hypselecara coryphaenoides not a Hypselecara temporalis like walkers101 and SDWalters.