A lot of people love dwarf Cichlids, and wonder why they aren't more available. There are dozens and dozens of aquarium possible species, but very few in stores.
I have a wild caught pair of Paranaochromis brevirostris, a fish I didn't catch myself but that I was given on the banks of a Central African river. I know the habitat, and that gave me a head start. I tried to replicate the conditions as well as I could, and they've spawned 3 times since the summer of 2023.
This fish produces many males and few females under captive breeding conditions. The very few people who have had it and bred it report the same problem. From spawn one, I got two more pairs and a bunch of males. In a 75 gallon, the males murdered each other over a few months. One F-1 female died, and the other pair has produced one large and active brood.
I now have 3 tanks with adult Parananochromis, and 2 tanks with juveniles. They're slow to sex out. As they do, I would need to remove females quickly as males can be aggressive, and at a sex ratio of 15 males to each female, females are precious. The fish is peaceful, but in the unnatural crowding of fishtanks, things go wrong behaviourally.
5 tanks are tied down now. I can make room in 2 more, and will aggressively seek homes for these pairs, if indeed I have new pairs. Spawn 2 was all male, and became all murderous mayhem as they became young adults.
My goal is to keep the fish longterm. I like it and it presents an ongoing challenge. I can't keep them all, and would have to steel myself to a little carnage to do that. I can find homes for some, but local aquarists aren't into delicate rare Cichlids, and dwarfs in general are out of fashion. I'm 10 hours from the closest wholesaler to sell them to for distribution.
And so the pattern repeats, one that I first encountered in the 1990s with then rare Apistogramma and West African dwarfs. You breed them, because the spawning behaviour is great. But then, each pair that forms needs its own tank. If you live close to an aquarium hub, in a large city, you can sell some to stores or fish dealers. You can give pairs to aquarium club members. But each pair needs its own tank, and that should be a reasonable sized tank of at least 15 or 20 gallons, minimum. Bigger is better.
You become a victim of your own success, and eventually, because of space and the interest in getting other dwarf Cichlids, you lose the species. But since the fish aren't popular, you can be the only breeder in a world of billions of people who enjoy other things... You lose them, and they are quickly lost to the hobby.
And that need for many tanks is the wall fishbreeders can hit. We're like a pyramid scheme - we need to gather other aquarists who are interested in our fish to be able to keep enjoying them.
I have a wild caught pair of Paranaochromis brevirostris, a fish I didn't catch myself but that I was given on the banks of a Central African river. I know the habitat, and that gave me a head start. I tried to replicate the conditions as well as I could, and they've spawned 3 times since the summer of 2023.
This fish produces many males and few females under captive breeding conditions. The very few people who have had it and bred it report the same problem. From spawn one, I got two more pairs and a bunch of males. In a 75 gallon, the males murdered each other over a few months. One F-1 female died, and the other pair has produced one large and active brood.
I now have 3 tanks with adult Parananochromis, and 2 tanks with juveniles. They're slow to sex out. As they do, I would need to remove females quickly as males can be aggressive, and at a sex ratio of 15 males to each female, females are precious. The fish is peaceful, but in the unnatural crowding of fishtanks, things go wrong behaviourally.
5 tanks are tied down now. I can make room in 2 more, and will aggressively seek homes for these pairs, if indeed I have new pairs. Spawn 2 was all male, and became all murderous mayhem as they became young adults.
My goal is to keep the fish longterm. I like it and it presents an ongoing challenge. I can't keep them all, and would have to steel myself to a little carnage to do that. I can find homes for some, but local aquarists aren't into delicate rare Cichlids, and dwarfs in general are out of fashion. I'm 10 hours from the closest wholesaler to sell them to for distribution.
And so the pattern repeats, one that I first encountered in the 1990s with then rare Apistogramma and West African dwarfs. You breed them, because the spawning behaviour is great. But then, each pair that forms needs its own tank. If you live close to an aquarium hub, in a large city, you can sell some to stores or fish dealers. You can give pairs to aquarium club members. But each pair needs its own tank, and that should be a reasonable sized tank of at least 15 or 20 gallons, minimum. Bigger is better.
You become a victim of your own success, and eventually, because of space and the interest in getting other dwarf Cichlids, you lose the species. But since the fish aren't popular, you can be the only breeder in a world of billions of people who enjoy other things... You lose them, and they are quickly lost to the hobby.
And that need for many tanks is the wall fishbreeders can hit. We're like a pyramid scheme - we need to gather other aquarists who are interested in our fish to be able to keep enjoying them.
