Teleogramma Brichardi
- Thread starter kubora666
- Start date
jakey boi
Fish Fanatic
hi,
do you want to know the name of the fish or just about the fish??
do you want to know the name of the fish or just about the fish??
Ginge
Betta Extermination Team!!!
From what i have heard/know they are quite agressive and need alot of room. About 12cm maximum size.
And not the writer of this info below but i hope it helps you.
"Teleogramma is a genus of small, sexually dimorphic, rheophilic cichlids originating from the Congo River and its affluents. At the time of writing four species are known to science, of which only one, T. brichardi, has been exported for the aquarium trade.
T. brichardi was first seen in Europe in the late 1960's and early 1970's, together with several other interesting West African species of the genera Steatocranus, Pelvicachromis, and Nanochromis. Of these, however, only Steatocranus casuarius became established in the hobby, and there are few records of any others being bred. T. brichardi was bred at least once, but failed to become established, and the aquarium population died out with the original wild stock.
The natural range of this species is limited to a comparatively short stretch of the lower Congo River near Kinsuka, to the south-east of Kinshasa; it is apparently replaced further downstream by two of its congeners, T. gracilis and T depressum. (The fourth species, T. monogramma, is restricted to the River Kasai, which drains into the Congo upstream of the T. brichardi locality.) Natural water conditions are reported as very soft, pH 7-7.5, temperature 28-29°C, and, obviously, a very high oxygen content.
All four species inhabit areas of turbulent water where the river descends over rapids. All are more or less cylindrical in cross-section and extremely elongate, giving an almost snake-like appearance. All have the much reduced swim-bladder characteristic of rapids cichlids..
This modification is thought to enable them to remain resting on the bottom, unaffected by the rush of water overhead; buoyancy is not an advantageous characteristic for small fishes inhabiting fast-flowing waters which might easily sweep them away. It has to be said, however, that because of the difficulty of underwater studies in such conditions our knowledge of their natural lifestyle is, of necessity, largely surmise. We do not even know what foods are taken, though it is reasonable to assume a diet of aquatic invertebrates and crustaceans, probably with a degree of opportunism. T. brichardi relishes live foods suchas Daphnia and chironomid larvae in captivity, and recently imported wild specimens show no hesitation in seizing and devouring whole earthworms.
The species exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, particularly at breeding time when the female is a medium grey with a large salmon-coloured area extending from the pectorals to the vent, covering the entire depth of the body and suffusing the lower part of the dorsal. The breeding male is, by contrast, uniform grey. Non-breeding females may show no red at all, or just a tinge on the belly, and the body becomes banded vertically in two shades of brownish-grey. Non-breeding males are very similar. Generally speaking males are larger (up to 12 cm SL) than females on an age for age basis, and the sexes can be easily told apart at all times by a characteristic marking in the tail. Both sexes have a white outer edging to the dorsal, and in males this continues onto the upper edge of the caudal. In females, however, the edging broadens to a large, forward pointing, triangle of white in the upper caudal. Interestingly these white markings appear red in preserved specimens (Roberts & Stewart, 1976), but in live fishes they are unequivocally a pure white.
Teleogramma brichardi was merely a name to me until the publication of Linke & Staeck's volume on West African cichlids in 1981, after which I endured several years of unrequited longing before finally obtaining a pair in late 1985. I had read that there was liable to be considerable hostility between individuals (it is thought that this species, in common with some other rapids cichlid species, e.g. Steatocranus tinanti, lives solitarily except at spawning time), so they were given a fairly large aquarium. Within a few hours the male was chasing the female relentlessly, so I inserted a clear divider. A victimised fish usually takes refuge in an upper corner, and obviously this would be a far more serious situation for a fish with minimal buoyancy than for a "normal" cichlid, because of the need to expend energy swimming to remain in situ. It therefore seemed best to let them settle into individual territories before attempting a further encounter.
In the event this strategy proved highly successful, and when some weeks later the divider was moved slightly aside, to leave a 3-4 cm gap at the front of the tank, there was no hostility, even though each fish regularly ventured into the other's half of the tank. In fact there was little mutual interest shown at all, although a few weeks later I did see the pair indulging in a rather halfhearted display, resting alongside each other, head to head, on a flat stone. The only other interesting activity observed at this time was the method of digging employed by the female, which consisted of diving head-first into a small cave, "worming" her way forwards with gravel flying out behind her. I have never seen any other cichlid excavate a cave in this manner!"
And not the writer of this info below but i hope it helps you.
"Teleogramma is a genus of small, sexually dimorphic, rheophilic cichlids originating from the Congo River and its affluents. At the time of writing four species are known to science, of which only one, T. brichardi, has been exported for the aquarium trade.
T. brichardi was first seen in Europe in the late 1960's and early 1970's, together with several other interesting West African species of the genera Steatocranus, Pelvicachromis, and Nanochromis. Of these, however, only Steatocranus casuarius became established in the hobby, and there are few records of any others being bred. T. brichardi was bred at least once, but failed to become established, and the aquarium population died out with the original wild stock.
The natural range of this species is limited to a comparatively short stretch of the lower Congo River near Kinsuka, to the south-east of Kinshasa; it is apparently replaced further downstream by two of its congeners, T. gracilis and T depressum. (The fourth species, T. monogramma, is restricted to the River Kasai, which drains into the Congo upstream of the T. brichardi locality.) Natural water conditions are reported as very soft, pH 7-7.5, temperature 28-29°C, and, obviously, a very high oxygen content.
All four species inhabit areas of turbulent water where the river descends over rapids. All are more or less cylindrical in cross-section and extremely elongate, giving an almost snake-like appearance. All have the much reduced swim-bladder characteristic of rapids cichlids..
This modification is thought to enable them to remain resting on the bottom, unaffected by the rush of water overhead; buoyancy is not an advantageous characteristic for small fishes inhabiting fast-flowing waters which might easily sweep them away. It has to be said, however, that because of the difficulty of underwater studies in such conditions our knowledge of their natural lifestyle is, of necessity, largely surmise. We do not even know what foods are taken, though it is reasonable to assume a diet of aquatic invertebrates and crustaceans, probably with a degree of opportunism. T. brichardi relishes live foods suchas Daphnia and chironomid larvae in captivity, and recently imported wild specimens show no hesitation in seizing and devouring whole earthworms.
The species exhibits marked sexual dimorphism, particularly at breeding time when the female is a medium grey with a large salmon-coloured area extending from the pectorals to the vent, covering the entire depth of the body and suffusing the lower part of the dorsal. The breeding male is, by contrast, uniform grey. Non-breeding females may show no red at all, or just a tinge on the belly, and the body becomes banded vertically in two shades of brownish-grey. Non-breeding males are very similar. Generally speaking males are larger (up to 12 cm SL) than females on an age for age basis, and the sexes can be easily told apart at all times by a characteristic marking in the tail. Both sexes have a white outer edging to the dorsal, and in males this continues onto the upper edge of the caudal. In females, however, the edging broadens to a large, forward pointing, triangle of white in the upper caudal. Interestingly these white markings appear red in preserved specimens (Roberts & Stewart, 1976), but in live fishes they are unequivocally a pure white.
Teleogramma brichardi was merely a name to me until the publication of Linke & Staeck's volume on West African cichlids in 1981, after which I endured several years of unrequited longing before finally obtaining a pair in late 1985. I had read that there was liable to be considerable hostility between individuals (it is thought that this species, in common with some other rapids cichlid species, e.g. Steatocranus tinanti, lives solitarily except at spawning time), so they were given a fairly large aquarium. Within a few hours the male was chasing the female relentlessly, so I inserted a clear divider. A victimised fish usually takes refuge in an upper corner, and obviously this would be a far more serious situation for a fish with minimal buoyancy than for a "normal" cichlid, because of the need to expend energy swimming to remain in situ. It therefore seemed best to let them settle into individual territories before attempting a further encounter.
In the event this strategy proved highly successful, and when some weeks later the divider was moved slightly aside, to leave a 3-4 cm gap at the front of the tank, there was no hostility, even though each fish regularly ventured into the other's half of the tank. In fact there was little mutual interest shown at all, although a few weeks later I did see the pair indulging in a rather halfhearted display, resting alongside each other, head to head, on a flat stone. The only other interesting activity observed at this time was the method of digging employed by the female, which consisted of diving head-first into a small cave, "worming" her way forwards with gravel flying out behind her. I have never seen any other cichlid excavate a cave in this manner!"
Ginge
Betta Extermination Team!!!
Here to help 
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