What’s the best dwarf cichlid?

[GaryE]

The poll is incomplete. It needs Nanochromis splendens, parilus, consortus and transvestitus, Parananochromis brevirostris, caudalis gabonicus and ornatus, Chromidotilapia nana, Benitochromis uffermani, Pelvicachromus pulcher, subocellatus, sacrimontis and roloffi, Congochromis sabinae, Apistogramma agassizii, veijita, mcmasteri, hongsloi, norberti, njisseni, panduro, eunotus, (I like the high bodied Apistos), all the Dicrossus species, all the Guianacara, Mikrogeophagus... I'd vote for them.

It's a poll that can't have a winner, once you get to see the dwarf cichlids that have been in the hobby. I've left out dozens of them, maybe a hundred if you include all the Apistogramma, the hard water ones, the ones rarely seen, the rapids ones, and the ones as yet to receive a scientific name. It's like kicking over an anthill to find your favourite ant!

 

[Mr Limpet]

The poll is incomplete. It needs Nanochromis splendens, parilus, consortus and transvestitus, Parananochromis brevirostris, caudalis gabonicus and ornatus, Chromidotilapia nana, Benitochromis uffermani, Pelvicachromus pulcher, subocellatus, sacrimontis and roloffi, Congochromis sabinae, Apistogramma agassizii, veijita, mcmasteri, hongsloi, norberti, njisseni, panduro, eunotus, (I like the high bodied Apistos), all the Dicrossus species, all the Guianacara, Mikrogeophagus... I'd vote for them.

It's a poll that can't have a winner, once you get to see the dwarf cichlids that have been in the hobby. I've left out dozens of them, maybe a hundred if you include all the Apistogramma, the hard water ones, the ones rarely seen, the rapids ones, and the ones as yet to receive a scientific name. It's like kicking over an anthill to find your favourite ant!

In your rundown of West African dwarfs you neglected to mention Enigmatochromis lucanusi and Pelvicachromis silviae, two more of my favorites. Westies in general seem to have been neglected in recent years.

 

[Innesfan]

The poll is incomplete. It needs Nanochromis splendens, parilus, consortus and transvestitus, Parananochromis brevirostris, caudalis gabonicus and ornatus, Chromidotilapia nana, Benitochromis uffermani, Pelvicachromus pulcher, subocellatus, sacrimontis and roloffi, Congochromis sabinae, Apistogramma agassizii, veijita, mcmasteri, hongsloi, norberti, njisseni, panduro, eunotus, (I like the high bodied Apistos), all the Dicrossus species, all the Guianacara, Mikrogeophagus... I'd vote for them.

It's a poll that can't have a winner, once you get to see the dwarf cichlids that have been in the hobby. I've left out dozens of them, maybe a hundred if you include all the Apistogramma, the hard water ones, the ones rarely seen, the rapids ones, and the ones as yet to receive a scientific name. It's like kicking over an anthill to find your favourite ant!

Yes! And all the other Laetacaras, Nannacaras, Orange Chromide etc, etc....

 

[anewbie]

And the 120 or so species of apistogramma not included - some of them quite magnificent if you can find them.

 

[GaryE]

We had a group here protesting the lack of proportional representation in our recent national election - some ballots had 250 candidate names listed. That would be a bit like a ballot listing dwarf cichlids to see which would win!

I appreciate and respect any post that raises the profile of these wonderful fish. We should talk about them in this hobby, because they are well worth discussing. It was a really good poll choice with too many great choices - the best kind of poll.

 

[Mr Limpet]

And the 120 or so species of apistogramma not included - some of them quite magnificent if you can find them.

And if you can afford the exorbitant prices when you do find them.

 

[gwand]

What are people’s choice of favorite dwarf cichlid based on: colors, body design, general behavior, idiosyncratic behavior, challenges in breeding, all of the above, etc?

 

[GaryE]

I tend to go by colours, body shape, general behavior, idiosyncratic behavior, challenges in breeding, and geographic origin - I'm with @Mr Limpet on West and Central African Cichlids. I love seeing the traits they have in common, and how they've diverged.

Dwarf Cichlid keeping can be an expensive hobby, because demand for these fish is so low, they are rarely commercially bred and there is no developed infrastructure for exporting fish from the region.

If I could have a few species I don't have now, I would want Steatocranus sp Red Eye, because I want to understand the nests males have, Pelvicachromis kribensis (ex-taeniatus) Moliwe, because I have never gotten over its beauty, Enigmatochromis lucanusi because I was the second aquarist to see one, seconds after the first, and Benitochromis uffermani because the only time I had them (or have seen them), I thought they were really interesting.

 

[anewbie]

And if you can afford the exorbitant prices when you do find them.

They usually aren't that expensive relatively speaking; but finding them is very difficult. The best way to find them i've been told is to pack your backpack and head down to columbia...

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Yes! And all the other Laetacaras, Nannacaras, Orange Chromide etc, etc....

Just the other day I discovered the Indian Chromide species, and it's absolutely stunning. Fresh water, not brackish like the other chromides.

 

[Innesfan]

Just the other day I discovered the Indian Chromide species, and it's absolutely stunning. Fresh water, not brackish like the other chromides.

They are fascinating, especially the wild form. You may know that when they spawn they feed their young as Discus do by providing mucus on their flanks off which the fry feed.

 

[GaryE]

I've been having a lot of fun with a rare one, Parananochromis brevirostris, which I got via @anewbie 's technique, heading out in this case to Central Africa. I have my fingers crossed that in 6 weeks, I might get pairs of Parananochromis gabonicus and ornatus from a friend who will be visiting. It's one of those obscure families no one keeps, but they are far better looking than the photos give them credit for, and are very interesting to watch.

We caught gabonicus in one of my favourite habitats, but not many and we decided to take brevirostris to France and Canada, and gabonicus to Austria.

With brevirostris, the Europeans who have them report very few if any females developing out of the fry. I did well with about 20% females in my first 2 broods, and have quite a few young about to tell me if I've found a way around that. Skewed sex ratios are the killer with West and Central African dwarfs, and happen sometimes with South American Apistogramma. With Parananochromis, I can't use the general temperature studies used with Pelvicachromis (26 seems ideal for raising raising fry) as 26 would kill them. They don't like temps above 24, and 22 seems better for breeding them.

Fun fish.

I'm a generalist and a dabbler, and mostly keep killies. But I always want dwarf Cichlids in my fishroom. I've become picky in my old age about which ones, but breeding these fish never ceases to be rewarding. It seems there's always some sort of little wrinkle in their keeping. I also used to breed them, try to distribute young and then get another species to replace them. Now that I'm no longer in an urban, fish importing centre, I am hoping to keep them like I do killies, for many generations. They aren't nearly as available as they once were, because there is so little demand for them.