For
the first time ever we can offer German bred specimens of this
beautiful and unusual large cichlid. The parents have been imported from
the Congo. Keeping and breeding were successful under the following
conditions: total hardness 14°, pH 7. The sexes show a clearly visible
sexual dimorphism at an age of about 1.5 -2 years. Dominant males are
fully developed after 3 years (at least I don´t believe that they will
change anymore, I do own the fish only 3-4 years). At this age they are
about 30 cm long. Females are only 20 cm long at this age. For
additional differences between the sexes, please see the photos.
These
beautiful fish do not only look a bit like Geophagus from South
America, also the behaviour is comparable. The feeding habit is similar
to Geophagus: fine sand is sieved by the fish for food and the
particular food particles the fish feed on are comparatively small. My
fish get granulates, flakes, and frozen white and black mosquito larvae.
Dominant males are territorial.
There
are also parallels to Geophagus in respect of the breeding behaviour.
Tylochromis cf. lateralis are ovophilous, maternal mouthbrooders. At
least my wild collected fish spawn only seasonally. However, it is too
early to say anything about this in respect of bred specimens. Currently
only a F1 has been bred.
For
our customers: the fish have code 586353 on our stocklist. Please note
that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in limited
numbers only!
Text: Christian von Holtum, photos: Christian von Holtum and Frank Schäfer
