The kribensis cichlid (Pelvicachromis pulcher), also known as the king cichlid, is the most popular dwarf cichlid from Central Africa. In the wild, it colonizes large areas in the Niger River basin. It is mainly bred in the hobby. Like so many dwarf cichlids, P. pulcher is also polychromatic, i.e. it occurs in different color forms. Some of these color forms apparently exist together in the same locality, other color forms apparently only come from certain regions. The dwarf cichlid in question here, Pelvicachromis sacrimontis, also originates from Nigeria. It looks very similar to P. pulcher, but cannot be fertilely crossed with it; the young of such a cross are always sterile in the first generation.
Pelvicachromis sacrimontis differs unequivocally from P. pulcher only in the female sex. In the dorsal fin of female P. pulcher there is always a light stripe on the upper edge, the dorsal fin of female P. sacrimontis is always uniformly dark (see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/25-perchlike-fishes/pelvicachromis-pulcher-wild-yellow-2/). Experienced experts can tell whether the males are P. pulcher or P. sacrimontis, but the differences are difficult to describe in words. Basically, the dark middle longitudinal band is wider in P. sacrimontis than in P. pulcher.
There are also color forms of P. sacrimontis. There are usually two: a red and a green, whereby the latter is sometimes subdivided into green and yellow. The red color variant has red gill cover and cheek regions in both sexes. Below the eye there are blue-green iridescent bands. This is an important difference to red color variations of P. pulcher. In the green/yellow colorations, the cheek and gill cover regions are shiny green/yellow. The blue-green iridescent bands under the eyes can also be found here. It is still unclear whether the red and green/yellow color forms occur together in the same biotope; they are always exported mixed. The trade name “P. pulcher RED wild” for P. sacrimontis dates back to the 1960s and refers to the intense red belly coloration of these animals, which all females and many males display. In the hobby P. sacrimontis used to be known as P. pulcher form B or P. sp. aff. pulcher, an invalid trade name for P. sacrimontis from this time is P. camerunensis (a particularly stupid name, as the animals come from Nigeria and not Cameroon).
In terms of care and breeding, P. sacrimontis hardly differs from P. pulcher. The species should be kept under subdued lighting if possible, otherwise the animals are often shy and pale. Soft, slightly acidic water is best suited to their needs. Any common ornamental fish food is eaten. The water temperature should mainly be in the range 22-26°C, too high temperatures are less favorable for P. sacrimontis than the lower temperature range.
For our customers: Pelvicachromis sacrimontis has code 560004 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
