Callochromis pleurospilus

Ortak İsim	Callochromis pleurospilus
Bilimsel Adı	Lamprologus meleagris
Dağıtım	Tanganyika Gölü
Beslenme	Etçil
Mizaç	Orta derecede agresif
Bakım
PH	7,0-8,5
Sıcaklık	23C - 28C
Maksimum Boy	7 cm
Cinsiyet	Erkekler, dişilerden daha büyük ve renkli olurlar.
Üreme	Dişi ağızda kuluçka yapar.
Açıklama	Boş Neothauma salyangoz kabuklarının bulunduğu sığ kumlu sahillerde yaşarlar. Yavrular yaklaşık 10 günde serbest yüzüşe geçerler. Erkekler ve dişiler görünüşte benzerdir, ama erkek boyut olarak dişiden büyüktür. Akvaryum, birkaç salyangoz kabuğu ve kumlu bir tabanla kurulmalıdır. Bölge olarak belirlediği kabuğu ve etrafını çok sert bir şekilde savunur. Vallisneria gibi sert yapraklı bitkiler kullanılabilir.

Scientific Name: Callochromis pleurospilus(Kabogo) Common Name: Red Flame Habitat: Shallow Sediment-Rich Habitat Diet: Carnivore Gender Differences: Dimorphic Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder Temperament: Mildly Aggressive Conspecific Temperament: Mildly Aggressive Maximum Size: 4" Temperature: 77 - 79°F pH: 8.6 Water Hardness: Very Hard Difficulty: 2

Comments:

A spectacular fish, the males can show particularly strong conspecific aggression, with members of the same sex being hounded through the whole tank. Females will also be hounded, but less so then males. It is recommended to keep a single male, to four to six females because of this, and some cover for the females to escape the males. This aggression rarely leads to damage, even with males, but relentless chasing can lead to the weaker fishes demise though exhaustion. It is noted that tank raised specimens are somewhat less persistent in their chasing then wild caught ones are. In the wild, they dine on insect larvae and small crustaceans, so a diet including flakes, mysis shrimp, daphnia, mosquito larvae, live baby brine shrimp, and cyclops is recommended.

Pronunciation: Refer to our Pronunciation Key for an explanation of the phonetic symbols.

Habitat: This is the primary location where the cichlid is found and is a generalization. This does not    mean a fish cannot be found in other habitats.

Diet: Many cichlids specialize in eating one type of food; notwithstanding, some of these specialized   feeders are flexible and can be opportunistic feeders.

Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tankmates that    are of a different species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to various factors,   including aquarium size, tankmates of similar appearance, stocking levels, and order of introduction.   There may even be some variability among individual specimens.

Conspecific Temperament: This describes the overall demeanor of a cichlid toward other tank-   mates of the same species. Consider that there is variability in temperament due to such factors as    aquarium size, stocking levels and order of introduction. There may even be some variability among    individual specimens.

Maximum Size: This is in regards to total length (including the tail) of typical aquarium specimens.    Wild specimens may not attain this size, or may in fact grow larger than aquarium raised individuals    due to various factors. Also consider that this is the typical maximum size and there are exceptional    individuals that will exceed it.

Difficulty: This measure is a relative value, comparing a single species against all other cichlids.    This only accounts for maintanence in the aquarium and not breeding considerations.   1 = easy and forgiving, 5 = extremely challenging.

by Brett Harrington (aka Fogelhund)

Callochromis pleurospilus is a fish that is stunningly beautiful, in a very subtle way. You may not notice the colours from across a room, but once you get up close to a male who is displaying, it is an assault of colour you won soon forget. The colours vary depending on which location, but in most there is a light green and pink shine on every scale on the sides, the unpaired fins combine opaque white with pink patches and the anal fin often has a pink tinge. The heads of the males are bluish-green and bright blue lips. In many strains, the pink on the sides can be quite red in colour, and the dorsal fin will show a great deal of red in some strains. Unfortunately, females are plain silver, but the beauty of the males, makes keeping this fish well worthwhile.

The pleurospilus can be observed between 1 meter and 30 meters deep, usually in sandy bays that are enriched in sediment. Rarely are rocks or stones found in its natural biotope. This fish is a bottom dweller, and sifts through the sand to locate its food, which primarily consists of microorganisms, though they have been found to have small cichlid fry in their stomachs as well. In the aquarium, even wild caught specimens will readily accept most prepared foods, including flakes. They thrive on mysis shrimp, Cyclops, brine shrimps though. Like many other open water fish, they can be sensitive to deterioration in water quality. This fish shows quite a bit of conspecific aggression, particularly to the other males. If you get lucky, you may be able to house a small group in a 4ft tank, though certainly a 6ft tank would be recommended as a minimum. The minimum group size should be one male to three females, though if you can get more females, do so. More than one male will certainly not be tolerated in a 4ft tank, though it may be able to find hiding places in a 6ft tank. In the wild, females form schools, while the males will defend a territory singularly. The male may build a small depression or utilize an existing one. They are a mouth brooding cichlid (buccal incubation), and may have as many as 50 eggs, which have a diameter of about 2 mm at spawning. The care of the brood is only carried out by the female, and will last for 18 to 20 days, at which time the fry will be released. Callochromis pleurospilus are not known for extended care giving to their fry. At this stage, the fry may be raised on freshly hatched Artemia nauplii (Brine shrimp), in addition to crushed flake. Some suitable tank mates include Cyprichromis, Opthalmotilapiaspecies, or some of the more assertive Xenotilapia. You can keepCallochromis pleurospilus in with a smaller Lamprologine, but most of the tank should be devoted to the open spaces thatCallochromis will require. If you can obtain this species, and keep it in a larger tank, then it will certainly reward you with its beauty and lively antics.