Nanochromis parilus

[nick a]

These are one of my first excursions into NON-Mbuna-or-Vic land. Originally started with what was thought to be 4 femmes & 1 male. Now it appears that it is 3f/2m. Either we were wrong from the start OR according to some information I'm getting--some members of the nanochromis genus can change sexes!!!!!! I'm still trying to sort out the deal but....wow....wouldn't that just be crazy?!

They've not been difficult to keep. They're in a 30L and I haven't done any water modifications for them. The only difference between this tank and my normal set-up is no limestone/lot's of driftwood. Still replace WC water with straight dechlored tap water tho.

One pair owns the right side of the tank, the other "pair?" the left and the solo femme has a little hideout in the middle. They've always been a bit shy, but since adding the yellow congo tetras, they've been out~n~about quite a bit more. The pairs always stay close together and this species behavior is very interesting to watch.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get good pics of them (my fishroom lighting and this tanks location on the top row make it a little tougher than normal).

Femme on top:
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/34/dsc1559pq0.jpg

Femme on top again---hmmmmm!:
http://img58.imageshack.us/img58/6887/dsc0561gm6.jpg

[nick a]

You can see the females have a nice coloration with greens & pinks in the body and nice patterns in the fins. The lower half of the tail fin is a distinct indicator of the sexes (usually--HA!) It is 'normal' for the femmes bellys to look bloated like this. It will get even more pronounced and the pink will get even brighter as they approach peak 'ripeness'.
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7324/dsc0565jh3.jpg


The males body colors are not as pronounced, but his fins are more developed and more colorful. All sexes have these really cool red eyebrows (that don't show up in these pics well--sorry!)
http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/6201/dsc0564vw6.jpg

[fischfan13]

Nick, great pictures...great post.
Are you going to set up a West African section to your fishroom now?:)

[YoungAquaticPhotos]

Great looking fish! Did they breed and did you get any fry?

[emartin]

Beautiful fish! I almost bought a few wild ones a few weeks ago...

[nick a]

You should have gone for it--I could use some help figuring out how to deal with the pair-bonding business:) It's quite a bit different than the harem breeders I'm used to. I have had one pair spawn but was told to leave them (and the fry) alone the first time or two to help cement their bond. The Westie Wing will have to wait for a few more years LOL!