Discus Fish and Dwarf Cichlids, Etc.

Pelvicachromis: The Most Interesting African Cichlid You Never Owned

To most hobbyists, African cichlids are colorful, aggressive fish that will kill most tank mates. Such is the case with African rift lake cichlids. They mainly come from 3 lakes in Africa - Malawi, Tanganika, and Lake Victoria. Although most people initially think of the rift lake cichlids, there are numerous types of cichlids inhabiting Africa.

In my opinion, the most interesting and colorful cichlids are found in the flowing streams and rivers in Western Africa: African dwarf cichlids also known as Westies and West African Dwarfs. They are found within 150-200 miles of the coast in water similar to much of West Africa - relatively soft, usually 7-8 dGH and right about 7.0 ph.

A Look Into Pelvicachromis

A personal favorite from this region are Pelvicachromis. This species is most commonly known as “Kribs”. The dwarf Pelvicachromis forms are pulcher, roloffi, subocellatus, sacrimontis and taeniatus. The common krib is usually Pelvicachromis pulcher, which are originally found in Nigeria, Benin and Western Cameroon. Pulchers stay small, growing no more than about 5 inches. All Pelvicachromis are great for planted tanks and are easy fish to keep and breed. Many hobbyist have their first cichlid spawns with Pelvicachromis pulcher. The fish are usually great parents and will care for their young very well.

There are many different color types depending on the streams from which they come from. Yellow, Blue and Red morphs are typically found in the hobby. Pelvicachromis primarily eat detritus, aufwuchs, and other small particles. They will also eat small meaty foods such as insect larvae and shrimp eggs.

Pelvicachromis come in different sizes. The larger species are called humilis. Humilis can reach about 6-7 inches in length. There are many color forms of humilis depending on location they were collected. The humilis are found in Sierra Leone and western Liberia. There are also Pel. Rubrolabiatus and Pel. Signatus from Guinea which are a larger species similar to the humilis. They are said to be slightly more aggressive that other Pelvicachromis species. And they also will exhibit 7-8 vertical bars which is unlike the dwarfs Pelvicachromis types.

The taeniatus species has a large number of different colors and patterns depending on where they were collected. The taeniatus are very colorful and can change their look numerous times throughout the day.

Kribs At Your Local Fish Shop

Most of the kribs you see at your local pet shops are fish that are bred by a hobbyist or a seasoned breeder. It is pretty rare to get wild specimens imported in the United States. This is for a few reasons…

• First is it’s expensive. Shipping charges alone are in the thousands for 15-20 boxes of fish. As the gas price rises so do all of the fees for shipping, packing and air cargo.
• Secondly, communication can be difficult (to say the least) with the exporters.
• You have to make sure all paperwork needed for importing the fish is correctly filled out.
• Also coordinating arrival times and flights. And lastly…
• Actually getting the quality of fish that you were promised.

Even with all of that, when everything works out, it makes all of the stress worth it. Luckily our source is very reliable and honest, two very important qualities when dealing with importing. But, local pet stores typically don’t have the time or resources to allocate to importing, so the fish where very hard for hobbyists to get… until now.

More Info on West African Dwarf Cichlids

There is a lot of good information on the web about Westies. I would check out the african dwarf section on www.apistogramma.com, and www.tedsfishroom.com. Also The Cichlid Fishes of Western Africa by Anton Lamboj is the best resource available about West African cichlids.

Remember, Pelvicachromis are great fish to add to any community tank. They have great personality and will not destroy your plants. If you love apistos, you will love pelvicachromis.

To celebrate our new blog and our huge selection of West African dwarf cichlids, we are offering 15% off all orders in July. Now is the best time to round our that planted display tank with some pelvicachromis. They add a ton of color and personality to every community aquarium.
Happy Fishkeeping,

Ryan
www.TwoFishGuyz.com