Hi all!
As usually happens with this wonderful hobby of ours, my hubby and I had plans for all our fish, you know, to upsize most of our tanks, get more décor etc. Then all that went out the window..
We were in my favorite LFS just before Christmas and I was talking to the cichlids like I always do, when this adorable little cichlid swam up to say hello. I fell in love (like I do every time I see a fish
) and called out to my hubby. In the back of my mind I'd hoped he'd say what he usually does "where are we going to keep it" "how are we going to feed it" and so on... So I asked "Jeffy can we get her?!" like I do almost every trip, and without even answering me he asks the guy to baggie her up... I was NOT expecting that!
So now we have a cichlid, and the plans for all our tanks have been thrown in the bin to accommodate her..
We've been calling her a "her" since we got her for a few reasons 1) I wanted a female, their smaller size is MUCH easier to manage, and 2) She looks like a female - I don't know how to sex these guys while they're little but I think she has a feminine face.
This morning she had a surprise for us, she confirmed that she was indeed a "she" by laying eggs in her little cave thingy!!! Obviously they're unfertilized but nonetheless, she is most definitely a female!
Jeff named her River because the spangly bits on her face look like little rivers. She's currently in a 3' 100ltr holding tank until my hubby gets her 4'x2'x2' set up hopefully next week sometime. She's about 3" long right now and has grown a little bit in the two weeks or so that we've had her.
Anyways enough rambling, you guys want to see a fish right? Well here she is, our little green terror, River:
Guarding her unfertile eggs (you can see them where the substrate meets the glass):
Going mad at me for getting to close to her eggs:
She's been eating like a champ since we got her, she wasn't even home for an hour and she was begging for food,
Question, what do I do with her eggs? Do I just leave them in there for her to tend to and take them out as they go yucky? Will she dispose of them herself as they go bad? Or should I take them out asap on her?
I'll continue to update this every couple of months or so to keep track of how she's growing, more for myself than for others, but of others enjoy it then sweet!
Side note - she's silver!!! We RARELY see silvers down here, she's so awesome in every way!
Frank Castle
here she is!
As usually happens with this wonderful hobby of ours, my hubby and I had plans for all our fish, you know, to upsize most of our tanks, get more décor etc. Then all that went out the window..
We were in my favorite LFS just before Christmas and I was talking to the cichlids like I always do, when this adorable little cichlid swam up to say hello. I fell in love (like I do every time I see a fish
) and called out to my hubby. In the back of my mind I'd hoped he'd say what he usually does "where are we going to keep it" "how are we going to feed it" and so on... So I asked "Jeffy can we get her?!" like I do almost every trip, and without even answering me he asks the guy to baggie her up... I was NOT expecting that!So now we have a cichlid, and the plans for all our tanks have been thrown in the bin to accommodate her..
We've been calling her a "her" since we got her for a few reasons 1) I wanted a female, their smaller size is MUCH easier to manage, and 2) She looks like a female - I don't know how to sex these guys while they're little but I think she has a feminine face.
This morning she had a surprise for us, she confirmed that she was indeed a "she" by laying eggs in her little cave thingy!!! Obviously they're unfertilized but nonetheless, she is most definitely a female!
Jeff named her River because the spangly bits on her face look like little rivers. She's currently in a 3' 100ltr holding tank until my hubby gets her 4'x2'x2' set up hopefully next week sometime. She's about 3" long right now and has grown a little bit in the two weeks or so that we've had her.
Anyways enough rambling, you guys want to see a fish right? Well here she is, our little green terror, River:
Guarding her unfertile eggs (you can see them where the substrate meets the glass):
Going mad at me for getting to close to her eggs:
She's been eating like a champ since we got her, she wasn't even home for an hour and she was begging for food,
Question, what do I do with her eggs? Do I just leave them in there for her to tend to and take them out as they go yucky? Will she dispose of them herself as they go bad? Or should I take them out asap on her?
I'll continue to update this every couple of months or so to keep track of how she's growing, more for myself than for others, but of others enjoy it then sweet!
Side note - she's silver!!! We RARELY see silvers down here, she's so awesome in every way!
Frank Castle
here she is! 
