Lets see those Hypsophrys Nicaraguensis (Nicaragua Cichlid)

[Stratoquarius]

thanks for sharing everyone, although I am sure there are more out there! we might even convince some other members to try these guys out.

if you have any questions about Nics feel free to post them here

 

[JK47]

I'll try and get a few of their normal patterns this afternoon and post em up for you to compare.

I tried to get some recent pics of these two not in dress but when I finally got around to it tonight, they had just spawned.. (fry in the bottom left of the pics where they dug thier pit) Sorry for the algae on the glass I, it's taken me months to kill it off I had too much light on this tank and makes it impossible to focus correctly.

 

[cjdesmit]

Very interesting pattern. I haven't seen Nics "gray out" like that when in spawning dress.

I just won this guy on Aquabid a couple days ago. He should be arriving Friday. Hopefully he takes a liking to my female!

Here's kind of a crummy pic of him that the seller sent me before I made the decision to bid...

 

[Stratoquarius]

I tried to get some recent pics of these two not in dress but when I finally got around to it tonight, they had just spawned.. (fry in the bottom left of the pics where they dug thier pit) Sorry for the algae on the glass I, it's taken me months to kill it off I had too much light on this tank and makes it impossible to focus correctly.

View attachment 747173View attachment 747174View attachment 747175View attachment 747176

Wow JK they are beautiful, I can´t believe that they grey out like that, theyre the only ones I´ve ever seen do this. I did some research when I got my Nics and it turns out there are 2 local variants of the species and that they do vary pretty much in pattern.

" this is a popular and beautiful cichlid that exists in several different colour forms, depending on collection locality. It has also been hybridised with the convict cichlid (Archocentrus nigrofasciatus), although this is not to be encouraged. A study in 2004 found an apparent close genetic association between this species and Neetroplus nematopus, another cichlid found in the same area in nature. The 2 show remarkable similarities in breeding strategy, patterning and unique morphology. It was hypothesised that Neetroplus should be considered a junior synonym of Hypsophrys and that the species form a monophyletic group. For the time being, though, Hypsophrys nicaraguensis remains the only species in the genus. It has previously been incorrectly placed in several genera, including Cichlasoma, Copora, Theraps and even Heros."

I've seen this species hybridise with Firemouths too, so It seems they can breed with other cichlids, which I never saw coming.
I can't find a lot of information on the colour forms and collection points, but I think in this thread alone we have examples of several different variants.
For example My nic always has the breeding pattern, and never shows the stripe, JK47s have a grey breeding pattern with bright yellow undersides. would be cool if we could allocate locations to our fish.

and Cjdesmit that male looks beautiful, looks to be around 5" or so? a bit bigger than mine who is just starting to develop the greeny blue on his face. Great win there !

 

[cjdesmit]

Thanks Strato! The seller said he was right around 5", so good guess!

I too have seen quite a few different variations of these guys. I've seen Nics with a rainbow of color, dull gold, gold with red bellies, gold with blue/green heads, horizontal stripe, verticle barring, ect... I'd be interested in which patterns are associated with what regions/locals as well. I do remember reading that the more colorful variations were from Costa Rica.

JK, how would you describe their temperament while spawning?

 

[JK47]

Wow JK they are beautiful, I can´t believe that they grey out like that, theyre the only ones I´ve ever seen do this. I did some research when I got my Nics and it turns out there are 2 local variants of the species and that they do vary pretty much in pattern.

I would not read into the color pattern too much. They are just a nic pair. I have no linniage info on them that I can remember. They could be wild stock but the odds are 10 trillion times better they are just F4032 tank bred nics, nothing special. I love this pair though so I don't really care either way. I do not sell fry from them. Not a lot of people breed them, they are not rare but you just don't see a lot of people keeping a pair so I wanted to. I really like the bright colors (ironic because mine are dull) and slopped snout of this species.

JK, how would you describe their temperament while spawning?

When spawning in a tank on their own they are very shy and timid, the female beats on the male but nothing too bad. In the festae tank they are in now they are down right nuts. I moved them to my festae tank to strengthen the bond in the festae pair. The female is all over my male festae and puts him in check every few minutes. The male is much less confident. He will square off with the male festae but only displaying, the female will lock lips, chase after the male festae etc.. I am going to have to move them soon, this stock list has a shelf life and it's running out.

 

[cjdesmit]

Interesting... What size tank are they in (when with the Festae)? I'm hoping to keep mine in my 135gal with the final stock being the pair of Nics, a pair of Meeki, a pair of Multispinosa and a lone male JD.

 

[JK47]

really nice fishes

Welcome to MFK!!!!

Interesting... What size tank are they in (when with the Festae)? I'm hoping to keep mine in my 135gal with the final stock being the pair of Nics, a pair of Meeki, a pair of Multispinosa and a lone male JD.

It's a 125 gallons with a 6" or so festae pair, H. carpintis 'escondido' pair and this nic pair. I will likely just set up a 75 gallon for this pair. I would have already but we are moving soon and I don't want to start any new tanks until we actually move.

 

[Chub_by]

Not wanting to hijack this thread, but do you guys think a Nic would do well with 2 Rainbows? Tank size is 60 gallons.

 

[Stratoquarius]

Rainbows are fine as long as they are robust. I had a pretty large one about 4" in with a FH I was growing out and he was never bothered. Nics are territorial so he may chase them if they come into his territory. if youre on about getting a female then they are generally less territorial unless breeding. the female I had was really peaceful.

hope that helps