My biotope aquarium

Common names: King's cloak

Habitat : This fish inhabits the river basins of Benin, Cameroon and Nigeria

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Size: males up to 12 cm, females slightly smaller, up to 9.4 cm. In an aquarium usually smaller.

Water chemistry: Fresh water (fish tolerates a certain salinity). Temperature 24 to 29 ° C, pH 5.6-7.2, hardness 1-10 gH, 1-8 kH

Difficulty: Slightly demanding (3/10)

Aquarium: The aquarium should have at least 100 l per pair, not too strong a stream of water with lots of hiding places and plants. It stays at the bottom where it searches for food. Fine and non-sharp base, as they occasionally dig along the bottom, we also protect the plants from uprooting accordingly.

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Feeding: Omnivorous fish are more prone to a meat diet. Food should be as diverse as possible, insects, flakes, .. let's not forget the plant-based diet, including fruit. The more varied the food, the better the immune system.

Breeding: Spawning usually begins when the colors of the pair escalate, especially in the female. The female's belly turns dark purple and will begin a spawning ritual to attract the male, which is usually the most beautiful and largest, then set the water temperature to 26 ° C. During spawning, the female lays between 50 and 300 eggs in the selected nest (flower pot, coconut shell, cavity, ...). The female takes care of the eggs while the male controls the surroundings and repels the intruders. When feeding, the male replaces the female in her task. During this period, the mantles are incredibly territorial and aggressive towards other fish and chase away fish that are twice the size of them. The young hatch in 3-6 days, depending on the temperature, and after a few days they abort. At the risk of a parent, they transfer the pups in their mouth to another, safer location. The first food for puppies is ground dry food or even better freshly hatched artemia. Puppies are not separated from their parents until they re-mate. If the pH is quite low, the youth score will be in favor of the females, but if more alkaline, there will be more males. The formed couple stays together for life (monogamy).

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Description of fish

The mantle lives for about 5 years, extreme up to 8. Both sexes have a dark longitudinal line from the mouth to the caudal fin with a yellow and black spot on the head. There is a lot of orange-red, yellow and even blue on the dorsal and caudal fins. In the areas of the dorsal and caudal fins they have spots surrounded by gold. Their pectoral and anal fins are bluish to purple, and you notice a green sheen on the gill covers. The abdomen is reddish pink, which intensifies during the breeding season, especially in the female.

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Notes

The mantle can be in common aquariums with other fish such as other dwarf perch, tetra, ... They should not be together with slow species with long fins because they can get on them. If parents eat their own offspring or fail to protect them from predators, don’t despair. Soon the couple will spawn again and most couples find themselves after a few tries. Usually, an established couple spawns over and over again as long as they are both healthy. The mantle inhabits an area of ​​rivers in the Niger Delta in West Africa. One of the reasons why it is so hardy and easy to care for in captivity is the fact that it lives in a natural area in a variety of water conditions. These are species that control different environments with different water parameters (caused by different waters from different streams - habitats).

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The genus Pelvicachromis contains many other species in addition to the most famous P. pulcher. Let me list two more that I have had the opportunity to cultivate.

P. taeniatus - is one of the most colorful members of its genus and has the smallest size of adult males. Males actually compete with females in color. This species is available in a wide variety of different color forms and we hope to be able to choose from an even wider range in the future as scientists and fish exporters thoroughly study its native West African home.

P. sacrimontis - the rainbow mantle is almost indistinguishable from the young P. pulcher, but will eventually develop one of its characteristics: a glistening turquoise-blue spot on the cheeks and gill covers. Rainbow raincoats retain this color even when under stress. The adult female has uniformly dark dorsal fins without a gold border observed in female P. pulcher. During the breeding period, her belly is purple red. During spawning, two fairly dark longitudinal bands will run along its sides. These bands begin to disappear as he begins to care for his offspring. Videos of all three types are below.

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