NEWS105
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...and femaleof theoldaquarium strainof the JackDempsey,
Rociooctofasciata.
Male
Rociooctofasciata
“Chiapas”.
Nowavailable fromaknown locality
Thanks to travelingaquarists,wenowknow
thatpopulationsofmanyCentralAmerican
cichlids often differ in color from river to
river. As alreadymentioned, it is no longer
possible toascertain theprovenanceof the
aquarium strainsof the JackDempsey,and
are always somewhat larger than females,
arealready sexuallymatureataround6cm
in length or an age of at least sixmonths
(sexual maturity in fishes depends on age,
notsize).Clutchsizecaneasilyexceed1,000
eggs in large females.Whenselectingapair
it has provedbeneficial tomate as large a
maleaspossible–malescanbe recognized
by the pointed, more prolonged dorsal,
anal, and ventral fins - with a significantly
smaller female.Thegreaterthedifference in
size, the less likely the fishes are toquarrel,
as thepower ratio isobvious right from the
start. In addition to a large rock as a
spawning site, the breeding aquarium
shouldhaveasandysubstrateas the larvae
areplaced inpitsafterhatching.The frycan
take
Artemia
nauplii on becoming free-
swimming and are very easy to rear.Water
parameters play a completely subordinate
Lexicon
JackDempsey
Cichlasomameans“Cichlabody";
Cichla is another cichlidgenus.
octofasciatusmeans“witheight
bands ".
biocellatummeans“with twoeye-
spots"
coryphaenoidesmeans "similar to
Coryphaena";Coryphaena (dolphin-
fishes) havea similar head shape.
Nandopsismeans "similar to
Nandus".Nandus is another
perciformgenus.
Herosmeans "hero"
Australoherosmeans“southern
Heros”.
facetusmeans“elegant”.
Rocio is from theChristiannameof
thewifeof thedescriber of the
genus; thenamemeans "morning
dew" and refers to the iridescent
spotson the flanksof the fish.
role:thehardnesscanbebetween5and30
°dGH, the pH between 6 and 8, the water
temperature for maintenance should be
between 22 and 26 °C, raisedby 2-3 °C for
breeding.Goodwater hygiene and regular
partialwaterchangesare important inview
of the highmetabolic rate of these fishes,
whichwill eat any type of aquarium food,
be it live, frozen, or dry. Given the huge
numbersof fry it is agood idea toobtaina
predatory fish to deal with the excess
young. As because the Jack Dempsey has
survived for so long in our aquaria, only
careful selection will produce worthwhile
results.
Let us hope the Jack Dempsey is still
around in another 100 years time to give
pleasure to future generations of
aquarists!
it may even be that different populations
have unknowingly been crossed. So it is
very welcome news that at least one
population of the Jack Dempsey from a
known location is now being traded,
namely that fromChiapas inMexico.Under
no circumstances should anyone lucky
enough to obtain some of these fishes
cross themwith other strains; they should
be bred unadulterated and the locality
namepassedonwith theoffspring.
Facts, facts, andmore facts
And finally,a fewmorehard factsabout the
Jack Dempsey. The species grows to a
maximumof 20 cm long,butmales,which
