Date: 2010-02-04

S. ELOCHKIN Moscow Zoo.

(Cichlasoma temporale, the old name is C. crassum) lives in the Amazon and its tributaries. These rivers have a slow flow, in slightly recessed places at the bottom there is a thick layer of leaves. Trunks, branches and branches that have fallen into the water create natural blockages that serve as shelters for fish. The shores are covered with continuous thickets, and light penetrates through their green crown only in some places. Intricately intertwining roots of coastal trees hang down into the water.

Inhabitant of these waters wine cichlazoma C. temporale reaches a length of 20 centimeters and has a very attractive color. In a one-year-old male, a longitudinal golden stripe runs through the entire high black-green body with a sheen. On dark background brightly burning scarlet eyes with black round pupils stand out. unpaired fins wine-red color, with long thread-like ends. The upper part of the head (up to the dorsal fin) is red, the lower part of the body (up to the anal fin) and the throat are also colored. There is a large dark spot in the center of the body and at the base of the tail.
Female wine cichlazoma smaller, has a more sloping forehead. It does not differ in color from the male.
Manufacturers from the age of three are colored somewhat differently. Body
green with a bronze sheen, head, lower body and fins dark crimson.
To keep wine cichlases, you need an aquarium with a volume of 150 liters or more, a length of more than 1 meter is desirable. A flock of 10-15 fry is planted in it, which further guarantees the selection of a harmonious pair.
When purchasing fish, it is necessary to choose both the largest and the smallest (that is, heterosexual individuals of the same generation), healthy and not tight. In the aquarium where you put them, there should be shelters (snags, stone caves, flower pots, etc.) so that the fish can hide there. When frightened, the wine cichlazoma easily falls into a state of shock, becoming red-brown, with yellow spots scattered over the body. Squeezing the fins, the onia lies on its side, resembling leaves that have fallen into the water. This occurs regardless of the size and age of the fish.

As practice has shown, to relieve stress, it is necessary to plant fast-swimming fish, such as melanothenia, in an aquarium. Dense thickets of plants also contribute to the normalization of the condition of the fish.
Wine cichlids are quite peaceful and easily get along with other cichlids similar in temperament and size, large barbs, catfish. The conditions for keeping them are the same as for all South American cichlids: water hardness up to 20 °; pH 6.5-7.5, temperature 25-30°C, constant aeration and water filtration are required. A daily replacement of 1/5 of the volume of water for fresh settled water of a similar temperature has a beneficial effect on fish.

Feeding cichlase presents no difficulty. They are happy: they eat any live food: daphnia, coretra, bloodworm, tubifex. Do not refuse black bread. good food for wine cichlases serve as insects (cockroaches, flies, etc.), which they greedily grab from the surface of the water. With a complete and varied diet and a calm (stress-free) existence in optimal conditions, they quickly get used to a new place and grow well.
Cichlomas ripen at the age of 14-18 months with a length of 10-15 centimeters. Their coloring becomes more intense. Males become more powerful and lobaste.
Separated from the flock couple wine cichlases he takes a fancy to some stone or a flower pot laid on its side and, constantly digging the ground, zealously guards this place from other fish. By the time of spawning, the anal tubercle appears in the fish - in the male it is pointed, in the female it looks like a truncated cone.
After 2-3 days at a temperature of 29-30°C, spawning occurs. The incentive for it, in addition to raising the temperature, is the gradual addition of distilled water - up to 40 percent of the total volume.
Spawning proceeds as follows. The female wine cichlazoma slowly moves along the substrate, laying 8-10 eggs, and the male immediately fertilizes them. Depending on the age of the producers, the fecundity ranges from 200 to 600 eggs.

During spawning, which lasts about an hour and a half, do not disturb the fish. If necessary, the sight glass can be hung with paper or cloth.
Wine cichlomas- caring parents actively caring for caviar and growing fry. After the end of spawning, the female is mainly located above the clutch, and the male guards the adjacent territory. The fish larvae that hatched after three days are transferred in the mouth to the inner lower part pot or into holes previously dug by the male near the shelters.
The couple not only guards the fry, but also walks them around the aquarium. At night, producers drive their offspring into shelters or pits and hover over them. The same thing happens if the fish are alarmed by something.
When the baby reaches a centimeter length, they should be transplanted. They are also planted when the parents are ready for spawning again.
The coloration of fry varies, as in adult fish, from dark with yellow spots to pinkish-beige with a longitudinal black stripe.
During artificial incubation, the substrate with masonry is transferred to a 15-20 liter jig, where there is a sponge filter, and intensive aeration is turned on. Two thirds of the volume should be filled with aquarium water and one third with distilled water. Temperature - 30°C. A solution of methylene blue is added to the water.
The juveniles that have begun to swim are fed with “live dust”, and in its absence, with Cyclops or Artemia nauplii. If there is enough food, the juveniles grow quite quickly.

Tsikhlazoma emerald or, as it is also called, cichlazoma wine or Cichlazoma Krass (Cichlasoma temporale) - aquarium fish familiescichlids or cichlids (Cichlidae).

Habitat

In nature cichlazoma emerald lives in shallow lakes and rivers with a calm current and many shelters. This fish is native to the Amazon River.

Appearance and gender differences

Body wine cichlazoma slightly elongated and flattened laterally. IN vivo habitat, an adult individual reaches a length of up to 30 cm, in conditions - up to 20 cm. adult fish the back is high. Her head is large big eyes and thick lips. Typically, color cichlazoma emerald brown-green with a golden or reddish sheen that fades to dark red on the chest, underparts and along the caudal fin. But the color may vary depending on the well-being of the fish and the place of its origin. A dark stripe runs from the upper part of the base of the caudal fin, on which there is a small spot, to the eyes, but it may disappear. Sometimes on the head and sides appear mild transverse stripes. Dark transverse stripes are also located on the caudal fin. The rest of the fins are wine red. You can distinguish a male from a female in this way: the male is larger, its fatty frontal cone is larger, and the anal and dorsal fins are elongated.


Conditions of detention

Tsikhlazoma emerald - a peaceful fish, gets along well with similar in size and temperament cichlids , catfish , melanothenia and others types of aquarium fish that swim fast. The fish falls into an aggressive state only during spawning and further care for offspring. In a state of shock, into which the fish falls when frightened, its color becomes red-brown and at the same time the fish becomes covered with yellow spots. All this happens regardless of the age and size of the fish. For content of tartaric cichlazoma suitable tropical aquarium, whose volume is from 200 liters and which is equipped with various shelters (for example, snags or mounds of stones) and planted aquarium plants that form thickets. Water in aquarium should have the following parameters: pH 6.5-7.5, hardness from 5 to 20°, water temperature 25-30°C. A quarter of the water needs to be changed once a week. aquarium, as well as constant aeration and filtration. As food for cichlazoma emerald any live food is suitable, for example, bloodworms, daphnia, various insects (flies, cockroaches, etc.), vegetable or substitutes.


Breeding

Puberty at cichlazoma emerald occurs at the age of 14-18 months. Usually, by this period, the fish reaches a length of 10-15 cm. The fish can also spawn in general. To create conditions during this period, it is necessary to increase the water temperature and gradually add distilled water (up to 40% of the total volume). A pair of fish, formed for spawning, chooses a shelter and begins to dig near it. This place is guarded by fish. The female, moving slowly along the substrate, lays 8-10 eggs, which are fertilized by the male. Depending on conditions content and the age of the breeding fish during spawning, which lasts about an hour and a half, fertilized eggs can be from 200 to 600. At this time, you can’t disturb the fish, so it’s better to hang glasses aquarium paper or cloth. At the end of spawning, the male guards the territory, and the female is above the clutch. Tsikhlazomy emeralds- very caring parents, actively caring for both caviar and growing fry. The incubation period is three days. After that, the parents transfer the hatched fry in their mouths to holes specially dug by the male near the shelter or to the lower part of the pot. In the future, one of the parents or in a pair guard and walk the fry along aquarium. In case of possible danger or at night, the parent fish drive the fry into a shelter, over which they hover. The coloration of fry, as well as in adults, varies from pink-beige with dark longitudinal stripes to dark with yellow spots. Starter food: Cyclops nauplii, brine shrimp and live dust. When the fry reach a length of a centimeter or if the parents are ready to re-spawn, the fry are deposited in a separate container.

Hawk hawk. Wine cichlazoma. Tsikhlazoma emerald

The homeland of the fish is the river basin. Amazon.

Description

representative of cichlids. It has a somewhat elongated and laterally flattened body. The forehead is steep, mature fish have a high back. The head and eyes are large, the mouth with thick lips. The color of the body varies depending on the state of health and the origin of the fish. Usually hawk hawk is brownish-green with a golden or reddish sheen, which becomes dark red in the lower part of the body, in the chest area, on the head and at the base of the caudal fin. At the top of the base of the tail has a small dark spot. A dark longitudinal stripe extends to this spot, which originates from the eye. This band may disappear. There is a large black spot in the middle of the body. Sometimes on the head and sides you can see fuzzy transverse stripes. The color of the fins of the fish is wine red. The dorsal fin has a dark border, the caudal fin has dark transverse stripes. The male is larger than the female, the wen on his forehead is much larger than that of the female, the anal and dorsal fins are longer. The length of the fish is up to 20 cm.

Tsikhlazoma emerald is a peaceful fish. It can behave aggressively during spawning and caring for offspring. When stressed and frightened, it quickly falls into a state of shock and becomes red-brown with yellow spots scattered over the body. The fins of the fish are compressed, and the fish itself lies on its side, which resembles a leaf that has fallen into the water. Wine cichlazoma gets along well with cichlids of the same size and character, catfish, as well as fast-swimming fish species (for example, melanothenia), which help relieve stress in fish. For keeping wine cichlazoma, a common aquarium with a volume of 200 liters or more with a variety of shelters (stone mounds, snags), thickets of hard-leaved plants in pots is suitable. Aeration and constant filtration are required, as well as a change of up to ¼ of the volume of water once a week. You need to feed the emerald cichlazoma with live food (bloodworm, daphnia, insect larvae and insects themselves), also plant food and substitutes.

Breeding

Spawning hawk hawk can occur in a common aquarium. To stimulate spawning, you need to replace 40% of the water volume with distilled water and increase the water temperature. The fish begin to dig the ground near the pot or stone and guard the chosen place. The female makes slow movements along the substrate and lays 8-10 eggs each, while the male fertilizes them. The productivity of the female is 200-600 eggs. The duration of spawning is approximately 1.5 hours, and at this time, future parents should not be disturbed. It is best to hang the aquarium with paper or cloth. Wine cichlomas are very caring parents, they carefully care for caviar and fry. At the end of spawning, the female remains near the eggs, and the male is engaged in the protection of the territory. Incubation of eggs 72 hours. After hatching, the parents transfer the fry to pre-dug holes, or deep into the pot. Then they constantly groom the fry, walk them or drive them into shelters. You need to feed the fry with live dust, Artemia and Cyclops nauplii. The coloration of fry is different, as in adults. Upon reaching a length of 1 cm, the fry should be transplanted from their parents.

Puberty in wine cichlazoma occurs at 14-18 months.

Cichlasoma temporale

Wine cichlids are peaceful cichlids that live in nature in rivers and lakes. South America. In nature, these fish grow up to 30 cm long, in an aquarium - up to 20 cm.

To keep a flock (and you need to buy them in a flock, so that later the cichlomas can form pairs for spawning) these fish will fit an aquarium with a volume of 150 liters or more. It should have a lot of all kinds of shelters, snags, and hard-leaved plants planted in pots are also desirable.
The optimum water temperature for wine cichlases is 25-30℃, hardness up to 5-20°, pH 6.5-7.5. Mandatory filtration and aeration of water, as well as its replacement by 30% of the volume weekly.

male and female wine cichlazoma

Sex differences in cichlases: the male is larger than the female, his forehead is steep, with a fatty outgrowth, dorsal and anal fins are elongated. There are no differences in the coloration of males and females.

Another name for these fish is Krass cichlazoma, emerald cichlazoma. To the neighbors wine cichlomas fit cichlids with a similar temperament. They get along well with various catfish.

When stressed or simply frightened, the color of the cichlases changes: the general background of the body becomes darker and several yellowish spots appear. In general, they can fall into a state of shock, which is expressed in this species as follows: the fish lie on the bottom, on their side, squeezing their fins. To reduce stress, you can add some peaceful, fast-swimming fish to them in the aquarium or plant plants densely.

Feeding wine cichlazoma

You can feed wine cichlases with any live food, frozen, granular food for cichlids, flakes. Be sure to include herbal supplements or food based on spirulina in the diet.
Crass cichlazomas become sexually mature by one and a half years. At good conditions These cichlomas live in an aquarium for up to 10 years.

Wine cichlazoma (moth hawk) - video