Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum

This fish is originally found in Guatemala; El Salvador; northwest Honduras; Nicaragua; Costa Rica; Panama. Their synonyms are: Heros nigrofasciatus, Astronotus nigrofasciatum

I was in a local pet store one day and decided to check out some of the cichlid tanks. I really was not interested in any more cichlids. (Everyone who knows me knows I am not really fond of this type of fish. But, I do have to admit that they are beginning to grow on me.)

Since these two appeared to be already paired I told myself, "Why not?". So, I went ahead and bought the pair.

I took them home and set them up in a 10-gallon tank with a square sponge filter, home made, and a layer of fine gravel. I placed a four inch square piece of white tile into the tank at an angle leaning against the sponge for the pair to give them more privacy.

I checked the slate every couple days in hopes of finding a clutch of eggs. No such luck.

I decided to rearrange my set-up in the two car garage. What a job ahead of me!

I began by draining tanks, of course. As I began draining this particular tank I started to siphon the gravel and then quit. I decided to take their tile out first so it would not fall when the tank was moved.

Boy, did I get a shock! As I reached into the tank the female charged from the front of the tank with her gills flaring. Then the male came as I had my fingers on the slate preparing to move it and - HE BIT ME!! He didn't break the skin and it didn't hurt but I was definitely taken by surprise. These little guys sure do have teeth for their three inch bodies!

I thought maybe they were getting ready to spawn. I stuck the siphoning hose back into the tank to finish my task. I got the hose half way down in the water when I saw something move in the gravel. I took the hose out again and took a closer look at the gravel. I'll be darned. Fry! They were so tiny. Little round bellies with a tiny body going around in circles. 'Mom' and 'Dad' would pick the fry up in their mouths and spit them out in the front right corner of the tank. Now I understood their aggression.

I did finish the job of draining out most of the water since I had already began. I kept worrying that the parents would eat their fry with the disturbances they would soon be going through. After I moved their tank I checked to see how the fry were doing. They were doing just fine. The parents were still caring for their young ones. (I figured the fry are about two days old. They did not look like they were newly hatched.)

After my rearranging chore, I set the Pink Convicts tank back up on the top shelf of the rack. I began refilling their tank. After filling the tanks and adding their filter and slate (carefully this time) I watched the parents with their fry. They were still taking care of them.

For first time spawners this pairs' parental instinct seemed to be very strong.

Three days later the fry were about a quarter inch long. Their yolk sac was almost completely absorbed. After another three days the fry were free swimming. I was wondering why they were so fat until I noticed they were grazing off the sponge filter. Three days passed and I noticed the parents moving gravel around again. Could it be that the parents are ready to spawn again!? Upon closer observation I could see the spawning tubes down on both parents! A very prolific species indeed and I thought to myself, "Here we go again!".

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