Shell Castle Cichlid

Male with Females and Shells

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Actinopterygii
Order : Perciformes
Family : Cichlidae
Genus : Lamprologus
Species : L. callipterus

Length : Males 6in (15cm), Females 2.5in (6cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Yesterday afternoon I watched several episodes of the Science Channels "Mutant Planet." One of these, about the lakes in Africa's Rift Valley, featured today's animal, a curious fish sometimes known as the Shell Castle Cichlid.

Lamprologus callipterus is endemic to Lake Tanganyika. These fish exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism; the males can weigh 20 times as much as the females! They are predators that feed off of crustaceans and smaller fish.

I chose this particular Cichlid to feature today because of their interesting breeding behavior. The males are highly territorial and protective of their many, many mates. They gather up old snail shells, sometimes hundreds of them, and bring them into their territory. They then attract nearby females, who then enter these shells in order to lay their eggs. The males then guard over both the females and the eggs until the fry are large enough to leave. At that point neither parent takes any further action in the care of the offspring. Interestingly, the males do not eat at all while they are guarding their "castle." Eventually they become weak and are often chased off by larger, healthier males.

Shell Castle Cichlid

Male with Females and Shells

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Actinopterygii

Order : Perciformes

Family : Cichlidae

Genus : Lamprologus

Species : L. callipterus



Length : Males 6in (15cm), Females 2.5in (6cm)



IUCN Status : Least Concern



Yesterday afternoon I watched several episodes of the Science Channels "Mutant Planet." One of these, about the lakes in Africa's Rift Valley, featured today's animal, a curious fish sometimes known as the Shell Castle Cichlid.



Lamprologus callipterus is endemic to Lake Tanganyika. These fish exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism; the males can weigh 20 times as much as the females! They are predators that feed off of crustaceans and smaller fish.



I chose this particular Cichlid to feature today because of their interesting breeding behavior. The males are highly territorial and protective of their many, many mates. They gather up old snail shells, sometimes hundreds of them, and bring them into their territory. They then attract nearby females, who then enter these shells in order to lay their eggs. The males then guard over both the females and the eggs until the fry are large enough to leave. At that point neither parent takes any further action in the care of the offspring. Interestingly, the males do not eat at all while they are guarding their "castle." Eventually they become weak and are often chased off by larger, healthier males.

Angelfish

For some reason whenever I think of fish my brain automatically reverts to strange or colorful deep sea creatures. So when I was brainstorming for an animal today, I made a very conscious effort to look at something of the freshwater variety, and thus today we're going to learn all about Angelfish!

(Image Source)

Angelfish is the common term for species within the Cichlid genus Pterophyllum, but it is also the term given for the specific species Pterophyllum scalare. Their natural habitat is the Amazon River Basin, in the Amazon itself and in other rivers of the surrounding area. They live in water that is highly vegetated, and their color actually depends on the overall clarity of the water. Angelfish are omnivorous.

Angelfish have a very distinct, compressed body shape. They can reach lengths of about five inches, and measure nine to ten inches tall. A mutation known as "veil tail" can add an additional couple of inches. In the wild they are typically silver with black bars, but multiple colors have been bred in captivity. Their shape and coloration work to camouflage them in the wild.

Angelfish have been kept as pets since the 1920s and crossbreeding for specific colors has been a hobby for decades. If you especially interesting in keeping these little guys as pets, check out some of the article links for information about feeding, water quality, breeding, and behavior with other species (they can apparently be none-to-friendly with other types of fish)