Name
Amatitlania septemfasciata
Seven striped cichlid
Method of Reproduction: Egg layer, substrate spawner
Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Pair
Origin of Parents: Tank raised
Approximate number of eggs or fry*: 213
Date of Hatch or Birth* (MM/DD/YYYY): 12/18/21
Date of Free Swimming If Hatched (MM/DD/YYYY): 12/27/21
Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days*: 53
Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days: 14
Aquarium Conditions:
pH (0 to 14): 8
General Hardness (ppm): unknown but unaltered from Frederick tap
Average Temperature (F): 82F, transferred to 75F tank
Salinity (if brackish or marine): none
Average Nitrate (ppm): 10 ppm
Aquarium Size (L X W X H and Gallons): Born in 55 gallon (48 x 13 x 21"), moved to 10 gallon at 2 months of age (20 x 10 x 12")
Water Source: tap
Water Changes (how much and how often): 25% twice a month in 55 gallon, 50% twice a month in the 10
Filtration System(s): SunSun 303 canister on the 55, double sponge sponge filter hooked up to whisper 60 aerator in 10 gallon
Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): none
Décor (Please include all that apply):
Live Plants: none
Plastic Plants: none
Wood: none
Leaves: none
Caves or Similar Hiding Places: rocks collected from nearby dried up stream beds
Spawning mop: none
Substrate (Gravel/Pea size gravel/Sand/None/Other; Please Specify): black gravel in 55, sakrete play sand in 10
Lighting Type and Timing: unknown hood light on 55, random gooseneck LED from amazon on 10, 12 hours a day
Food Fed to Parents and How Often*: Tetra tropical color enhancing crisps, daily
Food Fed to Fry and How Often*: same as parents
Photographs
The father
The mother
Eggs the day they were laidM
Mother in breeding dress the day eggs were laid
Fry at a month old (apologies for graininess)
Fry today
Comments and Additional Information
CARES species, highly aggressive, more aggressive than regular convicts. Ironically very prolific, and very good parents. Treat them like normal convicts care wise, but tank mate wise I would advise keeping them alone. Very beautiful however, and easy to sex. Pair is 2 years old and descended from what Matthew Chambers was selling as myrnae here. I bought them as myrnae, however I came to find that they have completely iridescent fins as opposed to iridescent dots, their breeding dress shows actual barring, they lack the rows of gold scales on their abdomens, and the male is purple. Beautiful fish regardless, just a slight case of mistaken identity. Likely due to Rio estrella also containing actual myrnae, and the two species being very similar. Septemfasciata is not commonly known to naturally go that far south or east. There are records of them dipping into Panama along the Rio Sixaola, though this is controversial. While they do share a name with convicts, I would argue they, along with everything in the genus that isn't nigrofasciata or kanna, will likely one day belong to their own genus or at the very least become a complex within amatitlania, as they all share features that nigrofasciata and kanna lack. Namely their blue eyes, and the blunt, bullet-shaped heads the males get with maturity, as opposed to the flat/sloped, nuchal hump supporting ones nigrofasciata and kanna possess.
Setup:
20 long is the bare minimum for a small pair. These fish can get up to 7" in time, though I don't doubt they can get even bigger. I thought nanolutea maxed out at 4" until Kevin at TUIC told me about a 6" one. A three to four foot tank is best for an adult pair, and a 6 foot tank is advised if you want to try to put other fish in the tank. Any form of filtration, realistically, is fine. Even the fry are good at fighting filter intakes. Powerheads are appreciated, and rockwork/branches simulating roots are essential. They prefer to spawn under things when possible, preferably rocks, and they are very good at digging. Sand would be preferable to make this easier, though they don't seem to have problems with gravel. They can actually take a wide variety of temps, from the 60s to around 82F, though to keep aggression lower while still promoting breeding, I'd keep them around the mid 70s.
Process:
Not much to say about them, if you buy a bonded pair they will spawn as soon as they are comfortable. Such was the case with this pair. Within two days of them being in the tank they spawned. However, with other pairs I have had prior to this one, I have had to let the female establish a territory in the tank before introducing the male, as if it were the other way around, he would end up attacking her. They sexually mature at around an inch to an inch and a half. Dithers in the form of tetras or danios help, however even the most robust or agile dithers are no match for their aggression. As soon as you see spawning behavior, remove everything in the tank.
Fry take around 3 days to a week to hatch, and at most another week to become free swimming, and graze on biofilm and algae once they do. If you have a good enough eye, you can sex fry at two months of age, as the females will start to develop a little black dot in the center of their dorsal fins that will eventually become the blue and white ocelli exclusive to females. Their eyes start to turn blue at a little over a month old or 3/4", and they start to get color at around an inch. Do not underestimate their small size at this age. They will still attack and kill smaller fish like livebearers or tetras at this size. Their aggression develops very early.
Both sexes may get blue on their gills and abdomens, but males will eventually turn a pinkish purple and get gold faces, while females will get a large, orange, iridescent blotch on their abdomens. Due to their aggression, in fear of the male taking his anger out on the female, I would either not pull fry, or pull one parent before you do. Keep them separate until the female is ready to spawn again, as the opportunity to replace the spawn will distract the male from the loss of the last one. Readiness to spawn can be determined by the intensity of the orange blotch on the female. Nearly all female amphilophine cichlids will show their best colors when signaling to males that they are ready to breed. Convict types are no exception, and septemfasciata, myrnae, nigrofasciata, and kanna are the easiest to see this in.
To condition adults for breeding, feed lots of high protein foods, but also supplement with plant matter such as spirulina. I have a friend who feeds his nori and romaine lettuce, but I haven't tried this myself. Fry grow quickly when given warm, clean water, and an abundance of food. Breeding through a divider would also probably be safer if you don't trust the bond of your pair.
Adults and behavior:
As mentioned before, they like to dig. If you want them to make a burrow somewhere specific, give them something that looks like it would be prime real estate, like two rocks leaned against eachother or a piece of driftwood with an overhanging "shelf", with a space underneath that is apparent, but cannot fit them. They will take this as an invitation to make it so they do in fact fit. Careful how you place your rocks however, as their removal of substrate may cause rocks to fall or collapse, which may not be good for the fish underneath, or the bottom pane of your tank.
Also as mentioned before, they are very territorial. I have a very aggressive platinum convict who is notorious for such, and the first fight I've ever seen him lose was to a female septemfasciata. No, I did not make them fight. I've used buenos aires tetras as dithers to some success, though again, a substantial amount of space is required for any tankmates to work. A four foot tank was not enough for other inhabitants. For the sake of the (at the very least) mental wellbeing of everything else in the tank, I would keep the tank species only. Territorial and communicative displays are nothing special. I have not seen anything exclusive to them, though they are confident enough to take on other pairs of cichlids alone from what I have seen.
Both sexes will grow streamers on their dorsal and anal fins, though males will grow very long ones if kept in calm water without any nippy tank mates. As with all the other blue eyed amatitlania (with the exception of sajica), they don't usually grow nuchal humps, but their already round foreheads will get rounder and fatter. I have however, seen one with a proper nuchal hump coincidentally owned by Matt, and additionally coincidentally possibly the father of this pair.
Only non-injury related ailment I've seen in them is some sort of bloating, I am not familiar with the cause but I would assume it is some sort of bacterial infection. I've only seen it in two individuals however.