PlanetCatfish.com

Hi!

I got home with these 2 beautiful grey fish yesterday...
They werent labeled and i got them for 6 euro a piece...
Looks like some kind of Cyprichromis sp. to me...but checking pics on the web hasnt really helped much. Especially because i havent found pics of all dark females...
Sicklid male
Sicklid male
Sicklid female
Sicklid pair
P.S.: Had to put them in a tank with some guppys and wood in there for the time being...ill change that asap.

Paracyprichromis nigripinnis aka the "Blue Neon".

you got a pair, allright; but if there's any chance, best get a few more. this is a shoaling fish, like cyprichromis.
you can easily keep a dozen or more; male:female ratio should be 1:2 or close to it. Males aren't agressive to each other, the presence of rivals boosts colors quite a bit and makes for interesting displays as well.

It's native to Lake Tanganyika, wich means it likes hard, alcalic water (GH>10, pH>7,5). It's from the deeper rocky habitat, any rockwall or cliff deeper than say 15 meters or so. It's quite nocturnal for a cichlid, the Blue Neon dwells near overhangs and underwatercave-entrances.

This is a plancton-eater wich feeds on cyclops, daphnia, small insect larvae and he like. it's very peaceful and best combined with other peaceful cichlids. In a tank crowded with Tropheus, Neolamprologus brichardi etc they won't last long; but with more mellow tankmates they're actually easy to keep!

Males have a territory near the rocks and can swim in the most weird manner. Like a Synodontis, standing on the tail, head, side, clinging to the rock with either belly or back is perfectly normal. the females form groups in the open water near the rocks, the males use displays with both finnery and those blue stripes to lure ripe females.
Unique to c.ichlids is their manner of spawning, like Cyprichromis the egg is dropped in the watercolumn, but closer to the rock than true Cyps. the egg is fertilized by the male while it drops and then taken in the mouth by the female. a brood ranges from a few to 10 or so fry, and breeding time can last a month (!). Baby Blue Neons are almost 1,5cm large and fully formed. they already can feed on artemia-nauplii and cyclops.

Blue Neons have a lakewide distribution, but several varieties exist, differing on the blue pattern, some have more elongated fins etc.

THX a lot sid

These were the last/only ones they had...i hope i can make the group larger by breeding them. Amazing how they stay close to decorations and walls.

It's not an uncommon fish; especially in Germany it should be fairly easy to get some more.

there are a few pretty big and very good importers of Tanganyika-fish in Germany, and the place is literally CRAWLING with state-of-the-art breeders as well!

Check out a few German cichlidforums, and you should be able to get a group of halfgrown Blue Neons for bargain prices without too much trouble.

chences are that being kept as a pair won't make them happy, and hence they will not breed.....

otherwise you can always check out
http://www.mal-ta-vi.de
http://www.airfish.de
http://www.cichliden-forum.de

make a few contacts and start checking out
the German Tanganyika-scene is one of the largest in the world, and the quality and level of experience is very high!

Sid, what would you recommend as a minimum tank size for a group of Paracyprichromis or Cyprichromis?

Cyps need a larger tank than paracyps!

because they are more active, and also because the groups should be larger.

Paracyps can be kept in a group of 7-8 (although more is better), with Cyps I'd say 10 is an absolute minimum.

With P nigripinnis the height and width of the tank is more important than the length; these fish 'hug' the rocks and are quite vertically orientated.

Cyps are more inclined to 'cruise', hence a longer tank.

Safely said:
Paracyprichromis: L x W x H: 1m x 40cm x 50 cm
Cyprichromis: 1,20m x 40cm x 40 cm

be aware that this size for both is a bare minimum, and hence don't add many other fish or too much rockwork!

I don't know what your experience with cyprichromis is, but mine is that I would never put them in a tank which is 40 cm high. I'd say the minimum is 120*40*50

Hi!

The standard 120 cm tank is 50 high here anyway.

What would a normal price be for these fish?

Just as an update i didnt get any more but they just spawned last week and the female is holding eggs...seems theyve acclimated quite well...
Also i find them very location bound as they stick to the same area of the tank the whole time...

I have them with swordtails and guppys right now.

That's a good mix too; both Rainbowfish and Livebearers are peaceful, active and thrive on hard water.

I usually recommend those for dithers in Tang-tanks wich are too short for Cyps or Paracyps; like shellietanks shorter than 1 meter.

I currently mixed Xenotilapia ornatipinnis with a wildform of X variatus wich goes very well.
without the dithers the Xeno's would crash the sides too often.