Notes on Whitespot (ich)

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 28 Oct 2006, 15:20

Bought a lovely Crenicichla compressiceps a few weeks ago for my Hypancistrus "breeding" tank.

I don't have a quarantine set up

so he just went straight in.

As does happen sometimes, he managed to get a dose of whitespot.

I gradually over 3 days increased the temp from 28/29C to 32/33C.

Days later and the ich was gone.

Goes to show you don't always need those horrible chemicals.

The fish were totally un-phased by the high temperatures, but obviously only attempt that on fish you know can handle it.

Here's a pic.......

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 28 Oct 2006, 15:48

Nicely done, Racoll. And you are correct-only certain species will tolerate the higher temps. I found the hard way, that with the chemicals, you have to get the parasites in the early stage(I forget the name:trophant?)or else you keep going in a vicious cycle for weeks on end. The chemicals seem just about useless at that point. Nice fish, by the way.

Amanda

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 28 Oct 2006, 16:16

Thanks Amanda.

He does look better than that usually, but he's so difficult to photograph.

The little b*****d never stops moving.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 28 Oct 2006, 17:24

It's a really nice fish indeed, but I have a question:
-Why add a genuine piscivore and fry-eater to a tank designed for breeding fish?

because tiny plecs don't have the armour the parents have (it developes over weeks) and this particular fish is a very good hunter, shaped to tackle fish hiding in the narrowest wedges in the rootwork or rockwork.....

baffles me.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 28 Oct 2006, 18:15

Yes I thought someone would mention that.

I wrote "breeding" tank in the post, as there ain't much breeding going on.

If they get round to doing it, then i'll whip him out.

He's only small - about 55mm TL. I think he might struggle with a baby plec, but I probably won't risk it.

I just couldn't resist him you see. I'm sure you've been there a few times.....

Great cichlid with bags of character - well recommended for any Xingu, Tapajos or Tocatins style river tank with fancy plecs.

grokefish · Post by **grokefish** » 02 Nov 2006, 00:05

How big do they grow? Are they from the rio xingu, and where did you get him from? I like him.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 02 Nov 2006, 05:48

One thing that may surprise those who have not kept Crenicichla compressiceps is that they are not much of a min-predator but rather a a micro-predator. They will hunt down and eat Apistogramma fry but live just fine with Apistogramma borelli adults and they have little interest in young common bn Ancistrus. They blthely ignore "feeder" ghost shrimp but actually coexist in harmony with them. They may be kept safely with most adult sized cardinal tetras. You get the idea.
They are ruthless with each other. A pecking order set up among six in a 300 liter tank will often result in attrition down to just a couple of large strong C.compressiceps. I have been trying to get a pair but I have 4 survivors out of two groups of 6 I have bought this summer. They live in an uneasy truce with each other and share the tank with 10 adult Heckel discus, 10 Nannostomus trifasciatus Pencil fish and 12 Copella Tetra species and 5 adolescent wild Peruvian angels. The catfish in this tank are 6 Hypancistrus inspector, 4 Peckoltia vittata, 1 gold nugget pleco, a pair of breeding common Ancistrus and a breeding group of 4 Apistogramma borelli. Their behavior is very different from an archetypical larger pike cichlid of the saxatilis. lugubris, or lenticulata type pike cichlids which are truly skilled dedicated predators.
I would not deliberately try to breed any fish with dwarf green pikes on purpose but they are far from being the most dangerous fish on the block. The common Ancistrus do breed occassionally and the fry have about the same poor survival rate one would expect if they were being breed in most community tanks. A few squeak by and live long enough to grow well beyond the culinary designs of the dwarf green pike cichlids.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 02 Nov 2006, 08:59

Thanks for the comments apistomaster. Any tips on sexing them?

How big do they grow?

Romer's cichlid atlas gives a length of 9cm for males and 7cm for females. Pretty small.

Are they from the rio xingu

No, they are from the Tocatins, a very similar rocky clearwater river with many rapids and exotic plecs such as L273.

where did you get him from?

I got him from Maidenhead Aquatics in Oxford.

I great little fish, but as apistomaster has observed, very very aggressive to conspecifics (especially other C. compressiceps).

I would say a four foot tank full of rocks is the minimum for a pair.

However, if kept on their own they are absolutely fine with other fish in a small tank.

I've also got a female (?) in my big tank and I hope to unite them one day.