Surprisingly, this, too, is “Cichlasoma” cf. ornatum—this time in courtship coloration.
American cichlids. Four other animals up to 4 inches long (10 cm) shared a 66-gallon (250-L) aquarium with adolescent earth-eaters. Later, I received two “C.” cf. ornatum at a size of about 8 inches (20 cm), which adjusted to the community in a 238-gallon (900-L) aquarium. However, when I combined these two animals and the single “C.” cf. gephyrum to see if they were simply different sexes of the same species, the “C.” cf. gephyrum initially courted the “C.” cf. ornatum, then threatened and pursued them. After that, the “C.” cf. ornatum started hiding. In the early days of their time together, the color of the “C.” cf. gephyrum brightened and the base color turned to yellow, similar to “C.” atromaculatum. Today, I keep the three “C.” cf. ornatum and the single “C.” cf. gephyrum together in the 238-gallon aquarium, and the three “C.” cf.
ornatum pretty much ignore the “C.” cf. gephyrum. Thus, I believe they are, in fact, two different species. It should be noted that overall, my “C.” cf. gephyrum is much more aggressive than my “C.” cf. ornatum. In a 100-gallon (400-L) aquarium, this fish apparently pressured his relatives so that they felt increasingly uncomfortable, and only resumed their normal behavior after he was removed. Today, I keep this group along with Crenicichla cametana, Caquetaia myersi, and a group of Geophagus sp. “Roraima” in a 238-gallon (900-L) aquarium with lots of roots and rocks, and this combination has worked well for several months. I would be happy if it was also possible to produce offspring in this setup. Strangely enough, neither I nor two other friends who received “C.” cf. ornatum have been able to breed these animals.
AMAZONAS
Females of both species sport dark spots in the middle of the dorsal, but depending on the fish’s mood, they aren’t always obvious.
76