Dicrossus foirni, a recently-described checkerboard cichlid from Brazil

[Ryan]

If you've seen any of my non-discus posts here, you know I'm always on the look-out for an uncommon South American cichlid. Checkerboard cichlids, most notably Dicrossus filamentosus and (less commonly) Dicrossus maculatus, have been staples in the dwarf cichlid trade for years. I've been keeping large South American cichlids exclusively for years, so I decided to branch out and set up a few small tanks for some dwarf cichlids. Initially I'd planned to get D. maculatus but I stumbled on F1 Dicrossus foirni by chance.

D. foirni were only recently described in 2010. The fish are found in the Rio Negro drainage in Brazil. They are somewhat stockier than D. filamentosus which tend to be long and thin. Males have a beautiful, tall maroon/red dorsal with a white stripe. Their anal fin is often bright blue/purple and they have long, pale blue pelvic fins. The top half of the caudal fin is red with a white stripe much like the dorsal, while the lower half of the caudal fin tends to be a blueish color. The checkerboard pattern is noticeably different -- the checkers are actually comprised of smaller black dots, unlike D. maculatus and D. filamentosus which have solid black squares.

For the official description of the species, check out the paper that was published in 2010: http://www.uni-muenster.de/imperia/md/content/landschaftsoekologie/mitarbeiter/hahn/r__mer__hahn___vergara_2010_-_descr_of_2_dicrossus_-_vert_zool_60__123-138.pdf

I originally purchased these fish in June 2012 as 3/4" juveniles. They are now between 2 - 3". Unfortunately, as with most dwarf cichlids, the sex ratio of the fry tends to be skewed by water parameters. Out of seven fish I've got six males and one unknown, although I'm thinking it's a runt male. I have contacted the seller and he's since lost his pair, and the other buyers who got fry all report that their fish are either males or too young to tell. If that's the case, it may be the end of the line for this rare little dwarf until someone imports a few.

Here are the fish shortly after I purchased them in June 2012:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/b6b728e9.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/74157df0.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/ad7a60d7.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/73788b86.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/9d2a9b03.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/9d641edd.jpg

[Ryan]

Two months later I took a video. Not much had changed with the exception of a dominant male emerging. His growth had started to exceed the rest and his red dorsal started forming. I thought it meant I had one male and six females. If only that were the case. :(


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw4ekiEbh6A

[Ryan]

Fast forward to this week and you can see that the fish have grown considerably and slimmed down a bit. They went through quite a chunky phase as sub-adults and I was afraid I'd overfed them. Then over the course of a month they became more elongated. As you can see in these pictures, there's one small colorless fish. I have my fingers crossed that it's a lone female. If so, she should be showing red pelvic fins signifying sexual maturity any day. (The other little fish you see with the square, horse-faced mouth is Enigmatochromis lucanusi, an African dwarf similar to kribensis -- I have an F1 pair of growouts in this tank. They are named after Oliver Lucanus.)

You'll notice I have one male with a predominantly blue dorsal instead of a red dorsal. I'm not sure why or how that happened but he's handsome. :D

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0311_zpsc3361d38.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0314_zps2e080799.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0320_zps3761c10a.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0329_zps24377a38.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0328_zps92ade5e8.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0339_zps6b0320f4.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0338_zpsd8fb3cc1.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0337_zpsd103c9cd.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0342_zps995d80f4.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0341_zpsab3ace60.jpg

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/IMG_0340_zpsc32d0dee.jpg

And since I can never get a good picture of them displaying/flaring at each other, here is a picture of their wild father from the seller:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/02107a51.jpg

[joanstone]

I really, really like those, they're a type of fish that I would be intrigued with as well. Best of luck with them, definitely keep us posted.

[Second Hand Pat]

Crossing fingers on the lone maybe female and if he should be a she, well I really like these little guys ;)

[John_Nicholson]

I have my fingers crossed for you....and for me. I would love some F1's from those guys.

-john

[Trier20]

These little guys are pretty sweet! Good luck!!!!

[Sandy Clay]

Cute little fish!

[pauline]

Nice fish. I love "little" species.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Very nice looking fish Paul. Good luck with them.

[plecocicho]

Ryan you have a nice little collection of some rare cichlids. Do you also have or you had inca cichlid (i wont even try to spell i)Tahuantinsuyoa macantzatza? I think you should do a thread with all your interesting cichlids and maybe a video of your fishroom.

[Ryan]

Ryan you have a nice little collection of some rare cichlids. Do you also have or you had inca cichlid (i wont even try to spell i)Tahuantinsuyoa macantzatza? I think you should do a thread with all your interesting cichlids and maybe a video of your fishroom.

I've never tried the Inca Stone Fish. I see them on lists from time to time but I usually end up passing them over. All I know about them is that they're similar to Bujurquina in that they are an acara-type which mouthbroods. Now that I'm working with smaller fish and have sold off most of my severums I may have room for them in the future. Jeff Rapps has had an undescribed Bujurquina on his list for months that no one seems to be buying, and I'd gladly scoop those up if money weren't tight! The mouthbrooding fish are always a lot of fun to watch.

[Ryan]

Well, my luck with the first batch of Dicrossus foirni ran out. My initial group of fish all ended up male. The original breeder I got them from had what he thought was two females, so he shipped them to me. One was bloated out of the bag and died a few minutes after going into the tank, and the other lived a week or so and then also bloated and died. My guess is that it was something bacterial.

Thankfully Mark at Discus Origins was able to secure a small number of wilds this year. I only had the funds for six so I'm sure I'll regret that later (I've read that even wild batches tend to be heavy on one sex or the other, but rarely equal ratios) but it's nice to have them back in the house again. They just arrived today but already they're eating and exploring.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=096bPZdtETQ

There are two very obvious males and four unknowns. Out of the unknowns, I do sense at least one more male because he's being very pushy and chasing everyone around already. I REALLY hope they don't all grow into males one by one like my F1 did. :laugh:

[Ardan]

Good luck with them Ryan! I hope you get some females. They sure are active:)

Ardan

[rickztahone]

I missed this thread the first time around Ryan, but hope for more luck this time around

[pitdogg2]

Very nice Ryan. They tend to remind me of Krib's a little

[Ryan]

Very nice Ryan. They tend to remind me of Krib's a little

West African cichlids do have that dwarf SA cichlid look, which is probably why I like the West African cichlids so much. ;) Kribs are a long-time favorite. I've also kept a few pairs of Enigmatochromis lucanusi -- you can't beat the colors on the female. Bright purple/maroon body with an iridescent teal stripe through the dorsal.

There's a lot of discussion (it's bickering really) about whether Dicrossus sex is influenced by pH or temperature, and whether it can change all the way up until sexual maturity or whether they're born one gender or another. Rumor is that Dicrossus are often heavy on one sex or the other, even in wild groups. It appears my last group was male-heavy. Hopefully this wild group is a bit more balanced.

As you can see from the video, the "females" tend to be much smaller than males with clear, stubby fins. The problem is that sneaker males will show this for months, then suddenly one day sprout pretty long fins and reveal themselves to be male. I don't think they're actually changing sex, I think it just takes time for the sexual dimorphism to show and some mature faster than others.

[Ryan]

Well, after an unexplained death on the first night, I talked to Mark and decided to get a few more. I now have 10 of them. It looks pretty male-heavy but there's really nothing Mark or I can do about that. Let's just hope a few of those tinier ones are girls.

The second batch showed up on Friday afternoon and this is a video from Monday night. It didn't take them long to settle in and make themselves comfortable. They REALLY love newly hatched brine. Here's a video of them eating -- notice the funny little head-bopping motion of them all trying to eat brine as fast as they can.


http://youtu.be/h73361GVy6s

[Second Hand Pat]

Nice Ryan, they are nailing that BBS. Should hope you have some females in this group. :)
Pat

[rickztahone]

that's something. I like the way they are attacking that BBS

[Ryan]

that's something. I like the way they are attacking that BBS

They are not shy! I hear a lot about Dicrossus being shy and retiring species that need a lot of cover to feel secure, but I have ten of these in a 55 all alone and they are right up at the top waiting on food when they see me walk in. The F1 group I had was the same way and I assumed they were more outgoing because they were tank-raised, but this wild group is just as curious and friendly. As long as I supply the brine, they're out and about ready for a meal.

They're also eating tiny pellets and shaved frozen bloodworms, but BBS seems to be their favorite.

[Silver]

Hey Ryan did u ever get any females on this fish?

[Ryan]

Unfortunately, no. I’ve spoken to several other hobbyists who bought groups and they ended up with all males as well. I’m not sure why.

[Silver]

The reason I as is because I have a group I purchased last year at a very small size and I definitely have a couple femas just because the size of the mail and appearance. Today I put some outside to see what they do or if survived.lol