Heroina isonycterina, a rare little "mini-severum" type cichlid from Colombia

[John_Nicholson]

Great job Ryan.

-john

[Ryan]

If only I had the same luck with flat fish.

[Ryan]

I'm not a photographer. Any non-photographer who's tried to photograph their fish will probably agree that the hardest (and most frustrating) thing is not being able to capture the true color of our fish. Most of my Heroina pictures have been taken with a flash because my tank lights are not great and I'm using an old camera that's bad at low-light shots.

A month or two ago, I moved two spare female Heroina into my 210 gallon community so that they'd fatten up and grow a bit more. I'm a firm believer that constantly spawning and tending fry slows or even stops a cichlid's growth. I realized watching the tank last night that they have beefed up and grown a lot, and they are now the same size as the males. I decided to move one of the larger males into the tank to see what would happen and I ended up getting quite a show. The females turned on their blue color and started flirting. I managed to snap a few short videos (which I spliced together) and a couple blurry pictures, but these are without flash and actually show what the fish look like under aquarium lighting. It's quite a bright, stunning shade of blue.

FYI, the females are the ones who flash the blue. Males tend to be more of a red/copper/pink color, and carry the body freckles, as you'll see in the video.









(Excuse the pleco poop -- last night was water change night.)

[Second Hand Pat]

Beautiful Ryan and so ready.

[BigWave]

Nice videos and pictures, thanks for sharing.

Just out of curiosity, what are the big guys in the background of the last video?

[Ryan]

Mouthbrooding severums, Heros sp. 'Atabapo.' They currently have a mouthful of fry so they've been at war with everyone else in the tank.

[flavs]

Just got a trio from a LFS yesterday. Hopefully they'll breed for me, got a pair in them.

[Ryan]

I've had these wild-caught fish for almost two years (April 2012). They seem to be getting more aggressive as they get older, if that's possible. Half the seven adults have chewed off fins. They're in a 6' 210 gallon tank with large severums and they still manage to chew up each other (and the severums). This week I had the first spawn of the season so far.

Despite their attitudes, these are still one of my favorite cichlids I've ever kept.

[musicmarn1]

wow Ryan, FASCINATING thread !!! you have a rare touch - good beans !

[Second Hand Pat]

Wish these were compatible with discus nice Ryan.

[Discus-n00b]

Ryan you are making me fall in love with these lol. You probably mentioned it already but do they do ok as a pair? Would you keep a pair alone? I read a while back you kept pairs in 40 breeders, is that long term?

[Ryan]

Matt, a compatible pair is usually pretty cooperative when they're spawning. It's when the spawning stops that things can get ugly. More specifically, it's the month or so before spawning starts up again. From what I can tell with my group, they break up and take some down time, being mostly solitary, then start to fight and pair off again before the spawning season restarts. I don't think my pairs are ever the same two fish when I have them in a community setup with multiple Heroina.

I did have two pairs in smaller tanks last year -- one in a 55 and one in a 40 breeder. There was some squabbling but it was mild and they mostly cooperated very well. I'd think with some sturdy dithers like deep bodied tetras they may be fine, much like convicts. I actually think their aggression is worse in the larger tank than it was when they were in a 55.

I'm actually contemplating splitting them all up to give my severums a break. I was planning to do a couple pairs in their own tanks and then splitting the unpaired fish between my other cichlid communities. I don't think they'd be as aggressive if they were the only Heroina in a tank, but I haven't tested that yet.

[marinum]

keep us updated! I like them. Congratulations excellent colors

[Attila]

I always did wonder what the fish in your avatar was, Ryan! Now I know...(it is one of these, right? haha)

[Ryan]

I always did wonder what the fish in your avatar was, Ryan! Now I know...(it is one of these, right? haha)

Yes.