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Common Name: Loiselle's Cichlid, Yellow-Jacket cichlid
Size: ~10" for females and ~12" for males.
pH: ~7.0 to 7.8. This species is very tolerant and provided you properly acclimate them, they will accept a wider range of ph.
Minimum Recommended Tank Size: 75 gallons
Native Location: Central America
Temperature: 72-80F. This species is very tolerant of a fairly wide range in temp provided extremes are avoided. It is important to note that the fish's metabolism will increase at higher temperatures meaning they will grow slightly faster and become more aggressive/territorial at higher temps.
Diet: Piscivore. In the wild this species is an avid predator feeding mostly on smaller fishes and invertebrates. In the aquarium, this species should be provided with a varied diet of pellets, food sticks and live/frozen/freeze dried foods.
Breeding: A pair will form at approx. 4-6". The female will guard the eggs/fry while the male will guard the surrounding area. Once paired, this fish will dilligently guard the eggs/fry and can injure or kill any fish that gets too close to the nesting area.
Gender Differences: Males will grow larger than females and may have red coloration in the finnage. I also believe it is typically males that have a lighter yellow or white coloration on the top portion of the body.
Aggression: Not as aggressive as it's larger cousins P. managuense, P. motaguense and P. dovii but the freddy is also no slouch. I'd probably rank this species in the same aggression category as a Texas cichlid, Jack dempsey or Green Terror.
Notes: This species is often confused with Parachromis friedrichsthalli and females of Parachromis motaguense. These 3 look very similar but can be distinguished by the following traits. P. loisellei very rarely shows vertical bars. The overall coloration is a rich yellow but the top portion of the fish's body may be a lighter yellow or white color. A male loisellei may have red coloration in the finnage, but will rarely ever have any red coloration on the actual body. P. friedrichsthalli will show its vertical bars about 99% of the time and the overall coloration is typically a slightly darker yellow with a little bit of a greenish/olive hue. Female P. motaguense will look very similar to P. loisellei but will typically have red cheeks/gill covers and some red coloration over other portions of the body as well.
Final note: I believe this species is much more mellow than its larger Guapote cousins. Also the fact that a loisellei will max. out at ~12" makes it a much better choice for those hobbyists who are infatuated with Jags but can't house such a monstrous fish. The fishes in the Parachromis genus are commonly referred to as "Guapotes". Most experienced 'Guapote' owners agree that these fish should not be kept with conspecifics or other Parachromis spp.
This post has been edited by Jason_S: 28 July 2004 - 01:27 AM
