[Jason_S]

Species Name: Thorichthys aureum

Common Name: Blue Flash, Gold Flash

Size: ~3" for females and ~4" for males

pH:7.0 - 7.6 in nature, though this species is very tolerant of a wide range of parameters. Provided they are properly acclimated, this species can thrive in a slightly higher pH.

Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallons for 1 pair or 40 gallons for a small colony

Native Location: Central American rivers/lakes.

Temperature: 72-76F (Overall health may decline at temps above 76F)

Diet: omnivore (In nature, a large portion of the diet of this species consists of invertebrates and livebearer fry). The best diet would consist of a staple cichlid pellet (I recommend Hikari and New Life Spectrum from personal experience) with treats of live/frozen/freeze dried bloodworms, blackworms, meal worms, krill, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, etc. Care should be taken not to overfeed this species as overfeeding will lead to bloat. This is especially important if you keep a group of them. The dominant male of the group can and will eat much more than his fair share. I lost the dominant male in my group of Mixteco Golds to bloat caused by him over-eating.

Breeding: Both male and female will guard and clean a spawning location. Female will lay the eggs which are then fertilized by the male. The female will then guard the immediate area while the male patrols the outer area.

Gender Differences: Males will have longer extensions on dorsal and anal fin and the tips of these fins will also be more pointed than the rounded fins of the female. Males will be more colorful than females.

Aggression: Not overly aggressive, but will be territorial during egg/fry care. A solo male or female should get along fine in a community tank with fish that are not small enough to be eaten.

Notes: This is a gorgeous species that is one of the smaller of the Thorichthys genus. There are several different color variants including a blue morph, gold morph and even an albino morph. The pic shown is of a Gold morph female. Different Thorichthys spp. can and will hybridize so be careful if keeping more than one species in a tank.

***Special thanks to Rusty Wessel...a noted and well respected collector, author and breeder of many New World Cichlids--primarily of the Thorichthys genus. I have learned a lot from the different conversations I've had with him and from viewing his setups.

This post has been edited by Jason_S: 15 September 2004 - 10:29 PM