Cichlids

Cichlids

• Cichlids are fish from family Cichlidae.

• Minimum of 1,650 species are found making it a largest vertebrate family.

Boulengerochromis Cichlids

Apistogramma Cichlids

• Species ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 and some are undescribed.
• Some of the most well known cichlid species are Angelfish, Oscar, Jack Dempsey and Discus.
• Cichlids are categorized as "secondary freshwater fish" - meaning their ancestors were marine fish.
• Cichlids live in fresh and brackish water and found mainly in Asia,Africa and America.
• Cichlids have teeth in both the upper and the lower jaw – and in the throat!
• The cichlids are also equipped with no more than one nostril except the damselfish.
• Generally fish species have small intestines that leave the stomach from the right side, but with the cichlid species the small intestine leaves the body at the left side.
• Body size of a cichlids ranges from 2.5 centimeter to 1 meter.
• Body shape of species ranging from strongly laterally to cylindrical and highly elongate.
• Many cichlids are primarly herbivores feeding on algae.
• Tilapia, a fast growing cichlid native to the African continent, is one of the most well known cichlids in the kitchen.
•  The smallest cichlids, such as Apistogramma cichlids will not grow more than 3 centimeters.
• The largest cichlids, e.g. Boulengerochromis cichlids, can grow more than one metre.

Blood red parrot cichlid in my tank

Pairing:

Several different types of bonds are formed between male and female cichlids.These include

1. Monogamy - Even after spawning male and female remain together.
2. Polygyny - The male stays together with several females.
3. Polyandry - The female stays together with several males.
4. Agamy - The male and female separate right after spawning,they won't remain together after spawning.

Electric Blue Johanni

Brood Care :

Cichlids take care of their young in several different ways :

Nuclear or Parental Family :Both parents equally share the duties of caring for the young ones.
Matriarch Family : The female takes care of eggs and the fry and there is no bond between the pair,In this the female is an ovophile mouthbrooder.
Patriarch Family : The male takes care of the eggs and the fry and no bond is formed between the parents.
Extended Family : The parents as well as the offspring of previous spawning takes care of the young.

Electric yellow cichlid

Breeding :

Cichlids are characterized into two breeding groups :

1. Open brooders
2. Shelter brooders

Open Brooders : These type lays eggs on the open surface such as rocks,sand and plants.In one lay there may be 10,000 eggs and the eggs are of small size and they clump together.Sexual dimorphism and dichromatism is evident.

Examples are Pterophyllum,Symphysodon.

Shelter Brooders : These type lay less number of eggs not more than 300 and some eggs are colorful.These fish are easier to sex because males are larger and more colorful.

They are in turn divided into two types:

1. Cavity Brooders
2. Mouth Brooders

Cavity Brooders : These type lays eggs in caves,the parents participate in brood care and become angry towards other fish while caring for the eggs and the fry.

Examples : Apistogramma, Julidochromis, Neolamprologus and Pelvicachromis.

Mouth Brooders : are fish that will take their eggs or the fry into their mouths and they are divided into two categories,

1. Ovophile or "egg-loving" mouth-brooders.
2. Larvophile or "larvae-loving" mouth-brooders.

Categories :

Aquarists commonly divide the popular aquarium species into three main groups:

1. American cichlids,
2. African cichlids and
3. Asian cichlids.

The American cichlids is often divided into four sub-categories:

1.  Large cichlids (e.g. Eartheaters and Heroines),
2.  Convict cichlids,
3.  Dwarf cichlids and
4.  Other cichlids(example : Angelfish and Discus).

 The African cichlids are

 Rift Valley cichlids in turn divided into:

1.    Lake Malawi,
2.    Lake Tanganyika cichlids,
3.    Lake Victoria cichlids,
4.    Lake Rudolph cichlids.
5.  Tilapias and
6.  Other African cichlids.

Betta fish,Betta spawning process and Golden fish

Betta Fish

Betta fish is a freshwater fish found in Thailand,Cambodia and Malaysia. It's commonly known as fighting fish(Fighters). There are two types in this fish based on their spawning behavior,

•  Betta splendens - builds bubble nests.

• Betta picta -  mouthbrooders.

    These fish should not be placed with other fishes because they wont allow the other fishes to live.So these fishes need to be kept in separate fish bowl or small tank.
Fighters  have a special organ known as labyrinth. This organ helps the fish to breathe air at water surface(directly takes oxygen from air). It can breathe in water with help of gills and in air with help of labyrinth. Presence of this labyrinth organ makes the fighters to live in low oxygen water and it can also survive outside the water for short period of time.Fighters will be around 3 inches long and will survive 2-4 years.Lets see how B.splendens spawns

1.Male and Female fighters kept separately

 1.   First need to keep male and female fighters separately in a transparent fish bowl/jar/tank. Keep both the fish tank closer as they can see each other.Provide both Betta's the highest quality fish food,do not overfeed them - one or two times per day is plenty. You can feed them tubifex worms (live wrigglers), which are excellent for them but can be unhealthy if you give them too many.

2.2 Bubble nest,after leaving female in same tank

2.1 Male and Female fighters in same tank now

2.Male fighter building bubble nest

2.The male fighter starts building a bubble nest at the top surface of the water by seeing the female which is in another tank.
2.1 Once you find this bubble nest in a male tank you can leave the female fighter together with male.So male and female will be in same tank now.
2.2 When the male and female meet, the male will wind his body, flare his gills, and spread his fins if he's excited. The male will begin building a bubble nest in the first 48 hours after swimming with the female. If he hasn't started making the bubble nest for three days, separate the male and female(Provide food) and try once again.

3.Male embracing his entire body around the female

Embrace

3.The actual Betta fish breeding will look like the male embracing his entire body around the female (called the embrace). Each embrace will result in ten to forty eggs until the female is out of eggs.After this process, catch the female fighter and put it in separate tank.

4.Eggs kept in Bubble nest

4.The male will catch all the eggs one by one and keep them each in each bubble.In 24 hours the eggs will be hatched and the fish kids(called fries) will start to fall down from the bubble nest then the male will catch these kids in his mouth and keep them again in bubble nest.Allow this process for 24 hours to 72 hours (based on the friendliness of the male betta with their kids) then catch the male fighter without disturbing the bubble nest and put it another fish tank.

Golden Fish

Kolangal

Sunset Images

Coconut Balls Recipe

Cook time - 15 min

Ingredients : 

Coconut grated - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup

Milk maid - 1/2 cup

Cardamom - 6

Ghee - 3 to 4 tbsp

Coconut ball

Procedure : 

 Heat ghee in a pan,add coconut gratings cook for 1 min.
Add 1/2 cup of water and sugar to the coconut gratings, stir it till coconut gratings thickens then add cardamom cook for 1/2 min.
Add milk maid to that,stir it till it becomes loose paste and switch off the heat.
Make the paste to dry.
Then make small small balls.
Sweet and yummy Coconut balls are ready... Its very easy to do this recipe.  :)

To get soft palm...

                                                                                                                                                                                          
To view clearly click on the image,right click on the image,select view image option and zoom it .
Courtesy: aval vikatan dated 24.09.2010.