Name Amatitlania septemfasciata Seven striped cichlid Method of Reproduction: Egg layer, substrate spawner Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Pair Origin of Parents: Tank raised Approximate number of eggs or fry*: 213 Date of Hatch or Birth* (MM/DD/YYYY): 12/18/21 Date of Free Swimming If Hatched (MM/DD/YYYY): 12/27/21 Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days*: 53 Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days: 14 Aquarium Conditions: pH (0 to 14): 8 General Hardness (ppm): unknown but unaltered from Frederick tap Average Temperature (F): 82F, transferred to 75F tank Salinity (if brackish or marine): none Average Nitrate (ppm): 10 ppm Aquarium Size (L X W X H and Gallons): Born in 55 gallon (48 x 13 x 21"), moved to 10 gallon at 2 months of age (20 x 10 x 12") Water Source: tap Water Changes (how much and how often): 25% twice a month in 55 gallon, 50% twice a month in the 10 Filtration System(s): SunSun 303 canister on the 55, double sponge sponge filter hooked up to whisper 60 aerator in 10 gallon Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): none Décor (Please include all that apply): Live Plants: none Plastic Plants: none Wood: none Leaves: none Caves or Similar Hiding Places: rocks collected from nearby dried up stream beds Spawning mop: none Substrate (Gravel/Pea size gravel/Sand/None/Other; Please Specify): black gravel in 55, sakrete play sand in 10 Lighting Type and Timing: unknown hood light on 55, random gooseneck LED from amazon on 10, 12 hours a day Food Fed to Parents and How Often*: Tetra tropical color enhancing crisps, daily Food Fed to Fry and How Often*: same as parents Photographs The father The mother Eggs the day they were laidM Mother in breeding dress the day eggs were laid Fry at a month old (apologies for graininess) Fry today Comments and Additional Information CARES species, highly aggressive, more aggressive than regular convicts. Ironically very prolific, and very good parents. Treat them like normal convicts care wise, but tank mate wise I would advise keeping them alone. Very beautiful however, and easy to sex. Pair is 2 years old and descended from what Matthew Chambers was selling as myrnae here. I bought them as myrnae, however I came to find that they have completely iridescent fins as opposed to iridescent dots, their breeding dress shows actual barring, they lack the rows of gold scales on their abdomens, and the male is purple. Beautiful fish regardless, just a slight case of mistaken identity. Likely due to Rio estrella also containing actual myrnae, and the two species being very similar. Septemfasciata is not commonly known to naturally go that far south or east. There are records of them dipping into Panama along the Rio Sixaola, though this is controversial. While they do share a name with convicts, I would argue they, along with everything in the genus that isn't nigrofasciata or kanna, will likely one day belong to their own genus or at the very least become a complex within amatitlania, as they all share features that nigrofasciata and kanna lack. Namely their blue eyes, and the blunt, bullet-shaped heads the males get with maturity, as opposed to the flat/sloped, nuchal hump supporting ones nigrofasciata and kanna possess. Setup: 20 long is the bare minimum for a small pair. These fish can get up to 7" in time, though I don't doubt they can get even bigger. I thought nanolutea maxed out at 4" until Kevin at TUIC told me about a 6" one. A three to four foot tank is best for an adult pair, and a 6 foot tank is advised if you want to try to put other fish in the tank. Any form of filtration, realistically, is fine. Even the fry are good at fighting filter intakes. Powerheads are appreciated, and rockwork/branches simulating roots are essential. They prefer to spawn under things when possible, preferably rocks, and they are very good at digging. Sand would be preferable to make this easier, though they don't seem to have problems with gravel. They can actually take a wide variety of temps, from the 60s to around 82F, though to keep aggression lower while still promoting breeding, I'd keep them around the mid 70s. Process: Not much to say about them, if you buy a bonded pair they will spawn as soon as they are comfortable. Such was the case with this pair. Within two days of them being in the tank they spawned. However, with other pairs I have had prior to this one, I have had to let the female establish a territory in the tank before introducing the male, as if it were the other way around, he would end up attacking her. They sexually mature at around an inch to an inch and a half. Dithers in the form of tetras or danios help, however even the most robust or agile dithers are no match for their aggression. As soon as you see spawning behavior, remove everything in the tank. Fry take around 3 days to a week to hatch, and at most another week to become free swimming, and graze on biofilm and algae once they do. If you have a good enough eye, you can sex fry at two months of age, as the females will start to develop a little black dot in the center of their dorsal fins that will eventually become the blue and white ocelli exclusive to females. Their eyes start to turn blue at a little over a month old or 3/4", and they start to get color at around an inch. Do not underestimate their small size at this age. They will still attack and kill smaller fish like livebearers or tetras at this size. Their aggression develops very early. Both sexes may get blue on their gills and abdomens, but males will eventually turn a pinkish purple and get gold faces, while females will get a large, orange, iridescent blotch on their abdomens. Due to their aggression, in fear of the male taking his anger out on the female, I would either not pull fry, or pull one parent before you do. Keep them separate until the female is ready to spawn again, as the opportunity to replace the spawn will distract the male from the loss of the last one. Readiness to spawn can be determined by the intensity of the orange blotch on the female. Nearly all female amphilophine cichlids will show their best colors when signaling to males that they are ready to breed. Convict types are no exception, and septemfasciata, myrnae, nigrofasciata, and kanna are the easiest to see this in. To condition adults for breeding, feed lots of high protein foods, but also supplement with plant matter such as spirulina. I have a friend who feeds his nori and romaine lettuce, but I haven't tried this myself. Fry grow quickly when given warm, clean water, and an abundance of food. Breeding through a divider would also probably be safer if you don't trust the bond of your pair. Adults and behavior: As mentioned before, they like to dig. If you want them to make a burrow somewhere specific, give them something that looks like it would be prime real estate, like two rocks leaned against eachother or a piece of driftwood with an overhanging "shelf", with a space underneath that is apparent, but cannot fit them. They will take this as an invitation to make it so they do in fact fit. Careful how you place your rocks however, as their removal of substrate may cause rocks to fall or collapse, which may not be good for the fish underneath, or the bottom pane of your tank. Also as mentioned before, they are very territorial. I have a very aggressive platinum convict who is notorious for such, and the first fight I've ever seen him lose was to a female septemfasciata. No, I did not make them fight. I've used buenos aires tetras as dithers to some success, though again, a substantial amount of space is required for any tankmates to work. A four foot tank was not enough for other inhabitants. For the sake of the (at the very least) mental wellbeing of everything else in the tank, I would keep the tank species only. Territorial and communicative displays are nothing special. I have not seen anything exclusive to them, though they are confident enough to take on other pairs of cichlids alone from what I have seen. Both sexes will grow streamers on their dorsal and anal fins, though males will grow very long ones if kept in calm water without any nippy tank mates. As with all the other blue eyed amatitlania (with the exception of sajica), they don't usually grow nuchal humps, but their already round foreheads will get rounder and fatter. I have however, seen one with a proper nuchal hump coincidentally owned by Matt, and additionally coincidentally possibly the father of this pair. Only non-injury related ailment I've seen in them is some sort of bloating, I am not familiar with the cause but I would assume it is some sort of bacterial infection. I've only seen it in two individuals however.

Name Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus "albino" Albino bristlenose pleco Method of Reproduction : egg layer, substrate/cave spawner Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: 1 male to 4 females Origin of Parents: tank raised Approximate number of eggs or fry*: ~60 Date of Hatch or Birth*: Spawn was 1/17/22, hatched 1/22/22 Date of Free Swimming If Hatched: 1/29/22 Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days* 55 Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days 59 days, but ~20 Aquarium Conditions: pH: 8 General Hardness (ppm): unknown but unaltered from Frederick tap Average Temperature: 80F Salinity: N/A Average Nitrate: 10 ppm Aquarium Size: 30 X 12 X 12, 20 gallons Water Source: Tap Water Changes: 50% twice a month Filtration System: double sponge sponge filter rated for up to 30 gallons, hooked up to whisper 60 aerator + eheim ecco pro 200 canister Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): N/A Décor (Please include all that apply): Live Plants: Hornwort Plastic Plants: N/A Wood: manzanita driftwood branches, beech branches Leaves: dried oak leaves (black oak) Caves or Similar Hiding Places: 1.25" teracotta tubes Spawning mop: N/A Substrate: white play sand from home depot Food Fed to Parents and How Often: hikari algae wafers daily, occasionally cucumber slices, bloodworms, or unsalted canned green beans Food Fed to Fry and How Often*: alternating between cucumber slices and hikari algae wafers, daily Photographs male trapping female in cave mom with "her" kids one of the fry today, currently around 3/4 of an inch long Comments and Additional Information I have always had trouble breeding plecos. However, this time around, I had 4 females to a male, and constantly gave them something to eat. Tank was kept warm and always clean, and flow from the output of the canister ran in front of the caves. There were dried oak leaves in the tank for the first month of them being in there, but they made short work of them. Between feedings they can be found rasping on the manzanita wood or any other flat surface. Admittedly the canister wasn't always on there, but within a week of me setting it up, I got my first spawn. This spawning report details the last spawn before the canister's impeller shattered, putting it out of commission for about a month. The tank is also inhabited by a shoal of gold dust mollies and red crystal platies, 99% of which born in the tank as well. I have heard the presence of actively reproducing livebearers can help trigger some pleco spawns, but am not sure if this applies to common ancistrus. Setup: The tank is heated by a Tetra 100W preset heater and runs between 78-80F. The sponge is just one of those ribbed double sponge sponge filters you get in 4 packs off amazon, hooked up to a Tetra Whisper 60. The Whisper 60 has two output nozzles, and the other nozzle is hooked up to a bare length of airline tube with a piece of slate tied to the end by a rubber band to keep it secure on the bottom of the tank. I do water changes with the Aqueon knockoff of the Python hose that hooks up to the sink, 50% twice a month, though it bumped up to weekly waterchanges when the canister broke down. The canister contains 4 layers, the bottom contains seachem matrix, the one above it is eheim substrat, the one above that contains biohome biogravel, and the top layer has the stock two layers of fine sponge with a coarse sponge on top, except I sandwiched a thin layer of Marineland Black Diamond Carbon inbetween the two fine sponges. The tank is lit by a random screw on gooseneck LED I got off Amazon. I use teracotta tube caves bought from various sellers at swap meets and conventions. Process: I personally just kept them warm, clean, and well fed, and they started to spawn once the flow of the canister was applied. If you don't want to buy an entire canister for the purpose of breeding ancistrus, I would buy a small powerhead wrapped with mesh to prevent fry from scooting their way in and... well, you can imagine the result. Though a canister would help, given their bioload and the sheer amount of fry they produce. However, certain triggers you can do would be to feed bloodworms or other high protein foods to fuel egg production, and feed vegetables such as cucumber or unsalted canned greenbeans to give them something to constantly chew on. Most fish will spawn when they acknowledge there is an abundance of food and subsequent energy that not only they can put towards egg production and fry rearing, but that the fry can also use to grow and develop. Cold water changes also help, as it simulates rain after droughts. This triggers spawning, as they are genetically coded to understand that rain, and subsequent flooding, means there will at the very least be more access to food that they and their fry can take advantage of. If you want to go the extra mile with this, you can let the tank evaporate over the course of a week or two, and top it off by dripping cold water back into it through PVC pipes with holes drilled in them to simulate rain. This applies to most fish that spawn based on rainy seasons. However, domestic ancistrus are more likely to just spawn with the prevalence of food and flow. As for caves, teracotta and bamboo are your best bet. I have tried and had slight success with PVC pipes, though I have heard they don't like the smooth texture of PVC as opposed to the texture of teracotta or bamboo. For the most success, the opening of these caves should only be big enough to fit your male, or big enough for him to lodge himself into. This will allow him to trap females and have more of a chance at breeding. I have seen people have success with breeding them in normal caves you'd use for cichlids and the like that still were spacious on the inside but still had openings big enough for just the male, though if you want guaranteed success, tube caves are your friend. Fry hatch in around 3-5 days, and become free swimming at around 4-7 days old. Most pleco fathers are good enough to keep their fry until they're able to fend for themselves at around 2 weeks to a month old. If you want optimal growth and more fry however, you can take the fry right before or right as they become free swimming and put them in a breeder box or their own tank. You may check on the fry/eggs in the cave with a flashlight, though I have heard they are photosensitive for the first few days, so I wouldn't do it too much or for too long. Moving caves with males and fry inside doesn't really do much unlike substrate spawning cichlids, if you want to get a better look at them. In cichlids, if you mess with the nest too much they may eat the eggs and try again somewhere else. With plecos, a good example is one video I saw on YouTube, where a guy moved the entire cave with eggs inside to a breeder box without the male. The male climbed into the breeder box and went back to fanning the eggs. Once you have separated the fry and they are free swimming, begin feeding them things like Repashy gel food, algae wafers, cucumber slices, unsalted green beans, or other vegetables. Bare minimum requirement is that they always have something to chew on. In spite of their relatively slow growth, they have very high metabolisms and loose weight very fast. Adding a small piece of tank matured driftwood or dried leaves to the fry container would help supplement this requirement. Once you take a batch of fry, expect another batch of eggs the next day. In the event that your male is not a good father and kicks the eggs out of the nest, given you reach them before the other fish in the tank do, you can take the cluster (they spawn in clusters, kind of like frogspawn) and put it in a tumbler or breeder box, subsequently running aeration nearby to keep circulation on them to keep them oxygenated and prevent debris from settling on them. Adults and behavior: Probably should've put this bit before the breeding process, but nonetheless it is pretty straightforward. Very hardy and easy to sex. Males are usually the ones that have the bristles (odontodes), but while females can also get bristles along the edge of their mouth with age, they will not get any on top of their head, as males will. Bristles on males will also always be longer. When not breeding or actively attracting females, their bristles will be relatively shorter, though when breeding starts they will begin to grow significantly longer and branch. While I only have shortfins right now, the longfin gene also causes the bristles on longfin males to get extremely long in tandem with their fins. Again, when preparing adults for breeding, always keep them fed, feed high protein foods such as bloodworms and have things they can chew on like dried leaves, matured driftwood, gel foods, algae wafers, or fresh/boiled vegetables. They also appreciate fruit such as melons, however this WILL heavily cloud and possibly cause algal blooms in your tank as they are high in phosphorus. Dried nori also makes a good snack for them, they love to chew on it, though the nature of how the nori is dried in tandem with how they eat causes it to flake off all over the tank. They can take a wide variety of water conditions and temperatures, realistically they will breed in anything from 6-8 pH and temps from 60-80+F. For the comfort of the other fish in the tank though, I have mine in a pH of 8 and a temperature of around 80F. They can handle very poor water conditions, which is good because of how messy they are, though as their keeper it is only courteous that you at least clean up after them. Again, along with my overfiltration, as an extra countermeasure I do 50% waterchanges with water that is either the same temperature as the tank or slightly cooler, twice a month. More if I feed heavier or if the filter stops. For optimal fry production I recommend two females to a male, as while one female is still producing more eggs, the other can come and lay another batch after you've collected the first. However, with inexperienced males this can become troublesome, as the male will always be stuck in the cave and the stress of raising fry plus not eating can get to him. My male seems to be good at what he does, as he comes out to eat occasionally when he's on fry or eggs, and quickly returns back to the cave. However again, if you don't care about getting a large amount of fry out of them, a pair is fine. In my experience with multiple varieties of bristlenose plecos, the males don't seem to pressure the females into breeding, it's more the female who chooses when she wants to breed, and I've even seen my females fight over breeding rights. Males will stick their pelvic fins and tail out of their cave and wave the former up and down to advertise the fact that they are ready to breed. Females will come and investigate the cave, and the male will try to trap her in the cave. This may take several attempts, but it usually only takes one or two if the cave is the right size. Females can lay eggs every two weeks to a month. I also recommend having at least one to two caves per pleco. Going back to fighting, they have little balls of spikes on their gills they can deploy to sort of "punch" eachother in disputes over breeding, territory, or food. I see my females do it a lot more, as they tend to be the more active sex. My two males spend most of their time waiting for females in their caves. However, when they do come out and encounter eachother, they can get in long fights over real estate and come out pretty tattered, however in optimal conditions they fully regenerate any torn fins or scratches in about a day. With the armor on their backs, their little "punches" don't seem to do much in most disputes. I however, only see my males fight at most, once a month. Without adequate numbers of caves, I would not have multiple males to a tank. They do not disturb their fry however, and I can often see older fry in the same cave as their father with a newer batch of eggs or fry, just sitting on his back. They are prone to a strange bloating when tank conditions become suboptimal. In the off times it does occur, they usually sort themselves out within a few days of the tank's condition being restored, without medication. Be cautious medicating them, they may have armor on their backs, but their bellies are soft and scaleless. I have not noticed any other ailments in any bristlenose plecos I have ever kept, other than a mild infection a few years ago in an L144 that occurred as a result of a scratch on her belly from a decoration.

Name Amatitlania kanna Reed cichlid/Panamanian convict Method of Reproduction: Substrate spawner Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Pair Origin of Parents: Tank raised Approximate number of eggs or fry*: ~150 Date of Hatch or Birth* (MM/DD/YYYY): N/A, spawned 3/6/22 Date of Free Swimming If Hatched (MM/DD/YYYY): N/A Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days*: N/A Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days: N/A Aquarium Conditions: pH (0 to 14): 8 General Hardness (ppm): unknown but aragonite added to Frederick tap Average Temperature (F): 80 F Salinity (if brackish or marine): N/A Average Nitrate (ppm): 10 ppm Aquarium Size (L X W X H and Gallons): 30 X 12 X 18, 29 gallons Water Source: tap Water Changes (how much and how often): 50% biweekly Filtration System(s): aqueon quietflow LED HOB + double sponge rated for up to 50 gallons Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): Aragonite Décor (Please include all that apply): Live Plants: vallisneria Plastic Plants: N/A Wood: beech branches + random unknown driftwood found in the woods Leaves: oak leaves Caves or Similar Hiding Places: stream rocks + driftwood Spawning mop: N/A Substrate (Gravel/Pea size gravel/Sand/None/Other; Please Specify): aragonite under play sand Lighting Type and Timing: aquaneat 12" LED, 16 hours a day Food Fed to Parents and How Often*: tetra tropical color enhancing crisps Food Fed to Fry and How Often* : N/A Comments and Additional Information Breeds like a standard convict, lays less eggs, significantly less aggressive than actual nigrofasciata. Only slightly more aggressive than adult nanolutea as subadults themselves. Currently lives with eastern mosquitofish (gambusia holbrooki), buenos aires tetras (hyphessobrycon anisitsi), amatitlania myrnae, and a banjo catfish (bunocephalus corycoideus)

Name Amatitlania sp. "honduran red point"/cf. nigrofasciata Honduran red point Method of Reproduction: Substrate spawner Number and Gender Distribution of Parents: Pair Origin of Parents: Tank raised Approximate number of eggs or fry*: 200-300 Date of Hatch or Birth*: 2/28/22 Date of Free Swimming If Hatched: 3/3/22 Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days*: N/A Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days: N/A Aquarium Conditions: pH (0 to 14): 7.8 General Hardness (ppm): unknown but unaltered from Frederick tap Average Temperature (F): 78F Salinity (if brackish or marine): N/A Average Nitrate (ppm): 10 ppm Aquarium Size (L X W X H and Gallons): 30X12X12, 20 gallons Water Source: tap Water Changes (how much and how often): 50% once or twice a month Filtration System(s): double sponge filter rated for 10-20 gallons + quietflow LED HOB Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): N/A Décor (Please include all that apply): Live Plants: dwarf water lettuce, salvinia natans, salvinia minima, frogbit, greater duckweed, hornwort Plastic Plants: N/A Wood: Beech branches Leaves: Oak leaves Caves or Similar Hiding Places: Rocks from a stream that they dug a cave under Spawning mop: N/A Substrate (Gravel/Pea size gravel/Sand/None/Other; Please Specify): Home Depot play sand Lighting Type and Timing: random cheap LED from Amazon, 16 hours a day Food Fed to Parents and How Often*: new life spectrum ultrared, bug bites color enhancing flakes, alternating every other day Food Fed to Fry and How Often*: fry graze on algae and biofilm + eat what the parents eat Photographs Comments and Additional Information As long as the female is well fed they will spawn. Fry grow relatively slow. If they are not spawning on schedule, do a big waterchange and add flow to the tank. Higher chance of a successful spawning and stronger pair bond if they are allowed to establish a territory against other fish in the tank, and when those fish are subsequently removed.

Name Amatitlania nanolutea Dwarf gold convict Method of Reproduction :Substrate spawner Number and Gender Distribution of Parents:Pair Origin of Parents:ank raised Approximate number of eggs or fry*: ~50 Date of Hatch or Birth* Unknown, spawn was 2/4/22 Date of Free Swimming If Hatched 2/14/22 Approx. Number of Fry at 30 Days* 4+ (started at 50) Approx. Number of Fry at 60 Days N/A Aquarium Conditions: pH: 8 General Hardness (ppm): unknown but unaltered from Frederick tap Average Temperature: 75F Salinity: N/A Average Nitrate: 10 ppm Aquarium Size: 24 X 12 X 16, 20 gallons Water Source: Tap Water Changes: 50% once a month Filtration System: double sponge sponge filter rated for up to 30 gallons, hooked up to whisper 20 aerator Additives (Salt, iron, etc.): N/A Décor (Please include all that apply): Live Plants: Hornwort, duckweed, vallisneria, salvinia natans Plastic Plants: N/A Wood: Branches from cherry tree Leaves: N/A Caves or Similar Hiding Places: clay pot with the bottom broken out Spawning mop: N/A Substrate: Sand mixed with gravel (home Depot all purpose sand, unknown brand never seen again) Lighting Type and Timing: 18 watt Aqueon LED, 16 hours a day Food Fed to Parents and How Often: alternating between new life spectrum ultrared, bug bites color enhancing flakes, seachem nutridiet cichlid flakes, spirulina flakes of unknown brand, and crickets every other day Food Fed to Fry and How Often*: baby brine shrimp once a week+whatever the parents eat and subseqently feed them, fry graze on algae and biofilm idly Photographs Comments and Additional Information BAP point allocation is outdated and should be revised, this species is listed as a category A alongside normal convicts and other easy to breed cichlids. I get 3 spawns from my nigrofasciata a month, whereas I only usually get a singular successful spawn, accompanied by two or three unsuccessful ones annually from this species. Fry are extremely sensitive and it is considered lucky if more than one fry make it to sexual maturity. Do not move fry until they're half an inch long, and only move to a mature tank where they can continue to graze between feedings. Do not grow out or keep with other cichlids. The stress of being in the mere presence of other cichlids is enough to stress juveniles to the point of becoming immunocompromised and succumbing to disease. Grows to one inch in their first year and slows down in their second year, sexually maturing by the end of the latter. Sexual dimorphism starts to show up a little before a year if you have a good eye for dorsal spots and facial structure. Prefers a cave to spawn but will spawn on an open surface. Very intelligent and charismatic species, I have experienced what appeared to be a nuclear family forming, where another batch of eggs was laid alongside an older batch of fry that was still in the tank. Said older fry could be seen fanning the eggs.