How To Breed A Tiny Picky Fish In Your Tank: Haplochromis sp. Palisa Black Slick

Haplochromis sp. Palisa Black Slick

• Common name:  This species is also listed under the name Haplochromis sp. Pallisa.
• Location and Lake collected from:  Lake Nawampasa
• Approximate size:  About 4 inches.
• Food:  Mine have eaten flake, daphnia, and frozen brine shrimp without problems.  The daphnia and brine shrimp have been their favorite foods that I have tried so far.  They hold their weight better by eating 3 or 4 times a day with a higher protein diet.
• pH:  7.6 – 8.4
• Temperature:  75 – 82 degrees F
• Breeding behavior:  Mouthbrooder.  My male chases the females away from his rock.  My males can be very aggressive towards my females while they are brooding.  I have to move my brooding females to a separate tank after they spawn.  I have only been able to keep 1 male per tank successfully.  I have finally gotten the females to hold their eggs past day 8.  My female held for 11 – 12 days and had about 12 – 15 fry.  My females continue to eat while brooding.  The largest spawn size I have gotten from my Palisa’s has been 40 fry from an adult female.  Unlike an article that appeared in Cichlid News my Palisas did not pair off and spawn.  My female showed only a slight interest in the care of the fry after release, similar to any other mouthbrooding African Cichlid.
• Care of the Fry:  Newly released fry can eat crushed flake food, baby brine shrimp, and other small foods.  They should be given a minimum of 3 small feedings per day.  Palisa fry is larger than the average size for fry from my other Victorians.  They are also more sensitive to their water conditions, changes in tank temperature, and the amount they get fed.  Small spawns can be kept in a 10-gallon tank up to an inch in size.  Males start showing adult coloration at around 2 inches.
• Tankmates:  I have mine in with a Haplochromis sp. Tomato male and a Nimbochromis venustus female and have not had any problems.
• Tank size:  I am keeping 5 adults in a 20-gallon cube aquarium.
• Additional notes:  This fish is often mistaken for the Harpagochromis sp. Golden Duck.  Harpagochromis sp. Golden Duck’s are a more elongated fish than the Haplochromis sp. Palisa Black Slicks are.  Harpagochromis sp. Golden Duck males when showing breeding coloration lack the blue sheen that Haplochromis sp. Palisa Black Slick males have.  Harpagochromis sp. Golden Duck females are more of a yellow color than Haplochromis sp. Palisa Black Slick females. 

Further Reading

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