Herotilapia multispinosa ( Rainbow Cichlid )

[Reafer]

Hi guys i was thinking of getting a pair of Herotilapia multispinosa , i havent been able to find much iinfo on the net about them so my questions are. Is it a peacefull as ppl say and does anyone know if this fish has got "personality":bigsmile:
i havent seen them in PE before but i beleive they a common fish?

[speedz]

They are not that common, people always asked me why im keeping river fish in my tank when i had a pair, although i have never seen this fish in any river lol i hav'nt even been to many rivers.

Dont keep them with fish that can fit into their mouth. Otherwise they are a nice fish to keep in the sense that they are easy to keep and hardy. They even bred without me knowing, just be prepared though because they lay 100's of eggs. The colouration during breeding is wow, not as nice as jewel cichlids but still great.

[Altum]

GOOD NEWS
When peaceful, moderately sized, newly discovered cichlids were in SHORT supply, a marketing ploy decades back led to these fish being enterprisingly named as "Rainbow Cichlids", and traded at VERY good retail prices.

Once it was discovered that Herotilapia multispinosa was very fecund, and EXTREMELY adaptable, to aquarium and water conditions it wasn't very long before it became a STAPLE.

Soon afterwards it's prodigious breeding ability put Convicts to shame, rapidly earning notoriety.

That leads to the BAD and UGLY NEWS

Seeing as their main colouration is yellow golden , some orange, shades of black, cream and white it's a FAR CRY from Rainbow in any form.

It must be noted though

Any species on the South African black list (http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=78) are not allowed to be discussed in the context of keeping them in aquaria.

(though misspelt as Heterotilapia multispinosa)

[speedz]

thanks for the headsup, i had these fish a long time ago although recently i've seen 1 or 2 at petshops. Wonder why they got blaccklisted