robertprice
July 3rd, 2013, 01:50 PM
Amphilophus astorquii, a recent offshoot species of the Midas Complex was discovered in Lake Apoyo, Nicaragua in 2008. It is a very recently evolved species. The 23,000 year old crater lake is only a bit over 8 square miles. Black Midas only live there, and makes up 3/4 of all the cichlids in the lake, which has 6 other Amphilophus species. This grey to grey green cichlid with 7 middorsal black blotches undergoes one of the most remarkable color changes in the December to February breeding season, when its head and caudal penduncle turn black, and the blotches enlarge into 7 very thick, pitch black vertical stripes which can nealry obscure the grey-green ground color. The males get nuchal humps. They are rapid breeders who reach sexual maturity in a year at 7 inches length for males and 6 for females. They dig holes near large rocks and lay up to 600 eggs which take 3 days to hatch. The parents guard the fry for about 40 days, as in Lake Apoyo, anything little and unprotected gets eaten. They are bottom dwellers who are carnivores that have a strong preference for snails. They are extremely aggressive, as are their Midas ancestors.
In captivity they like pH 6.5-7.5 and temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees. They need at least a 55 to 70 gallon tank, and are rather poor tankmakes for anything else. See Images of A. astorquii for pictures.
In captivity they like pH 6.5-7.5 and temperatures of 80 to 85 degrees. They need at least a 55 to 70 gallon tank, and are rather poor tankmakes for anything else. See Images of A. astorquii for pictures.