Lake
Victoria is the third largest lake in the world. It’s the
largest tropical lake. Picture a lake of roughly ovalure shape
that stretches almost 250 miles at its longest point and almost
200 miles at its widest point.
As
you may already know, many cichlids of Lake Victoria are becoming
extinct in the wild. Between the Nile perch, deforestation, and
water hyacinths, the future of these fishes looks bleak.
Sources
say more than 200 species exist in the lake, and approximately
the same number have already vanished. In the only book devoted
solely to Victorian cichlids, Lake Victoria Rock Cichlids,
author Ole Seehausen says many species he studied only a few years
ago can no longer be found alive in the lake today.
Noted
cichlid expert Dr. Paul Loiselle says the piscavore species are
especially endangered due to their open-water habitat. He says
almost any living Lake Victoria piscavore cichlid is a rarity
that needs to be protected.
Some
aquarists still need to learn that there is more to Lake Victoria
cichlids than flame backs, rock kribensis and thick
skins. No doubt, true strains of these fish are extremely
attractive, but scores of new and interesting species are gradually
being made available.
If
one counts the numerous smaller bodies of water in the equatorial
zone in the vicinity of Lake Victoria as producing “Victorian”
cichlids, there are many more from which to choose.
Unusual
Victorians seem to be highly prized in Europe and brought surprisingly
high prices at last year’s ACA auction in Chicago—often
bringing higher prices than many of the Tropheus species!
One
thing that sets Victorian cichlids apart from their Malawi and
Tanganyika cousins is their irregular availability. For instance,
we would not know where to go to replace some of the species we
keep should we lose our present colony. In some ways, there’s
appeal in this. Who doesn’t like the distinction of being
one of the few aquarists anywhere to house specimens of Rockgrazerus
sp. “Bright Red & Blue?” (to name a completely
fictitious fish)
When
one observes enough Victorian species closely enough, he learns
that these cichlids are not as easy to stereotype in regard to
color, shape and action as is commonly thought. The habits of
different species groups vary widely from each other.
Commonly,
even experienced, knowledgeable aquarists tend to group all Victorian
cichlids together under one broad genus—”Haplochromis”.
That’s
old thinking. Today, we know that a Victorian cichlid could be
a Haplochromis… or it could be an Astatotilapia
or a Paralabidochromis or Psammochromis or a
Lipochromis or Prognathochromis or Neochromis
or Xystichromis, to name some present-day genuses.
It’s
a fact that a majority of known Victorian cichlid species have
been discovered since 1991. Many of these newly discovered species
are still quite rare in the hobby.
In
our experience, aquarium-kept Victorians are nothing if not adaptable.
We keep Victorians in a variety of environments ranging from single-
to multi-species tanks to full-blown community tanks housing cichlids
from all three lakes.
During an ACA talk by Dr. Loiselle, he mentioned that some Victorian
cichlids are surviving the Nile perch menace by escaping to water
hyacinth beds where water is so low in dissolved oxygen content
the feared predator cannot follow. Predictably, the hardy Victorian
adapts.
Let's
take this opportunity to shatter a couple of “myths”
that surround the keeping of Victorian cichlids:
One of these myths says that two or more Victorian species cannot
be housed together without great risk of inbreeding.
Without common-sense care, this is certainly a possibibility.
However, with the infusion of new species, there is enough diversity
in Victorian cichlids to house multiple species together in the
manner that Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids are kept together.
The
second is that, contrary to common belief, not all Victorians
are easy to breed. Just ask the many skilled aquarists who have
failed in their attempts to successfully breed and raise the H.
nyererei complex.
Victorian
cichlids overall have much to offer as highly desirable aquarium
occupants.
For
the most part, males are beautiful fish, displaying colors that
rival Malawi peacocks and other “jewel-like” species.
They
remain comparatively small—almost small enough to qualify
as dwarf cichlids. Seehausen’s book cites maximum size at
about 4" for most Victorian cichlids, but many remain smaller.
They
don’t significantly disrupt a tank’s interior appearance.
They are not the serious excavators that some of their Malawi
cousins are, for instance.
Once
bred and hatched, the fry are easily reared and adapt to a wide
variety of feeding habits and aquarium environment.
Admittedly,
we go to great lengths to seek out new and rare young Victorians
for our tanks. We want to see how they really look as they grow
and start to color—and I enjoy the challenge of keeping a
fish that may or may not continue to exist in nature.
When
someone asks me what I have new and interesting in my tanks, I
rarely hesitate. I simply say, “Let’s look at the Victorians.”
Back to Armke's Rare Aquarium Fish Title Page