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I'm curious, based upon experience and not books/web citations, what's the oldest dwarf cichlid you've kept?

I've been a notorious trader of cichlids in the past, so I've not lost one to old age. However, I'd like to find a nice pair of cichlids that won't grow larger than 4 or 5" max (I've known convicts bigger than that, so most CA cichlids won't work) that I can keep in a 36" long planted tank for quite some time...

Eric

Oddly enough, that's one piece of information missing from Fishbase, at least it is for theApistogramma species I just checked. However, I would suspect that you can expect Dwarf Cichlids of this kind to have a lifespan of a MINIMUM of five years, possibly as long as 8, while of course some of the larger Cichlids have documented lives that are considerably longer. OldTimer recently said goodbye to his big male Tilapia buttikoferi, which was eighteen years old.

I'd have liked to be able to report on the lifespan of the Anomalochromis thomasi I kept as a teenager, but sadly, thanks to mother fiddling with the heater controls because she thought the water wasn't warm enough (and didn't think to look at the thermometer I thoughtfully stuck on the aquarium side), they went to the great aquarium in the sky well before their time.

However, I would suspect that if you could FIND Anomalochromis thomasi, it too would be a 5 to 8 year lifespan fish. As I'm planning on acquiring some of those myself in the near future, I'll be in a better position to comment once I have some stock of my own that aren't going to be cooked by someone messing with the heater!

Be advised that longevity in fishes is a fairly strange entity. Cardinal Tetras are annual fishes in the wild, yet in my aquarium I've had them live over 7 years. You could find yourself pleasantly surprised by whatever you choose, simply because longevity tends not to be documented that assiduously except where the aquarist suspects he or she has a record breaking fish on her hands (cue my 9 year old Otocinclus for example!).




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry to hear about your A. thomasi's demise...at least she meant well. I had a Texas cichlid who made it to about 10 years old, but my current oldest fish are all about 5 years old - a clown pleco and two otos. I've kept breeding pairs of L. curviceps. N. brevis and M. altispinosa for about 3 years before trading them in (they were all healthy and still spawning at that point).

I saw an article on cichlidea.com mentioning unusual Krib breeding patterns: http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=116

I was surprised to see up to 7.5 years listed as the lifespan for kribs in this article.

I hope others chime in with how long they've kept some of these small fish, because you're right that Fishbase fails us in this area.

Eric

Hi Big E,
speaking from my experience with Bolivian Rams,
I can say they live approximately 5 years or so,
as all my 5 year old rams recently passed away over the
past year, so I assume around 5 years to be the average.
Havent had much experience with other dwarfs yet,
have a pair of Blue Rams now, and a group of
Nanochromis Transvestitus, so will see how they do!
I would expect a rational estimate for most
dwarf cichlids may be around 4-8 years depending on
the species and if conditions are conducive to long life.


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I have had several krib pairs live up to and over 8 years. Kribs are very hardy when it comes to water parameters, and thus I think this is a good reason for their long lived lives. I have had some P. humilis for about 5 years now, and they act as young as when I first got them.

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There is always a bigger fish...

I just picked up a pair of kribs...possibly the Ndonga variety (I'll withold judgement until they're more accustomed to the tank and their full colors settle in).

Cute krib story...I found two tanks of kribs at the LFS. In the tank with only 4 kribs, there was a definite female in breeding colors and a male who had paired up. The LFS guy caught the female first, but then these young kribs were all so stressed I couldn't tell them apart. Not wanting to pick the wrong one, I got a male from another tank. The poor male was panting/heavy breathing all evening long and didn't make it. I went back to the LFS, and they gave me another male krib. This time, I picked one of the young kribs from the same tank as my female (the one I thought looked like the male with her the other day). Lo and behold, after I let him out of the bag, he went and hid, and then the female slips out, swims right up, arches her side, and they swim off together! They've been inseperable since...I must have found the fish she'd paired with at the LFS...true love is reunited.

Eric

aww thats so cute