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To paraphrase Shakespeare, “This has been the Winter of our Discontent”. Although the “Polar Vortex” kept many of us indoors with our fish, the very cold weather cut down on the availability of new fish due to its effects on shipping. Hopefully, as you read this, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and your cichlids are responding to the call of the spring with eggs. This issue of Cichlid News is chock-a-block full of great articles! Willem Heijns reviews the genus Cichlasoma, the South American “port” cichlids as restricted and redefined by Kullander in 1983 on the occasion of the addition of a new thirteenth species. This is the first of two well-illustrated installments that will make this the definitive article on these fish. Oliver Lucanus treats us to amazing photos of newly-imported cichlids from the Fwa River in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His review, which includes all five of the endemic species, chronicles their importation for the first time in over 25 years. Greg Steeves introduces us to the “tasty” cichlid from Lake Victoria, Oreochromis esculentus. This once plentiful food fish tilapiine — the species name refers to its food status (“edible”)— is now critically endangered in the lake. Greg shares with us aspects of its natural history as well as its husbandry in the home aquarium. In an interesting turn of affairs, frequent contributor Patrick Tawil discusses the moving taxonomic target that is the Malawian cichlid Otopharynx walteri. Although O. walteri and O. lithobates are known by aquarists as distinct fish, recent scientific reevaluation strongly suggests that they should be placed in synonymy. Ad Konings reviews the geographic variation in male breeding coloration that exists in the Lake Tanganyikan Featherfin Ophthalmotilapia ventralis, accompanied by a great map of the lake that places these variants in geographic context. Of added interest, Ad reports on the “devious” ways of females that may individually breed with as many as fifteen males, collecting sperm from all. In the end, sperm competition results in fertilization by only two or three of these males. Intriguing! Finally, Jeff Cardwell, noted American collector and aquarist shares with us his favorite six cichlids, and Laif DeMason concludes with his regular contribution “What’s New”. It’s a great issue! |
Wayne S. Leibel, Editor  |
