This Species underwent a revision and out came the genus Benitochromis. It is in this genus, and the larvae to Ovophile mouth-breeder, one of the most advanced forms of parental care, there size is 12 cm. It is a very interesting genre, so if you like mouth breeders, but will not keep Malawi cichlids and instead want West Africans, here they are. They live in small and medium-sized rivers in Cameroon and then in a near-shore areas or areas with lots of hiding places. Are all pair-forming (monogamous) and moderately aggressive against alien fish and work great with larger fish such as tetras, barbs, butterfly fish large luminous eyes like Procantopus species and adult Epiplatys dageti socialize.
The aquarium should have an edge length of at least 120 cm . The interior is like all West Africans, sand as gravel, stones, roots, leaves, and even large plants are introduced, and they can not be bothered. Benitochromis nigrodorsalis is 12 cm long, and it lives in the coastal areas Its body color is medium- to dark brown, opercle, and the cheek and throat have a light turquoise color. The sexes show a pink-colored abdomen in the females, but this color is more intense and you can see a larger area. Another distinguishing feature between the sexes is a broad shiny metallic band in the upper part of the dorsal which continues in the soft-rayed portion of the upper caudal, this feature is only on the females. In females, the black coloration of the dorsal is seen more clearly and more extensively, in the males is not sufficiently clear and there is more striped character. In the males in the soft-rayed part of dorsal in the caudal and anal fin are always some vertical rows of pits. to be seen now and then, are two dark stripes or four to five dark transverse bands. On the size of the Gechlechter Beflossung can hardly differ.
![image of aquarium.](http://www.lem.net/alf/THU/b-nigrodorsalismale.jpg)
The intraspecific aggression is very high, I would recommend that no two species be keep in an aquarium, unless it is very large with plenty of hiding places, but on the attitude of two different Benitochromis species in an aquarium I would do without because there may be hybrids and the females of Benitochromis species look very similar. Their diet consists mainly of algae, detritus, nursery, shrimp eggs rare insects and crustaceans. In the aquarium they can be fed with flake food (vegetable) and frozen food, mosquito larvae, Artemia, Daphnia, Mysis, etc. Benitochromis nigrodorsalis is a ovophiler mouth-breeder, that is, he sets off his nest on a low-level stationary surface, after each storage of eggs these are fertilized by the male and once by the female's mouth . The parents of this breed hatch the eggs in its mouth. The whole eggs is available only accessible in the mouth of a parent animal, but the mouth brooding changes several times a day, while the parents in an oblique posture and head over to bottom, the brood nurses partner spits now hatching, and the other parent will then immediately take them in the mouth.
One should therefore take care when buying that you buy a pre-existing couple or a small group from a couple can be found only if the parents are handing over the spawning run smoothly. The young fish are taken up to three weeks if at risk or at night in his mouth, the whole brood care may be up to two months long and the parental care is very intensive.Their breeding ranges are in medium hard water with a pH value of 7.0 and this also applies to Benitochromis conjunctus, Benitochromis finleyi, Benitochromis riomuniensisund Benitochromis shore manni. Next, the kind Benitochromis conjunctus, he is also 12 inches tall and comes also from Cameroon, he really comes in the same river system as Benitochromis nigrodorsalis before but never with them.
The body coloration is a yellow-brown to ocher, here is the abdominal region brighter. He also shows off and on two longitudinal stripes that join at the center of the body, either totally or almost together. The cheeks and gills have are greenish to turquoise as well as having a pink stain on the belly, and they have the upper part of the dorsal a shiny metallic strip which is colored white to blue, this color is in the upper part of the caudal in a horizontal stripe pattern continues. Males show another point drawing in dorsal, caudal and anal but are otherwise colorless.
The spawning and hatching behavior is at the crossroad as Benitochromis nigrodorsalis so I neglect to write it again. Then we come to finleyi Benitochromis, also 12 inches tall and also comes from Kamerun.He is even in the same river system as before but never shared with the two above mentioned species. He is yellow brown to reddish brown colored and there are a slightly lighter colored belly and chest, cheeks and gill covers are blue now and also the lateral regions of the anterior body. Females show once in the upper region of the dorsal a shiny band that is pink to whitish, and males do not have this or a very narrow for it again pits in dorsal, caudal and anal fin they have no color in the aforementioned fins. Spawning and hatching behavior is like the nigrodorsalis Benitochromis.
Benitochromis riomuniensis is also 12 inches tall and comes from Cameroon. Its color is yellow to reddish brown, breast and belly are bright, even among them may, from time to time see two dark stripes, gills and throat are yellowish, the dorsal with the females shows at the top of a bright yellow color in the upper range and the caudal is also visible. The abdomen of the female is usually slightly reddish. The males show - as in other species, again a stippling in dorsal, caudal and anal, they either have a very narrow or even a shiny band in the upper area of the dorsal, with them, the dorsal up to the small transparent glossy tape . The yellowish scales of the male body - including the previous species - show a dark border. Spawning and hatching behavior is like the nigrodorsalis Benitochromis. The Benitochromis manni, is only 10 inches tall comes - as it should be different - from Cameroon. In this way we can distinguish males and females from each other relatively well. The coloration of the fish is a dark brown, the belly is lighter. He has a round head shape, the fins are slightly extended, it shows four to six dark transverse bands that are visible now and then, and two vertical stripes are visible
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