Pelvicachromis taeniatus 'Moliwe'

**Emokidz** · 18th Apr 2012, 00:47

Yup, Bernie's videos show the adults when their finnage develops more fully, with males having their dorsals and ventrals all the curvy and pointed. I think their colours and finnage will continue to develop, seeing that the outlining of their fins are still silvery and colouring up. Particularly the female, who's dorsal becomes a striking metallic orange. I think you guys give me too much credit though, a reason why they look so good is most probably due to the high water quality in your tanks too - where any fish will show their full potential.

But the interesting part is always seeing how they develop and grow! And yes, they eat a lot. Which is fine with me since the female looks so cute when she's well-fed and rounder.

**Emokidz** · 18th Apr 2012, 01:05

Originally Posted by doppelbanddwarf

Very nice fishes bernard. All well fed and plump. Wouldn't they dig up your planted tank?

On a side note, I think one of the most interesting female breeding colouration among Pelvicachromis taeniatus variants have to be the "wouri" variant. I lost a wild pair some time ago and would grab at the chance to get that variant again.

Hi Chongyu,

For me, the only time they rearranged some stuff was when they were breeding. Otherwise, they behave very differently from cichlids like eartheaters or shellies - hardly touching the substrate.
Are you referring to the 'bandi wouri' variant? Recently C328 has been bringing them and Nigerian Reds in. Some are healthy, but occassionally there are others that seem a bit lethargic/sunken stomach or suffering from hole in the head (probably due to prolonged stress and sub-optimal conditions). But I agree, they look nice too.

The breeding colouration of moliwe is also a sight to behold. I never managed to get a photo that did it justice. But the female's body and pelvic fins turn blackish-purple and a large and round iridescent patch appears on the sides. Like an Opal.

**doppelbanddwarf** · 18th Apr 2012, 01:16

No the "wouri" variant is different from the "bandewouri" one. The female actually turns kind of black except around the belly region. The breeding colouration can be seen in the third photo in the url below:
http://www.aquatic-photography.com/f...uot-Wouri-quot

**stormhawk** · 18th Apr 2012, 01:30

My TDS in the community tank is at 500+ last I checked, and they're happily munching away. I see the displays between the female and the male. 2 of the females have established their territories. The best part about having them is that the males are not keen on skirmishing. They just go about grazing everywhere. The way their mouths are directed and the shape leads me to think that in the wild, they are grazers on rock, sand and gravel, with a semi-sifting habit. The ones in the tank now, they do the same "earth-eating" move as the apistos do. So far they don't dig and I doubt they will.

Like Bernard told me, they are constantly hungry and that is true. They graze on everything, even on the apple snail shells!

**Emokidz** · 18th Apr 2012, 01:37

Yup, that's the sort of look in breeding attire.

Here's the moliwe in normal colours:

This is a photo of one of the daughters in breeding colour. No editing done on this picture, when lights were off.

Both pictures were taken by Griffinkid, with the female he currently has.

**stormhawk** · 18th Apr 2012, 01:39

http://www.lem.net/alf/css-westafr.htm#wouri

This page shows some variants, namely Wouri, Moliwe and Myuka. Last locality is also spelt as Muyuka in some sources. To know if the "Bandiwouri" is the same as "Wouri", just look at the pattern on the tails of the males.

I think the Moliwe is still the nicest variant.

**bernie** · 18th Apr 2012, 08:00

The female being becoming bright purple aside, what astound me most was the way the female rattles during courtship. The dark color and her lips really looked like an African species to me��

I actually wanted to sell them all off but no one wanted to take both the parents and offsprings.
Bernard maybe we can just do fries exchange later on?

**doppelbanddwarf** · 18th Apr 2012, 10:02

The wouri variant females are significantly different from those of other variants of taeniatus IIRC.

Saw your sales thread bernie very reasonable price. I would have gotten them if I had a tank to put them. I think as stormhawk mentioned before the demand is probably low as they look pretty similar to the common Pelvicachromis pulcher.

**stormhawk** · 18th Apr 2012, 10:41

Our locally available Kribs are not very good looking. Most of them I see have lost their spotting in the fins and colors only showing during spawning time. At least these taeniatus are spectacular in their own right, even with F2/3 fry.

**Emokidz** · 18th Apr 2012, 12:49

Originally Posted by bernie

I actually wanted to sell them all off but no one wanted to take both the parents and offsprings.
Bernard maybe we can just do fries exchange later on?

Sure! I'm always open to exchange to expand the gene pool. Inbreeding is never good - and I don't quite like the idea of crossing the son with their mother or sister...

**Emokidz** · 25th Apr 2012, 04:05

Managed to get some decent shots of the female's breeding colouration:

This one would have been great, but she chose to hide...

**stormhawk** · 25th Apr 2012, 08:41

Intensity of the belly is amazing. None of the females in my care are showing this. They spend the whole day eating with the males not very interested even though one or two of the dominant females are doing the jerky thing in front of them.

**Emokidz** · 25th Apr 2012, 13:30

Could probably have to wait till they take on this colouration. 2 out of the 5 females I keep in my planted tank display this. The rest just look normal and purplish. Given time, I think they would eventually display it as the ones I have started to some time after I placed them in the tank. But I think the purple ones are cute in their own right. Like they ate a grape or something...