Do these guys breed just like their close cousin the black convict? I have 4 fish in a 20 gallon long. I got 4 because I don't know how to sex them yet. How do you sex them & do they breed as readily as the black convict?
Honduran Red Point Cichlids
- Thread starter Jellymolly44
- Start date
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
They breed just as easily and they are fairly easy to sex although not as easy to sex as Cons. Males will have a lighter, icy blue overall coloration and will develop red coloration in the dorsal, anal and caudal fins. They have also been known to grow a small nuchal hump. Females will have a deeper overall blue coloration with little to no red in the fins. The females tend to be a little smaller than the males. Also from experience the males have a more full look whereas females are smaller and more oval shaped.
Here is a profile with a few pics of mine for refrence!
HRP Profile
The third picture in the link you gave me, is the male the lighter blue one? He or she looks pretty icy in color. Thankyou for your help by the way mostlycichlids.
IME males will be a bit larger than females, with the longer dorsal and anal fin rays typical of many male cichlids. I had 3 pairs of them in a 38 for a while. One pair spawned a couple times, though the eggs didn't last long enough to hatch. No problems between any of them. I moved them out to make room for some other stock, Bushwhacker got them, and all 3 pairs have been spawning away for him (in a larger tank.) Overall they're great cichlids, more colorful and much less aggressive than convicts.
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
I disagree on the less agressive part....the eight I had were complete monsters but never showed too much aggression till they were all sexually mature and I had them in a 125g still had to split them up. The third pic is two males the second pic which I think you might be referring too the lighter one is the female....the males have a deeper ice blue color but the dead giveaway is the hump the males develop and body shape....I will try and find more pics for you.
I think this is one fish the hobby has done a disservice to. The "Honduran Red Points" that are fiercely barred - just like a convict are not Honduran Red Points to the best of my knowledge. My understanding is that Rusty Wessel was the first to discover them. When you find photos attributed to him, they show the fish i have had. They never have the black bars of convicts. I know they received their own scientific name last year but it escapes me. I am pretty sure it is Archocentrus something.
Regarding aggression, everyone's experience may vary. If you work with Cichlids you know that. My first batch came directly from Jeff Rapps before anyone knew what they were. They were not aggressive. VERY mild even when breeding unlike convicts. I had 8 in a 55 and I have had a few batches I picked up here and there since. I keep going back to them but they just don't hold my interest that long. A lot of what I am seeing available now are either hybrids or a different species. For example mine never showed bars like in mostlychichlids' HRP link. Never. I did breed them out for 2 generations and I never seen that. The do have black spots though and "slight" barring. The barring typically only shows when stressed. When breeding the male didn't show bars; they would get intense blue color but no bars. Females did seem to show more barring - but again not like a convict. They never really fought - a breeding pair would chase others away but that was the extent. As a matter of fact mine always had the intense light blue, just more intense at some times.
I also picked up another batch from a breeder working with wild caught and those fish were the same appearance and behavior as my original batch. I then picked up some in a local store. While they still had a lot of blue, they were very yellowish when they matured and showed more prominent bars. They also lacked the red in the fins. That was when they were getting really popular and a lot of people were finding out they cross breed easily. I dumped them without breeding them. Now all I am seeing locally look like Convicts. Literally. Convicts with a little blue and sometimes some red in the fins.
This is a good article by Rusty Wessel if you have access
http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery/species.php?s=1619
I think I found the perfect reference photos:
http://www.tedsfishroom.com/wp/visits/fishroom-tours/rusty-wessels-fish-house
A little over halfway down the page you see Rusty's original wild caughts - what mine looked like and the offspring of those fish. Mine looked sometimes like that when stressed, but the black was not actually that intense. I think it is a lighting issue - flash photography really distorts the true colors they display. I also think the type and quality of food plays a big roll in young offspring coloration.
One of my favorite resources was hacked in December and they have not restored their site or services yet.... Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk. They had some great info on them. Including the scientific name they have been given and the scientific description of the fish. I don't know where to get the actual paper on the topic.
Regarding aggression, everyone's experience may vary. If you work with Cichlids you know that. My first batch came directly from Jeff Rapps before anyone knew what they were. They were not aggressive. VERY mild even when breeding unlike convicts. I had 8 in a 55 and I have had a few batches I picked up here and there since. I keep going back to them but they just don't hold my interest that long. A lot of what I am seeing available now are either hybrids or a different species. For example mine never showed bars like in mostlychichlids' HRP link. Never. I did breed them out for 2 generations and I never seen that. The do have black spots though and "slight" barring. The barring typically only shows when stressed. When breeding the male didn't show bars; they would get intense blue color but no bars. Females did seem to show more barring - but again not like a convict. They never really fought - a breeding pair would chase others away but that was the extent. As a matter of fact mine always had the intense light blue, just more intense at some times.
I also picked up another batch from a breeder working with wild caught and those fish were the same appearance and behavior as my original batch. I then picked up some in a local store. While they still had a lot of blue, they were very yellowish when they matured and showed more prominent bars. They also lacked the red in the fins. That was when they were getting really popular and a lot of people were finding out they cross breed easily. I dumped them without breeding them. Now all I am seeing locally look like Convicts. Literally. Convicts with a little blue and sometimes some red in the fins.
This is a good article by Rusty Wessel if you have access
http://www.cichlidae.com/gallery/species.php?s=1619
I think I found the perfect reference photos:
http://www.tedsfishroom.com/wp/visits/fishroom-tours/rusty-wessels-fish-house
A little over halfway down the page you see Rusty's original wild caughts - what mine looked like and the offspring of those fish. Mine looked sometimes like that when stressed, but the black was not actually that intense. I think it is a lighting issue - flash photography really distorts the true colors they display. I also think the type and quality of food plays a big roll in young offspring coloration.
One of my favorite resources was hacked in December and they have not restored their site or services yet.... Practicalfishkeeping.co.uk. They had some great info on them. Including the scientific name they have been given and the scientific description of the fish. I don't know where to get the actual paper on the topic.