Parachromis ? "La Ceiba Yellow Head"

The story behind these fish is they were discovered in a pond near La Ceiba, Honduras. A few were brought back to the USA. Upon returning to the pond a year or so later they found it polluted and lifeless. There is still much debate on whether it's a new species or a regional varient of Friedrichstahlii (Freddy). Orginally it was thought to be a varient of Loisellei.

I bought this pair as fry from Ken Davis in Nov 08 at about 1". I believe Ken was among those that collected them in the wild, Kens pair were wild caught. These guys spawned for me the first time in the beginning of Aug. I changed the lighting on the tank a week before the spawn and now I'm having a hard time getting pic's. It wasn't easy with them before as they're a more than a little shy. Some of the best ones of the female flaring and contorting at the male to push him away from the eggs are out of focus All and all most of pic's are somewhat out of focus. This tank in particular has been a challenge to photograph.

He defends her and the eggs/fry from everything in the house and she defends the eggs/fry from him. But from what I can tell she doesn't need to. They are great parents. In July this fish was added to the CARES preservation list as an extremely endangered species.

The male is 7" and the female around 5". The male seems to be going through a growth spurt the last two months.

Great looking pics and fish. I love to see fellow fish keepers helping to preserve fish for future generations of fish keepers to enjoy. Keep us updated on the progress of the fish and welcome to the forum.

Welcome aboard Danger!!! Thanks for posting these guys, they are truly awesome looking and such a sad story behind them. It's amazing to think that the only remaining fish of this species/variant is in hobbyists' tanks. Hopefully we can spawn enough of these off to go back and re-populate the pond at some point.

Thanks again Mike for coming here and posting these guys

That is so cool that you've been successful with such a rare fish. It looks like they had a huge number of fry.

I wonder how many other species might have been in that pond that no one will ever know about.

Sadly the tank these guys were in broke last week while I was at work. I was able to save the parents but lost most of the fry. I have 15-20 left and they seem to be doing well and growing.

Sorry about the loss. Hopefully that will be the only set back because with their looks and also being so rare I'm sure they will be in high demand.

Were you able to finally get those pesky con's out of the tank?

I hope these guys are ready in time for the November meeting, I'll have comp fry ready by then. If not, I'll just have to make a roadtrip when they are ready

Please keep us updated on these guys, really cool fish.

Last night I decided to break the tank down and shampoo th carpet. exactly one week after the incident I found oe little fry living in a puddle of dirty water in a corne. When I took the tank outside and rinsed it that little female con and was eating the fry fell out and was still ALIVE! there couldn't have been enough water for her to lay on her side. Yet she lasted a week.

What kind of fry did you find alive, a yellow head or a con? Whatever it was, it's a little survivor for sure.

That's terrible about the tank and the loss of most of the fry.

WOW!!! I can't believe they survived a week, that's pretty amazing. Glad to hear another fry is alive and well

Aura wrote:What kind of fry did you find alive, a yellow head or a con? Whatever it was, it's a little survivor for sure.

That's terrible about the tank and the loss of most of the fry.

One yellow head fry and one 2" con

nice pics, i was never able to get my hands on any when i was keeping the new would fish but always thought they where very cool looking fish.

I lost the male this weekend. Worse part is it was my fault. I removed a lot of the plants in the tank and the big Oscar. Without as many hiding places and the biggest fish in the tank gone, the sheriff (texas) killed him. At least I still have 14 juvi's from his only spawn.

Damn Mike, I'm really sorry to hear that...

A pic of the female in non breeding colors. These dont really show her that well, she's a regular rainbow. And a few of the pair's fry that are between 1.5-2" and starting to show color in their fins.









And one of the males chommpers. I ordered a lens to get better close up's, the lens came today but he's gone. If he used them he'd still be here

Love the fry shots. How are the juvies holding up?

They're all pushing 3" now.

Great looking pics, fish and Tank! I had three of these but didn't seperate them in time and ended up with one

Wow. Great looking cichlids. Is there any hope for the restoration of their natural habitat?