Spawning Stomatepia pindu
By Michael McKinney
from The Underwater News, Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, December 2003
Aquarticles
Down in Western Africa in the country of Cameroon there are many volcanoes that are now
occupied by crater lakes. One of these lakes is Barombi Mbo. Barombi Mbo is home to over a
dozen cichlid species, including 11 endemic species, which evolved from a single species
over the last 10,000 years. The cichlid species in Barombi Mbo include Stomatepia
pindu, Stomatepia mariae, Myaka myaka, Sarotherodon lohbergeri, Konia eisentrauti,
and Pungu maclerani. I mention these species as they are the ones that are
starting to appear on more and more breeder lists and such. The endemic species of Barombi
Mbo cichlids fall into one of four genera (Myaka, Pungu, Stomatepia, and Konia).
I am currently working with a group of wild Stomatepia pindu, as well as a
group of young F1 Konia eisentrauti. I acquired a group of 12 wild Stomatepia
pindu recently after losing a group that I had for a couple years. My first group was
obtained as F1 fry. As I stated I had this group for about two years. I lost this initial
group during a period of time when I was working 70 - 80 hours a week and had little if no
time at all for my fish room. The long hours at work lasted for a few months and my
initial group of Stomatepia pindu suffered. Ironically it was shortly after my
work schedule had abated and I was able to get back into the fish room that my pindu
tanked 'crashed'. I did a decent sized water change when I noticed that the fish were
hanging around the bottom of the tank. Shortly after they developed a case of Ick like I
had never seen before. I treated the Ick and the visible signs of the condition
disappeared but the fish never recovered. Over a week's time I lost all the pindu in
my initial group.
I placed my new group of Stomatepia pindu in a 40-gallon breeder aquarium that
was maintained with a temperature of 78 - 82 degrees, a pH of 8.2, and relatively hard
water. The tank contained one tall and relatively thin piece of driftwood that was placed
in the middle of the aquarium and reached nearly to the top of the aquarium. The tank also
has a couple 6-inch lengths of PVC pipe, which is shelter for one Synodontis polli
that shares the tank with the pindu. There is shallow amount of coarse gravel
covering the bottom of the tank and four large sponge filters in the tank as well. This
group of fish schools together around the driftwood typically only venturing out to feed
or to spawn. I have been lucky enough to witness quite a few spawns over the last few
months. The pair ventures away from the driftwood to various parts of the tank to spawn.
There does not seem to be any real thought put into selecting the spawning site. There is
no nest building or digging. The pair just seems to stop when they feel comfortable and go
about their business, the female dropping eggs on the gravel followed by the male circling
in to fertilize. As this species of fish is mouthbrooder, the female then picks up the
eggs for incubation. One spawning characteristic of the fish that has stood out for me is
the 'calmness' of all the fish in the group when a pair is spawning. With other species of
cichlids, I am used to the pair chasing away other members of the group, subdominant males
trying to interrupt or get involved in the spawning, or just a general sense of anxiety in
the tank. Not with these fish. The pair calmly and casually completes the spawning ritual
without paying any attention to the other fish in the tank. And the other fish in the tank
just go about their business as if nothing is going on.
I had very little luck with the initial spawns. I am estimating that I have at least 7
- 8 females out of the group of 12. So spawning was a relatively common occurrence. In the
first month or so, the females would carry for a day or two and then the eggs disappeared.
At this point, I am not sure if they were spit out or eaten. After this first month I
started to strip the eggs from a few of the spawns. This was a day or two after spawning
because I wanted to try to get some eggs before they disappeared again. I transferred the
eggs to an egg tumbler for incubation. I tried this 4 times I believe, each time ending up
with one free developed young. With the lack of any real success, I decided to give up on
this practice and leave it to the females, hoping that they would develop better rearing
skills with subsequent spawns. A few more unsuccessful spawns came and went, but recently
a few of the females have started to carry the eggs for longer periods of time. Actually I
have now had three spawns were I have been able to strip 5 - 10 fully developed and free
swimming young from the females about 3 weeks post spawning. So I know have about 2-dozen
young growing out. They grow quickly on a steady diet of baby brine shrimp, white worms,
and finely crushed flake food.
Stomatepia pindu was the species of cichlid from Barombi Mbo that first caught
my attention. It was an article by Dr. Paul Loiselle in Cichlids News a few years back
that did the trick. I could not believe the black coloration of this fish. The entire body
of the fish, at times, is completely black…. dark, dark black. There is a spangling
of fluorescent purple spots in the males as well, which also adds to the appearance of the
fish. During periods of stress their coloration will soften up to a grayish brown with
black spotting, but under normal conditions and especially during spawning…. wow!!
After reading the article it was actually through Dr. Loiselle that I was able to obtain
my first group of pindu. It took quite a bit of time and effort to actually
locate someone with the fish. I had tracked down leads through the Boston Aquarium Society
as well as with hobbyists up in Canada with no luck. They are a bit more common today,
listed on a few species lists on the Internet and ACA Trading Post. If you get the chance
I definitely recommend this fish to everyone.
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