There is one very interesting fish in the squadron order, named Festa cichlazoma, known to aquarists from the 70s of the last century. This fish is called orange cichlazoma for its bright elegant color; it is loved for its beauty and peculiar behavior, especially during spawning. However, many are afraid to start a fest because of rumors about her evil temper and difficulties in keeping.
As practice shows, both are greatly exaggerated. If you want, be sure to start, and we will tell you how to avoid problems with the maintenance, care and breeding of an interesting representative of the ichthyofauna of the planet.
The history of the discovery of orange cichlazoma
The future owner of Festa cichlazoma will probably be interested to know why it is so called.
The first to discover this fish in the rivers of South America was Italian researcher and naturalist Enrico Luigi Festa. By the way, the name of the scientist is reflected in the species names of several more frogs, lizards, snakes and scorpions.
George Albert Bulenger, a British ichthyologist of Belgian origin, described the orange cichloma. The fish received the Latin name Cichlasoma festae and, according to the classification, is a representative of the order of perch-like family of cichlids, which includes more than 1300 species.
It is not difficult to find out among such a variety of Festal cichlasoma: this fish is distinguished by a bright individual appearance.
Enchanting color - a business card of orange cichlazoma
It is important for anyone who decides to get this fish to know: in their homeland in the rivers of Peru and Ecuador, Festa grows up to 25–27 cm in length, and the males are larger than the females. However, when growing in captivity, the growth of some specimens can reach 40 cm, so you need to be prepared to purchase a large aquarium.
The structure of Festa cichlazoma is typically perch: the head is large, the body is tall, oval, slightly compressed from the sides. Males are golden yellow, decorated with randomly scattered turquoise sparkles. Females look even more spectacular: they are bright orange and the same sparkling.
In females, the sides are lined with wide vertical stripes from greenish blue to deep ink. Stripes of males are more faded. On the caudal stem of females, a dark spot of regular shape, reminiscent of the eye, is well pronounced in males, it is barely noticeable.
Paired fins of Festa cichlazoma are greenish-blue. The unpaired fins of the females are orange, in males the color of ripe red wine. Like any radiant fish, the dorsal and anal fins of the festa contain sharp rays of a dark color.
Large fish eyes and thick orange-red lips are very impressive. Pay attention to the photo of Fest's cichlazoma: the expression of the muzzle is quite friendly. So where are the rumors of her evil temper?
False Festa
The fact is that these cichlids acquire their color of extraordinary beauty only as they grow older. And young fish are very similar to their relatives - cichlases of urophthalmus, the same striped, but at any age grayish yellow and extremely aggressive.
When Festa cichlazomas first appeared on the pet trade market, unscrupulous suppliers sometimes replaced them with urophthalmuses, for which, for this reason, the name "false Festa" was fixed.
However, the reputation of the orange cichlazoma was spoiled and the fish continued to be considered an evil aggressor. And they even called Red Terror by analogy with the famous turquoise Akara known as Green Terror.
The owners of Festa cichlase in the reviews on the forums confirm that, when properly maintained, their pets are quite peacefully side by side with other species of fish and even spawn in a common aquarium. Nevertheless, for beginner aquarists, experts recommend starting a couple of fish and setting up a separate dwelling for them.
House for festivals: aquarium volume, soil and scenery
These are not schooling, but very territorial fish, and in order for the couple to feel in conditions as close as possible to life in nature, you need to purchase an aquarium with a capacity of at least 300 liters, and ideally 400 liters. Since these cichlids live in the lower and middle layers of the water, the aquarium should be horizontally oriented.
In the rivers of South America, Festa cichlomas are active at night, and during the day they prefer to hide in previously dug pits. Therefore, the bottom of the aquarium must be covered with a layer of soil made of pebbles or granite chips of a small fraction.
At the bottom you will need to place driftwood, flat stones and artificial grottoes. The fish decorations that they like will be used for spawning; some of the decorations should serve as a shelter for them.
Living plants will appeal to these fish to their taste, in the literal sense of the word. In most cases, festa are pulled out by aquatic vegetation, and if not eaten, then simply destroyed. If you need landscaping of the aquarium, you should give preference to the following types of plants:
- Canadian Elodea;
- Wallisneria
- rhizome species of echinodorus;
- cryptocorin is heart-shaped (lutea) or yellow.
After planting, plants must be strengthened with large stones. A fluorescent lamp (0.3-0.4 W) and a 10-hour light are suitable as lighting for Fest cichlazoma and aquatic vegetation.
The mood and behavior of fish largely depends on the improvement of the aquarium, and their health and life depend on the quality of the water.
Water for Festa
In nature, these cichlids live in flowing water bodies with water t from 22 to 30 ° , a hydrogen index of ph 7.5–8.5 and a moderate water hardness of up to 20 GH.
To test the acidity, you can buy a kit for testing the pH level. Water hardness is determined using an electronic portable salimeter device or special test strips.
If according to the results of the test it is necessary to increase the hardness of the water, shell rock or marble chips are added to the aquarium, melt, distilled water or encapsulated sodium ions are used to lower it. For prevention, you can plant the aforementioned elodea.
Festa cichlazomas do not require special care, but filtration and aeration must be taken into account. The filter must be powerful and cope with the volume of water, because these fish do not suffer from a lack of appetite, and the environment can be heavily polluted by food debris. And in any case, 30-50% of the water will have to be replaced every week.
How to feed Festa
Wild orange cichlazomes feed on fry and small fish species, aquatic insects and their larvae, extract various invertebrates from the ground, and eagerly eat aquatic vegetation. Owing to their omnivorous nature, the owners of Festa cichlomas with keeping and feeding pets do not experience difficulties.
During aquarium breeding, orange fest can be fed with the following foods and feeds:
- raw meat of shrimp, mussels, squid;
- finely chopped fish;
- bloodworms, earthworms and flour worms;
- pre-scalded cabbage and lettuce leaves;
- specialized feeds in chips and granules, better balanced, which include proteins and plant fibers.
The daily diet is given to adult fish 1 time per day, young fish are divided into 3 doses. The main thing is not to overfeed, the proposed portion of cichlids should be eaten within a few minutes. If the feed remains, its quantity is reduced.
Despite excellent appetite, these cichlids grow slowly and become sexually mature only by 12-14 months of life with a length of about 20 cm.
Breeding festa
When you notice that your fish have acquired an incredibly bright color and they have anal tubercles, the pets are ready to breed. For those who have just discovered fishkeeping and have no idea how Fest's cichlazomas spawn, breeding tips can be very helpful.
In the mating season, these fish change not only color, but also behavior. Future parents become extremely mobile and restless, digging the soil endlessly, tossing stones and pulling plants.
The female spawns eggs on a flat stone or any similar eminence, the male impregnates the masonry and from that moment the parents zealously guard the offspring, even if no one else is in the aquarium. Preserving caviar, Fest's cichlazomas bravely rush to the net or the owner’s hand and can bite sensitively.
The number of eggs is usually from 400 to 600 pieces, and several dozen fry are usually viable. Larvae appear after 3-4 days, and parents begin to behave even more interesting.
Offspring Care
These cichlids rightfully earned the glory of extremely responsible parents. They immediately hatch the hatched offspring into a pre-dug hole, and, as the owners write with Festa's cichlosis in the reviews, some females dig several holes and drag fry from place to place 5 times a day.
When festivals are waiting for the addition, their owners buy protein food in advance, the best option is artemia nauplii or special types of nematodes for aquarium fish. Parents are also serious about feeding their babies, they first chew their food and then spit out the cubs. In the natural environment, Festa cichlomas are capable of producing a specific skin secret that is fed to fry, but this happens extremely rarely in captivity.
Some couples regularly take their offspring for a walk around the aquarium, while others show excessive care without releasing from the pit. Therefore, fry at the age of 2 weeks is better to plant in a teenage aquarium, otherwise the zeal of the parents can lead to the fact that they themselves will stop eating and starve the younger generation.
However, it happens that a friendly mature couple is not going to produce offspring.
Why festa do not want to breed
It would seem that the fish created ideal conditions for reproduction, and mating games with shoveling the soil as it never happened. There are several reasons:
- not warm enough water;
- too high hardness and acidity of water;
- the female is afraid of the male.
An increase in water t to +30 ° C, a decrease in hardness to 10 dGH and a pH level of up to 7 units will help stimulate spawning.
It is also worth paying attention to the behavior of fish. The male should dominate, but not show aggression towards the female. In the opposite case, the aquarium is separated by a plexiglass partition with a hole cut out, into which the smaller female can swim unhindered.
Many experienced aquarists contain orange cichlases in this way, because males often attack females during the spawning season, and after the offspring appear their aggression sometimes comes to killing.
Do not deny yourself the pleasure of having Festus cichloma. Maintenance and care will not cause much trouble, and watching the behavior of exotic fish is a pleasure. With good care, these cichlids live for at least 10 years.