Copadichromis parvus
Copadichromis parvus was described in 2006 by Jay R. Stauffer and Ad Konings as part of a revision of the Copadichromis family. In Ad Konings ‘ books it can be found in photographs from 2001 under the name Copadichromis sp.”verduyni dwarf”
The name parvus comes from Latin and means small, a reference that this species is small compared to the other Copadichromis species. The name Copadichromis falls into 2 parts, from the Greek kopas = notched and chromis = fish.
Description of the Copadichromis parvus
The males in breeding color are dark blue towards almost black. From the lips they have a white stripe over their head which continues into the dorsal fin. On the flank they have 7 to 8 vertical black stripes, dark blue in between. The pectoral fins have black fin rays but are otherwise transparent. The pectoral and anal fins are black but may have a white edge. When they are not in breeding color they can show 3 black spots on their flank, which disappear again in no time if they need to impress for a while.
Females are gray/brown with 3 black spots on their flank. The gill cover and throat are colorless. The dorsal fin is pale blue/gray with gray spots at the top trimmed with a yellow/orange edge. The ventral fins are transparent except for the first 3 membranes, which are gray, the front edge of the ventral fins are trimmed with a white edge. On the head a first onset of the white blaze can sometimes be vaguely seen that is so clearly present in males.
By Copadichromis standards this is a quiet species, especially outside the breeding season but even in the breeding season it is not very aggressive. Rather keep only together with other peaceful species.
Biotope
Within the Copadichromis family, the range of the Copadichromis parvus is the largest. They occur from just north of The Chiloelo River to the bay north of Metangula in Mozambique. Territorial males are usually at a depth of 11 to 23 meters, occupying a spot where sand turns to rock. Females and non territorial males usually stay about 1 to 3 meters above the bottom and feed on small invertebrates in the open water column and on the bottom. The mouthbrooding females isolate themselves and stay close to the bottom.
Diet
In the wild they feed on plankton in the open water and invertebrates on the bottom. In the aqu arium they can be fed an alternating diet of artemia, krill, mysis shrimp etc. As usual with Malawi do not feed red midge and tubifex! Make sure you do not feed too much, the food should be eaten within a few minutes and nothing should remain. This species has a tendency to keep on eating , making them too fat. They are otherwise not picky eaters and will take almost any food you put in front of them.
The Aquarium
The aquarium should be set up with sand on the bottom. The males make a stronghold at the bottom of a large rock as soon as they are ready. So provide a sufficiently thick layer of sand adjacent to a large rock. They also need sufficient swimming space. Therefore, keep a minimum aquarium length of 150 centimeters with 400 liters of water. For mouthbrooding females , a few rocks between which they can hide are necessary.
Breeding aquarium and conditioning
Breeding this beautiful Malawi cichlid is not difficult. Usually they will breed well in the presence of other Malawi species. As long as they are well fed and healthy they do want to breed. You don’t have to condition them differently…just alternate high quality food.
The Spawn
The male makes a burrow at the bottom of a large stone; a kind of shallow pit in the sand. The burrow is about 15 to 22 centimeters across and no more than 3.5 to 6 centimeters high. In the wild, the stone under which the male digs his burrow is usually larger than the diameter of the burrow. Once the burrow is ready , he tries to lure the female to it by showing his flanks and making vibrating movements. The fish orbit each other, the female lays an egg which is fertilized by the male. After this, the female takes the eggs into her maw.
Raising the fry
The eggs are hatched by the female in her maw. After about 3 weeks, the female will spit out the now-hatched young by herself. It is not necessary (even undesirable) to manually remove the eggs. If the hatchlings hatch in an aquarium containing adult Malawi cichlids, they are usually almost all eaten unless you have many small cracks and crevices in which they can hide.
If you want to keep whole litters of young for breeding, you can capture the female after about 2 weeks of incubation and house her alone in a smaller aquarium. Make sure the water parameters are correct. Breeding aquariums are usually kept fairly bare to allow for good cleaning. The female does need some hiding places in the form of a few caves (which can just be stacked rocks as long as they cannot fall over). After spitting out the young, the female will not eat them immediately. So you have plenty of time to catch the female that day or the day after. The young can be fed with fresh artemia and other very small food.
Conclusion
The contrast between the dark fish and the bright white blaze makes this an attractive species to keep in the aquarium. They are not too large and quite quiet, so do make sure to have suitable co-inhabitants. Despite the limited size of the fish , it does require a spacious aquarium !
Video
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Jurgen van Valckenborgh
References
Jay R. Stauffer en Ad Konings – Review of Copadichromis (TEleostei: Cichlidae) with the description of a new genus and six new species;
Malawifreaks.nl (original website no longer online)
