Tramitichromis intermedius
Tramitichromis intermedius was first described in 1935 by Trewavas. At that time it was still under the name Lethrinops intermedia.
The genus name Tramitichromis can be broken into two parts. “Trames” means “lateral,” referring to the swerve of the pharyngeal jaws from the usual range of the structure. “Chromis'” is a name used as early as the time of Aristotle. It is possibly derived from the word “chroemo” meaning “whinny. This possibly refers to the drumming sound of the family Sciaenidae. The use of the word Chromis was later extended to the cichlids, damselfish, dwarf bass and wrasse. It used to be thought that all these species belonged to the same family.
The species name intermedius means”intermediate in shape”, the shape is between two species. Tramitichromis intermedius has the short snout, low number of gill arches and short pharyngeal leaf of Lethrinops (now Tramitichromis) brevis and the pharyngeal tooth structure of Letrinops argenteus and Lethrinops lethrinus.
The species has two synonyms: Lethrinops intermedia and Tremtocranus intermedius.
Description
An adult Tramitichromis intermedius male can reach a length of about 17 centimeters. The female remains slightly smaller at about 15 centimeters.
The difference between an adult dominant male and female is obvious. The male has much more color than the female. Its head is iridescent green/blue. On the flank this color is also found albeit the scales have a red border. The pectoral fins are translucent. The dorsal, caudal, anal and pelvic fins have red spots. Egg spots can also be seen on the anal fin.
As with Lethrinops, males show their most beautiful colors when kept in a special aquarium . Together with other species they soon become somewhat suppressed and lose their bright colors.
The female is somewhat duller colored. They are a brown/gray color. Several dark spots are visible on the flank. The spots start high on the shoulder and run down to the base of the tail. They are also visible in males when not fully colored.
Biotope
The habitat of Tramitichromis intermedius is limited to southern Lake Malawi. They are mainly found in shallow water over muddy and sandy bottoms.
Diet
In the wild, Tramitichromis intermedius seeks its food by flushing the substrate through its gills. In doing so, they look for small insect larvae, worms and the like.
In the aquarium you can feed them with a varied diet of live and frozen food. White and black mosquito larvae, artemia, mysis, Daphnia. They also like to eat flake food, granules and the like. Occasional vegetable flakes such as spirulina complement the diet well. A varied diet also makes the colors more intense .
The Aquarium
An aquarium from about 150 centimeters in length is sufficient for one male with several females. It is best to keep them in a harem. In this species the male is somewhat territorial. If you want to keep more males you will need a spacious aquarium.
Set up the aquarium with (filter) sand on the bottom. The sand should not be sharp because they flush this through their gills looking for some edible food. As usual in a Malawi aquarium, also place a few rocks. Between the rocks make some cracks, crevices and burrows. The females can temporarily escape the attention of the male here. Breeding Tramitichromis intermedius females can also retreat between these from time to time.
Water parameters
The water may have a temperature of about 22 to 26 degrees Celsius. Preferably keep the pH between pH 7.5 and 8.5. The GH is of less importance here.
Aquarium co-inhabitants
As mentioned, the colors of Tramitichromis intermedius are at their best when not suppressed. Therefore, do not keep them together with Mbuna or large predators. If you want to combine them with other species, consider peace-loving Aulonocara or Copadichromis species. Possibly they hybridize easily with Lethrinops species, I would personally avoid that combination.
Breeding of Tramitichromis intermedius
Like almost all other Malawi Cichlids, Tramitichromis intermedius is a maternal mouthbreeder. That is, the female incubates the eggs in her mouth.
To breed successfully with this species you need a breeding group of preferably one male with several females. They can reproduce in an aquarium with other species so a special breeding aquarium is not always necessary.
Set up the aquarium with sand on the bottom. In the sand the male makes a kind of fortress. He tries to lure a female here to mate with him. He does this by showing his most beautiful colors. He puts his fins wide and with trembling movements he shows his flank.
When the female is ready to mate she goes with him to his castle. They circle each other. The female lays a few eggs in the sand of the castle. They spin through after which the eggs are fertilized by the male. The female takes the eggs in her mouth. This repeats until all the eggs are laid.
The male ‘s work is now finished. The Tramitichromis intermedius female now incubates the eggs in her maw. The eggs hatch after a few days but the newly hatched young fish remain in her maw. They continue to feed on their yolk sac. Only about three weeks after depositing the eggs are the young released. They must now continue to fend for themselves.
In an aquarium with adult fish, most of the young fish will be eaten. If you want to keep more fish, you can catch the female about 15 days after she has dropped off. Place her in a breeding aquarium with sand on the bottom and some hiding places. Here she can feel safe until she spits out the young fish. The first hours after releasing the young Tramitichromis intermedius, the female does not eat her young. You have all the time you need to put her back in the normal aquarium.
The young fish can be fed dust food or crushed flake food. With newly hatched artemia they grow fastest.
Video
Author
John de Lange
Copyright images
Kevin Bauman
References
Back to Nature Gids voor Malawi Cichliden – Ad Konings
Fishbase
Etyfish
Seriouslyfish
