Xenotilapia ornatipinnis
Xenotilapia ornatipinnis was first described in 1901 by Boulenger. The family name Xenotilapia can be broken down into two words. Xenos comes from the ancient Greek xenos and means strange. Thiapa comes from the local African language and means fish. So in summary, this family consists of strange fish. The species name ornatipinnis can also be broken down into two words. Ornatus is from Latin and means beautiful or handsome, pinnis is also Latin and means fin. This is a reference to the beautifully colored dorsal fin the males have.
Synonym: Xenotilapia ornatipinus.
Description
The males of this species can reach a length of about 13 centimeters. The females usually remain somewhat smaller and do not become larger than about 10 centimeters. What immediately stands out about the Xenotilapia ornatipinnis are the large eyes. This betrays a bit that this species mainly lives in deeper water. The color is silver/gray/beige on the flanks. Males have a yellow and sometimes a black stripe in their dorsal, anal and caudal fins. The dorsal fin is purplish in color. Depending on the direction of light, you can see different colors.
Origin
The range of Xenotilapia ornatipinnis includes the northern half of Lake Tanganyika. They prefer to live above the sandy areas of the lake. You can usually find them above the sand at depths of 10 to 60 meters but the record stands at 160 meters deep. They probably seek deeper water during the day and surface a bit more at night.
Diet
In the wild, Xenotilapia ornatipinnis feeds on copepods and mosquito larvae. In the aqu arium you can feed them with live and frozen food such as Artemia, black mosquito larvae etc. Alternate the frozen or live food with flakes and granules.
The Aquarium
Xenotilapia ornatipinnis is a peaceful bottom dwelling cichlid that can be kept in small groups, think of 6 to 8 specimens. Use an aquarium of 130 centimeters or more. The aquarium should have a sandy bottom with some stones here and there that can be used as boundaries for a territory. It is recommended to keep more than one male as otherwise they will not show their best colors. They are quite skittish, sudden movements should be avoided.
Breeding Xenotilapia ornatipinnis
The breeding of Xenotilapia ornatipinnis is not difficult. When the eggs are deposited they are quickly fertilized by the male, after which they are taken in the mouth by the female. A clutch usually contains up to about 50 eggs.
After 18 days the young leave the mouth after which they are on their own . They can be raised with Artemia nauplii and finely rubbed flakes. With sufficient water changes and good quality food , the young grow to a length of about eight centimeters within a year. Around this time they are able to reproduce on their own.
Video
Author
Jan Bukkems – Aquavisie
John de Lange
Copyright images
Suephoto.com (original website no longer availabel)
Resources
Fishbase.org
Back to Nature Gids voor Tanganyanika Cichliden – pagina 186 – Ad Konings
Tanganyika Cichliden – Soren Neergaard
Cichlidae.com
