I have worked with this species for several years. In fact, I have three breeding pairs right now in three different tanks that spawn regularly. Because I have experience with almost all the Julidochromis species, I can also accurately state that dickfeldi are quite easy to breed, comparatively. So what do you need to successfully breed these wonderful fish?
Since I am a hobbyist and not a scientist, I don’t “experiment” with fish in the strictest sense. Thus I don’t perform formal breeding experiments (i.e., hypothesis testing). Therefore, instead of describing everything it takes to successfully breed dickfeldi, I’m going to describe what has worked for me. I’m also not going to provide a complete profile of these fish, including type locality, taxonomy, etc. For that information, I suggest you pick up the latest edition of Ad Koning’s Tanganyikan Cichlids in their natural habitat. I will say that the Julidochromis genus may be one of the most fluid cichlid genera in terms of uncertainty. There is a LOT of disagreement among the community about taxonomy of the genus.
One of the aforementioned uncertainties is which of the sexes is the larger in a dickfeldi breeding pair. I have stated in past posts that the larger of my pair is the female but I have no proof of that. I have made that statement based on the fact that the prevailing argument seems to be that females are generally larger in the genus. However, the dickfeldi species profile at the Cichlid Room Companion states that the male is “typically” larger than the female.
I think the only way to be sure what you have is to vent them. I have not done that with my fish because, frankly, I don’t really care. I will say that, in each of my breeding pairs, the larger of the pair is by far more aggressive defending the spawning site. There are arguments that, with a breeding julie pair, the larger fish could be either male or female depending on the environment (tank mates, etc.). The most natural way to get a pair when you purchase these fish is to purchase a group of 5 or 6 then let them sort things out among themselves. You’ll know when they pair up.
My source water is as follows:
- pH: ~7.6
- KH: ~161 ppm
- GH: ~200 ppm
I have bred these fish in both community and species only tanks. Below I describe what I found works best in community tanks first then I’ll tackle the species only tanks.
Because all species in the julie genus are rock dwellers, providing them with plenty of rock work in any set-up is almost essential to get the best out of their natural behavior. Furthermore, this species is a cave spawner, like other species in the genus. All of my dickfeldi pairs have always only spawned in caves or deep within rock structure. I have had success using a variety of rocks and man-made caves. I’ve used river rock, Texas holey rock, slate, travertine tile, and various types of ceramic caves.
- Community set-up
For community tanks, the key for me has been to provide a defendable space for them to spawn that is enclosed. For this reason, I like to create rock formations or combinations of rocks and man-made caves. This gives me some control based on my experience. Furthermore, it allows me to create a cavern-type structure with rocks where the entrance to even access the exact spawning location is too small for other fish to fit through. It also allows me to ensure the actual spawn site is further buried within the cavern set-up. In other words, I can customize their spawning site based on the species of other fish in the tank as well as their size.
I create my rock formations in tank corners. While this approach minimizes the aquascaping options for a show tank, utilizing corners allows the glass or acrylic sides of the aquarium to eliminate the need for the parents to defend a larger area. The aquarium sides thus become natural protective barriers.
The julies have to be comfortable with their ability to defend whatever you create for them. So make your structure robust but not too large. As a species, dickfeldi do sometimes employ “surrogate” adults or sub-adults to protect offspring. Otherwise, the parents forbid all juvenile and adult conspecifics from getting close to the spawning area. This is true when you have multiple broods together. Once a certain size, the parents will consider their previous offspring as threats to their new offspring.
Though I haven’t done it with my dickfeldi, you could create a rock formation and bury some type of man-made cave within it. I have done this for my Julidochromis regani, a much larger julie species, but that’s a post for another day.
There are many man-made cave types available, some specific to julies. The rectangular caves are just like they sound – a rectangular tube with one end closed. The ones I use are about 5-6″ long with an opening that is about 2″ square. There are many vendors who make caves, but I get mine from Pleco Caves. I have posted a few times about this small company and have even interviewed the owners, Brantley and Jodi Berry. I recommend them highly.
- Species only
For a species only tank, the breeding pair won’t be as choosy. They’ll likely take whatever you offer them, as long as it’s a cave. I can’t speak to whether they would actually spawn without some type of hideaway where they can lay eggs unseen. I suspect they wouldn’t spawn without something.
I have three species only tanks containing dickfeldi pairs. One is a 33g long and the other two are 20g long aquariums. All three contain some rock structure, some rectangular caves described above, and some ceramic bricks. The man-made caves I have had the most success with are custom made. There is a specific size that I have found works consistently. With these rectangular caves, I have had success both leaving the open ends unblocked and partially blocking them with a rock or some other object.
Another interesting observation of dickfeldi is that the breeding pair may employ a “helper” to defend and raise the fry. I have witnessed this first-hand in one of my 20g long, species only tanks. The helper may be part of a breeding “trio”. It’s hard to say the exact role. More info on that can be found in Ad’s book mentioned previously. See my post from 2021 about my dickfeldi brood care observations.