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For the South American (SA) cichlid fans, Oliver Lucanus and Dr. Leandro Sousa have just released their book, Xingu – Below Water. Chock full of fish photos in their natural environment, this is a must for tropical freshwater enthusiasts wanting to emulate the Xingu or similar SA river biotopes in home aquaria.
The question here is “Can you mix cichlids from different continents?” The short answer is “yes,” but a better question is “Should you?”
If I asked you to compile a list of cichlidophiles you know 1) who make regular trips to cichlid locales to collect fish, 2) who regularly speak at cichlid conventions, and 3) and whose name you hear regularly in the hobby, how many people would be on that list? I bet your list wouldn’t be very long but I also bet that Oliver Lucanus would be on it.
At the OCA 25th Extravaganza back in November, I attended Oliver’s presentations. They were chockfull of great photos and were very informative. After his second talk, I introduced myself and the blog. I asked him if he would be interested in doing an interview. He smiled and said, “sure”.
You may know Oliver as a long time aquarist and wildlife photographer. What you may not know is that he’s also been importing fish for more than 30 years. Furthermore, he’s an author, who’s book “Below Water – the Amazon” has become a favorite of cichlid hobbyists, especially those keeping SA fish. In fact, he has a new book coming out soon titled, “Xingu – Below Water”. For those unfamiliar, the Xingu is a tributary river of the Amazon in Brazil. At over 1,000 miles long, the Xingu runs north to south and is home to some of the most beautiful and fascinating fishes in the world. Oliver’s experience diving and collecting in this river is expansive, and his photos of cichlids in their natural habitat are amazing.
Let’s go!
If you’re a fan of the eartheater cichlids from South America, then you’ll be happy to know a new species was recently described. Gymnogeophagus jaryi is found in the southern tributaries of the Middle Paraná basin of Argentina (on the border with Paraguay). The standard lengths (SL) for the male holotype and female paratype are 113.1 mm (4.5″) and 73.3 mm (2.9″), respectively.
This is a beautiful little fish with a nice nuchal hump and light blue coloration on the adult males. You can find a more thorough description, including multiple photos, in the PLOS One journal article where it was described. A shout out to Amazonas Magazine, which has a nice, short write up about the fish.