All About Hippo Point Salmon Care [Details Description]
The Hippo Point Salmon (scientific name: Ptyochromis sp.) is an indigenous species to Lake Victoria. The popular type of this is Thickskin Obliquidens (Haplochromis sp. 44).
People tend to put these varieties in their aquariums. Because they are easy to be taken care of as they accept a wide variety of foods, including dry, frozen, and even live ones.
Are you wondering how you would be able to Hippo Point Salmon Care?
Hippo Point Salmon is a pretty aggressive cichlid. It’s easy to keep and take care of in an Aquarium. You will find diverse cichlids to pet in your aquarium. You must feed them flakes and frozen meals and maintain hard water. They can adjust to what you give them and consume it easily.
Cichlids come in numerous varieties, and scientists have given up trying to tally them all.
Therefore, we will try to learn about some hippo point salmon cichlid and their features with popular varieties. If you are up for it, scroll down to know more.
Are Hippo Point Salmon Cichlids?
Hippo point salmon” is a relatively recent name given to a cichlid fish found in Africa’s Lake Victoria. Let’s introduce you to Hippo Point Salmon Cichlid with its Characteristics.
Breeding System: Maternal Mouthbrooder
These are Dimorphic. They thrive in harem settings with three or four females to every male; like other Haps, they are maternal mouthbrooders. Harem settings allow for optimal reproduction.
Because females rarely grow any longer than 3.5 inches and solitary males rarely surpass 5 inches in length, it is possible to breed these fish in aquariums with a capacity as low as 30 gallons of water.
Physical Features
Men may be distinguished by their beautiful red cheeks, but they also display blue and green tones. The red coloring on males extends from the head to the beginning of the anal fins, then it changes to a lime green color that continues down to the caudal fin.
On the other hand, the females have a pale olive green color with a few black spots on the sides. The females keep their gray coloring and the two stripes that run vertically down their backs.
Habitat
This is likely quite similar to the shallow and sandy parts of the lakes, and these live in the type of hard water (high in minerals). The geographical origin is Lake Victoria at Hippo Point in Kenya.
Characteristics
These are aggressive in conspecific temperament and mildly aggressive in terms of temperament. Their maximum hippo point salmon size can be 5 inches.
Hippo Point Salmon Care Details
Ptyochromis sp., also known as “hippo point salmon,” is an aggressive fish despite the fact that it does not require a lot of effort to care for. Their diet requires carnivores.
Example: If you take care of a colony of six Aulonocara marlieri males, also called “hippo point salmon,” over time, their population will increase to eight Ptyochromis species. Although it is much smaller than the marlieri male, the Hippo Pointe male can quickly establish himself as the tank leader.
They mature very quickly and can start reproducing at a very young age, similar to other haps found in Lake Victoria. However, it is beneficial for females and subdominant males to have safe hiding places like caves available to them.
Water & pH
In order to preserve the pH balance, you can use water with a medium level of hardness as they like to live in hard water. However, since Lake Victoria’s water conditions appear to be quite volatile, this fish should be reasonably adaptable to the various environmental shifts.
Well, the ideal pH level is 7.2-8.6, and their temperature is, in general, 78-82°F.
Food
Where Hippos Can Be Found Salmon prefer to eat snails in the wild, but when they are kept in an aquarium, they will consume anything that is provided for them. They’re quite willing to eat Flake or pellet, frozen and live foods.
Facts About Cichlids
Before going further, let’s talk about Cichlid fishes, the central of cichlids, and some other facts that can give us a general idea about knowing cichlid fishes. Let’s get started.
Cental of Cichlid: Lake Victoria
Cichlids may be found in Uganda’s Lake Victoria’s tropical waters, which serve as a home for diverse cichlids of fish. Lake Victoria, located in tropical Africa, is home to over a thousand different kinds of cichlid fishes.
Lake Victoria is still the best location to visit if you are interested in seeing cichlids. Due to the fact that Lake Victoria is the largest tropical lake in the world, there is an availability of cichlid species there with so many different kinds.
However, Cichlid fishes are often from Lake Victoria or Lake Malawi and are popular aquarium species. This is why cichlids are also a relatively large portion of the tropical fish that may be found in aquariums for the same reason.
Besides, Lake Victoria’s enormous number of cichlids has become a popular destination for fishermen looking to catch cichlids to sell as food or as pets. Now you can understand the availability of cichlids.
Cichlids Are Not Deep-Water Fish
Cichlids, in general, are not fond of swimming at great depths. Hence, many cichlid species prefer to live in relatively shallow water.
This implies that if you go to Lake Victoria and gaze into the water, you will almost certainly see a cichlid or two. Isn’t this very exciting?
Popular Cichlids
Here, we have shown the two popular cichlids you can easily acquire and pet in the aquarium. In order to do this, let’s learn about them.
Thickskin Obliquidens (sp44 cichlid)
Thickskin Obliquidens, also known as Haplochromis sp44 cichlid, is another species of obliquus resembling the zebra obliquus, with similar black and white stripes pattern. However, Thickskins has a far more combative demeanor.
Even though they only grow to an average of 4″ in length, these Haplochromis have been known to bully much bigger Haplochromis species in tanks with enough open area. They do best in tanks with just male African cichlids or in harems of 1-3 males and 5-10 females.
Subdominant males and females may evade hostility and courting efforts by hiding among the tank’s many rocks. The process of reproduction is straightforward and similar to that of other mammals that use the mouth to raise their young.
Then, the mother will care for her spawn of twenty to thirty fry until they are able to swim independently. A separate tank for isolating the female during mouthbrooding is a good idea in case she becomes the target of aggressiveness from other fish.
The Gombi Masked Julie Cichlid (Julidochromis transcriptus)
Females tend to be bigger than males, although both sexes top out at about 3 inches (7.5 cm) at most. The omnivorous Julidochromis marlieri prefers meat over plant-based fare.
The ideal technique to breed Julidochromis cichlids is to acquire a small group of juveniles and allow them to mature as a group. Males and females should be kept together since the fish will take the couple off when they reach sexual maturity.
FAQs
Why Is Cichlid Special?
Cichlids are a large and varied group of fish that are often found in Africa’s rift lakes. Three lakes—Victoria, Malawi, and Tanganyika—are home to more than 500 species combined. As a result of their specialized diets, many species can coexist without much trouble.
Which Cichlid Is The Rarest?
Once widespread, “Cichlasoma” beani is today one of the rarest, most desired, and hardest-to-obtain cichlids. Also known as Sonoran cichlid, green guapote, mojarra de Sinaloa, mojarra verde.
If I Have A 55-Gallon Tank, How Many Cichlids Can I Keep?
Depending on the type, the maximum size, and the disposition of the cichlids, up to 15 may be kept in a 55-gallon tank.
Verdict
I hope you got all the information that you were looking for regarding Hippo Point Salmon care. The care process is easy to deal with. These cichlids need care when you are planning to pet them.
Have a great day with your cichlids!
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