Is this the rarest cichlid or fish?

Ptychochromis insolitus is an ugly beast but with a handsome profile. It is a beast in its behaviour, which may explain its rarity. Indeed when tbe species was down the last three individuals, one female and two males, a male promptly went psycho and minced the female who sadly didn't didn't survive. However, due to a worldwide search and a trip to Madagascar, 18 individuals were taken from a stagnant puddle and these represent probably the only surviving individuals. Luckily these are residing in an aquaculture facility in Tana where a spawning has occured giving some hope to the survival of this species. I am lucky to have kept these cichlids and am one of only a handful of people to breed them. Sadly, these fish are unlikely to make it to the hobby. However, if they do make it, they are best kept like Tropheus, in a large group in a large tank. Males over time will grow to as much as 12" with females rarely reaching 5. Spawning begins at 2-3 inches though they are by no means prolific - 50 to 60 eggs being the norm. Fry are very delicate and susceptible to die off. Adults on the other hand are pretty hardy but very murderous. The future looks very bleak for this, possibly the rarest fish in the world. However, it is hopeful that they can bred in Tana in sufficient numbers to allow reintroduction into a more pristine area.

Lake Apoyo the enigmatic Nicaraguan crater lake.

Lake Apoyo is a tiny crater lake in Nicaragua. Lying just a few kilometers south east of lake Apoyeque it has surface dimensions of two by three kilometers. The lake has no inflow or outflow and is entirely self filling. The lake is also fairly young.

Amazingly the lake holds 7 species of cichlid including Hyphsophrys nicaraguensis, Hyphosphrys neetroplus, Parachromis dovii and a beautiful strain of Amatilania nigrofasciatus as below and others including the pictured Amphilophus sp - the lake's endemic midas cichlid as pictured below.

The lake is young - an estimate is less than 20,000 years and has showed rapid speciation in the fish such that some have become unique species like A. xiloaensis which is genetically separate from the midas cichlids of lake Apoyeque and other lakes and rivers of Nicaragua.

So how did the fish get there? This is a really mystery. As we know with no out fall or in flow the lake is unconnected so could they have arrived when lake Apoyewue flooded? Another theory is young were dropped by birds and colonised or they were transplanted by humans - a possibility but unlikely as the lake is somewhat inaccesible and very craggy. So will this mystery be solved?

A Central American Eartheater

Astatoheros altifrons is a stunning cichlid from Central America.
Fairly uncommon it is a good representative of the Central American family of eartheaters - the Astatoheroines. A good example of covergent evolution - these fish greatly resemble the Satanoperca of Amazonia. Although these families are not closely related. They are ideally huilt for their lifestyle having a long snout with eyes set far back. To feed they seem to hover above the substrate and then divebomb so their snout is buried to the eye - hence having them set far back on the head.
For Central American cichlids these are very peaceful and often fair poorly alongside boisterous tankmates. They are tricky to breed but follow the general process for breeding Central American cichlids.

East Coast Ugly

The East Coast Ptychochromis (Ptychochromis cf grandidieri Ambila-Lemaitso) is a cichlid fish from the North East Coast of Madagascar. Rare in its limited natural range it has been unfairly been labelled the East Coast Ugly and is certainly the swan the grows into a slug. Large, grey with exaggerated features, this fish will not win any beauty contests but it is sure to keep your heart if you manage to find. Very few exist in captivity and I have the only breeding group in Europe! Currently this consists of 9 adults and around 50 juvenilles which I will release to the European hobby. Manage to find these stunners and you will need a reasonable sized aquarium as they can grow to a good 20cm in length and old males can be pretty cantanerous... These cichlids are basal in the family Cichlidae; that is they are a relic species which like the famous lemurs, has evolved in isolation for a very long time. Although superficially similar to Central American cichlids they are in no way closely related. Theyvare a fine example from the fascinating Ptychochromin lineage and along with Heterochromis, Retroculus and Cichla they are probably the most ancient of all cichlid fishes. They are an evolutionists dream and a fascinating species to boot. Search them out!!!