Tramitichromis intermedius
Tramitichromis intermedius inhabits the southern part of African Lake Malawi in the wild. The fish stay in shallow water with sandy or heavily silted substrate, where they feed by sifting sand through their gills.
The males are colorful, with iridescent colors, blue and green scales, and some of their fins grow to about 16 cm. Females are silvery, brown in color, and slightly smaller. Both males and females have three dark markings on their flanks. When the male is under stress, his coloration lightens and the dark marks become clearly visible. Adult males are more colorful and usually slightly larger than females. The maximum size of fish reaches 16 cm.
Tramitichromis intermedius is a peaceful fish. Signs of aggression in it appear only during the spawning period. Keep fish should be in the proportion of 1 male to 2-3 females. If there are several males in the same aquarium should be separated by large stones to reduce the likelihood of conflict between them. May be kept in a common aquarium with other types of fish, such as aulonokarami.
Keeping fish recommended aquarium volume of 180 liters. As a substrate used coarse-grained river sand. Not desirable to use gravel or other soil with sharp edges, which can traumatize the soft tissue of the mouth of fish when feeding. The perimeter of the aquarium have large rocks and grottos, which will serve as shelter for the fish.
Water parameters: temperature 24-28° C, hardness dH 10-25°, pH 7,6-8,8. Requires filtration, aeration and weekly replacement of 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh.
In nature, Tramitichromis intermedius feed on insect larvae and soft invertebrates, which they harvest by filtering sand through their gills. In aquariums, fish are fed a variety of frozen, live and dry food. They should not be given animal meat.
Reproduction
When Tramitichromis intermedius is kept under acceptable conditions, they spawn periodically. To be successful in breeding these fish need to provide them with more living space with sandy substrate.
Fish reach sexual maturity by the age of one year. Breeders contain groups, in which each male has a few females. The best option - buying a small group of young fish and grow them in one aquarium. Need to try to make their menu was as diverse as possible.
During the spawning period the male digs a small hole in the sand. Then he tries in every way to attract females to the spawning area by demonstrating to them their bright colors. One of the females who responded to the male courtship, swims up to the spawning spot and lays eggs (about 100 eggs), which the male immediately fertilizes. Then the female collects all the eggs in her mouth where she incubates for 3-4 weeks. During this time she does not eat anything. The female should not be disturbed because when frightened she may spit out her entire brood or swallow it.
The fry are fed artemia and shredded flakes containing spirulina at least 4 times a day. Juveniles grow slowly.
Life expectancy of Tramitichromis intermedius is 10-15 years.
