Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 144

A beautiful pair of Astatheros nourissati , the male is the top fish.
The substrate should be sand or very fine gravel
and décor can be well worn bog wood and smooth
pebbles and larger stones. Tangles of roots are
ideal as these fish do like to hide or watch the
world go by from the safety of their lair. Plants are
tolerated but not really necessary; this is not a
species which is that keen on rearranging its aq-
uascape.
It is important to remember when feeding this fish
that it is an omnivorous detriviore which feeds in
the same manner as the South American Geopha-
gus family. It will plunge its long snout up to the
eyes into the substrate, take a mouthful and blow
any inedible detritus out from its gills. In order to
facilitate this feeding method sinking foods should
be offered. This can be anything from crustacean
and insects to frozen food, finely shredded prawn
or pre-soaked flake food or even small cichlid Pel-
lets. Floating food and larger pellets are in my ex-
perience rejected and may not be conducive to
the good health of these fish. I believe that slow
growth rate of this species is caused by its feeding
method which is likely to be food of a low
Photo© Zachary Taylor
nutritional value. Certainly I have young which at
6 months are only 3 inches or so in length.
It has been reported that these fish prefer to be
kept in their own company when young and I be-
lieve this to be the case. Unfortunately they are
so uncommon in captivity that coming across a
large group is unlikely if impossible. I currently
have 3 specimens, an 8 inch male and 2 juveniles
from a British Cichlid Association auction. As stat-
ed above these young fish currently measure
around 3 inches. I have a feeling that the growth
of my young may be inhibited by not being in a
small group but they get plenty of food and are
otherwise very healthy. Slower growing fish are
not always stunted and I hope that these will
reach their full potential in the next 12 – 18
months. Tank mates for A. nourissati need to be
not too aggressive otherwise the shy A. nourissati
may not feed and possibly waste away. Sugges-
tions as to what may be compatible are Tho-
richtys spp, ‘Cichlasoma’ pearsei, and the peacea-
ble members of the Cryptoheros genus. As I do
not yet have a compatible pair, I can only
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