Hi all, I haven't been on here in quite a while and it is good to see the forum flourishing. I see a few familiar faces from elsewhere, too Anyhoo, I have a question for hobbyists in SA/Zimbabwe. Is anyone familiar with cichlids of the genus Chetia? These are mid sized haplochromines that are a popular food fish in your part of the world. I'd be grateful if anyone could put me in touch with people who keep this fish. If someone is familiar with these fish, I'd love to see pics of the different species, particularly C. flaviventris. A specimen from your local fish market will do just as well as one in an aquarium thanks!
Hi Rahul I am sure that Nick James will be able to help you out. I will send him a mail and ask him to reply Keep well! Andre
Hi Rahul Nice to see you back again. I can speak to someone this evening regarding this fish, let me see what I can find out for you and I'll get back to you asap. Regards Cameron
Hi Rahul Nick James tried to reply to the post, but he is on a farm and was experiencing some issues with his connection. Here is his reply: "Hi Rahul There are five species of Chetia in Southern Africa, one not described. The common one is C. flaviventris which gets to 200mm but is normally around 100-150mm so not really a food fish as such. It is canary yellow (hence the common name, canary Kurper) and should be nice in an aquarium. I kept a few but lost them some years back before I could breed them. The others are C.brevis, a small species form the Incomati river system in NE South Africa. It has large spots on the anal fin, but not sure of the adult colouration in aquaria as I have only seen juveniles in captivity so far. The other Chetia are rarer species from further north in the Zambesi/Okavango region. Chetia are closely related to the largemouth Serranochromis speces and as such are aggressive piscivores, which should be borne in mind when keeping them in captivity. regards Nick James"
Excellent! Thanks for taking the trouble, Andre and Cameron. Could you ask Nick if he has any pics of the fish he kept? There is an undescribed Haplochromine of unkown provenance doing the rounds here and a couple of us suspect it could be a Chetia species, possibly C. flaviventris. There are a couple of pics of the fish in question here; http://www.africancichlids.net/gallery/ ... entis1.jpg http://www.africancichlids.net/gallery/ ... nentis.jpg Please disregard the name, it is just for convenience. Nick's size of 100-150mm fits the fish, too. I have not heard of the ones here exhibiting any piscivory, so that is something to look out for.
Hi Rahul Nick's answer below: "Hi Rahul, I regret I don't have pics of the Chetia flaviventris I kept, but they were much more elongate in body form than those pics you posted. The only pic I have is in the book 'A complete guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Southern Africa' by Paul Skelton (2001), on page 298. It shows a fish that has much more slender body than those you illustrated. I have kept Thoracochromis buysi here (still have) and they (larger specimens) look more like the fish in the pics, especially with the blue on the lower face and the large anal fin ocelli. The body depth is more in line with a T. buysi too. Colour is difficult to tell by, as so many digital pics are colour-enhanced. However I see that one pic is from African Cichlids Ltd., and they have access to many Central & East African species, so it may well be another species from NE Zambia, or that general area, such as the Lake Bangweulu swamps, with which I am not familiar, as yet. The pic by Dave Hansen shows a rounded cranial profile that contrasts with the straight profile typical of C. flaviventris. and the other pic. What it does show, is that there are so many wonderful and interesting new cichlid species still to be kept in our aquaria if aquarists would only be a little more adventurous! regards Nick"
Jared and I were looking at the Skelton book last night and I must agree with Nick's observations, the pics Rahul sent certainly are'nt Chetia flaviventris. Rahul, it would be nice of you to post the confirmed ID when you discover exactly what it is, it's a beauty whatever it is, nice fish indeed! Regards Cameron
Rahul - I would really recommend the Skelton book if you are in to southern african fish like these. If you dont manage to get it let us know, I'm sure we will be able to help you out
I believe Roger Bills described a species of Chetia a few years ago, he may be familiar with the group. r.bills@ru.ac.za
Thanks for all your help, everyone! Andre, could you bug Nick one last time and ask him if a Sargochromis species is a possibility? AFAIK, that genus is composed of fish that grow to 250mm or more and this one seems to have maxed out at 150mm. Long shot. It probably is a Thoracochromis of some sort, I guess. I will make enquiries about the Skelton book locally. If I cannot find it, I'll figure out a way to get it from SA I will drop Bills an email as well.
The ISBN for the book is 1868726436 I'm not sure if it's been reprinted, as I recall the english versions of this book ran out.
I have located a source for the book here. Does anyone know if there's any significant difference between the hardcover and paperback editions?
