# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Cichlids >  Dicrossus filamentosus

## illumnae

I've managed to take a very lousy picture of my D. filamentosus "Barcelos" from Biotope's latest shipment. He's not been willing to flare for the camera, so I'm unable to catch him in his full glory. He has a patterned red anal fin, a fully red dorsal with irridiscent blue highlights and an irridiscent blue tail with red highlights. Still conditioning him with NLS (the batch started taking NLS a few days after I took them home) and hopefully his red lateral band will be more prominent in the days to come.

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## jacian

Don't mind if I hijack your thread. Below is my Dicrossus filamentosus bought back from Taiwan. Too bad I lost most of them due to my bad handling.

The male, already rest in peace on the second day.


Below I think should be a female, doing well in my tank now and feeding on NLS.

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## illumnae

your 2nd fish actually looks like a male to me instead of a female  :Smile: 

as for the "hijack", i'm not sure if your _D. filamentosus_ are of the Barcelos variant, but no worries about it. We can all share and trade tips/pictures about keeping _D. filamentosus_ in general. More information shared is always better than less after all, and no point having 2 threads about the same species in quick succession of each other. Perhaps a mod could be kind enough to remove the "Barcelos" tag from the thread title and we could move on with a generic discussion about this species?

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## jacian

How do you sex the Dicrossus filamentosus? For me, I look at the tail, the male has lyre-tails， also, I look at the ventral fin and anal fin, female will have orange/red colour while the male is clear. Thus, I tthought I have a female in the second picture.  :Smile:

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## illumnae

The lyre-tails are one of the last features to develop in a male, and the "sneaker male" syndrome might kick in to suppress development of that. Whilst I was reading up on sexing them, these were what I concluded, and were consistent with my finding on the few pieces I obtained:

1. shape of body. males tend to be more elongated proportionately, while females are stouter and shorter.

2. Irridiscent blue lateral line. Usually absent in females

3. Red ventral fins. The ventrals in females that have bred before are pure red without a blue irridiscent edging. All my males have, to some degree, red on their ventrals, but the males all have blue edges on them. my sole female has a pure red pair of ventrals. It's also important to note that females will only have red ventrals after they've bred at least once. Young virgin females will show clear ventrals.

4. Anal fin. All my 5 pieces show red on their anal fin. In fact, my males show more red than the females

5. Another point on the tail, my female shows some red on the tail, but no patterning and no irridiscent blue like with the male. I'm not sure if this is a conclusive method to sex them, just an observation on my part.

In your picture, I notice that there is a blue edge on the ventral as well as the blue irridiscent lateral line, that's why I thought it's a male  :Smile:

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## doubleace

Yoz Yixiang.. So thats the piece you mention that look very nice... :Smile:  Indeed!!  :Well done:

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## illumnae

Thanks Andy  :Smile:  I'll try and get a picture of him in his full glory, though I'm not sure when I'll succeed doing that. He looks even nicer when flaring  :Grin:

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## Samuel2618

Indeed It is definitely much nicer than those sold at C328 or seaviews now.. And the plus point.. It is dirt cheap as compared to those sold in the market recently.. No wonder all kenna sapu.. Haha.. In Singapore.. Good things never wait for you..

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## jacian

Thanks for sharing the pointers in sexing them. I will try to take more photos so as we can discuss further in sexing them.

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## leeruisheng

_Dicrossus_ spp. Some nice photos of the _Dicrossus filamentosus_.
http://shop.ulmer.de/artikel.dll/sh_114-115_MzAwODE.PDF

But my favourite of the whole lot is the _Dicrossus maculatus_ :Shocked:

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## illumnae

my preference is still for _D. filamentosus_ because of the lyretail  :Smile:  I don't find round tails attractive (even in apistos). However, I must admit that the extreme red face shown in some of the specimens in your link are very pretty. Pity that feature isn't often found in the already rare shipments of _D. maculatus_

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## illumnae

They are afraid of the camera but not my hand. Guess no flaring shot today

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## genes

These guys are very peaceful fishes. I kept a couple before, tried mirror too, but they do not flare.

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## doubleace

Yixiang, hope it flare for you one day and show us this wonderful piece... :Grin:

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## Zenislev

Really nice pieces. Too bad i dont have a chance to get a pair before you guys sapu all.

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## trident

yixiang,
I see your photography has improve since the last time.  :Smile: 
Nice piece you got there, pity it's not my cup of tea. 
You have fun OK?  :Smile:

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## illumnae

> These guys are very peaceful fishes. I kept a couple before, tried mirror too, but they do not flare.


I thought they were peaceful too, but this batch seems to buck the trend. the males were constantly flaring at each other actually, but they run when they see the camera. when i put my face in front or wave my hand in front they keep flaring.

i've actually caught 2 males fighting for dominance...locking jaws and "wrestling" for a second or 2

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## Gecko

> He has a patterned red anal fin, a fully red dorsal with irridiscent blue highlights and an irridiscent blue tail with red highlights. .


Hi illumnae

My order of (supposedly wild caught) males came in today and looks very similar to the one in your picture, as well as your description. Especially that red line in the "cheek" right under the eye. I can't confirm the origin, they are indeed very territorial and seems big (TL : 2" including lyre tail extension). The flashes of irridiscent blue and red is a delightful addition after having the black and white females for a while.... :Smile:

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## illumnae

Can you share where you got the order from?  :Smile:  I may want to bring more females in to form a harem. 

I can see a distinct difference between the bred ones available locally and the wild ones I've got, both male and female. The bred ones are definitely more washed out in colour, and even my female isn't merely black and white like we're accustomed to seeing. The female I have sports red ventrals and anal fins as well as some very faint red/blue tinges in the tail/dorsal, though definitely not to the same extent as the male. I also see 4 different tones on the body of the female:

1. White belly
2. Black lateral stripe (the middle black dots sometimes merge to form a single thick black line)
3. light grey area above the black lateral stripe
4. dark grey area where the 2nd band of "checkers" is, just below the dorsal

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## Gecko

There is this guy who imports wild caught catfish (including plecos and cories) and drive a van to deliver to C328, can order from auntie. Problem is the females C328 gets are mostly F1s(as what you decribed above), so have to specify wildcaught. This batch of 10 I got are all males, and they put even the most colorful candidi to shame.

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## illumnae

wow sounds lovely  :Smile:  wish i could see them

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## Gecko

> wow sounds lovely  wish i could see them


You didnt say wish you could see them clearly :Grin: 

Here are 2 quick shots, off focused and nto flaring of course...what do you think? Wild caught? Locale?

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## illumnae

looks very similar to what I've got  :Smile:

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## jacian

Managed to take some pictures of my Dicrossus filamentosus, below should be a male.  :Smile:

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## tcy81

very nice red fins. very well fed i supposed.

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## illumnae

My female is showing black edging on her red ventrals. Looks like she's recovering from her immigration from Brazil to Singapore (does she qualify as foreign talent?)  :Grin: 

pity the eggs won't be viable, as i'm unable to provide a low enough ph/tds environment (ph is 6.0-6.2 and tds will be affected by the ferts i'm adding)

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## Jervis

Nice!!! Time for me to set up another tank  :Grin:

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## leeruisheng

Just gotten mine. Very greedy fishes. Instantly ate frozen mysis shrimps and flakes.

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## Panut

leeruisheng, where did you get yours?  :Smile:

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## leeruisheng

Where else, my favourite hangout C328.

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## Panut

Lee, bet after a few days of pumping and stabilizing hopefully he will show his true colours!  :Laughing:  All the best!  :Smile: 

Oh, Everyone with DF, please post whats their size! thanks!!  :Grin:

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## Jervis

> Where else, my favourite hangout C328.


I also bought 3 specimens from the same shipment. Yes they are very skinny... they take pellets too. They love ADA Gold AP-3.

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## doubleace

Wilson.. very nice.. new arrival?

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## Delwin

mine also from the same shipment and took NLS pellet very well :Grin:

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## joopsg

nice one, rui sheng.
did you manage to get a pair??
they spawn easily in apistogramma parameter.

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## leeruisheng

No sighting of females at the moment. But C328 Uncle mention new stocks will be coming in next week. Will then try to get the females.

So I see they're easy spawners.




> Wilson.. very nice.. new arrival?


I think so. Gotten them this week from C328.

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## joopsg

they can spawn easily but heard that the fries are super fragile

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## Quixotic

Hi folks,

Please kindly try not to post sighting reports here.

Please discuss sighting reports in the Aquatalk section, so that others do not have to sift through sighting reports in the Freshwater Fauna while looking for information about the fish (not availability) and their husbandry.

Thanks for the co-operation.

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## leeruisheng

Sorry. My apology.

Some photos to share.

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## sfk7

Beautiful!! Mine is not even close

by the way, how many do you have in there? and how big is your tank?

I have 2 males in a 4 feet and more aggressive one kept chasing the other.

Can't imagine yours if they start to be quarrelsome

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## leeruisheng

Immediately as stocks came in at C328, I snapped up all of the nicest.

Oh dear. I've got 5 pairs in a 2ft tank. At the moment I would say quite peaceful just the occasional chasing.

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## leeruisheng

More photos to share.

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## CK Yeo

How many pieces do you have in there??!

ck

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## leeruisheng

10 pieces. 5 males 5 females.

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## curahee

*Are* they easy to breed?

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## leeruisheng

I think so. If you've managed to breed _Apistogramma_ before then it should be quite easy. Should be similiar parameters.




> they can spawn easily but heard that the fries are super fragile

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## apistomaster

I have only seen females develop red ventrals, typically only those that have spawned once before. Only wild caught Dicrossus filamentosus are common in the USA.
Pair prespawn:

Femle with fresh spawn.

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## whiskerbreed

Goodness!!
Apistomaster!
Is that a _C. weitzmani_ at the back in the first picture?!
You have a _C. weitzmani_ in your tank?!
 :Shocked: 

Oops, sorry sidetrack abit..
 :Embarassed: 


Anyway, are yours wild-caught?
That female is so easily distinguished from the male than the ones we have here. 
Look at them, they must've been fed well.
 :Wink:  


SuD
 :Cool:

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## Gecko

My Dicrossus filamentosus has just spawned, with eggs attached to a piece of Drift wood. Saw the eggs as I turned it over to vaccum below. Hope I replaced it the way ot was, female went over right away to guard the wood. She has developed blood red anal fins which used to be transparent...otherwise the body color remains the same. I have 4 or 5 pairs in a 4 ft zebra breeding tank, with so many hungry tetras around, I am not sure how successful she will be....pH is 6.5 right now.

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## illumnae

blood red anal fins? I thought it's the ventral fins that turn red when a virgin female spawns.

all the best for your spawn, i've heard the eggs need ph as low as 4.5-5.5 to be viable, but I hope that I've read wrongly  :Smile:

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## Gecko

Right, the pair of ventral fins and the anal or pelvic fin has a streak of red as well...she happens to be the biggest female inside. Let's see, it would be a bonus if eggs are viable...

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## illumnae

all the best and i really hope they're viable!

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## leeruisheng

A photo to share.

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## iwishweallcouldwin

Juicy :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:

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## Titus

> A photo to share.


Nice  :Grin: 

Can't wait to get my hands on them.

Were you able to breed them thus far or any pairing activities?

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## leeruisheng

Hello Titus,

This is one of the best looking male. No spawning activities at the moment. All quite peaceful habitating together in a 2ft tank. See you soon.

Manage to get a flaring shot.

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## Toshika

really nice fishes u got:>

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## apistomaster

Lovely male in full dominant mood, above.
Everyone should keep in mind that D. filamentosus varies in appearance over it's very broad range. Some have different tail patterns. Very similar to the way Apistogramma agassizi varies depending on the location it is from.
Also that red pelvic fins on the females usually only become prominent after a female has spawned once. Males never develop the bright red pelvic fins and they differ considerable in morphology from females.
This species has definite sexual dichromatism and dimorphism.

My own experience with breeding this species spans 4 decades.
I have found them easy to spawn but generally harder than most Apistogramma spp. to get viable eggs and the fry are extraordinarily sensitive to any decline in water quality. Females often eat their spawn but the greatest success in breeding them always occurs when the female takes good care of the fry.
Good luck, everyone. I still consider them harder to breed and raise than wild Discus. I almost always have D. filamentosus because wild wish are so cheap in the USA and they are among the most beautiful of SA Dwarf Cichlids. I have my first specimens of D. maculatus nearing maturity. They too, are a very beautiful fish but will probably never replace D. filamentosus as my favorite.

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## Quixotic

> My own experience with breeding this species spans 4 decades.


Lovely, let's tap on that experience shall we?  :Wink: 

I am sure you probably have experimented with this, so in your experience, which is the better way to spawn them, in the community tank or specially set up breeding tank? If the female were to be susceptible to eating the spawn, would a separate breeding tank yield more success? I am thinking in the community tank, there are plenty of fish that can cause undue stress, which may in turn trigger the eating behaviour.

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## apistomaster

My experience has been that trying to hatch the eggs artificially is not generally very successful. The good brooding female will do the best job by far, however hard it may be to find one that practices good brood care.

I don't recommend trying to breed them in a true community tank but I do recommend including a school of one of the dwarf Corydoras species. I raise C. habrosus and C. hastatus in their own permanent set ups so I always include 6 or 8 of one of them in the Checkerboard's breeding tank along with a school of 6 Nannostomus eques with the breeding Dicrossus filamentosus. Harmless dither fish seem to help trigger the brooding instincts better than when the pair/trio are kept alone.
I have had many more failures breeding Dicrossus filamentosus than I have successes. I already have mentioned that I consider breeding wild Symphysodon haraldi easier than Dicrossus filamentosus. 
Unlike Discus, they may be kept in relatively small aquariums. 
Dicrossus filamentosus are a beautiful fish and a worthy challenge for anyone to raise successfully.

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## Titus

Thanks for sharing apsitomaster. 

How many Dicrossus Filamentosus do you recommend in a tank? It it will be great if you can share some pictures of your breeding setups  :Smile:

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