Endangered cichlid destined for crocodile-infested display
A group of critically endangered cichlids are to be added to a public aquarium containing Nile crocodiles.
60 IUCN red-listed Stomatepia mariae were moved from Spain’s Zaragoza Aquarium to BIOPARC Valencia as part of a controlled breeding programme to conserve the species in captivity.
Stomatepia mariae are endemic to a 2km long crater lake in Cameroon called Lake Barombi-Mbo and occur nowhere else in the world.
Like many endemic fish, they are vulnerable to pollution, sedimentation and overfishing, although situated in a chain of volcanoes, the aquatic fauna are also vulnerable to deadly carbon dioxide released from the Lake’s bottom.
Lake Barombi-Mbo is home to 15 fish species, 11 of which are endemic cichlids, with ex-situ conservation efforts being conducted around the world to preserve the fish from a disaster.
Called Nsess, Stomatepia mariae grow to just 12cm long and are maternal mouthbrooders, the females carrying the eggs and fry in their mouths before releasing them.
Their new home
Upon receiving the fish, staff at BIOPARC Valencia split them into two separate tanks (a further conservation measure to de-risk a tank wipeout ) before quarantining them and growing them on.
Once larger, the fish will be moved to a huge African aquatic display called Kitum Cave, home to Hippopotamus, Nile Crocodiles and lots of African cichlids, although we’re surprised that these carefully conserved little fish will go into such a display, currently home to Maylandia zebra, Dimidochromis compressiceps, Melanochromis auratus, Cheilochromis euchilus and other Lake Malawi endemics.
Small fish may well be outside the prey window of 10-foot-long crocs, but they may face a rougher time from the larger, more aggressive Malawi cichlids and will be much harder to monitor and protect once in the massive main display.
It will also leave biotopian cichliophile purists in dismay that they won’t be in a Lake Barombi-Mbo biotope display, itself home to crocodiles, only the West African Dwarf Crocodile, not the much larger Nile Crocodile.
Availability
Stomatepia and other Lake Barombi-Mbo endemics are occasionally available to home aquarists, usually via cichlid societies that themselves may have obtained spare stock from zoos and public aquariums. Nsess offer little in looks or colouration, and it’s their endangered status that is the main draw for cichlid specialists. Lack of colour also gives them low commercial potential for the ornamental aquarium trade.
Main image credit joe_cutler, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lake Barombi-Mbo in South West Cameroon, Africa. Image credit Eric Joel MAMA NKE, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
