Checkerboards are often the ‘forgotten about’ dwarf cichlids of South America. While not without their challenges, they can also be intensely rewarding, writes Gabor Horvath.
SOME SAY THAT chess is boring, others think the same of fishkeeping. I agree to disagree. While watching chess is not my cup of tea, getting involved in a good strategy game with a worthy opponent can be invigorating—especially if you win. Fishkeeping is similar to chess in many ways. Before starting a new ‘game’ (a breeding project) you should be well prepared, learning as much as you can about the strategies and your ‘opponent’ (the new fish). Based on this information you can work out a game plan and prepare the board (your fish tank). Then—quite often—when something unexpected happens you just throw your gameplan out of the window and go with your instincts.
And, as with chess, while challenges are important, you should always know and respect your limits. While you can learn a lot from taking on masters, being constantly on the losing side can be demoralizing. You have to be realistic about your abilities. Win occasionally.
Through a fishkeeping career spanning over nearly five decades, I have stepped back from fish projects I knew would fail numerous times. For some strange reason, keeping checkerboard cichlids was one of my ‘no go’ areas. It isn’t that I detested them—quite the opposite. I loved their elongated body shape, so unusual for a cichlid, and their exquisite finnage. I think the issue was that in the book I read about them, Crenicara filamentosa (the checkerboard cichlid’s former scientific name) were recorded as difficult fish to keep, which needed particular (blackwater) conditions to survive. Their fragile look strengthened my assumptions of them being sensitive, so I never attempted to keep them. Then, about a year ago, I thought that I’d give them a chance to prove me wrong and purchased six juveniles.
And so, the chess game began.
Checkerboard origins
What do we know about this elegant dwarf? The checkerboard cichlid, Dicrossus filamentosus hails from South America, living in a range of rivers around the Orinoco and Rio Negro basins, where it inhabits shallow streams flowing through the rainforest. These waters are often shaded by the forest canopy and contain no or just minimal submerged vegetation.
As you would expect from such habitats there is usually a thick layer of fallen leaves and tree branches in the water. These re
