[Jason_S]

Species Name: Astatheros robertsoni

Common Name: False Firemouth, Robertson's Cichlid, Robs

Size: ~5-6" for females and ~7-8" for males

pH: 7.0-7.8 though with proper acclimation they can withstand and thrive in slightly higher ph values. Mine are kept in ph of 8.2

Minimum Recommended Tank Size: 40 gallons

Native Location: Central America

Temperature: 72-78 though they could probably withstand slightly higher temps.

Diet: Omnivore. This species will eat anything it can find in the gravel. Similar to the South American Geophagus spp, the robertsoni will sift through the gravel in search of food. In the 3+ years I've had my largest rob I've never seen it go to the surface for food. The closest it's gotten is in the middle of the tank and that is only for frozen blood worms and brine shrimp. Any type of sinking pellet food should be the main diet while live/frozen worms and shrimp are readily accepted.

Breeding: Not much is documented as far as breeding goes. I can only imagine breeding would be similar to other CA cichlids in that a pair will clean a nesting spot, the female will guard the eggs/fry and the male will patrol the outer area.

Gender Diffrences: Very difficult to tell. The only differences I've heard of is that males grow taller and somewhat more colorful. This leads me to believe my larger robertsoni is a female but I can't say for sure.

Aggression: Not overly aggressive with other fish but will eat small fish. Several reports indicate this species to be intolerant of its own kind. I currently have 1 larger robertsoni and 4 juvenile robertsoni (~2-3") in a 150 gallon with other CA/SA cichlids and I have yet to see any aggression towards each other. This could very well be due to the large tank size, and increased aggression may be seen in smaller tanks.

Notes: there are 3 different color variants of this species. One is the purple/red tailed variant which is the most common and the one pictured. Another is the 'Red Cheek' robertsoni. The final variant has a base yellow coloration instead of grey.

Notes on the Astatheros genus: At one time the members of this genus were considered part of the Amphilophus genus. However, I believe the Astatheros genus was created specifically for the Central American Eartheaters because they are significantly different from other Amphilophus spp. Some sites however still refer to the CA Eartheaters such as the robertsoni as Amphilophus.

This post has been edited by Jason_S: 28 July 2004 - 01:49 AM