Paritilapia Polleni

Ok since no one else has made a post yet, i think ill break the ice.



We own 3 Polleni here, it's not your typical African cichlid and requires a large tank due to size and aggression. We house our 3 in a 4 foot tank but ideally you need at least a 5 foot tank.

They have a breeding ritual of their own, they lay the eggs in a string and then roll them up.When the eggs are laid the female will fan the eggs,however the male guards the eggs from 1 meter away.He is not allowed to approach the female or her eggs.If he does a fight will occur often resulting in death.

In Madagascar many fish have been declared extinct due to over fishing and the introduction of tilapia and snakeheads for food.Sadly this is the case for the Polleni as well,now being only alive in the aquarium trade making it a gem to get hold of.So despite them trying to eat me through the aquarium glass.They are very special to me and my flatmate and we wworship them.

wow i didnt know this! i guess their parent behavior aint like those convicts!

Well they are technically substrate brooders like convicts but at the same time,they do it in a different way.Most sites unfortunately don't tell you that they roll the eggs up into a ball,or that the eggs are in a string...or that the male guards from a large distance.This is why its so hard to breed them successfully in a fish tank or that they just eat the eggs.It's much easier to breed them in a large pond

thanks for posting this, hopefully it will help someone out

Maybe somebody should step in on a big breeding project to save them.

There are a few fish resque orgs. out there somewhere...

Only takes a few fish to repopulate a ecosystem.They produce so many at a time.

Just a quick thought.

I know nothing of this fish species myself.