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For the peculiar outlines of the head and the bright color of golden Juloidochromis (Julidochromis ornatus) is called by the lovers of African cichlids a golden parrot. Similarity with the bird gives it slightly bent to the bottom, resembling a beak snout, and according to the colors it is perhaps one of the most beautiful yulidochromis living in aquariums.
This resident of the rocky coasts of Lake Tanganyika (depths from 2 to 7 meters) looks very impressive in the home pond.
The lower body of the fish is golden orange. From the elongated snout to the caudal fin there are two broad black shiny bands - one in the middle of the body, the other along the back, the space between them - milky white.
Unfortunately, due to the closely related crossing, the line J.ornatus, which was in our country since 1973, has greatly degenerated and faded. It is represented by rather unattractive fishes with dirty yellow, less often yellow, the color of the body, along which there pass two thin, often interrupted dark bands.
It was all the more surprising to see my friend, a great lover of tanganik cichlids, luxurious two-year-old producers J.ornatus, as if descended from the pages of foreign journals. They were in a 400-liter aquarium with a biofilter, decorated in a modern style "under the sea." The bottom of the reservoir covered a 3 to 5 centimeter layer of coral sand mixed with crushed marble chips. Pieces of white marble, alternating with shell rock and sandstone, rose up to the surface. The rear wall, made of plastic, was a "coral reef."
In the bright light, a flock of magnificent 10 cm Yolidohromis emerged from behind a column and a heap of stones. Following the distribution of food, the fish circled with unusually bright orange lamprologs (Neolamprologus leleupi) on a bright background and dispersed through their territories, but soon again gathered in a group in the center of the aquarium.
As my friend explained to me, this "fresh" line was brought to him from Germany, but he does not engage in breeding, but simply collects rare species. Of course, I immediately began to beg to give me at least a couple of manufacturers. I must say, it was not an easy task. Finally, I still achieved my goal and began to fish. They were "not scared" and did not hide much from the net.
Having received precious yulidochromis, I hurried home. Fish bwli planted in a 50-liter aquarium with shelters and flow through an external hanging filter.
Probably, I was very lucky with the producers, and maybe a change of place and a calm atmosphere played a role. But literally on the second day of the fish spawned, and I noticed it after the male sat in the pot for a week. From there, through the drilled hole on the side, he occasionally looked out, getting out, basically, to eat.
So, after seven days, I took away from my pair 25 excellent developed larvae, which in the future, without much difficulty, grew to an adult state. True, I did not have a large aquarium, but in a 60-liter ten fry grew to 6 - 8 centimeters, and the coloration became exactly the same as in adult fish.
The character of the golden yulidochromis is peaceful, they can be kept in both a common "tangangiik" aquarium and a reservoir with plants.
At me they perfectly got on with any neighbors, except for gold fishes and small kharatsinovyh. The main condition for such "peaceful coexistence" was that the perpetrator, who had encroached on the space occupied by a pair of Yulidochromis, could quickly leave the free zone.
The aquarium for keeping J.ornatus does not have to be large. For a pair of fish, a plexiglass with a capacity of 20 liters is suitable. A 60-liter reservoir with plants, soil and stone terraces is enough for a group of 6 to 10 yulidochromis.
Water should be the following parameters: rigidity 8 - 20 degrees, pH 6.9 - 9.5, temperature 21 - 32 degrees C (optimal 26 degrees C). Aeration and filtration of water are necessary, a weekly replacement of a quarter of its volume.
Feeding fish can be any live food: a bloodworm of the appropriate size, coret, a well-washed tuber. In the summer period, gold yulidochromis gladly eat different zooplankton: daphnia, cyclops, "live dust". When there is a shortage of live feeds, use high-quality dry feeds of the firm "Tetra" and others.
When building an aquarium, remember that the golden parrots in nature live in crevices, among stones, in small caves. Therefore, in the aquarium you need to make a few stony terraces, it is better at different ends. You can put large shells of mollusks on the bottom (if they fit into the general interior) - their yulidochromis also include in their territory.
When grown fishes break into pairs, they occupy a certain space and protect it from other fish. At the same time, they do not bother their neighbors very much, especially if they are quick and nimble. The fact is that the mouth of yulidochromis is small, and the jaws are not strong.
Ripen fish by the year, sometimes somewhat earlier, at a length of 4 to 6 centimeters (the maximum - 11 centimeters). Having chosen a cave, they put in it up to 40, usually 10 - 15 greenish eggs, attaching them mostly to the "ceiling" of their house in the form of compact masonry.
Gold yulidochromis can rightly be called a "turn". Often in search of food or in the study of the territory, it freely slides on the back, then stops in place, then turns over, then accelerates the movement, then slows it down. In the darkest places, for example between stones, it includes its "lights" - turquoise-flickering rims of unpaired fins, a glowing stroke under the eye, a glimpse of "eyebrows". Floats - like "Nautilus", lost in the underwater reefs.
When two fish meet, especially if it's a couple, the exchange of ritualistic poses begins: the fins shrink and unclench, the male performs his marriage dance before the female, followed by a series of bows and turns, and the fish change places.
After spawning, the mating is looked after mainly by the male, and the larger female is engaged in the protection of the nearby territory, occasionally replacing the male on duty. At this time, it is better for fishes to give floating feeds or to feed them in close proximity to the shelter. At a temperature of 26-27 degrees C on the third day helpless larvae with greenish-gray yolk sacs emerge from the caviar. Headed with tenacious filaments from the mucus, they attach to the walls of the shelter and hang down with their tail, slightly swaying on the current created by the male under them.
After a lapse of 5 to 7 days, the yolk sac in the larvae resolves and they slowly and carefully spread out over the stony box in search of food.
Small black thin little males are almost invisible in the cracks and hollows of granite, and only by the behavior of the male and female can one guess that they are walking and guarding their offspring. At this time, parents become nervous and aggressive. However, caring for the fry compels them to stay closer to the caves, but still some fish get it. Basically, they are soms - antsistrus, lorikarii, etc., trying to get into an empty shelter. To particularly unreasonable apply steep measures: the couple rushes to the offender, with anger catching his fins. After such an attack, even the most desperate neighbors rush into the opposite corner, often up to half burying themselves in the sand or hiding behind the filter.
Floating young people eagerly absorb the nauplii Cyclops and Artemia, "live dust", finely chopped tubular.
Approximately at the age of one month, the fry acquire the color of adult fish, but the general background is darker. A feature of large fry of the "natural" line is their later staining: they begin to "yellow" in 2 - 3 months. But from the earliest childhood, they have glossy edges on the unpaired fins, slightly scales, which the fish of the old line practically do not have, with the exception of the dull line under the eye.
In the majority of tangangic lithophilic cichlids, young fry does not leave their parents. J.ornatus is no exception. Picking up the nearest stones, the fry at the moment of danger rushes back to their native cave. And the producers, if they are not concerned with caring for younger offspring, always stand up for protection even of grown-up offspring.
It's funny to watch the groups of different juveniles slide around the aquarium around the aquarium; Sometimes the fish mix, merging into one common flock. Even more interesting if the brood is not one, but two or more.
By their movements and, apparently, signaling functions, young yulidochromis create comfortable conditions for producers who, feeling safe, willingly begin repeated spawning. In the pair entering the cycle, spawning is followed at intervals of two weeks. In the general motley flock, gradually all the new brisk young fry appear.
Most of their life (and live golden yulidochromis up to 8 years), fish are able to spawn. For a year they can give up to ten generations of young.


S. Yolochkin Moscow Aquarium № 3, 1996