THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

160 A Docent Field Guide to the Species of the Steinhart Aquarium
dorsal and caudal marked with light spots.
Max. size: 25 cm.
Diet: Mostly vegetation, also detritus, insects
and insect larvae. Fry feed on zooplankton.
Reproduction and Development: Substrate
spawner. Eggs laid and hatched in a nest dug
by the male and female. Parents guard the
eggs and fry.
Remarks: Tilapia species have been introduced
around the world as important food fishes for
humans. They are disease-resistant, reproduce
easily, eat a wide variety of foods and tolerate poor
water quality with low dissolved oxygen levels.
In some cases, they have become problematic
invasive species that have wiped out whole
populations of other species by outcompeting
them for food or feeding on fish larvae.
Hornet Tilapia
Tilapia buttikoferi (Cichlidae)
Cichlids
Distribution: Native from Guinea-Bissau
to West Liberia in Africa. Introduced widely
throughout the world, primarily as a food fish.
Habitat: Tropical rivers and streams.
Appearance: A robust fish with deep, oval
body of yellowish-grey color, with brownishblack
bars. The head is yellow and the throat
black. It has transparent pectoral fins and black
pelvic fins. Color may change with mood.
Males are larger than females. Max length: c.
40 cm.
Diet: A voracious, aggressive predator on other
fishes, even larger individuals, (perhaps the
reason only a single Hornet Tilapia resides in
the Swamp tank). Also eats plant matter. An
omnivorous and voracious eater; feeds on fish
and crustaceans and vegetable matter.
Reproduction and Development: Mouth
brooders. Female carries the eggs in her
mouth for several weeks before releasing and
continuing to guard fry.
Remarks: A territorial, belligerent, hardy,
pugnacious and fierce fighter, it takes on all
competitors for food.
After salmonids and carps, tilapia and their
close relatives—all fast growing, easily bred,
and mostly herbivorous species—are the most
important fishes in a aquaculture by the gross
weight of production.
Black Belt Cichlid
Vieja maculicauda (Cichlidae)
Cichlids
Distribution: Atlantic slope of Central
America, Guatemala to Panama.
Habitat: Inhabits stagnant water of rivers,
lakes, or slow-flowing streams with roots
and branches that provide shelter. Tolerates
brackish water at the mouth of rivers, a
characteristic that may account for the wide
dispersal of the species.
Appearance: Up to 30 cm in length. Oval and
laterally compressed, the male is white with
a black band around the pectoral area (thus
the common name) and red caudal fins with
blotches of red from the head to the pelvic fin.
In contrast, the female is grey with a red tail.
Fins have spiny rays that serve to discourage
predators.
Diet: Vegetarian: benthic detritus, aquatic and
terrestrial vegetable matter.
Reproduction and Development: After the
couple performs some ritualistic circling, the
female, who has turned a dark color, will lay up
to 1,000 eggs in a cavity she has prepared. The
eggs are often attached in the tiny hair roots
of trees along the shore. The fry, guarded by
both parents, are free-swimming after a week.
Mortality/Longevity: Life span: 7-8 years.
Barred Surfperch
Amphistichus argenteus (Embiotocidae)
Surfperches
Distribution: Bodega Bay, California to
northern central Baja California.
Habitat: Sandy beaches in surf; found in trawl
catches up to 73 m.
Appearance: Length to 43 cm. Travels in small
groups. Silvery or white; 8–10 rust-colored
vertical bars on side with spots in between.
Diet: Crabs; clams, and other invertebrates.
Reproduction and Development: Live bearer.
Males make “figure-eights” around females
before mating. Five-month gestation period;
females can produce 4–110 young. Juveniles
are born in spring and summer and are about
4.5 cm at birth.
Mortality/Longevity: Life span: to 9 years.