I bought eleven of these fish in the beginning of June. The following is an account of my experiences with the Orange Chromide. these fish are also called Red or Orange Etroplus maculatus (Bloch 1785). They are found from South East Asia Range to the coastal brackish rivers of Southern India and Sri Lanka. I put them in a 40 gallon tank with a number one hydrosponge filter and a few pieces of slate, a rock, some spawning moss, and a knee hi stocking full of charcoal and ammo chips (zeolite). Since I purchased the fish, I have done three water changes and added a whisper power filter to clear up the water. I have been feeding them a wide variety of foods such as; freeze dried worms, frozen brine, and a mixture of basic, spirolina and brine shrimp flakes.

As the weeks went by I would lose them one at a time. Then I read in You and Your Aquarium Book under fungus on page 233 that these fish are susceptible to fungal disease. I figured that was why I lost them. Now I’m down to two fish and was thinking about buying more. But Lo and Behold! I noticed baby fish in the tank- I looked with a flashlight several times and never saw eggs. According to You and Your Aquarium there is no visible way to sex them. It also goes on to say that they should be kept at a temperature of about 75 degrees with some sea salt in the tank. I do have salt in the tank but not enough to register on a salt test. I keep my pH at about 7.6 and my temperature at about 78 degrees. The parents are still with the family and doing well. This fish is very closely related to the discus as the fry feed off of the parents and the eggs in the wild are laid to wave in the current of the water. I am feeding them live brine and flake food. A very interesting fish

References:

Loiselle, Dr. P. V. The Cichlid Aquarium. Tetra Press, 1994

Mills, Dick, - Aquarium Fish Eye Witness Handbook D, K. Publishing, 1993

Mills, Dick, - You and Your Aquarium- Borzoi Book, 1986