It was that time of the evening when things settle down at my house. Dinner had been eaten, the dishes were cleaned, and the mess made by my youngest child had been cleaned up. The girls' baths were completed and my clothes had begun to dry from the water battle I had lost. As I laid across my bed enjoying the peace and quiet the telephone rang. My first thought was, "Oh no, not another telemarketing person trying to sell me something I don't need." I answered the telephone and all I heard was the lady screaming, "I've got babies, I've got babies!" My initial reaction was to scream back, "they're not mine lady, they're not mine! And I've never seen you before in my life. You've got the wrong number." Then I recognized the voice as TBAS member, Thelma Frias. She was letting me know she had spawned Archocentrus Sajica. Thelma knew I had been working with this fish for some time, and that she had beaten me to the punch.

She had obtained a pair several months earlier at the tour of Don Conkels' Tropicals. I congratulated her on the achievement and asked for the details. I was both surprised and elated with her high level of excitement. It reminded me of why each of us participate in the hobby.

Archocentrus Sajica was described in 1974 by Bussing (Sands). Until recently this fish was known as Cichlasoma Sajica. The name Sajica is an acronym for Salvador Jimenez Canossa, then director of the Library of Congress of Costa Rica. In the trade this fish is sometimes known as Sajie's Cichlid and T-bar Cichlid. It inhabits small streams and lakes on the lower half of the Pacific side of Costa Rica, from Rio Parrita to the Rio Coloradito, at elevations of up to 2,000 feet (Conkel).

Males can be identified by their extended dorsal and anal fins. The characteristic T-bar marking, formed by a vertical bar extending from the mid-dorsal area to the vent, and a horizontal bar extending from the top of the gill cover to the vertical bar (Sands) is diagnostic for this species. Males can grow up to 5 inches, with females being slightly smaller with shorter and rounded dorsal and anal fins.

Sajica occur in several different color variations (Konings). Common to all variations are the reddish speckling in the male's unpaired fins and varying degrees of blue in the body on a beige background. The females usually show a golden color at the base of the dorsal and anal fins. Their body color is usually beige to light purple, with several dark vertical bands. When spawning and caring for fry, both sexes take on a dark purple coloration from their face to mid-body. The iris of the eyes seems to enlarge and become a brilliant gold. For a fish of their size, they defend their eggs and fry viciously, and have been known to attack their owner's hand when placed in the tank (Elias)

Sajica is an easy fish to feed, accepting most prepared and live foods small enough to be ingested. A pH between 7 and 8, with a medium hardness, is recommended. Plants are usually not bothered, with digging occurring only during spawning preparation.

After talking to Thelma I went to my fish room and talked to my Sajicas, telling them how lazy they were and how good Thelma's fish were doing with their new family of fry. They either got tired of my preaching, or felt sorry for me, because I was soon rewarded with a small clutch of eggs attached to a piece of driftwood.

What follows is a tale of two hobbyists, both fascinated by the same species of fish. Hopefully our experiences will benefit others.

Thelma's pair lived in a bare-bottom ten gallon tank with a screen top and no light. The temperature was approximately 77 degrees Fahrenheit, with moderately hard water and a pH of 7.4. The tank was filtered by one "dirt magnet type" sponge filter. The only decoration was a small piece of driftwood. Their diet varied, consisting of freeze-dried bloodworms, frozen adult brine shrimp, Wardley's Total Tropical Flake, Saga Discus Crumbles and freeze-dried daphnia.

After introducing the pair into the tank, the male became so aggressive he had to be removed to a "holding net" attached to the upper portion of the same tank ... and told to BEHAVE. Here he remained for two weeks. In the mean time, it was suggested a clay pot with an enlarged drain hole be added to the tank to give the female a sanctuary from the males' aggression. After he settled down, the male was reintroduced to the tank with his mate. About this time Thelma left for vacation for six days. Before leaving, she covered the tank with a towel to give the pair some seclusion from the traffic in her home.

Upon her return, Thelma was greeted by, what appeared to be, one hundred brown eggs attached to the inside of the clay pot, with the female standing guard. Approximately six days later, the eggs hatched. Two days after hatching, the fry were free-swimming. This is about the time I received the famous telephone call. Little did I know Thelma had also called four other TBAS members that night with the good news.

Thelma fed the fry baby brine shrimp and powdered artificial daphnia. This diet was continued for the next several weeks, and only evaporated water was replaced in the tank. In approximately six weeks, the fry had reached 1/2 an inch in length. Progress continued until one day Thelma discovered six dead fry. As the days progressed she noticed less and less fry, but no dead bodies. Soon she was down to approximately one dozen fry, then only two. A few days after this Thelma discovered the female dead. Thelma came to the conclusion that the male was the culprit.

She went through the normal depression and anger associated with such a loss, but was persuaded to try again. She has since obtained another female, and started over.

I selected a fifteen gallon aquarium with a bare bottom for my breeding project. The aquarium is filtered by two Hydro-Sponge II's. Decorations consist of one small piece of driftwood and enough Java moss to cover one fourth of the aquarium. The aquarium's occupants are: two Australian Rainbowfish, one Kerri Tetra, one Glowlite Tetra and one pair of German Blue Rams. At first glance you might consider this tank to be over-crowded, and... IT IS] Even with two filters, I continue to encounter problems maintaining a stable pH. The fish are fed a quality flake food, baby brine shrimp, Tetra Bits and the Sajica get chopped earthworms.

My dominant male Sajica took his time selecting a mate. After exhibiting aggression toward all the other fish, he finally paired with the largest female. The other fish continue to act as "target fish" and assisted in cementing the pair bond. The other two Sajicas were banished to an area behind the sponge filters or deep within the Java moss. The rainbows were too fast for the Saricas and were soon ignored. The Tetras learned quickly to keep their distance.

The first thing I noticed the evening I discovered the spawn was the color change in the pair. They took on the breeding coloration mentioned earlier. The female was very active, hovering over the driftwood and chasing the other fish, including the male. She chose the far side of the driftwood, under an over-hang, as the location to deposit her eggs. There were approximately thirty beige-colored eggs attached to the wood in a loose circle. After they hatched, she moved them to a crevice in the driftwood and continued her watch around the clock. I left the light on to assist her. The water temperature was approximately 80 degrees Fahrenheit, and the fry became free-swimming about three days after hatching. At this point the male was allowed closer and the pair banished all other fish to the back upper corners of the aquarium. This is when the female Ram was killed. I decided to remove the fry to assure some of the other fish survived, and to reduce the aggression of the proud parents.

The fry grew quickly on their diet of baby brine shrimp, and the twenty seven fry that survived are currently 3/4 of an inch in length. I've also decided to work with this fish more closely. I've been able to obtain what seems to be several different color variations, one from as far away as the Netherlands (thanks Jaap).

In closing, Thelma and I would like to recommend Sajica to those hobbyists who may be looking for a small sized cichlid that displays all the attributes of its larger cousins. I would not recommend keeping the following species with Sajica because they will cross-breed. These include: Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus (Convict), Septemfaciatus and Spilurus. Also, I would like to thank my co-author for her input, and look forward to working with her again, my interviews with Thelma were always a delight... PEACE!!!

References:

Conkel, Donald. Cichlids of North America. TFH Publications, Inc.,1993

Elias, Jaroslav. Breeding Cichlasoma Sajica, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, July 1992.

Konings, Ad. Cichlids From Central America. TFH Publications, Inc., 1989

Sands, David. A Fishkeeper's Guide to Central American Cichlids. Salamander Books Ltd., 1986