Herichthys tepehua
This highly imaginative Cichlid, whose status and distribution have long been a subject of debate, may already be extinct in the wild. And that, before anything is known about the life cycle of this fish. The variant from the Río Cazones has in any case been almost completely displaced by Thorichthys maculipinnis, which has taken over the habitat of Herichthys tepehua as an invasive exotic species. Mauricio de la Maza-Benignos could only find the species after a long search in one of the remaining pools along the main river. Moreover, these animals were in a deplorable condition. According to Mauricio, remaining populations have retreated to the most isolated tributaries with murky water, where the limited visibility protects them from local spearfishing. Unfortunately, H. tepehua has not yet been evaluated by the IUCN for a position on the red list. The species is already on the CARES list, an awareness and conservation initiative of Claudia Dickinson.
“Turquoise” is what Don Danko called this fish, which he made together with Willem Heijns during a fishing trip in Central Mexico. And furthermore “The beauty of this fish is breathtaking”. It was 1989, when both men drove through the province of Veracruz in search of Herichthys species south of the H. carpintis area and it was in this province where they caught the never-before-seen Turquoise Cichlid. With great difficulty, they managed to catch a dozen that day, some of which reached Europe alive. Many years later a discussion arose about “where exactly” this special color morph had been caught again. Had they captured the fish in the town of Alamo, or was it the river that flows through the town of Poza Rica? Mauricio, who had lived in this area for a long time, finally came up with the redeeming answer. In both the Pantepec river, which flows through the town of Alamo, and the Cazones river, which winds through Poza Rica, a “Turquoise” Herichthys occurs. Years later, the same Mauricio described this fish as Herichthys tepehua.
There are several variants of Herichthys tepehua, geographically distributed over the river basins in which they occur. Basic color olive green to Persian turquoise, with Mauricio indicating that this basic color is not visible in all individuals and that this probably has to do with dominance. Young animals often show more yellow tones. The basic color of the Tenixtepec variant is more brownish, with a lighter belly zone. H. tepehua also shows a red stripe pattern on the head and cheeks. In the Pantepec variant, the two stripes between the eye and upper lip are particularly striking. In the Cazone, Tenixtepec, Tecolutla and Solteros variants, these stripes are interrupted. A black spot, or dark zone, in the middle of the dorsal fin can occur in both females and males. Sometimes also a pink spot on the gill covers. The scales, golden yellow in the center, diamond-shaped bordered by turquoise, give the flanks a net-like appearance. Dorsal and anal fins have the same color as the body. Length maximum 18 centimeters in females and 23 centimeters in males.
There is no consensus on the status of this fish. Mauricio de la Maza-Benignos acknowledges that H. tepehua shows a strong relationship with Herichthys deppii. The differences he mentions: a longer head, narrower anal fin base, larger eyes and two prominent lines under the eyes, are therefore very brief and, apart from the lines, can only be determined with measuring instruments. The color is also not a strong diagnostic tool. Turquoise also occurs in H. deppii, see the photos by Lee Nuttall in the description of Herichthys deppii. Colors can also be related to external factors such as nutrition or the presence of certain minerals in the water.
Others, such as Pérez-Miranda 2017, therefore go a step further and use genetic arguments in particular to further undermine the minimal distinction that Mauricio makes. The possibility that Herichthys tepuha turns out to be a color morph of Herichthys deppii should therefore be seriously considered. The future will hopefully show this, but then habitat loss, pollution and overfishing must come to an end quickly and local authorities should take environmental protection seriously. An endemic species would then come in handy.
Etymology
Due to its exceptional blue-green color, this fish was known for a long time as Herichthys sp. Turquoise. In 2014, it was described by Mauricio de la Maza-Benignos as Herichthys Tepehua. Referring to the ethnic minority the “Tepehua Indians” in Eastern Mexico. Incidentally, these Indians call this fish Mojarra azul criolla.
Origin
Mexico
Distribution
Most northerly in the upper reaches of the Tuxapan river, the Pantepec river. This is also where the holotype comes from. The upper reaches of the Pantepec river are in some places less than 4 kilometres from the Rio Cazones. This is the next river in a southerly direction where Herichthys tepehua is supposed to occur, but where it seems to have been replaced by Thorichthys maculipinnis. Further south its original distribution area extends into the Tenixtepec river and the Tecolutla river. The most southerly location is the Solteros river which is connected to the Nautla river where the distribution area of H. deppii begins. The various geographical variants are, if not extinct, extremely rare everywhere.
Behavior
Studies or reports on the natural behavior of Herichthys tepehua are lacking.
Diet
Nothing is known about its foraging behavior in the wild, but in the aquarium it behaves as an omnivore.
The Aquarium
An exceptionally beautiful fish for the aquarium. However, the fish is rarely kept. Therefore, there is also little information available about aquarium care. Adult dominant males color completely turquoise after a yellow-green spotted transition phase. Females usually remain in this transition phase. Given the high intraspecific aggression, keeping them together as a pair with other large Central American Cichlids is probably the best option. The water quality is probably more important than the water composition. Temp 24-28 C.
Breeding
As mentioned, this fish is on the CARES list. It is therefore recommended to breed this fish in an organized manner: Cares fish preservation program. This can be used to try to preserve the species (at least ex-situ). Breeding H. tepehua does not make any special demands on the breeder or setup and is comparable to other Herichthys. Don Danko achieved great success with tanks of less than 300 liters. The species was bred in pairs in these. The breeding colors consist of accentuation of crossbands on the rear half of the body and a black chin and belly. This contrasts with a whitish front half of the body. The approximately 500 eggs are preferably laid on a horizontal surface. The brood care is like that of other Herichthys. Young are dragged from pit to pit by both parents. On a diet of artemia, (later cyclops) and spirulina, the young grow like cabbage. With sufficient water changes, three cm in eight weeks.
Author
Rene Beerlink – NVCweb
Copyright images
Herichthys molango – CC BY-SA 3.0
Reference
De la Maza-Benignos M. et al. 2014. Phylogeographic analysis of genus Herichthys Perciformes Cichlidae with descriptions of Nosferatu new genus and H. tepehua n. sp.
Literatuur:
— Cichlid Room. 2005. Herichthys ID (Pantepec and Poza Rica) By Willem Heijns.
— Danko D. 2002. Collecting, Maintaining and Spawning the Turquoise Herichthys
— De la Maza Benignos M. et al. 2014. Phylogeographic analysis of genus Herichthys Perciformes Cichlidae with descriptions of Nosferatu new genus and H tepehua n. sp.
— De la Maza Benignos, Mauricio. 2005. Where the Huasteca Meets Totonacapan, Uncovering the missed out Herichthys.
— Heijns W. 1991. “Cichlasoma” sp. “Pantepec” Het Cichliden jaarboek Volume 1. blz 72
commentaar red., de foto van C. sp. “Pantepec” is verwisseld met die van C. sp. “Poza Rica”.
— Heijns W. 1991. “Cichlasoma” sp. “Poza Rica” Het Cichliden jaarboek Volume 1. blz 73
commentaar red., de foto van C. sp. “Poza Rica” is verwisseld met die van C. sp. “Pantepec”.
— Pérez-Miranda F. et al. 2017. Phylogeny and species diversity of the genus Herichthys.
