Bujurquina Vittata a very special courtship

A few days ago two great friends from different sides of the pond (one from Argentina, Walter Vázquez, and another from Spain) coincided by sending me images of some cichlids with a very special coloration, but what caught my attention the most is the way in which that these animals courted, a unique form in the world of cichlids.

Before continuing with what surprised me about them, I am going to tell you a little about general information about this species.

The name is Bujurquina Vittata, a name created by Kullander, taken from a native Peruvian word for these cichlids, "bujurqui" or "bufurque"; 1983-1986 .

They are freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 12. Tropical; 24°C - 28°C

Its origin is from South America: Paraná River basin, at the mouth of the Paraguay River and in the middle Paraná River basin.

To recreate a good Biotope, we can use botanicals , wood , smooth rocks and light-colored silica sand.

They live in rivers with shallow waters, but the best thing about this fish, as I told you before, is its breeding behavior.

As you can see in the videos of both Walter Vázquez and my other anonymous friend, the animals look for leaves that are shown between the male and the female, once they find the perfect leaf, they will lay their eggs on it.

Why do they spawn in leaves ?

Well, biologists say that this behavior may be due to two reasons, one of them to carry the leaf with the eggs in the presence of possible predators, and the other is to transport the eggs when the water edge decreases. After this, when the eggs hatch, the parents become mouthbrooders, yes, you are reading right, the fry when they feel in danger will enter the parents' mouth as a means of protection. Which makes the species quite a sight to see.

Through fish like this I realize how big aquarium hobby is and how much I still have to see and learn...

• Thank Walter Vázquez for his images and videos, on the other hand you can follow him on his Instagram @ walter.vazquez.biotopeaquarium
• Thanks also to the anonymous friend for his great video to share with us.

Now leave us a comment if you knew this fish or if you know another fish with a special behavior.