Pterochromis congicus

Pterochromis congicus is a rare in nature and even more rare in the hobby substrate spawning cichlid. It gets fairly large, and adults look remarkably like bluegills! They are endemic to the Upper Congo and have only been imported a few times in the past 2 decades. These fish are descended from F0 parents brought into North America by Oliver Lucanus (Below Water) and imported into the U.S. by The New England Cichlid Association (NECA). The first recorded American spawning was by Stephen Thornton, a NECA member from Leawood, Kansas. He brought fry to the 2019 NECA-ACA Convention, and Steven White spawned them several times. I'm bringing an adult pair, F2, and in a large tank with lots of wood and some large tetras as dithers, they should spawn within 6 months or so. They have huge mouths but don't appear to be piscivores. Paul Loiselle believes that they may be detrivores, but that is still uncertain. In a tank they eat pretty much everything, and eat a lot they do. They grow to 10 inches or more over a 4 or 5 year period, and a pair will need at least a 90 gallon tank.