Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 169

Theraps wesseli
eventually named after me by Dr. Robert R Miller
of the University of Michigan (Theraps wesseli in
1996. This slender and shy species is well adapted
to the fast and pristine waters of Rio Jutiapa mov-
ing quickly in and around the large boulders that
exist in the rapids. The jungle is still mostly in
good condition that surrounds the area and the
flora and fauna greatly attribute to the beauty of
the region. A second favourite river is the Rio Bas-
can in Southern Mexico which is very similar to
the Jutiapa and this region one can find the beau-
tiful Thorichthys socolofi and Theraps coeruleus,
both moderately rare and elusive cichlids. Both of
these rivers are deeply embedded as my all-time
favourites.
of the Papaloteca drainage, Departmento de At-
lantida on the Northern Caribbean coast. During
2 field trips in 1969 and 1970, Michael Marin
(1972) spent a total of seven months covering all
the major drainages including Palaloteca. Approxi-
mately 26,500 specimens from 182 localities were
cataloged and labeled and in addition, he exam-
ined over 6,600 specimens of Honduras fishes that
were preserved in several museums. Remarkably,
a highly localized species was missed and subse-
quently discovered in the early 1990’s and
What would your favourite cichlid be when vis-
iting this place?
Theraps coeruleus for it is rare and produces small
spawns and is sort of like have 5 fish in one. It is
non-aggressive and has 5 distinct colour phases
during courtship. Also, it may be the most chal-
lenging for its overall requirements of good clean
water quality in aquaria is vital to its success.
21