Videos:
- Thorichthys meeki, Pair guarding fry, [00:01:02]
A pair of Thorichthys meeki guarding their fry in the Subin River, Usumacinta drainage [Guatemala]. Pairs of Thorichthys are extremely coordinated in guarding their fry, an absolute necessity to avoid heavy predication by Astyanax species and other cichlids.
- Thorichthys socolofi, Pair guarding fry in Mizol-Ha River, [00:02:48]
In this video a pair of Thorichthys socolofi lead their fry in the shallow water of the Mizol-ha river, Tulija drainage [Chiapas].
- Rheoheros coeruleus, Pair guarding fry in Mizol-Ha River, [00:02:23]
Rheoheros coeruleus pair guarding fry in the current of the Mizol-Ha River, Tulija drainage [Mexico].
- Cryptoheros spilurus, Pair preparing nest in Lake Izabal, [00:02:55]
In this video a pair of Cryptoheros spilurus in Lake Izabal [Guatemala] is seen preparing a cave nest in a concavity under a log in the sandy and often bare bottom the lake. male and female court each other and chase intruders away.
- Trichromis salvini, Females courting male, [00:03:05]
In this video a male Trichromis salvini in Lake Izabal [Guatemala] has established a territory with a cave in the form of a concavity under a log to be use as nest. Females note the male and likely the convenience of the breeding site and actively court the male and chase other females away. The males seems still busy preparing the cave and chases most females away.
- Trichromis salvini, Pair guarding fry in Lake Izabal, [00:00:38]
In this video a pair of Trichromis salvini in Lake Izabal, Dulce drainage [Guatemala] guard their already large fry near a sunken trunk. Parents venture away from structures just every so often and prefer to remain close to them to be able to protect their fry.
- Cryptoheros spilurus, Pair guarding fri in Lake Izabal, [00:01:30]
In this video we can see a pair of Cryptoheros spilurus as they guard and conduct their fry in the flat bare bottom of Lake Izabal, Dulce drainage [Guatemala]. Pairs are well coordinated in the defense of their fry and move them quickly through bare bottom zones, favoring areas with some structure for the fry to hide, where they seem more at ease.
- Thorichthys aureus, Pair guarding wrigglers, [00:01:26]
In this short video Thorichthys aureus is shown in Lake Izabal, Dulce drainage [Guatemala] as they guard for their wrigglers which are located in a pit, normally dug out at the base of a rock, a piece of wood or under a sunken leaf. The parents (more closely the female) guard the area but just in few occasions do they actually get too close to the pit itself, presumably not to reveal the precise location of the wrigglers. In the third clip in this video a female is moving the wrigglers from one pit to another, not in all cases [ss], unlike other Thorichthys species, builds more than one pit to move the fry.
- Thorichthys aureus, Pair spawning in Lake Izabal, [00:02:20]
Thorichthys aureus pair spawning on a rock in Lake Izabal, Dulce drainage [Guatemala].
- Thorichthys meeki, Pair guarding wrigglers, [00:00:58]
In this short video of a pair of Thorichthys meeki guarding their wrigglers in the San Juan River, Usumacinta drainage at San Juan [Guatemala] the camera is moved back and forth towards the female for her reflection in the case to elicit the defensive intimidating mechanism characteristic of this species, where they expands their gular pouches towards the camera making them appear bigger.
- Thorichthys helleri, Breeding pair in San Juan River, [00:02:35]
In this short video we first show a pair of Thorichthys helleri guarding their wrigglers which are deposited in a dug-up pit in front of a small rock in the silt covered bottom of the San Juan River, tributary of Rio de la Pasion, Usumacinta drainage [Guatemala]. In the second part of the video a male defends vigorously his fry and guide them until he finally meets the female, which was momentarily absent for some reason.
- Rheoheros lentiginosus, Female guarding fry, [00:00:54]
In this short video clip a female is seen watching her fry in the current of the San Juan River, a tributary of Rio de la Pasion in the Usumacinta drainage at the town of San Juan in the Peten province [Guatemala]. Even since a small age, fry are very skillful in swimming in the current, which they always do remaining close to the substrate.
- Wajpamheros nourissati, Young adult feeding in the current, [00:01:08]
In this short video clip a young Wajpamheros nourissati uses his thick lips to press hard against the silt covered rocks in search of invertebrates in the current of the San Juan River, Pasion, Usumacinta drainage [Guatemala]. Once a mouthful is obtained, it is quickly examined and the silt spit out.
- Cryptoheros spilurus, Pair guarding fry in Cienegas River, [00:00:42]
This short video shows a pair of Cryptoheros spilurus guarding their fry in shallow water in the Cienegas River, Dulce drainage [Guatemala]. The great coordination between parents in defending the fry, always placed in a protected area is necessary to avoid depredation.
- Thorichthys aureus, Parent guarding babies, [00:01:53]
In this short video clip you can see a Thorichthys aureus parent of undetermined sex guiding the fry in the shallow areas of the Cienegas River, Dulce drainage [Guatemala]. The partner was not to be seen which in the case of Thorichthys means a likely bad event happened. The nervousness of the remaining partner is apparent in the fast guiding of the fry and excess aggressiveness towards anything approaching. A single parent has very slim chances to successfully raise a clutch of babies alone, and would not be achieved without an extraordinary use of energy.
- Trichromis salvini, Pair guarding fri in Rio Cienegas, [00:00:51]
Trichromis salvini pair guarding their babies in the Cienegas River, Dulce drainage [Guatemala]. This short clip shows a very typical behavior of this species when guarding fry. Fry are taken out to the open to feed under the close supervision of both parents, always near a covered area normally comprised of sunken wood or overhanging vegetation — most likely where they have spawned. At the slightest sign of thread the parents immediately guide the babies back to the covered area where they hide until the thread has vanished.
- Chuco godmanni, Group in Agua Caliente, [00:01:34]
A group of young adults of Chuco godmanni is seen in the shallow water of Agua Caliente stream in the west part of Lake Izabal, Dulce drainage [Guatemala]. In this video you can see the gregarious nature of this species.
- Vieja melanurus, Pair guarding fry in Lake Peten-Itza, [00:02:09]
In this video clip we can see a pair of Vieja melanurus as they guide their fry in Lake Peten-Itza [Guatemala]. The already large enough fry are very fast and are led by the parents trough large areas close to the substrate. Just when no thread is present they slow down the pace a little, but never remain static. We can see the large area the parents demand for the protection of their babies from which potential predators are chased away.
- Thorichthys affinis, Breeding pair in Lake Peten-Itza, [00:02:35]
In this video, a pair of Thorichthys affinis is seen in the shallow Vallisneria rich areas of Lake Peten-Itza, both parent coordinate closely to guard the fry. In the second part of the video you see why this is so important, when some ambushing juveniles of Petenia splendida dash towards the fry. When the pair loose coordination in defense of the fry from one Petenia, other hidden specimens take the opportunity to attack. In the end, the coordination of the [ss] parents repelling the attacks saves most of the fry.
- Paraneetroplus bulleri, Grupo en el río Ajal, [00:01:38]
Grupo de Paraneetroplus bulleri en la fuerte corriente del río Ajal, cuenca del río Coatzacoalcos [México].
- Maskaheros regani, Female with fry in Ajal River, [00:01:39]
A Maskaheros regani female guarding her fry in the Rio Ajal, Coatzacoalcos drainage [Mexico]. This shy species is subject to a great stress while guarding their fry in the predators rich environment where they live. Males are quick to abandon breeding females due to their shyness.
- Thorichthys callolepis, Pair with fry in Ajal River, [00:02:19]
Thorichthys callolepis pair guarding their fry in an area of moderate current of the Ajal River, Coatzacoalcos drainage [Oaxaca]. Pairs have to be extremely well coordinated to defend their fry an environment full of potential predators.
- Thorichthys panchovillai, Pair guaring fry in Ajal River, [00:02:46]
A pair of Thorichthys panchovillai (blue morph) in the Ajal River, Coatzacoalcos drainage [Mexico] guard their babies in an extremely well coordinated tactic. An approaching courting pair looking to establish a territory is driven away from the territory with the join effort of the pair.
- Amphilophus trimaculatus, Female with fry in Ostuta River, [00:01:29]
A nervous female Amphilophus trimaculatus guides her babies out of a sheltered area in the shallow Ostuta River whenever she sees the environment as safe enough, her beautiful and striking yellow coloration signals to by-passers of her aggressive disposition in defense of her young.
- Vieja zonata, Female with fry in Ostuta River, [00:01:47]
A group of young and adult Vieja zonata is shown before a nervous female guarding her large numerous babies in a protected area in the shallow Ostuta River [Mexico]. The threat to the babies at all times is clear in this video, although luckily the fry has reached a large enough size to protect themselves.
- Astatheros macracanthus, Pair with wrigglers, [00:01:03]
A Astatheros macracanthus pair guarding their hidden wrigglers in the shallow water of the Ostuta River [Mexico].
- Chiapaheros grammodes, Hembra cuidando crías, [00:00:50]
Hembra de Chiapaheros grammodes cuidando a sus crías en Nandaburé, un pequeño afluente del río Grande de Grijalva, cuenca del río Grijalva [México]. La hembra muy visible por sus aletas pélvicas negras, con rápidos desplazamientos defiende un gran territorio en el centro del cual sus crías buscan comida en las hojas hundidas. El macho, mucho mas grande (no es visible en este video) abandona temporalmente el territorio al menor signo de peligro.
- Vieja hartwegi, Críando en el río Santo Domingo, [00:02:34]
Vieja hartwegi criando en el río Santo Domingo, cuenca del río Grijalva [México]. Las parejas mantienen a sus alevines o pequeñas crías en cuevas y las sacan para alimentarse cuando perciben un medio ambiente seguro. Vieja hartwegi es una especie tímida y el macho abandona temporalmente el territorio cuando percibe una amenaza importante. Sin embargo, al crecer las crías el macho estará dispuesto a tomar mayores riesgos, en la última parte del video se puede ver a un macho guiando a sus crías dado que la hembra falta por alguna razón. las crías se mueven rapidamente guiadas por sus padres.
- Herichthys minckleyi, Guarding the nest, [00:01:17]
Herichthys minckleyi protecting their nest in Poza de la Becerra, Cuatro Cienegas valley. The females normally spawn in caves and after a while when the fry gets larger they are expelled from the territories by the male, caring singly for the babies until they are independent. Once the nest is left, caves are cleaned and used by other females. Males are normally black in coloration when breeding or dominant, in the video however the male shows a normal coloration, which indicates it is a large and aggressive male not willing to spend the energy necessary (and risk involved) in showing a full black breeding coloration, size is enough to persuade intruders to get close to the nest.
- Herichthys labridens, Alimentando crías, [00:02:13]
Herichthys labridens vigilando y alimentando sus crías en el canal artificial de salida del Manantial de la Media Luna, cuenca del Pánuco; Valle de Ríoverde, San Luis Potosí [México].
- Herichthys pame, Excavando un nido, [00:00:52]
Herichthys pame excavando un nido en el sustrato calcáreo del Río Tamasopo, Río Gallinas, en la cuenca del Río Pánuco; San Luis Potosí, [México]. La reproducción se presenta de Marzo a Agosto con el pico en Abril.
- Herichthys minckleyi, Forma xántica, [00:00:47]
Forma xántica de Herichthys minckleyi en la Poza de la Becerra, Cuatro Ciénegas, cuenca del Rio Bravo. Se encuentran siempre uno o dos individuos xánticos en este sitio.
Videos de localidades:
- Coatzacoalcos: Ajal River Fish community in the Ajal River, [00:02:47]
Fish community in the Ajal River, Coatzacoalcos drainage. The amazing fish community of this river can be observed in this clip, obtained letting the video camera running for a few minutes in an area with some sunken logs.