Cichlidae

Amatitlania

12.00 cm

Males max out at 5" but typically stay around 3-4". Females do not exceed 2".

Semi-aggressive, Community

Does better in colonies. Pairs will try to take over small tanks, but will tone their aggression down in highly populated areas.

Omnivore

114.00 L

90.00 cm x 12.00 cm

7.0 C - 30.0 C

Any.

Bottom

Technically, allegedly, honduran red points are genetically closer to "true" type locality nigrofasciata, however this is based on mitochondrial DNA, and while mitochondrial DNA should technically be more definitive in showing ancestry and lineages, it repeatedly shows faults in how species actually diverged/are grouped, so take this with a grain of salt.

That aside, this northern "convict" lineage (populations from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador) typically (and ironically) does not follow the "convict" stereotype, as males rarely exceed 5", they produce significantly less fry less often (around 50-200 fry), and are better with tank mates, especially smaller ones. These are typically more streamlined and "rectangular" in shape, though captive line breeding has produced taller bodied individuals of different body shapes. These possess large gill membranes similar to that of Thorichthys sp. that can be seen when flaring.

The blue in domestic Honduran red points is likely line bred, as the original wild Honduran red points were more of a grey with pale blue accents. Others collected at the "type locality" of Honduran red points showed typical (black) convict coloration. In my experiences breeding wild strains of convicts, I found that a "blue" gene would often appear in batches of offspring, producing a fish that matures to a grey(ish) with blue accents, similar to that produced when black phenotype fish are crossed to blue Honduran red points. This was likely developed into the sky blue fish we have today. True "Honduran red points" were collected from the Rio los almendros, a tributary of the Rio patuca, in 1989 by Rusty Wessel. You may see the name "Rio danli" thrown around, but this does not exist, as it is the portion of the Rio los almendros that runs through the town of Danli. It should however be noted that the local name for convicts across their native range is "red point", as nearly all wild convicts have red fins. For the purposes of the hobby however, "Honduran red point" applies to the Rio patuca/los almendros population.

True HRPs can only be reliably bought from The Wetspot, Tangled Up in Cichlids, Imperial Tropicals, Chris Butcher on Aquabid, Bioaquatix, or won at auctions from Rusty Wessel himself. The line circulating around the GCCA may be descended from stock more recently auctioned off by Rusty. It should also be noted that all "HRPs" in the hobby are descended from individuals collected and distributed by Rusty, but over the years they have made their way into the hands of other sellers aside from the ones Rusty himself gave individuals to.