Poor man's tropheus

Hypsophrys
Breeding (left) and normal colouration (right).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Genus:	Hypsophrys
Species:	H. nematopus
Binomial name
Hypsophrys nematopus Günther, 1867

The poor man's tropheus, Hypsophrys nematopus, formerly Neetroplus nematopus, is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It was formerly the only species in the genus Neetroplus, but in 2007 was reclassified into the genus Hypsophrys.^[1] It is a small-medium sized cichlid growing to a length of 12 cm; it occurs in the Central American rift lakes (Lake Xiloa, Lake Managua, Lake Masaya and Lake Nicaragua) and riverine habitats on the Atlantic coasts of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Like most Central American cichlids the species is commonly found in hard, alkaline (pH 7.5) water. Its diet consists of algae and plant material which it scrapes from rocks and other hard surfaces in a fashion similar to algal grazing cichlids of Lake Malawi, Africa. Some populations are reportedly involved in cleaning other fish of parasites. Like all cichlids, brood care is highly developed with both parents involved in fry raising. Colouration changes dramatically (see picture below) while breeding.

External links

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). Species of Neetroplus in FishBase. May 2006 version.
• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Neetroplus nematopus" in FishBase. May 2006 version.

References

1. ^ "Convict and Jack Dempsey placed in new genera". Archived from the original on 2007-12-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20071228234519/http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1399. Retrieved 2008-06-27.