Care
Nichols' Mouthbrooder is known from quiet, heavily vegetated creeks, drains, lakes, and ponds in the upper and middle Congo River basin. The aquarium should be spacious and with a soft sand or fine gravel substrate. Provide shelter with caves, driftwood, flowerpots on their side, and areas of dense planting. Filtration should be efficient but water movement fairly gentle. Nichols' Mouthbrooder cichlids are best maintained as a single male with a harem of several females. They can be somewhat territorial towards other bottom dwellers (catfish, loaches, other dwarf cichlids etc), so these are best avoided. Ideal tankmates would be fast-moving, medium sized fish that occupy the mid to upper levels, such as hatchetfish, rainbowfish, or deep-bodied tetras - but do observe carefully.
Feeding
Flake, micropellets, small frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp and daphnia.
Breeding
Maternal mouthbrooder. When ready to spawn, the male will dig a shallow pit in the substrate and display to the females, trying to entice them into breeding. At times, he may show belligerence towards females that are unreceptive, which is why it is preferable to maintain this species in a harem situation with some dither fish to help divert the male's attention. If a female is receptive, she will accompany him to the pre-dug pit, and they will circle each other. As the female deposits eggs, she immediately takes them into her mouth and then nudges the vent of the male fish with her mouth, signalling to him to release his milt, fertilising the eggs. Males can be quite hard on mouthbrooding females, so it is best to move the female to another aquarium at this point. She will mouthbrood the eggs for 9-11 days, at which point the free-swimming fry are released. The young will start foraging for food straight away and can be offered baby brineshrimp (Artemia nauplii), microworms, or crushed flake as soon as they are released. Broods typically number from 10-30, although as many as 100 young have been noted from larger females.
