FireMouth Cichlid
chichlasoma meeki

It belongs to the family Cichlidae

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-45, with the wild caught specimens costing more.

Origin:
Guatemala Yucatan (Mexico)

Description:
Typical cichlid shape, but with a larger head. Upper body more arched then lower one. About 6 inches (15cm).

Color:
Consists of many different colors, the basic solo is a bluish gray with a nice purple sheen. The back tends darker, while the belly is a yellowish olive, the throat an lower jaw define what the fish is called because they are a magnificent brick red. A black line that is often divided in to spots, starts at the top edge of the gill cover and extends all the way to the bas of the tail. In the middle of the body there is a large gray-edged patch.

Sexual Distinction:

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Female will be duller in color, while having less pronounced spines of the anal and dorsal fins.

Tank conditions:
Temperature 68-73 degrees Fahrenheit (20-23 Celsius). Ph and hardness rating that too important, middle ranges with soot this fish best. Does not do well in planted tanks.

Food:
Live food, with a little plant food.

Behavior:
A relatively peaceful fish. Does better with other cichlids.

Sexual maturity and reproduction:
Reach a sexual maturity at around 3 inches (8cm). Pair forming, and when trying to breed you can raise the tank water to 75-79 degrees Fahrenheit or (24-26 Celsius).

Compatibility:
Should be kept with other cichlids. Become territorial.

Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid
apistogramma cacatuoides

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-45, the price you pay depends on where you go. It’s more expensive to buy from a shop then from a breeder.

Short Bio:
One of the smaller, peaceful, and very beautiful cichlids. The Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid also has a very fascinating breeding behavior.

Origin:
It’s from the Peruvian part of the Amazon Basin.

Size:
The males will grow up to a size of 2.75 in (7 cm) with females reaching a size of 1 in (2.5 cm).

Sexual distinctions:
Males will be larger with brighter colors and more ornate finnage. The mouths of full-grown males will be very large.

Tank conditions:
The tank can be a community tank or a specialist aquarium.
Minimum tank size is 24 x 12 x 12 in (60 x 30 x 30 cm).

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Temperature should be between 79-81 degrees Fahrenheit (26-27 Celsius). The water ideally should be soft and slightly acid to slightly alkaline. (Ph of 6.0-7.5), although the Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid will still breed in hard water. The water should be of excellent quality at all times. Try to eliminate strong currents. The tank should be decorated with plants and small flower pots, the substrate should be a fine gravel or sand. There really in no limit to the number of Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids kept in one tank, just make sure that each female is given a 12 in (30 cm) diameter territory of their own.
The Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlid tends to stay near the bottom of the tank.

Food:
In the wild would normally eat small aquatic organisms but in a controlled environment the Cockatoo Dwarf Cichlids diet should consist of small live food, frozen food, and or flake food. Switching up the diet every now and then is a good thing to do, it will give a balanced diet.

Behavior:
Peaceful in community tanks and can defend it’s brood against much larger fish. When defending it’s brood it uses intimidation more then injury inflicting fights.

Breeding:
Will pair up, but it’s better to have 7 females to one male, giving each female it’s own 12 in (30 cm) diameter territory with the males territory. The breeding caves should have small opening and low set ceilings. The brood is watched over by the female(s) alone.

Ram (Butterfly Dwarf Cichlid)
microgeophagus ramirezi

Now there are two different types of Ram cichlids available Blue Ram Cichlid and Golden Ram Cichlid. This information below can be used for both.

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-15

Short Bio:
This cichlid is a delightful dwarf cichlid, that is kept by many aquarists but rarely with much success due to the lack of knowledge to its stringent requirements.

Origin:
It’s from the pools and streams that are in the Orinoco drainage in Columbia and Venezuela.

Size:
Both the males and females get up to 2.5 inches (6.5 cm)

Sexual distinctions:

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The females will be different in that fact that they have a mauve-pink pink area on the lower flank.

Tank conditions:
Temperature 77-82 degrees Fahrenheit (25-28 Celsius). The water should be very soft to slightly acid, with a Ph of 6-6.5. These measurements are true for both breeding and long lifespan. Try to avoid having strong currents in the tank. The tank should be well-planted and be decorated with bogwood and caves that are concealed among the decorations.

Food:
In the wild the Ram (Butterfly Cichlid) eats mainly aquatic invertebrates, so in captivity the main diet should consist of frozen or live foods.

Behavior:
The Ram (Butterfly Dwarf Cichlid) is a peaceful cichlid even when breeding.

Breeding:
It is possible to breed the ram (butterfly dwarf cichlid), but is rarely achieved due to poor stock and incorrect maintenance.

Convict Cichlid
cryptoheros nigrofasciatus

It belongs to the family Cichlidae

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Cost: 5$-15$ Sometimes from breeders you can get the fry for free.

Origin:
Central America, Guatemala to Panama

Size:
Males will be around 3inches (7.5 cm). With the females being a lot smaller.

Sexual distinctions:
The female will be smaller with a metallic orange color to it’s dorsal fin, or sometimes on the belly. For the albino forms the size difference will be the only way to tell the sexual differences.

Tank Conditions:
Temperature 74-81 Fahrenheit (23.5-27 Celsius). Water, hard to very hard, Ph of 7.5 or above. The Ph is not a huge issue but don’t let eater get below a rating of 6. It will do well in a tank that has rocks, weathered wood of some kind, and or clay pots.

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It’s always good to have some plants in a tank but with convicts it’s most likely that they will be up rooted, so if you have plants be sure to have them in pots or between rocks where they won’t be up rooted as easily. The Convict Cichlid tends to stay near the bottom of the tank.

Food:
It’s naturally omnivorous, but also needs large amounts of algae. Be Warned, may eat small tank mates.

Behavior:
In the wild the Convict Cichlid is very territorial in the wild and must fight viciously to defend it’s territory, so it is also territorial in the fish tank so be sure to have plenty of hiding places, and give plenty of room so that territorial disputes are avoided. When guessing if your tank if big enough for a fish, it’s not the gallons that matter really, it’s more the space it offers. So for a Convict Cichlid a tank with the measurements of 24 x 16 x 16 inches (60 x 40 x 40 cm) for a single pair will be good. If the pair is sharing a tank the 48 x 16 x 16 inches (120 x 40 x 40 cm ) would be recommended. Even though you can have other tank mates it is recommended that you only have one pair per tank.

Breeding:
The Convict Cichlid makes great parents. Will spawn usually caves and and or on the substrate, very easy to breed if given the appropriate tank space (mentioned earlier).

What’s a cichlid?

Cichlids are an extremely diverse family (cichlidae). Cichlids range in size from about an inch up to almost 3 feet with many variations in color and shape. But the fascinating thing about the cichlids species is that there is one for almost all types food. Weather algae eating ones, or meat eating ones, there is a cichlid out there that is specialized for that type of food. Even with all these differing variations they all share one thing in common, and that is the care for their eggs and young. But first you should know that there are two different types of breeding that the cichlids species practices.

First, there are the egg layers:
Egg layers will lay their eggs on flat surfaces, or substrate-borders and will guard them and the fry that hatch from them.

And the second type is the mouthbrooders.

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A female will suck up the eggs that she lays into her mouth to protect them. So do you ever wonder why the males have those dots on their anal fins? Well this is why, the female mouthbrooder will try endlessly to pick up all the eggs and will mistaken those dots on the anal fins of the males for eggs. This is how the eggs get fertilized, because when the females mouth is by the males anal fin trying to pick up the “eggs” the male will be releasing his sperm which is actually what the female is taking into her mouth, which in turn is fertilizing the eggs.

It’s a fantastic thing that the cichlid species is such a good parenting one but there is a downside.
Defending the brood often means attacking other fish, even tank mates that are normally just fine around the cichlid.

Cichlids are found throughout the Americas and Africa with three species being found in Asia (India/Sri Lanka).

Here is a video of some different cichlids.

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Oscar a.k.a Velvet Cichlid
astronotus ocellatus

It belongs to the family Cichlidae

Click here to learn what a cichlid is.

Cost: $5-15, with the adults being more expensive.

Origin
Amazon, Parana, Rio Paraguay, and Rio Negro

Description:
Elongated oval shape, somewhat of a wider head (about 1-1.5”)

Color:
Is effected by age, sex, size, and above all mood. The most common look is a black or olive green body, with red, irregular vertical stripes. On the caudal fin there is usually a round eye-like patch.

Sexual distinction:
You can’t just look at the Oscar and see, you must do what is called venting.

Tank conditions:
The temperature should be between 68-77 degrees Fahrenheit. (20-25 Celsius.)
For the ph and hardness not to important. But you should due water changes and use a dechlorinated water as a replacement.

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The water changes should be done regularly but no too suddenly. The tank should be large, with stones and drift wood, but don’t add plants because they will be ripped out of the substrate. Since I’m talking about the substrate I should also mention that it should be deep.

Food:
Omnivorous, I feed mine the guppies that I would breed myself. This way I knew that the feeder fish were disease free.

Behavior:
Peaceful to other fish that can stand their ground. Don’t have tank mates that are small enough to fit into its mouth. They will eat anything that they can, I even say one eat a hamster once. So other then small fish the Oscar is a good tank mate.

Maturity:
The Oscar will reach a sexually active state once they are about 4 ½ long. The eggs are whitish at first then after I would say about 24 hours they become transparent. If you are luck enough to have a breeding pair they will most likely form a strong bond and stay together for life.

Warning!
Oscar are very messy eaters and produce a lot of waste and so they need really good filtration. A good filter is essential when keeping Oscar as from my personal experience I have seen my Oscars produce waste that could compete against a cat, gross I know but it’s the truth.