If you have been following the “for Dummies” series the last few months you should now be pretty competent in keeping an assorted collection of common fishes alive and well in an attractively planted tank. Good for you. This is in itself a worthwhile endeavor, and you may well be happy to go no further in this hobby. But unfortunately, sooner or later you are going to come to the realization that your pretty little barbs are about as smart as a sack of hammers. That’s the problem with fish; they are colorful and interesting but they are too stupid to be real pets. Or at least your barbs are. Believe it or not, there is actually a group of fish that possess the basic intelligence required to recognize and respond to their owners. As well as the basic intelligence required to care for their young, rather than treat them as lunch, as do the lesser fishes. Furthermore, this group contains some of the most spectacularly colorful fish in the world. No wonder they are the most popular fish family in the aquarium hobby, with numerous local and international associations devoted to their care. These fish are, of course, the cichlids.

This article is intended to introduce the family Cichlidae to the novice, and (hopefully) spark enough interest that they will look into giving these fish a try. A good collection of cichlid books are in the CAS library and if you have Internet access, the Cichlid Home Page at http://trans4.neep.wisc.edu/~gracy/fish/ provides a nice selection of color pictures and brief descriptions. I am sure you will find something you’ll like.

But first, the bad news. A lot of cichlids (pronounced SICK-lids) are pretty big as far as aquarium fish go, and they can be rough on each other and on your carefully tended plants. And not all of them possess their famous intelligence either (Lake Malawi cichlids are admittedly pretty dim). But remember, we are talking about a highly diverse family of hundreds of species distributed over much of Africa, South America, Central America, parts of Asia, and even parts of North America as well. So if one cichlid doesn’t strike your fancy, there are plenty that will.

For the purposes of aquarium culture, the cichlids can be broken up into several subgroups. The first group is the sissies. The most commonly kept cichlid, the angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), is in this group. Then there are the dwarves; these include fish of the genus Apistogramma, the rams, and the kribs. Then there are the typical substrate-spawning cichlids, which include all the big bruisers from south of the border (and a lot of African species as well). Then there are the African rift lake cichlids. And the tilapias. And finally, the chromides, who are the oddballs of the group.

First the sissies. These have the great advantage that they will get along fine in a community aquarium and won’t even dig up your plants. I would highly recommend cutting your cichlid teeth on the angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare). Get at least six young specimens and watch them grow up into an elegant school. The other sissy I would recommend is the festivum (Mesonauta spp.). They get along well with angelfish, and are often found in their company in the wild. Both the angelfish and festivum are fairly hardy fish that will adapt well to any reasonable water chemistry. Keep these fish in tanks of at least 150 liters capacity. However, I am reluctant to recommend the other sissies, like the discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus). Leave these fish for the experts; they are expensive, adapt slowly to local water conditions, and are very delicate.

The sissies, by definition, don’t really belong in a tank with most other cichlid species. However, the dwarves are an exception; they are too small to beat even the sissies up. The most commonly seen dwarf cichlid is the kribensis (or krib) (Pelvicachromis pulcher) of West Africa. It is also one of the most colorful and among the hardiest of all the cichlids. Don’t be fooled by the washed out juveniles in the store. Adult kribs in good condition are very colorful (especially the females) and great fun to watch.

Most of the other dwarf cichlid species you are likely to find for sale are from South America, and are mainly in the Apistogramma and Papiliochromis (= Mikrogeophagus) genera. You would be well advised (as a novice) to pass these fish over, at least for now. They are persnickety little critters. Tanks as small as 40 liters are fine for kribs and the other dwarf cichlids.

The group of typical substrate-spawning cichlids includes all of the more robust and active cichlids of South and Central America. Substrate-spawning cichlids lay and tend their eggs on rocks and other bottom surfaces. These fish have a tendency to dig up plants so if you want to keep plants with them, you will need to keep only well-rooted, tough plants; and protect their roots with a buried egg crate or screen.

This group includes the favorites of most cichlidiophiles. The reasons for this popularity are easy to understand: they are the most intelligent of the cichlids; they make the most devoted parents; many are very attractive; and not all of them are all that large or all that nasty either. Moderately sized, relatively peaceable cichlids include the smaller “acaras” (cichlids of the Laetacara genus). The “earth eaters” (cichlids in and related to the genera Geophagus and Satanoperca) are also quite calm fishes, and so they can be kept together without inevitable mayhem. The earth eaters include some of the loveliest South American cichlids as well, but they do get larger than the Laetacara species. Some other larger cichlids that are sedate enough that they can be kept with suitable tank mates are the severum (Heros severus) and the rainbow cichlid (Herotilapia multispinosa). The Laetacara species and the rainbow cichlid can be kept in 120-liter tanks, but the others really deserve much larger quarters.

One of the most popular cichlids is the oscar (Astronotus ocellatus). One couldn’t recommend keeping this fish with any other species unless it’s in a very large tank (more than 600 liters) and the other fish are just as large as they are. Oscars just get too big and boisterous for community living. Young oscars raised together will often get along fine as adults, but you really need to provide at least 150 liters of water per fish if you want to house oscars. Be that as it may, oscars are very smart, make great pets, and are well worth owning. The same can be said for any of the big South and Central American cichlids, such as those of the genus Nandopsis.

Most slightly smaller South and Central American species in the 15cm to 20cm range (such as the Cichlasoma species) can be kept together in largish tanks (200 liters or larger), perhaps with large characins or barbs for company. There will inevitably be some fights, especially if the fish decide to breed, but cichlids are resilient critters and can take care of themselves. Plants in a cichlid community tank have to be protected from digging and be generally pretty robust, like the Vallisneria species.

The African rift lake cichlids include fish from Lake Malawi, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Victoria (even though Lake Victoria is strictly speaking not a rift lake). Rift lake fish like alkaline water and are ideal for local conditions.

The 1000 species or more of Lake Malawi cichlids include some of the most beautiful fish in the world (fresh water or otherwise). All of them are maternal mouth brooders (that is, the mothers carry eggs and young in their mouths). But the problem with that is that mouth brooders lack the intelligence and personality that made cichlids famous. Its as if they don’t need brains because they don’t have to deal with the problems of keeping a school of growing fry together and safe in the open water. Oh well. Beauty and intelligence has always been a rare combination.

The Lake Malawi cichlids can be subdivided into three major groups; the mbuna (pronounced um-BOO-nuh), the open water non-piscivores, and the piscivores.

The mbuna are the rock-dwelling fish, and include the fish in the genera Pseudotropheus, Labeotropheus, Melanochromis, Labidochromis, Petrotilapia, and a few others. Some of the most colorful fish in the world are in this group. Both the female and the male mbuna may have brilliant colors, but the intensity of the color is always greatest in dominant males. As a group they are a pretty rowdy bunch and should really not be kept with fish that are not also in their group, the exception being some of the gentler Labidochromis who are comparatively quite passive. But some exceptionally aggressive mbuna (like Melanochromis auratus) are difficult to keep together at all.

Mbuna need a lot of vegetable matter in their diet (again with the exception of Labidochromis) and will eat soft-leafed plants. They also require lots of rockwork and caves in their tanks. It is well advised that you keep them fairly crowded because the weakest mbuna always gets killed if they are kept in very small groups. Most mbuna are only about 12cm long or so (Petrotilapia species are a bit bigger) so they can be kept in medium-sized tank. Twelve in a 150-liter tank or 18 in a 200-liter tank make a nice display. They are also ridiculously easy to breed; the only hard part is catching the egg-carrying mother in an aquarium full of rocks!

The open water non-predatory fishes eat mostly plankton or sand-living invertebrates in the wild, but will adapt quite well to regular aquarium foods. They are generally not as aggressive as the mbuna. They also include some very colorful fish, but in their case it is generally only the males that have any color. The genera Copadichromis and Cyrtocara are among the many in this group, and the peacocks (genus Aulonocara) can be considered along with them as well. Most of these fish can be kept together but the females of many species are impossible to tell apart, so its not a good idea to keep closely related fishes in the same tank. They also vary considerably in size (some are quite big) but 10 cm to 20 cm is a typical length for the commonly seen species. Most can be kept in 150-liter or larger tanks.

The Lake Malawi piscivores will make a meal of any fish that will fit in their mouths, and many will also bully the non-predatory fishes too large to be swallowed. Like the non-piscivores, the piscivores tend to have very drab females, but the males also have the drawback that most of them show their best colors only during spawning time. The glaring exception to this is the electric blue (Sciaenochromis fryeri), whose males maintain a dazzling royal blue throughout their adult lives. Most Malawi piscivores get too large (30 cm or so) for anything but a very big tank (> 400 liters), but the electric blue, at a length of 18cm, can be housed in smaller quarters.

Lake Tanganyika also has its rock dwellers. Most of the commonly-sold ones are smaller and more peaceable than Lake Malawi’s mbuna, but they also (unfortunately) are much more expensive and delicate. The Tanganyika rock dwellers include fishes in the Tropheus, Julidochromis, and Neolamprologus genera.

Most Lake Tanganyikan rock dwellers are substrate spawners (Tropheus, being aggressive mouth brooders, are an exception), and so they demonstrate the parental care and intelligence that make the South American cichlids so endearing. Neolamprologus brichardi is a particularly intriguing species because parent fish will raise new batches of young with the help of their earlier hatchlings, who hang around until they are old enough to find mates of their own. They can be kept in tanks as small as 40 liters, but can quickly overpopulate such a tank.

Other small Lake Tanganyika cichlids that are very suitable for small tanks are the shell dwellers. Most of these fish are also placed in the Neolamprologus genus along with N. brichardi, but the shell dwellers include mainly the smaller species of the genus, such as N. ocellatus. The shell dwellers are all wonderful little fish to keep. Set them up in a smallish tank with a fine sand bottom and lots of snail shells that are a couple of inches in diameter.

The kings of Lake Tanganyika are the fronts (Cyphotilapia frontosa); a big, lump-headed piscivore that has a surprisingly gentle disposition. They are highly sought after, and make very good community tank fish provided that their tank mates are too large to eat. They do however require big tanks (400 liters or greater).

The commonly encountered Lake Victoria cichlids are all medium sized, fast moving fish with colorful males and relatively drab females. Most are fairly aggressive. Almost all of them are gravely endangered because of the environmental degradation of Lake Victoria, and soon many of these cichlids will be found only in our aquaria. Maintaining these fish is therefore a worthy undertaking in species preservation. Their tanks should be 150 liters or greater in size. Single-species tanks are preferred with several females per male.

The tilapias form a large African group that generally doesn’t have much in the way of either smarts or colors (one exception being Tilapia buttikoferi). Most are pretty big and rather boring fish. You are more apt to see them for sale as table fare in Asian supermarkets than as pets.

Also from Africa are the African river-dwelling cichlids. The kribs are also among this group, but they were mentioned previously along with the dwarves. The two other African riverines that the novice is likely to encounter are the jewelfish (Hemichromis spp.) and the buffalo head (Steatocranus casuarius).

There are many species or subspecies of Hemichromis that are sold as jewel fish, and some of them are spectacularly colorful fish with metallic blue spangles on an orange-red background. All of them are however quite aggressive and require a large crowded aquarium to themselves.

Much more peaceable are the buffalo heads (Steatocranus casuarius). These fish are lacking in color (being a dirty grey/brown) but have endearing goby-like personalities and clown-like heads. They will stay near the bottom of the tank and can be kept in 80-liter or larger tanks if they have good filtration (buffalo heads like currents).

The oddballs of the cichlid world are the chromides. They are from India and are the only cichlids that come from East Asia, and the only commonly sold cichlids that are naturally found in brackish water. They are peaceable enough, and the orange chromide (Etroplus maculatus) is also quite colorful. Keep them with some salt in the water, perhaps along with scats, puffers, and archer fish. They are moderately sized, and can be kept in 80-liter or larger tanks.

So, that’s an introduction to pretty much all the cichlids that are commonly sold in local pet stores. The CAS has members with great expertise in cichlid care and many members breed them as well, so any novice with suitable tank space can easily get all the livestock and help required to set up a thriving display of these fascinating animals.

FURTHER READING:

The World Wide Web provides a good place to identify fishes and keep you up to date on the latest scientific names and new discoveries. It is less good at providing information on the care of the fishes. Specific questions on cichlid care can be answered in the Usenet newsgroup rec.aquaria.freshwater.cichlids, but books and magazine articles provide much better coverage on issues of general aquarium maintenance.

But if you want help identifying a fish or want to see some pictures of what’s available, the following web sites are good places to start (both have links to other potentially useful sites).

The Cichlid Home Page by Eric Gracyalny provides a list of most cichlid genera and lots of species, many with color photographs. At http://trans4.neep.wisc.edu/~gracy/fish/

The Cichlid Room Companion by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas has articles, large listings of links to other cichlid related sites, and listings of cichlid clubs, and numerous other things. At http://www.petsforum.com/cichlidroom/default.html

If you don’t have access to the Internet, the following three books provide much the same kind of pictorial introduction to common cichlids. All within the CAS library and all by Tetra Press are: A Fishkeeper’s Guide to Central American Cichlids by David Sands; A Fishkeeper’s Guide to South American Cichlids by Dr. Wayne Leibel; and A Fishkeeper’s Guide to African Cichlids by Dr. Paul Loiselle. These books are good, but are thin (about 80 pages each) and therefore not very comprehensive.

The Cichlid Aquarium provides a much more comprehensive discussion on cichlid culture. It is also by Dr. Paul Loiselle and the Tetra Press. A copy is in the CAS library. Although a very good book, I do disagree with some of its assertions. Dr. Loiselle advocates much lower fish densities than I do for mbuna and other aggressive fish. It is most peoples’ experience that these fishes should be kept relatively crowded and heavy water changes and filtration be used to compensate.

DESCRIPTION

Melanochromis auratus are an mbuna from Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi has many rocky areas, as well as some grassy and sandy areas to provide many hiding places for its inhabitants. They live in moderately hard water with the pH above 7.4.

Melanochromis auratus females are bright yellow with dark brownish black lines running the length of their bodies and dorsal. The rest of the fins are clear or yellow, with the exception of the caudal fin. The top half of the caudal fin is whitish – clear with dark spots or lines. The bottom half is bright yellow. The females can reach a total length of 20 cm. The three females that remained in my aquarium ranged from 8 cm to 11 cm total length.

The young males of this species look like the females. However when the males mature they turn a very dark black color. The lines that run the length of the body turn a beige/yellow/white color. The fins are black or clear and the dorsal fin has a beautiful yellow glow. When in breeding condition, the males also sport bright yellow/white egg spots on their anal fin. These males can get to 20 cm in total length. The male that I chose to keep was 12 cm in total length. There are color variations in this species, but the above description is what mine looked like.

MAINTENANCE AND TANK SETUP

The 20-liter aquarium was set up with several clay flowerpots of various sizes and shapes. There were also two plastic caves and some rock and slate caves put in this aquarium.

The temperature was maintained at 25C, pH 8.0, and the water hardness was 280 ppm. Water changes were done 50% weekly. With each water change the caves were re-arrange so new territories had to be sought out. A large outside power filter was also used on this aquarium.

After several months of this set up, more caves had to be added. Since we didn’t have any more we got very creative. After digging into several of the fish stuff boxes, that were not yet unpacked, we found two white plastic dividers. Not big enough to use as dividers but instead they created more walls. Then we added clear plastic livebearer breeding-trap boxes. Then to be more creative we took the motors off several outside power filters and added the empty boxes and lids. A box of plastic plants was then discovered so several were just thrown in on the top. To say the least the tank looked interesting. Ha Ha! Probably wouldn’t win a prize in "Aquarium Beautiful" but it worked. The fish were happy at least.

All kinds of small to medium-sized cichlid pellets and other kinds of pellets were fed. Also different kinds of flakes, bloodworms, white worms, brine shrimp, and plankton were added to their diet.

THE FISH

On a visit to one of our local pet stores, a single fish was spotted in the far back comer of a dark 60-liter aquarium. After asking a few questions the store manager told us told us it was an "African cichlid" and that it had babies in its mouth. That was all the information he could give us. Off we went in search of information

On the next visit to this store we saw the same fish, but we counted 13 fry swimming around her. I asked a few more questions. I can be really annoying this way. The information I got this time was that the female had already had her mouth full when the previous owner brought her into the store. They also told me they were feeding whatever they were feeding in the other tanks.

After two months, the 13 fry were purchased, with a caution that they would probably not make the trip across town into my aquarium because they were too small and too young. They ranged from 1 cm to 2 cm in length. We ignored this and asked if he would take back the extra males as they matured. This was agreed to, but he was still convinced he wouldn’t get any back.

What we discovered was that these fish liked to eat. With lots of the proper food, they began to grow rather quickly. After another month, a mature male started to show a change in color. The next month two more started to change color. With the research that was done, we knew that only one male should be kept in the aquarium. So we took two back to the pet store. Imagine how surprised the manager was! He couldn’t believe these were the same fish.

Almost instantly two more fish changed color. Then a third one partially changed. These two males were taken back to the store. The fish that partially changed color we kept, because it was more of a beige color than black. Doing more research, it was found that the dominant female will change to these colors. This was the largest fish now and it was UGLY! There were also two fish that didn’t seem to grow very much.

The aquarium was rearranged with every water change in an attempt to stop some of the fighting that was now taking place. The next month a female was noticed not eating. She was removed to an 80-liter aquarium by herself. See "Breeding".

The rest of the males were removed as they matured. The pet shop manager decided that he didn’t like the deal he made and asked us to see if any of the other stores would take them. A hint to pet shop managers: make sure you only make deals you intend to keep. After all, the fish might actually live! Ha Ha!

In the end the plan was to keep four females and one male. As it happened another pet store was willing to take some of the males and a few smaller females. Unfortunately the fish that were left in the 200-liter had a different idea. One more fish changed color. So we ended up with three females and one male. NOT A SINGLE FISH WAS LOST!

This African cichlid is a mean, territorial fish. They will fight to the death of another fish. Even the females will fight amongst themselves. For a single fish to be left alone, it must be completely hidden from view. If even just a fin is visible, another fish will attack it.

This is why all the hiding places are needed. There is one female that chose to hide up under the lip of the outside power filter. Another chose the floating plastic plants toward the middle of the aquarium, while the third female like to choose the clay pots in different locations. The male however has claimed the whole tank as his and swims around accordingly. These fish seemed to like the see-through plastic items that were placed in the aquarium. They would display and attack each other, but they didn’t get hurt or chased because they only ran into the see-through plastic pieces.

There was a problem when a young male starting to change color, but wasn’t noticed doing so right away. The dominant male took this opportunity to shred the less mature males’ fins. This fish would have eventually met his demise if he wasn’t quickly removed. Needless to say, he was put into a 40-liter aquarium by himself to heal. He was back in shape in no time and was taken in to one of the pet shops.

Another behavior that was noticed was the breeding female allowed the fry from the first two spawns back into her mouth for just about the entire week she was left with them. But the third spawn she rarely allowed back into her mouth. If a couple of fry managed to enter her mouth, they were spit back out instantly. This was possibly due to the fact that the first spawn had 7 fry, the second had 11, and the third had 21. Maybe 21 rambunctious fry were too much for her to handle bouncing around in her mouth.

THE DANCE

The cichlid dance is a very interesting behavior. This behavior is where any two cichlids go head to tail and spin in circles, as fast as they can. This action was spotted as soon as the first 13 fish were put into the 200-liter aquarium. With these fish, the largest fish in the aquarium usually broke it up by attacking both circling fish. Then all three fish would scatter in different directions.

In the three spawns that were raised, this dance behavior began as soon as the female was removed from the brooding tank. Two of the young fry would dance for a while then just swim off in opposite directions. No other fish had to separate them.

I highly suspect this is a way of fighting, but it’s almost the same actions that were used when they were breeding. Only while breeding this action was done in slow motion.

BREEDING

The first sign of breeding we noticed was a female not eating. As mentioned above, she was moved to an 80-liter aquarium with water taken from the 200-liter aquarium. All water parameters were carefully kept the same. This aquarium had a small outside power filter with a sponge on the intake tube. There was also a single clay pot added.

I was told that this fish could swallow her brood if the move wasn’t done carefully. She was scooped up in the net and then dashed into the fish room and plopped into the 80-liter aquarium.

This females mouth was puffed out and her lips were held tightly together. It looked like she was burbling. After a few days her mouth darkened. After the mouth darkened she seemed to open her mouth slightly and take in water. Looking through the bottom of her mouth I spotted what looked like eyes. I counted fourteen. Imagine how surprised I was when seven fry popped out of her mouth two weeks later. The female was left with the fry for one week, then put back in the 200-liter aquarium.

The very next month this same female was brooding again. The same thing happened as above, but no fry or eyes were spotted in the buccal cavity. This time eleven fry appeared.

THE ACTUAL SPAWNING

It wasn’t until five months later that I happened to notice the male dash into a clay pot, and a female followed him. The clay pot was lying on its side with the clear plastic box from a filter sitting in front of the opening. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I saw the actual spawning take place. The female and male would move slowly in circles, head to tail. The female would deposit the egg and the male would fertilize it. Then she would dash under him and pick up the egg. I never actually saw the eggs, because there was always a fish in the way.

This was the same female that spawned twice before. I know this because this particular fish has a break in one of her dark lines and the rest in the tank don’t. After a day she was moved to brood in a 40-liter aquarium. On day 20 she released her brood for the first time. I counted 20 fry.

When the fry were first released, they were a black color. It took until the next day before they all turned yellow and looked like the female. In less than a month, this very same female was once again brooding.

FEEDING THE FRY

For the first two spawns I fed crushed pellets and crushed flakes, and baby brine shrimp. After the first week they were able to eat the small pellets without being crushed. Then frozen brine shrimp was added to their diet

For the third spawn, micro worms were fed for the first week. Then Grindal worms and flakes were added to their diet. Then pellets and white worms. This third spawn has grown much faster than the first two. They also seem more active.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, these are very interesting fish to work with. A very large aquarium is a must, with many hiding places. Watching their behavior and the care of the eggs and fry by the female proved to be worth the trouble of raising them.

REFERENCES

Axelrod, Dr. Herbert R.; Burgessm Dr. Warren E. 1993. African Cichlids of Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika, Thirteenth Edition. T.F.H. Publications, Inc.

Axelrod, Dr. Herbert R.; Burgess, Dr. Warren E.; Pronek, Neal; and Walls, Jerry G.: Dr. Axelrod’s Atlas of Freshwater Aquarium Fishes, Third Edition. T.F.H. Publications 1989. ?

I may as well come clean; I’m a sucker for big cichlids. Not the kind that tear the other tank inhabitants to shreds and your tank with them, but big, nice cichlids. (They do exist, in case you are wondering). It was with this in mind that I made inquiries into the nature of a fish that has always fascinated me, the jaguar cichlid.

The extent of my knowledge of this beautiful cichlid was very limited, as most aquarium books do not contain any specific information on it, so I consulted our club library. This is a summary of what I have learned, both from books and from watching my own fish.

The jaguar cichlid (formerly Cichlasoma, Heros, Parapetenia but now Nandopsis managuense) can be termed a "robust" cichlid. They range from Costa Rica to Nicaragua and the eastern Honduras, but have been introduced to many rivers on both coasts of Central America, where they are valued as a food fish. They inhabit slow moving rivers and streams, especially tributaries of large rivers. The water in these courses is turbid, but, since the water is shallow and running, it is well oxygenated. They seem to like water movement, and will play in the stream of my AquaClear 1200. The water chemistry in their native waters is much like our own, with a pH of 7.0 to 8.7 and a hardness of 350 ppm to 410 ppm depending on the season.

As for temperature, they do like it a bit on the cool side, from about 22C to 25C. In the interests of Peace In The Tank, it may be wise to keep the temperature near the lower end of their comfortable range because they are less active at 22C than they are at 25C. Keeping these fish in cooler water has another advantage; they eat less and therefore produce less waste. And this means, as you guessed it, fewer tank cleanings!

The jaguar cichlid is a large fish by aquarium standard, with adults reaching 30 cm to 50 cm in length, so a large tank is necessary. There is even one book that recommends as much as 200 liters of water per fish! I have two in a 400-liter tank, but they share it with a 20 cm Geophagus braziliensis, a Theraps nicaraguense, and some jade-eyed cichlids (Archocentrus spilurus). The jaguars haven’t caused any trouble, although I do plan to separate them before they have a chance to spawn. They are fond of caves and need plenty of nooks and hiding places as they love exploring and need a place to rest after feeding. An interesting quirk in regard to caves, though, is that my fish are not territorial about them, and are willing to share space with the jade-eyes. When I say "share" space, that’s exactly what I mean. The jaguars are peaceful and don’t pick on other fish if the other fish don’t try to push them around. It does not matter if the other fish is five timers their size, if pushed they will turn around and take a chunk out of the aggressor. And as natural predators they are well equipped to do so! But once the other fish learn that it doesn’t pay to play dominance games with such well-armed tank-mates, peace reigns once again.

As always, a note of caution. The jaguar is what is termed a "predatory" fish, and although I haven’t had any trouble with aggression, I’m sure that when "Shaka" is a foot long he will not hesitate to eat that little red ram that is in his tank now! After spawning, jaguar parents are also very protective and need a tank of their own. With spawns of four to five thousand fry to protect, I can understand why.

So what is it that make these fish so appealing? For me, primarily, it is their character. The way they look at you around feeding times as if to say "feed the fish, please?" and the fact that they are more of a "pet" than just another fish. They are more intelligent than, say, your average guppy, and can definitely recognize and differentiate between other people and myself. And since they are also passionately devoted to food, I have trained both "Shaka" and "Shawna" to jump put of the water to take tidbits from my hand.

Each fish has numerous personality quirks and definite moods, all of which can be fascinating to watch. They also change color, from light grey to almost black within seconds, and each different color pattern is indicative of a different mood. For example, a pale grey is the jaguar’s fright pattern, and a light color with a prominent dark lateral stripe means aggression. When they are full of food and want to be left alone they assume a darker, blotchy pattern on the dorsal half, a dark lateral stripe, and a very light belly. This is, when you think about it, a good camouflage for a fish that is carrying a heavy meal and stands less chance against its enemies. As juveniles they are a light grey with very little of the adult spotted patterning, but as they age they darken and the white spotting becomes evident. For those who just can’t resist the urge to spawn them, the females are smaller, with a more pronounced lateral stripe, and a more rotund figure than the males. The males tend to be more brilliantly colored with longer fins although they do not develop fin extensions.

Also, if you are a potential breeder, a word about spawning the jaguar cichlid. A good way to get a compatible breeding pair is to raise several young fish together, because introducing two adults to each other can be risky. Sexing the fish at a relatively early age (8 cm to 10 cm) seems to be fairly easy as the females are noticeably smaller than the males. They do not seem to need special breeding water, but they do need a large tank. As mentioned, 200 liters of water per fish is not unreasonable. They are biparental substrate spawners that form devoted nuclear families, with protective parents and from four to five thousand young. One fish club member reports that when he put his hand in a tank of parents with fry, the adults actually grabbed his arm and pushed it out of the tank!

I hope that anyone who is lucky to own, or able to get, some of these beautiful fish will have as much fun as I have. Happy fish feeding!?