Midas Cichlid

Amphilophus citrinellus

Many of the other Cichlids that we've talked about up to this point live in the African Rift Valley. Today's species is a bit different, and actually hails from the other side of the world-- the San Juan River and nearby waters in Central America.

The Midas Cichlid, as it is often called in the aquatics trade, is a large, hardy freshwater fish that is actually a pretty popular pet, due to their size and coloration. In nature, males have much larger humps than females, though they are only especially large during the breeding season. Those same humps remain year round in captive individuals.

Midas Cichlids are not at all picky about what they eat. In the wild they consume plants, invertebrates, and small fish. In captivity they have a similar diet, and will readily consume vegetation, as well as live and frozen creatures.

One interesting quirk that I discovered is that these fish really like to redecorate! If you keep a Midas Cichlid as a pet, don't put them in a tank with decor that can be easy moved around. The fish will dig up substrate, dislodge plants, and even knock around water heaters and filters!

Keep in mind though, Midas Cichlids can be very aggressive. This behavior is less pronounced when they have more space, so a big aquarium is a must.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Central America
Size : Length up to 30in (75cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Perciformes
Family : Cichlidae -- Genus : Amphilophus -- Species : A. citrinellus

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Discus Cichlids

Symphysodon aequifasciatus   

Today's animal is actually.. well... three animals. There are three species of Discus Cichlids, all of which live in the Amazon River Basin, all of which have compressed, disc-like body shapes, and all of which have some really neat colors and patterns.

There is a little bit of controversy over how the three species are named and identified. There are two general camps, and both agree that there are three different species within the genus, but there is confusion over the classification. One group claims that S. discus  and S. aequifasciatus are close relatives, and a newly discovered species, S. tarzoo, is different due to its spots. Of course, a year after that finding was published another report came out arguing that S. tarzoo is actually S. haraldi, and that Haraldi adn Discus may have formed hybrids.

I'm confused just writing all that. And it doesn't help that these two studies give the same common names for different fish. The Green Discus is apparently both S. tarzoo and S. aequifasciatus! Anyway, for a little more clarity on the great Discus debate, check out this full article.

Discus Fish are popular in aquariums, and their farming has becoming quite a large industry in South Asia. Their bold coloring and interesting shape attract aquarists around the world. They also, like many Cichlids, have an interesting parenting style. While most fish lay their eggs and leave, both Discus Fish parents care for their larvae, even producing a secretion from their skin that their young can feed off of!

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Amazon Basin
Size : Length up to 10in (25cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Perciformes
Family : Cichlidae -- Genus : Symphysodon

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Bumblebee Cichlid

Pseudotropheus crabro

Cichlids are truly amazing little fish. Their family contains as many as 3,000 diverse species, many of whom evolved in isolated habitats, allowing them to adapt to specific niche needs within that environment.

The Bumbleebee Cichlid is one of those species. Named for the yellow and black bands that run vertically down the body, these small fish have evolved to serve a very specific purpose.

Living exclusively in the Lake Malawi area of east Africa, Bumblebee Cichlids feed on the parasites of other fish. Their primary targets are those that infest the Kampango Catfish. The Catfish, which normally eat Cichlids, leave the Bumblebees alone, as they recognize them as helpers. However, in an interesting twist of events, the Bumblebee Cichlids sometimes feed on the Catfish eggs. When this happens, they change to a murky brown color to snatch at the eggs. Once feeding is complete, they shift back to the recognizable black and yellow.

Male Bumblebee Cichlids use their color changing ability to attract females for breeding purposes. They go jet black and circle the female. Bumbleebee Cichlids are mouthbrooders, like many other Cichlid species.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed

Location : Lake Malawi

Size : Length up to 4in (10cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Perciformes
Family : Cichlidae -- Genus : Pseudotropheus -- Species : P. crabro

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Shell Castle Cichlid

Male with Females and Shells

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Actinopterygii
Order : Perciformes
Family : Cichlidae
Genus : Lamprologus
Species : L. callipterus

Length : Males 6in (15cm), Females 2.5in (6cm)

IUCN Status : Least Concern

Yesterday afternoon I watched several episodes of the Science Channels "Mutant Planet." One of these, about the lakes in Africa's Rift Valley, featured today's animal, a curious fish sometimes known as the Shell Castle Cichlid.

Lamprologus callipterus is endemic to Lake Tanganyika. These fish exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism; the males can weigh 20 times as much as the females! They are predators that feed off of crustaceans and smaller fish.

I chose this particular Cichlid to feature today because of their interesting breeding behavior. The males are highly territorial and protective of their many, many mates. They gather up old snail shells, sometimes hundreds of them, and bring them into their territory. They then attract nearby females, who then enter these shells in order to lay their eggs. The males then guard over both the females and the eggs until the fry are large enough to leave. At that point neither parent takes any further action in the care of the offspring. Interestingly, the males do not eat at all while they are guarding their "castle." Eventually they become weak and are often chased off by larger, healthier males.

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Angelfish

For some reason whenever I think of fish my brain automatically reverts to strange or colorful deep sea creatures. So when I was brainstorming for an animal today, I made a very conscious effort to look at something of the freshwater variety, and thus today we're going to learn all about Angelfish!

(Image Source)

Angelfish is the common term for species within the Cichlid genus Pterophyllum, but it is also the term given for the specific species Pterophyllum scalare. Their natural habitat is the Amazon River Basin, in the Amazon itself and in other rivers of the surrounding area. They live in water that is highly vegetated, and their color actually depends on the overall clarity of the water. Angelfish are omnivorous.

Angelfish have a very distinct, compressed body shape. They can reach lengths of about five inches, and measure nine to ten inches tall. A mutation known as "veil tail" can add an additional couple of inches. In the wild they are typically silver with black bars, but multiple colors have been bred in captivity. Their shape and coloration work to camouflage them in the wild.

Angelfish have been kept as pets since the 1920s and crossbreeding for specific colors has been a hobby for decades. If you especially interesting in keeping these little guys as pets, check out some of the article links for information about feeding, water quality, breeding, and behavior with other species (they can apparently be none-to-friendly with other types of fish)

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