|
An African Cichlids Aquarium Introduction
Africa
has more species of Cichlids than any other continents. We can
generally divided them into Cichlids from the Great Lakes of African
and the West and South Riverine Cichlids.
Cichlids
from Great Lakes, i.e.. Lake Malawi, Tanganyika and Victoria, are possibly the most colourful freshwater fishes. They
are sometimes refer to as coral fishes as their colours are comparable
to the marine fishes. As these lakes are very
stable in terms of water chemistry, these fishes are intolerant of and
sensitive to dissolved metabolites and high nitrate levels.
Two main species from
these lakes that are popular to the aquarists are the Mbuna
(Rock fish) and the Haplochromines which are kept for
their stunning colours, lively movements and their dedicated parental
care for their young.
Cichlids from West
and North Africa are often the riverine species inhabiting rivers and
streams. Though they may not be as colourful as the Cichlids from the
Great Lakes, they bare often more robust, aggressive and easier to
keep. The 3 species that are common to aquarists are the Tilapines,
Hemichromines and Chromidotilapias.
Cichlids
from Lake Victoria
Lake
Victoria Cichlids are generally more tolerant of Nitrite better than
cichlids from the other 2 lakes. The lake is fairly shallow compared
to the other 2 lakes with varied habitat. These can range from rocky
to swampy. The fishes generally do well in neutral to slightly
hard water with temperatures of between
The male cichlid from
Lake Victoria are generally much more colourful than their female
counterparts. Many of these are very aggressive during spawning and
therefore are not popular fishes for community tanks.
Many of these fishes are
also facing extinction or have been wiped out due to the introduction of
the Nile Perch into the Lake to provide food for the natives. It is
therefore not surprising that some of the Cichlids from Lake Victoria
though extinct in nature are still available for the aquarist as they
are successfully mass breed commercially.
Breeding behavior ranges from mouth brooding,
substrate
brooding or laying their eggs on floating plants.
The better known
Cichlids from Lake Victoria are the Haplochromis and the Jewel
Cichlids (Hemichromis Guttatus).
Profile and Description of Central
America Cichlids
Amphilophus Citrinellus (Red Devil)
Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus (Convict cichlid)
Archocentrus Sajica
Blue Dempesy (Cichlasoma Octofasciatum)
Hypsophrs Nicaraguensis (nicaragua ciichlid)
Nandopsis Salvani
Parachromis Loisellei
Thorichthys Meeki (Firemouth cichlid)
Vieja Argentea
Vieja Bifasciatum (Red Head Monk)
|
