Cichlid Fish Varieties
Family: Cichlidae

  Cichlids are one of the largest families of fishes, with approximately 2000 species!

Description:
   Cichlids are found in Central and South America, Africa, and parts of Asia. They are categorized as "secondary freshwater fish" - meaning their ancestors were marine fish. This family is so vast that there many good aquarium inhabitants, but there are also many species that are not really suitable for the home aquarium due to size. For example, the Boulengerochromis microlepis which reaches up to 31" (80 cm), is a popular food fish for the native people where it is found rather than an aquarium specimen.

• New World or American Cichlids:
     These fish are found primarily in Central and South America, with the Texas Cichlid found in the southern part of North America. They are attractive personable fish in a range of sizes and with some very beautiful colorations. Many also reach an impressive size and are great for a large show tank. Central and South America comprises a huge geographic area with greatly diverse habitats ranging from savannas to rain forests, consequently cichlids are found in a wide variety of conditions.
     The Amazon River is 4,080 miles, making it the second longest river in the world, but it still holds the record for the widest river. This river starts in Peru among the Andes Mountains and empties into the Atlantic. The Amazon contains 1/5 of the world’s fresh water and is home to over 2000 species of fish in waters that are acidic and extremely soft. The substrate is a mud-like clay and sand that is covered with leaf “litter” and plenty of plant growth in areas that the sun penetrates the trees above the river.
     The South American waters are described as three types: clear water, white water, and black water.
  Clear Water:
     Soft waters with the pH levels being acid to neutral, encompasses many of the rivers that enter the Amazon from the south.
  White Water:
     White waters have a cloudy yellowish coloration due to suspended sediments in the water. They are soft waters with the pH levels being acid to neutral, encompassing waters found in the upper reaches of the Amazon.
  Black Water:
     The Amazon black waters are clear but deeply stained to a dark brown color caused by decaying vegetation of fallen trees and branches. This is very acidic soft water with the some pH levels being as low as 4.0.
  
  
• African Cichlids - Lake Malawi:
     Lake Malawi is referred to as a rift lake, which means it has a long tear in the earth's crust from the tectonic plates moving. The streams that flow into Lake Malawi have a high mineral content, along with the evaporation. This has resulted in alkaline water that is highly mineralized. Lake Malawi is known for its clarity and stability as far as PH and other water chemistries. It is easy to see why it is important to watch tank parameters with all Lake Malawi fish.
     The cichlids from Lake Malawi are some of the most colorful of fishes, surpassed only by the most superb marine tropical fishes! These beautiful cichlids display bright colors, iridescents, or striking patterns. There are over 800 species of cichlids from Lake Malawi with only about 300 currently described by ichthyologists. In his book, Lake Malawi Cichlids, author Mark Phillip Smith describes two main groups of cichlids, and divides those further into into five groups:
  Mbuna group:
     These cichlids are endemic to Lake Malawi. There are 12 genera full of very active and aggressive personalities. They are a popular group that consists of many species of rockdwelling cichlids, often colored in blues with black bars. The African word "mbuna" means "rockfish".
  Haplochromis group:
     This is another popular African cichlid group. They live in more sandy areas and open waters and are generally larger than the mbuna cichlids. This is the largest genus in the Cichlidae family, with 213 described species as of 2007. Many of this group are endemic to Lake Victoria, and a number of them have now been moved into other genera including: Astatilapia, Pseudocrenilabrus and Pundamilia. Do not mix with the overactive and aggressive mbunas
  Peacock Cichlids:
    These are a more peaceful group containing about 28 species and many subspecies that are brilliantly colored in blues, reds and yellows.
  Utaka Cichlids:
     The Utaka (so called by the African fishermen) are also a relatively peaceful group containing about 16 species that are often more plain colored. Many of the utaka are quite large and not suitable for the aquarium, so only a few are found in the hobby. This group is also endemic to Lake Malawi.
  
  
• African Cichlids - Lake Tanganyika:
     The rift lake cichlids from Africa have become the most popular of freshwater fish since the early 1980's. Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest lake in the world, reaching depths of 4823 feet (1470m), thus contributing to it’s very stable and oxygen rich water. It has been referred to as an “island sea” due to is abundant life and size. This lake also has two record breaking inhabitants, which are the largest cichlid at 31” (80 cm) and the smallest cichlid at 1.4” or (3.5 cm). Lake Tanganyika also houses some of the most expensive freshwater fish in the world! There are almost 250 different species of cichlid in this lake, and over 150 species of other fish.
       In his book, Lake Tanganyikan Cichlids, author Mark Phillip Smith tells us that there have been twelve groups or "tribes" of cichlids defined in this lake in 1986 by Professor Max Poll. Of the twelve, eight of these groups are endemic to Lake Tanganyika.
  
  
• African Cichlids - Lake Victoria and Other African Cichlids:
    This group includes those that are not found in the regions described above. It includes a number of fish from West Africa as well as cichlids from Lake Victoria.
    Lake Victoria is the third largest lake in Africa but unlike Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika, it is not a rift lake. It is a "younger" lake than the other two and is also much shallower. There are several hundred vibrantly beautiful species of cichlids found here, but they are comprised almost entirely of endemic species of Haplochromines along with a few Talapines. These cichlids have not been introduced into the hobby as well as those from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika, consequently they have not become well known.
    Unfortunately there are not many Lake Victoria cichlids available today.  With the introduction and expansion of a voracious predator, the Nile perch Lates niloticus, along with human activities that are greatly accelerating biological changes to the lake, there has been widespread reduction and probably extinction of some of the cichlids. Only a few species, primarily those known as 'mbipi' a rock dwelling cichlid counterpart to Lake Malawi's Mbuna or Zebra Cichlids, are sometimes available.  

Care and feeding:
   Cichlids are very interesting to watch since many excavate the gravel (along with aquarium ornaments) to provide breeding sites. For this reason the aquarium must be set up with any rocks or decorations resting firmly on the bottom of the tank or the undergravel filter if you are using one.
   Except for the herbivorous Tilapia and Geophagus, all Cichlids are predators eating insect larvae, worms, and fishes in the wild.

Breeding:
   All cichlids are territorial at breeding time and will defend their territory fiercely. See Breeding Freshwater Fish for a description of the different ways they breed.