From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Convict Cichlid
Amatitlania nigrofasciata
- Temperature
- 24–28 °C
- pH
- 6 – 8
- Min. tank size
- 110 L
- Lifespan
- 8-10 years
- Diet
- omnivore
- Care level
- easy
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Amatitlania nigrofasciata |
| Family: | Cichlidae |
| Origin: | Central America (Pacific and Atlantic slopes from Guatemala to Costa Rica) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | easy |
| Diet: | omnivore |
| Max Size: | 15.00 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | aggressive |
| Min Group: | 2+ together |
| Varieties: | The wild-type barred fish is the standard, and a handful of cultivated strains sit alongside it. The pink or white convict is the best known — a leucistic strain that loses the black barring entirely, leaving a pale pink-white fish on which the female's orange belly is unusually visible. Care and temperament are identical. Marbled and calico forms appear, as do long-finned versions of both the wild type and the pink strain. Long finnage on a fish this combative is a poor combination. A gold or xanthic form is occasionally offered. Taxonomy has moved around. The species has been placed in Cichlasoma, Archocentrus and now Amatitlania, so older books and shop labels use several genus names for the same fish. Related species are traded alongside it and hybridise readily: the honduran red point and various Amatitlania and Cryptoheros species look similar and cross freely, so a mixed tank of "convicts" often produces hybrid fry. Anyone wanting to keep a line pure should buy from a breeder who keeps species separate. |
| Lifespan: | 8-10 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Medium to high
- Min Tank:110 L
- Substrate:Sand or fine gravel; rocks and caves; robust or no plants
- Plant Safe:Not plant-safe (digs and uproots)
- Filtration:High
Convict Cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) is a species of fish in the family Cichlidae. It is native to Central America (Pacific and Atlantic slopes from Guatemala to Costa Rica). The convict cichlid is the fish that will breed in a bucket, and the one most likely to leave you with three hundred fry and nowhere to put them. It comes from the Pacific and Atlantic slopes of Central America, from Guatemala to Costa Rica, and reaches 150 mm standard length. The pattern is unmistakable — a pale grey-blue body crossed by bold black bars. Specialists are unusually direct about it: not a good community fish, best maintained in a species tank, an aggressive and territorial species that becomes downright violent when breeding, and one that will take on fish several times its own size and win with ease. It is also one of the most easily bred species in the hobby, hardy, cheap and long-lived. Those two facts together are why it exists as an introduced species in several countries including the USA and Australia. Kept in the right tank, it is superb. Kept in a community, it is a problem.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- aggressive
- Keep in
- Groups of 2+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Convict Cichlid
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