At present, about 200 species of cichlids are known, although not all of them are inhabitants of aquariums. Even such well-known fish, such as scaly and discus, are also representatives of this species. Scalarians , also called angelfish , have a flattened body with high dorsal and anal fins and very long ventral fins, which give the fish an unusual decorativeness. In addition, the limited color in the color of the fish is compensated by the presence of transverse bands on the body, which change color depending on the mood of the fish.
They are similar in structure to the scalars of discus (the name comes from the Latin word "disk"), but they have a richer color palette.
And now a few words about the more exotic representatives of cichlids.
Aquarium fish species of cichlids
Let's start with the Malawian species of cichlids. The most popular and common among the aquarists of this species of fish is the blue dolphin, which got its name because of its striking similarity to dolphins in the shape of the head. The fish has a blue color, which in the dominant male, when excited, turns into dark blue. During spawning, males also have a yellow spot on their forehead and dark blue, almost black, bands on their sides. A distinctive feature of almost all the Malavian cichlids (by the way, the representatives of this species of fish are also called African cichlids, as the lake of Malawi is a natural water reservoir, located on African territory) is the female's carrying of caviar in her mouth. In this case, a kind of bag (or bag) is formed in the females around the throat, where large eggs are hatched for 3-4 weeks. During this period, the female completely refuses to feed.
American cichlids
All species of American cichlids number more than 50 varieties. The brightest representatives of this species of fish can be considered the above-mentioned scalars and discus, as well as geofagus. Geofagus is an average sized fish, featuring an interesting way of feeding. She gathers sand into her mouth and extracts larvae, small molluscs, algae with which grains of sand have grown, and then, swallowing the edible part, spits out the remnants.
There are such types of geofagus:
- redheads (males in the upper part of the head have a red spot, and the overall color of the fish can vary depending on its mood from pale silver to golden-olive);
- Surinamese;
- Brazilian (the most aggressive representative of the species);
- geofagus shtayndahnera.
All of them belong to predatory species and require special conditions of detention.