Peacock Cichlids

There are several species of cichlids thatare called "Peacock Cichlid" in the aquarium trade.


Cichla ocellaris

Distribution: South America: Marowijne drainage in Suriname and French Guiana to the Essequibo drainage in Guyana.

Biology: It is reported that this is a school forming fish. It occurs in the rapids, in quiet waters with medium depth and rocky substrates. Feeds only on small fish, especially thread fin shad, mosquito fish, tilapia and bluegill. Not considered ideal for aquaculture due to its highly predatory habits. Reproduction occurs year-round, with a peak at the start of the rainy season. About 9,000 to 15,000 eggs per kg are released during spawning. Spawning takes place every two months on a flat stone in shallow water. The sticky eggs, measuring 1.4 mm in diameter, take 78 hours to hatch at 28°C.
This is not commonlykept as an aquarium fish.





Aulonocara spp. Peacock Cichlid

These are the Peacock cichlids commonly kept as aquarium fish. They are endemic to Lake Malawi in Africa; reported from Chipoka, Maleri Islands, Nkhomo, and Usisya.

The peacock cichlid likes a PH of about 7.2 – 8.2; dH range: 10 - 30 and since it comes from a tropical climate, they like temperatures about 22 – 26°C
They are between 4" and 6" long.



The aquarium tank should be of about 50 gallons, with a rocky setup with lots of crevices and caves. Make sure what ever rocks you use don't make the water acidic but rather keep it alkaline. If you have a large enough aquarium and is set up in the right way, you can have them in a comunity tank. They can live with catfish and other peaceful, mid-sized fish.

About Cichlids

Well, by now you should know I am Guatemalan... Down there if you eat fish it probably is what we call "Mojarra" . Any cichlid is called mojarra, no mater how big or small or of what color, even though the real mojarras belong to the family Gerreidae, and are a type of marine fish from the Caribbean. So for the longest time to me cichlids where no more than simple mojarras good for eating an little else. I have had Firemouth, Jack Dempsey, Convict and some huge ones like Blanco (Petenia splendida) and many others that I never even knew their names. It wasn't until I discovered the Angles, Discus, Apistogramas and all the beautiful African cichlids that I realized that cichlids are wonderful aquarium fish. So here are some of the best sites in the Internet to get information on whatever type of cichlid you like and later on I'll post a blog about some independent breeders.

Enjoy



www.cichlid.org

www.cichlidae.com

www.malawicichlids.com

Dwarf Cichlids

There are some of us that have a special place in our hearts for dwarf cichlids. I see that most people like the big and aggressive cihclids like the Oscar or the Firemouth or like the so many African cichlids that are available but for me there is nothing better than a tank full of tiny Apistograma or a nice community tank with a pair or two of Rams. The nicest part about them in my opinion is that you can even breed them in a community tank, some get a bit territorial but besides chasing the occasional intruder away they will stick to the bottom of the aquarium. In some cases you will find that you have a pair that just laid a clutch of eggs. The parents will guard them and if all goes right soon you will have a nice little cloud of free swimming fry. Some times one of the parents will eat the eggs or the fry. This is more common with new parents and it goes away with time but on occasion they never grow out of it. Here is where you see the difference between the normal people and the intense hobbyist. I belong to the later. You will have to take the eggs out of the tank and try to hatch them by themselves in a separate aquarium. There are several pages out there that talk about dwarf cichlids and here are some that I recommend.

http://www.apistogramma.com/

http://www.dwarfcichlid.co.uk/

http://www.cichlidae.com/

Short list of Discus Pages

This is a List of Discus online retailers and breeders,

http://www.vladiscus.com/

http://www.hawaiidiscus.com/

http://www.discusmadness.com/
They seem to have some of the lowest prices.

http://www.wattleydiscus.com
This is the home page of Jack Wattley's Discus. These are considered to be among the best, but you pay for that quality.

http://www.kensdiscus.com/
Also great quality, but much better prices, especially the "Cobalt Red" and the "Royal Discus". If you are considering buying Discus you should give this guy a chance.

http://www.macsdiscus.com/
The picture in this blog is one of Mac's Discus. Great hatchery