Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher)
Kribensis is West Africa’s household cave cichlid: a pair that chose each other, a pot they both approve of, and a pink belly that means the rest…
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Apistogramma Macmasteri (Apistogramma macmasteri)
Apistogramma macmasteri arrives looking like cardboard and turns red-orange only in tea-stained creek water, with a clay pot and a tank that belong…
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Apistogramma Trifasciata (Apistogramma trifasciata)
Three dark lines down the flank are both the field mark and a mood meter for Apistogramma trifasciata, a shy Paraguay-basin dwarf cichlid that want…
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Apistogramma Borellii (Apistogramma borellii)
Apistogramma borellii is the yellow dwarf of the Paraná floodplain, more forgiving of hardness than most apistos, and at its best when one male ha…
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Ophthalmotilapia Ventralis (Ophthalmotilapia ventralis)
Males of Ophthalmotilapia ventralis trail yellow egg-spots on elongated ventrals and hold leks over Tanganyika sand — a featherfin that needs vol…
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Cyprichromis Leptosoma (Cyprichromis leptosoma)
Cyprichromis leptosoma is Tanganyika’s open-water sardine cichlid: a school in empty hard water, hanging at an angle, mouthbrooding in the blue.
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Calvus Cichlid (Altolamprologus calvus)
Calvus is a compressed, pearly Tanganyikan that slides into fissures and hunts whatever fits. The female spawns where the male cannot follow.
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Lemon Cichlid (Neolamprologus leleupi)
Lemon cichlids stay lemon when a Tanganyikan cave pair gets crustacean-rich food and a hole they actually own. Beige is usually the tank talking, n…
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Fairy Cichlid (Neolamprologus brichardi)
Fairy cichlids are lyretail Tanganyikans whose “pair” becomes a palace of helpers. Build for the dynasty, or the clan annexes every cave you me…
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Julidochromis Transcriptus (Julidochromis transcriptus)
The maze-patterned julie stitches itself into a crack, spawns on a cave ceiling, and may raise stacked generations—or end the marriage if the tan…
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Tropheus Moorii (Tropheus moorii)
Tropheus moorii is a Tanganyikan grazing colony, not a pair of treats. Rock, alkaline water, fibre, and a dozen fish are the contract; daily bloodw…
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Auratus Cichlid (Melanochromis auratus)
Golden mbuna females stay yellow-striped; males invert into a dark, electric-striped night form. One male, many females, rocks, and vegetables.
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Demasoni Cichlid (Pseudotropheus demasoni)
Demasoni are 7 cm Pombo Rocks mbuna that behave like a reef. Overstock the rock city, feed greens, and skip the pair-in-a-nano fantasy.
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Kenyi Cichlid (Maylandia lombardoi)
Kenyi reverse the usual Malawi colours: yellow males, blue-barred females. The gold fish is not a second species—it is puberty on Mbenji rock.
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Peacock Cichlid (Aulonocara nyassae)
Aulonocara nyassae hunts by sensing invertebrates in sand. Peacocks need a beach, a harem, and a break from mbuna that will not let them forage.
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Electric Blue Hap (Sciaenochromis fryeri)
Electric blue haps are Malawi piscivores: cobalt males, silver females, hard alkaline water, and a harem. Small tank-mates are not dither fish. The…
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Discus (Symphysodon aequifasciatus)
Discus are Amazon cichlids built for 28–31°C water, frequent changes, and parents that feed fry on body mucus. If you cannot hold the heat, this…
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Flag Cichlid (Mesonauta festivus)
A festivum’s diagonal stripe is Amazon camouflage for a fish that hangs among wood at an angle. Relatively civil for a big cichlid, until the spa…
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Green Terror (Andinoacara rivulatus)
Andinoacara rivulatus from Ecuador and Peru is a metallic, large, territorial cichlid. The common name is the warning: this is not a peaceful commu…
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Keyhole Cichlid (Cleithracara maronii)
The keyhole cichlid is a shy Guianan fish that wears a dark blotch on the tail wrist and spends the day in leaf litter. Safety is what turns parchm…
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Jack Dempsey (Rocio octofasciata)
Named for a heavyweight, the Jack Dempsey is a digging Central American cichlid with turquoise spangles and a pair’s worth of territory in 200 li…
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Silver Dollar (Metynnis argenteus)
Silver dollars are disc-shaped Amazon herbivores that turn a planted tank into a salad and a big open tank into a shoal of living coins. Feed veget…
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Bala Shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus)
The bala shark is a 30-plus centimetre river cyprinid, endangered in the wild, that jumps and schools. Juveniles in a starter tank are a welfare pr…
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Variatus Platy (Xiphophorus variatus)
Variatus platies are Mexican stream livebearers whose males colour with cooler seasons and hard water. Farmed sunset lines still want minerals, gre…
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