Rainbow cichlazoma. Rainbow cichlazoma - the brighter the color, the worse the character Rainbow cichlazoma description

Rainbow cichlazoma (lat. Cichlasoma synspilum) is a large fish of the class Ray-finned, of the Tsikhlovye family. Other names: red-headed cichlid, red cichlid. natural area habitats - areas Latin America(Guatemala and Mexico, fresh water Usumacinta River), sometimes found in salt waters. Cichlomas prefer to live in rivers with slow flow or in lakes.

It appeared on the territory of the USSR in the 1980s, but was rarely seen in home aquariums due to the lack of large containers on sale.

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Description

Rainbow cichlazoma reaches 30 cm in length in the wild, grows up to 20 cm in captivity. A rather large fish with an elongated and slightly flattened body on the sides. On a large head there are large eyes and a wide mouth that captures pieces of food. Males are distinguished by a large fatty tubercle on the frontal part of the head.

In cichlases, color variations in body color are varied - from gold, bluish-green to pinkish-red. The head is a contrasting crimson or red color. The scales are painted black along the edges. There is an irregularly shaped dark spot on the tail.

On the body of the red cichlid are transparent fins with a beautiful turquoise color. Like many representatives of cichlids, the dorsal and anal fins reach the base of the tail with a cichlase, ending in a pigtail. If the content in the aquarium is not disturbed, they can live for more than ten years, becoming sexually mature at the age of 3 years. They can't be named aggressive fish but eat almost everything. Adults form pairs for life, starting from the first year of life, which is rare among fish.

Admire the colors of rainbow cichlases.

Gender differences are noticeable - recall that males have a fatty growth on the frontal part of the head, the female does not. During the spawning period, a cone-shaped vas deferens emerges from the anus of the male, while the female has a trapezoid-shaped ovipositor.

The behavior of rainbow cichlids is amazing! They quickly get used to a person, over time they allow themselves to be fed, stroked and even taken out of the water. They can recognize their owner among other people. If suddenly it happens stressful situation, the fish is ready to play dead, turning over on its side and lying motionless. In conflict situations, specific stripes appear on the male's forehead, which disappear with reconciliation.

Conditions of detention

Keeping rainbow cichlids is not very difficult. Since the fish are large, the container must be filled with 150 liters of water for two individuals. At the bottom of the aquarium, you can pour fine soil (quartz sand or gravel), small pebble stones. Before use, the embankment should be thoroughly washed so that the cichlomas do not “dig” in the dirty dregs. In addition to sand, build large shelters like stone caves, you can build. Try to find coconuts larger than the body diameter of the fish.

To avoid conflict situations between the fish, divide the territory into parts with the help of pitfalls. Provide for everything possible ways preventing quarrels. Sometimes males like to catch up with weaker individuals, so there should be plenty of hiding places. Planting plants in an aquarium is recommended, but you need to be sure that the fish will not eat them. Plants with a well-developed root system (including floating plants) and large leaves with hard plates will do. Some aquarists use duckweed and riccia.

Water temperature: 24-30 o C, acidity 6.5-7pH, dH - from 8 to 20. Red cichlids love soft light, the main thing is that you can see them among the plants. In order to avoid inflammation of the scales, the water in the container must be extremely clean. Biological and mechanical filtration, good aeration is the key to their health. Water change - once a week 20%.

You can feed cichlase aquatic plants and algae, fruits and seeds, food for cichlids. Shrimp, mussel meat, worms and crickets are a delicacy for them. Spriulina poop, sliced ​​cucumbers and zucchini are also eaten.

It is better to keep one pair of fish, which will form when each individual is one year old. They can attack other cichlids, so when one permanent pair appears in the aquarium, it is better to move it to a separate aquarium. If this is not possible, create optimal conditions for the life of all fish (small neighbors will not work), build enough shelters.

See how the male and female protect the eggs.

Breeding

They can spawn in community aquarium, and in a separate spawning tank with a volume of 150 liters. To stimulate spawning, it is necessary to raise the water temperature by 1-2 degrees and refresh ½ of the water during the week. Line the bottom of the aquarium with flat wide stones and grottoes. On a stone, the female sweeps from 500 eggs, which she will look after. Cichlomas know how to take care of fry. Incubation period- 2-4 days, after which the larvae are born. In the next week, fry will form from them, which will swim in search of food. The first food for babies is Artemia nauplii, Cyclops and Daphnia. When the parents are ready for new offspring, it is better to relocate the fry.

Rainbow cichlomas got their name for their amazing color, they will decorate every body of water. Easy to maintain, with interesting character fish will appeal to the aquarist.

Silver cichlazoma.

Habitat in nature

Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Usumacinta, San Roman river basins.

Description

Size up to 30 cm, the female is smaller. The body is high, dense, strongly compressed laterally. It differs from other species in the length of the caudal fin. The mouth is full of small teeth. The color is grayish-silver with black spots of various sizes.

Blurred dark spots (manifestation of banding), most distinct on the forehead, on the back, above pelvic fins and on the caudal peduncle. Typical horizontal black stripes on forehead, broad upper stripe above eyes. On the back of the caudal peduncle black spot, which is smaller in females. With age, the color becomes more intense with a reflection of gray metal. Males are larger than females, with a steep forehead, they have more points in the upper part and on the fins. In young fish, sex is difficult to determine.

The main requirement for maintenance is a fairly spacious aquarium. Very high intraspecific aggressiveness, these fish are able to kill even during transportation. Aggressive during the spawning period, especially in relation to relatives, when kept together, it is necessary to provide a sufficient number of shelters and sufficient territory for all fish.

Young fish can be very aggressive towards each other, as they mature, this behavior disappears. A rather large aquarium is needed with shelters made of snags and stones for females. All decorations must be well fixed, as the fish will often rearrange the landscape at their discretion.

Plants can be used, but most likely to be uprooted, floating plants can be used. Chem. The composition of the water for these fish is not very important. Filtering must be powerful, as this is big fish. AT wild nature They are herbivorous cichlids. Use good quality spirulina vegetable granules, in addition to shrimp, mussels and fish meat.

Breeding

Puberty at about 3 years of age, although courtship begins after 18 months. They spawn, as a rule, on a large stone, and sometimes inside the cave. During spawning, the male may be aggressive towards the female. They are excellent parents, but can become aggressive towards their brood if they are ready to re-spawn. dH 13-25°; pH 7.5-8.5; T 22-28°C.

Rainbow cichlazoma - freshwater aquarium fish from American cichlids.

In nature, they reach 30 cm in length, in the aquarium their size is smaller. The body is high and elongated, flattened laterally. The eyes are large, the lips are thick, the dorsal fin is long. The color is varied. In most cases, the head is crimson or red, the rest of the body may be blue-green, reddish or yellow. The scales have black edges. The edges of the fins are blue transparent, often with brown spots.

Aquarium- from 250 liters and above. The bigger, the better. Shelters made of driftwood, rocks, caves, floating plants are needed, and you can also place hard-leaved plants in pots. The rest can dig or eat.

Water: dH 8-20, pH 6.5-8.5, temperature 24-28°C, powerful filtration and aeration.

Rainbow cichlazoma is kept either with other species of the family, or in a species aquarium.

cichlid nutrition

You need to feed cichlazoma in a balanced way: sea ​​fish, bloodworm, cortera, shrimp, vegetable and granular food. Live food - most of diet.

Reproduction by cichlase sinspilum

Sexual maturity occurs after 1.5-2 years of life. You need to select a pair at a young age from a group of fish. The male differs from the female in a large fat growth on the forehead.

Family: cichlids (Cichlidae)

External Description: cichlazoma maculicauda is a powerful fish, with a large massive body. The main color is light: from white to light blue / green in color, the lower part of the head and part of the abdomen are colored red, in the middle of the body there is a noticeably dark spot, the size and intensity of the color varies greatly, often there is a large dark spot at the base of the tail. The fins, with the exception of the tail, correspond to the main color, the caudal fin is red. Males have brighter colors, males develop an occipital hump with age

Natural Habitat: fish has a fairly wide distribution in Central America

Dimensions: maximum fish size 25 cm

Habitat layer: tries to stay in the lower and middle layers

Behavior: the behavior of the fish is very aggressive, so they are kept either with large and similar in temperament cichlids, or formed in pairs in a species aquarium. During spawning and spawning, they become especially aggressive

Arrangement of the aquarium: the minimum volume of the aquarium is 200 liters, suitable for two fish. When arranging an aquarium, it is advisable to use different shelters: caves, grottoes, snags, plants, it is best to place plants in special pots

Water parameters: temperature 22-27ºC, pH 6.0-8.0, the middle between the indicators is "golden", dGH 8-16°

Food: despite the fact that the fish are quite aggressive, their diet in nature is algae, however, it is necessary to introduce protein sources into the diet of the fish

Breeding: fish reach the ability to reproduce only at a size of 15 cm, or when they reach 6-10 months. Water parameters should be near ideal: temperature about 26 °, pH about 7, hardness about the same, but the first two indicators are more important. It is important for spawning to have a formed pair, otherwise most likely nothing will work, for this you need to initially buy a pair or a group of fish from 6 fish. The couple chooses a place for spawning and equips it, the female lays up to 600 eggs, the parents carefully look after the offspring and defend the territory very fiercely. Fry appear in 2-3 days, start swimming in a week, starter food nauplii crustaceans

Note: in general, keeping the fish is not difficult, if the water parameters are strictly maintained, but they are demanding on the volume of the aquarium and are very aggressive towards their neighbors, therefore they are recommended only for experienced aquarists

Video (Cichlasoma maculicauda (Vieja maculicauda, ​​Cichlasoma maculicauda, ​​Blackbelt cichlid):

Cichlazoma argentei or cichlazoma silver / vieja argentea description, content, nutrition, photo - 5.0 out of 5 based on 3 votes

Tsichlazoma argentei or cichlazoma silvery

(cichlasoma argentea, vieja argentea)

Cichlazoma argentea is an excellent aquarium fish from American cichlids. Habitat: Southern Mexico and Central America.

The maximum can grow up to 30cm. Color: silvery body with dark small spots, there are also dark blurry spots (striping) - they are clearly visible on the back, caudal peduncle and forehead.

Aquarium- from 150 liters and above. Wooden sticks and stones are needed. But they should be installed so that the cichlazoma does not suffer when it rebuilds the interior for itself. Plants are optional as they can be uprooted.

Water: temperature 26-30°C, pH 7.5-8.5, dH 10-15, powerful and constant filtration.

Food

Food: The main part of the diet is vegetable food (eg algae), with granular food, shrimp and mussels just as an extra.

A photo