Cichlids

Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. The family Cichlidae, a major family of perciform fish, is both large and diverse. Estimates of the number of cichlid species range from 1,900 to 2,200, making it one of the three largest vertebrate families. Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as 2.5 centimetres (1.0 in) in length (e.g. Neolamprologus multifasciatus ) to much larger species approaching 1 metre (3 ft) in length (e.g. Boulengerochromis and Cichla). As a group, cichlids exhibit a similarly wide diversity of body shapes, ranging from strongly laterally compressed species (such as Altolamprologus, Pterophyllum, and Symphysodon) through to species that are cylindrical and highly elongate (such as Julidochromis, Teleogramma, Teleocichla, Crenicichla, and Gobiocichla). Generally, however, cichlids tend to be of medium size, ovate in shape and slightly laterally compressed, and generally very similar to the North American sunfishes in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology. Many cichlids, particularly the tilapias, are important food fishes, while others are valued game fish (eg. Cichla species). Many species, including the angelfish, oscars, and discus, are also highly valued in the aquarium trade. Cichlids are also the family of vertebrates with by far the highest number of endangered species, most of these being from among the haplochromine group. Cichlids are particularly well known for having evolved rapidly into a large number of closely related but morphologically diverse species within large lakes, particularly the African Rift Valley lakes of Tanganyika, and Victoria, and Malawi. The diversity of cichlids in the African Great Lakes is important for the study of speciation in evolution. Many cichlids that have been accidentally or deliberately released into freshwaters outside of their natural range have become nuisance species, for example tilapia in the southern United States.

Fish disease & diagnosis

Fish disease is a fact of life and in common with all pet owners, fish-keepers need to be able to recognize the signs of ill-health in their fishy charges. These pages give a comprehensive view of common diseases including typical signs of disease and how to systematically diagnosis both health problems and their causes.

-White spot
a nasty parasite capable of causing serious tissue damage. Up to 100% fatalities can occur without prompt treatment.

A common but lethal disease
The ciliated parasite Ichthyophthirius, more commonly known as white spot or Ich, is a very common fish disease capable of affecting virtually all fish species. Ich has a fairly complex life cycle that has a major bearing on treatment methods. The white spot trophont (photo below) forms a nodule under the skin or gill epithelium.
The trophont constantly turns and moves under the skin, feeding on destroyed cells and body fluids. The parasite feeds on body cells until mature and then 'punches' its way out of the skin. It then attaches itself to a plant or some other object and forms a capsules around itself. Inside the capsule, the tomont, as it is now called, repeatedly divides, producing up to 1000 tomites that finally 'hatch' from the capsule and swim to find a fish host. These small tomites are the infective agent. They burrow into the fish's skin and the cycle starts all over again. Clearly, with each turn of the cycle the number of parasites increases dramatically.

Tissue damage
In large numbers the parasite can cause considerable tissue damage from both its feeding activity while under the epithelium and during the entry and exit from its host. The tissue damage caused, particularly to gill tissue, is a major threat to fish health and can be the site for secondary bacterial or fungal infections. A prime example is seen in the microphotograph above. The trophonts can be clearly seen in the gill tissue. Their irritating activity has caused severe hyperplasia (abnormal cell growth). This particular fish ended up with severe gill tissue erosion and bacterial infection. Altogether, around 30 koi in this pond died in this outbreak.

Identifying Ich
White spot cysts, each containing an active trophont, appear as small white nodules on the skin, gills and fins, giving the fish the appearance of having been dusted with salt. In a confirmatory skin scrape the trophonts appear as dark round objects slowly rolling around. The trophonts vary in size, up to 1mm and are considerably bigger than most fish parasites. Other features sometimes seen are a lighter, horseshoe shaped nucleus (seen in the top photo) and short cilia covering the entire body (seen in the movie clips).
In the early stages of the disease, fish are likely to flash and rub against objects because of the irritation. At a later, advanced stage they will become lethargic and spend most of their time sitting on the bottom.
My own experience is that Ich commonly affects koi - but in the early stages the characteristic white spots are very difficult to spot. They are probably there but not very noticeable. This is one reason why it is best to do a skin scrape when parasites are suspected - so that you know exactly what you are dealing with! Even finding one trophont warrants immediate treatment.

Treatment
It is only the free-swimming stage of the parasite that is susceptible to treatment; neither the trophonts under the epithelium or the tomont cysts can be killed. So any treatment plan has to be carried out over a period of time in order to kill the emerging parasites. This in turn depends on temperature. At 7oC the life cycle will take six weeks, whereas at 25oC it will be complete in a week.
@ An alternative treatment is prolonged salt immersion at 1-2 ppt (parts per thousand), i.e. 1-2 grams per litre
@ Water should be monitored during the treatment course in case there is any loss of filter activity.
@ It is also believed that fish that survive an attack of Ich have an increased immunity against future attacks

Lurking in the background!
Ich is most often brought into the tank or pond on new fish or plants (not if they are quarantined!). However, it is also believed that some survivors of an Ich infection can become latent carriers, with the parasites forming a latent stage at protected sites such as the base of fins or the gills.
Subsequent stress or poor conditions can awaken white spot to re-infect either its host or other fish. This certainly seems to be the case with koi, when often small numbers of trophonts are often found alongside severe fluke, Trichodina or Costia infestations, even in ponds which have not had any new introductions.

credit : http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/whitespot.htm

Parrot Cichlid

The red blood parrot was first "created" in Taiwan back in the late eighties. Little is known about it outside Taiwan. According to Cher Chan in "Cichlids in Taiwan", it first appeared in 1986. The parents of the hybrid was a mystery back then, now many fish farms in Taiwan can produce it from a male "Cichlasoma citrinellum" (midas cichlid) and a female "Cichliasoma synspilum" (redhead cichlid). The author doubts the purity of the parent stock, though

Parrot Cichlids seem to be somewhat shy upon first introducing them to the tank. Hiding when any activity is present outside the tank. After some time though, they will overcome this shyness. Some report this to take less than a week, while others say it may take up to a couple of months. So be patient with your new fish, they will eventually come out. And when they do, you will see their great personalities they are known for. They will come to the glass every time you pass the tank and beg for food . They do the "Feed-Me" dance, as I call it, and are really good at it too, I fall for it way too often.
There is also some behavior one must aware of before attempting to keep a parrot cichlid. They love to dig, and can be somewhat belligerent towards other fish at times, especially if two have paired up and are defending their nest. Many people say their parrot's are very docile, rarely showing aggression towards tank mates. I however must fall in to another category. Our parrots grew up together and are always charging and bumping one another. An occasional lip fight will periodically occur over territories. Basically parrot's behavior seems to vary from fish to fish, some are docile while others have quite a nasty disposition. When single specimens are kept in a community aquarium, it will show very little aggression, in a species tank (only parrot cichlids) you will find the exact opposite to be true. What bewilders me is, despite all their daytime scuffles, at night they all share the same cave and snuggle together to sleep, only to wake up the next morning to start terrorizing each other again.

Types of Parrot Cichlids
Most commonly found in the trade is the Red Blood Parrot. Despite the name, these fish are generally a gold-orange color with a small amount of pink found on the throat and behind the head of the males. They can obtain sizes up to 10 inches. Females are usually smaller in size and lack the pink coloration.
The second most popular type seems to be the Purple Blood Parrot, like the latter, it's name is also deceiving. This fish is a bright red color with some parts of the coloration so deep and brilliant it appears to be a purple, hence the name Purple Parrot. There is some controversy as to whether or not these fish are "dyed". To my knowledge these fish are NOT dyed but are just a different color morph.
There is also a variety of Parrot Cichlid that is quite odd. (As if they aren't odd enough!!) This type is tailless. It's called the "Love Heart" parrot due to its heart-like shape. It's available in both the red and the purple variety. We keep one of these, and despite his missing appendage, he can hold his own in a scuffle and swim as fast as the others in the tank. This is a really unique fish, and tailless trend must be catching on. We are starting to see Discus produced with the missing tail also.

credit : http://geocities.com/parrotcichlid/general.html

Type of Fish Food

Two or three small feedings a day is better than one feeding per day. Only put in as much food that the fish will consume within 2 minutes. Overfeeding your fish will lead to poor water quality and stressed fish.



Brine Shrimp
Brine shrimp is a great food for getting your fish ready for fish breeding. It can also be used as an excellent treat for your fish. Use it as a supplement to the daily diet of flake fish food.
You can also create your own brine shrimp rather easily.

Blood Worms
If you have carnivorous fish you may want to supplement their diet with some blood worms. Your other fish will love these as well. Blood worms are high in protein and only feed them to your fish occasionally.

Live Fish Food
The food is still alive when you introduce it to the tank. Brine shrimp, Daphnia, Feeder Goldfish and worms are usually the main live foods given to tropical fish.If you plan on using live foods, caution is advised because feeder fish can bring fish disease along with them.

Earth worms can be a great supplement for your fish but don't feed them to your fish too frequently. Finding earth worms can be fairly easy but make sure you don't collect them from soil that may have contaminants such as lawn fertilizer.

Frozen Fish Food
Frozen fish foods are great for getting high quality, fresh food to your fish. These foods are usually high in proteins and fats so check the label to see exactly what you're giving your fish. Manufacturers are making frozen varieties of the many tropical fish food types, including brine shrimp, beef heart, bloodworms, daphnia, krill, plankton, silversides, etc. You can sometimes get the frozen fish food in cube packs that really makes it easy to dispense.
Using frozen fish food can be messy, to cut down on the amount of pollution added to your tank you may want to thaw the frozen food in a bowl and then slowly spoon feed it to your tank. Only put in as much food as your fish will eat as soon as it touches the water.
Feeding your fish high quality, frozen foods will really do wonders for them. You may start to notice that your fish have improved colors and they may even start breeding.

credit : http://www.fishlore.com/Food.htm

Red Texas

The Texas cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatus, formerly Cichlasoma cyanoguttatum) is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family. Also known as Rio Grande cichlid, this species is originated from the lower rio Grande drainage in Texas and Northeastern Mexico, particular on the sandy bottom of deep rivers. This is the only cichlid species native to the United States.
The Texas cichild has a large greyish high-backed body with bright blue scales and two dark spots, one at the center of the body and another and the end of its tail. Adult males have a large hump on their heads. This species can grow up to 30 cm. They prefer a water temperature range of 20–33°C, a pH range of 6.5-7.5, and a water hardness of 5-12 pH

The Texas cichlid is commonly found in the aquarium trade and is relatively popular with cichlid enthusiasts. Its temperament differs from one individual to another, but in general can be kept with other large aquarium fishes such as tinfoil barbs,silver dollars,oscars, and other South American cichlids. Texas cichlids prefer larger tanks with 55 gallons of water or more. They are substrate diggers and will uproot plants.
Feeding is easy as the Texas cichlid readily takes pellets, flake foods, and live and frozen food. This species is a prolific breeder and breeding in aquarium is relatively easy. Adult fish pair up and become territorial. Up to 1,000 adhesive eggs are laid on a clean, flat surface and both parents guard them aggressively. Eggs hatch in 3-5 days and the fry grow rapidly.
Texas cichlid is known to hybridize with other related species. The flowerhorn cichlid, a hybrid cichlid extremely popular in Asia, may have been a result of the crossbreeding of Texas cichlid and several other species.

Credit :
- Goldstein, R. J. (2000), American Aquarium Fishes, p. 385-386, Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas. ISBN 0-89096-880-2.
- "Herichthys cyanoguttatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. October 2006 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2006.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_cichlid

Cichlid Information

The largest fish family in the world is the family Cichlidae. Made up of approximately 160 Genera with more than 1,300 described species, this family is found in the Americas (Central and South America) as well as Africa and Asia.
Cichlids are the second most colorful fishes, second only to marine fishes. Cichlid colors vary widely, to include, blues, yellows, reds and greens.
These fishes tend to be more aggressive than the standard tropical fish, but in a tank with other cichlids, their aggressive nature makes for a very active and interesting tank.
South America is home to Angelfish, Discus, Oscars, Jack Dempsey, and Rams. These fish require a pH of 7.0, matching the pH found in the standard home aquarium.
Although Austin Aquariums sells Cichlids from all over the world, Michael leans more towards the species found in Africa, specifically the rift Lakes Malawi and Tanganyika.
Some 150 million years ago, as Gondwanaland broke up into the continents of India, Australia, Antarctica, Africa, and South America, two large splits in the earth opened in Central Africa trapping early fishes. Over time, these rifts continued to fill with water to become deep, highly mineralized lakes. Lake Tanganyika is the second deepest lake in the world, with a maximum depth of two miles. Over millions of years, these fishes evolved separately from all other fish species. Today we know these fishes as African Rift-Lake Cichlids, whose closest relative is the salt-water damselfish.
Michael loves to discuss the fishes found in these lakes, as well as the other regions of the world. Come in and use his experience with these animals to create a lively, exciting tank of these colorful fishes.

credit : Original Composition by Michael Holcomb and Charles Teel.
( http://austinaquariums.com/cichlid.html )