The Real Keys to Caring for your Cichlid...

Cichlids are fish from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. The family Cichlidae is a major family of Perciform fish, being both large and diverse. There are at least 1300 scientifically described species and at least another 1700 species un-described. They range in a huge variety of colors and sizes from as small as 1 inch to nearly 3 feet in length. Generally though, most are of a medium size, ovate in shape and slightly laterally compressed.

Since 1945, Cichlids have become increasingly popular as aquarium fish. This is due to them being ideally suited to aquarium life, being that many are small to medium-sized, easy to feed, breed readily and practice brood care in captivity.

The most common species of Cichlids found for aquariums' are Pterophyllum Scalare from the Amazon River basin in South American , known in the trade as "Angelfish", Astronotus Ocellatus (Oscar), Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus (Convict Cichlid) and Symphysodon (Discus).

Various species of Cichlid can be kept in aquariums with other fish, however it is important to know that many are predatory towards small fish and some, such as Apistogramma and Julidochromis can be highly timid and so the use of either fish would be recommended.

Angelfish (Pterophyllum Scalare) are one of the most commonly kept freshwater aquarium fish, as well as the most commonly kept Cichlid. They are prized for their unique shape, color and behavior. Many hobbyists consider Angelfish to be a relatively intelligent fish, able to recognize their owners.

They should be kept in a warm aquarium, ideally around 80 °F (27 °C). They do best when fed a mixture of flake, frozen and live food. Care needs to be taken not to overfeed as they will commonly keep eating even when they do not need to. This leads to a build up fast, resulting in inactivity and early death.

Angelfish do best in a slightly acidic environment, pH should be below 7.5 (note: 7.5 is still slightly alkaline where acidic is defined below 7.0). Most prefer water with pH at most 7.0 although they will thrive in a wide range of pH values.

Although usually peaceful, Angelfish can be very aggressive at times and it is best to either keep a single fish or four. When there are two they will fight for dominance and one can easily bully another to death. If kept for the want of breeding it is wise to always keep an eye on them to make sure ones health is not suffering from over aggressiveness from the other.

If other fish are kept with the Angelfish, it is a good idea to keep the fish sizes relative to each other. Also it is best not to keep Angelfish in the same aquarium as other aggressive species due to their flowing fins being a fine target for fin nipping, even much smaller aggressive fish will target the Angelfish fins.

These are some species that can be kept with Angelfish and other less aggressive Cichlids: serpae tetra, bleeding heart tetra, blackfin tetra, congo tetra, barbs, pencil fish, leperinus, rams, krebensis, firemouth, festivum, port cichlid, keyhole cichlid, metynnis, pacu, discus, dwarf and full sized gourami, hatchet fish, almost any kind of catfish, most large live bearers. This list should give some ideas, but there still can be aggressive actions no matter what you mix.

The bigger the tank the better with lots of hiding places for all the species kept in the aquarium. To learn more on cichlids get more Expert Secrets To Keep and Breed Cichlids