General Facts About Cichlid Fish

All cichlids are Cichlidae family members. We are confident that you heard about different common species of cichlid in Oscar, Jack Dempsey, Angelfish and Discus. Cichlidae stands out as a highly diverse family that has spread around the world and appears in many environments. Cichlid species ended up evolving in order to properly deal with environment surroundings so that they can survive. This is why cichlid species will also show variations in temperament, size, water quality preferred and feeding habits. Cichlid fish can be found in America, Asia and Africa.

Three important cichlids species groups exist according to most specialists. They are Central American, African, South American and North American. In Africa you will find most cichlid in Great Rift Valley. 4 important subcategories exist when looking at African cichlids and they appear based on living location. We need to mention Lake Malawi cichlids, Lake Tanganyika cichlids, Lake Victoria cichlids and others. Although it is common to consider a dwarf cichlid to be an African cichlid some people will look at them as a separate species.

Some cichlids prove to be really problematic when thinking about raising them in aquariums. This is because some of them are really big. Nowadays a big cichlid species can even reach a length of 100 cm. A dwarf cichlid will usually not grow larger than just three centimeters. Dwarf cichlids are really appealing for aquarists as they do not need a large space to grow. The problem is that they are very sensitive and you would have to take proper care of them in the event that you want to keep them in an aquarium.

Different cichlid species will usually look and act differently although some anatomic characteristics are common. Cichlids show their small intestines always leaving a body towards a left side while also showing single nostril. Also, cichlids will show many teeth in both jaws and also in throats.