Vieja Sinspilum (cichlasoma synspilum). Cichlazoma rainbow - the brighter the color, the worse the character of Cichlazoma argentea or cichlazoma silver

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Cichlazoma silver

Habitat in nature

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

Description

Size up to 30 cm, female is smaller. The body is tall, dense, strongly compressed laterally. It differs from other species in the length of its caudal fin. The mouth is lined with small teeth. The color is grayish-silver with black spots of varying sizes. Blurred dark spots (striations), most distinct on the forehead, back, and above pelvic fins

and on the caudal peduncle. Typical horizontal black stripes on the forehead, the upper wide stripe above the eyes. There is a black spot on the back of the caudal peduncle, which is smaller in females. With age, the color becomes more intense with a gray metallic sheen. Males are larger than females, with a steep forehead, and have more spots on the top and fins. In young fish, sex is difficult to determine.

The main requirement for keeping is a sufficiently spacious aquarium. Very high intraspecific aggressiveness; these fish are capable of killing even during transportation. They are aggressive during the spawning period, especially towards 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, but this behavior disappears as they grow older. You need a fairly large aquarium with shelters made of driftwood and stones for females. All decorations must be well secured, since fish will often rearrange the landscape at their discretion. Plants can be used, but most likely will be uprooted; floating plants can be used. Chem. The composition of the water is not very important for these fish. Filtration must be powerful, because... This large fish . IN wildlife These are herbivorous cichlids. Use good quality

vegetable spirulina granules, in addition to shrimp, mussels and fish meat.

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

Vieja synspila. The specific name is derived from the Greek "syn" (together) and "spilos" (spot).

Indicates a stripe of “fused” dark spots running from the caudal peduncle to the middle of the body.

Habitat:

Rainbow cichlazoma lives in low-lying areas of rivers, as well as in numerous lakes. Sometimes found in brackish water, but mostly does not live there.

Nutrition:

IN natural nature prevails plant food, in an aquarium can eat specialized dry food for cichlids, live and frozen bloodworms, shrimp, mussels, small fish, it is also advisable to give plant components and spirulina.

Appearance:

Length - males up to 40 cm, females up to 25 cm. The body is high, rather full. The body and fins are red-yellow-green-blue with pearlescent tints, the head is crimson. From the caudal peduncle to the middle of the body there is a wide stripe consisting of dark spots. The iris of the eye is turquoise.

The male is larger and brighter in color than the female. Also, as they grow older, males develop a peculiar hump on their forehead.

In an aquarium, fine soil, a good filter, aeration are preferred, weekly water changes of up to 30-35% are required. Also in the aquarium you need to provide stones, caves, driftwood so that you can hide.
Rainbow cichlazoma is incompatible with plants; they will be uprooted or eaten. It is better to keep juveniles in a group of 6-8 individuals, adults - in an established pair. It is quite possible to keep them with comparable Central American cichlids, but only in a large aquarium of more than 500 liters.

Sex differences:

Males are larger than females, with a steep forehead. In young fish, sex is difficult to determine.

Breeding:

Breeding is only possible with a well compatible pair. To do this, you need to take a group of young fish of 6-8 individuals and let them choose their own mate as they mature.
The dominant pair should be selected for breeding and the other pairs should be removed from the aquarium. A flat stone is usually used as a spawning site. The clutch consists of 500 eggs. During spawning, the male becomes very aggressive towards the female, and can even kill, in which case it is better to remove the female.

After 3-4 days, the larvae hatch from the eggs and after another 3 days the fry can swim and feed on their own. The fry should be fed with Artemia nauplii or crushed dry food. Both parents intensively care for the fry, but when it comes time for the next spawning, they become aggressive and the fry must be removed.

The life expectancy for Cichlazoma iridescent is 10 years.

Water parameters:

In nature: hardness 10-20 dGH, pH 7.0-8.0, temperature 24 - 30°C.

Dilution: hardness 10–20 dGH, pH 7.0–8.0, temperature 25–28°C.

Note:

Vieja synspila has been kept in our country since 1980, but has only become widespread last years, when large aquariums came into widespread use, and large cichlids became in demand.
This circumstance also explains the inaccuracy of descriptions of this species in the literature of past years. For example, A.S. Polonsky (1996) writes about V. synspila as a fish up to 10 cm long, requiring aquariums with a volume of 100 liters or more.

Cichlazoma rainbow - freshwater aquarium fish from American cichlids.

In nature they reach 30 cm in length, in an aquarium their size is smaller. The body is tall and elongated, flattened laterally. The eyes are large, the lips are thick, and 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 green-blue, reddish or yellow. The scales have black edges. The edges of the fins are transparent blue, often with brown spots.

Aquarium- from 250l and above. The bigger, the better. Shelters made of driftwood, stones, caves, floating plants are needed, and hard-leaved plants can also be placed 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 cichlasoma is kept either with other species of the family or in a species aquarium.

Cichlid nutrition

You need to feed cichlid fish in a balanced manner: sea ​​fish, bloodworms, cortera, shrimp, vegetable and granulated 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 the group of fish. The male is distinguished from the female by a large fatty growth on the forehead.

Family: cichlids (Cichlidae)

External description: Cichlasoma maculicauda is a powerful fish with a large massive body. The main color is light: from white to light blue/green, the lower part of the head and part of the abdomen are colored red, noticeable in the middle of the body dark spot, the size and intensity of 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; as males age, they develop a nuchal hump

Natural habitat: the fish is quite widespread in Central America

Dimensions: maximum size fish 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 cichlids of similar temperament, or in pairs in a species aquarium. During spawning and the appearance of eggs, they become especially aggressive

Arrangement of the aquarium: The minimum aquarium volume is 200 liters, suitable for two fish. When arranging an aquarium, it is advisable to use different shelters: caves, grottoes, driftwood, 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°

Nutrition: despite the fact that the fish are quite aggressive, their diet in nature is algae, nevertheless, protein sources must be included in the fish’s diet

Breeding: The 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 to have a formed pair for spawning, otherwise most likely nothing will work out; for this you need to initially buy a pair or a group of fish of 6 fish. The couple chooses a place for spawning and arranges it, the female lays up to 600 eggs, the parents carefully care for the offspring and very fiercely defend the territory. The fry appear after 2-3 days, begin to swim after a week, starter food for nauplii crustaceans

Note: In general, keeping fish is not difficult if you strictly maintain the water parameters, 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 (Vieja maculicauda, ​​Cichlasoma maculicauda, ​​Blackbelt cichlid):

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

Cichlazoma argentea or Cichlazoma silver

(cichlasoma argentea, vieja argentea)

Cichlazoma argentea - magnificent aquarium fish from American cichlids. Habitat: Southern Mexico and Central America.

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

Aquarium- from 150l and above. Wooden pegs and stones are necessary. But they should be installed so that the cichlazoma is not harmed when it rebuilds the interior to suit 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.

Nutrition

Food: the main part of the diet is plant food (for example, algae), with granular food, shrimp and mussels only as an additional supplement.

Photo