Malawi Bloat is the most common disease when keeping African Cichlids. There is some general consensus regarding possible causes, responsible pathogens, and even treatment.

Occurrence
Malawi Bloat does not only affect fishes from Lake Malawi, but also those from Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika. The African Cichlids that are most prone to this disease are those whose diet consists primarily of vegetable matter.

Symptoms
The first symptom is a loss of appetite. Secondary characteristics include abnormal swelling of the abdomen (hence the name), increased respiratory rate, reclusiveness, white streaky feces, and sitting on the bottom of the tank or lingering at the surface. Red marks around the fish’s anus or skin ulcerations might also be apparent.

Symptoms only appear in the latter stages of the disease; therefore, it is important to begin treatment as soon as symptoms are noticed, otherwise the disease will most likely take the fish’s life. By this time, damage to the fish’s liver, kidneys, and/or swim bladder has probably occurred. When secondary symptoms appear, death typically follows within 24-72 hours.

Cause
There is nothing absolutely conclusive yet, but many believe that Bloat is induced by a protozoal parasite in most cases. This protozoan resides in the intestines of healthy fishes, but can proliferate to harmful numbers under stressful conditions. As it increases in number, this parasite will cause blockage of the intestinal tract. It moves beyond the intestine by punching holes in its walls - causing the fish to bloat. Fish die from the damage inflicted upon their organs.

Bloat doesn’t usually just claim one victim, but three or more.

Three Main Causes For Bloat
1.) Stress. When the fish become stressed, their immune system does not function well. The most common cause of stress is poor water conditions. Possible causes are infrequent water changes, insufficient aeration, and overfeeding; all of which lead to elevated nitrate levels. Other causes of stress include being caught, being transported, water changes, or an insufficient hiding places from other fish.

2.) Salt. Some people add salt to simulate a more natural habitat, but common salt will not alkalinize your tank. If you have soft water and need to raise the pH/hardness, use a buffer, such as SeaChem’s Cichlid SaltTM. Crushed coral for substrate or a bit of limestone in your tank will raise the pH, but it’s important to do frequent water changes. Using any wood will only lower the pH of your water.

3.) Improper diet. Many herbivorous cichlids have long intestinal tracts, requiring a longer time to digest food. It is quite common to develop intestinal problems. Decomposing foods can irritate the intestinal wall and stress the fish. This can happen about when a herbivorous, (like Tropheus or Pseudotropheus) is fed high protein foods such as bloodworms, or sih meal pellet & flake foods. Slimy/soft foods - such as brine shrimp - should be replaced with crunchier foods such as mysis.

Treatment
Once you notice that your fish has lost its appetite, you should remove it and begin treatment immediately. There are two effective treatments for Bloat: Metronidazole (Emtryl or Flagyl) and Clout. After treatment do a 30% water change, increase aeration, then a 50% water change. Remove any biological filters you may be using. Store the filters in some of the water removed from the tank prior to treatment. Turn off your hood lights while treating your fish, as the dark atmosphere will help your fish to relax and recuperate

In addition to treating with drugs, it is also recommended adding an half-and-half Epsom salt/Table salt mixture to your tank. Add a handful for every ten gallons of water. Epsom salt is a natural laxative and will help the fish lose some of the water it has been taking on.

Fish usually regain appetite within a week. If fish retains its apetite you can administer Metronidazole with its food. When administering this drug, turn off any UV, ozone, or chemical filtration as these disable the active ingredients of the medication. SeaChemTM and AquatronicsTM (called HexamitTM) both sell drugs containing Metronidazole.

Clout - This drug can be very strong, so follow guidelines given with the medication so as not to shock your already stressed fish. Daily water changes are essential for Clout’s maximum effectiveness. Three days of treatment should be enough if inflammation is not too severe, otherwise treat for a full five days. If after five days there’s no change, resume treatment again after two days. Perform a final water change 24 hours after the last dosage. Clout has proven more effective at curing bloated fish. It will, however, turn the water blue and stain the silicone in your tank (as well as anything else it comes in contact with).

Raising the temperature of the water increases the fish’s metabolism and heightens its immune response, and speeds up the life cycle of the parasite, thereby shortening cure time.

This article is not meant to replace existing articles about Malawi Bloat, but to supplement them with more causes, diagnosis and treatments.

There is an excellent article already on this site about Malawi Bloat. This article is meant to cover a few points that the other guide did not cover. As the article mentions there are three main causes for Bloat. Stress, Improper Salt usage and Improper Diet. The most important of these causes is of course stress, it is usually the cause of most fish diseases. The point that really needs attention though is Improper Diet. I have killed a few Cichlids and other fish with bloat and it has A LOT to do with diet! One of the worst foods you can feed Cichlids (because of their long intestines) is brine shrimp. Even for Cichlid fry, Brine Shrimp is a big no, no.

Why are Brine Shrimp so bad? Brine Shrimp are tiny crustaceans and as such, are slightly hard. Because of this texture and small size their hard parts get caught in intestinal walls and their size allows them to stay caught in there, causing a blockage. Think of it as the same way Velcro works. Malawi Bloat is mostly a death sentence to the fish it affects. The cure success is lower than with other diseases. The key is to avoid it altogether. If there is one thing I have read and learned about Bloat it’s that if your fish are herbivores, then avoid high protein foods. Make sure the foods you feed them (ie: Mbuna) have Spriulina in them and that it is high on the ingredients list. Peas are good too. Both are natural laxatives and will keep things moving along smoothly in their long intestines, avoiding the potential for Bloat. I feed my African Cichlids nothing but Veggie Blend foods or Spirulina Algae based foods and have never had another problem with Bloat since. Avoid feeding live or frozen foods like Bloodworms, Tubifex Worms, Brine Shrimp, Krill or any super high protein foods. This method has two benefits, they avoid blockages and cuts down the exposure to foreign parasites or bacteria.

Most foods, even veggie foods contain some high protein meat, including Krill, Brine Shrimp and worms. The difference is when these foods are combined with veggies in say a flake or pellet food, they are not whole. The ingredients are crushed and pulverized into powder and in some cases even sterilized, lessening the potential for foreign hitchhikers. Whole Tubifex Worms and Bloodworms (even freeze dried ones) are actually the worst choices for fish foods because these worms carry many foreign parasites and bacterium. Feeder fish are a bad idea too. In addition, you should NEVER feed your fish beef heart or any type of warm blooded animal protein because warm blooded animals carry an entirely different set of parasites, fungi and bacteria that fish have NO tolerance against. That’s why most fish foods are made with Fish Meal, not beef, chicken or pork! It’s not natural. It doesn’t happen in nature (with the exception of Pirahanas) and it should not happen in captivity either. Fish eat other fish, algae and the occasional worm or crustacean.

The best way to tell how appropriate a food is for herbivores is to make sure the minimum amount of protein in the food you buy is under 40%. Anything higher than 42% seems to cause Bloat problems and 46% to 50% is way too rich. HBH, Hikari, Omega One, Nutrifin, Dianichi and New Life Spectrum all have excellent veggie blends that have all kinds of other good veggies for your Herbivores, like Kelp, Algae, Carrots and Alfalfa. Your Cichlids will get all the protein they need in veggie food and the other ESSENTIAL veggies that will help that protein move along those intestines just fine. One last note and it’s just a cool fish fact is that Cichlids intestines are FOUR TIMES their body length, just to give you an idea of how long they really are! Veggie food is a good idea for avoiding bloat in any fish, carnivores included. I feed all my fish veggie food periodically just to supplement their diet. The result is much healthier and more disease resistant fish.

Now for the only cure for bloat known to work and is as follows:

IMPORTANT

(1) DO NOT FEED ANYTHING during this process.

(2) Start this procedure as soon as the fish shows symptoms (spitting familiar food, hiding during feeding, etc.)

Medication required: Clout (Aquarium Products) or any medication containing Trichlorphon as the main ingredient. If you cannot find something with this drug, then a cure with Metronidazol is recommended (ie: Jungle’s Internal Parasite Guard or Jungle Parasite Clear Tablets.) Metronidazol is also known under one of it’s brand names Flagyl. Clout (Triclorphon) is the most widely used cure for bloat though.

Day 1: Move fish to quarantine tank and treat with Clout at full strength (1 tablet / 10 gallons–remove carbon from filter)

Day 2: No water change. Treat again with Clout at half strength.

Day 3: Do nothing

Day 4: Do an 80% water change and treat with Clout at full strength

Day 5: Do nothing

Day 6: Return fish to main tank only after symptoms have subsided and the fish has been healthy: (eating, swimming, breathing normally) for a week.
RESIST the urge to try feeding the fish until after the treatment is over and do not cut the treatment short regardless of whether the fish looks better or not. If at any time during the treatment your fish seems to be experiencing stress as a result of the medication then do an immediate 75% water change.

The only other treatment that has a positive effect on bloat is Epsom Salts. Not only do they act as a laxative for the affected fish, it also acts to draw excess moisture out of the fish, which also helps the condition especially if it is caused by GBD or Gas Bubble Disease. Bloat can be imitated by one other condition that causes the “pine cone” or raised scales appearance. Gas Bubble Disease happens most often in during the winter months. Hot water, when it comes from a water heater has gas bubbles in it. The only way to get rid of these gas bubbles is though gas exchange (heavy aeration of the water) An simple Aquarium Air Pump in the warm water about 30 min to 1 hour before changing the water will get rid of the gas bubbles. The reason it happens is the more heat used to keep the water hot in the hot water tank the more gases build up in the water (your water heater works harder in the winter to keep the water hot) What happens to your fish if you don’t get rid of the gas bubbles in the water? The same thing that happens to a diver when they don’t decompress properly, they get “the bends” the fish version of “the bends” looks exactly like Malawi Bloat and in extreme cases is treated the same way, with Clout. The gas bubbles in the water get trapped under the fish’s scales and causes the scales to appear raised (pine conned). These gases also get into the fish’s bloodstream. If you suspect that your fish have got GBD rather than Malawi Bloat then the first course of treatment is Epsom Salts and if that doesn’t improve the condition of the fish after a day or two, then use Clout.

Using the methods outlined in this guide for bloat will increase your fish’s chances of surviving Malawi Bloat dramatically. Even if your fish dies from the bloat, don’t feel too bad, it’s tough to beat even for the most experienced of fish keepers and the mention of Bloat makes most experienced fish keepers cringe because they know it’s a 50/50 chance the fish will live, even with treatment.

Does the home aquarium hobbyist contribute to conservation? The answer is yes, and more so than you might think.

It is a sad truth, but like many other things on this planet, some African Cichlids are endangered or extinct in the wild. How did it happen? Well, many years ago when white people took over Africa, they brought with them a very invasive, and aggressive species of Perch called the Nile Perch. Now because Cichlids are Perciforms (“perch like fish”) and so was the Nile Perch, they battled for dominance and completely wiped out some species of African Cichlids. It was one of the biggest man made blunders on that side of the world because it did not just wipe out African Cichlids, but pretty much any fish it could feasibly fight. It’s a very tough fish! Efforts to restore the balance have been ongoing, and tough. Hagen’s Nutrifin division is one of the more well known pet companies helping to conserve and restore Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganika, and Lake Malawi, the three major lakes where African Cichlids exist.

So, how does the Cichlid Hobbyist contribute to conservation? Some species of Cichlid exist only in the hobby and are extinct now. In essence, that means WE ARE the conservation effort! The home aquarist who raises and keeps endangered or rare Cichlids is the salvation of the species, in most cases. I dream of a day when we as hobbyists are the ones to safely, re-introduce these species to the wild. I personally raise some Red Tail “Species 44” a.k.a. “Thick Skin” these are beautiful Cichlids with yellow sides, red fins, blueish silver base color and dark black zebra stripes. It’s colors rival that of some saltwater species and yet, these fantastic looking Cichlids are extinct in the wild. Sometimes this fish is mistaken for the Haplochromis (Zebra) Obliquidens, or Zebra Oblique for short, but they are not the same. The Zebra Oblique is not quite as an attractive fish, but it too, is considered extinct in the wild, although, these two species are common in the aquarium hobby.

In conclusion, if you own or raise fish like this you are definitely not doing anything illegal, the opposite in fact, you may be their last hope, so be proud fellow African Cichlid Enthusiast, not only do you get to enjoy the beauty of these creatures, you get to save them too, just by keeping them! Makes for excellent bragging rights too!

Scientific Name: Cryptoheros nigrofasciatusCommon Name: Convict cichlid, zebra cichlid

Region: Central America (Guatemala, El Salvadore, Costa Rica & Panama)Size: Up to 6″ (15cm). Females are smaller

Color: White body, black vertical bars (hence the name convict). The stripes and any color on the belly become more pronounced during breeding. Males usually have darker stripes and pointier fins, are typically larger than the females, and fully mature males will have a bit of a hump on their head. Females have more color on their bellies, usually pink and green. There is also a pink albino strain.Water Chemistry: pH 6.0 - 8.0; medium hardnessTemperature: 68°- 80°F (20° to 27° C). Warmer water when breedingAggression: Aggressive, especially when mating. Compatibility: Aggressive, robust, larger fish (if you want them to live…)Diet: OmnivorousHow to breed: It would difficult to stop this fish from breeding. All you need is a pair, and they’ll do the rest! It’s a pleasure to watch these fish guard their fry.General Experience: Convicts were my introduction to the world of cichlid keeping. Needless to say, I was completely hooked. I was overjoyed when they started to breed, thinking I was going to make a million dollars by selling the babies. I was wrong of course, no one wanted them.

Anyhow, convicts are an excellent choice for a starter cichlid.  A pair of these in a well filtered 20 gallon aquarium, and you’re good to go!

Even though I quickly graduated on to nicer fish, I would still have to say that cichlids hold a special place in my heart. This is partly due to the fact that while I was spending some time in Honduras, we stopped off at a local river on the way home from a game of futbol (soccer).  There was an old algae-covered dam that we were climbing up and sliding down like a water slide. As I  reached the top of the dam, I looked down the water’s edge, and there about 12 inches below the surface was a wild pair of cichlids guarding their eggs on the wall of the dam. It was a pretty awesome experience!

Anyhow, feel free to leave your experiences in the comments!

Scientific name: ‘Cichlasoma’ octofasciatum

Common name: Jack dempsey, listed also as Nandopsis octofasciatum

Region: Central America - South Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras

Size: max 9 inches

Color: The coloration darkens as the fish matures, from light gray/tan with faint turquoise flecks, to a dark gray/purple. The flecks become very bright, and are usually iridescent blue, green, and gold. The dorsal and anal fins of mature males have long, pointed tips, similar to the convict cichlid. Females lack these long tips.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7-8, soft water

Temperature: 76-80 (26-28)

Aggression: Very Aggressive> It’s quite often difficult to find other fish that can be kept in the aquarium without becoming fish food!

Compatibility: Other large South American cichlids, that can hold their own in the fish tank.

Diet: Omnivorous

How to breed: Within a group, a pair can take up to a year to decide to pair off and breed. Give your Jack Dempseys as large a tank as possible. If the male gets too rough, the female needs room to get away. Provide plenty of cover, such as rocks, caves and fake plants (if you have to). They’re substrate spawners, and like many Central American cichlids, you can expect many fry! Both parents will help incubate the eggs and guard the fry when they hatch.

General: The Jack Dempsey cichlid is one of the most commonly known and kept cichlids (or tropical fish for that matter) in the aquarium. The Jack Dempsey cichlid is easy to care for in the aquarium but considered unsuitable for inexperienced aquarists, since it may be difficult to control its aggressive temperament/behaviour. Jack Dempsey cichlids are often kept in their own dedicated aquariums rather than community aquariums or habitat aquariums, but you are able to keep this cichlid with other species - if you select tank mates very carefully. Avoid standard community aquarium species, since they will be bullied by the Jack Dempsey cichlid.

Scientific name: Thorichthys meeki, formerly Cichlasoma meeki

Common name: Fire mouth, firemouth cichlid

Region: Central America - South Mexico to Guatemala

Size: max 6 inches (15 cm)

Color: The Fire Mouth cichlid is perhaps one of the most easily recognizable tropical fish. They are silvery-gray, with thick black vertical bands. The most distinct marker of this aquarium fish is their deep red throat and belly coloration. Males usually have darker colours and are usually plumper.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7-8, soft water

Temperature: 75-78

Aggression: relatively peaceful, except when spawning.

Compatibility: Stock with less aggressive, calmer companions, if placing this species in a community setup.

Diet: Omnivorous. Feed a high quality, varied diet for best coloration and health. The occasional earthworm will be appreciated by this fish!

How to breed: If you wish to breed Firemouths, you’re best to give them their own tank. It can be difficult to determine the sex of your Firemouths unless they’re already breeding, (females can look a lot like makes). Usually you can determine males by their “blowing up” displays.

Pairs spawn inside a cave, so if you haven’t any rock caves, supply a flower pot or pipe. Depending on the size of the female, up to a few hundred eggs may be laid. Usually the female will care for the eggs, males guarding the surrounding territory. The eggs hatch in about three days, and the female will deposit the young “wigglers” into a pre-dug depression. In a day or two they will be free-swimming.

The wigglers will survive for about a day on their yolk sacs, then can be fed finely ground flake foods or newly-hatched brine shrimp. You can grind flake food and mix it with water, or even try hard-boiled egg yolk in water. You may notice the parents supplying some of their food after being chewed up (like birds!). After two to three weeks, separate the young from the parents.

General: Firemouths are rather shy. You will not find them out in front, fighting for space nor food. Therefore, if you’re mixing with other cichlids, you should introduce them in pecking order, the more easygoing first. Rather than placing with other cichlids, you want to consider a Central American biotope setup instead; with fishes (arger characins (tetras) & catfishes), plants and maybe even invertebrates from the same region.

Scientific name: Amphilophus labiatus

Common name:Red Devil cichlid

Region: Central America - Nicaragua

Size: max 16 inches (40 cm)

Color: Different variations in color for the Red Devil Cichlid fish exist. You’ll see them in banded, red/orange, silver/red, yellow marbled, and even a ‘combination’ of these markings - resulting in a ‘Black Marbled’ coloration.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7.2-7.8, hard water

Temperature: 76-80

Aggression: highly aggressive

Compatibility: None. Well, not entirely, but almost. This aquarium fish is very aggressive, so if you’re going to keep it with anything, look for other tropical fish that can hold their own, such as Oscar cichlids or Jaguar cichlids.

Diet: Omnivorous.

How to breed: Sexing these cichlid fish is not that hard. Males will be longer in length than the females, and are much more powerfully built. Males also have a large growing bulge on the forehead, called a ‘Nuchal’ hump. Successfully keeping and spawning these highly aggressive, powerful aquarium fish, once adult sizes are achieved, is best attempted with the ‘partial divider’ method in six foot long fish tanks, to protect the females from male aggression. They will spawn on a flat rock and will defend the fry until they are free swimming.

General: The Red Devil cichlid definitely live up to their name. They have a tendency to hate pretty much every tank mate in the aquarium, and are very territorial. You may be best to keep one on its own.

Scientific name: Amphilophus citrinellus

Common name:Midas cichlid

Region: Central America - Nicaragua, the Atlantic side of Costa-Rica

Size: max 16 inches (40 cm). Males will grow a bit longer in length than the females of this Central American cichlid species, and are much more powerfully built, with a large growing bulge on the forehead being the norm called a ‘Nuchal’ hump.

Color: Different variations in color for the Midas Cichlid fish exist. You’ll see them in Banded, all Gold, Red/Silver and Gold mottled, and even a ‘combination’ of these markings - resulting in a ‘piebald’ coloration.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7.2-7.8, hard water

Temperature: 76-80

Aggression: highly aggressive

Compatibility: Just like the Red Devil cichlid, this tropical fish is very aggressive. So if you’re going to keep it with anything, look for other tropical fish that can hold their own, such as Oscar cichlids or Jaguar cichlids.

Diet: Omnivorous.

How to breed: Successfully keeping and spawning these highly aggressive, powerful aquarium fish, once adult sizes are achieved, is best attempted with the ‘partial divider’ method in six foot long fish tanks, to protect the females from male aggression. (this may be unnecessary, if the male seems to be calmer and more peaceful in disposition toward the female) They will spawn on a flat rock and will defend the fry until they are free swimming.

General: Choose the other aquarium fish carefully: several fellow cichlids and other smaller or similar-sized fish of Central America may have the effect of easing the the aggressive demeanor of the Midas cichlid.

Common name: Jaguar cichlid, guapote jaguar
Region: Nicaragua
Size: 16-20 inches wild, 14-16 in captivity
Color: silver with black spots
Water Chemistry:ph:7 (neutral)
Temperature: 75F
Aggression: very high
Compatibility: little, or no compatibility
Diet: pellets, frozen, crickets, live food
Breeding: breeds on flat rocks, similar to Jack Dempseys

General: This Nicaraguan cichlid is still somewhat uncommon, most are still wild caught, although there are some very nice captive bred lines available from reputable breeders. This particular cichlid has most of the traits found in other large New World species, but differs in a few ways from other large cichlids.

In the wild, this fish is a top predator. As juveniles they live in small ponds and lakes formed by the flooding of the rivers in the rainy season. As they grow to adults they move back into the rivers. They eat just about anything they can catch, even if the prey is bigger. They have been known to eat other cichlids, other fish species, piranha, and even birds.

In the aquarium, Jags are not particularly picky about water conditions. Due to their adult size, they need at least 120-150 gallons if not more. They prefer a neutral ph (around 7), and a temperature around 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but can stand higher or lower ph and temperature due to their natural ability to adapt to different conditions they experience in the wild. They can and will jump so the tank should be completely covered. They require a good filtration system, due to the amount of waste they put out. You can minimize the waste by feeding dried foods. Despite their resilience, they should be kept at optimum ph, temperature, and water quality in order to maintain a healthy, happy, beautiful specimen. The tank should not have any plants or delicate decorations, as they will destroy them. I prefer small black gravel, large rocks, and a large fake stump. The small black gravel helps their silver coloring to stand out, and I think this is important because the silver areas are where the color changes show best, depending on their mood. They also will scoop up the gravel in their mouths and move it around the tank. Anything that could get stuck in their mouths should be removed from the tank.

They are not very picky about foods. Some wild caught specimens will shy away from pellet food, either ignoring the food or repeatedly striking without eating. Given some time, they should take to pellet or frozen foods. Once adapted, I prefer to feed mine a diet of color enhancing cichlid pellets, crickets, and jumbo nightcrawlers. They will often strike pellet foods several times before they actually eat them. They love live feeder fish, and will grow very quickly this way, but feeders are often caught in huge wild batches and could potentially have any number of diseases. If you choose to feed your Jaguar this way, the best way is to set up a second feeder tank and quarantine the feeders for at least two weeks. Feeders should also be small enough for the Jags to swallow, as they will brutally and repeatedly attack large feeders, often times leaving them alive but missing their tail or parts of their abdomen and left to die inhumanely. I have found that they will grow just as well on pellet and frozen foods. Crickets and worms are also excellent foods, and they don’t carry any diseases that can be passed on to your fish. They will hit crickets HARD! I have even seen juveniles jump and catch flies that passed too low over the tank, which is why they need to be kept in covered tanks.

Jags do not like tank mates, I learned the hard way many years ago with my first two Jags, waking up in the morning to find that my four inch jags had killed two of my five inch peacock bass, and a six inch albino channel cat in a 200 gallon tank. I then moved the two Jags to a 50 gallon tank, where one of the jags killed the other. They don’t care about territory, they just kill anything they can get to, even each other. I have not tried any other fish, since they kill just to kill, often times not even eating their kill. Even other aggressive cichlids will fall prey to the canine fangs of the Jaguar cichlid.

When breeding the fish, you should first sex the fish. The Males show more color and tend to have longer fins, but when sexing for breeding a comparison against other Jags is necessary to be sure. If you introduce a male to another male or female to female the strongest one will kill the other so be sure you have a male and a female, at least four years old. The female will lay its eggs on a flat rock and both the male an female will defend the eggs with their lives. After the fry are born, both parents should immediately be removed. The fry can be fed with special gel type foods made specifically for that purpose. Since this fish get so large and cannot be kept with others, it is not a great idea to breed them unless you are breeding them for sale. If selling, you should make aware to the buyer, the requirements needed to be a responsible owner.

This is a really awesome, unique fish to raise from young, but there are downsides to having such an aggressive fish.. They are a primarily silver fish with thick black spots. The spots will stand out more as they get older. This cichlid, like many, can change its colors. They often show a beautiful bluish-purple in their fins and sometimes even an orange-red hue if the fish is angry or threatened. They have orange eyes that light up like fire when they are angry, and can also flare their gills and mouth to make them appear bigger. They hit their food, even pellets, very hard. These fish make even the meanest Oscar look like a kitten. Care should be taken when cleaning the tank because a bite from a Jag is very painful. I have been bitten by a 14 inch piranha and a 9 inch Jag, and I would take the piranha bite any day over the Jag. When they are about 4 inches long their lower fangs start to become more prominent. They will not hesitate to use them if you stick your hand in the tank. I have experience with many aggressive cichlids and this is not only the most aggressive cichlid, but the most aggressive fish I have ever raised, including piranha. Most cichlid fans like cichlids because of their predatory behavior and looks, their beauty, and size. The Jag has all of these. This is definitely the “baddest” fish I have ever had, and has a very unique look. They are immediately recognizable, and they get more beautiful the older they get. Some view this fish as plain due to its black and silver coloring, but they show many colors, depending on their moods. Since they grow so large, are so aggressive, and require so much space and filtration, only experienced people with the knowledge and means to care for a fish like this should own one. The name Jaguar doesn’t just describe the spots on the fish, but their temper and ferocity as well. If you love cichlids and can meet these requirements, I guarantee you will not be disappointed with this cichlid.

Amphilophus
Amphilophus alfari
Amphilophus amarillo
Amphilophus altifrons
Amphilophus bussingi
Amphilophus calobrensis
Amphilophus citrinellus
Amphilophus diquis
Amphilophus hogaboomorum
Amphilophus labiatus
Amphilophus longimanus
Amphilophus lyonsi
Amphilophus macracanthus
Amphilophus margaritifer
Amphilophus nourissati
Amphilophus rhytisma
Amphilophus robertsoni
Amphilophus rostratus
Amphilophus sagittae
Amphilophus xiloaensis
Amphilophus zaliosus

Vieja
Vieja argentea
Vieja bifasciata
Vieja breidohri
Vieja fenestrata
Vieja godmanni
Vieja guttulata
Vieja hartwegi
Vieja heterospila
Vieja intermedia
Vieja maculicauda
Vieja melanurus
Vieja microphthalmus
Vieja regani
Vieja synspila
Vieja tuyrensis
Vieja zonata

Scientific name: Astronotus ocellatus

Common name: Oscar cichlid, red oscar, tiger oscar, velvet cichlid

Region: South & Central America - Rio Ucayali drainage & upper Amazon river of Peru and Brazil

Size: 12-15 inches

Color: Ocellatus is Latin for spotted, referring to the spotted pattern of the Oscar’s body. Oscar can vary from olive-green to gray to chocolate brown in base color, but most often a dark brown or black. Black spots surrounded by an orange or red ring on the base of the upper caudal peduncle are characteristic of the Oscar.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7, soft water

Temperature: 72-80 (24-28)

Aggression: Aggressive (which is sadly the reason this is one of the most commonly purchased tropical fish.

Compatibility: Other large South American cichlids

Diet: Carnivorous

How to breed: It is very difficult to sex Oscars from external characteristics, so you’ll have to keep a colony, and hope that a pair develops. A breeding pair of Oscars will prepare a breeding area, such as a flat stone or slate. A single spawning may consist of around 2000 eggs, and will usually hatch within 3 to 4 days.

General: The oscar is one of the most commonly kept cichlids (or tropical fish for that matter) in the aquarium. Their reputation is strong, so much so that people who’ve never heard of cichlids still know what an Oscar is! I remember fondly the day I heard a PetSmart employee telling a group of kids how the ‘Oscar is closely related to a Piranha’. Just make sure that if you’re keeping Oscar cichlids in your fish tank, that you’re prepared to buy lots of fish food, and do plenty of water changes!