ID and info please

[Rivers2k]

LFS has a pair of these labeled Cichlasoma Amazonian they are full grown but the guy at the store didn't know much about them except they were very passive. This pic is from google image not mine. The only thing google gave me was this pic no info to be found. I am wondering is this the proper name and what is it? Looks sort of like Aequidense metea but without the black facial markings. They were in breeding dress so the colors were spectacular. Not knowing what they were I decided to pass cause after they breed I don't want a pair of drab looking fish if colors fade away. They were about 6" very thick bright yellow top and tail with a bright white belly. male had iridescent blue and green under the eye near the mouth.

 

[ryansmith83]

The proper name is Cichlasoma amazonarum. They are one of the port cichlids, like C. portalegrense, C. dimerus, etc. They are all pretty similar in care and requirements. They're very adaptable to water parameters. Basically just give them clean water, good food, and they are easy. They breed small, at 3 - 4", but will usually grow 6 - 8" depending on the species. They are not super aggressive but they can be pushy so I usually keep them with similarly sized fish in a larger tank, though I have kept young pairs in 55s with no issues.

Unfortunately they are what most people would consider drab by cichlid standards. The most attractive ones to me are C. dimerus which usually have a nice blue-green iridescent sheen on the scales. A couple of the species are basically just brown with black markings and yellow-tinged fins.

 

[Rivers2k]

Thank you for the info. I have talked myself out of buying them. There are just so many fish and not enough tanks. They do seem like great fish tough.

 

[duanes]

I've been growing out some Cichlasoma dimerus over the winter, and find them to be an interesting, non-aggressive species, albeit not the most colorful. Since mine are location "Bella Union" from northern Uruguay, my plan is to put them in the pond next month, and hope to have them spawn like nothos did last summer.

 

[Rivers2k]

Those look great Duanes. The LFS had some non breeding ones that just looks brown so i decided not to go for them. The breeding colors are really good looking though.