Marine cichlid?

[Deadeye]

Gonna guess this is a no, and I don’t plan on trying anything...kinda just a curiosity question.

Is there any cichlid that can live its life in marine?

I ask because I know certain viejas migrate into the ocean occasionally for food, so I would assume they have quite a good salt tolerance. And then chromides are brackish. And then there’s the convict blenny (actually a cichliforme but not a true cichlid).
I’ve also read that rift lake guys have a tolerance but not for long.
Should I just be content with damsels (dwarf, convict, and mbuna equivalent), tangs (severum), and angels (the big cichlids) as the closest thing to a marine cichlid?

 

[..puSkar..]

Gonna guess this is a no, and I don’t plan on trying anything...kinda just a curiosity question.

Is there any cichlid that can live its life in marine?

I ask because I know certain viejas migrate into the ocean occasionally for food, so I would assume they have quite a good salt tolerance. And then chromides are brackish. And then there’s the convict blenny (actually a cichliforme but not a true cichlid).
I’ve also read that rift lake guys have a tolerance but not for long.
Should I just be content with damsels (dwarf, convict, and mbuna equivalent), tangs (severum), and angels (the big cichlids) as the closest thing to a marine cichlid?

Don't quote me on this but marine angels, freshwater angels and mono angels, mono sebae seems to be very much connected on evolutionary basis.
Also the Madagascar dambe cichlids look very much like the marine parrots with their rabbit like teeth. Would have to test their dna do a evolutionary analysis for solid evidence.

 

[Deadeye]

Don't quote me on this but marine angels, freshwater angels and mono angels, mono sebae seems to be very much connected on evolutionary basis.
Also the Madagascar dambe cichlids look very much like the marine parrots with their rabbit like teeth. Would have to test their dna do a evolutionary analysis for solid evidence.

I do remember reading that there is an evolutionary connection between blennies, gobies, cichlids, damsels, and a few others were all under one category.
Just found the page:

Ovalentaria - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[duanes]

There is a sub-species of Mayaheros uropthalmus that lives in the marine waters around Isla de Mujeres Mexico.
First described as Cichlasoma troschelii.
This subspecies has adapted over millennia, so trying to put a normal species uropthalmus into a marine tank may not be prudent, although many live in brackish habitats.

There is also Alcolapia alcalicus (and a few others of the genus) that come come Lake Natron and its satellites, which are a soda lakes, and in some parts are saltier than the ocean (also very warm @ 90" F water temp).
Most Alcolapia live in the areas where fresh water streams feed the lake.


Above, Alcolapia spawning in my tank. pH 8, 250ppm hardness, 3ppt salinity, temp in high 80sF.

 

[Rocksor]

i forget which researcher did this, but he was able to acclimatize black belt viejas to full marine water over time. Based on the cortisol levels, he thinks they could stay that way for more than a few days. Quite possibly in a marine aquarium for life There were other cichlids that he looked at like convicts and jack dempseys in his study as well as goldfish.

 

[FJB]

Not completely natural, but the adaptability is certainly there. Several of the Tilapiinae cichlids are routinely aquacultured in marine enclosures for human food. Tilapia aureum (genus may have changed) is one that comes to mind, as well as hybrids including aureum blood lines. I have witnessed harvesting of these in estuarine, as well as in full marine waters.

 

[The Morning]

Not that I would recommend it but I have seen a salt water tank with both traditional salt fish and African cichlids.

 

[tlindsey]

I often wondered about African Malawian Cichlids because of the colors being Marine like but I wouldn't mix them with Saltwater fish.

 

[Deadeye]

I often wondered about African Malawian Cichlids because of the colors being Marine like but I wouldn't mix them with Saltwater fish.

I’ve seen vids and pics, from what I’ve read they don’t last more than a few months. It’s gotta look cool for the short while though.

 

[mattybecks]

In Dubai there seems to be a lot of Mozambique Tilapia and Blue Tilapia in the both freshwater lakes and dams, as well as in the ocean. I have seen both species, and what looks like hybrids of them in full freshwater and full marine, along with their fry in both freshwater and marine. All the lakes here are man made (and not connected to the ocean. They are also quite far from the ocean, so I am guessing all these tilapia have been introduced).

As I have seen the fry in both fresh water and marine, it seems like they can breed and live pretty much anywhere. They are remarkably resilient/adaptable fish.

Summer time, (now) the oceans temps here are currently 33 degrees at night when I go, and the lakes have reached up to 37 C here when I visited in the evenings.
In winter the oceans gets to 18 C (the coldest I have experienced), with the night time temps in the desert hitting 10C, and sometimes even reaching 0 C in the mountains in the north of the country. (so I imagine the lakes to be around 16 - 19C. I havent measured the water of the lakes in winter yet)