Non African cave dwelling cichlid

[tiger15]

There are many cave dwellers from Africa including rift lake cichlids and west Africa Kribensis. Are there equivalent cave dwellers from CA and SA. I’m not aware of any.

 

[Deadeye]

Salvini are known to hide. Not sure if they are specifically cave dwelling like mbunas, but they are probably one of the closest.

 

[tiger15]

Salvini stay out in open when they are dominant. There are many SA/CA that hide when they are subordinate, but that doesn’t make them cave dweller. True cave dwellers stay most time in and out of caves, and even spawn inside caves.

 

[ryansmith83]

Apistos will spawn in caves but they don’t stay there. In theory any of the fish who take shelter in leaf litter or driftwood trunks would use makeshift caves, like Crenicichla or Acaronia.

 

[RD.]

H. carpintis have been reported as using caves and overhangs in the mud banks, but again aren't classified as true cave dwellers. My male carpintis which is the dom fish in the tank, uses a cave when darkness falls on the tank. I would suspect that this species demonstrates similar behavior in the wild. Part of their survival mechanism, not just dominant/subdominant behavior. No doubt that a lot of CA/SA fish would fall into this group. True cave fish? Not sure if the Rift Lake cichlids even fall into that category? Adult Amphilophus also spend a great deal of time in rock caves, when spawning, or not feeding, probably as much as some of the Rift Lake cichlids. I guess it depends how specific you are considering a cave fish.

 

[tiger15]

My image of cave dwellers are Krebensis, Lamprologus and Julidochromis species that spend their time in and out of caves and raise young inside. Tanganyikan shell dwellers are special kind of cave dwellers that live in shells. They are small African cichlid so it’s easy to replicate their rocky habitat in the aquarium. Many CA/SA will lay eggs inside a flower pot, but that doesn’t make them cave dweller as they spend most time in open water. Dwarf SA cichlid are open spawners that live among vegetation and drift wood, and there aren’t rocky caves in their natural habitat.