I have seen some amazing looking fish from Lake Malawi in africa, with better color then just about any salt water fish, plus they are really really agressive, which I personally liked a lot, it's fun watching the fish fight for what rocks and caves they claim it's quite interesting...But the fish you showed does not represent all cichlids by any means. But I hear ya, you're already into the salt water thing cuz of money spent, totally understand that. It just takes time, you'll pick it up after a few trials, you gotta learn sometime.
One of the most colorful freshwater aquarium fish is the African cichlid. This beautifully patterned fish comes in an array of colors that are not typical to most freshwater fish.
The African cichlid is an aggressive fish which should not be kept with other species of fish. The book entitled "Tropical Fish - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual", published in 1982 by Grafe and Unzer gmbH, says mature cichlids guard their territory and can even behave hostilely towards other cichlids. The largest cichlid in the aquarium is usually the dominate one and will behave aggressively towards all of the other fish. The same book says the smallest cichlid in the aquarium is sometimes attacked and killed by the larger, more dominate fish. Newly introduced fish will often become victims of attack because no open territories are available. "Tropical Fish - A Complete Pet Owner's Manual" suggests providing places to hide such as rock formations and sturdy plants. Large shells also make great hiding places for smaller cichlids.
Last edited by [LoD]Torak; 05/25/04 02:06 AM.
