Festae (aka. Red Terror )
As for scientific names cichlids
go through them like there going out of style!!... that's why this fish
is more commonly known as the Festae which is the later part of it's scientific
name and the only part of it's scientific name that it keep's.. the Festae
has gone through many generic names like Cichlasoma, Parapentenia, Pentenia,
Nandopis and probably many others.. i suppose your wanting a pic by now
so here it is...
Photo from JAWS
so what do you think?? pretty cool
huh??
after seeing this u will also realise
that the background image is also a Festae....ok while i'm on the topic
of the Festae i will introduce another cichlid species.. the Infamous Fake
Festae.. this is because these two fish both have the same common
name and look some what identical bar a couple of features.. and as the
Festae is obviously more superior, this other fish which i'm about to introduce
too got branded with the name Fake Festae.... oh well her it is the next
fish on my list
Urophthalmus (aka. Fake Festae, Red Terror, Uro)
Ok as for scientific names the same
goes for this fish as the Festae.. but Urophthalmus is the last part of
the name that it keeps....
there are several ways to tell,
apart these two similar species... the first and most popular is the eye
spot on there tail.. it's simple the Uro's eye spot covers almost all the
cudal part... and a Festae's only covers about half... though i do have
a Festae that as an eye spot which crosses the halfway mark so if the eye
spot is a bit iffy look to the next method (u should be able
to see the difference in the two species from the pic of the Festae above
and the pic of the Uro below) ...the next method being the
dark vertical bars.. a Festae has one broken "Y" shaped bar near it's head...
kinda like a convict.. and the Uro obviously doesn't have this "Y" shaped
bar (use the two pic's to compare) there is also the matter
of colour a Festae will "NORMALLY" show much more colour than
a Uro but this is not always the case..... anyway here is the pic
Photo by Mark Beckberger
see how the eye spot is overly
big and there is no "Y" shaped bar?
ok next fish....
Trimaculatum
(aka. Trimac or Three Spot Cichlid)
ok this is another one of my favorites..
well there all my favorites that's why there on my page.... but here goes..
i this cichlid can get mighty big and mighty fast.... it's quite
a nice looking fish... but it requires a person of a special nature to
find it a beautiful fish... though most fish that are a little lack make
up heaps in character... the Trimac does that exactly... it is one of the
more Aggressive cichlids.. it's actually probably number 6 in the most
aggressive cichlid list... so i guess this fish isn't your average tetra....
here is a pic of Jeff Rapps prize winning 14" Trimac...
Photo by CNP at The
Cichlid Scene
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
ok on we go...
Splendadia
(aka. Bay Snook , Red Bay Snook or Snooks)
i like to call them Snooks and
hardly anyone calls them Splendadia but i'm just listing all the fish using
the scientific name that stay's with them no matter what genus they are
moved to next... the Snook is a rather peaceful cichlid ....as far as a
peaceful cichlid can get..... that's one of those Oxymoron's... where two
parts of a saying contradict each other.. i mean most people will say how
can u have a peaceful cichlid... anyway there's a little bit of English
that i can pass on to you.. it's probably the only bit i learnt in 13 years
of School... anyway back to fish.... this is a Big fish as well reaching
about 24" for males and 16" for females... so therefore this cichlids probably
the biggest wuss in the cichlid world.. both new and old... though in telling
u this this isn't always true like all fish it depends on there nature..
but for the snooks an aggressive specimen is an exception rather than the
rule... it is also one of the rarer kept cichlids... it comes in 2 natural
forms ...a Red form and an ordinary form....
here is a pic of the red form
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
please continue...
Umbriferum
(aka. Umbie, Blue Freckled Cichlid )
now the Umbie... this i would have
to say is the King ...forget Elvis... meet the Umbriferum..... the Umbie
has the potential to grow 36+"
but they need a very very large
tank and i'd be suggesting about 1000 gals for a 3 ft Umbie..... they are
also one of the most stunning cichlids ever... whilst they are the ugliest
cichlids ever from eggs till about 16" after that they look awesome......
i guess there size makes them awesome more than there looks... but
the size enhances there looks 100 times... this is also No. 1 on my aggressive
cichlid list..... but whilst it's No. 1 it doesn't become aggressive till
it reaches a good 16" before that there still aggressive but nothing compared
to when there 24+" it's multiplied 100 times just like there looks.. maybe
as the look better they get more confidant.... but i'm not a fish shrink
so i dunno...
here is a pic..
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
Dovii
(aka. Wolf Cichlid)
this is The Dovii.... probably
a cichlid with the largest reputation due to people like Jeff Rapps hauling
beast's to fish shows around america and also al ot of fishy stories...
one of the aspects of it's reputation is it's character ....... another
aspect is it's aggression and it's huge mouthful of teeth.. this is the
3rd biggest cichlid and No. 2 on the aggression list... here is a short
article on a dovii's ....meet Pablo
here's some pic's
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
this is a typical Dovii male...
notice the spots....
Photo from Aquaria
Central
This is a typical female Dovii
notice the lack of spot's and the really solid horizontal bar.. much more
defined than the males...
Managuenese
(aka. Jaguar Cichlid)
This is one of the more common
large cichlids..... being a favorite for many.... this is mainly due to
it's outstanding colour pattern and character.... this cichlid can grow
quite large reaching 16" there are two forms a gold form and normal white
form ....here are some pic's.. This is the normal
white form of the Jaguar....
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
This is the gold form...
Photo by CNP at The
Cichlid Scene
This is the gold form...
Haitiensis
(aka. Black Nasty or Odo)
This is another rare cichlid...
but also one of my favorites... and i would definitely have these in my
tanks if i could get them... but due to Australian import laws... i have
been denied the pleasure of keeping this awesome cichlid.... it is generally
small in size but has the capability of reaching 16" as proven by Jeff
Rapps who showed a 16 " male.... here is a pic of it..
Photo by CNP at The
Cichlid Scene
Beani
(aka. Green Guapote)
This is another one of my Favorites
that i cant have cause of our stupid import laws...... well i suppose there
not stupid.. their there for a reason... and there only stupid when i want
a fish i can get..... this is another fish that isn't huge in the hobby
but yet ...it should be.. it's hard to say what the attraction is for this
fish..... but yet it truly is an awe inspiring cichlid... here are some
pic's....
Photo from JAWS
ok keep moving on...
these next four fish are from a
group i like to call the small Guapote...... they aren't really small at
all... but with a maximum size of 12" for Guapotes they are considered
small.... all these fish have are a close relation to the popular Jaguar
Cichlid...
Motaguense
(aka. Red Tiger Cichlid or Mot's)
this fish is probably the most
common and most popular small guapote..and also the most aggressive.. here
is a article on breeding
Mot's ...there is also another article here..... here are some pic's..
Photo from Real
Cichlids Don't Eat Quiche
Friedrichsthalii
(aka. Freddy)
this is another favorite of mine...
and i'm even lucky enough to be able to keep them..... but!!! it's still
bloody hard to find any... and i have been on the look out for quite sometime
now.... Freddy has probably the best markings of all the small guapotes...
well at least that's what i think... have a look for your self..
Photo from The Cichlid Aquarium by Dr Paul
Loiselle, Tetra Press 1985 at
One
Fish Two fish
Loisellei
The Loisellei is very similar to
the Freddy and is often sold mistakenly as Friedrichsthalii.... but they
wont make that mistake here as you aren't able to get Loisellei in Australia
yet ...this is another fish i would have if i could get it.... it's bright
orange colour is awesome... have a look..
Photo from JAWS
Tetracanthus
(aka. The Cuban or Cuban Cichlid)
i used to think this cichlid boring...
but since seeing a number of specimens i have definitely changed my mind....
this cichlid look a lot like the Jaguar... and not so much like the three
Cichlids above... it is the only one of the four to get some Blue colour...
here are some pic's..
Photo from The Cichlid Aquarium by Dr Paul
Loiselle, Tetra Press 1985 at
One
Fish Two fish
These next group of cichlids are
all very similar.... and often crossbreed..... so i must stress that they
be kept together only if all are males or all are females!!.... this group
in general is more peaceful than the larger guapotes..... i don't know
a lot about these cichlids but here's some picks... and a little of what
i do know..
Bifaciatus
(aka. Red Spot Cichlid or Bi)
One of my favorites of this group.....
they also grow like weeds.. my 1" Bi grew to 3" in two weeks....
here are some pic's
Photo from The
Cichlid Room Companion
Synspilum
(aka. Red Headed Cichlid or Quetzal)
this is probably the most popular
in the hobby of this group...
Photo from The Cichlid Aquarium by Dr Paul
Loiselle, Tetra Press 1985
Robertstoni
Photo by CNP at The
Cichlid Scene
Carpintis
Cyanoguttatum
Godmani
Photo from Aqua
Geograhpia
Nicaraguense
This is another cichlid from the
great lake Nicaragua home of many of the great guapotes... e.g Dovii....
apparently these cichlids will form groups of females all caring for a
large group of fry.... the Nicaraguese will also take care of Dovii fry.......for
the fact that the large Dovii will hunt down another species of cichlid
the Neet.. or neetroplus nematopus the Nicaraguense has to compete for
terratory with this fish....and the more Dovii the less Neets there are........
pretty smart huh.... anyway here is a pic..
Photo from Aqua
Geograhpia
Nematopus
South Americans
Rivulatus
(aka. Green Terror, Flame Tail, Gold Saum or Silver Saum)
now this species is one subject
to a lot of confusion... and i will try at straighten it out.... there
first Green Terror to enter the hobby was small with a maximum length of
about 6" it's scientific name was Aquidens Rivulatus... it looked a lot
like the blue Acara but it was green..... then there was a new fish going
round which was also being called the Green Terror though this new fish
grew to a maximum of 12" and also had a brightly coloured tail... there
was even more confusion when this new fish was found to have two different
colour variations one with a Gold tail and one with a White tail.... these
two different colour variations where due to different colonies of this
species living in different areas.... the new fish's scientific name was
Aquidens species cf. Rivulatus.... and this is the fish i'm going to show
you.. this fish i find isn't very aggressive like it's name sake... and
is actually quite placid and shy.. Green Terrors will also mature
sexually at a young age.... my pair spawned 2 weeks after i got them at
1.5" and 2.5".. they are also quite easy to sex as the females look very
different from the males.. the males genrally being more colorful..
Photo by David Wong from The
Cichlid Room Companion
Ocellaris
(aka. Peacock Bass, Pavon or Cichla)
This is another one of my many
favorites that i cant have...again it would cause to much trouble if released
in my country...these guy's grow incredibly fast...i was told fry were
2": within 1 month....i dunno about u guy's but my Green Terror fry i manage
to breed take 2 months to reach 1cm....i have also herd that Pavons are
one of the best sporting fish...
Photo from The Cichlid Aquarium by Dr Paul
Loiselle, Tetra Press 1985 at
One
Fish Two fish
Temensis
Photo by Ron Looi from Ron
Looi's Peacock Bass Page
Second Photo from http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/chin/fishlinks.html
Orinocensis
Photo by Ron Looi from Ron
Looi's Peacock Bass Page
Monoculas
Photo by Ron Looi from Ron
Looi's Peacock Bass Page
Surinanensis
These guy's look pretty cool when
full grown at 12" in length..there probably the largest out of all the
Geophagus genus....
Phot by Vinny Kutty from Mostly
Cichlids
Tuba
Brasiliansis
Severum
Photo from
Ron Coleman from CHOP
Salvini