Cichlids..... Part 1

Any of you into fish? I used to have 7 tanks going almost all of the fish were central or south american cichlids. They're full of personality and about as colorful as you can get with freshwater fish. Most are very hardy and do well for people who have had trouble keeping fish alive in the past.

 I started out with common types of fish like gouramis and tetras. They would always get sick and die, mostly due to my inexperience. At that point they were more of a living decoration so it wasn't a big deal except I would feel bad for them. Then I got a red devil. He was small at first but grew fast and was the unchallenged king of the tank. Very aggressive but entertaining to watch and also seemed to have some level of intelligence. Next I got a jaguar cichlid and he was a ferocious beast. At 2 inches I would feed him a rosy red as long as him and he'd spend hours chocking it down while chasing the other fish. These were more like pets to me than just something pretty to look at.

jags, like most CA/SA cichlids will flare their gills as a sign of aggression

this poor jag got owned by a blue heron

beautiful marks on this jag

jags are greedy, i've seen mine with 5 goldfish in his mouth at one and was trying to fit another. pic from aquamojo.com

huge mouth and a bad attitude

stretching his lips

Large male red devil preparing a nest

two juvenile red devils trying to show dominance

family photo. mom on the right dad on the left and babies all around

red devil vs wolf cichlid(i think)

red devil whooping up on a texas cichlid

most large cichlids destroy plants, even artificial ones

beautiful red devil

giving a "kiss"

probably chasing a mate

red devils fanning their eggs