Jaguar Cichlid – 5cm

The Jaguar Cichlid is a highly predatory species which feeds mainly on small fishes. As it grows very large (length and girth), a large aquarium is needed.  You need to have powerful filtration to match the aquarium size/volume.

The common name of the long, oval-shaped strong Jaguar cichlid comes from scales that give the body a yellow-bronze color decorated with black markings – resembling a Jaguar pelt. Like most cichlids, they also change color as they mature, with young being a drab silver color. At maturity, the dull silver changes to dark black on the males but are somewhat lighter on females. The lower lip has two to four small incisor teeth.

Tank Conditions

You can decorate the tank with some plants, rocks, and driftwood. For vegetation, stick to floating aquarium plants or root plants that are heavily protected with pots. Jaguar Cichlids love to uproot plants and cause destruction in your tank. So, make sure everything is secured and safe.

Rocks, caves, and pieces of driftwood are great, too. They can provide some nice hiding spots. A large hide is a great addition to the aquarium for Jaguar Cichlids.

Care:

Provide a substrate of soft sand or small rounded gravel. They sometimes like to dig and the sand will allow them to do that safely.

Avoid gravel and rough rocks that they can fit into their mouth. These could cause digestive issues or injuries if your fish decide to swallow a piece of rock.

Sizeable pieces of driftwood and rocks/slate can be used to create sheltered areas, but these should be made secure as these cichlids can easily move decorations around. Bonding pieces of rock together with aquarium hardscape glue prior to filling the tank is sensible. Robust planting such as Anubias  and Java Fern cultivated on wood (rooted plants will be dug up) can be used to create further shady hiding places.  You can safely attach plants to decor such as rocks or wood using plant glue.

Partial water changes should be carried out on a frequent basis to help keep nitrate to a minimum.

This is a highly aggressive species which is best maintained singly or as an established male-female pair. They are intolerant of their own kind, but can usually be combined with other robust cichlids, if the aquarium is particularly spacious and has a plethora of visual barriers.

This breed of fish is happiest with dim-medium lighting but light levels can be brighter if diffused by plants/decor.  Moon Lamps are probably the best type of lighting for this type of fish.

Feeding

Offer a variety of meaty frozen foods. Smaller specimens will take white mosquito larvae, bloodworm, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp. Larger fish will take krill, prawns, crayfish meat, lancefish, silversides, whitebait etc.

Good quality and appropriately sized cichlid pellets should also be provided.