Jaguar Cichlid

Jaguar Cichlid

Parachromis Managuensis

The Jaguar Cichlid is a classic in the cichlid hobby, a hardy heavyweight of a fish, with stunning patterning and personable behaviour.

Locale: Found in much of Central America due to introduction, they are believed to originate from Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, but can be found many places overseas - found in a variety of habitats from shallow blackwater river branches to fast flowing river mouths that enter estuarine waters, having a low salt content that the Jaguars have become tolerant to.

Fun fact: Jaguar Cichlids are known to get quite large, in aquaria they often reach 30cms, occasionally even 40cms, however the largest Jaguar Cichlid ever on record was a 58cm Male!

Care:

Care difficulty - Intermediate

Temperament - Relatively Aggressive, best kept with larger South and Central American Cichlids, can be aggressive so a 6ft x 2ft x 2ft (183cm x 61cm x 61cm) is ideal.

Adult size - Commonly reaches 30-35cms, but has been known to surpass 40cm rarely.

Diet - Piscivorous; in the wild Jaguar Cichlids feeds on a variety of characins, catfish and invertebrates that they share the waters with, this is easily replicated however through American Cichlid pellets and Predatory fish pellets with high protein frozen foods supplemented once or twice a fortnight.

Habitat - An extremely unfussy cichlid in terms of habitat due to living in such a variety of environments in the wild, any typical Central American cichlid environment, a fine to coarse gravel coupled with darker rocks to create blind spots to mitigate aggression is optimal.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 24-26°c

pH: 6–7.5

GH: 6-15

KH: 1-4

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.