Arrow midas cichlid

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a robust midas-type cichlid from a single Nicaraguan crater lake, and it behaves like its larger relatives: strong, territorial, and best kept as a bonded pair or a single fish rather than a group. It swims mostly in the lower half of the tank and becomes very defensive around a chosen spawning site, so give it space and choose tankmates with caution, favoring other sturdy Central American cichlids over anything small or timid. Feed a varied omnivore diet of quality pellets plus frozen foods, with some vegetable matter. Because pairs need room to hold a territory, give it at least 450 liters with rock ledges and open floor.

In the wild

It is found only in Lake Xiloa, a small crater lake in western Nicaragua, where it lives over sand near rocky slopes at moderate depth. Match the crater-lake water with a neutral to hard, slightly alkaline chemistry around pH 7.0 to 8.2 and a warm 24 to 29 C. Build the tank around solid rock structure and ledges for spawning caves, with a sand floor and enough open water for a fish that also ventures away from cover.

Good to know

This member of the cichlid family reaches around 19 cm and belongs to the midas cichlid complex of the Nicaraguan lakes. Its name sagittae is Latin for arrow, describing a slimmer, more streamlined body than the other midas cichlids of Lake Xiloa. It comes in a normal barred form and a bright gold morph, and it is a cave-spawning, pair-bonding fish of moderate breeding difficulty.

Did you know

Lake Xiloa is a young crater lake, and its midas cichlids are a textbook example of species still forming. In this fish, gold and dark individuals sometimes pair up together, one reason biologists study the flock so closely.

Common questions

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