Jaguar cichlid

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep one fish on its own or a single proven pair, nothing else, in a tank of 450 liters or larger. It is aggressive and territorial, holding the middle of the water column, and it eats any tankmate small enough to swallow. Hold the water at 24 to 28 C with a pH from 7 to 8.5, and fit a tight lid since a startled adult can shove the cover aside. Feed meaty foods like pellets for large cichlids, earthworms, and the occasional whole frozen item, and skip feeder fish to avoid disease. Strong filtration is not optional given how much waste a fish this size puts out.

In the wild

Jaguar cichlids come from warm lakes, rivers, and slow backwaters across Central America, from Honduras down through Costa Rica. These are large, open waters with sand or gravel bottoms, sunken wood, and rock, where a big predator has room to hold a territory. To match that, give them a tank of at least 450 liters with a fine sand or gravel floor they can dig, rockwork and caves to mark territory boundaries, and strong filtration to keep up with the heavy waste. Keep the water warm at 24 to 28 C and run the pH from 7 to 8.5.

Good to know

This is a large predatory cichlid in the family Cichlidae, reaching about 40 cm as an adult. It is a substrate spawner that breeds easily as a pair and guards the eggs and fry hard. A healthy fish can live well over a decade. Most in the trade are tank bred.

Did you know

The spotted, broken pattern that gives the jaguar cichlid its name shifts as the fish grows. Juveniles wear plain bars and blotches, then break up into the dense leopard-like spotting as adults, and a spawning pair often darkens right down to near black while guarding fry.

Related species

• Red tiger motaguense

  Parachromis motaguensis

  11.8 in (30 cm)100 gal (380 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Wolf cichlid

  Parachromis dovii

  27.6 in (70 cm)250 gal (946 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Flowerhorn cichlid

  Amphilophus hybrid

  15.7 in (40 cm)90 gal (340 L)77–88°F (25–31°C)

• 

  Redhead Cichlid

  Vieja melanurus

  14.6 in (37 cm)75 gal (285 L)77–82°F (25–28°C)
• True red terror

  Mesoheros festae

  17.7 in (45 cm)151 gal (570 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Midas Cichlid

  Amphilophus citrinellus

  13.8 in (35 cm)79 gal (300 L)70–79°F (21–26°C)