Red tiger motaguense

Care at a glance

Overview

A single adult needs a tank of at least 380 liters at 24 to 28 C and pH 7.0 to 8.0. Provide rockwork and driftwood, and expect heavy territorial behavior. Feed a varied predator diet of pellets and frozen foods, and skip live feeder fish. Keep it alone or only with robust cichlids in a very large tank.

In the wild

The red tiger motaguense lives in rivers of Guatemala and Honduras, including the Motagua River. It occupies moderate to fast-flowing reaches with cover. This is a large, fast-growing predator with a strong temper. It needs a spacious tank and tough tankmates or none at all.

Good to know

Parachromis motaguensis was described by Gunther in 1867 and reaches about 30 cm, with some aquarium fish larger. The red tiger strain shows a red-orange base broken by dark tiger barring. It is among the more aggressive Central American cichlids and can live over ten years.

Did you know

It is sometimes called the false yellowjacket, since it is easily confused with the true yellowjacket cichlid, Parachromis friedrichsthalii.

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