Twoband vieja

Care at a glance

Overview

The twoband vieja is a large, robust Central American cichlid with real presence, and it needs a big tank and firm management. It is territorial, so keep one fish or a single bonded pair and house it only with equally sturdy tankmates, giving the pair a boulder or cave to claim. It works the bottom and lower water and rearranges decor to taste. Its diet should lean vegetable, since Vieja graze and browse in the wild, with frozen and prepared foods to round it out. This is a tank-filling fish; plan on around 600 liters or more.

In the wild

This species lives in the large, slow rivers of the Grijalva and Usumacinta basins of southern Mexico and Guatemala, over sand, rock and sunken wood. Recreate that with a spacious tank, a sand floor, and sturdy rock and wood structure that a pair can defend. Keep the water warm and neutral to hard, around 24 to 29 C and pH 7.0 to 8.2, with strong filtration to match a big fish's waste.

Good to know

Vieja bifasciata is a large cichlid reaching around 35 centimeters, named bifasciata, or two-banded, for the pair of dark bands along its body. With age it flushes rose and gold, often with a red or yellow patch on the forehead. It is a monogamous, biparental substrate spawner, laying eggs on cleaned flat rock or in a pit, with both parents guarding.

Did you know

Vieja means old woman in Spanish, the everyday name Mexican fishers give these deep-bodied cichlids, and the scientists who built the genus kept the local nickname as its formal name.

Common questions

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