Fish Data : Rainbow Cichlid

Quick Stat

Species name: Herotilapia multispinosa
Common names: Rainbow Cichlid
Family: Cichlidae
Subfamily: Cichlasomatinae
Order: Perciformes
Class: Actinopterygii
Maximum length: 3.6″ (9 cm)
Minimum tank size: 50 gallons
Aggressiveness: semi-aggressive
Hardiness: Easy

General Info :

    The Rainbow Cichlid is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the cichlid family and originates from Central America and is native to both the Atlantic slope as well as the pacific slope which ranges from Costa Rica to Honduras and Nicaragua.

    This fish is capable of altering colors according to its moods. The background color is a lemon yellow to golden color, with a horizontal black bar running from just behind the eyes to the base of the caudal fin. When showing its most brilliant coloration, usually during breeding, the scales may have alternating rows of blue on the latter half of the body and the edges of the anal, pectoral, and dorsal fins, and may also have a brilliant blue tint. The Rainbow Cichlid, Herotilapia multispinosa genus is monotypic, meaning, it is the only species in this genus.

    Unlike other Central American Cichlids, they have tricuspid teeth that allows them to feed on filamentous algae, that makes up a large amount of their diet. It is this feature that gained them their own genus name of Herotilapia.

 All cichlids share a common feature that some saltwater fish such as wrasses and parrotfish have and that is a well-developed pharyngeal set of teeth that are in the throat, along with their regular teeth. Cichlids have spiny rays in the back parts of the anal, dorsal, pectoral, and pelvic fins to help discourage predators. The front part of these fins are soft and perfect for precise positions and effortless movements in the water as opposed to fast swimming.

   Cichlids have one nostril on each side while other fish have 2 sets. To sense "smells" in the water, they suck water in and expel the water right back out after being "sampled" for a short or longer time, depending on how much the cichlid needs to "smell" the water. This feature is shared by saltwater damselfish and cichlids are thought to be closely related.

Size - Weight:    The Rainbow Cichlid grows to a length of 2 1/2 - 5" (7 - 13 cm), mature males tend to be a bit longer than the females.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:    These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:    Hardness: 5 - 20° dH, 5 - 10 ° dH for breeding
   Ph: 6.5 - 8.0, 7.0 for breeding
   Temp: 72 - 77° F (22 - 25° C), 82° F (28° C) for breeding

Habitat

     Herotilapia multispinosa is found in small lakes, ponds and drainage areas throughout Central America. It is often found among stumps and leaf litter.  

Care

   Herotilapia multispinosa does not require any special care. Water temperatures between 75 and 82F suit it just fine. Regular, partial water changes are appreciated. Since Rainbow Cichlids are not very aggressive, it would not be a good idea to keep it with aggressive, New World tankmates.

Feeding

   In the wild, Herotilapia multispinosa is often found eating small insect larvae. In the aquarium, however, they will take just about any prepared food. Larger specimens appreciate floating food sticks such as Tetra Doromin (Food Sticks).

Social Behaviors:   

   The Rainbow Cichlid is a community cichlid. In a community cichlid tank of larger semi-aggressive cichlids, it can be kept with other same sized South American cichlids.. Species like the Firemouth Cichlid, Blood Parrot, and Convict Cichlid can make good tank mates due to their non-competitive nature, but be sure to keep an eye on them and make sure everyone's doing okay. They can also be kept in a tropical tank with catfish, certain live bearers, tetras, and plecostomus.
   This fish readily be kept singly or in pairs. Being relatively peaceful, if the tank is large enough they may even be housed with another pair . Like all cichlids these fish do become territorial during spawning. 




Sexual Differences:

   This fish is difficult to differentiate between the male and female Rainbow Cichlid. The male tends to be larger and longer with pointed anal and dorsal fins. The female has a short ovipositor.

Breeding/Reproduction:

     Breeding for this Cichlid species is not very difficult. Before breeding, the fish will clean a spot to spawn on and then lay approximately 300 pinkish-tan eggs. Incubation is approximately three days after which the pair will move the wrigglers to another area. Once free-swimming, you can feed the fry in the tank with freshly hatched baby brine shrimp or Cyclop-eze. After about a week, transition the fry to finely crushed flake food. I usually siphon out as many free-swimming fry as possible after they are free-swimming and raise them in a rearing tank.


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Credit : 

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php?topic=12303.0

http://www.borstein.com/sam/?Species_Profiles:Central_America:Archocentrus_multispinosus

http://www.aquariumslife.com/freshwater-fish/american-cichlid/rainbow-cichlid-herotilapia-multispinosa/