robertprice
July 9th, 2013, 07:16 AM
Amphilophus lyonsi is a large attractive species from Central America, found in rivulets and lagoons of Costa Rica, El Savador, Honduras and Nicaragua. It has a gold or brown-gold ground color with lots of multicolored splotches and patches and a crimson eye. There can be considerable orange, especially behind the gill cover and a row of of blotches (usually 6) from operculum to caudal penduncle. There are 7 vague vertical bars from the eye to just before the tail. The tail and rear half of the fins may be crimson. It gets 10-12 inches long, and is an open water swimmer.
They can be kept in large aquaria (over 100 gallons) where they are only moderately aggressive. Kept in tanks that are too small, they become more aggressive especially to similar looking cichlids. They are omnivores which are easy to breed, but difficult to *** except by venting. Their tanks should have sandy bottoms as they do dig a fair amount, and will uproot all but the deepest rooted plants. They like rocks and rock hides and driftwood. They also like diffuse light, so flaoting plants are recommended in their tanks. They are very intelligent and curious. They can be bred in tanks of 200 gallons, and have several hundred eggs and are excellent parents. They like temperatures of 75-83 degrees, pH of 6 to 7.5, and fairly soft water. See "Images of Amphilophus lyonsi " for pictures.
They can be kept in large aquaria (over 100 gallons) where they are only moderately aggressive. Kept in tanks that are too small, they become more aggressive especially to similar looking cichlids. They are omnivores which are easy to breed, but difficult to *** except by venting. Their tanks should have sandy bottoms as they do dig a fair amount, and will uproot all but the deepest rooted plants. They like rocks and rock hides and driftwood. They also like diffuse light, so flaoting plants are recommended in their tanks. They are very intelligent and curious. They can be bred in tanks of 200 gallons, and have several hundred eggs and are excellent parents. They like temperatures of 75-83 degrees, pH of 6 to 7.5, and fairly soft water. See "Images of Amphilophus lyonsi " for pictures.