Cichlid Profiles - Sieve Cichlid
 

Cichlasoma grammodes, the Seive Cichlid or Mini-Dovii has gotten to be the "chic" small nasty cichlid since its introduction into Germany in the 1980's. It is a beautiful fish. It has a beige ground color with numerous pearls ranging from red to maroon all over. Better specimens are also filigreed with little blue streamers and a lavender gill cover and mouth. The fins are blue and pearly. Some specimens have a dark midbody line from eye to tail, often broken or vague. Juvenile and sub-dominant specimens are more beige and maroon. The males have a nuchal hump, are slimmer than the females, and have more red spots below the lateral line. This fish is a resident of the Rio Grande Chiapas in Mexico and its range extends to Guatemala. The like water from 73-82 degrees, slightly hard, with pH of 7-8.

This is a 12' very vicious cichlid which is smart and adapts to living with big cichlids twice it's size. They are fairly well behaved until they reach sexual maturity at about 5 inches, then they become nasty. The dig a tremendous amount, but like floating plants. They can be kept in 55 to 75 gallon tanks with lots of rocks and roots. They eat any meaty cichlid foods. They are substrate brooders and very good parents and make lots of pits for nesting and fry. Pictures at "Images of Cichlasoma grammodes"