Cichlid Profiles - Red Breast Cichlid
 

Amphilophus longimanus, the Red Breast Cichlid is an attractive, rather small member of the genus found in much of Central America including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica. It prefers shallow stagnant backwaters, but is also found in rivers. It is blue-grey in ground color at the North of its range, and more likely gold-orange in the South. It has a a large conspicuous red or orange-red patch running from the back of the gill cover along the belly to the **** fin. It has 7-8 vague vertical body pars,including a short one on the caudal penduncle, and 2 more between the eyes. It has a row of usually 4 dark midbody blotches, the last of which is the largest. it may be very pearly yellow-green or off white and iridescent all over, or the pearls may occur only in a few areas. The eye and gill cover may be light orange. It reaches 7 inches in length, the males a bit bigger than the females. It is primarily a bottom detritus and insect larvae eater.

Unlike most of its congeners, it makes a good community aquarium fish. The males will fight, but it is peaceful towards other fish about its own size or larger. A pair needs a 30 gallon tank. It tolerates a wide range of water conditions, from pH 7-8, 75-85 degrees, and soft to fairly hard water. In captivity it is an easy to feed omnivore. They do breed in captivity, on flat stones or in flowerpots, and often take a few tries to get things right. It lays several hundred eggs and cares for the nest and fry. See "Images of Amphilophus longimanus" for photos.