Keeping African cichlid fish should not be a decision taken lightly. It is a serious responsibility to undertake the upkeep and ongoing care of another living creature and that responsibility can be very expensive.
The largest expense will obviously be that of the aquarium itself. Cichlids by their very nature will need a large aquarium of at least 150 gallons. This will cost many hundreds of dollars. The cost of adequate mechanical filtration and the ongoing cost of heating and lighting does tend to make cichlids and expensive past time.
Having said that and despite the huge responsibility, the amount of satisfaction from setting up, maintaining, and watching your fish developing is enormous. One of the main attractions of keeping African cichlid fish is the wide range of bright eye-catching colours. Indeed some of my own fish were a very intense blue and yellow striped combination and proved to be a very active focal point within our aquarium.
Virtually every colour under the sun can be found within the cichlid species and the best colouration is usually when males are ready for breeding. Some cichlids breed easier than others given the right conditions in regard to water quality, temperature and feeling safe to do so.
One of the most fascinating aspects of keeping African cichlid fish was the fact that that they are maternal mouth-brooders. That is to say the female lays her eggs where the male has 'been' then scoops the eggs up into her mouth where they stay for about 3 weeks. This gives the fry a chance to hatch and develop which in turn is supposed to give them a better chance of survival. The downside to this is that in a tank, even with a million places to hide, fry have no brains and will swim around the tank providing fresh food for the other inhabitants. Cichlid fry are usually born nearly transparent but soon develop the same colouration as the female and may take several months before the male fry start to show any signs of the brighter male intensity of colour.
African cichlid fish are very territorial and can develop some aggressive tendencies toward other fish who are deemed to be intruders. This aggressiveness does not mean just chasing around the tank; it can result in the death of the 'intruder'. Most fights take place head to head with the posturing based on who has the biggest mouth. Eventually they will attempt to bite each other and drag their opponent down until the loser swims away. Controlled overcrowding is one method for trying to over-come the territorial disputes. The theory being if there are too many fish in the tank then no territories can be established. My own preferred method of controlling aggression is to change the layout of the aquarium every time the water is changed. This renders any established territories null and void.
