The Natural Environment of Cichlids.

Loose Rocks, Rocky Shorelines.

A rocky shoreline is the underwater zone of steep, rocky banks, such as found primarily on lakes Tanganyika and Malawi. Such a shoreline is characterized by a big rocks piled on top of each other. . The way the rocks have come to rest creates innumerable caves of various size, into which the cichlids can retreat when they sense danger. This type of littoral zone is the typical habitat of algae eating mouth brooder such as cichlids of genus Tropheus

Sandy Bottom and Muddy Bottom.

Muddy bottoms usually occur at inlets where rivers enters a lake and where floating particles carried by the moving water settle. Here , too, cichlids , such as Triglachromis otostigma, are found.

Shore With and Without Vegetation.

     Shores with dense vegetation and small, shallow bodies of water filled with plant growth also are environment that cichlids have adapted to. Several Pelvicachromis species, for instance, use such regions as a regular habitat and as an area of retreat.

Photo Credits: www.thetropicaltank.co.uk

Common Name: Jaguar.
Other Names: Aztec cichlid.
Scientific Name: Parachromis managuensis.
Family: Cichlidae.
Class: Central American.
Distribution: Costa Rica, Nicaragua.

Size:
Males tend to reach sizes up to 16 inches in length whereas females are only around 12 inches or more typically 10 inches.

Diet:
Jag’s are opportunistic piscivores that enjoy soft rayed fish, so fish meat is a good food item, but avoid feeding store bought feeders as they are a huge risk of parasitic introduction. Hikari gold pellets, krill and earthworms make great foods as well for these beasts.

Water Temperature:
74-82 degrees Fahrenheit (23-28 degrees Centigrade).

Water Chemistry:
7.2-8.2 ph medium hardness.

Life Span:
15+ years.

Minimum recommended tank size:
For a single specimen 125g tank should be used to comfortably house it and a breeding pair should have 180g or more and must absolutely be kept alone. A single full-grown jag should be kept in a 180g if tank mates are present.

Nomenclature:
The jag was once under the generic genus cichlasoma managuense, then was listed under Nandopsis managuense. Today it is very common to see it listed as Parachromis managuense or Parachromis managuensis, and as of most recent Parapetenia managuense or Parapetenia managuensis. I would use Parapetenia or Parachromis when describing this species. It isn’t unheard of to even see Herichthys managuense which from my understanding is completely wrong.

Breeding:
Breeding jags are just like breeding many other cichlids. They are sexually mature by 4 inches and the female will lay up to 500 eggs on a flat surface such as slate. They tend to breed out in the open a majority of the time. The female will lay eggs while the male follows up and fertilizes them. The female then fans the eggs and the male guards the perimeter. Now that comment I made about the jag not being to aggressive, that is not the case anymore. Now these fish will be hyper aggressive far more so than when single. I’ve seen videos of these fish breaking skin on their owner’s fingers causing them to bleed for putting their hands in the tank and destroying a pair of oscars in a matter of seconds. As I said, once young are present, all bets are off. The young hatch around 3-5 day’s after being laid. They then become wrigglers feeding on their yolk sacs. About 5-8 day’s later they are free swimming and can be fed, micro worms, baby brine and crushed flake. The parents will feed them as well and they start out feeding on organic matter in well-established tanks. Culling of the fry to a realistic managing number (around 100-150) is necessary to ensure good health. Mature adults need to be bred in divided tanks with a space cut small enough for the female to fit through only for escape. Mojo has some on his website with the female escape hatch that he calls "umbee proof" and if it holds off an umbee, it’ll hold off anything.

Description:
Jag’s are beautiful fish with a gold/yellowish background with black markings all over the body. Males tend to reach sizes up to 16" in length whereas females are only around 12" more typically 10". The jag has a nasty reputation as being completely belligerent but in all honestly, it is rare to come across one that is truly belligerent and not just territorial. They will flare at intruders to get the message across but unless the other fish initiates combat, the jag rarely induces any drama given there is plenty of room in the tank. Mojo’s jumbo is one of those examples of a truly aggressive specimen as jumbo will flare at the glass when being tempted. Younger specimen’s seem to be braver than when fully mature believe it or not though my jag at 8" would run every time I came to the tank and sit back in the back watching me until I’d leave then he’d come back out. Whereas my midas and texas seem to be ready to annihilate me. Now of course during spawning…all bets are off. Tank mates would include other larger cichlids only if the tank space is very large. Silver dollars tinfoil barbs and plecos are good additions. Convicts also make good dithers as long as only one sex is present to prevent pairing. As said before though, a breeding pair MUST be kept alone.

Sexing:Sexing this fish is very difficult when they are young because they all have black striping. The males will nearly if not completely vanish upon reaching maturity whereas the females stay with her throughout her life. The male is also gold with black speckles. Once mature males are larger than females as well.

Photosh Credit From: AquaHobby.com

The Amazon watershed with its many rivers is undoubtedly the most important source of cichlids in this part of the globe. In addition to innumerable other freshwater fishes, many exceptionally colorful and interesting cichlids specie are found here.
Only small number of species live in the subtropical areas of the American continents, as for instance in Texas.

Especially the in the lake of Great Rift Valley in East Africa, such as Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi, a great variety of cichlids species and some very interesting feeding specializations have developed. There one finds cichlids that graze on the algae growing on rocks(the so called aufwuchs eaters ), and there are even some that bite off and eat the scale of other fish. Other African lakes as well as Western African rivers, also have cichlid of different genera, species, and color varieties.

Most cichlids are characterized by beautiful colors and markings. Even within the same species different shades and patterns can develop a phenomenon that is called polymorphism.
There is such a variety of shapes and sizes among the many cichlids species that even experience fanciers of aquarium fishes often are surprised. Thus, the “giant” within the family measure from 28 to 32 inches (70-80cm), whereas the smallest members are fully grown at as little as 1.4 inches ( 3.5cm).

The body shapes of various species also vary tremendously. Most cichlids have typical slender fish shape, but in different species this shape can be vary from “normal” to “pencil shaped” a few species are high backed, that is, they have steeply arched backs; and some, like the popular discus fishes, are almost completely round and flat.