A Comprehensive Listing of the Various Cichlid Species

This article is to give you an insight into the different cichlid species because a lot of people have been asking me about this lately. You will find in this list their common names as well as their scientific names.

Cichlid ( sik-a-lid ) fish stem from what's known as the Cichlidae (sik-li-day) family. The Cichlidae family is an extremely large & diverse family having nearly 2000 specimens described and it's believed the still many more to be described scientifically.

They would have to be the largest family of vertebrates.

Due to the fact that we are constantly finding new species types, estimating the exact number of cichlid types is very hard to do.

These fish come in some of the strangest looking shapes to the most breath taking colors and throw in some peculiar mannerisms and it makes for quite the character.

Cichlids are found all across the globe ranging from Africa throughout Asia to North and South America.

Cichlid fish which tend to be kept in captivation can come from the African waters as well as the Amazon basin area and also from some the famous lakes like Lake Malawi, Great African Rift Lake and Lake Tanganyi.

Presently there is a massive diversity in the behavior and eating habits of these fish because of the greater number of types.

The majority of cichlids are herbivorous fishes and feed on vegetation or even algae. The other cichlid varieties are generally omnivorous, will eat anything or they are carnivorous fishes that live on other fish & insects.

The broad range of eating habits has really allowed cichlid fish to occupy numerous habitats. Cichlids cannot live in saltwater although their ancestors did.

Most cichlid kinds are fairly scaled down in size and many among them tend to be referred to as game types.

This has lead to several different cichlid species being farmed for human consumption. On the flip side, we can't deny the amount of fish tank enthusiasts that enjoy cichlid species because of their eye-catching colorings and tendencies.

Angelfish, Oscar fish, Discus fish and Convict cichlid are among the most popular with aquarium enthusiasts.

African Cichlid Species

Most of the Cichlid types that we see in captivity today come from the African Amazonian regions. So on with the listings!

Lake Malawi

Lake Malawi is one of the largest lakes known to man and is home to over 300 varieties of cichlid fish. Here are some of the better known of the African cichlid species:

* Big-lipped
* Moori or Blue Dolphin
* Malawi Eye-biter
* Linni or Elephant-nose Cichlid
* Livingstoni
* Polystigma
* Venustus
* Deep-Water Haplo
* Electric Blue Haplo

Mbuna Cichilds
* Red-dorsal Afra, Dogtooth
* Fuelleborn's, Fuelleborni
* Trewavas, Red-finned
* Electric Yellow Mbuna, Lion's Cove Yellow
* Malawi Golden
* Johann's Mbuna
* Parallel-striped Mbuna
* Purple Mbuna
* Aurora
* Bumblebee Mbuna or Hornet
* Elongatus, Slender Mbuna
* Snail Shell Mbuna
* Kennyi
* Eduard's Mbuna
* Zebra Mbuna, Zebra Malawi, Cobalt Blue or Nyasa Blue

Peacock Group

* Baensch's Peacock, Yellow Peacock or Sunshine Peacock
* Red Shoulder Malawi Peacock
* Lake Malawi Butterfly

Lake Tanganyika

* Pearly Compressiceps
* Compressiceps
* Frontosa
* Black-finned Slender
* Striped Clown Goby, Striped Goby, Tanganyika Clown
* Dickfeld's Juli
* Checkerboard Julie
* Golden Julie or Ornate Julie
* Regan's Julie or Striped Julie
* Masked Julie or Black-and-White Julie
* Fairy
* Daffodil Brichardi
* Lemon
* Elongated Lemon
* Ocellated Shell-dweller
* Pearl-lined Lamprologus
* Five-bar
* Otostigma, Tripod
* Blue-eyed Tropheus
* Duboisi
* Blunt-headed
* Poll's Tropheus
* Aulonocara
* Lamprichthys
* Synodontis
* Afromastacembelus

Cavity Brooder s

* Altolamprologus
* Lamprologus
* Julidochromis
* Neolamprologus

Mouth Brooder Group of s

* Cyphotilapia
* Cyprichromis
* Eretmodus
* Tropheus
* Xenotilapia

Other African Species

* African Butterfly
* Zebra Haplochromis
* Two-spotted Jewel
* Blood-red Jewel
* Purple or the Common Krib
* African Blockhead or Lumphead
* Zebra Tilapia
* Clown Tilapia

North American Species

* Firemouth
* Convict
* Pearlscale
* Texas
* Midas
* Large Lipped
* Long Fin
* Friedrichsthali
* Jaguar
* Jack Dempsy
* Salvin's or Tricolor
* Red-spotted
* Black Belt
* Nicaragua
* Quetzal or Red-headed

South American Species

* Oscar fish or Velvet
* Peacock Bass
* Festa's
* Port Acara or Black Acara
* Pike
* Banded
* Festive

Acara s

* Blue Acara
* Green Terror or Rivulatus
* Saddle or Two-spot Acara
* Keyhole
* Flag Acara
* Golden Dwarf

New World Dwarf s

* Agassiz's Dwarf
* Yellow Dwarf
* Cockatoo Dwarf
* Three-Stripe Dwarf
* Ramirez' Dwarf

Angel Species

* Angelfish
* Altum Angelfish

Discus Species

* Brown Discus Fish
* Green Discus
* Royal Blue Discus
* Heckle Discus or Pompadour Fish
* Waroo or Triangle

Eartheater Cichlis Species

* Cupid
* Pearl or Mother-of-Pearl Eartheater
* Red hump Eartheater
* Paraguay Mouthbrooder
* Demon Fish