Keeping African Cichlid Fish

Anyone keeping African Cichlid fish should not have taken this decision lightly. It is a serious responsibility to undertake the upkeep and ongoing care of another living creature's whole world. They are dependent upon you for everything. 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 tank. 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. 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.