The Managuense Cichlid, also known as the Aztec Cichlid and the Jaguar Cichlid, is a beautifully marked cichlid. Young Managuense Cichlids are dull silver/gold with spots running along their bodies. As they mature the dullness is even greater, until sexually mature when drab blotches become darker, eventually turning black with an irregular pattern like that of the jaguar cat. The background color is pearly with a light purple cast. These spots are less extreme in females. The lower lip often extends up over the upper lip, sometimes revealing some of the front teeth. As a juvenile, the Managuense Cichlid can be housed in a 50 gallon minimum aquarium. The adult requires an aquarium no smaller then 70 gallons. They require plenty of open swimming room, as well as places to hide. The bottom of the tank should be coarse gravel, without plants, as the Managuense Cichlid is a burrower and will tear up plants. Although this cichlid is a predator, it can be housed with other large cichlids, but sometimes will not tolerate other cichlids that are similar in color. Any fish that will fit into its mouth should not be kept in the same aquarium with the Managuense Cichlid. The male is generally larger and has pointed dorsal and anal fins as well as being more brightly colored. Breeding in an aquarium is often difficult but Managuense Cichlids are excellent parents and form nuclear families. The female can spawn up to 5,000 yellow eggs. The Managuense Cichlid is omnivorous and will eat most prepared and frozen foods including freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and ocean plankton, as well as flake food and Cichlid pellets.
