Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Jaguar Cichilds - An Overview

Native to South American freshwaters, the Jaguar
Cichild is as aggressive as its name suggests.
For this reason, one must be careful not to put
them into a tank with smaller species; it will
attack them. During the breeding period their
aggression is heightened and they may even attack
larger species. Providing a separate tank during
breeding, or at the very least a tank partition,
will be beneficial to your entire fish population.

The Jaguar Cichlid can live for 15 years and
males can reach sizes over 12 inches. Females
will rarely exceed 12 inches in size, but these
fish will need a relatively large aquarium, not
less than 180 gallons if breeding or kept with
other fish. Water temperatures should be kept
between 77F and 97F with a pH level between 7.0
and 8.7.

If you want a Jaguar cichlid and you want to
reduce it's aggressive behavior (which you can
only do to a certain extent) then replicating
their natural environment and water chemistry is
a must. When I say natural environment, I mean
the substrate of their habitat, the plants that
are found in their favorite swimming areas, the
types of rocks or driftwood and even the pace of
the current. You can add a current to your
aquarium by installing special jets with an
adjustable flow-rate. Water chemistry includes
pH, water temperature, water hardness and water
clarity.

As a predatory fish, the Jaguar Cichlid prefers
live food, but may be trained to consume pellets
as well. These fish reach maturity when they are
about 4 inches in size and at this point are
ready to breed. Males will lose the stripes on
their body when mature. In keeping with their
aggressive nature, males may become violent even
with the females when breeding, so it may be
necessary to divide the tank in a way that the
female may reach the male, but not vice versa.
You can do this by installing a plastic divider
in the aquarium. The divider needs to have one
or two holes that are big enough for the female
to swim through, but too small for the male to
fit. This will allow the female to interact with
the male when she wants to and swim away to
protect herself when she needs to.

Jaguar Cichlids double in population every 1 to 4
years and are sought after for food and trade
alike. Be sure you can accommodate the special
needs of a Jaguar Cichlid before you make the
decision to add them to your aquarium.

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For more detailed information about Jaguar
Cichlids feel free to visit my website. You can
even learn something about other cichlid species
including the Blue Acara cichlid.

http://www.cichlidfishcentral.com/cichlid-fish-art
icles/jaguar-cichlids/

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