Red-breasted Dwarf Flag Cichlid (Laetacara dorsigera)

This is the only fish I'm currently keeping in my 20 gallon. I originally got a pair I think were male and female, but after one consistently chased the other around, I thought I had two males so I picked out what I thought was a female. However, it seems that the original pair I got were m/f, and I most likely got another (younger) male. They still haven't bred yet though, but I am convinced I have an m/f pair.

They are very skittish, even during feeding time. I added many live plants and Eco-complete substrate and this seems to have helped as they're coming out more now. The larger male hides the most and the female is out and about the most. So far I only feed them NLS Thera A 1mm pellets and they like them, but a more varied diet is recommended which includes frozen brine shrimp and/or bloodworms. It is hard to sex Laetacara curviceps/dorsigera, but females usually have a more compressed profile, appear fatter and smaller, and have a larger blotch on its dorsal fin.

Cockatoo Apisto (Apistogramma cacatuoides)

Male

Female

This was the second cichlid I had that bred in my tank. However all the fry eventually died. I assumed they were eaten by the cherry barbs. The cockatoo apisto is a harem breeder, so get a trio of one male and two females if you intend on breeding them. Males are larger and more colorful, they get to about 3.5'' while females stay around 2.5''.

Clean water is a must with this species, which I found out the hard way as I lost each one of them to bacterial infection. The females developed sores on the top of their heads, the male developed a crooked mouth that he couldn't close and also had a reddish pink growth at the base of his pectoral fins. All three died soon after showing those symptoms.

Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher)

Male

Female

This was the first cichlid I had that I got to breed. They were so prolific I had to give the female away after a few batches of fry (roughly 100 per batch). Males get to 3.5" and females about 2.8". You can distinguish females from their more compressed body shape, larger reddish/purplish belly, and more rounded dorsal fins. Kribs come in regular and albino. From what I've read, males of either regular or albino form prefer albino females, as the reddish color in their belly stands out more.

Kribs breed easily and all you need is a cave of some sort (I used an inverted terra cotta pot with a hole drilled on the side) and at least a 20 gallon tank. They do get aggressive when breeding, so you'll need a larger tank if you want to have other fish. Males sometimes eat a few fry, so to maximize the size of each batch you might want to remove him.

Firemouth Cichlid (Thorichthys meeki)

This was the first fish I had, and not for a very long time, as I had to give them to a LFS because my tank wasn't cycled. They get to about 6" and have a red throat. Mine were rather shy and always hid behind the only ornament in the tank. From what I've read, they do better when there are lots of hiding places and suitable dither fish.

Although I supposedly had a male/female pair, the larger one (presumably male) beat up the smaller one and I had to separate them with a tank divider. I had them in a 10 gallon, so that was obviously too small for them to properly establish territories. I'd recommend a 30 gallon at least for a pair, larger if you intend on having other fish.