(Please note that the fish shown in the photo is only a representative of what an adult specimen would look like. The color may vary based on the age and sex of the fish you receive.)
Scientific Name: Nandopsis octofasciatum
Common Name: Jaguar Cichlid, Managuense Cichlid, Managua Cichlid, Guapote Tiger, Aztec Cichlid, Spotted Guapote and Jaguar Guapote
Adult Size: 12 inches
Life Expectancy: 10 - 15 years
Habitat: North and Central America; Southern Mexico, Guatemala, Yucatan, and Honduras
Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallons
Ideal Tank Conditions:
- Temperature Range: 75 - 82°F
- pH Range: 7.0 - 8.0
- Water Hardness: 5 - 15
Temperament: Aggressive
Diet & Nutrition: Carnivore; they enjoy various types of live fish. They can also eat cut up fish or crayfish and dry foods. They prefer food like earthworms, crickets and tadpoles but can also eat small reptiles, larva, or goldfish. Frozen food is also a good food staple to provide, though can get expensive given how much these fish need to eat at their adult size.
Breeding & Spawning: Possible; the best way to help them breed is to make sure that you put 2 or 3 pairs of these cichlids together in a tank when they are juvenile. Attempting to place new female or a new male when you have adult fish will risk losing these additions their territorial nature. Consider moving an actively breeding couple to a different tank so that the breeding process goes smoothly. Cichlids in general are excellent parents and will raise their fry.
Gender: Males are larger and will have more vertical broken bars when young. These bars will disappear once the male reaches maturity. Females will have thinner vertical bars and will have more pronounced dark bars and have more reddish coloration on their gill covers.