Aquarium Fish: Jade Eyed Cichlid Fact Sheet

When you have a community aquarium of moderately-tempered fish, the jade eyed cichlid makes itself right at home. This new world cichlid hails from South America which is home to at least 450 other cichlid species. Knowing a bit about this fish helps you maintain an optimal community tank with a variety of interesting fish.

Appearance
The jade eye cichlid is quite comparative to the convict cichlid in its appearance; and in temperament. Like the name denotes, this fish has bright, jade-colored eyes. However, sometimes their eyes don't show in these tones without the right diet and tank environmental factors. It's base color is gray with an iridescent splash of pearl-blue, pink and purple scales. These colors are enhanced with clean, warm water and proper foods. Like the convict cichlid, the Jade eyed cichlid features a darkened strip down its sides.

Temperament and Behavior
The jade eyed cichlid isn't an unfriendly cichlid. In fact, it thrives as a tank-mate to convict cichlids and veil-tailed oscars. However, when a breeding pair is in the tank, the female may become aggressive to protect her spawning area. They do like to dig around and uproot plants like most cichlids do, and they're cunning hiders. Furthermore, the jade eyed cichlid appears to be an intelligent fish who recognizes its owner; especially at feeding time.

Tank Requirements
With the jade eyed cichlid being a small sized cichlid, a 20 gallon tank is adequate to house two at a time. A large community tank of similar cichlids should allow up to three gallons of water per fish. They are warm water tropical fish, so the warm side of the tank should reach up to 75 degrees. An undergravel filtration system as well as an overhanging filter will aide in keeping the tank clean. A 20 percent water change should be completed for cichlids once a month to improve water quality as well.

Diet
Like other cichlids, the jade eyed cichlid is an omnivorous fish, meaning it eats both meat and vegetation. A bimonthly feeding of live black worms is not only a treat to your cichlid tank, but a high boost of protein which aides in their health and appearance. A high quality flake food, formulated for new world cichlids, can be fed twice a day in pinched amounts to supplement the live feed-treats. Jade eyed cichlids also enjoy baby minnows and ghost shrimp as treats they can hunt in the aquarium with their tank mates.