Care
The Jade-eye Cichlid is often described as "the nicer Convict." Whilst they may look similar in appearance, the Jade-eye Cichlid is rather more attractive, and it also has a better temperament than its cantankerous cousin, the Convict (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). Distributed within the waterways of the Central American Atlantic slope, covering Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, this species also has an established population in Hawaii where it was introduced back in the 1980s. They are reported to inhabit the shallow slower-moving waters of lakes and rivers, preferring areas close to the banks where rocky caves and tangles of wood/roots are abundant. This provides welcome shelter and protection for these relatively small cichlids (which attain a maximum length of 12cm) from larger predators. Jade-eye Cichlids, like many Central American fish, undergo many seasonal changes in water chemistry. As a result, they are not too finicky about their aquarium water parameters, providing that nitrates are kept low. Many Jade-eye Cichlid populations have been found living in conditions of soft-medium hardness (2-12dH) and of a neutral pH. However, most of the specimens offered for sale today are of tank-raised origin and are likely to have been acclimatised to the water chemistry in your area. Although these beautiful little cichlids are of a much better disposition than Convicts, they should still not be kept in an aquarium less than 3ft long, and even then this would only be suitable for one pair with no tankmates. Even in larger tanks you are likely to run into trouble if trying to house more than one pair together successfully, although in aquariums of 5ft+ you are more likely to be able to keep a pair of Jade-eye Cichlids in with a mixed community of robust medium-sized fishes, such as other Central American cichlids or large tetra species etc. Substrate can consist of either fine gravel or sand, or even a mixture of both for a more natural "river" effect. Numerous caves should be provided for shelter and for breeding purposes and these can be in the form of resin cave ornaments, "home-made" rock/slate caves, clay flowerpots etc. Any clay flowerpots should be new and clean, and if the "orange" look isn't too pleasing on the eye, you can coat the dry pots with aquarium safe silicon and roll in your chosen substrate, so that (after the specified drying time) they can be placed onto the substrate and appear more camouflaged against the sandy/gravely bottom. Bogwood or resin root ornaments can also be added to further recreate that river bank effect. Many geographical colour variants of the Jade-eye Cichlid exist in the wild. The Guatemalan Red-head, which as the name suggests, sports a reddish head, along with a partially red coloured dorsal fin. Some variants from the northern part of their range have an overall light green body colour with maroon heads and vertical bars. And much sought after is the Lago Izabal strain which has a yellow head, throat and underside, with a maroon dorsal fin and a bright blue-green anal fin. May also be seen on sale as Blue-eyed Cichlid or Spilurum.
Feeding
Jade-eye Cichlids are omnivorous and will accept most aquarium foods offered. Try to keep it varied with good quality carnivore and herbivore flakes, small sinking pellet foods, and a mixture of frozen foods such as white mosquito larvae, brineshrimp, mysis and chopped prawns and cockles. Wild specimens have been observed picking algae off of various surfaces, perhaps for the small invertebrate life it may contain.
Breeding
Sexing Jade-eye Cichlids is a fairly easy task. Males are generally larger than females, with longer anal and dorsal fins. Mature males specimens also develop a small nuchal hump on their foreheads. Females of the species sport a dark metallic area in the dorsal fin, a trait that is thought to exist in most, if not all, Cryptoheros species. If all else fails and you are still not 100% confident with sexing a pair, a quick peek into your dealer's stock tank may well reveal all. More often than not, two of the fish will have paired off within the confines of the stock tank and adopted their high contrast breeding dress, leaving the others all anxiously huddled in the opposite top corner of the tank. The pair will be quite happily going about their business, and in some cases may even have fry in tow! Once you have obtained your pair and acclimatised them to their new surroundings, it is likely to be only a short period of time before they become "in the mood." No special techniques are called for, and given that you provide them with good water conditions and the mixed diet mentioned earlier, the female should start to fill out with eggs. At this time, the pair will choose a preferred spawning site at one of the caves, digging small pits near the entrance. Whilst the female is busy cleaning the spawning site, the male patrols the perimeter, ready to defend against any intruders that may, or may not, be present. When ready, the female will swim over the spawning site in a series of "dry runs", after which she will begin depositing her 300-400 eggs. The male immediately follows behind her and fertilises them. The act of spawning has been known to continue for well over an hour in some cases, after which time, the female will start hovering above the eggs, fanning them with her pectoral fins. The male resumes his sentry duty, guarding the perimeter once more. It is at this time that Jade-eye Cichlids are at their most aggressive, which is why, if you have a pair in a relatively small aquarium, they are best kept by themselves. However, if kept in a larger "mixed community" type setting, other fish usually cotton-on pretty quickly that it's best to stay well away from the protective parents and this prevents the pair taking out their territorial aggression on one another. After 4 or 5 days, the eggs should hatch into wrigglers, and the parents will move them into one of their prepared pits. The wrigglers will initially feed on their yolk sacs, and should become free swimming after another 4 or 5 more days. Baby brineshrimp, microworms, or egg layer "first foods" should be offered at this stage, followed by crushed flake after a week or so. The parents will continue to herd them from pit to pit until they are ready to make their own way. Well fed adults do not usually prey on their young. With such a large potential brood size, you should think about methods of re-homing the young once they have attained a satisfactory size. Jade-eye Cichlids mature at what seems like a very young age, and before you know it, you could have multiple pairs trying to form.
