Archocentrus centrarchus
The cichlazoma prickly or Archocentrus centrarchus naturally inhabits water bodies of Central America, namely Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The body of Archocentrus centrarchus is slightly compressed from the sides, with a green hue, although there can be variations in the form of reddish, yellow and crimson hue. The head and eyes are large. The fins are green-rimmed. As the fish matures stripes appear on the body. Dorsal plumage is elongated. There is a dark spot on the tail plumage. Adult males are usually larger than females, and they have dorsal and anal fins pointed and forehead has a peculiar fatty growth. The maximum size in an aquarium 20 cm.
For one pair of fish requires an aquarium of 200 liters, but if you plan to contain more than one pair, the volume of the aquarium must be large. Due to increased aggression, it is recommended to keep the fish formed a pair in a species aquarium. It is possible to keep spiny Cichlazomas in a common aquarium with other cichlid species, but in this case the volume of the aquarium should be much larger, to reduce interspecific animosity among fish.
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As a substrate use coarse-grained river sand with a dark color. At the bottom of the aquarium need to place various shelters in the form of large stones and snags. It is also desirable to plant around the perimeter of the aquarium plants with a strong root system, in addition to protect their roots on top of small stones. This is because the fish are often digging in the substrate, and sometimes pulling bushes out of the ground along with the roots.
The fish are not too demanding to water parameters, but still, for their health, it is necessary to keep them in clean water. Like all cichlid species, they produce a large amount of waste, so you must use a suitable filtration system, which should be supported by regular water changes of at least ¼ per week. Water parameters: temperature 22-27° C, hardness dH 5-15°, acidity pH 7.0-8.0.
Archocentrus centrarchus are omnivorous fish. In aquariums, they are fed flake and pelleted food containing spirulina. They are given spinach, lettuce, and blanched peas as additional plant foods. They are also offered a treat of sliced cucumber or zucchini, live or frozen daphnia, artemia nauplii, and bloodworms. Food is given 1-2 times a day.
Reproduction
Spawning Archocentrus centrarchus in the same aquarium where they permanently reside. Spawning takes place at a water temperature of 25° C and pH 7.5.
These fish undergo surprising color changes during breeding, losing most of their coloration, becoming charcoal black with gray stripes on the body.
The female lays her eggs on any hard surface, be it a rock, driftwood or plant leaf. During the spawning process, the female hatches 300 to 500 eggs. Depending on the water temperature the eggs incubate for 2-7 days. Both parents take care of the eggs and fry.
The fry are fed live dust, milled flakes and nauplii Artemia 4 times a day. With proper feeding, the fry grow quickly.
Life expectancy of the Archocentrus centrarchus in aquarium conditions is about 8 years.
