Scientific name: Amphilophus citrinellus

Common name:Midas cichlid

Region: Central America - Nicaragua, the Atlantic side of Costa-Rica

Size: max 16 inches (40 cm). Males will grow a bit longer in length than the females of this Central American cichlid species, and are much more powerfully built, with a large growing bulge on the forehead being the norm called a 'Nuchal' hump.

Color: Different variations in color for the Midas Cichlid fish exist. You'll see them in Banded, all Gold, Red/Silver and Gold mottled, and even a 'combination' of these markings - resulting in a 'piebald' coloration.

Water Chemistry: pH: 7.2-7.8, hard water

Temperature: 76-80

Aggression: highly aggressive

Compatibility: Just like the Red Devil cichlid, this tropical fish is very aggressive. So if you're going to keep it with anything, look for other tropical fish that can hold their own, such as Oscar cichlids or Jaguar cichlids.

Diet: Omnivorous.

How to breed: Successfully keeping and spawning these highly aggressive, powerful aquarium fish, once adult sizes are achieved, is best attempted with the 'partial divider' method in six foot long fish tanks, to protect the females from male aggression. (this may be unnecessary, if the male seems to be calmer and more peaceful in disposition toward the female) They will spawn on a flat rock and will defend the fry until they are free swimming.

General: Choose the other aquarium fish carefully: several fellow cichlids and other smaller or similar-sized fish of Central America may have the effect of easing the the aggressive demeanor of the Midas cichlid.