Citron or lemon cichlazoma (Amphilophus citrinellus, formerly Cichlasoma citrinellum) is a large, eye-catching, luxurious fish for an exhibition aquarium.
It is believed that it was the citron cichlazoma that served as the basis for the creation of a new, unique species of fish - flower horn.
Citron cichlazoma is often confused with another, very similar species - cichlazoma labiatum (Amphilophus labiatus). And in some sources they are considered one fish. Although outwardly they are not much different, they are genetically different.
For example, lemon cichlazoma is slightly smaller in size and reaches 25 - 35 cm, and the labiatum is 28 cm. Their habitats are also different, the citron is from Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and the labiatum lives only in the lakes of Nicaragua.
One of the reasons for this substitution was that the amount of lemon cichlazoma in nature decreased sharply, and demand was high and dealers began selling other fish under the guise of citron, especially since they are very similar.
Thus, everything was mixed, and many fish currently sold under one of the names, in fact, a hybrid between citron cichlazoma and labiatum.
Citron cichlazoma is quite unpretentious, but needs spacious aquariums. This is a fairly calm fish compared to other cichlids in South America, but it also becomes aggressive if kept in a cramped aquarium.
The fact is that in nature they protect the territory in which they live, and they become especially aggressive during spawning.
Living in nature
Citron cichlazoma was first described by Gunther in 1864. It lives in Central America: in the lakes of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. These are lakes Aroyo, Masaya, Nicaragua, Managua, in rare cases found in slow-flowing rivers.
They prefer stagnant and warm waters with depths from 1 to 5 meters. Usually there are places where there are a lot of stones and tree roots, in such places there are many snails, small fish, fry, insects and other aquatic inhabitants that make up the diet of lemon cichlazoma.
Description
The citron cichlazoma has a powerful and strong body with a pointed anal and dorsal fin. These cichlids are large, reaching a body length of 25-25 cm.
Although both the male and the female develop a fat cone upon reaching puberty, in the male it is much more developed.
The average lifespan of citron cichlase is 10-12 years.
The coloration of citron cichloma in nature is protective, dark brown or gray, with six dark stripes on the sides.
However, the individuals that live in the aquarium have a bright yellow color, for which they received the name - lemon cichlazoma, although variants with a dark color are also found.
These cichlids actively breed in the aquarium, and now, in addition to yellow, a huge number of different color forms have been bred. Coloring is yellow, orange, white and various combinations of their different colors.
Natural colorDifficulty in content
Citron cichlazoma is a large, and potentially aggressive fish that is desirable for aquarists with some experience with large cichlids.
But, if you are a beginner, and want to get just such a fish, then there is no problem, prepare yourself well enough and know about its features.
The main thing is a spacious aquarium and several species of very rather large neighbors.
Feeding
Omnivores, in the aquarium they eat all kinds of live, frozen and artificial feed. The basis of feeding can be high-quality food for large cichlids, and additionally feed fish with live food: bloodworms, corvette, artemia, tubule maker, gammarus, worms, crickets, mussel and shrimp meat, fish fillets.
Also, as a bait, you can use food with spirulina, or vegetables: chopped cucumber and zucchini, salad. Fiber feeding prevents the development of a common disease when a non-healing wound appears in the head of the cichlids and the fish die despite treatment.
It is better to feed two to three times a day, in small portions, to avoid the accumulation of food debris in the soil.
It is important to know that feeding meat to mammals, so popular in past years, is now considered harmful.
Such meat contains a large amount of proteins and fats, which the digestive tract of fish digests poorly.
As a result, the fish grows fat, the work of internal organs is disrupted. It is possible to give such food, but infrequently, approximately once a week.
Aquarium Maintenance
Like many Central American cichlids, citron needs very large aquariums, especially if kept with other fish.
One female needs about 200 liters, a male 250, and a couple 450-500. If you keep them with other large fish, then the volume should be even greater, otherwise fights are inevitable.
Efficient filtration and weekly water changes are required, up to 20% of the volume.
Water parameters for citron cichlazoma content: 22-27 ° C, ph: 6.6-7.3, 10 - 20 dGH.
Decor and equipment in the aquarium should be protected, as fish can dig it up, move it and even break it. It is advisable to hide the heater behind some object. The aquarium needs to be covered, as fish can jump out of it.
It is better to use sand as the soil, and the decor is large driftwood, stones. Citron cichlazomas actively dig an aquarium, and the plants in it do not survive, in addition, they will definitely try to eat them.
If you need plants, it is better to use plastic or hard-leaved species planted in pots.
Compatibility
It is best to keep a citron cichlase pair in a separate spacious aquarium. This is a large and aggressive fish, but in a spacious aquarium it can be quite tolerant of other large cichlids of South and Central America.
In a cramped aquarium, fights are inevitable. It can be kept with: flower horn, severum, managuan cichlazoma, astronotuses, Nicaraguan cichlazoma.
Gender differences
Adult males of citron cichlazoma are larger than females, they have more dorsal and anal fins, and a much larger fat cone on the head. This cone is always present in fish in the aquarium, but in nature it appears only during spawning.
The female is much smaller and also has a much smaller bump.
Breeding
In an aquarium, citron cichlasomas multiply quite actively. To do this, they need some kind of shelter, a cave, a blockage of snags, a flower pot. The mating ritual begins with the fact that the couple swims in circles opposite each other with their fins apart and their mouths wide open.
During such games, the fat cone in both fish increases significantly. Such pre-spawning games can last from 2 weeks to 6 months before the fish begin to spawn.
But remember that at this time the male can be aggressive towards the female. If he began to hammer her, then put a dividing grid between the male and the female.
Some breeders make a net so that there are holes in it through which a smaller female could freely slip in case of aggression. When the ritual is over, they are taken to clean the bottom, right down to the glass.
If you saw this, then remove the net, but make sure that the male does not beat the female.
The female will lay stone or walls of the cave or pot, and the male will fertilize it. Within 2-5 days, the larva will hatch, and the parents will not eat the fertilized eggs. Parents can move the larvae to another, previously dug place.
After another 5-7 days, the fry will swim and begin to eat. From this moment, the male can again perceive the female as a threat, so do not forget about the dividing grid.
If you drop the fry, the male may try to start spawning again, but the female is not ready and the male can easily kill her. So it’s better to leave the fry with their parents. It’s not difficult to feed them, the starting food of Artemia nauplii.
