Black belt Cichlid

Scientific Name(s): Vieja maculicauda

Common Name(s): Black Belt Cichlid

Origin: South Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Costa Rica

Family: Cichlidae SubFamily: Cichlasomatinae

Species Type: Vieja maculicauda

Maximum Size: 15 inches (38 cm) In the wild: 18 inch (46 cm)

Life Span: 15+ years

Natural Habitat: shady bank areas of lakes and slow-moving rivers

Diet: Omnivore; feed high quality pellet, shrimp, krill, spirulina, live, worms, fruit, peas, lettuce, spinach and flake. Not a picky eater but in order to thrive, the Black belt definitely needs plenty of fresh vegetables in its diet.

Temperature: 73 - 80 F (23 - 27 C)

PH: 7.0 - 8.0

Minimum Tank Size: 75 gallon (284 liters) For a single fish.

Tank Region: everywhere

Temperament: aggressive, especially to smaller tank mates.

Possible Tank Mates: This fish tends to bully smaller fish so large tank mates like Texas Cichlid, Jack Dempsey, Trimac Cichlid, Oscars and large catfish to name a few.

Filtration and Setup: For smaller Black belts, some smooth rocks and fake plants (they will eat live plants) will help them fell secure. They are very active fish and as they get larger they require a lot of open space to strech thier fins.

Coloration: A whitish-to-gray background coloration, often with a blue sheen. The underside, from throat to lower lip, is generally a deep red color, and a wide, black lateral band at mid-flank gives them their common name.


Breeding: Breeding pairs should be kept alone because the male will become very aggressive when spawning and kill tank mates to protect the fry. Both parents will clean a flat rock for the 500-600 eggs that will hatch within 2-3 days. The parents will move their fry to pits they've dug in the substrate. Black Belt Cichlids are excellent parents, so leaving fry with them even after they've become free swimming after 6-7 days is no problem. At this point, feeding them artemia and other dried foods is necessary.