Salvini Cichlid

<p>These fish have a bright yellow belly, two horizontal dark lines that go from the eyes to the tail fin and many bright blue dots all over the body. They can reach up to 6 inches. To keep these fish in captivity, water temperature should range from 72°F to 79°F and water pH should be between 6.5 and 8.0. The tank should have a sandy substrate, rocks, open areas for swimming and hiding places. They are quite aggressive, nonetheless, they can be kept in community aquariums with larger and equally aggressive fish and can either be kept singly or in pairs. A 50 gallon tank is the minimum recommended for a single fish and 100 gallon tank is the minimum recommended for a pair.</p>

<p>This species is omnivorous. In the wild it feeds on invertebrates and small fish. In captivity, it can be fed with dried foods supplemented with live or frozen foods like bloodworms or shrimp.</p>

<p>Males are more colorful and have more pointed dorsal and anal fins than females.</p>

<p>To breed these fish in captivity, it is best to get a group of 6 and allow it to pair off naturally, once a pair forms the rest of the group should be removed.</p>

<p>This species is native to Mexico, Guatemala and Belize and it has been introduced in Florida and Texas. It inhabits fast moving waters.</p>

<p>The water in which these fish are packaged is different from the water in the tank, since these fish are extremely sensitive to water conditions the acclimation process is very important. This process should never be rushed. Aquarium lights should be off for at least the first 4 hours of the fish in the new tank and it should not be fed in the first 24h. There are two acclimation methods: Floating Method and the Drip Method.</p> <p>Floating method -  the aquarium lights should be off and lights in the room should be dim, the bag in which the fish is should be placed in the surface of the water to float for about 15 minutes, this allows the water in the bag to adjust to the water in the tank. The bag should then be cut under the knot and the top edge of the bag should be rolled down one inch, then ¼ cup of the aquarium water should be added to the bag, this step should be repeated every 4 minutes until the bag is full, then half the water of the bag should be discarded and the bag should be put to float again and ¼ cup of the aquarium water should be added to the bag every 4 minutes until the bag is full. Afterwards, the Discus can be moved into the aquarium.</p> <p>Drip method – the aquarium lights should be off and lights in the room should be dim, the bag in which the fish is should be placed in the surface of the water to float for about 15 minutes, this allows the water in the bag to adjust to the water in the tank. The bag contents should be poured into a 1 gallon bucket that has never been cleaned with any chemicals, the fish should be enterally submerged. A siphon, using airline tubing, should be set up and a drip line should run from the main aquarium to the bucket. Several loose knots should be tied in the airline tubing to regulate flow. Sucking the end of the airline tube that goes to the bucket will begin a siphon, the flow should be regulated to 2 to 4 drips per second. Once the water in the buckets doubles, half should be discarded and the process should be repeated until it doubles again. Afterwards, the fish can be moved to the aquarium.</p>

Venomous (Change Content)