Salvini Cichlid

Scientific name: Cichlasoma salvini / Nandopsis salvini
Common name: Salvini cichlid, Salvin's Cichlid, Yellow-Belly Cichlid, Tricolor Cichlid
Max. size: 22 cm / 9 inches (usually less)
pH range: 7.0 – 8.0
dH range: 5-20
Temperature range: 22 - 27°C / 72 - 81°F
Introduction to Salvini Cichlid:
The Salvini cichlid is a very beautiful mid sized fish that are mostly suitable for community south American or Central American cichlid aquariums with other semi aggressive cichlids. The temperament of this fish varies with the nature of the tankmates. The fish is not suitable for complete beginner to aquarium hobby, but they are good for those who have kept ishes,but this is the first time they are trying cichlids. These fishes are hardy and easy to care for.

The Salvini cichlid s common in this hobby. This fish  can be found under the names of Yellow-Belly Cichlid and Tricolor Cichlid. 

The Salvini Cichlid takes on the most vivid colors during the time of breeding. They do not always appear terribly colorful, most of the time colored either pale yellow or grey, they take on bright color variations at the time of spawning.  

Salvini cichlid habitat and range:
Salvini cichlids are mainly found in fast and moderate moving water  of the Atlantic side of Central America where it can be found from southern mexico down through Guatemala and Belize. There might also exist populations further south in Honduras.

Salvini cichlid description:
The Salvini cichlid is a very beautiful cichlid that has an sharp front . The body has a bright yellow base colour. Two black lines run across the body front to back on the upper half of the body. The lower half of the body usually shows different amounts of blue and red. The fins are yellow, red and blue.The fins are reddish during the spawing time.

Salvini cichlid setup:
Salvini cichlids seldom grow beyond 6 inches in home aquaria. They can be kept in smaller aquariums than many other of the Central American cichlid species. A 40 gallon for a pair is enough, whereas you need a 30 gallon aquarium to keep a single specimen. But like other fishes a larger tank would be better alwas.
Live plants are not at all necessary, and they will be uprooted soon by the salvini cichlid. A rock structure is more preferable with some driftwoods, or roots. The Salvini cichlid likes to dig so it is recommendable to place rocks  carefully so that it does not break the glass. This makes it easier for the fish to create borders for their territories and allows for more territories and less aggression in the aquarium tank.

They prefer a pH of 7 and a temperature of 22 - 27°C / 72 - 81°F. They are however very hardy fish and can adapt to many different setups.

Salvini cichlid tank mates:
Salvini cichlids are not suitable for community aquariums even though they sometimes work well in community setups. A smaller fish will suddenly be its food sometime. And they bite a lot, so they are not recommended for peaceful community aquariums. They are however suitable to keep with other Central and South American cichlids of similar size and similar aggression level. A more aggressive ones will bullied the salvini cichlid, and the salvini cichlid will be in hiding mode.

Salvini cichlid care:

The Salvini cichlid is easy to care for. They are hardy fishes. Like other cichlids they produce a lot of waste so regular large water changes are a necessity. That means a-% WC, not a 90%, because that can hamper the stability in pH,temperature issue and may cause a sudden chlorine spike or oxygen deficiency. 

Salvini cichlid feeding:

Salvini cichlids are easy to feed and will accept mostly any food including pellets and other dry food. They should be given a varied diet. I recommend you feed your Salvini cichlid Hikari pellets, Tetrabits, fresh or dried shrimps, processed bloodworms, small fish if you do not hate livefood and different frozen foods.

Salvini cichlid breeding:
The Salvini cichlid is not very difficult to breed in aquariums. if you have a pair . To form a pair the easiest way is to bring T juveniles, and raise the, You must get one pair, now remove the other fishes. These fishes are very easy to sex. The male has longer more pointy fins and the female has a patch in the centre of her dorsal fin and a spot on the lower part of her gill cover. Females also usually have more red on their bellies but that is not a sure way of sexing them.
They lay eggs on a flat surface. a The eggs are constantly guarded by both parents. Salvini cichlid fry can be fed  Daphnia, Artemia or newly hatched brine shrimp as soon as they are free swimming.