Convict Cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata)

Convict Cichlids are a small-medium sized South American cichlid. They are easily recognized by their grey bodies with black vertical stripes. Often reaching 4-6" with males being larger. These cichlids fit in an interesting niche in the aquarium hobby. They grow to a similar size as the Acara and live around as long, but in general tend to be much more aggressive. This is usually attributed to breeding aggression, and few cichlids will breed as readily in the home aquarium as Convicts. Females tend to be more colorful than males which is often the opposite case in nature. When not breeding however they can generally be combined with a fairly large range of other fish, provided they aren't too much smaller than the convicts or that the convicts do not outnumber the other fish.