Care
The Topaz Cichlid is found along the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica and Panama. Here they inhabit rivers and streams with gravelly substrate and moderate to strong current. Wild populations are considered endangered due to destructive agricultural practices, making their commercial captive breeding important.
The aquarium should be at least 60cm long for a single pair, with a much more spacious tank required for multiple specimens. There should be plenty of hiding places amongst driftwood and rocky caves, and flower pots laid on their side are also much appreciated. If plants are desired, choose tough species such as Java Fern (Microsorum sp.) or Anubias sp. tied onto the wood, as plants rooted in the substrate may be dug up. Filtration should be efficient with areas of moderate water movement, along with some quieter resting spots out of the current. Topaz are considered mildly aggressive, with the exception of when breeding, at which point they will become much more territorial and their tank should be spacious enough to allow other fish to escape their breeding territory. They are best maintained as a compatible pair which is best formed by keeping juveniles in a group until sexually mature. Females are smaller and more colourful so groups should be selected that display a range of sizes, unless a compatible pair has formed in the retailer's tank. Tankmates can include shoaling fishes such as Buenos Aires tetras and Swordtails, other cichlids should be of similar size and temperament e.g. some of the other more peaceable Central American species such as Firemouths. Avoid keeping them with other Amatitlania species to avoid hybridisation.
Feeding
Omnivorous. Try to keep it varied with good quality carnivore and herbivore flakes, small sinking pellet foods, and a mixture of frozen foods such as white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis and chopped prawns and cockles. Wild specimens have been observed picking algae off of various surfaces, perhaps for the small invertebrate life it may contain.
Breeding
Substrate spawner. When ready to spawn, the fish will develop their high-contrast breeding colours and display to one another. They will then choose a preferred spawning site, preferably in a cave or an enclosed space. Whilst the female is busy cleaning the spawning site, the male patrols the perimeter, ready to defend against any intruders that may, or may not, be present. When ready, the female will display over the the spawning site after which she will begin depositing 50-100 eggs depending on her size. The male immediately fertilises them. The act of spawning has been known to continue for well over an hour in some cases, after which time, the female will start guarding the eggs, fanning them with her pectoral fins. The male will normally spend his time defending the territory and keeping out of the way of the female. It is at this time these cichlids are at their most aggressive, which is why, if you have a pair in a relatively small aquarium, they are best kept by themselves. Note that the pair can bicker in the absence of other fish and it's wise to give the male a threat such as a mirror placed outside the end of the tank furthest from the spawning site. If kept in a mixed aquarium, other fish usually learn pretty quickly that it's best to stay well away from the protective parents and this prevents the pair taking out their protective urges on one another.
After 3 or 4 days, the eggs should hatch into wrigglers, and the parents will move them into one of their prepared pits. The wrigglers will initially feed on their yolk sacs, and should become free swimming after another 4 or 5 more days. Baby brineshrimp (Artemia nauplii), microworms, or egg layer first foods should be offered at this stage, followed by crushed flake after a week or so. The parents will continue to herd them from pit to pit until they are ready to make their own way. Adults will tolerate older fry reasonably well but will attempt to drive them away if they want to breed again.
