Care
The T-Bar Cichlid is found along the Pacific slope from Costa Rica to Panama. Here they inhabit rivers and streams with gravelly substrate and moderate to strong current. The aquarium should be at least 3ft long for a single pair, with a much more spacious tank (5ft+) required for multiple specimens or if keeping with other fish. 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 will be dug up. Filtration should be efficient with areas of moderate water movement, along with some quieter resting spots out of the current. T-Bar Cichlids are considered mildly aggressive, with the exception of when breeding, at which point they will become much more territorial. They are best maintained as a compatible pair. Tankmates, if desired, should only be added if the tank is spacious enough, in case the T-Bar Cichlids decide to breed. Companions 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/South American species, and medium sized catfish (Doradids, Loricariids etc). May also be seen on sale as Sajica Cichlid.
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 at one of the caves, digging small pits near the entrance. 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 swim over the spawning site in a series of "˜dry runs"™, after which she will begin depositing 200-300 eggs. The male immediately follows behind her and 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 hovering above the eggs, fanning them with her pectoral fins. The male resumes his sentry duty, guarding the perimeter once more. It is at this time that T-Bar 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. However, if kept in a larger "˜mixed community"™ type setting, other fish usually cotton-on 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. Well fed adults do not usually prey on their young. With such a large potential brood size, you should think about methods of re-homing the young once they have attained a satisfactory size. T-Bar Cichlids mature at what seems like a very young age, and before you know it, you could have multiple pairs trying to form.
