Vieja argentea - Silver Cichlid

Came across this fella and thought wow, what a beautiful fish, anyone else heard or seen one before? Very unusual markings not seen on many fish

Vieja argentea - Silver Cichlid



Family
Cichlidae. Subfamily: Cichlasomatinae


Distribution
Appears to be endemic to the River Usumacinta drainage in western Mexico.


Habitat

Maximum Standard Length
12" (30cm)


Minimum Tank Size
48" x 18" x 15" (120cm x 45cm x 37.5cm) - 200 litres for an adult pair.


Tank Setup
The tank should be decorated with rocks and bogwood. Care should be taken to secure any decor as the fish will often re-arrange it to suit themselves. Plants can be used but are likely to be uprooted. Lighting levels are not critical and decent filtration should be provided as this fish is a messy eater.


Temperature
78 - 86°F (26 - 30°C)


pH Range
7.0


Hardness
10 - 15°H


Diet
Primarily herbivorous in the wild, this species is not a fussy eater in captivity. Use a good quality cichlid pellet as the staple diet. Supplement this with meaty foods such as prawn, mussel and white fish. Vegetable matter in the form of spirulina or algae wafers should form an important part of the diet.


Compatibility
An aggressive species, especially towards conspecifics. It may be possible to successfully keep this species in a community of robust Central American cichlids, if enough rock and bogwood is provided to form sufficient territories for all the fish. There is no guarantee of success if trying this. A bonded pair will often live quite happily together but care should be taken to ensure the female is not bullied.


Sexual Dimorphism
The male is the larger fish and develops a nuchal hump. Dorsal and anal finnage is also extended.


Breeding
The main challenge in breeding this species is getting the pair to co-exist in the same tank! If this can be achieved, then the fish should spawn readily.

The pair will prepare a site for spawning - usually a large stone or sometimes inside a cave. The site will be claened and any detritus or other obstructions removed. Spawning will then begin on the prepared site and during spawning the male can be aggressive towards the female. This is normal but the female should be removed if the violence becomes excessive.

Eggs hatch in 2 - 3 days and fry are free swimming approximately 4 days thereafter. Fry should be offered newly-hatched brineshrimp as an initial food and from there progressed to microworm, fry foods and crushed adult flake / pellets.

The adults make excellent parents but may begin to grow aggressive towards their brood if they are ready to breed once again. Fry should be removed at this point.


Notes
A strikingly coloured, if somewhat aggressive fish. Also referred to as the White Cichlid, it is occasionally available in the UK through specialist cichlid dealers.

Cracker of a fish zungaro or 2poc have a large adult of these

Zungaro has one alright, I had one and sold him on. I believe Anthony is keeping him these days. They are stunning fish..

http://flic.kr/s/aHsjyL4iuD

this is my argentea,not great pics,under a good light you get all sorts of pink and blue hues.lovely fish and not 2 aggressive

Very nice, i take it the black speckles/spots vary on each fish?

yea i have a smaller argentea bout 6" and it has different markings,but good lighting brings out all sorts of colours in these boys