Cichlid

Cichlid, any of about 85 genera of freshwater and brackish-water fishes that make up the cichlid family in the perch order. In Africa cichlids are the dominant fishes in Lakes Malawi, Victoria, and Tanganyika, where hundreds of cichlid species are found. They also occur in India, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, the West Indies, and South and Central America; the range of one species extends into Texas. Several are popular aquarium fish, and many are extremely important as food fish.

Cichlids show considerable variety in shape but generally have a laterally flattened body, with spines in the dorsal and anal fins. They may be up to about 80 cm (about 30 in) long. The pike cichlids have an elongate body, and some other genera have high, sail-like fins. Many cichlids are active predators; others eat insects or plants.

Highly successful evolutionarily, the cichlid family is of interest to behavioral scientists because of the wide range of behavioral patterns it exhibits, particularly in breeding. Many species are territorial, clearing out a nesting space and guarding the eggs. Some are mouth brooders. The male digs a breeding pit in which the female lays her eggs and then picks up the fertilized eggs—or perhaps the unfertilized eggs and the male's sperm—in her mouth, keeping them there until they hatch. Males of some species are also mouth brooders. The young remain close to the mother and flee for safety back into her mouth, until eventually she rejects them.

One group of cichlids, the tilapias, are some of the most commonly cultured food fishes in the world, and both fresh and smoked tilapia are increasing in popularity. Some members of this group have been used as a biological control for aquatic vegetation.

Scientific classification: Cichlids make up the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Pike cichlids make up the genus Crenicichla, tilapias the genus Tilapia.