Are there any noticable difference between cichlids that come from different parts of the world? Other than different water requirement. how come some people prefer africans some prefer south americans and so on ??
I think it depends on each individual preferences, some like bigger cichlids while some prefer the smaller ones... of coz, the attraction to these fishes is one of the factors..
I prefer apistogramma or SA dwarf cichlids, since they can be kept in a planted tank together with other fishes...
Don't be afraid of my duck!
There are probably more species of cichlids (over 2,000) than there are breeds of dogs, in all shapes, sizes, temperaments, colours, rarities and habits. I guess inevitably people find their own favourites, be they the sparkling dwarf Apistogrammas, colourful Lake Malawi cichlids, graceful angels/altums/discus, personable oscars, pugnacious Central Americans or oddballs like the hornet tilapia, near-extinct Madagascarn cichlids, and the gigantic (almost 1 m) peacock bass.
Why some people like Japanese car , some like Korean cars ? [:]
Boils down to personal preference really [:
But like budak mentioned , with so many species available , there's bound to be some that you will enjoy rearing
there is a lot more to this topic than just preferences. For preferences to be made, there must be differences in the first place. What are the differences between korean and japanese cars that make ppl like one over the other? these are the things we can talk about.
Cichlids do have great differences among themselves other than size and water requirement.
lets look at a little geography first.
Most of the known species are from africa. They extend to some outlying islands eastwards until southwestern Asian coast (only the genus Etroplus occur in asia). THroughout all the rest of asia and australia, they are absent as a nature species. So do they not occupy europe. THere is one species in north america (Texas cichlid) the rest central and south america. (both cichlids and killifishes are found in both africa and americas. This often used as one evidences of the continental drift theory.)
It was argued that cichlids did not succeed in asia because the evolution of cyprinids took up the very niches which were available to the cichlids in america and africa. If not, a lot of asian waters should suit cichlid living requirement very well.
the issue now is about differences in cichlids, so i will not touch on how cichlids came about.
the very big issue of "new world" (americas) and "old world" (africas)==>
Personally i think it is a gross over-generalisation to simply classify cichlids by "americans" and "africans". THere are far too much differences within these 2 groups to render such distinct classification.The context of "Africans" is commonly used to describe the rift lake cichlids (mainly malawi....also tangayika and victoria)..rather than the entire continent. techincally, it is wrong, but it is well understood by ppl anyway.
This group of cichlids became immensely popular when they were introduced to the hobby a very few decades ago. They are colourful and they provide movement throughout the tanks compare to the more lurking behaviour of the "classic cichlids" introduced much earlier to the hobby (namely many south americans and a few central americans). Another reason that made them popular is the variety and the relative ease whereby a community tank could be set up.
However, these are the behaviour of the newcomers. old time africans that come from the western part of the continent often do not display such traits. Jewel cichlids, tilapias, they are hardly "african-like". (if we talk abt the meaning of "african" people like to associate african cichlids with)
"Old style cichlid people" often frown at the african rift lake cichlids. For they display too much non-cichlid traits. no doubt they are still territorial, but they also have a strong herd mentality. They swim around too much,too fast, and inter-chase too much..more weasel-like, more like tiger barbs than real cichlids do. Being mouthbrooders is another thing they frown on. the sight of tankfuls of colourful africans swimming all over the tank is unacceptable. their territorial behaviour is simply not enough. hiding, not cichlid enough. fights, they run too much.
on the other hand, african rift lake lovers like exactly what old schoolers hate. the colour, the movement, the variety that are possible to stay together..
these are reasons enough for people to split into different. to an extent, they, like planted tanks, are much more sellable compared to relatively dull looking "classic cichlid tanks". They attract beginners. They tempt more experienced ones.
one reason that can be attributed (i tend to agree with this the most) to the behaviour of africans in rift lakes is that they are almost the only family there. they totally dominate the aquatic environment they live in. As a result, they evolved behavioural patterns that would otherwise be performed by cyprinids and characins in other continents. they had become cichlid-tetras, cichlid-barbs, cichlid-almost-everthing. And thus behaviour of many species tend to de
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