Species group · Bony fish
Cichlids
WAnimals has 3 species of cichlid, all in the family Cichlidae.
- 3 species
- 1 family
- 8 countries
- 1 park
- Weight
- 35 g
- Length
- 8 cm – 30 cm
- Lifespan
- 12 years
Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.
All 3 species of cichlids on WAnimals
Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.
Conservation status
No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.
See the global conservation statusWhere they live
Recorded in 8 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:
Where to see them
Did you know…
The female broods the eggs in her mouth for some three weeks.
From Zebra Mbuna
The cichlids of Lake Malawi are one of the most spectacular examples of adaptive radiation: several hundred species have arisen from a handful of ancestors in under a million years.
From Zebra Mbuna
The mbuna hardly ever cross the sandy stretches between rocky headlands, which isolates the populations of each reef and speeds up the emergence of new species.
From Zebra Mbuna
The populations of the Nicaraguan crater lakes, isolated only a few thousand years ago, are giving rise to new species within the same lake, and are one of the best-documented examples of speciation without geographical barriers.
From Midas Cichlid
Gold and grey individuals coexist in the same population: the gold colour appears during the fish's life, when it loses its dark pigment cells.
From Midas Cichlid
It is one of the parents of the aquarium blood parrot cichlid, an artificial hybrid.
From Midas Cichlid
Fiercely territorial and a good parent: the pair defend their fry together.
From Convict Cichlid
The pair defend the territory and tend the eggs and fry together, a form of parental care that has made it a model species in behavioural studies.
From Convict Cichlid