Characterful — but not peaceful community fish
Cichlids
Angelfish, rams and apistogrammas bring intelligence and personality, but they are cichlids: territorial, sometimes predatory, and not the peaceful community fish they are often sold as. They reward keepers who plan for their temperament.
15 species on Finfern · 15 with a full care guide.
💧 Get the water right: Give them space, hardscape for territory, and mature, stable water — most dwarf cichlids dislike a new tank. Care model: Cichlid setup
- Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare The tall, graceful centrepiece cichlid — beautiful, but a semi-aggressive predator that outgrows small tanks.
- German Blue Ram Mikrogeophagus ramirezi A jewel of a dwarf cichlid — stunning colour, but wants warm, clean, mature water.
- Apistogramma Apistogramma spp. The 'apisto' — a characterful dwarf cichlid with big personality in a small package.
- Kribensis Pelvicachromis pulcher A colourful, easygoing West African dwarf cichlid — one of the best first cichlids, right up until a pair decides to breed.
- Bolivian Ram Mikrogeophagus altispinosus The hardy, forgiving dwarf cichlid — all the personality of a ram without the German blue ram’s demand for scorching, unstable-tank-killing warmth.
- Discus Symphysodon aequifasciatus The shy, disc-shaped jewel of the Amazon — demanding not for mystery but because it wants hot, clean, stable water kept consistently.
- Oscar Astronotus ocellatus A personable "wet pet" cichlid that hits ~35 cm, lives 10–20 years, and needs a big, heavily filtered tank of its own.
- Convict Cichlid Amatitlania nigrofasciata Small, bombproof and cheap — but "not a community fish": convicts are a species-tank cichlid.
- Electric Yellow Lab Labidochromis caeruleus The "beginner’s mbuna" — but only with hard, alkaline Malawi water and the right male-to-female ratio.
- Electric Blue Acara Andinoacara pulcher A calm, beginner-friendly cichlid — but still a cichlid: stable water, sand to dig, tankmates too big to swallow.
- Firemouth Cichlid Thorichthys meeki Its fiery throat is mostly bluff: a 5-inch bluffer that needs a mature tank, real space, and tankmates too big to eat.
- Blood Parrot Cichlid Hybrid cichlid (Cichlidae) — usually Amphilophus citrinellus x Vieja melanurus; no valid species name exists for a man-made hybrid The round-bodied, permanently-"smiling" hybrid cichlid — endearing and personable, but a deliberate hybrid with real welfare trade-offs.
- Keyhole Cichlid Cleithracara maronii The gentle, timid cichlid — a soft-water community fish that would rather hide than fight, unusual for its family.
- Severum Heros efasciatus A disc-shaped, dog-tame big cichlid — a calmer, hardier alternative to a discus for a large tank.
- Shell-Dweller (Multi) Neolamprologus multifasciatus A thumb-sized cichlid that lives, breeds and hides in empty snail shells — a whole colony in a nano footprint.
Plan a cichlids tank
Our free tools use these species' real, sourced care data — no guessing:
Stocking calculator → Compatibility checker → Which fish suit your water? →