[Jason_S]

Species Name: Parachromis motaguense

Common Name: Red Tiger cichlid

Profile Credit: Jason_S
Picture Credit: AquaMojo

Size: ~10" for females and ~12" for males, though under optimal conditions they may grow slightly larger.

pH: ~7.0 to 7.8. This species is very tolerant and provided you properly acclimate them, they will accept a wider range of ph.

Minimum Recommended Tank Size: 75 gallons

Native Location: Central America

Temperature: 72-80F. This species is very tolerant of a fairly wide range in temp provided extremes are avoided. It is important to note that the fish's metabolism will increase at higher temperatures meaning they will grow slightly faster and become more aggressive/territorial at higher temps.

Diet: Piscivore. In the wild this species is an avid predator feeding mostly on smaller fishes and invertebrates. In the aquarium, this species should be provided with a varied diet of pellets, food sticks and live/frozen/freeze dried foods.

Breeding: A pair will form at approx. 4-6". The female will guard the eggs/fry while the male will guard the surrounding area. Once paired, this fish will dilligently guard the eggs/fry and can injure or kill any fish that gets too close to the nesting area.

Gender Differences: Males will grow larger than females. Overall coloration of a male will be a silver color with some blue on the cheek/gill cover region. Also, a male will have red spangling over the entire body and fins. Females will have a base yellow coloration with a broken black horizontal line. Females will have red on the cheeks/gill covers and possibly red coloration on other portions of the body as well.

Aggression: One of the more aggressive fish of the genus. Many owners claim the motaguense is more aggressive and territorial than Jags (P. managuense). Tankmates should be chosen very carefully and only in large tanks.

Notes: Females of this species are often confused with Parachromis friedrichsthalli and Parachromis loisellei. These 3 look very similar but can be distinguished by the following traits. P. loisellei very rarely shows vertical bars. The overall coloration is a rich yellow but the top portion of the fish's body may be a lighter yellow or white color. A male loisellei may have red coloration in the finnage, but will rarely ever have any red coloration on the actual body. P. friedrichsthalli will show its vertical bars about 99% of the time and the overall coloration is typically a slightly darker yellow with a little bit of a greenish/olive hue. Female P. motaguense will look very similar to P. loisellei but will typically have red cheeks/gill covers and some red coloration over other portions of the body as well.

Final note: The fact that P. motaguense will max. out at ~12-14" makes it a much better choice for those hobbyists who are infatuated with Jags but can't house such a monstrous fish. The fishes in the Parachromis genus are commonly referred to as "Guapotes". It is pretty much agreed on by most experienced 'Guapote' owners that these fish do not do well with conspecifics or other Parachromis spp.

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