Mary Allen
The king cichlid, also called purple perch, has its natural habitat in the standing and flowing waters of West Africa. The colorful cichlid was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. Since then it has also enjoyed great popularity in Europe. King cichlids like to be kept in community tanks.
A Couple Among Themselves
King cichlids are colorful cichlids that can reach a body size of up to 10 cm. It is best to keep them in pairs in a tank with at least 100 liters of water volume. Since the relatively peaceful fish are mostly near the bottom, they can easily be kept in a community tank with other species that use the upper water levels for themselves. They should not be socialized among their own kind, since a pair needs its territory and will defend it against intruders in case of doubt.
Respect Boundaries
The couples have a close bond and are always together, even outside of the reproductive periods. After the young fish hatch, they are safely guarded by both parents on the bottom of the community tank and led through the entire tank in search of food. The larger male takes over control of the outer territory boundaries. The female takes care of any fry that managed to get past the Fishman. To avoid injury, you should take extra care at such times not to invade their territory with your hand or other objects.
Create Retreats
The female royal cichlid retreats to a cave to breed. When setting up the pool, you should definitely include a small structure made of stones or an artificial cave. Fine, not too light-colored gravel should be chosen as the substrate. If you have a very large tank in which several king cichlid pairs live, you should also mark their territories with very dense planting.
Good Nutrition from an Early Age
King cichlids can be fed well with dry food, granules, or frozen food. Feeding the young fish, which are already quite large when they are born, is also no problem: powdered food or live Artemia canker larvae (nauplii) are absolutely suitable for seeing the next generation of royal aquarium inhabitants grow up healthy. With species-appropriate husbandry and good nutrition, you can enjoy these magnificent animals for six years or more.