Sorting Out the Grey Dogs
A decidedly unscientific approach to Central American Cichlid Identification
By Rick Bolger
As printed in the North Jersey Aquarium Society Reporter, October 2000
Aquarticles
What's in a name? As a fishkeeper, you've seen it time after time: A bunch of guys at a
society meeting, arguing over a white plastic pail...
"It's Heros," says one.
"I believe Conkel calls it Nandopsis," replies another.
"They're working on the whole family...I think they put that one in Parapetenia,"
chimes a third.
After a while the breeder's award honcho steps in, and authoritatively cuts through the
clutter with, "we'll just list it as Cichlasoma."
Finally, you know what they're talking about: Central American cichlids. The bucket
brigaders all shrug their shoulders and acquiesce to the tried and true Cichlasoma.
Big, ugly, greyish, conspiratorial monsters that go about their plant eating and gravel
moving with a deliberate, deranged tenacity...or, highly evolved creatures with tremendous
parental tendencies of which the finest specimens always seem to draw the most attention
at fish shows. Which is it? Will the real Cichlasoma please step forward?
Actually, all of it is true, except the Cichlasoma part. Central American
cichlids tend to be greyish, but they also dress in a rainbow of colorful spangles. They
often pester and kill their own kind, but they are also fiercely devoted parents. They are
a little of everything, except the one thing everybody was certain about: they aren't
"cichlasoma."
Indeed, they are "cichlasomines," but not of the genus Cichlasoma.
After what was probably very dreary research through some moldy volumes, it has been
determined that Cichlasoma was originally used to describe some of the South
American fishes popularly known as Acaras. (But not all Acaras. The best known example is
probably the "port-hole cichlid," or Cichlasoma taenia, not to be
confused with the more colorful "port cichlid.") Thus the Central Americans were
cast adrift, with no popular name to anchor to.
The scientists, for their part, are redesigning the whole spectrum of Central American
names. The problem is that just when they think they have everything sewed up in neat
little scientific packages, some hobbyist trudges through a swamp in one of the banana
republics and pulls out a new ugly grey dog that doesn't quite fit. Eventually, all the
notes will match and we'll have a lengthy list of highly accurate names.
In the meantime, the following descriptions are an easy-to-remember and occasionally
accurate way to classify the Central Americans. Perfect for the bucket brigade, and
usually garners a grunt of approval from the scientific types. Better still, you can
easily memorize these classifications with the help of an acronym. (Be forewarned that the
acronym memorization method is unlikely to garner any approval whatsoever from the
scientific types). Here's how it works:
The Acronyms: NATHAT and PHANG
NATHAT represents the six types often mislabeled "cichlasoma." PHANG
represents the oddballs, the cichlids that defy being lumped into the main six. Again,
these six are currently being reclassified into a host of more exacting genera, but if you
can learn them at this simplified level you are on your way to a better understanding of
Central American cichlids!
The order is approximately by size, largest to smallest, with the exception of the five
oddballs that follow. The acronym NATHAT stands for Nandopsis, Amphilophus, Theraps,
Herichthys, Archocentrus, Thorichthys. The size ranking is generally that the largest
Nandopsis is bigger than the largest Amphilophus, and so on down the
line. There are of course a few Herichthys larger than many Nandopsis,
but for the sake of sanity we'll do it the easy way and stick with NATHAT.
Be warned that the Latin is not exact -- fenestratus, fenestratum? Sorry, I
don't speak Italian.
Nandopsis
If you know what a "managuense" or jaguar cichlid looks like, you'll have a
pretty good concept of what the Nandopsis are all about. These tend to be
submarine-shaped predators, with a concave forehead, upturned mouth, and highly
proctractile jaw. Known as the guapotes, these fish are built to pursue smaller fish and
eat them. Dovii and umbriferum get size honors, while salvinii
is regarded as the smallest. If you think only in terms of their silhouette, all of the
aforementioned fish are essentially the same. Other well-known Nandopsis include
the motaguense, loisellei, grammodes, minckleyi, and the preeminent nasty grey
dog, the "red terror" or Nandopsis urophthalmus. According to some the
prettier red terror, N. festae, is also in this group.
Nandopsis species have the widest territorial range of the Central Americans:
North and west through Mexico, south to where the festaes and umbies
range into Colombia, and east to the Dominican Republic where the haitiensis is
found.
Amphilophus
Picture the shape of a red devil, and you've got the Amphilophus. If you've done
your homework, you might be wondering which red devil, labiatum or citrinellus?
Either one; both are Amphilophus. Some tend to be slender, with long snouts like A.
labiatus; others tend to be taller, with pointy snouts like A. citrinellus.
(citrinellus - or is it citrinellum - is also known as the midas
cichlid). All tend to have concave foreheads, and most display seven wide vertical bars
when young. Many Amphilophus make their living by sucking crustaceans and other
chum out of gravel and crevices in lakes, so you can frequently identify this genera as
the fishes with the big lips. Some of the better-known Amphilophus include robertsoni,
altifrons, lyonsi, and alfari. Another fish that typifies the Amphilophus
is the trimaculatum, but some consider this a Nandopsis. As time goes on
and you learn more about the different types, you'll come to your own conclusion.
Theraps
This is the broadest, most discussed and most disagreed about genera of the big six. Ever
seen a black belt cichlid, T. maculicauda? Take away the coloring, and you've got
the basic outline of the Theraps. These fish have convex foreheads prior to the
onset of the nuchal hump (if any), and often show a broad, dark black lateral swath from
the pectoral fin through the caudal peduncle. Some are long and slender, exemplified by
the popular T. nicaraguense and the seldom seen T. irregulare, while
others have a much taller profile. A lot of Theraps resemble the popular bifasciatum,
such as the zonatum, fenestratum, breidohri, regani, godmanni, etc. and are known
as vieja to the locals. Theraps tend to have large eyes, and smaller, terminal or
even subterminal mouths. The large eyes, combined with the convex forehead gives these
fish an intelligent look (as fish go) and they are often attributed with
"personality." The largest Theraps is probably either the black belt or
argentea, which can attain over a foot in length. The smallest is the colorful panamense.
Other popular species include guttulatum, hartwegi, and irregulare.
Herichthys
Probably the oldest and least-disputed classification, Herichthys is best
exemplified by our own Texas cichlid, or Rio Grande perch, H. cyanoguttatus. Now,
if you can get the experts to agree on which fish exactly this is, you'd be in good shape;
some say the golden brown Herichthys is the cyanoguttatus, while others
offer up a blue-green species, and still others say they are the same fish. In any case,
all of the various cyanoguttatus are distinctly different from the carpintus,
which is another common Herichthys. This genera, regardless of species, tends to
be rather box-like when viewed from the side, with a decidedly shorter snout than most of
the other groups. These fish also have steeply sloped foreheads, and have a high degree of
pearl-like spangling. Another noteworthy fact is that this group tends to have the
northernmost range of all neotropical cichlids. The largest Herichthys is the
pearsei; an extended list of this genus includes the labridens and a host of
undescribed fish, most of which sport the spangled look of the Texas cichlid.
Archocentrus
This might be the easiest one to identify, as it claims the ubiquitous convict among its
membership. Identifiable by an oval shape, terminal mouth, small eyes, and generally drab
coloring, they don't excite a lot of people. Archocentrus fans, however, will
argue that this group provides a lot of bang for the buck. They are quite hardy, eat
anything, and breed readily. Males are recognizable by larger size, and long, thread-like
fin extensions. In the case of a full-grown male convict, the entire caudal fin takes on
these wisp-like characteristics; noted aquarist Mike Sheridan likens it to the appearance
of the veiltail angelfish. Females, on the other hand, can be recognized by darker or more
colorful abdomens, and a prominent black spot ringed with color on the middle of the
dorsal fin.
Archocentrus are small, popular fish, and do include the smallest Central
American cichlids, such as the sajica (t-bar cichlid) and the septemfasciatum
(also known as cutter's cichlid, but not to be confused with Ar. cutteri, which
is also known as Ar. spilurus). Arguably the most colorful of the group is the
recently identified Archocentrus nanoluteus, which sports a bright blue and green
coloring and is one of the few where the male outshines the female. Archocentrus
centrarchus, the flier cichlid, claims size honors...or does it? Some studies place
the Jack Dempsey in this genus, while others say it's a Nandopsis. Wayne Leibel,
champion and defender of all cichlids neotropical, once said "wellll...it looks like
a Nandopsis...I think it's a Nandopsis...what do you think?" One of
the most compelling arguments for Archocentrus octofasciatum is that the Dempsey
readily interbreeds with most of this group, and has given rise to a proliferation of
"dempseycons," a hideous grey fish with disposition to match.
Thorichthys
Of the six NATHATs, these are generally the easiest to identify: the firemouths. Now, they
aren't all "firemouths" exactly, but when compared in black and white photos,
the similarities are undeniable. Like the meeki, all Thorichthys have a
long, sloping snout, with large eyes set far back on the head. Also like the meeki, they
have a striking, ringed-black blotch at the edge of the operculum, and tails with a
noticeably straight edge. The top of the dorsal fin is generally in the shape of an
elegant, sweeping s-curve. Almost all have some degree of orange to red coloring on the
throat and belly, and a prominent dark area mid body. As a group, Thorichthys are
probably the gentlest of the NATHATs; the famous firemouth gill flaring is more a
reflection of a good publicity agent than any real capability. For this reason, many
novice aquarists try to keep firemouths with the other bread and butter cichlids. When all
the neighbors are young and small, the bluff and bravado allows the Thorichthys
to dominate and bully tankmates; as time goes by the firemouths will be steadily killed
off. In addition to the meeki, popular Thorichthys include the ellioti,
helleri, and aureum, the smallest of the crew.
The Oddballs
After the main NATHAT six, the remaining Central American cichlids are comprised of
different genera, each with a single (known) species. These can be remembered by the
acronym PHANG.
Petenia splendida -- the Red Bay snook, a big reddish, brown
or pink fish that looks like a Nandopsis with a funny-looking mouth built to
inhale food. Biggest of all Central American cichlids.
Herotilapia multispinosa -- the rainbow cichlid. A popular
fish, easy to breed, but with an overly romanticized common name.
Aequidens coeruleopunctatus -- an acara type.
Resembles the green terror of this genus, of which all but this representative hail from
South America.
Neetroplus nematopus -- the poor man's tropheus,
also known as the little lake cichlid, or neets. Usually a black, oval-shaped fish with a
prominent light vertical bar midship. Sometimes a light fish with a dark bar.
Geophagus crassilabris -- the only Central American version
of this common South American genus. This species resembles the red-hump, G.
steindachneri.
Hopefully the main theme that came through this brief overview and exercise is the fact
that a lot of work remains to be done in Central American cichlidae. Each of the
big six - with the possible exception of Thoricthys - will eventually be
comprised of a number of more precise genera. Even the oddball list is likely to swell, as
new fish are discovered and the nonconformists (such as the Dempsey) are studied and get
new, one-of-a-kind first names. As work continues, our understanding of these fish will
expand, and a lot of the current thinking will fall by the wayside. Until then, NATHAT and
PHANG are surely the easiest way to remember the main genera.
With any luck, the day may come when the bucket brigade peers down into the pail and
says "nice Amphilophus" in unison, and you'll know exactly what they
are talking about.
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