Convict Cichlid - Description

Description

The wild-type of the species has 8–9 black vertical bars on a blue-grey body, along with a dark blotch on the operculum. Juvenile convict cichlids are monomorphic until they reach sexual maturity. The male is mostly gray with light black stripes along the body. Males are larger than females, and they have more pointed ventral, dorsal and anal fins which often extend into filaments. In addition, older males frequently develop vestigial fatty lumps on their foreheads. Unusually for fish, the female is more highly coloured. She has more intense black bands across the body, and pink to orange colouration in the ventral region and on the dorsal fin. The average standard length of mature males in the wild range from 6.3–6.6 centimeters, while breeding–sized females range from 4.2–5.5 centimeters. The maximum standard length has been reported to be 10 centimeters, with total length near 12 centimeters (4.7 in). Body weight has been reported to range from 34–36 grams (1.2–1.3 oz). Selective breeding has resulted in a leucistic strain of convict cichlids, in which the dark barring of the wild type is absent. These are also known as white convicts, pink convicts, gold convicts and A. nigrofasciata "Kongo",. The leucistic colouration is caused by a mutation in an autosomal gene and is recessively inherited.