iConvict cichlid
a male Archocentrus nigrofasciatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Perciformes Family: Cichlidae Genus: Archocentrus (Gill 1877) Species: A. nigrofasciatus
Binomial name
Archocentrus nigrofasciatus (Günther, 1867)

Convict cichlids are a Central American species of cichlids found in freshwater streams and lakes. These fish are named convict due to their black stripes similar to early prison uniforms. They are very aggressive towards other fish when breeding, they are very defensive of their fry and breeding site. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa Orthonectida Rhombozoa Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) Ctenophora Cnidaria Bilateria (unranked) Acoelomorpha Myxozoa Superphylum Deuterostomia Chordata Hemichordata Echinodermata Chaetognatha Superphylum Ecdysozoa Kinorhyncha Loricifera Priapulida Nematoda Nematomorpha Onychophora Tardigrada Arthropoda Superphylum Platyzoa Platyhelminthes Gastrotricha Rotifera Acanthocephala Gnathostomulida Micrognathozoa Cycliophora Superphylum Lophotrochozoa Sipuncula Nemertea Phoronida Bryozoa... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families many, see text The Perciformes, also called the Percomorphi or Acanthopteri, include about 40% of all fish and are the largest order of vertebrates. ... Genera Apistogramma - Dwarf Cichlids Astronotus (Oscars) Boulengerochromis Cichlasoma - American Ciclids Crenicichla Pterophyllum - Freshwater Angelfish Symphysodon - Discus Teleogramma Tilapia Cichlids are a family of perciform fishes. ... Archocentrus is a small genus of cichlid fishes from Central America. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Albrecht Carl Ludwig Gotthilf Günther. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... Genera Apistogramma - Dwarf Cichlids Astronotus (Oscars) Boulengerochromis Cichlasoma - American Ciclids Crenicichla Pterophyllum - Freshwater Angelfish Symphysodon - Discus Teleogramma Tilapia Cichlids are a family of perciform fishes. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... A running stream. ... A man-made lake in Keukenhof, Netherlands A lake is a body of water or other liquid of considerable size surrounded by land. ...

They are one of the easiest cichlids to breed in an aquarium. For other uses, see Aquarium (disambiguation). ...

Convicts are very genectically close to the Honduran red point cichlid and readily hybridize.

Environment

Convicts prefer to live around many large rocks in order to shelter themselves and their young. The usually dig a nest at the bottom with loose sand or gravel.

Breeding

Convicts pair off with a dance in which the male swims parallel to the female. The female contracts her scales to darken her stripes and brighten her underside. Females usually show an orange type belly color that becomes more intense when close to breeding. The female will find a secluded shelter, such as a large crevice between rocks or a nest dug in the gravel, to lay about 100 eggs. The male will then fertilize the eggs and then aggressively protect them from any other fish which come near.

Fry

Upon hatching after 3 days from the female laying the eggs, the fry will attempt to swim with the egg enclosed around its body. Eventually, the fry will resemble tiny versions of their parents. The female and male occasionally move the fry in their mouth to the nest if they stray too far from it, however the male might eat a few of them.

External links

• ITIS Report. Archocentrus nigrofasciatus.
• FishBase Species Summary. Archocentrus nigrofasciatus.