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Amatitlania nigrofasciata

No common name
NS G5
Collection Details

Specimens

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Taxonomic Hierarchy

Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes) Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri) Cichlidae (Cichlids) Amatitlania Amatitlania nigrofasciata

Description

This species account was compiled from FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.) and processed using AI-assisted text extraction. It may contain errors in spelling, punctuation, or formatting. When citing, please reference the original source rather than this page. Learn more about our species accounts.

Characters

Body shape: short and / or deep. This species is distinguished by the following characters: two (vs. one) distal rows of interradial scales on anal fin; arms in the first epibranchial bone are parallel (vs. divergent); posterior end of dentigerous arm of dentary rounded or squarish (vs. triple-spined or bluntly pointed); peritoneal coloration is uniformly dark (vs. not uniformly dark); rostrad directed pronounced convexity on the ventral process of the articular absent (vs. present); body less deep than as compared with its congeners kanna and siquia; 4th bar not Y-shaped (Ref. 74403).

Distribution

Central America: Pacific slope, from Río Sucio, El Salvador to Río Suchiate, Guatemala; Atlantic slope, from Río Patuca, Honduras to Río Jutiapa, Guatemala. Not in slope to Panama (Am. coatepeque), Costa Rica or even Nicaragua (Am. siquia), as formerly considered. Introduced elsewhere.

Habitat Associations

Freshwater. benthopelagic. Found in: streams, lakes.

Biology

Adults inhabit flowing water from small creeks and streams to the shallows of large and fast flowing rivers (Ref. 7335). Prefer rocky habitats and finds sanctuary in the various cracks and crevices provided by this type of environment (Ref. 7335), or among roots and debris (Ref. 44091). They occur in warm pools of springs and their effluents (Ref. 7020). Feed on worms, crustaceans, insects, fish and plant matter (Refs. 7020; 44091). Also used in behavioral studies (Ref. 4537). Approximately 100-150 eggs are deposited and are vigorously guarded and cared for by both male and female (Ref. 44091). A popular aquarium fish which requires high temperature to maintain itself in an environment, e.g. artificially heated waters of power stations. Aquarium keeping: in pairs; minimum aquarium size 80 cm (Ref. 51539).
Max length: 10.0 cm SL; common length: 8.5 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; mating system: monogamy; guarders (nesters); parental care: biparental. Lays eggs on cleaned surfaces of rocks. Parents incubate eggs and guard young. Tends and fans the embryos and free embryos and transfers them several times into new pits excavated in the bottom using its mouth (huddling) (Ref. 34155). Dark cavities are preferred as nests to conceal the brood and make them less conspicuous to visual predators (Ref. 38966). When in caves, single entrances are favored to reduce the probability of intrusion and are probably more manageable for the females in terms of defending their brood (Ref. 38966). Approximately 100-150 eggs are deposited and are vigorously guarded and cared for by both male and female (Ref. 44091).
IUCN Red List Status: Data Deficient (DD), assessed 2019-06-05. Resilience: High (tm<1 and multiple spawning events per year; Fec=100-150).

Commercial or Environmental Importance

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: highly commercial.

References

Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister and J.R. Stauffer (1980) Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. 867 p.
Conkel, D. (1993) Cichlids of North and Central America. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., USA.
Wisenden, B.D. (1990) Reproductive behavior of free-ranging convict cichlids, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum. Environ. Biol. Fishes 43(2):121-134.
Kullander, S.O. (2003) Cichlidae (Cichlids). p. 605-654. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil.
Schmitter-Soto, J.J. (2007) A systematic revision of the genus Archocentrus (Perciformes: Cichlidae), with the description of two new genera and six new species. Zootaxa 1603:1-78.

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