Despite being a wholly unsuitable aquarium subject, C. idella is often traded as such, with an albino form having been developed specifically for the ornamental market.

Individuals which have outgrown their aquarium or pond should never be released into natural waters, either, since this species has proven capable of causing serious environmental damage under a wide range of climatic conditions.

Found in both Caribbean and Pacific-slope drainage basins in Central America, from southern Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and into Costa Rica.

This species clearly shouldn’t ‚ be considered a home aquarium‚ subject at all given its eventual size and the fact it can live for‚ several decades.‚

A hugely popular and very adaptable species, the convict is one of the most ubiquitous fish in the hobby. It is often referred to by synonyms such as Cryptoheros nigrofasciatus and Cichlasoma nigrofasciatus. It's difficult to know how much to recommend it to the beginner, as despite its hardiness and ease of breeding, it's not really a community fish. However, if you want to breed a species and witness some amazing parental behaviour, it's an unreserved recommendation. It now exis…

A bright blue variant normally referred to as ‘electric blue Jack Dempsey’ or simply ‘EBJD’ is of unclear origin but it appears to be an ornamental strain fixed from a natural mutation.

Care is as per the natural form although the blue fish tend to remain smaller and some reports suggest them to be less aggressive.

R. octofasciata has a confusing taxono…

Wild swordtails are a fairly basic green colur. However the vast majority of swordtails available in the hobby today are hybrids of X.helleri with X.maculatus or X.variatus. There are a huge number of selectively-bred varieties available, including wagtail, lyretail, tuxedo, albino, neon, red, green and hi-fin.

Swordtails may undergo what appears to be a change in sex. In young fish this may simply be late development. However some adult females develop male characteristics which is thought …