Mesonauta

The flag cichlid, Mesonauta festivus, is a cichlid recorded from Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. It lives in well planted, slower-moving waters. Flag cichlids are found in most aquatic stores, but the fish usually sold under the name is M. insignis. It is peaceful, but becomes more aggressive when breeding.

Mesonauta insignis is a cichlid from the Orinoco and Negro drainages in Brazil and Venezuela. It looks very similar to M. festivus, and there is some debate that it is the fish sold in aquatic stores as the flag cichlid. Both species are probably sold under that name, depending on where the fish were caught and exported from. A peaceful cichlid, it becomes more aggressive when breeding.