Keyhole Cichlid (Cleithracara maronii)

Common Name:

Keyhole Cichlid.

Scientific Name:

Cleithracara maronii.

Family:

Cichlidae.

Subfamily:

Cichlasomatinae.

Class:

South American.

Distribution:

Trinidad (on occasion), Orinoco River basin (especially the delta region), rivers from Barima River (Guyana) to Ouanary River (French Guiana).

Size:

6 inches for males, while females only reach around 4 inches.

Diet:

They love small live foods, but will show an affinity for flakes and tablets, among other prepared foods.

Water Temperature:

72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (22-25 degrees Celsius).

Water Chemistry:

Somewhat soft-medium hard (dH 3-20). Fish with higher F-numbers can be acclimated to a wider range of water conditions.

pH:

6-8.

Lifespan:

5-10 years.

Description:

These are golden-brown mottled ovular fish with rounded foreheads. They may have faint horizontal lines. They have a dark eye mask from the dorsal fin to the corner of the gill cover. They have a dark marking near their midsection; this is the eponymous "keyhole". The fins usually have a color similar to that of the body, but are sometimes greenish blue.

Behaviour:

They are peaceful and tolerant of other species in their aquaria.

They are very nervous, however, so sudden movements should be avoided if at all possible. Their tank should also be placed away from heavy foot traffic areas. If they feel sufficiently nervous, they will change their color to match that of the wood in their tank or even the substrate thereof.

Sexing:

Males are larger in size and have elongated anal and dorsal fins.

Breeding:

These fish will breed best and most successfully in water which is in the low half of the pH range, the lower portion of the dH range and at the upper end of the temperature range (or slightly higher). The flat surface mentioned in the Natural Conditions section below is cleaned by the two parents prior to their deposition of up to 300 fertilized eggs. Don't be alarmed if they eat the first clutch; they will lay more in the not-too-distant future. If they continue this behaviour, the eggs may be removed to a rearing tank (complete with acriflavine or some other antifungal and an airstone) or the pair might be left to their own devices as the lack of parental care instincts shouldn't be passed on!

Minimum recommended tank size :

30 gallon tanks would be the bare minimum for tank size for this fish.

Natural Conditions

They live in small creeks near the Caribbean coast of South America which have clear and still waters, as well as a lot of decaying wood.

They like their aquarium to have shelter, lots of plants and lots of open space. There are apparently also flat surfaces available to them in the wild, as the breeding report will show.

Miscellaneous:

This fish was once known as Acara maronii, Aequidens maronii and Cleithracara maroni.

FishBase and MongaBay provided several important facts for this article.