Triangle Cichlid

About

The triangle cichlid (Uaru amphiacanthoides) is a large, deep-bodied South American cichlid that carries itself with a calm dignity you rarely see in a fish this size. The common name comes from the triangular dark patch that spreads across the lower rear half of the body, a marking that becomes more pronounced as the fish matures. Wild populations are found across a broad stretch of Amazonian blackwater and clearwater systems, including stretches of the Negro, Japurá, and Tapajós river drainages, where they inhabit clean, soft, warm water. Despite their substantial adult size, triangle cichlids are genuinely peaceful and can share space with fish considerably smaller than themselves. Angels, geophagus, satanoperca, and larger characins all make sensible companions. Uaru are most relaxed when kept in pairs or small groups rather than in isolation, and they do poorly alongside aggressive tankmates that stress them out. In the aquarium they need clean, well-filtered water and an omnivorous diet that includes plant material alongside meaty foods. One of their most endearing traits surfaces during breeding. Fry supplement their early diet by grazing the slime coat of both parents, exactly as discus fry do. Captive-bred fish are more forgiving about water conditions than wild-caught specimens, making them a reasonable project for an intermediate keeper ready to provide the space and filtration they genuinely need.