Fresh Saltwater Fishing
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What is the best fresh/saltwater fish available?
i have a 300 gallon tank and i want to know what is the best fish i could buy. the more violent the better.
you could fit in a group of around five oscars or any chichlid in your tank. to my perspective i think that you should get an oscar or two but go to petsmart and ask them what is best for you. explain your situation.
More information on chichlids:
Cichlids (pronounced /ˈsɪklɪd/) are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. The family Cichlidae, a major family of perciform fish, is both large and diverse. Estimates of the number of cichlid species range from 1,900 to 2,200, making it one of the three largest vertebrate families.[1][2] Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as 2.5 centimetres (1.0 in) in length (e.g. Neolamprologus multifasciatus ) to much larger species approaching 1 metre (3 ft) in length (e.g. Boulengerochromis and Cichla). As a group, cichlids exhibit a similarly wide diversity of body shapes, ranging from strongly laterally compressed species (such as Altolamprologus, Pterophyllum, and Symphysodon) through to species that are cylindrical and highly elongate (such as Julidochromis, Teleogramma, Teleocichla, Crenicichla, and Gobiocichla).[3] Generally, however, cichlids tend to be of medium size, ovate in shape and slightly laterally compressed, and generally very similar to the North American sunfishes in terms of morphology, behaviour, and ecology.[4]
Many cichlids, particularly the tilapias, are important food fishes, while others are valued game fish (eg. Cichla species). Many species, including the angelfish, oscars, and discus, are also highly valued in the aquarium trade.[3][5] Cichlids are also the family of vertebrates with the largest number of endangered species, most of these found in the haplochromine group.[6] Cichlids are particularly well known for having evolved rapidly into a large number of closely related but morphologically diverse species within large lakes, particularly Tanganyika, Victoria, Malawi, and Edward, .[7][8] The diversity of cichlids in the African Great Lakes is important for the study of speciation in evolution.[9] Many cichlids that have been accidentally or deliberately released into freshwaters outside of their natural range have become nuisance species, for example tilapia in the southern United States.[10]
Cichlids are members of a group of perciform fish known as the Labroidei alongside the wrasses Labridae, damselfish Pomacentridae, and surfperches Embiotocidae.[11] This very large grouping shares a single key trait: the fusion of the lower pharyngeal bones into a single tooth-bearing structure. A complex set of muscles allows the upper and lower pharyngeal bones to be used as a second set of jaws for processing food, allowing a division of labour between the "true jaws" (mandibles) and the "pharyngeal jaws". Cichlids in particular have evolved to be very efficient feeders that are able to capture and process a very wide variety of food items and this is assumed to be one reason why they are so diverse (see section on diet below).[3] Cichlids have a great variability in body shape, ranging from compressed and disc-shaped (such as Symphysodon) to elongate and cylindrical (such as Crenicichla.[12]
The particular features of cichlids that distinguish them from the other Labroidei include:[1]
A single nostril on each side of the forehead instead of two.
No bony shelf below the orbit of the eye.
The lateral line organ is divided into two sections, one on the upper half of the flank and a second along the midline of the flank from about halfway along the body to the base of the tail (except for genera Teleogramma and Gobiocichla).
A distinctively shaped otolith.
The small intestine leaves the stomach from its left side, not from its right side as in other Labroidei.
Range and habitat
Tilapia mariae, caught on a hook and line, in Australia. Originally from Africa, the species established feral populations in Australia.[13]Cichlids are the most species-rich non-Ostariophysan family in freshwaters worldwide. They are mainly freshwater fish that are most diverse in Africa and South America. It is estimated that there will be at least 1600 species in Africa alone when all are discovered and described.[12] Substantial numbers are also found in Central America from Panama to the Mexican portion of North America, with approximately 120 species, as far north as the Rio Grande in southern Texas, and Madagascar has its own distinctive fauna of cichlids phylogenetically only distantly related to those on the African mainland.[1][14] Endemic cichlids are largely absent in Asia except for four species in the Jordan Valley in the Middle East, one in Iran, and three in India and Sri Lanka.[12] There are three species found in Cuba and Hispaniola. Europe, Australia, Antarctica, and North America north of the Rio Grande River drainage, do not have any native cichlids, although where environmental conditions are suitable, for example in Florida, Mexico (which also has several native species), Japan and northern Australia, feral populations of cichlids have become established as exotics.[15][13][16][17][18][19][20]
Cichlids are largely freshwater fish and are less commonly found in brackish and salt water habitats, though many species will tolerate brackish water for extended periods; Cichlasoma urophthalmus, for example, is equally at home in freshwater marshes and mangrove swamps, and can be found living and breeding in salt water environments such as the mangrove belts around barrier islands.[3] Several species of tilapias (species of Tilapia, Sarotherodon, and Oreochromis) are euryhaline and can disperse along some brackish coastlines between rivers.[12] Only a few cichlids, however, are found primarily in brackish or salt water, most notably Etroplus maculatus, Etroplus suratensis, and Sarotherodon melanotheron.[21]
Diet
The bumblebee cichlid, Pseudotropheus crabro, is specialised in feeding on parasites from the catfish Bagrus meridionalis[22]Cichlids are astonishingly diverse in terms of diet. Many are primarily herbivores feeding on algae (e.g. Petrochromis) and plants (e.g. Etroplus suratensis) and small animals, particularly invertebrates, are only a small part of their diet. Some cichlids are detritivores and eat all types of organic material; among these species are the tilapiines of the genera Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia.
Other cichlids are predatory and eat little if any plant matter. These include generalists that catch a variety of small animals including other fishes and insect larvae (e.g. Pterophyllum), as well as variety of specialists. Trematocranus is a specialised snail-eater, while Pungu maclareni feeds on sponges. A number of cichlids feed on other fish, either whole or in part. Crenicichla are stealth-predators that lunge at small fish that pass by their hiding places, while Rhamphochromis are open water pursuit predators that chase down their prey.[23] Paedophagous cichlids such as the Caprichromis species eat other species' eggs or young (in some cases ramming the heads of mouthbrooding species to force them to disgorge their young).[24][25][22][26] Among the more unusual feeding strategies are those of Corematodus spp., Docimodus evelynae, Plecodus, Perissodus and Genyochromis species, which feed on scales and fins of other fishes, a behaviour known as lepidophagy[27][28][29] along with the death mimicking behaviour of Nimbochromis and Parachromis species, which lay motionless, luring small fish to their side prior to ambush.[30][31]
Scientists believe it is this wide adaptability of feeding styles that has helped cichlids to inhabit such a wide range of habitats. It is largely the pharyngeal teeth (teeth in the throat) that allows the cichlids so many 'niche' feeding behaviours, i.e. the jaws may be used to hold or pick food, while the pharyngeal teeth are used to crush what was harvested.
[edit] Reproduction
A substrate brooding female managuense cichlid, Parachromis managuense, guards a clutch of eggs in the aquarium.
[edit] Brood care
All species show some form of parental care for both eggs and larvae, often extended to free-swimming young until they are several weeks or months old. Species of this family have highly organized breeding activities.[12]
Parental care falls into one of four categories:[32]Substrate or open brooders, secretive cave brooders (also known as guarding speleophils[33]), and at least two types of mouthbrooding, ovophile mouthbrooding and larvophile mouthbrooding.[34]
Open or substrate brooding cichlids lay their eggs in the open on rocks, leaves or logs. Examples of open brooding cichlids include Pterophyllum, Symphysodon spp and Anomalochromis thomasi. In general, brooding biparental substrate brooding cichlids usually engage in differing roles with regard to protection and raising of the fry. Most commonly, the male parent patrols the pair's territory and repels intruders, while females more intensively tend the brood, fanning water over the eggs, removing infertile eggs and leading the school of fry while foraging. Despite this, both sexes are able to perform the full range of parenting behaviours.[34] Secretive cave spawning cichlids lay their eggs in caves, crevices, holes or discarded mollusc shells (see also: shell brooding cichlids), frequently attaching the eggs to the roof of the chamber. Examples include Pelvicachromis spp., Archocentrus spp and Apistogramma spp.[32] Communication between free-swimming fry and parents of both open and cave spawning cichlids has been observed for a number of cichlids in captivity and in the wild.[34] Frequently this communication is based on body movements, such as shaking and pelvic fin flicking.[34] In addition, parental substrate brooding cichlids assist in finding food resources for their fry. Parental behaviours such as leaf-turning, and fin-digging have been observed for a number of neotropical cichlid species.[
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