What is a Cichlid?
Cichlids ("sick-lids") are, by vertebrate standards, a very large family of freshwater, perchlike fishes with perhaps more than 1,500 species. Of all the species of vertebrates, more than 5% are cichlids. They live primarily in the lands that formed part of Gondwana, the huge former southern supercontinent where they first evolved before its break-up >150 million years ago and probably differentiated into the major lineages 70-95 million years ago.These lands include Madagascar, India, Africa, and South America. Secondarily, cichlids have dispersed into a few more northerly lands — Central America, the Middle East, and southern Iran — that were part of Laurasia, the huge former northern supercontinent.
The popularity of cichlids among aquarists likely stems from three things: many are easy to keep, there are so many kinds and they do interesting things. With few exceptions cichlids can be kept and bred in aquaria. Hundreds of species are currently available in the hobby and many can be kept with a minimum of equipment in aquaria ranging from 10 gallons on up. Some require specialized care and are not for the beginner, but many others are easy to keep and breed. All cichlids provide some form of parental care, meaning that one or both parents tend to the eggs and/or young after laying. Cichlids are devoted parents and watching a pair of cichlids doing their thing is hard to beat.
Some parts were taken from the website The Cichlid fishes of lake malawi,Africa
By m. Oliver