The Central American large cichlids of the genus Vieja (synonym: Paratheraps) were, like so many others, previously classified as Cichlasoma. In the 1980s and 1990s, these fish enjoyed relatively great popularity among cichlid enthusiasts who traveled to their Central American habitats and brought back many new findings (and a few little fish). The species Vieja fenestrata has been known to science for a very long time and was originally described as Heros fenestratus in 1860. The distribution area of the species is the Rio Papaloapan system and Lake Catemaco and its tributaries in Mexico. All occurrences drain to the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic Ocean).
The phenomenon of polychromatism is known in many Central American cichlids. There are pure white, pink, yellow and pied morphs. In the wild, these morphs represent only a small proportion of the total population, the vast majority of animals are wild-colored (i.e. with a pattern typical of the species). Under aquarium conditions, however, such color morphs can be bred relatively easily in isolation.
Vieja fenestrata grows to a maximum length of 35-40 cm and is a prolific open brooder with a parental family. Babies taken from a breeding pair in the wild, which were brought home and raised by traveling aquarists, occasionally developed into the morphs mentioned above as early as the 1990s. In Asia, where such fish are particularly popular, they are still being bred today. We recently received white and black marbled juvenile Vieja fenestrata from Indonesia. At first glance, they can easily be confused with the pied zebra cichlids (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fisharchive/amatitlania-formerly-cichlasoma-nigrofasciata-marble-2/). We have put some specimens aside to grow them into large fish, as you can find photos of really spectacular looking adults of these morphs on the www!
For our customers: the fish have code 688536 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
