5 BIG Differences [South & Central American Cichlids vs. African Cichlids] - Some SURPRISED Me!

#cichlids #africancichlids #southamericancichlids #centralamericancichlids #hugefish #hugetanks #benochart You know that I come from an African Cichlid background. Now that I’ve expanded into South/Central American Cichlids I’m finding that there are some major differences. In some cases BIG differences that I was previously unaware of along with some assumptions that are turning out to be way off the mark. “Always be learning“ certainly applies here, big time! Here are 5 big differences, some good and some bad, that I have discovered exist between African Cichlids and South/Central American Cichlids. Thoughts? Tips? Please share them below because as you know, we all learn from each other at this channel. Never forget that you reading this right now - YOU ROCK! If you like the content of this channel please don’t forget to hit that sub button and tell YouTube that you’re enjoying the channel. It encourages YouTube to share the channel with other fish keepers like you and me. Lighting of the 210 African Cichlid tank is provided by JC&P and AQQA. For JC&P LED lights and the other aquarium products they offer use this link: ?sca_ref= For AQQA lights use this link: For 10% off AQQA use code: AQQA2022 Remember that fish keeping is truly a “fluid situation“ and what works for one set-up might not work for another. Do plenty of research from several reliable sources before making any changes in your system and take everything you hear on YouTube with a big grain of salt, LOL! Some of you have asked for a way to support the channel. I thank you for asking. Here are a couple ways you can help to keep the content coming: - Join the “Garage Gang“ by becoming a Patreon member and get early access to videos and behind the scenes content not available to the public. Use this link for more info: - Do you shop on Amazon? Use this link to visit my Amazon store (and for all of your Amazon purchases, fish or non-fish related): Any qualified purchase, after using that link to get to Amazon, will provide the channel with a small percentage. You still get the best price on all goods, so it’s a true win-win! - Visit my TeeSpring store (listed under every one of my videos) and consider purchasing some channel merchandise. The store offers coffee mugs, tees, hoodies and other cool stuff. All purchases pay the channel a small percentage. Use “LIVESTREAM“ for a 10% discount at check-out. - Watch, like, share, sub and hit that bell. Growing the channel is truly the best way to show support and I thank those of you who have done this. Live Streaming Join me and a great group of fish keepers on Saturday’s at 11am Central (that’s 9am Pacific / Noon Eastern) for The Cichlids & Coffee live stream. It’s a great hour of fish fun and gets into everything from setting up a tank, proper filtration, fish selection and everything in between. I hope to see you there. A big shout-out to my channel sponsor THE CICHLID SHACK, a provider of top quality fish and fish keeping food and supplies. Visit the shack at and use “shackattack10“ for a 10% discount on all products (including food) and use “shackattack15“ for a 15% discount on all fish purchases that total over $100. Thank you to key vendors that have helped with my new fish room including: Aquarium Co-Op, a top provider of both products and knowledge for all types of fish keepers. Elite Cichlids, providing the best looking artificial plants available. Sicce, a top quality manufacturer of aquarium pumps and filters. Hygger, maker of a variety of aquarium products such as tanks, lights, pumps and heaters. JC & P, providers of lights, rocks and other quality aquarium products. Underwater Galleries, makers of the most beautiful ceramic caves available. Xpertmatic, maker of good quality hang-inside filters and air pumps. Many of their products are listed in my Amazon Affiliate store at: For a behind the scenes look and access to photos and videos not posted anywhere else, please follow me on Instagram at: If you’re looking for a very helpful, knowledgeable and supportive group, check out: Ben O’Cichlid on Facebook. Cichlid is in the name but all types of fish keepers are welcome. Be sure to answer all the join-in questions or the group moderators will not let you in. It’s how we keep the trolls out. Thank you for the on-going support and encouragement!