Some are found in South America while others come from Africa. Some are small fish while others are rather large. But all of them have the radiant blue colors that make them so appealing to fish keepers.
What are Electric Blue Cichlids?
There are many members of the cichlid family that go by the name "electric blue cichlid" in the aquarium hobby. But not all of them have these colors naturally. Light blue is a common shade in the aquarium hobby, however it can be quite dangerous in nature.
Radiant blue tones will make it easier for predators to pick off fish if they stand out in their environment. Therefore many cichlids have subdued colors to keep them from being eaten. Unless they are breeding, in which case most other species of cichlids are quite colorful.
Breeders looking to create new varieties for the home aquarium have, over the years, chosen cichlids that have brighter colors than average. They then breed these fish together, creating babies that often have brighter tones.
These fish fry are then bred with other bright colored fish fry, further increasing their colors. In this way, we end up with electric blue cichlid varieties.
The Electric Blue cichlid types that are captive bred are the Texas Cichlid, Blue Acara, Jack Dempsey, and Blue Ram. The other Electric Blue cichlids on my list are naturally a deep blue and are all African cichlids.