India and Sri Lanka are home to three cichlid fish from the Etropline family. This grouping apso contains eleven or more species from Madagascar.
These cichlids are unique in the fact they don't look very cichlid like bearing more of a resemblance to the marine damselfish.
These cichlids have evolved in isolation from other cichlids since the break up of Gondwanaland.
The green chromide is a stunning fish. Growing to more than a foot long it is a bssic green/grey colouration overlaid with blue, red and silver spots.
Unique to the family Cichlidae this fish can live in fresh, brackish and marine conditions. Indeed and transplanted population live in the seas around Indonesia.
For the longest life they do best gradually being moved to marine conditions as they grow.
These fish are rarely spawned though as you can see from the picture, I have managed this! They lay approximately 300 eggs which are green and in the wild these are laid on underwater plants where they are well camoflaged as they closely resemble the nodules of plants.
The eggs have a long filament and sway in the current.
Once hatched the young are hard to raise and grow very slowly.
All in all these are fascinating beautiful species which is well worth keeping!
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