• Scientific name: Amphilophus citrinellus
• Synonyms: Cichlasoma citrinellus, Cichlasoma basilare, Heros citrinellus, Heros basilaris, Erythrichthys citrinellum
• Common name: Midas cichlid
• Group: Cichlids
• Habitat: Central America , South Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras
• Size: Male: 25-30 cm, female: 20 cm
• Biotope: Slow and calm waters, and lakes
• Social behavior: Territorial, the species forms pairs. The Midas cichlids are relatively quarrelsome, but they are definitely bellicose at spawning time. They dig a lot at this time.
• Diet: Omnivorous, live foods (mosquito larvae, earthworms, snails, small fishes), beef heart, shrimp, tablet and lagre flake foods. They do need vegetable based foods to prevent Hole in the Head disease.
• Breeding: Quite easy
• Tank: Minimum 300 litres.
• Population: 1 pair, or 1 male and 2 females for 500 litres.
• Decoration: Needs roomy tank, with free swimming space adn hiding places of stones and roots. The rockwork has to be based on the bottom of the aquarium. If not there is danger of collapse, because of the cichlid's digging. Plants csan be waived.
• Temperature: 22-25 °C
• pH: 6-7,5
• Hardness: 0-20 NK°
• Lifespan: 12-15 years

Description: The Midas Cichlid is one of the most beautiful cichlids of Central America.Amphilophus citrinellus has a yellow and a gray morph, and usually the entire body is one color. It is one of the fish that was used to breed today's popular hybrid, the Flowerhorn Cichlid. The Midas Cichlid is a thick deep bodied fish. The mouth is slightly undercut and the lips are large. The forehead is slightly concave and the eye is small. Large males have a distinct cephalic hump and longer fins. Genital papillae of the males are conical; wired and half-lobed in the females.

Open spawner, nuclear family with pronounced brood care behavior. Midas cichlid can be bred in soft, acid or hard, alkaline aquarium water. They are not choosy concerning their spawning substrate. Spawning occurs on horizontal, slanted or vertical hard substrates. A typical open spawner with spawns of several hundred to over 1000 eggs. The larvae hatch after 3 days. These are placed in pits and are free-swimming after an additional 5 days. The young of Midas cichlid eat a mucous secretion produced by the skin of the parents.