Monogamy in dwarf cichlids

[jfsquires]

I’ve read that while many species of dwarf cichlids are polygamous, some are monogamous,
serially at least, but that fish in the genus Laetacara form permanent monogamous relationships.
Are there other dwarf cichlids that form permanent monogamous relationships?

 

[MacZ]

Not to my knowledge and it's hard to tell as we can't observe individual fish that size over a longer timeframe in the wild and in captivity it's hard to tell whether it's actual monogamy or the other prospective partners we offer by adding them to a tank are just not acceptable to the fish we observe to switch partners.
Going by what we know, the chance to find a truly monogamous dwarf cichlid is low. Monogamy is generally not the natural norm for a good percentage of all species of all groups, be it fish, reptiles or mammals. Birds have an unusually high percentage, though, and scientists are still a bit puzzled by that observation.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I think @MacZ is right, some fish are serially monogamous, but very few are pair forming outside
You can go on size and appearance if you want to guess whether a cichlid is pair forming or not. Usually if the male and female are similar in size and appearance they are pair forming.

cheers Darrel