Cichlidae

T-Bar Cichlid

Amatitlania sajica

A lateral stripe meets the third bar

• Tropical
• Regional distribution
• Freshwater fish
• Pacific Ocean
• Central America and the Caribbean
• Deep-bodied
• Compressed cross-section
• Small
• Tropical fish

Amatitlania sajica, the T-bar cichlid or Sajica cichlid, is a Central American species of cichlid found in freshwater streams and lakes on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. The fish is tan colored with seven indistinct bars on the body. The third bar is usually prominent and coupled with a dark lateral stripe running from the gill cover results in a horizontal T-shaped mark, hence the common name of T-bar cichlid.