The wild-type of the species has 8 or 9 black vertical bars on a blue-grey body, along with a dark blotch on the operculum.
Juvenile convict cichlids are monomorphic until they reach sexual maturity.
The male is mostly gray with light black stripes along the body.
Males are larger than females, and they have more pointed ventral, dorsal and anal fins which often extend into filaments.
In addition, older males frequently develop vestigial fatty lumps on their foreheads.
Unusually for fish, the female is more highly coloured.
She has more intense black bands across the body, and pink to orange colouration in the ventral region and on the dorsal fin.
 The maximum standard length has been reported to be 10 centimeters, with total length near 12 centimeters (4.7 in).
The body weight of the fish is about 34–36 grams (1.2–1.3 oz).
Selective breeding has resulted in a leucistic strain, which lacks the dark barring of the wild type.
These are known commonly as white convicts, pink convicts, gold convicts, and A. nigrofasciata "Kongo".
The leucistic colouration is caused by a mutation in an autosomal gene and is recessively inherited.
The wild-type of the species has 8 or 9 black vertical bars on a blue-grey body, along with a dark blotch on the operculum. Juvenile convict cichlids are monomorphic until they reach sexual maturity. The male is mostly gray with light black stripes along the body. Males are larger than females, and they have more pointed ventral, dorsal and anal fins which often extend into filaments. In addition, older males frequently develop vestigial fatty lumps on their foreheads. Unusually for fish, the female is more highly coloured. She has more intense black bands across the body, and pink to orange colouration in the ventral region and on the dorsal fin.  The maximum standard length has been reported to be 10 centimeters, with total length near 12 centimeters (4.7 in). The body weight of the fish is about 34–36 grams (1.2–1.3 oz). Selective breeding has resulted in a leucistic strain, which lacks the dark barring of the wild type. These are known commonly as white convicts, pink convicts, gold convicts, and A. nigrofasciata "Kongo". The leucistic colouration is caused by a mutation in an autosomal gene and is recessively inherited.
Convict cichlid