Since 1945, cichlids have become increasingly popular as aquarium fish.  Cichlids are ideally suited as aquarium fish as many are small to medium-sized, easy to feed with a range of prepared fish foods, breed readily, and practice brood care, in captivity.

The most commonly encountered species in retail aquariums is Pterophyllum scalare from the Amazon River basin in tropical South America, known in the trade as the "angelfish" . Other popular or readily available species of cichlids include the oscar (Astronotus ocellatus), convict cichlid (Archocentrus nigrofasciatus) and discus (Symphysodon spp.).

Species of cichlid can be kept in aquariums with other fish, however, many cichlids are predatory towards smaller fish.Conversely, some cichlids, such as Apistogramma or Julidochromis spp., can be timid in the aquarium. In such cases the use of dither fish is recommended.