 That parental care may come in the form of guarding the eggs and fry or it may come in the form of mouthbrooding.Cichlids span a wide range of body sizes, from species as small as in length (e.g., female "Neolamprologus multifasciatus") to much larger species approaching in length ("Boulengerochromis" and "Cichla").As a group, cichlids exhibit a similar diversity of body shapes, ranging from strongly laterally compressed species (such as "Altolamprologus", "Pterophyllum", and "Symphysodon") to species that are cylindrical and highly elongated (such as "Julidochromis", "Teleogramma", "Teleocichla", "Crenicichla", and "Gobiocichla").