robertprice
June 25th, 2013, 03:11 PM
Acarichthys heckelii is a unique fish that is morphologically and behaviorally about half way between an Acara and a Geophagine. It is a resident of the North Amazon River drainage from Peru and Colombia to Guyana, where it resides in rivers and flood plains and flooded forested areas. It has been introduced to Singapore. It has base color of light brown or brown-yellow, and has 8 or 9 conspicuous rows of yellow green pearls running the length of the body. There is a large round black spot at midbody near the lateral line, often with an orange patch from the blotch to the gill cover. There is a vague black stripe under the eye. The dorsal and pelvic fins have very long streamers, perhaps the longest of any cichlid. The top of the tail has a long streamer as well. The fins are often pearly, and have blue or red tinges and edges. Females are thicker than males. They reach 9 inches in length.
This is very peaceful riverine clean water omnivore, which is challenging to keep in captivity as it needs a 55 gallon tank for 1 and 70 for a pair with double filtration.They prefer dim light. They do not do well in slow moving, water with a lot of organics. They like high temperatures, but live at 76-86, in pH 6-7.6, and prefer soft water but tolerate medium hard water. They should have rock hides, driftwood, roots, and rock chips. They are middle water to bottom swimmers. They are compusive diggers and will rearrange their tanks. The females compete for males by digging complex burrows with several entrances. They are very intraspecifically aggressive in breeding season. The male picks the female with the most elaborate tunnels, and they lay up to 500 eggs inside in a carefully celaned cave. The female cares for the eggs and fry and the male patrols the territory. They live in these structures off and on, year round. They are good tankmates for other peaceful cichlids of at least 4-5 inches. They will not do well with aggressive or nipping fish. Because of their unusual biotope preferences, they are considered a difficult but very rewarding fish to keep in captivity. See "Images of Threadfin Acara" for pictures.
This is very peaceful riverine clean water omnivore, which is challenging to keep in captivity as it needs a 55 gallon tank for 1 and 70 for a pair with double filtration.They prefer dim light. They do not do well in slow moving, water with a lot of organics. They like high temperatures, but live at 76-86, in pH 6-7.6, and prefer soft water but tolerate medium hard water. They should have rock hides, driftwood, roots, and rock chips. They are middle water to bottom swimmers. They are compusive diggers and will rearrange their tanks. The females compete for males by digging complex burrows with several entrances. They are very intraspecifically aggressive in breeding season. The male picks the female with the most elaborate tunnels, and they lay up to 500 eggs inside in a carefully celaned cave. The female cares for the eggs and fry and the male patrols the territory. They live in these structures off and on, year round. They are good tankmates for other peaceful cichlids of at least 4-5 inches. They will not do well with aggressive or nipping fish. Because of their unusual biotope preferences, they are considered a difficult but very rewarding fish to keep in captivity. See "Images of Threadfin Acara" for pictures.