Cichlid Profiles - Aequidens biseriatus

[robertprice]

A. biseriatus is an attrative 5-6 inch Acara without a common name. It lives in Colombia, in well planted areas of very soft water. It is gray brown or gray blue in base color, and most body scales have a black back edge. It has a silver eye and large middorsal dark blotch and midbody stripe all the way to the caudal peduncle which has another black spot. The black spots often are surrounded by white or orange. There are six indistinct vertical body bars that come and go with the fish's mood. The rear finnage is copper colored. The head is copper colored with typical Acara short wavy iridescent chin squiggles.

It is an open water spawner which lays its eggs on flat rocks and is a good parent. It needs a well planted 55 gallon aquarium for a pair or community tank. It is very mildly aggressive. It prefers water of neutral pH and 77-82 degrees. It is a carnivore with a very small mouth, and eats daphina, blood and black worms, and flakes. It prefers a sand substrate.