This splendid dwarf cichlid is known to science since
1875, but almost never found in home aquaria. This is a great pity,
because there are hardly any species that are as beautiful as this one
and simultaneously as peaceful! Males become around 9 cm long, females
about 6 cm.
The animals we currently have in stock originate from
the rio Tapajós basin in Brazil. In contrast to its close relative
Dicrossus filamentosus (the only member of the genus that is almost
permanently available in the trade), D. maculatus is said to prefer
white water. However, this has no meaning for the maintenance of D.
maculatus in the aquarium. By far of more importance for a successful
keeping than hardness and pH are a low level of bacteria in the tank and
a gravel composed of fine sand.
However,
if one wants to breed this species, almost distilled water
(conductivity less than 50 µS/cm) and a pH below 5.5 is necessary, for
otherwise the eggs cannot be fertilized and develop. Like all other
checkerboard cichlids D. maculatus is polygamous. This means one male
mates with several females. The female alone takes care for spawn and
offspring.
For our
customers: the fish have code 668504 (large) and 668506 (xlg) on our
stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text: Frank Schäfer, photos: Frank Schäfer and Aqualog archieves
