Mikrogeophagus Altispinosus
Written by Administrator on 25th March 2011 and viewed 463 times
Profile - Freshwater Fish - Central And SA Cichlids
| Latin | Mikrogeophagus Altispinosus |
| Common | Bolivian Ram Cichlid, Butterfly Cichlid |
| Group | Freshwater Fish |
| Type | Central And SA Cichlids |
| Family | Cichlidae |
| Origin | The Bolivian Ram Cichlids are found in the waterways of Bolivia |
| Adult Size | Up to 3 inches |
| Lifespan | 5 years |
| Social | Semi-aggressive |
| Tank level | Minimum tank size of 20 gallons for a pair who will occupy all levels. |
| Lighting | Medium |
| dGH | 7-15 |
| pH | 6.5-7.5 |
| Temperature | 23-27 °C (73-81 °F) |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| Sexing | Males tend to be slightly larger than the females with extended finnage. Mature females will display a reddish colouration around the belly area. |
| Breeding | The Bolivian Ram will spawn in the aquarium if given the correct conditions, raising the water temperature by a couple of degrees can trigger the spawning. Add some flat rocks to act as potential spawning sites and introduce the pair after conditioning them on live or frozen foods for a couple of weeks. The pair will clean the spawning site and once the female has laid the eggs, the male will pass over them to fertilise immediately. The female will fan the eggs while the male defends the nest, at this time the parent fish can become aggressive towards other tank mates. In 2-3 days the eggs should hatch and wrigglers will be seen in the tank, the parent fish may move these about to several places to protect them and at this stage the fry will consume their yolk sacs. After a few more days the fry will become free swimming and can be fed on newly hatched brine shrimp or commercial fry food for egg layers. |
| Feeding | Although the Bolivian Ram will accept quality flake or small pellet food they are primarily carnivorous and should also be supplied with meaty foods such as blood worms, chopped earthworms, cyclopeeze or mysis. |
| Care | Add these fish to a planted set up but always leave them room for swimming as they can be very active. The water flow should be low and the lighting medium to subdued. Add rocks or wood, plant pots or similar decor to provide hiding places and use sand or gravel for the substrate. They are best kept in pairs but more than one pair in the aquarium can lead to territorial issues, especially at spawning times. The water quality must be kept high so use a suitable filtration system and back this up with regular water changes of at least 10% weekly. |
| Notes | A beautiful specimen that is one of the more peaceful of the Ram species. They can be added to a community set up with similar sized fish that require the same water parameters. |
