Common name(s) - Flag Cichlids

Scientific names - Laetacara curviceps Syn - Acara curviceps , Aequidens curviceps

Family - Cichlidae

Origin - Quiet streams through the Amazon basin

Maximum size - 7 - 10cm

Care - These fish should be kept in pairs since they are peacful ( except during spawning )... They do not harm plants and form a nuclear family ( Duties are shared by both sexes, though defence of the brood falls down to the male )... They can be kept in community tanks, but must be removed during spawning.
The tank should include stones, roots and plants to hide and open areas for swimming. Use fine gravel for the substrate.
A Ph of 7.0 with a hardness to 20 dGH is fine... A temperature of 23 - 26'C ( 72 - 79'F ) is necessary...
A tank volume of approx. 60 litres ( 20G ) is fine for a single pair. ( when they are adults, they should be housed in a tank of around 80 - 100 litres )


Feeding - accepts flakes and many live/frozen foods ( bloodworm is relished )

Sexing - Males are usually larger with extended dorsal and anal fins

Breeding - Use soft to medium-hard, slightly acidic water, 2 - 14' dGH ( I used 3' dGH ) and a Ph of 6.0 - 7.0
Carry out quite frequent water changes as the fish is prone to Exophthalmia ( bulging eyes ) with old water. They are open breeders and lay as many as 250 - 300 eggs, they spawn on flat stones ( personally, mine bred on a large Echinodoras leaf the last time they spawned). The fry should be fed Artemia nauplii once they are free swimming.

Comments - Its quite an easy cichlid to look after... my breeding setup included a fine sand substrate with a large bunch of Hygrophila Polysperma and one large Echinodoras plant. The tank was filtered using a simple sponge filter.

Here is a picture of this Cichlid... ( picture is from Fishbase )



This post has been edited by Corin Castle: Feb 18 2007, 04:58 PM