Edit Apistogramma cacatuoides

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Name

Scientific name

Apistogramma cacatuoides

Described by

Authority Hoedeman, Year 1951

Family

Cichlidae

Common names

Cockatoo Cichlid

Photograph credits

All 18 credited

Summary

The cockatoo cichlid, Apistogramma cacatuoides, is a small cichlid from the upper Amazon basin, from the Ucayali in Peru to the Solimões in…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

75mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 60 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm, Water movement Low: still or sluggish water

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 22–29°C, pH 5–6

Hardness

0–15dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Not recorded

Community suitability

Not recorded

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Amacayacu, Amazon, Ampiyacu, Itaya, Marañón, Nanay, Orinoco, Pachitea, Pastaza, Samiria, Solimões, Ucayali, Yavarí

Writing

Etymology

Not written yet

Distribution

The type locality was originally given incorrectly as Paramaribo, Suriname but this was later amended by Kullander to the "Amazon River basin, between 69°W and…

Habitat

Tends to inhabit slower-moving tributaries, backwaters and creeks in areas where fallen leaf litter collects and these may contain black, white or clear water …

Aquarium size

Base dimensions of 60 ∗ 30 cm or more are acceptable for a single pair with a group requiring larger quarters.

Maintenance

Provided adequate cover and structure is available this species is unfussy with regards to décor with ceramic flowerpots, lengths of plastic piping and other a…

Water conditions

Temperature: 22 – 29 °C pH: Commercially-produced fish are relatively unfussy but some wild populations may require values of 5.0 - 6.0 in order to breed. Hard…

Diet

Primarily carnivorous and apparently feeds mostly on benthic invertebrates in nature. In the aquarium live and frozen foods such as Artemia, Daphnia and chiron…

Behaviour and compatibility

Captive-raised fish are the recommended choice for the general community aquarium. Wild examples are best maintained alone or with small 'dither' fishes such a…

Sexual dimorphism

Males are larger, more colourful and develop more extended fins than females.

Reproduction

Substrate spawner which normally lays its eggs in crevices or cavities among the décor. The female is responsible for post-spawning care of eggs and fry and in…

Notes

Numerous ornamental forms of this species have been selectively line-bred for the aquarium trade, vernacular names for which include "sunset", "sunburst", "dou…

Numerous ornamental forms of this species have been selectively line-bred for the aquarium trade, vernacular names for which include "sunset", "sunburst", "double red", "triple red", "gold", "white gold", "orange flash" and "albino". It has also been assigned the 'A' number A200 under the DATZ system with possibly conspecific, related forms similarly numbered A201, A202 and A203 depending on locality. The genus Apistogramma is among the most speciose of South American ccihlid genera with around 70 species valid at present but many more awaiting description. In addition many species exist in two or more geographical colour forms which may or may not turn out to be distinct in the future. Hobbyists tend to label these with collection data if available in order to avoid mixing them and the potential of hybridisation. Member species have also been organised into a series of species lineages, complexes and groups by authors in order to better separate them. Such lists have been augmented by fish that have appeared in the aquarium trade and are in a state of near-constant flux. The A. cacatuoides group, for example, is contained within the A. trifasciata sublineage of the larger A. trifasciata lineage alongside A. arua plus the A. brevis, A. nijsseni, A. atahualpa and A. trifasciata groups. Kullander (1998) conducted a morphology-based phylogenetic study in which the neotropical family Cichlidae was divided into six subfamilies of which the putative subfamily Geophaginae contained 16 genera divided among three 'tribes': Acarichthyini - Acarichthys and Guianacara. Crenicaratini - Biotoecus, Crenicara, Dicrossus and Mazarunia. Geophagini - Geophagus, Mikrogeophagus, 'Geophagus' brasiliensis group, 'Geophagus' steindachneri group, Gymnogeophagus, Satanoperca, Biotodoma, Apistogramma, Apistogrammoides and Taeniacara. Later molecular studies by Farias et al. (1999, 2000, 2001) resulted in the additions of Crenicichla and Teleocichla to the Geophaginae, a result supported by López-Fernández et al. (2005) who conducted the most detailed molecular analysis of the grouping to date including 16 of the 18 genera and 30 species. However their conclusions regarding interrelationships between genera did vary somewhat from previous hypotheses and can be summarised by the following loosely-defined groups: - a weakly-supported sister group relationship between Acarichthys and Guianacara. - a well-supported "Satanoperca clade" comprising Satanoperca, Apistogramma, Apistogrammoides and Taeniacara. - a "big clade" with Geophagus, Mikrogeophagus, 'Geophagus' brasiliensis group, 'Geophagus' steindachneri group, Gymnogeophagus, Biotodoma, Crenicara and Dicrossus. - a "crenicarine clade" with Biotoecus and Crenicichla. No representatives of Teleocichla or Mazarunia were included in the study but the former is well-established as sister to Crenicichla while the latter has grouped closely with Dicrossus and Crenicara in earlier works. The other main conclusions of the paper are confirmation that Geophaginae is a monophyletic group exhibiting strong signs of having undergone rapid adaptive radiation (diversification of a species or single ancestral type into several forms that are each adaptively specialised to a specific environmental niche).

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References

3 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References