Laetacara

Laetacara araguaiae is a small cichlid from Brazil, known from the rios Tapajós, Xingu and Tocantins, right-bank tributaries of the lower Amazon. Known in the hobby as L. sp. 'Buckelkopf' before it was described, it grows to around 35 mm SL and is a biparental substrate-spawner. Some populations differ from one another in colour pattern, and 7-8 dorsal-fin rays separate it from all congeners.

The dwarf flag cichlid, Laetacara curviceps, is a small cichlid from the lower Amazon basin in Brazil. An established aquarium favourite, it has also been called 'flag acara', 'smiling acara', 'sheepshead acara' and 'blunt-headed cichlid'. Populations differ in the degree of red and blue on the body and fins. It favours clear, slow-flowing water over leaf litter and is a biparental substrate-spawner.

The redbreast acara, Laetacara dorsigera, is a small cichlid from the Guaporé in Bolivia and Brazil, and the Paraná and Uruguay systems further south. Breeding males and females develop conspicuous red cheeks, opercula and belly, a feature L. curviceps lacks. A dark spot in the middle of the dorsal fin is shared only with L. curviceps and L. flamannellus. Populations vary in colour pattern, and it is a biparental substrate spawner growing to around 37 mm SL.

Laetacara flamannellus is a small cichlid from the eastern coastal rivers of Amapá state, Brazil. It has mostly been collected from shallow, still water among sedge-like plants in grasslands that flood between January and June. An orange ring around the dark spot at the dorsal-fin base separates it from L. curviceps and L. dorsigera, and it may have been traded occasionally as L. curviceps.

Laetacara fulvipinnis is a cichlid from the Orinoco, the Casiquiare and the upper and middle rio Negro in Venezuela and Brazil. Known in the hobby as L. sp. 'orangeflossen' before it was described, it takes its name from the reddish-yellow anal and caudal fins. It has been collected among leaf litter and submerged vegetation in very shallow, soft, acidic blackwater, and grows to around 74 mm SL. A biparental substrate-spawner, it lays its eggs on a solid surface such as a plant leaf.

Laetacara thayeri is a cichlid from the middle and upper Amazon basin in western Brazil and northern Peru. It is relatively rare in the aquarium trade. Ctenoid scales on the sides of the head and the lack of a dark spot at the caudal-fin base separate it from all congeners. Males grow larger than females and develop more-extended dorsal, anal and caudal fins.