Laetacara thayeri
Formerly Acara thayeri Steindachner, 1875
Last revised 2026Edit this page
On this page9 sections
Quick factsEdit
Difficulty5 of 8 measures
- Space
- medium tank
- Water
- flexible
- Temp
- flexible
- Diet
- unknown
- Temperament
- unknown
- Social
- best in a pair
- Compatibility
- fine with others
Other demands
Each of these can raise the rating on its own, whatever the measures above say.
- Hardiness
- unknown
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.
Water conditions
EditEtymology
EditLaetacara: from the Latin laetus, meaning 'happy', and acará, a vernacular term used for cichlids in certain parts of South America, in reference to patterning around the mouth and snout which give members of this genus a 'smiling' appearance.
thayeri: named for Boston banker Nathaniel Thayer (1769-1840), chief financier of Louis Agassiz' famed fish collecting trip to Brazil in 1865-66 which became known as the 'Thayer Expediiton'.
Distribution
EditNative to the middle and upper Amazon basins in western Brazil and northern Peru with records existing from the ríos Tigre, Ucayali, Yavarí (Javary) and Amazon basins in Peru, and the Solimões, Amazon and lower rio Negro in Brazil with the rio Trombetas considered to represent its downstream limit.
Type locality is given as 'Codajas, Lake Hyanuary at Manaus, Lake Maximo at Alenquer'.
Diet
Write a noteEditWild fish are probably foragers feeding on algae, organic detritus, small insects, worms, crustaceans, and other zooplankton.
In the aquarium it's easily-fed but the best condition and colours offer regular meals of small live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, Daphnia, and Artemia, alongside good quality dried flakes and granules, at least some of which should include additional plant or algal content.
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Sexual dimorphism
Write a noteEditMales grow larger than females and develop more-extended dorsal, anal and caudal fins as they mature.
Reproduction
Write a noteEditBiparental substrate spawner.
Notes
EditThis species is relatively rare in the aquarium trade.
The genus Laetacara currently contains seven valid species and L. thayeri can be differentiated from all congeners by a combination of possessing ctenoid (vs. cycloid) scales on the sides of the head plus lacking a dark spot at the caudal-fin base.
References
- Ottoni, F. P. and W. J. E. M. Costa (2009). Description of a new species of Laetacara Kullander, 1986 from central Brazil and re-description of Laetacara dorsigera (Heckel, 1840) (Labroidei: Cichlidae: Cichlasomatinae). Vertebrate Zoology 59(1), 41-48
- Ottoni, F. P., P. H. N Bragança, P. F. Amorim and C. S. Gama (2012). A new species of Laetacara from the northern Brazil coastal floodplains (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Vertebrate Zoology 62(2), 181-188
- Staeck, W. and I. Schindler (2007). Description of Laetacara fulvipinnis sp. n. (Teleostei: Perciformes: Cichlidae) from the upper drainages of the rio Orinoco and rio Negro in Venezuela. Vertebrate Zoology 51(1), 63-71
Species images · 2
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