Threadfin and pearlscale cichlids

[chenay83]

Does anyone have any advice on how to raise and breed these fish?

Attachments:

[belxavier]

The Acarichthys heckelii is also called threadfin cichlid. I believe this is the fish you are referring to. If so I have a couple and I love them. They are easy to care for, are not aggressive towards other fish and very attractive. They do like to eat plants and I give mine some veggies every once in a while. Clean water is important as they can develop lateral line syndrome. However I don't think you will find breeding them in the aquarium a easy task. Supposedly they only breed in the wild, I know that is where mine came from.

[jgentry]

Jul 17, 2012 21:08:52 GMT -6 chenay83 said:

Does anyone have any advice on how to raise and breed these fish?

Heckelii grow large and can be really rough on each other and other eartheaters when mature. They are tall bodied and get 10" so a big tank is needed. These are nearly impossible to breed in captivity. You would need RO water and lots of tanins as a starting point. Even then it's very unlikely to happen.

Brasillensis are very easy to care. They spawn easily and at a small size. The like a little harder water and do very well in tap water in our area. The are substrate spawners unlike most geophagus which are mouthbrooders. They get big and are known as one of the most aggressive eartheaters. They start spawning as small are 2" but an adult pair would need at least a 75g tank.