Alacrina dwarf cichlid

Apistogramma alacrina

Also known as Rotpunkt apisto, Red-spot apisto

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.8 in (7 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Orteguaza drainage (Amazon basin) and upper Guaviare drainage (Orinoco basin), southern Colombia
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

Keep a pair or a one-male harem in 75 liters or more of quiet, planted tank with a cave per female. It takes small live, frozen, and sinking prepared foods. Tankmates should be small and calm: pencilfish or small tetras that let the pair hold their territory without stress. Females guard eggs in a cave and lead the fry around the tank floor, so skip anything that eats babies if you want a brood to survive.

In the wild

Apistogramma alacrina lives in small forest streams on both sides of the watershed divide in southern Colombia, in the Orteguaza drainage on the Amazon side and the upper Guaviare on the Orinoco side. It holds close to leaf litter and submerged wood in shallow, slow water. Give it a sandy tank with leaf litter, caves, and gentle flow at 23 to 28 degrees Celsius with a pH of 5.5 to 7.0.

Good to know

Apistogramma alacrina was described by Sven Kullander in 2004, though German hobbyists had traded it for years before that as the Rotpunkt or red-spot apisto. Males reach about 7 centimeters with a red-dotted cheek pattern and a lyre-edged tail; females stay smaller and turn yellow in brood care. It is one of the few Apistogramma found in two river basins at once.

Did you know

The hobby knew this fish as the red-spot apisto for roughly two decades before science caught up and gave it a formal name in 2004.

Tank mates

Alacrina dwarf cichlid is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.