Yellow-cheek dwarf cichlid

Apistogramma gibbiceps

Also known as Gibbiceps apisto

FreshwaterFish

Yellow-cheek dwarf cichlid (Apistogramma gibbiceps) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 5.0–6.5
Adult size: 2.2 in (5.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 16 gal (60 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Middle Rio Negro and Rio Branco basins, Brazil
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

A pair works in 60 liters of soft blackwater with cover; several females can share a larger tank if each gets a cave. Feed live and frozen foods first. It is peaceful but easily bullied, so avoid boisterous tankmates entirely. Breeding is standard cave spawning made harder by the need for genuinely soft, acidic, warm water and patient conditioning.

In the wild

This apisto comes from blackwater streams of the middle Rio Negro and Branco systems, living along litter banks in warm, acidic water. Males patrol small territories between leaf piles. Give it sand, heavy leaf litter, tangles of twigs, and soft water at 25 to 29 degrees Celsius, pH 5.0 to 6.5, with gentle flow and shade.

Good to know

Apistogramma gibbiceps was described by Meinken in 1969. Males reach about 5.5 centimeters and are marked by vertical bars on the lower tail and a zigzag lateral line, with breeding males showing a humped nape that gives the species its name. It has been in and out of the hobby for decades but never in numbers.

Did you know

Old hobby literature carried this fish for decades under the wrong identities; Meinken's 1969 name finally pinned down what importers had been shipping mixed into Rio Negro apisto hauls.

Tank mates

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