Bigfin dwarf cichlid

Apistogramma megaptera

Also known as Orinoco pertensis

FreshwaterFish

Bigfin dwarf cichlid (Apistogramma megaptera) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 77–84°F (25–29°C)
pH: 4.8–6.3
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 16 gal (60 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Upper Orinoco blackwaters of Colombia and Venezuela, including the Inirida and Atabapo
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

Keep a pair in 60 liters or more of genuinely soft, warm blackwater. Live and frozen foods are the staple; dry food acceptance is unreliable. It is peaceful and a little shy, best alongside small blackwater companions like pencilfish. Breeding is classic cave spawning that only succeeds in very soft acidic water, and fry start tiny, needing infusoria-grade first foods.

In the wild

This apisto lives in the blackwater rivers of the upper Orinoco, including the Inirida and Atabapo, over white sand stained by tannins. Water there is hot, acidic, and nearly empty of minerals. Match it with fine sand, leaf litter, sparse wood, and water at 25 to 29 degrees Celsius, pH 4.8 to 6.3; hardness should stay near zero for long-term health.

Good to know

Described by Mesa and Lasso in 2011, Apistogramma megaptera earns its name, big fin, with a tall sail-like dorsal males raise in display. It reaches about 6.5 centimeters and belongs to the pertensis group, the slender sand-and-litter apistos. The Orinoco blackwater systems it inhabits are the same ones that produce altum angels and green neons.

Did you know

Displaying males hoist a dorsal fin so tall the fish seems to double in height, a sail raised over Orinoco sand.

Tank mates

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