Bigmouth dwarf cichlid

Apistogramma megastoma

Also known as Bigmouth apisto

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 4.8–6.5
Adult size: 3.7 in (9.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 26 gal (100 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Blackwater streams of the Rio Nanay and nearby drainages, Loreto, Peru
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

Give a pair 100 liters or more; this is a big, boisterous apisto whose males spar hard. It happily eats meaty frozen foods, earthworm pieces, and pellets, and it will eat fish that fit its namesake mouth, so choose tankmates too large to swallow. Soft acidic water conditions it for breeding, which combines cave spawning with the lineage's partial mouthbrooding.

In the wild

Apistogramma megastoma comes from blackwater forest streams in the Nanay region of northern Peru, hunting along litter banks in warm, very soft water. It is a large, predatory apisto that needs room to patrol. Keep it over sand and leaf litter with caves and shade at 24 to 28 degrees Celsius and pH 4.8 to 6.5.

Good to know

Described in 2017 by Römer and colleagues, megastoma means big mouth, and this species uses it: one of the largest apistos at up to 9.5 centimeters, it takes prey other dwarf cichlids cannot. It belongs to the barlowi lineage, and like barlowi some females carry eggs or larvae in the mouth, mixing cave care with mouthbrooding.

Did you know

Field observations caught females of this species doing something almost no cichlid does: switching between guarding eggs in a cave and scooping the brood into the mouth to move house.

Tank mates

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