Mendez's dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma mendezi
Also known as Rio Negro flag apisto
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 79–86°F
- 26–30°C
- pH
- 4.3–6.0
- Adult size
- 2 in
- 5 cm
- Minimum tank
- 16 gal
- 60 L
- Temperament
- Mostly peaceful
- Social behavior
- Social
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Difficulty
- Difficult
- Breeding
- Cave spawner · Hard
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Origin
- Middle Rio Negro blackwaters around Barcelos, Amazonas, Brazil
Overview
Mendez's dwarf cichlid is a blackwater apisto that keeps near the bottom of the tank. It needs an experienced keeper.
Did you know
Mendez's dwarf cichlid honors Chico Mendes, the Brazilian rubber tapper and rainforest defender murdered in 1988. Its describer chose the name to tie the fish's fate to the forest Mendes died defending.
Caring for the Mendez's dwarf cichlid
Give a pair of Mendez's dwarf cichlids a specialist tank of 16 gal (60 L) with blackwater conditions. Recreate their home with sand, deep leaf litter, wood and dim light.
Keep the water at 79 to 86°F (26 to 30°C) and a pH of 4.3 to 6.0. Hold the hardness as close to zero as you can manage. Wild imports need careful acclimation to captive water.
Live and frozen foods keep it in condition, while dry food is a sometimes thing. Keep dither fish few and tiny.
Breeding is hard and demands near-rainwater softness, warmth and patience. The female runs the cave, and the male holds the wider territory.
Good to know
Uwe Römer described Mendez's dwarf cichlid, Apistogramma mendezi, in 1994. Males vary by river in the amount of blue on the flanks and in the pattern of the tail.
In the wild
Mendez's dwarf cichlid comes from the flooded forest margins of the middle Rio Negro near Barcelos, in Brazil. The water there runs hot, dark and nearly free of minerals, and the fish lives in leaf litter under root tangles. It is a true blackwater endemic that tracks the river's enormous seasonal floods.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The Mendez's dwarf cichlid is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Threadfin glassfish
Gymnochanda filamentosa
Freshwater1.6 in (4 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
Scherer's hatchetfish
Carnegiella schereri
Freshwater1 in (2.6 cm) · 14 gal (54 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
Shelford's kuhli loach
Pangio shelfordii
Freshwater3.1 in (8 cm) · 15 gal (55 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)
Checkered barb
Oliotius oligolepis
Freshwater1.8 in (4.5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
Spotted splash tetra
Copella nattereri
Freshwater2 in (5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Ancestor cory
Hoplisoma noxium
Freshwater2.4 in (6 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
Common questions
What size tank does a Mendez's dwarf cichlid need?
A Mendez's dwarf cichlid needs at least 16 gal (60 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a Mendez's dwarf cichlid need?
A Mendez's dwarf cichlid is comfortable at 79–86°F (26–30°C) with a pH of 4.3–6.0.
What does a Mendez's dwarf cichlid eat?
A Mendez's dwarf cichlid eats live and frozen foods, which keep it in condition. Dry food is a sometimes thing.
How big does a Mendez's dwarf cichlid get?
An adult Mendez's dwarf cichlid reaches about 2 in (5 cm).
Related species
2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Allpahuayo dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma allpahuayo
2 in (5 cm) · 16 gal (60 L)
2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–84°F (24–29°C)Elizabeth's dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma elizabethae
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2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Norbert's dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma norberti
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2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Paul Mueller's dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma paulmuelleri
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2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)Red-lined dwarf cichlid
Apistogramma rubrolineata
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2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)Rosita dwarf cichlid
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