Freckled rheoheros
Rheoheros lentiginosus
Also known as Theraps lentiginosus, Freckled torrent cichlid
FreshwaterFish
Care at a glance
- Temperature
- 75–84°F
- 24–29°C
- pH
- 7.0–8.2
- Adult size
- 9.8 in
- 25 cm
- Minimum tank
- 106 gal
- 400 L
- Temperament
- Aggressive
- Social behavior
- Solitary
- Tankmates
- With caution
- Swim level
- Bottom
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Breeding
- Substrate spawner · Medium
- Rarity
- Rare
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Origin
- Usumacinta rapids, Mexico and Guatemala
Overview
The freckled rheoheros is a large, territorial rapids cichlid for a long tank with strong flow. It is a step up from the easiest fish.
Did you know
The genus Rheoheros was created for cichlids built to live in moving water. The freckled rheoheros fits it, holding its place in rapids where many other cichlids would be swept off the rocks.
Caring for the freckled rheoheros
Give a freckled rheoheros at least 106 gal (400 L), in a tank with a long footprint. Lay a substrate of sand and rounded stones, with boulders set into broken lines of cover. It spends most of its time low in the water, working the bottom and grazing over stones.
Use a strong filter or an added pump for brisk flow, and keep oxygen levels high. Keep the water on the hard, alkaline side of neutral, at 75 to 84°F (24 to 29°C) and a pH of 7.0 to 8.2. Feed a varied diet of sinking pellets, frozen foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp, and some vegetable matter. In the wild it grazes aufwuchs and takes small invertebrates.
Keep it on its own or as a single tested pair rather than in a group. Its temperament is pushy, and it will not share space quietly. Choose tank mates with care, keeping only robust, fast fish that can hold their own. Avoid anything small enough to be bullied or eaten.
The freckled rheoheros is an open, or substrate, spawner that lays its eggs on a cleaned stone. The pair guards them, and breeding is of moderate difficulty.
Good to know
The freckled rheoheros is a Central American cichlid in the family Cichlidae. Its genus name pairs the Greek for river current with Heros, itself a cichlid genus name, marking it as a current-loving cichlid. The species name lentiginosus is Latin for freckled, for the dark speckling scattered over its body.
In the wild
The freckled rheoheros lives in the fast, oxygen-rich rapids of the Usumacinta and Grijalva drainages in Mexico and Guatemala. There, mineral-rich water runs over rock and gravel.
Common questions
What size tank does a freckled rheoheros need?
A freckled rheoheros needs at least 106 gal (400 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What temperature and pH does a freckled rheoheros need?
A freckled rheoheros is comfortable at 75–84°F (24–29°C) with a pH of 7.0–8.2.
What does a freckled rheoheros eat?
A freckled rheoheros eats a varied diet of sinking pellets, frozen foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp, and some vegetable matter. In the wild it grazes aufwuchs and takes small invertebrates.
How big does a freckled rheoheros get?
An adult freckled rheoheros reaches about 9.8 in (25 cm).
How does a freckled rheoheros breed?
The freckled rheoheros is an open, or substrate, spawner. It lays its eggs on a cleaned stone and guards them as a pair, and breeding is of moderate difficulty.
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