Freckled rheoheros

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a large, territorial rapids cichlid, so keep it on its own or as a single tested pair rather than in a group, and give it a tank of at least 400 liters with a long footprint. It spends most of its time low in the water, working the bottom and grazing over stones, so aim for strong flow and well oxygenated water. Its temperament is pushy and it will not share space quietly, so choose tankmates with care: only robust, fast fish that can hold their own, and nothing small enough to be bullied or eaten. Feed a varied diet of sinking pellets, frozen foods such as bloodworm and brine shrimp, and some vegetable matter, since in the wild it grazes aufwuchs and takes small invertebrates.

In the wild

The freckled cichlid lives in the fast, oxygen rich rapids of the Usumacinta and Grijalva drainages in Mexico and Guatemala, where cool, mineral rich water runs over rock and gravel. Recreate that with brisk flow from a strong filter or added pump, a substrate of sand and rounded stones, and boulders set into broken lines of cover. Keep the water warm at 24–29 C and on the hard, alkaline side of neutral, around pH 7.0–8.2, with oxygen levels kept high.

Good to know

Rheoheros lentiginosus is a Central American cichlid in the family Cichlidae, reaching about 25 centimeters. Its genus name pairs the Greek for river current with Heros, itself a cichlid genus name, marking it as one of the current loving cichlids, while the species name lentiginosus is Latin for freckled and describes the dark speckling scattered over its body. It is an open, or substrate, spawner that lays its eggs on a cleaned stone and guards them as a pair, and breeding is of moderate difficulty.

Did you know

The genus Rheoheros was created for cichlids built to live in moving water, and lentiginosus fits it, holding its place in rapids where many other cichlids would be swept off the rocks.

Common questions

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