Silver saum

Care at a glance

Overview

A pair needs a tank of at least 280 liters at 20 to 26 C and pH 6.5 to 8.0. Provide sturdy rockwork and expect some digging. Feed quality pellets and frozen foods. This is an aggressive fish best kept as a single pair or with equally tough tankmates in a large tank.

In the wild

The silver saum lives in Pacific-slope coastal rivers of western Peru, from Piura south to Ica. Unusually for the genus, it is found in hard, mineral-rich water. It is a robust, territorial cichlid that pairs off to breed. Provide rockwork, wood, and open swimming space.

Good to know

Andinoacara stalsbergi was described in 2009, having long been confused with the green terror, Andinoacara rivulatus. It is told apart by white or silver margins on the dorsal and tail fins, where rivulatus shows an orange or gold edge. Males reach about 20 cm and are larger than females.

Did you know

The fish reached Germany in the 1970s as the Silbersaum and was sold for decades under the wrong name before it was formally described.

Related species

• 

  Gold Saum

  Andinoacara rivulatus

  11.8 in (30 cm)75 gal (285 L)68–75°F (20–24°C)

• 

  Blue acara

  Andinoacara pulcher

  5.9 in (15 cm)42 gal (160 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Saddle cichlid

  Aequidens tetramerus

  7.9 in (20 cm)53 gal (200 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Chanchito

  Australoheros facetus

  8.7 in (22 cm)53 gal (200 L)59–79°F (15–26°C)

• 

  Fuelleborn's cichlid

  Labeotropheus fuelleborni

  7.1 in (18 cm)46 gal (175 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Petrotilapia

  Petrotilapia sp.

  7.1 in (18 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)