Tiraparae eartheater

Gymnogeophagus tiraparae

Also known as Tirapara gymnogeophagus

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–79°F (16–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 4.7 in (12 cm)
Minimum tank: 66 gal (250 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Rio Negro drainage, Uruguay
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

The tiraparae eartheater is a subtropical South American cichlid that is peaceful and does well in a group, so keep several together with calm, similarly sized tankmates. It spends its time over the bottom, taking mouthfuls of sand and sifting them for food, so a soft sand floor is essential to let it feed naturally and keep its gills healthy. Feed sinking foods along with frozen items such as bloodworm. Because it comes from a cooler climate, it appreciates a seasonal drop in temperature over winter. A tank of around 250 liters suits a small group.

In the wild

This eartheater lives in the Rio Negro drainage of Uruguay, in clear, flowing rivers over sand, well to the south of the tropics. Give it a fine sand bed it can sift, some wood and rounded rock, and open swimming space. Being subtropical, it needs a cooler winter than most tropical fish, so a wide range of around 16 to 26 C and pH 6.5 to 7.8 suits it, with a genuine cool season.

Good to know

Gymnogeophagus tiraparae is an eartheater cichlid reaching about 12 centimeters, described in 2011 and one of the most recently named members of its genus. Like its relatives it is a larvophilic mouthbrooder: the pair first spawns on the substrate, then the female takes the young into her mouth to brood them. Males show colourful markings along the dorsal fin.

Did you know

The species is named after Maria Luisa Tiraparae, a Guarani woman linked to the vanished settlement of San Borja del Yi in Uruguay, so a person and a lost town both live on in the fish's scientific name.

Tank mates

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