Warzel's dwarf cichlid

Dicrossus warzeli

Also known as Tapajos checkerboard, Four-bar checkerboard

FreshwaterFish

Warzel's dwarf cichlid (Dicrossus warzeli) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 4.5–6.0
Adult size: 3 in (7.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Tapajós tributaries, Brazil
Family: Cichlidae

Overview

This is a shy blackwater dwarf cichlid that does best kept as a single pair, or one male with two or three females, rather than in a crowd. It spends its time low in the tank, picking through leaf litter and sand near the bottom. Temperament is mostly peaceful, but it is easily bullied, so choose small, calm tankmates such as pencilfish or small tetras that will not race it for food, and give it plenty of cover. Feed small foods it can manage: micro pellets, live or frozen daphnia, cyclops, and baby brine shrimp, plus finely crushed flake. A tank of around 75 liters or more, shaded with wood and leaf litter, suits a pair.

In the wild

Warzel's dwarf cichlid comes from small forest streams in the Tapajos drainage of Brazil, where the water is very soft, acidic, and stained brown by fallen leaves. Recreate that with a dark, quiet tank: fine sand, plenty of dried leaf litter and driftwood, and gentle filtration. Keep it warm at about 24 to 28 C and hold the pH low, roughly 4.5 to 6.0, using peat, botanicals, or reverse osmosis water. Steady, clean, humic-rich water matters more than any decor.

Good to know

Dicrossus warzeli is a checkerboard cichlid in the family Cichlidae, reaching about 7.5 centimeters, with males growing larger and trailing a lyre-shaped tail while females stay much smaller. Rows of dark dash-like blotches run along the flanks. Unlike the mouthbrooding dwarf cichlids, it is an open substrate spawner, laying eggs on wood or leaves that the female tends. Breeding is of moderate difficulty and hinges on very soft, acidic water.

Did you know

It was named in 2010 for Frank Warzel, a German aquarist and pike cichlid expert who studied it for years before it had a scientific name. He died in 2004, six years before the species was formally described.

Tank mates

Warzel's dwarf cichlid is a mostly peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.