Hongslo's Dwarf Cichlid

Hongslo's dwarf cichlid is a small, colorful Apistogramma from the middle Orinoco basin of Colombia and Venezuela, found in soft, acidic blackwater streams and flooded margins. Males are the more spectacular sex, showing red-suffused bodies, rows of dark spots and elongated finnage, while females are smaller and turn intense yellow when guarding eggs. It is a peaceful, cave-spawning species best kept as a single male with one or two females in a well-structured tank. Provide leaf litter, driftwood, dense planting and clay caves for spawning, plus soft, warm water at pH 5.0-6.5 and low hardness. Temperatures of 24-29 C suit it well. Feed small live and frozen foods such as brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops and micro-worms; it rarely takes dry food readily. Stable, clean, low-mineral water is the key to long-term success.