Aequidens epae

Introduction

Aequidens epae is a medium sized fish of about 4.5 " found in Brazil, South America.

Taxonomy

Aequidens epae was first described by Kullander in 1995 , and has been placed in Genus Aequidens and subfamily Cichlasomatinae.
The Genus "Aequidens" is derived from Latin words, equips+equal+dens(teeth), which roughly translates to "Fish with equal teeth".
The species name is given in recognization of Expedição Permanente da Amazônia (EPA) set up by Museum of Zoology of the University of São Paulo.

Distribution & Habitat

Aequidens epae is found in Brazil, State of Pará, Río Tapajós drainage, igarapé in Barreirinha.
It is benthopelagic or swims above river bed at depths of about 1-3 m in clear water streams.
It is a opportunistic feeder and is omnivorous in nature, eating everything from small insects, fish, algae etc.

Description

It is a medium sized fish having a Standard Length 4.5".
It has a slender body with the depth being 42-48% of SL.
The Aequidens species is characterized by having a tri serial per dorsal fin arrangement and E1 scales either 24 or 25.
A. epae is quiet similar to A. diadema, A. gerciliae, A. metae all have stripes on face and dorsal scales have black stripes.
However it can be differentiated by by these species by having a dark band from mid lateral spot which inclines towards tail instead of vertical.
It can also be distinguished from similar looking A. gerciliae by entire tail fin (caudal) covered with hyaline(white) spots instead to having these spots in back of dorsal fin, also the lateral band is thinner, E1 scales as 24, instead of more common 25.
Aequidens epae is known to live for 8-10 years.

Keeping in Aquarium

Aequidens epae has not been studied in detail yet, and not much information is available on its aquarium requirements.
They need soft water and acidic water with a pH of 6.5-6.9.
The species live in tropical South American rivers and the recommended water temperature in the aquarium is 21-28°C / 70-83°F