Aequidens gerciliae

Introduction

Aequidens gerciliae It is medium sized fish of about 5 " found in Brazil, South America.

Taxonomy

Aequidens gerciliae 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".

Distribution & Habitat

Aequidens gerciliae is found in Brazil, Known only from the upper Rio Aripuanã, near Salto (or Cachoeira) de Dardanelos and in a headwater stream on the Juína-Vilhena road.
It is benthopelagic or swims above river bed at depths of about 1-3 m in clear water streams.

Diet

It is a opportunistic feeder and is omnivorous in nature, eating everything from small insects, fish, etc.

Description

Aequidens gerciliae is a medium sized fish having a Standard Length 5".
It has a slender body with the depth being 42-50 % of SL.
The Aequidens species is characterized by having a tri serial per dorsal fin arrangement and E1 scales either 24 or 25.
Aequidens gerciliae is quiet similar to A. diadema, A. , A. epaemetae 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 running vertically instead of inclining towards tail.
It can also be distinguished from similar looking A. epae by entire tail fin (caudal) dark as opposed to that of A epae covered with hyaline(white) spots.
It is known to live for 8-10 years.

Keeping in Aquarium

Aequidens gerciliae 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.