Aequidens metae

Introduction

Aequidens metae is a medium sized fish of about 4.8 " found in Brazil, South America.

Taxonomy

(Click for details of Cichlid taxonomy)

Aequidens metae was first described by Eigenmann, 1922 , 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".

Description

Aequidens metae has a golden-yellowish tan base body color all over their bodies.
Their most distinctive and beautiful feature is the electric, gold-iridescent markings over their operculum, the gill covers.
Yellow Acara also have metallic, gold hued scales on their flanks that become translucent at their fins.
Orange outlines their caudal and dorsal fins.
A male Yellow Acara has more elongated dorsal and anal fins than a female.
It is known to live for 8-10 years.

Distribution & Habitat

Aequidens metae is found in South america,Meta River in the Orinoco River basin, Colombia.
A. metae is normally found in creeks and small streams.
It is benthopelagic or swims above river bed at depths of about 1-3 m in black water rivers.

Diet

It is a carnivorous in nature, and eats small insects, fish, etc.

Keeping in Aquarium

Water Parameters

Aequidens metae is found in slow moving waters of River Meta in Colombia with a ph of 4.5-6 and dh range 3-9.

Tank Size and setup:

Aequidens metae is a medium sized fish and should be kept in a aquarium of about 300 liters with good filtration.
They come from slow moving rivers so that filters should not create too much water flow in the tank.
A sand bed of fine sand and many shelters with rocks and driftwood are ideal for this fish.
Living plants are appreciated but these cichlids like to dig, therefore may uproot plants, hence protect the roots of plants with large pebbles, or tie plants like anubias and Java fern to stones or wood.

Tank Mates:

They are not very aggressive but can be very aggressive to others of same species.
At breeding time the aggression increases.
Small fish should not be kept with them as it will be eaten.

Breeding:

Aequidens metae are dimorphic, and reach sexual maturity in about 9-11 months.
They lay eggs on flat surfaces and practice brood care.
The females are smaller and will clean a piece of flat rock and lay 150-200 eggs.
The eggs will hatch after 2-3 days and fry will be free swimming within a week.
Fry can be fed brine shrimp.
The pair will be ready to breed again if the fry are removed early.