Aequidens michaeli

Introduction
Aequidens michaeli is a medium sized fish of about 5 " found in River Xingu, Brazil, South America.
Taxonomy
(Click for details of Cichlid taxonomy)
Aequidens michaeli 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 fish is named as michaeli for its first collector, Michael Goulding, a distinguished student
of Amazonian fishes.
Description
Aequidens michaeli is medium sized size fish with standard length about 5".
It is relatively slender bodied with body depth about 45-50% of standard length.
A.Michaeli has a typical tri serial pre dorsal arrangement of scales of Aequidens species with E1 scales
24 or 25.
It is very much similar to A.epae, A. gerciliae and A. metae with which it shares stripes on its face (buccal)
and dorsal scales have black margin, however it can be distinguished apart from these species by following:
- Dark vertical bars on adults.
- Lateral band is present before mid lateral spot.
- It has short stripes and spots on cheeks which extend onto gill cover and chest and sometimes into humeral region( shoulder).
- Each scale above upper lateral line has a black/contrasted spot at middle margin.
- It has 14 dorsal spines while other Aequidens species have 15 spines.
It is known to live for 8-10 years.
Distribution & Habitat
Aequidens michaeli is found in South america, in the lower Rio Xingu at
Altamira and Belo Monte, Brazil.
It is benthopelagic or swims above river bed at depths of about 1-3 m in black water rivers.
Diet
It is a omnivorous in nature, and eats small insects, fish, algae etc.
Keeping in Aquarium
Water Parameters
Aequidens michaeli is found in slow moving waters of River Xingu in Brazil with a ph of 4.5-6 and dh range 3-9.
Tank Size and setup:
Aequidens michaeli are 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 michaeli are dimorphic, and reach sexual maturity in about 9-11
months.
They lay eggs on flat surfaces and practice brood care.
Both parents take care of eggs and larvae.
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.
Species Snapshot
Species Card
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Scientific Name | Aequidens michaeli |
Common Name | Aequidens michaeli. |
Genus | Aequidens |
Subfamily | Cichlasomatinae |
Geographical Origin | Rio Amazonas basin, in the lower Rio Xingu at Altamira and Belo Monte, Brazil. |
Diet | Omnivorous |
Gender Differences | Dimorphic |
Breeding | Substrate Spawner |
Temperament | Aggressive |
Con Specific Temperament | Aggressive |
Water hardness | Soft, dh range 3-9 |
Difficulty Level in Aquariums | 3 |
Morphometric Data
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Total Length(inches) | |
Standard Length(inches) |
Measurements as % of Total Length
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Body Depth | % |
Head length | % |
Pre Dorsal length | % |
Pre Pectoral length | % |
Pre Anal length | % |
Pre Pelvic length | % |
Caudal Peduncle Depth | % |
Caudal Peduncle Length | % |
Fork length | % |
Length of Last Dorsal Fin Spine | % |
Pectoral Fin Length | % |
Pelvic Fin Length | % |
Measurements as % of Head Length
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Head Width | % |
Snout length | % |
Eye diameter | % |
Pre Orbital Length | % |
Inter Orbital Width | % |
Pre Orbital Depth | % |
How to use the Web site
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