Introduction

It is a medium sized fish of about 4 " found in Rivers Paloemeuensis River, Marowijne drainage in Suriname, South America.

Taxonomy

It was first described by Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 and is now been placed in Genus Aequidens and subfamily Cichlasomatinae.

The Genus "Aequidens" is derived from Latin words, aequus+equal+dens(teeth), which roughly translates to "Fish with equal teeth".

The species name refers to river where it is found "paloemeu".

Distribution & Habitat:

It is found in South america,small brook tributary to right bank of R. Paloemeu on road between Trombaka Noord and Trombaka Zuid.

It is benthopelagic or swims above river/stream bed at depths of about 1-3 m in black water rivers.

It is relatively rare as it has not been caught since it was first described.

Diet:

It is a omnivorous in nature, and eats small fish, deitrus, small plats, algae etc..

Hence it should be given similar diet in aquariums.

Description

It is a medium fish with standard length(from tip of snout to begriming of tail fin) about 4 ".

A. paloemeuensis does not have the usual typical tri serial pre dorsal arrangement of scales of Aequidens, but the scale arrangement is uniserial .

The lateral band is intense through out the length unlike other of its genera.

It is known to live for 8-10 years.

Water Parameters:

It is found in running waters of Rivers Paloemeu River, Marowijne drainage in Suriname, South America with a ph of 4.5-6 and dh range 3-9.

Tank Size and setup:

Not much is known about its upkeep in aquariums.