2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Peaceful but males are territorial; best in a quiet planted tank.
293 species in our list are a good match.
Peaceful but males are territorial; best in a quiet planted tank.
Frozen bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp, small sinking pellets and live baby brine shrimp.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Males are larger, more colourful and have longer fins (lyre-shaped tail); females are smaller and yellow with dark markings when breeding.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Cave spawner (harem) · Hard
Cave spawner: eggs are attached to a cave ceiling and the female tends the clutch and fry. In small tanks the male may need removing as the female can become hyper-aggressive.
Keep one male with 2-4 females; each female claims a cave, pot or coconut shell.
A 40 L tank with a sponge or gentle filter, fine sand, many small caves, terracotta pots and leaf litter, with soft, slightly acidic water.
Soft, slightly acidic water, warmer temperatures, frequent water changes and live or frozen foods.
About 60-90 eggs; the female tends the clutch.
The female guards the wrigglers and then the free-swimming fry; feed microworms and newly hatched brine shrimp from day 4-5.
From small tributaries and still waters of the Río Vichada and middle Río Meta in Colombia and the middle Orinoco in Venezuela.
Kullander described this species in 1979. Males show bright red-orange patches on the face and fins. It is a popular, colourful Orinoco dwarf cichlid.
First described by Sven O. Kullander in 1979.
14 facts checked with sources
Valid name (Kullander, 1979) per Seriously Fish and FishBase. DATZ A110; similar populations coded A111-A115 may or may not be the same species. Part of the A. hongsloi complex in the A. regani lineage, close to A. macmasteri.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiLegacy has no family field. FishBase: Cichlidae, Geophaginae (fetch tool summarised rather than quoted the wording).
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summarySeriously Fish: males 5.5-6.0 cm (SL), females 4.0-4.5 cm. FishBase gives 7.0 cm TL, which matches the legacy 7 cm if read as total length; recorded the SL figure per brief, legacy is fine as TL.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloi · FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summaryLegacy 24-28 sits inside Seriously Fish's 23-29°C (quick-facts value, summarised by the fetch tool) and FishBase's 23-30°C.
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summarySeriously Fish quick facts give pH 5.5-7.0 (summarised by the fetch tool); FishBase 5.5-6.0. Legacy 4.5-6.5 goes lower than either source.
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summaryLegacy has no hardness. Seriously Fish quick facts give 1-15 dGH (summarised by the fetch tool, not a verbatim quote); FishBase gives a minimum of 5 only.
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summarySeriously Fish: 45 x 30 cm base, about 41 L (45 x 30 x 30 = 40.5 L), for a pair (fetch-tool summary). Legacy 60 L is more generous, not unsafe.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiCommunity-suitable; wild fish best kept alone or with dither fish and not with other Apistogramma. A brooding female may become hyper-aggressive in small tanks.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiFishBase: benthopelagic (near the bottom). No source names a mid-water zone.
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summaryLegacy has no range field. IUCN: Least Concern (assessed 3 August 2020, per FishBase).
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiLegacy verified in substance.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiFishBase also says the parents 'stay and raise the young together'; aquarium sources stress female care.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloiLegacy 30-70 eggs is lower than FishBase's 60-90.
FishBase: Apistogramma hongsloi summaryLegacy says the Rio Inírida (black-water streams); no source places it there and Seriously Fish does not describe black water. The 'needs very acidic water' claim also overstates: sourced pH is 5.5-7.0.
Seriously Fish: Apistogramma hongsloi