Aequidens michaeli
Aequidens michaeli occurs naturally in the lower reaches of the Rio Chingu in Altamira and Belo Monte, Brazil. The fish can be found near the banks in depths of 1-3 m.
Aequidens michaeli was first described by Cullander in 1995 and has been classified in the genus Aequidens and subfamily Cichlasomatinae. The genus Aequidens is derived from the Latin word equips + equal + dens (teeth), which roughly translates as "fish with equal teeth".
The fish is named michaeli after its first collector, Michael Goulding, a prominent researcher of Amazonian fish.
The Aequidens michaeli is a medium-sized fish, with a maximum length of about 12.5 cm. The head is large with large eyes. The forehead is convex. Mouth with thick lips. Males are larger than females. Their anal and dorsal fins are elongated and pointed at the ends.
Possible content of Aequidens michaeli in a common aquarium with other fish commensurate in size, small fish can not contain Acaras, because they will certainly be eaten. In general, Acaras are not very aggressive, but may become aggressive towards other members of their species. The fish become particularly aggressive during the spawning season.
The best solution is to keep one pair of fish or one male with several females. Males are intolerant of each other, so there should be more than one male in one aquarium.
The Aequidens michaeli requires an aquarium with a capacity of at least 300 litres. Fine sand is used as substrate. Numerous shelters consisting of stones and snags should be placed at the bottom. Fish digging in the soil plants are pulled out of it along with the roots, so when planting shrubs to protect their roots with large stones or tie plants such as javanese moss or anubias to the stones or snags.
Water parameters: temperature 22-25° C, hardness dH 3-9°, pH 4.5-6.0. Required aeration and increased water filtration.
The menu of fish in nature consists of small insects, fish, algae, etc. In aquariums, fish are fed with fish and shrimp meat, minnows, earthworms and bloodworms. Feed once a day, avoid overfeeding. Preferably, take the fish off-loading day once a week - when they are not fed at all. This has a positive effect on their digestive tract and increases immunity in general.
Reproduction
Aequidens michaeli reach sexual maturity at the age of 9-11 months.
The female lays her eggs on a flat rock surface. During the entire spawning process, she hatches 150-200 eggs. The eggs incubate for 2-3 days. The hatching fry begin to swim freely within a week.
The fry are fed Artemia nauplii at least 4 times a day.
The life expectancy of Aequidens michaeli under aquarium conditions is about 8-10 years.
