The species was described in a paper (http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252011000100006&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en) by Jessica Arbour and Hernán Lopez-Fernández published in the journal Neotropical Ichthyology (http://www.ufrgs.br/ni/sbijournal/index.HTM).

Name – Guianacara dacrya

The species epithet is derived from the Greek word dakryo which means to shed tears. It is a reference to the dark stripe found below the eyes of Guianacara dacrya.

Guianacara dacrya Appearance

Guianacara dacrya - Picture by Philippe Burnel

Guianacara dacrya can be distinguished from other members of the subgenus Guianacara on its dark stripe. This dark stripe is located below the eye and fades across the cheek. It remains dark as it approaches the throat. Guianacara dacrya sports white spots on the spiny portion of the dorsal fin, and this species also differs from the other known members of Guianacara by having a bony flange on the sides of the lower pharyngeal jaw.

Guianacara dacrya Habitat

The authors collected Guianacara dacrya from the tributaries of Rio Essequibo River and Rio Branco in Guyana and northern Brazil. They encountered the species in both clear water streams with moderate current and seasonally flooded lagoons with no current. The water temperature was in the 25–29°C range, and the water had a very low conductivity and high level of dissolved oxygen.

Authors

Jessica H. Arbour

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Canada jessica.arbour@utoronto.ca

Hernán López-Fernánde

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Canada

Department of Natural History, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada

Apistogramma cinilabra pair

ApThe cichlid belongs to the genus Apistogramma and has been given the name Apistogramma cinilabra. It is thought to be a representative of the Apistogramma eunotus complex within the Apistogramma regani lineage.

The authors of the paper described the species based on 35 specimens collected from a small lake in the forest, roughly 80 kilometers south of Iquitos in the wider catchment of Rio Itaya.

Name – Apistogramma cinilabra

The species epithet cinilabra is an allusion to the ash-grey lips displayed by aggressive or displaying males. “Cinis” is the Latin word for ash while “labrum” is the Latin word for lip.

Apistogramma cinilabra Appearance

Apistogramma cinilabra is a medium large Apistogramma cichlid. Males can be up to 54 mm while females reach 40 mm. This fish is highbacked and laterally compressed, and the body is of a rather robust appearance. Males and females look very different from each other.

Apistogramma cinilabra can be distinguished from other described members of its genus based on the combination of the following characteristics:

• The adult males look really flamboyant. The base of the pectoral fins is bright red-orange, there are red markings on the chest and on the gill covers, and in very large specimens this red coloration is found on the cheek as well.
• 4-5 single scale lateral spots are visible on the longitudinal lateral band.
• An upright oval spot covers most of the caudal peduncle.
• The caudal peduncle is very short, just about 10 percent of SL.
• In aggressive or displaying males, the lips are light ash-grey.

Apistogramma cinilabra Habitat

The authors of the paper collected their specimens in an isolated forest lake (a so called chocha) located about 1 kilometer from the road running from Iquitos to Nauta. The species has not been found anywhere else and is so far regarded as endemic to the lake, chiefly based on information from local fishermen and inspections made by the authors.

The forest surrounding the lake is dense and is believed to be primary forest, and the lake itself was smaller than 1 ha at the time of collection. The water was translucent and had a pale brownish color. The dept of the lake has been measured as up to 2.8 meters, but the authors say that it might be slightly deeper overall. The bottom of the lake was covered in roughly 50-80 cm of fallen leaves, fallen trees, twigs, branches and similar.

Water conditions measured on May 25 2010 were as follows:

Temperature 29.7 °C

pH 4.1

Oxygen 1.8 mg/l

Light 70-80 lux

Authors

Uwe Römer

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

University of Trier, Inst. Biogeography, Dep. Geo-Sciences, Germany

eu.roemer(at)t-online.de

Fabrice Duponchelle

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France

Instituto de Investigationes de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Peru

Antonia Vela Diaz

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal, Facultad de Oceanografia y Ciencias Alimentarias, Peru

Carmen Garcia Davilla

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal, Facultad de Oceanografia y Ciencias Alimentarias, Peru

Susana Sirvas

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Instituto de Investigationes de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Peru

Catalina Diaz Catchay

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Instituto de Investigationes de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Peru

Jean-François Renno

Laboratoire Mixte International – Evolution et Domestication de l’Ichtyofaune Amazonienne (LMI – EDIA)

Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France

Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal, Facultad de Oceanografia y Ciencias Alimentarias, Peru

Flowerhorn cichlids have also sparked a lot of controversy as they are hybrids and many fish keepers believe that we should avoid creating hybrids on our aquariums. Another cause of controversy is that flowerhorns has made it into the wild where their aggressive nature can cause problem for the local Eco system.

Many Flowerhorn cichlids are very pretty and it can be tempting to buy one of you are lucky enough to see an adult specimen in a fish store. It is however, like with all fish, important that you know what you are buying and that you can care for it before you buy it. Flowerhorns are big aggressive cichlids that need to be kept by themselves (most commonly) or with other equally big and aggressive cichlids that can stand their ground against the Flowerhorn. It is important to remember that even fights between evenly matched aggressive cichlids can end with one the fish dead and it is therefore a risk if you place an expensive Flowerhorn cichlid with any other fish species.

The aquarium need to be of sufficient size and well filtered as Flowerhorn dig and are messy eaters, there is little point in having any plants in the tank. The tank should instead be decorated using different rocks and roots that create a stimulating environment for the fish. They should be fed a varied diet and it is important not to give them too much fatty food as they have a tendency towards obesity.

Elvis strain flowerhorn cichlid

Flowerhorn cichlids can be breed with a number of different American cichlid species and this is something that should be considered if kept in a community aquarium. Especially if you keep them with any species you want to breed and get pure offspring from. To breed Flowerhorn under more controlled circumstances it is usually required to use a separated to prevent the male from injuring or killing the female. It is important to understand the history and lineage of Flowerhorn if one want to create a high quality of spring. We hope to post another article on this heritage soon.

If you have an aquarium of sufficient size and with sufficient filtration to devote to a Flowerhorn than it will make a stunning show fish that will grow quickly and be easy to care for as Flowerhorn as the American cichlids they originate from, are hardy fish.

I recommend everyone who has the opportunity, knowledge and facilities to keep this fish at least one as they are charismatic stunning fish despite their controversial origin.