South American butterfly cichlid
| South American butterfly cichlid | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South American butterfly cichlid |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ramirezi microgeophagus | ||||||||||||
| ( Myers & Harry , 1948) |
The South American butterfly cichlid , even butterfly dwarf cichlid or simply Ramirezi called (scientifically Mikrogeophagus ramirezi , synonyms Papiliochromis ramirezi , Apistogramma ramirezi , Pseudogeophagus ramirezi , Pseudoapistogramma ramirezi ), is a freshwater fish from the family of cichlids (Cichlidae). In addition to the species of the genus Mikrogeophagus from South America , the African butterfly cichlid (Anomalochromis thomasi ) the common name "butterfly cichlid".
distribution
The more than confusing and still not completely satisfactorily explained scientific naming is also based on errors about the distribution of this dwarf cichlid species. The first descriptors caught the type specimens in the savannas of Venezuela between the city of Palenque and the Río Meta . After Lüling brought fish from the Mamorè system in Bolivia in 1966, which Meinken (at that time the head of the fish identification office of the Association of German Associations for Aquarium and Terrarium Studies , VDA) identified as Mikrogeophagus ramirezi , a dispute arose over the actual distribution area. Two years later, Fischer found the species again in Venezuela, in the basin of the Rio Guárico. Only Kullander was able to clarify another 13 years later: Lüling's fish belonged to the sister species Mikrogeophagus altispinosus , which was described by Hasemann as early as 1911. Today it is well established: Mikrogeophagus ramirezi lives in the area of the lower and middle Orinoco and the other waters of the Llanos in Venezuela and Colombia . Its closest relatives are the Bolivian butterfly cichlid, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus (Hasemann, 1912), and an as yet undescribed species.
ecology
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi lives in crystal clear, slow flowing streams with thick vegetation and muddy soil as well as in the overgrown bank areas of murky warm lakes. Staeck mentions the investigation of six habitats in Venezuela, again with dense vegetation and clear water. Koslowski cites on-site water analyzes: pH 5.1; 3 µS / cm; 28.5 ° C or pH 4.6 to 7.3; <10 to 40 µS / cm; 27.5 to 31 ° C.
Aquaristics
South American butterfly cichlids rarely grow up to two inches long. Since the species is pair-forming and territorial, one male and one female should always be kept in the aquarium . The sexes are easy to distinguish:
- In the males, the second fin ray of the dorsal fin is longer.
- In the females, the second dorsal fin ray is shorter than in the males, they are overall smaller and have a reddish to purple belly.
- Shortly before spawning, the female can also be clearly recognized by a short laying tube. Open brooders, the eggs are laid on stones or in pits in numbers between 150 and 200.
The breeding of the South American butterfly cichlid is difficult. Your success depends on your diet and the water parameters (soft, slightly acidic water). In the pet shop, animals from the large-scale breeding companies in Southeast Asia are often available, which have lost important elements of reproductive behavior. The often available “Jumbo Ramirezi” are also no longer capable of reproduction.
The South American butterfly cichlid develops properly with good quality and varied food. In addition to frozen food (Artemia, black, red and white mosquito larvae), live food (water fleas, cyclops, saline shrimp nauplii, mosquito larvae) is a prerequisite for successful maintenance and reproduction.
literature
- I. Koslowski: The cichlids of America. Volume 2: Apistogramma & Co. Verlag Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3820-4 .
- H. Linke, W. Staeck: American Cichlids I: Small cichlids. Seventh edition. Tetra Verlag, Melle 2001, ISBN 3-89745-100-X .
- SO Kullander: The Bolivian ram: a zoogeographical problem and its taxonomic solution. In: DCG-Informn. 12 (4), 1981, pp. 61-79.
Web links
- South American butterfly cichlid on Fishbase.org (English)
- IT IS