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FishFreshwaterIntermediate
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Araguaia Dwarf Cichlid
Laetacara araguaiae
Hailing from Brazil, this peaceful dwarf cichlid displays brilliant blue iridescence with reddish fins. It thrives in well-planted community tanks with soft water and plenty of hiding spots.
Class:Actinopteri
Order:Perciformes
Family:Cichlidae
Subfamily:Cichlasomatinae
Genus:Laetacara
Species:Laetacara araguaiae
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Water Temperature
23 - 27 °C
pH Value
5.5 - 7
Water type
Freshwater
Adult size
3.63 cm
Minimum tank volume
>= 80 L
Minimum group
>= 2
GH
2 - 10 dGH
KH
1 - 4 dKH
TDS
40 - 190 ppm
Conductivity
63 - 297 uS/cm
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Native to the Araguaia River basin in Brazil, this species inhabits slow-moving waters, lagoons, and riverbanks dense with aquatic vegetation.
Taxonomy and Morphology: A member of the family Cichlidae. Reaches up to 7.5 cm in length. Features a rounded head profile and compressed body shape. A small dwarf cichlid with a deep, laterally compressed body and a rounded head profile. Features thick lips and large, expressive eyes.
Social Behavior: Relatively peaceful compared to larger cichlids. Becomes territorial during spawning, defending the nesting site. Best kept in bonded pairs. Relatively peaceful compared to other cichlids, making it suitable for community tanks, though it becomes territorial when breeding.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Dark body coloration highlighted by brilliant blue iridescent scales and reddish tones on the belly and fins. Males develop longer, pointed dorsal and anal fins. Displays a beautiful grayish-blue body with iridescent scales, temporary dark vertical bars, and red and blue markings on the fins.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Aquarium Setup: An 80-liter tank with soft sand, driftwood roots, and dense plantings. Provide flat stones and broad-leafed plants to serve as spawning substrates. Requires a freshwater aquarium of at least 80 liters (21 gallons), heavily planted with driftwood, roots, and flat stones for potential spawning sites.
Diet and Feeding: Omnivorous. Readily accepts dry foods. Supplement with live or frozen foods like brine shrimp, mysis, and bloodworms to encourage spawning. Micro-predator. Feed a mix of live and frozen foods such as bloodworms, daphnia, brine shrimp, and high-quality small pellets for dwarf cichlids.
Water Quality: Prefers soft, slightly acidic conditions. Keep temperature at 23-27 °C, pH at 5.5-7.0, and hardness at 2-10 dGH. Prefers soft, slightly acidic water: temperature 23-28°C, pH 6.0-7.2, and GH 5-12. Adding catappa leaves helps replicate their natural habitat.
Compatibility and Cohabitation: Omnivorous. Readily accepts dry foods. Supplement with live or frozen foods like brine shrimp, mysis, and bloodworms to encourage spawning. Excellent for community tanks with small, peaceful tankmates like tetras or corydoras. Avoid housing with large, predatory, or aggressive fish.
Aquarium Breeding: Compatible with other peaceful community fish like tetras, corydoras, and small plecos. Avoid highly aggressive dwarf cichlid species. Substrate spawner. The pair cleans a flat surface (rock or leaf), deposits eggs, and actively cares for the brood, defending the nest together.
Risks and Diseases: Sensitive to sudden parameters fluctuations and high organic waste. Weekly partial water changes are essential to prevent diseases. Sensitive to accumulated organic waste (nitrites and nitrates). Regular water changes and good biological filtration are key to preventing illness.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Native to the Araguaia River basin in Brazil, this species inhabits slow-moving waters, lagoons, and riverbanks dense with aquatic vegetation.
Origin
Amazon, Orinoco, and Guianas
Fish profile
- Temperament
- No verified data available
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 3.63 cm
- Sex ratio
- No verified data available
- Feeding frequency
- No verified data available
- Bioload
- Low
- Flow
- No verified data available
- Jump risk
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Compatibility & tankmates
- No verified data available
- Tank level
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 3.63 cm. The FishBase SPECIES table (v25.04 snapshot) source reports a maximum adult measurement of 3.63 cm for this species, recorded as standard length (SL). The taxonomic record consulted is Laetacara araguaiae (v25.04); male or unsexed record. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
The single-adult profile is classified as low bioload. The bioload-v2 rubric deterministically assigns this class from the verified maximum length of 3.63 cm; it is a catalog management category, not a direct measurement of waste output.
Window to the official scientific data of the species
Data synced on: 06/15/2026
Scientific Parameters & Models
- Trophic level
- 3.1 ± 0.4 se
- Phylogenetic uniqueness (PD50)
- 0.5078
- Bayesian Length-Weight
- a = 0.02188, b = 3.05
VulnerabilityLow vulnerability (10 / 100)
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
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