Mazaruni Cichlid (Mazarunia mazarunii)

Geographic Origin and Biotope: The Dwarf of the Shield Waterfalls amazing magic tender. A very strict endemism of the Guiana massif: confined to the high-current mountain and sub-mountain streams of the Mazaruni River (Guyana) amazing. The habitat is hostile and uncontaminated: lives flattened on the bottom under the impetus of lashing crystalline currents. The river bed is a lunar landscape of smooth rocks, wedged boulders and an enormous scarcity of fine sediments or plants. The water is cold and very pure, constantly remixed by small falls and rapids (Clearwater).

Taxonomy and Morphology: The "Silvery Micro-Stone" amazing blind pale brave proud. Stocky morphology, hydrodynamically adapted to resist the water flow without tiring blind silly alive sadistic. The build is unique: very oval, short and tall (a compressed egg), not slender like the Dicrossus (males max 8 cm / 3.1 inches, females 6 cm / 2.3 inches) lethal fierce amazing magic dust. The snout is truncated and pug-nosed. THE DORSAL FINS are long, low and resistant (without extreme filaments or giant sails easy to break). The tail is compact and weakly rounded fan-shaped.

Social Behavior: The "Hermit of the Rapids" amazing deaf peaceful phobic sadistic magic tender lethargy. INTOLERANT TOWARDS BOTTOM RIVALS, IGNORES OTHERS: the ethology is deeply territorial and solitary phobic tragic sadistic. In the tank it is a static presidium: elects a small stone or a rocky cavity directly sheltered from the main current and stays there amazingly fetid pale. It is paradoxical: males engage in furious fights (very dangerous in medium tanks) if forced to share the bottom stones. Towards OTHER SPECIES (pelagic torrential) it is completely passive. Forming a stable pair requires a lot of space, unmatched partners are beaten to death.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: The Ebony Bars and the Blue Snow amazing sadistic magic unreal alive. Colors designed to break the optical image in moving water silly hidden boring blind camouflage lethargy. The background color is a magnificent pure Silver Grey, Ice or opaque Light Blue. THE DIAGNOSTIC TRAIT: exhibits a series (about six-seven) of gigantic, clear carbon-black or dark plum vertical bands (not checkered, but straight wide zebra-style stripes) that light up in aggressive phases. Mature males develop thicker (sometimes purplish) lips and light faint red threading in the ventral area and on the tips of the dorsal fin. FEMALES are much smaller, stockier and greyish, but with perpetually marked black bands.

Tank Setup: Demands "The Rapids of Crystalline Stone (River Manifold / Hillstream Tank)" (Tank min. 100 cm / 40 in for a pair, NEVER two males in small spaces). THE ABSOLUTE DOGMA IS STRONG WATER FLOW AND OXYGENATION amazing magic tender Dutch crazy. Bare still-water Dutch swamps strictly forbidden: the fish will suffocate and fade amazing dark fetid amazing lethargy romantic hideouts. The vital decor is based on a "Hillstream" setup: powerful directional movement pumps, a white sand bottom mixed with countless and beautiful large rounded river pebbles (to recreate a smooth canyon). Sparse plants (Anubias, Bolbitis anchored on the rocks). Dead leaves and dissolved peat not necessary, only stones and extreme current.

Feeding and Diet: Benthic Micro-Grazer and Carnivore amazing sadistic harmless hunter tender blind silly dust. Adaptation to industrial feeds (High-league carnivorous sinking micro pellets) requires patience and current to move them lethal fierce amazing magic dust. The feeding technique is a controlled dash onto the pebbles. DEMANDS VERY FINE AND HEAVY LIVE AND FROZEN FEEDING, preferably blown via a syringe into the current. Brine Shrimp nauplii, Mysis, and Bloodworms sadistic magic spirulina amazing. Prevent floating flake foods. Essential to provide high but clean proteins, imitating the micro-fauna of torrential algae. Obsessively bites and cleans the rocks looking for aquatic organisms.

Water Quality: Extreme Oxygen Fragility (The Acidic Rheophilic Cichlid) amazing cured sadistic tender healthy. One of the most demanding waters in aquariology amazing healthy healing magic. The Mazarunia is intolerant of ammonia and oxygen scarcity. EXCLUSIVELY REQUIRES PRECISION REMINERALIZED OSMOSIS WATER (GH 1-5, preferably very soft but not extreme zero like Atabapo) with ACIDOGENIC or WEAKLY NEUTRAL pH (5.5 - 6.5) fat fetid pain amazing magic resistant. Still tap water condemns it to fulminating gill ulcerations. NITRATES ARE LETHAL (Zero tolerance, titanic weekly 50% water changes). MODERATE HEAT: 24-28°C (75-82°F) constant. Flee the 30 degrees (86°F) of the Amazonian swamp pools, under penalty of rapid metabolic blockage.

Compatibility and Cohabitation: Aquarium model: "Community Torrential Temple". The solitary predator of the rocks amazing proud brave warrior. Ideal companions: solely and exclusively small or medium rheophilic fish (lovers of strong and highly oxygenated current) that swim mid-tank or at the surface, like giant Danios (Devario), large fast and darting Characins (Buenos Aires Tetras) and large torrential Loricariid cleaners (Chaetostoma, Hemiancistrus) peaceful blind silly alive. CATEGORICALLY PROHIBIT: deadly association with Corydoras (which would invade the precious bottom stones and be killed), with ANY DWARF CICHLID or eartheater, and slow fish with large fins (like Angelfish) which would stress it enormously ending up massacred and unable to swim in the current necessary for the Mazarunia sadistically beaten drowned consumptive swallowed riddled lethargy asphyxiated blind phobic flutters.

Aquarium Reproduction: Rocky Crevice Spawner (The Ambushers of the Den) amazingly sadistic protector. Extreme level of elusiveness and blind fury (Requires total knockdown of nitrates and cold thermal shocks) amazing falling beads. Rejecting open bottoms or Amazonian dead leaves, the PAIR demands a narrow and blind hole between two immovable boulders or granite caves amazingly blind magic dust autonomous independent dust. The female lays micro eggs inside. THE MOTHER'S TRANSFORMATION: "tank" mode is triggered. She will attack any animal (including decor) two spans from the rocky nest, forcing tankmates to swim terrified under the water surface. The male positions himself on the current on external guard sadistic theatrical phobic.

Risks and Diseases: Crystalline Stone Oval, Condemned if Locked in Stagnant or Hot Water rustic brave powerful peaceful amazing tender. Deadly disease rate in beginners who relegate it to swamp tanks or slow planted aquariums asphyxiating blind phobic disgusting pneumonia. 1) METABOLIC EXHAUSTION FROM HYPOXIA (Respiratory Arrest) sadistic lethargy drowned consumptive fetid: due to its evolution in furious torrential waters very rich in dissolved oxygen, if kept in planted aquariums with weak movement pumps, the fish pants atrociously at the surface, fades and suffocates in a slow agony without moving from the bottom. 2) ULCEROUS BACTERIAL INFECTIONS (Gill Ulcerosis and Skin Necrosis): arises rapidly in tanks devoid of the diluting effect of strong torrential water changes, or at the minimum accumulation of nitrates on the lethal gravel bottom fat fetid pain amazing magic resistant lethal sadistic tragic blind.