Anybody have experience keeping Laetacara Araguaiae (Buckelkopf?)

[Henry Daniel]

Thinking of adding one (two?) to my 12 gal tank which already contains five Laubuca Dadibujori (Dadios) and two Black Phantom Tetras. Are they hardy? Are they good eaters (flake and freeze dried)? Can also provide frozen food. Thanks!

 

[Mike Wise]

L. araguaiae are wonderful, peaceful (when not defending fry), and undemanding fish. Once acclimated to a tank they are extremely hardy, like all dwarf acaras. They happily eat any aquarium food you offer. The only down side that I see is that they are rather robust even at 3.5"/9cm. A 12 gallon tank might be a bit small. Still they are worth a try.

 

[dwarfpike]

I rather loved mine, except for having to rearrange the tank once the fry were gone. The male was relentless against the female, despite having mopani wood from one length of the 20 gallon Long to the other and plants scattered all through it. I think next time I'll go with a 30/40 breeder size.

I'll agree outside of breeding they were quite peaceful, but when breeding they can decimate a tank rather quickly if it's too small.

Mine were greedy little pigs that ate everything and would even beg for food like larger cichlids at times. They do seem to be a little more nitrate sensitive than say L. dorsigera or L. thayeri ime.

 

[Henry Daniel]

How long do they usually live?

 

[Mike Wise]

Mine lived 4 - 5 years.