Laetacara curviceps

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Laetacara curviceps, or the flag acara, is a dwarf cichlid that lives in slow-moving rivers and streams as well as ponds and lakes in the vicinity of the Amazon Basin. The are commonly kept in aquariums, which is the aspect that I will be focusing on. This species is very peaceful compared to most other cichlids, and won't uproot plants. They enjoy slightly soft and acidic water, but they're fine as long as extremes are avoided. Flag acaras are ideal for peaceful communities with other peaceful Amazon fish, such as tetras and apistos. These fish were once much more popular then they are today, mainly because other dwarf cichlids like apistos and rams have stolen the spotlight. This dumbfounds me because of how interesting, colorful, and easy to breed this and other related species are.

One of the main points that I wanted to touch upon was breeding these fish in captivity. They will pair up at a very young age, as small as one and a half inches. The fish will flair at each other when pairing up and will later swim together and breed. They usually stay with their mate for the rest of their lives. It doesn't take much to trigger the breeding of these fish, and simple good treatment is more then often enough, although warm and clean water and lots of live food. They will almost always lay their eggs on a flat surface, but I just had a pair spawn directly on gravel. After a few days the egss will hatch and become wigglers. This is when the fish have hatched out of their eggs, but are still attached to the spawning surface, and feeding off of their yolk sacs, which are attached to their stomachs. After five to seven days of being wigglers, the fish have almost completely consumed their yolk sacs and become free swimming. They are very small, buy can normally choke down new born baby brine shrimp as a first food. You can also feed them liquid fry food, which is available at most fish or pet stores. The parental care of this species is amazing. The parents take equal guard shifts protecting the eggs, wigglers, and fry. The last that I bred this fish, the wigglers slipped through the gravel, and I thought the parents had eaten them. As devoted as the parents are, they sometimes seem to get confused and eat their own eggs. Because of this, I stirred the gravel a few times to make sure they the fry were still alive. Fearing for their brood's safety, the parents picked up the fry in their mouth and moved them across the tank, two by two. They would take turns, while one would stand guard over the already moved young. They will be protected by their parents until they are moderately large and can fend for themselves.

To be continued.