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This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected
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Uaru amphiacanthoides
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Overview:
I have been keeping Uaru A. for about a year now, and they have wormed
their way into my top three favorite fish. They are very good natured
cichlids and are a pleasure to keep. They grow quickly, and become very
attentive to their owner. These guys are really a great fish, and deserve
much more recognition than they have received thus far.
Quick stats:
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Listed tank sizes are the minimum
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| Size: |
8-12" (20-30cm) in captivity, however Uaru
A. over 14 inches have been found in the wild. |
| Tank: |
75 gallons for a pair is bare minimum.125 gallons
or larger is preferable. |
| Strata: |
All over but tend to stay in the middle or bottom
of the tank. |
| PH: |
6.5-8 |
| Hardness: |
Soft to medium. dH range: 5-12 |
| Temperature: |
80°F-85°F (26°- 30°C) |
Classification:
| Order: |
Perciformes |
| Family: |
Cichlidae |
| Sub-Family : |
Cichlasomatinae |
| Genus: |
Uaru |
| Species: |
amphiacanthoides |
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Common name:
Uaru
Image gallery:
Additional
species photographs
Discuss:
Badmans'
Forum
Distribution:
South America, in the middle and lower Rio Negro in Brazil and Guyana.
In their native habitat, Uaru are a food source for the people along
the Amazon river basin.
Availability:
Uaru are not commonly available at your LFS, but are fairly easy to
find if you're willing to order them online. Most Uaru A. in the hobby
come from German and Indonesian commercial breeders.
Maintenance:
Diet:
Uaru A. is mainly a herbivorous cichlid. Feeding should consist of
vegetable matter (aquatic plants, cichlid staple, romaine lettuce,
spinach, cucumber, peas, and spirulina pellets), but should also include
some protein. Uaru A. love bloodworms, earthworms, pond snails, beefheart,
and live foods to supplement their mostly vegetarian diet. Driftwood
is also required, Uaru graze on it. Little is known about the role
driftwood plays in their diet, but it should be available to them,
as it may aid the digestive process. They grow very quickly if fed
properly.
Tank setup:
Tank should have a gravel or sand bottom, driftwood, and real plants.
The uaru will graze on the plants, however if you choose fast growing
plants, they will usually do just fine. I would advise against using
plastic plants, as uaru will bite the leaves anyway, and the pieces
of plastic are potentially hazardous.
Tank mates:
Uaru prefer warmer water than many other tropicals, and do well with
rummynose tetras, some plecos, severums, corydoras, altum angels,
rams, and geophagus to name a few.
Temperament:
Very aggressive feeders, though fairly shy the rest of the time.
Uaru A. are schoolers, and prefer to be in the company of their
own kind. Uaru A. are hardy cichlids, and very easy to keep.
Sexing:
Mature males can develop a fatty hump behind the head. It is also thought
that red eyes occur almost entirely in females, though both males and
females can also have orange eyes. Neither of these are foolproof, though.
The only certain way to get a pair of Uaru A. is to buy 6-8 juveniles,
and let them pair off on their own, or by venting.
Breeding:
Uaru A. are notoriously hard to breed, though some hobbyists report
spawning them in soft and hard water, with ph values between 6.5-8
ph. Uaru will lay 100-800 eggs at a time. They are substrate spawners,
and will lay eggs on the bottom of the tank, a piece of slate, or
in clay pots.
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