Description
Apistogramma caetei is a South American dwarf cichlid which has a very subtle beauty. It is normally a silvery yellow with some black cross hatching. At times, bluish vertical bands show up across the entire flank, and the black lateral line disappears in favor of a dark spot below the shoulder. When fully fired up and in breeding dress, the males can turn electric blue, with a soft salmon colored belly, and intense metallic blue and clear stripes on all unpaired fins. The females of this species are also fairly distinct, staying a more metallic silvery cream color rather than the typical bright lemon yellow. Depending on the individual, there can also be a black spotted pattern, somewhat similar to a checkerboard cichlid, below the lateral line, and some males have a blood red pattern on the cheeks, a stark contrast to the rest of the fish. An extremely rare and pretty fish, this apistogramma is one that really benefits from having a biotope aquarium, especially since most specimens you would ever come into contact with will be wild caught.
This cichlid was originally collected in the Caete river, more specifically in a small gully in the rio apeú which feeds directly into the rio Caete. [On November 23 of 1996, a water test was done on the stretch of the river in which they were collected. At this time and place, the ph was 5.97, and the hardness of the water was barely 0.2 dgH, which is nearly nonexistent. In this area the water was no deeper than 50cm, and was slightly turbid and contained some vegetation. A full breakdown of the elemental composition of the water was also provided in South American Dwarf Cichlids, published in 1997, but the most important of these factors would be the pH and the mineral content, which are easily reproducible in the home aquarium. See below notes for more details.] You would want to keep your water soft, as well as slightly acidic. You will also want to put some branches and leaf litter in the tank, both to rot and produce some biofilm for fish to graze off of, but also to stain the water with tannins, which makes it much more natural for the apistogrammas. This tea-colored water will also allow their iridescence to truly show their full beauty, since lights too bright will tend to wash them out, as well as make them more shy. As with their natural collection point, a planted aquarium with many low light plants would make a great tank to put them in.
This dwarf cichlid is not a large fish, even compared with other apistogramma species, and so a community aquarium is fine, but do not keep these fish with aggressive tank mates. Some smaller tetras would be a great choice, and you could add a small school of tetras and complete a biotope aquarium. This species is also most likely able to spawn successfully in a harem setting, and so you might also consider having a group of them rather than a pair, as long as your aquarium is large enough that each one can claim its own territory, since if your tank is too small you may see quite a lot of torn fins or missing scales.
Notes on native water conditions these fish are found in:
Na: 1.5 ppm
K: 0.6 ppm
Ca: 0.59 ppm
Mg: 0.33 ppm
Fe: 0.37 ppm
Mn: 0.005 ppm
NH4: <0.02 ppm
NO2: <.02 ppm
NO3: 0.6 ppm
Cl- (Chloride): 2.3 ppm
SO4: 1.2 ppm
PO4: <0.04 ppm
HCO3: 6.1 ppm
Surface water temperature: 28.9 C
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