Photo: Gregdonohoe ( talk ), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Cupid cichlid
Biotodoma cupido
10 cm
Adult size
400 L
Minimum volume
4
Minimum group
8 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Biotodoma
- Diet
- omnivore
- Social life
- small group
In the wild
Overview
Its genus name (“house of life”) alluded to fry carried in the gills, which does not apply to the species known today. This “earth eater” is sold in several geographic forms (“Santarém”, “Belém”, Peru).
- Scientific name
- Biotodoma cupido (Heckel, 1840)
- Classification
- Cichliformes › Cichlidae
- IUCN Red List
- Least concern (LC)
Natural habitat
Amazon basin, from Peru to the Tocantins (Brazil) and as far as Bolivia; Essequibo basin (Guyana)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
Probably a generalist, it avoids torrential water. Its habitats change a great deal with the annual Amazon flood, in depth as well as turbidity.
Behaviour
Outside breeding it is surprisingly peaceful and only hunts fish a few millimetres long: it lives with most peaceful species of soft, acidic water. Gregarious, it lives in a small group. It sifts sand: it needs a fine substrate and fine foods, with some plant matter.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth