Mendezs Dwarf Cichlid

Apistogramma mendezi is a blackwater specialist from the lower Rio Negro basin in northwestern Brazil, where it lives in shaded, leaf-strewn streams stained dark by tannins. It is traded under the code names A220, A221, and A222, and is far less common than the everyday dwarf cichlids because it is usually wild-caught and tied to very soft, acidic conditions. Males are colourful and territorial, with the size and finnage typical of the larger members of the genus.

This is a fish for the experienced keeper rather than a general community. It does best in a quiet species tank or with a few small, soft-water dither fish from the same habitat, such as pencilfish. It will not tolerate hard, alkaline water for long, and it is an unsuitable companion for dwarf shrimp or very small fry. Like other Apistogramma it is chiefly carnivorous, taking benthic invertebrates in nature, so live and frozen daphnia, Artemia, and bloodworm should form the core of its diet.

Recreate its habitat with an 80 litre or larger tank, dim lighting, a dark substrate, leaf litter, and alder cones, holding the water between 23 and 29 degrees Celsius at a pH of 4.0 to 6.0. Mendez's dwarf cichlid is a cave spawner whose female guards eggs and fry, but successful breeding generally requires near rainwater-soft, strongly acidic water to harden and hatch the eggs. In a community or in harder water, broods rarely survive, so getting young from this species is a project for a dedicated blackwater setup rather than a casual outcome.