Amatitlania nanolutea

Amatitlania nanolutea

Amatitlania nanolutea was first described by Allgayer in 1994. The genus name is named after the type location of this genus. Amatitlán means a place of abundance of amate in Nahuatl. Amate is a type of old paper made from the bark of the Ficus petiolaris or Ficus indica. Nano means small in Latin, Luteus means yellow.

Synonyms: Archocentrus nanoluteus, Cryptoheros nanoluteus, Cichlasoma nanoluteum.

Origin

Boca del Toro, Panama.

Description

Amatitlania nanolutea males can reach a length of 10 centimetres, the females remain slightly smaller. The name of this fish refers to its golden yellow colour, the head has a green shine, the abdomen a blue shine. There is a red border on the dorsal fin, vertical stripes run across the body that can look like a row of spots.

The Aquarium

These fish require an aquarium of 1.20 meters. Set up the tank with loose plants, lots of rocks and driftwood, so that burrows are created, and also provide sufficient hiding places. The bottom must consist of sand, only during the breeding season some holes are dug to accommodate the fry.

Water

Temperature: 24-28 degrees Celsius.
pH: 7-7.5
GH: 5-8

Diet

They are omnivores, as food can be given both live food and frozen food, such as mosquito larvae, mysis and brine shrimp, as a supplement to dry food.

Character

They are peaceful fish that can be kept in the aquarium with several conspecifics. They can also be kept together with Livebearers, Characins and Catfish.

Breeding Amatitlania nanolutea

Breeding of the Amatitlania nanolutea is fairly simple. The females take the initiative for courtship. They are cave brooders, the eggs are deposited and fertilized in a cave, where the young are also cared for. The den is fiercely defended by the parents. After 3 days the eggs hatch and a week later the young swim around freely. The fry can be raised with dust food or brine shrimp nauplii.

Video

Author

Coby – J. de Lange

Copyright images

Jan Fioole
Klaus Steinhaus