Apistogramma pucallpaensis Breeding Guide
Breeding the Pucallpa dwarf cichlid (Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis): cave spawning, ~80 eggs on the cave ceiling, female brood care, soft warm water.
Overview
The Pucallpa dwarf cichlid is valid in FishBase as Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis (Meinken, 1965); the name Apistogramma pucallpaensis is not a separately recognized Apistogramma species, and the data below comes from the FishBase profile for Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis. It is a tiny Amazonian dwarf cichlid (males to 2.7 cm SL, females to 2.3 cm SL) from the Ucayali near Pucallpa, Peru, downstream to Colombia, and is a cave spawner with female brood care.
Sexing
FishBase records males slightly larger than females (2.7 cm vs 2.3 cm SL). No further morphological sexing detail is given for the species; the genus-wide pattern of larger, more pointed-finned, brighter males applies as documented for Apistogramma relatives.
Conditioning
This is a small carnivorous cichlid suited to small live and frozen invertebrate foods. It naturally occupies warm, soft freshwater, so conditioning is done in a stable, warm, soft-water tank.
Breeding Setup
- Temperature: 23-30 °C (FishBase)
- pH: acidic, around 5.5 (FishBase)
- dH: up to about 5 (FishBase)
- Spawning sites: enclosed caves; eggs deposited on the cave ceiling
- Layout: sand substrate with small caves (genus pattern)
Spawning Behavior & Trigger
FishBase states that about 80 eggs are attached to the ceiling of caves and tended by the female parent. As with related Apistogramma, the species follows a substrate-cave-brooding strategy in soft, warm, acidic water; reproducing those conditions encourages spawning.
Egg & Fry Care
The female alone tends the clutch of roughly 80 eggs on the cave ceiling and guards the larvae and fry, while a paired male defends the territory, following the care pattern documented for Apistogramma cave spawners. Stable warm, soft water supports egg development and fry survival.
Common Challenges
Its very small size means fry are tiny and need correspondingly small first foods; soft, warm, acidic water must be kept stable. IUCN lists the species as Least Concern (assessed 2020).