Checkerboard Cichlid Breeding Guide

How to breed the checkerboard cichlid (Dicrossus filamentosus): sexing, very soft acidic blackwater, substrate spawning, and female-only fry care.

Overview

The checkerboard cichlid (Dicrossus filamentosus) is a dwarf cichlid from the Rio Negro and Orinoco basins of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. It is a substrate spawner of soft, acidic blackwater habitats. Breeding is achievable but demanding, as the species will only thrive and reproduce under very specific water chemistry.

Sexing

Males are slightly larger and possess a highly attractive lyretailed caudal fin. Females are smaller, less colourful and have a simply rounded caudal fin.

Conditioning

Live foods are essential for conditioning; a daphnia culture is well suited to bringing the fish into breeding condition. Well-conditioned females colour up and fill with eggs ahead of spawning.

Breeding Setup

Provide very soft water (1 dH or lower is recommended) at a low pH; a more acidic value of about 4.5 to 5.8 is required to breed this species. RO water is nearly mandatory unless the local tap water is already around pH 4.5. Maintain a warm temperature of roughly 27-30 C (about 81-86 F).

Spawning Behavior & Trigger

The species lays its eggs on leaves or directly on the substrate. After spawning the female takes sole care of the brood and chases the male away. A critical constraint is that the eggs will not hatch above pH 5.8, so very acidic water is needed for development.

Egg & Fry Care

The eggs hatch about 3 days after spawning, with the female guarding and tending them while the male is kept away. As a small dwarf species the resulting fry are tiny and require correspondingly small first foods once free-swimming. A breeding tank of at least about 60 litres with plenty of hiding places gives the female space to defend a brood undisturbed.

Common Challenges

The main difficulty is water chemistry: without very soft, strongly acidic water the eggs simply will not hatch, since they do not develop above pH 5.8. The species is sensitive to water quality in general and is regarded as an advanced subject, so stable, clean blackwater conditions and an undisturbed female are required throughout.