玻利维亚凤凰 · Bolivian Ram

Overview

Mikrogeophagus altispinosus feeds by sifting sand and needs consistently clean water. It is a poor competitor at meals and should live with gentle companions. Relative ease of care does not make it suitable for every general community.

Distribution & habitat

It is native to the upper Madeira basin in Bolivia and Brazil, including the Mamoré, Guaporé, and upper Orthon drainages. Sandy or muddy tributaries, margins, oxbows, and lakes are presumed habitats rather than fully documented microhabitat requirements.

Aquarium setup

Soft fine sand is essential. Coarse gravel can impede feeding, damage gills, or be swallowed. Use roots and branches for shade, a few flat spawning surfaces, and optional attached or shade-tolerant plants. Keep flow gentle and change roughly ten to fifteen percent regularly rather than making abrupt large replacements. Never use an immature system. Deteriorating water can be associated with erosive lesions around the head and lateral line.

Diet & feeding

Mouthfuls of substrate are sifted and expelled, though solid surfaces and suspended food are also browsed. Offer varied live or frozen bloodworms, Artemia, Daphnia, and small worms, supplemented with fine sinking prepared food. Wild fish may initially refuse dry items before learning to accept them.

Behaviour & compatibility

Peaceful open-water schooling fishes can reduce shyness, and gentle bottom dwellers may be suitable. Avoid aggressive competitors and fishes needing much harder water. Individuals or bonded pairs can be kept; mixed-sex groups require substantially more room because cramped males defend areas more vigorously. Observations of solitary wild fish outside reproduction prevent treating aquarium grouping as a universal natural pattern.

Sexual dimorphism

Adult males are larger, more strongly colored, and slightly longer-finned.

Breeding

This substrate spawner shares care between both parents. A dedicated pair setup simplifies management. Allow juveniles to pair naturally, emphasizing diet and maintenance rather than a special trigger. Eggs are laid in rows on stone, wood, leaves, or glass and fertilized afterward. Inexperienced pairs may consume early broods before improving.

Hatching takes two to three days, followed by five to eight days of yolk-supported development without added food. Parents move young among excavated pits, sometimes repeatedly. Once free-swimming, offer microworms and Artemia nauplii. Separate eggs or companions if greater fry survival is desired in a community aquarium.

Notes

A group-housing label must be interpreted alongside space and individual territorial needs. This species is larger and less iridescent than its brightly blue-marked relative.