Mikrogeophagus altispinosus – Small Earth Eater – High Spine
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus is a small cichlid that can be found in multiple countries of South America. You may know this fish by another name that is often used in the aquarium trade, “Bolivian Ram”. This fish does come from Bolivia but it also can also be found in Venezuala and near Mato Grosso Brasil. Males can be distinguished from females by the first couple of spines from the dorsal fin. The first spine is very tall, then the rest of the spines recede. In females, the first couple spines are shorter then become longer and then recede as it progresses down the spine. This fish like many cichlid species has a lateral blotch and signature to many dwarf cichlids, you can see a superorbital stripe.
Possible other variations – Hans J. Mayland and Dieter Bork showed in their collaborated book, 1South American Dwarf Cichlids, that there are two different variations of what we now synonymize as M. altispinosus. They displayed two variations, one with two lateral blotches and a blotch that covered the peduncle and the other image looks like a specimen that is commonly seen in today’s aquarium industry though F0.
- 1.Mayland HJ, Bork D. South American Dwarf Cichlids – Apistogramma, Crenicara, Microgeophagus. Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany; 2021.
