Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 204

© Sebastiaan Wassenaar
This is one of the few species in southern Mexico,
Belize and Guatemala, which can tolerate colder
temperatures. The temperatures in the cenotes
are often less than 20 C/68 F, because of the great
depth. This is confirmed in an article by Ross So-
colof 1984. It is also known that C. intermedium
also occurs in the highlands of Guatemala. During
the drought periods, the water temperatures can
vary between 24C/ 75Fand 30C/86F; again a testa-
ment to the water temperature ranges that they
can tolerate. Outside the breeding season
C. intermedium are normally found in the deeper
parts of rivers with strong flowing water. The
swimming behaviour in nature is also focused on
these fast running parts of the river; Chuco
Intermedium are rheophilic fish and need fast
Chuco intermedium occurs in Mexico, Belize and
Guatemala in the Usumacinta and Grijalvas basin.
Notable River includes, Rio Chacamax, Rio Misol
Ha, Rio Bascan, Rio Corzo and Rio Tulija and Rio de
la Pasion in Guatemala.
Chuco intermedium populations in Belize often
inhabit cenotes where stagnant water occurs,
such as the famous "Blue Hole".
The populations in many creeks have slow flowing
water, such as "Stan Creek". This is in contrast to
the C.intermedium of Mexico and Guatemala.
Now, one would expect that the morphological
profile of C.intermedium of Belize is higher than
the variations from Guatemala and Mexico; how-
ever, this is not the case. They are also a species
with huge environmental adaptability.
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