Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 88

Sam Borstein Introduces a rare little gem from
Lake Izabal Basin, Guatemala
In the brief period I’ve kept Archocentrus spinosis-
simus it has become one of my favourite fish. One
of the perks of being a lab member of the Evolu-
tionary Ecology of Fishes Lab at California State
University, Sacramento is that we have many in-
teresting heroine cichlid species that are not easily
obtainable in the hobby. I was ecstatic to see this
species, which I had only previously seen in books,
grace our fishroom. Hopefully, my experiences
keeping this fish will inspire a little more admira-
tion for this underappreciated species which is not
only pretty, but also displays some truly unique
behaviour.
Upon first glance it is quite easy to understand
how Archocentrus spinosissimus gets its common
names.
Archocentrus spinosissimus is often referred to as
the spiny cichlid and the pepper cichlid. Spiny
cichlid is an apt nickname as the specific epithet
literally translates to “most spiny” and the fish has
numerous dorsal fin and anal fin spines. Some-
times hobbyists shorten the species name and call
the fish “Spinos”. I’ve more commonly heard this
species referred to as the pepper cichlid in aquari-
um circles in the United States. This nickname is
also quite understandable. While some may say
that Archocentrus spinosissimus lacks the exuber-
ant colours that many of the other cichlids have, it
has a subtle beauty in its extremely high con-
trasting coloration pattern.
Male Archocentrus spinosissimus
have beautiful long finnage and
may also develop a nuchal hump
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