South Amercian Eartheaters

South American Eartheaters

by Thomas Weidner

The South American eartheaters are amongst the most adaptable species of the South American continent and are, by and large, easy to maintain. They are attractively coloured, long-lived, relatively easy to feed, and with luck can be induced to breed in almost any type of water. They are devoted parents with a fascinating behavioural repertoire that will never cease to amaze their owner.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The author has more than 10 years experience in keeping South American eartheaters and undertook several expeditions to South America in order to observe and catch these cichlids in their natural habitat. The information provided in this book stems from first hand experience and the author’s knowledge regarding keeping and breeding these eartheaters forms the basis of this monograph, the first book completely devoted to South American eartheaters.

In this book you will find general information on the history, systematics, geographical origin, and maintenance requirements of these cichlids. In the species section the different taxa are described in detail. The book covers the members of the genera Geophagus, Satanoperca, Biotodoma, and Gymnogeophagus, and also Acarichthys, Guianacara and Retroculus.

336 pages; more than 300 colour photos; format 16 x 23.5 cm (6.25 x 9.25")
ISBN 0-9668255-1-9

 
CONTENTS page
Foreword and Acknowledgments 6
Introduction 7
Eartheaters in history 8
The natural habitat 20
The aquarium 30
Proper maintenance 43
Breeding behaviour 55
The genera 67
The species 71
Biotodoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903 73
Geophagus Heckel, 1840 86
‘Geophagus‘ crassilabris Complex 171
‘Geophagus‘ brasiliensis Complex 191
Satanoperca Günther, 1862 206
Gymnogeophagus de Miranda-Ribeiro, 1918 248
Retroculus Eigenmann & Bray, 1894 281
Acarichthys Eigenmann, 1912 297
Guianacara Kullander & Nijssen, 1989 303
Glossary 326
References 328
Index 334