Andinoacara stalsbergi
Kingdom
Phylum
Order
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Andinoacara stalsbergi
Length
10.3-11.3
4.1-4.4
cminch
cm inch 

Andinoacara stalsbergi is a species of South American freshwater fish in the family Cichlidae. It was previously included in A. rivulatus, but was described as a separate species in 2009. The specific name honours the Norwegian aquarist Alf Stalsberg who collected the type of this species and who has had a “longstanding commitment to increase the knowledge about cichlid fishes”.

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A. stalsbergi has scales on the body with light centres and dark edges, and narrow clearly defined white edging to the tail and dorsal fins. This separates it from A. rivulatus where the scale-pattern is reversed, and the fin-edging is gold-orange or less clearly defined white. A. stalsbergi are found in rivers and other freshwater habitats in western Peru from Piura to Ica, while A. rivulatus are found in far northwestern Peru (Tumbes) and western Ecuador.

Although the largest officially measured A. stalsbergi only had a standard length of 11.3 cm (4.4 in), it is known to reach a size comparable to A. rivulatus.

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Geography

Continents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

Mating Habits

Male green terrors are sexually mature at 10 centimetres (3.9 in) and females at 8 cm (3.1 in). Although spawning below these sizes is possible, few eggs hatch.

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It requires suitable breeding sites, such as flat rocks. The pair cleans the site before breeding. The female Green terror can deposit up to 300-400 eggs, while some produce more than 600 eggs.

They are protective of their eggs. For this reason, breeding should take place in a separate tank. The eggs hatch after 3–4 days. Adults continue to guard and care for the larvae, moving the fry into pits in the substrate. At this stage, the larvae can be fed crushed flakes. After 9–12 days, the fry are big enough to swim freely. They are highly sensitive to poor water conditions and succumb absent regular water changes. Free swimming fry eat brine shrimp or fine fry powder. When the fry have reached a length of 2 cm (0.8 in) they typically experience a growth spurt and rapidly grow bigger.

To increase brood sizes, once the pair start to clean a rock, separate the male and female with a divider for 3–5 days, increase the temperature by 5-7 °C (about 8-12 °F), perform a 50% water change and feed with live food (such as bloodworm).

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References

1. Andinoacara stalsbergi Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andinoacara_stalsbergi
2. Andinoacara stalsbergi on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/64791053/176672910

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