Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid

About

Start with the label, because the label is the problem. Seriously Fish puts it bluntly: A. viejita 'is yet to be produced commercially', 'many forms of A. macmasteri enter the trade under the name viejita, incorrectly', and 'it is almost impossible to acquire the true viejita without finding a specialised hobbyist'. AquaInfo says the same in one line — fish sold under this name are almost always A. macmasteri. Wikipedia goes further and names the strains: 'Red Face', 'Red Mask' and 'Red shoulder' are described there as domestic lines of A. macmasteri, though that particular sentence carries a citation-needed tag. So if you bought a viejita in a shop, the entry you actually want is our A. macmasteri page, and the husbandry there is close enough that nothing bad happens — but the name on your tank is probably wrong. There is a way to check. In a male A. viejita the top edge of the dorsal fin is dark; A. macmasteri has no such seam. Macmasteri is also the deeper-bodied of the two and carries a 'D'-shaped spot on the caudal peduncle, where viejita's spot is rectangular, trapezoid or crescent-shaped. Both features want an adult male in good colour, which is exactly what a shop tank of half-grown fish will not give you. The real fish is a llanos animal, not a forest one. Its type locality is a tributary of the Rio Yucao in Meta, Colombia — shallow, clear shoreline water among emergent plants in savannah country, measured at under 50 microsiemens and 28.0 °C, with Satanoperca daemon and rummynose tetras alongside. That habitat reads soft and warm, and yet Seriously Fish is unusually relaxed about the tank: this species 'is not a fussy fish and will thrive in water which deviates from the natural parameters given and breeds readily when kept well'. Size is the last uncertainty. AquaInfo gives males about 7.5 cm and females 6 cm; the museum numbers are far smaller and internally odd — Wikipedia says 4.6 cm standard length, and FishBase's own columns give 3.0 cm SL for the male against 4.6 cm for the female, the wrong way round for this genus. We gate at 7 cm, the same as macmasteri, which is the honest reading for a fish that close to it.

Care

One male to two or three females in a tank of about 80 cm and 80 litres — AquaInfo's minimum length, and enough floor for each female to hold a cave inside his beat. Sand, driftwood, half coconuts, a little leaf litter and dense planting; the plants are safe. Aim for pH 6–6.8 at 25–28 °C, anywhere from soft to moderately hard — AquaInfo prints GH 1–12. This is not a reverse-osmosis species: it is one of the easier apistos chemically, and both Seriously Fish and AquaInfo describe it as adaptable. What it will not take is a dirty tank — AquaInfo warns the fish are 'not very resistant to pollution' and asks for regular changes with nitrite, nitrate and ammonium watched. It settles into a calm community with small characins, rasboras and Otocinclus; not with other Apistogramma. Feed live and frozen food; AquaInfo says dry food is generally not well accepted, though Seriously Fish's genus advice on the same page expects most fish to come round to a pellet. Two honest cautions before you buy. First, almost nothing sold as viejita is viejita, so unless it came from a named breeder, treat the fish as A. macmasteri and use that entry. Second, a mixed shop tank of 'viejita colour forms' is the classic way to end up with hybrids: if you want the species, buy from someone who can say where the fish came from.

Diet

Carnivorous micropredator on bottom invertebrates. Small live and frozen foods — mosquito larvae, mysis, Artemia, cyclops, Daphnia — with dry food a coin toss: AquaInfo says it is generally not well accepted, Seriously Fish's genus line says most fish learn to take pellets.

Telling males from females

What works for this species, most reliable first.

• Extended finsStrong · from about 8 months, and later in a suppressed male

  On many cichlids and killifish the male's dorsal and anal fins draw out into trailing points as he matures, while the female's stay rounded.

• VentingA hint only · only on a mature fish, easiest when she is in breeding condition

  The method breeders use when the answer has to be right. Hold the fish upside down in a wet hand or soft net and look at the two openings ahead of the anal fin. The forward one is the anus; the one behind it is what you are reading.

• Adult sizeA hint only · only across animals of the same age

  In many cichlids, catfish and loaches one sex simply grows larger — usually the male, though there are well-known reversals.

Also in these lists

Similar species

Same category and the closest water parameters — if this species isn't quite it, start here.

Sold in Lithuania

These Lithuanian shops listed this species in their public catalogue (checked August 8, 2026). Stock moves — ask before you travel.

These links are unpaid: we get nothing for them and ask for nothing.

Frequently asked questions

What tank size does a Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid need?

A Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid needs an aquarium of at least 80 litres (21.1 US gallons) with a footprint at least 80 cm (31.5 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.

What water parameters does a Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid need?

Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid does best at 22–30 °C (71.6–86 °F), pH 5.5–7.5 and a general hardness of 1–12 °dGH.

What group size does a Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid need?

Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid is a social species — keep a group of at least 3 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.

Is the Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid suitable for beginners?

Red Edge Dwarf Cichlid sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.

Sources

• Seriously Fish — Apistogramma viejita – Red Edge Apisto
• FishBase — Apistogramma viejita Kullander, 1979
• AquaInfo — Apistogramma viejita
• Wikipedia — Apistogramma viejita