Festivum

With its laterally compressed, deep body and the dark diagonal stripe that starts at the mouth, passes through the eye and runs to the tip of the dorsal fin, the festivum looks like no other cichlid. Its long, thread-like pelvic fins and the dark eyespot above the caudal peduncle are its other distinguishing features.

In temperament it is close to the angelfish: most of the time it is calm and somewhat skittish, and it likes to swim near the surface. However, an adult festivum sees small fish such as neons, cardinals or guppy fry as food. It is more sensitive to declining water quality than Central American cichlids.

It lives in slow-flowing tributaries, lakes and flooded forests of the Amazon basin and the Paraguay–Paraná system. It moves in small groups in calm waters near the bank, where vegetation and branches overhanging the water are dense.

• Volume: At least 200 liters for a pair; a height of 45 cm or more.
• Decor: Roots, tall plants and floating plants. It usually does not harm plants; it feels safe in a densely planted layout.
• Flow: Gentle; it tires in strong flow.
• Water: A 25–30% water change every week. Rising nitrate shows itself as fading color and loss of appetite.
• Lid: It may jump when startled.

Omnivorous. Alongside a quality cichlid granule or flake food, give frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, mysis and mosquito larvae. Spirulina-based food and occasional blanched vegetables support digestion. Two small meals a day are enough.

Generally docile toward its own species and calm fish of similar size. During breeding it guards the area around the leaf where it laid its eggs, but this defense comes nowhere near the harshness of Central American cichlids.

Good companions: Angelfish, severum, Geophagus species, medium to large tetras (Congo tetras, juvenile silver dollars), corydoras, Ancistrus.

Avoid: Fish that fit in its mouth such as neons, shrimp, fin-nipping barbs, large and aggressive Central American cichlids.

The festivum can be kept alone, as a pair or, in a large tank, as a small group of 4–6. If juveniles are raised together, a pair will eventually split off and claim a territory; at that point enough space and hiding places are needed for the other fish. A festivum kept alone usually lives without problems.

The pair usually lays its eggs on the vertical surface of a broad leaf or root; 200–500 eggs can be seen. The eggs hatch in about 3 days. The parents guard the fry for a while, but young pairs in particular may eat the eggs. The fry are raised on brine shrimp nauplii and powdered food.

• Hole-in-the-head disease (HLLE): Pitting on the head and along the lateral line in poor water quality.
• Bacterial infections: Fin rot after injuries and in dirty water.
• White spot (ich): Introduced with new fish; quarantine is recommended.

Very difficult to tell from the outside. Males are usually slightly larger, and their dorsal and anal fins are longer and more pointed. A reliable distinction can only be made by the shape of the papilla during spawning; the female's is short and blunt, the male's thin and pointed.