Krauss' Basketmouth

About

Found across the slow, vegetation-choked marshes and swampy backwaters of Colombia's Atrato, Cauca, and Magdalena river basins, as well as the Lake Maracaibo drainage, this ambush predator, Caquetaia kraussii, has also established introduced populations in parts of Venezuela's Orinoco drainage. In the wild it makes its living hunting smaller fish and picking off benthic invertebrates from the substrate, and that predatory instinct carries straight into the aquarium. Any tankmates small enough to be swallowed are simply food, so choose companions carefully and stick to fish of similar or larger size. Despite that predatory nature, the species is actually rated as manageable for beginners who do their homework. It is hardy, adaptable, and not especially fussy as cichlids go. Given its potential to reach a foot in length, it does need a roomy tank with plenty of cover and structure to feel at home, mirroring the dense aquatic plant growth it gravitates toward in the wild. It turns up only occasionally in the hobby rather than through regular commercial channels, so when you do find one, it is worth grabbing. A long-lived fish with a real personality, it makes a rewarding centerpiece for a species or predator-themed setup.