Mikrogeophagus

Mikrogeophagus is a genus of cichlids native to the Llanos wetlands (Orinoco basin) and Guaporé–Mamoré river system (southern Amazon basin) in tropical South America.^[2] They are dwarf cichlids that reach up to 6 cm (2.4 in) in standard length.^[2][3]

Mikrogeophagus
Ram cichlid (M. ramirezi)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Cichliformes
Family:	Cichlidae
Subfamily:	Cichlinae
Tribe:	Geophagini
Genus:	Mikrogeophagus Meulengracht-Madsen, 1968
Type species
Apistogramma ramirezi G. S. Myers & Harry, 1948
Synonyms
Microgeophagus Frey, 1957 (not available) Microgeophagus Axelrod 1971 Papiliochromis Kullander 1977[1]

They are popular with aquarists, especially M. ramirezi. These species spawn on flat rocks or leaves and not in small caves like the closely related cichlid genus Apistogramma.^[4]

Species

The currently recognized species in this genus are:^[2][3]

• Mikrogeophagus altispinosus (Haseman, 1911) (Bolivian ram)
• Mikrogeophagus maculicauda Staeck, Ottoni & I. Schindler, 2022
• Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (G. S. Myers & Harry, 1948) (ram cichlid)