General
There are actually three species of Uaru, U.amphiacanthoides,U.fernandezyepezi and the U.imperialis, all of which rarely imported.In addition to these there are also specimens occsionally offered as Uaru obscurum but these usually turn out to be U.amphiacanthoides and in the scentific community U.obscurum is no longer reconized,and this may just be an attempt to set higher priceing to unsuspecting prospective buyers.
This page will focus on the the more common U.amphiacanthoides(Care is supposedly the same for all although I have no experiance with the later two.) Uarus are found for sale under many common names includeing but not limited to Triangle Cichlid,Uaru,Waroo,Poor mans discus, Generic Discus and probaly other names as well.Uaru can reportedly attain sizes up to 12 inches or so,but it is rare to see one over 8-10" in a private collection.. The coloration of the adult Uaru is rather dull and plain. They are an olive brown with a little black trangle looking patch on their sides. But when spawning time comes along they color up and include tints of irridecent purple,green and ocasionally blue. The whole sides of their bodies turn dark brown or black with alot of irredecence leaving just a little dull brown around the edges
(but I have found that well kept uarus in a private collection may be on the more colorful side and NOT change color when spawing if conditions are kept well)
. Their young are a bright mottled version of their parents but lose this coloration around the 3-4 inch size.Conditions and Habitat
Uaru's are reportedly very abundant fish along the Amazon River basin and have long been a favorite of native peoples as a food source. Because of this, they aren’t exported as readily as other South American Cichlids.Their natural environment is the soft acidic waters of the Amazon river,which it would best best to duplictae but they have been reported to breed in just about any ph.They do however like a warmer water temperature range of 76 degrees to 86 degrees.
I have had the best results spawning mine at temperatures between 82-84 degrees and in really CLEAN WATER with frequient water changes.General
Uarus have always had the reputation of being extremely difficult to breed. They certainly aren’t like guppies but they are far from impossiable.The best way to sex Uarus is to let them pair off on their own. Keep about six or eight in a large tank and they will do the rest.If your experianced venting also works well to determine sex of Uarus but Uarus don't always seem to take to being forced paired,they'd rather choose their own mate.Uarus’ are substrate spawners and will lay from 100 to 1,200 eggs at a time. They will spawn on the floor of a tank, on a piece of slate or in a large flowerpot. (much like oscars or other cichlids)Like most South American cichlids they will take care of their young fairly well if kept in a separate tank from other fish.If they spawn in a community tank, you will have a hard time separating the fry from the parents due to the protective nature of the parents.