Should I buy it?
Checkerboard cichlid
Dicrossus filamentosus
Also known as: checkerboard cichlid (dicrossus)
A small delicate dwarf cichlid at 5 cm that needs soft blackwater and a quiet environment. More sensitive than most apistos to water chemistry.
Checkerboard cichlid tank mates · 100L tank size hub
peaceful · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: caution
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Blackwater planted tanks 100L or more at pH 5.0–6.5 with very small peaceful companions and sand caves.
Avoid if: Hard tap water, active mid-water companions, or any other cichlid in the same territory zone.
Common mistakeKeeping checkerboard cichlids in standard hard community water because the shop tank looked fine is how keepers invent parasite and bacterial spirals. They want soft, acidic conditions — roughly the low-pH blackwater band — not a neutral livebearer kit. Fix chemistry before you add another medication.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- Shrimp & snails. Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: checkerboard cichlids are hardy peaceful dwarfs for any community kit. Reality: they need soft acidic blackwater-style chemistry and calm company — neutral hard livebearer water erases them quietly while the shop label still says beginner cichlid and the pattern fades.
- 2.Predation risk scales with gape, night feeding, and crowding. 'they grew up together' is a schedule, not a law.
- 3.Classed peaceful for similar-sized community use. Still a bite-sized risk toward fry or very small comm fish in small volumes.
- 4.Hard alkaline bright plant tanks with zero adaptation. Colour and behaviour collapse inside two weeks.
- 5.Dither fish too small or too shy to recover from a breeding male sweeping the floor.
- 6.Do not route this like a rift lake tank: re-check pH, hardness, and dGH together. A pair plan beats a 'community' first day that stacks incompatible chemistry.
About this species
Dicrossus filamentosus are blackwater South American dwarfs with a checker side pattern and forked tail. Breeding and territory read like an apisto, not a Central American substrate-spawner. They sit half-hidden over leaf litter below pH 6. Bright hard tap water gives a pale clamped fish.
- Apistogramma Macmasteri100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogramma100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Kribensis100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Bolivian Ram110L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Apistogramma Borellii80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Apistogramma Trifasciata80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- German Blue Ram80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- African freshwater butterflyfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Boesemani Rainbowfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups listed yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease38
- Peacefulness68
- Community fit63
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness54
- Energy24
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Rough 100L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safer directions include: Cardinal Tetra, Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish.
Avoid “one of everything” baskets — Checkerboard cichlid belongs in a plan built around territory, line-of-sight breaks, and matched water chemistry.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Checkerboard cichlid
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Cardinal Tetra, Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish, Ember Tetra. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Angelfish, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Neon Tetra, Tiger Barb. Avoid (RISKY): African Cichlid, Bala / silver shark, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Jack Dempsey, Oscar. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Checkerboard cichlid + Cardinal Tetra
Behaviour and temperament
Checkerboard cichlids are peaceful dwarf cichlids that stay shy rather than territorial in honest soft water. They ignore calm midwater schoolers and fail when hard alkaline chemistry or boisterous barbs own the tank. Stress looks like hiding and faded checks long before fin wars start.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
Territory: Holds a patch (cave, corner, or surface). Break sight lines so neighbours can pass.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Fish pick over leaf litter and fine sand in soft, dimmer planted tanks.
- Mild pair interaction is normal; they are not Malawi rock bullies.
- Faded pattern and clamped fins in hard alkaline water is chemistry before brand of food.
- Constant hiding under bright, bare glass usually means cover and water type failed together.
- Low listed malice toward similar-sized peaceful fish in soft water.
- They lose contests to tiger barbs and large cichlids long before they start them.
- Move them out of any hard-water livebearer plan that will not be rewritten.
- Pull boisterous barbs before you blame the species for staying invisible.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Checkerboard cichlids take fine pellets and frozen foods in soft, acidic water and still lose condition when chemistry is wrong even if the bowl looks full. Offer small carnivore or omnivore portions they can finish, and do not expect hard alkaline community flake routines to carry a blackwater species.
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
Checkerboard cichlid is fine singly or as a researched pair — check behaviour before doubling up.
- Hold 24 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 3.5 to 5.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Footprint: short wide tanks and tall narrow tanks fish differently for the same volume. Match the tank shape to the swim pattern, not just the litre count.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 100L published minimum for adults.
- Heater can hold 24–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 100L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 400L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 24–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Checkerboard cichlid does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 24–28°C and pH 4–6.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Dicrossus filamentosus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Dicrossus filamentosus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Dicrossus filamentosus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Checkerboard cichlid
- How big do Checkerboard cichlid get?
- Checkerboard cichlid adults reach about 5 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Checkerboard cichlid need?
- 100L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 120L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Checkerboard cichlid aggressive?
- Checkerboard cichlids are peaceful dwarf cichlids that stay shy rather than territorial in honest soft water. They ignore calm midwater schoolers and fail when hard alkaline chemistry or boisterous barbs own the tank. Stress looks like hiding and faded checks long before fin wars start.
- What is the most common mistake with Checkerboard cichlid?
- Keeping checkerboard cichlids in standard hard community water because the shop tank looked fine is how keepers invent parasite and bacterial spirals. They want soft, acidic conditions — roughly the low-pH blackwater band — not a neutral livebearer kit. Fix chemistry before you add another medication.
- What fish can live with Checkerboard cichlid?
- The Checkerboard cichlid profile lists Cardinal Tetra, Chili Rasbora, Dwarf pencilfish, Ember Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Angelfish, Corydoras Catfish, German Blue Ram, Neon Tetra are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid African Cichlid, Bala / silver shark, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Jack Dempsey (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.