Geophagus altifrons

Geophagus altifrons is a freshwater eartheater cichlid native to the Amazon River Basin in Brazil, and it is also known as the threadfin eartheater and the surinam eartheater. It belongs to the family Cichlidae and can reach a standard length of about 22.5 centimetres. Like others of its genus it is a sand sifter: it takes mouthfuls of substrate, which gives the eartheaters their name, picks out edible items, and expels the remaining material through the mouth and gill openings, a way of feeding described as benthophagous. It favours clear and blackwater habitats over turbid white waters. The species has been introduced to Singapore, where it is regarded as invasive and lives in slow-moving streams and reservoirs, although its ecological effect there is still unknown. It is among the most common Geophagus species in the aquarium trade, where wild-caught fish are often wrongly sold as Geophagus surinamensis.