Hydrolycus armatus

26. November 2013

so interesting from a biological point of view that every aquarist should know them.

Currently four species of sabertooth-tetras are distinguished. All have in common extremely large, saber-shaped teeth in the lower jaw that are used to spear other fish. In the upper jaw are holes in the bone that have the function of sheaths for the saberteeth when the mouth is closed.

Most often the orange-finned Hydrolycus tatauaia is imported, a species that attains a maximum length of about 40 cm. This fish occurs in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela. H. armatus occurs in the very same range. It differs from H. tatauaia by the grey to black fins, a different-shaped spot behind the opercle, a less curved belly and (this is most easily recognizable) a species-specific colored adipose fin. To make sure that all these differences can be clearly recognized, we have made an exception and have knocked out the background of the photo of our freshly imported, about 25-30 cm long specimen.

For our customers: the fish has code 259368 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Only one specimen available!

Lexicon: Hydrolycus: means “water wolf”. armatus: means “armed”. tatauaia: from the Tupi language, means “fire tail”, referring to the orange-red caudal fin.

Suggestion of a common name: Great Sabertooth-Tetra

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Angaben zum Tier
Verfügbare Größe in cm 25-30