The magnificent cactus catfish L273 Titanic, up to 30 cm long, originates from the Rio Tapajós. Its first import in 1998 was a sensation. Interesting about the animals, which are allowed to be exported from Brazil again since some time, is the very individual body pattern. All cactus catfishes are carnivores; towards non-species fishes they are usually peaceful, but against conspecifics they become more and more quarrelsome with increasing age.
This is the main reason why cactus catfishes are still quite rarely bred. The mating behavior is – to put it mildly – very rough and the poor females look like they have been treated with a wire brush after a mating. This heals quickly, but a breeding attempt can be fatal to the female if she is not truly ready to spawn.
We currently have L273 in various sizes in the stock.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 273-2 (5-7 cm), 26480-L 273-4 (9-12 cm), 26480-L 273-7 (18-22 cm) and 26480-L 273-8 (20-25 cm) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small quantities!
The catfish Zungaro zungaro belongs to the largest catfish species of South America. There were all kinds of debates about its name, for a long time it sailed under Pseudopimelodus zungaro or Paulicea luetkeni. Because of its gigantic size (length up to 140 cm, weight up to 50 kg) the species is difficult to study and it undergoes an enormous change of color from a leopard-like patterned juvenile to a monochrome gray giant.
DNA studies suggest that there are other species besides the two generally recognized Zungaro species (Z. zungaro from the Amazon and Orinoco rivers and Z. jahu, which grows to exactly the same size, from the Paraná-Paraguay system).
We have now imported from Brazil some “babies” of 15-20 cm length, which still carry the nice juvenile markings. Of course such giants are only suitable for zoos, show aquariums and specialists with the corresponding large tanks.
For our customers: the fish have code 299805 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The pike cichlids (Crenicichla) are with 94 accepted species (and there are still a large number of undescribed ones) the most species-rich genus of cichlids at all. One of the most distinctly different species is Crenicichla jegui from the Rio Tocantins drainage. There the fish lives very hidden and was therefore discovered only when the Tucuri dam was built. This created shallow residual pools in the area of the former rapids, where a few specimens were found. The scientific description was made in 1986.
The up to 30 cm long species is an absolute rarity in the hobby. They are animals with strongly reduced swim bladder, therefore they live a bottom-bound life. The teeth show clearly: C. jegui is a predator. Fish, fish pieces, shrimps etc. form its food in the aquarium. The location/shelter is defended vigorously against conspecifics. This looks brutal, but hardly leads to injuries. However, a prerequisite for keeping several specimens is a very large aquarium, plenty of hiding places and strong current.
We currently have some 10-12 cm long wild caught specimens in the stock. Sex differences are not yet recognizable in this size, sexually mature females get a bright red stripe in the rear part of the dorsal fin.
For our customers: the animals have code 669062 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From the currently seven accepted species of the genus Giradinus only G. metallicus and occasionally G. falcatus are offered in the trade. We have now received a small number of G. uninotatus from a breeder. They are really no color miracle, but their pretty apricot color is quite interesting.
The species oirginates from Cuba. The name was given to this livebearer already in 1860, referring to the fact that many of the males (but by no means all) develop a black spot at the base of the gonopodium ( = the mating organ).
The peaceful animals usually grow 3-5 cm long, but they grow throughout their life and so old ladies (the females always grow larger than the males) can sometimes grow over 8 cm.
For our customers: the animals have 416952 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small numbers!
We have received some beautifully marked yellowseam catfish. This catfish originates from the middle Rio Jamanxin in Brazil and has not yet been correctly (i.e. scientifically) identified, neither in terms of genus nor in terms of species. However, it is quite possible that this catfish has already been scientifically described; young animals are quite inconspicuous, they are monochromatic brown and do not yet have the distinctive yellow fin seams.
Also the dentition of young animals is “normal”, so it corresponds to the usual dentition scheme of Hypostomus and Cochliodon species, while the beautiful adult animals have a Panaque dentition. But in contrast to Panaque, L360 have no spreadable interopercularodontodes.
Apart from the expected size – the animals will certainly grow over 30 cm long – they are trouble-free, peaceful animals. One should give them, like Panaque, a lot of soft dead wood as food basis in the aquarium.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 360-5 (18-21 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
For the first time we can offer this magnificent breeding form of the black paradise fish. Our breeder writes about it:
How did I become aware of these fish:
In 2019, I saw a picture of blue paradise fish from Vietnam in a Facebook group for paradise fish lovers by chance. Being skeptical at first I did some further research on Facebook and found a few Vietnamese posting photos of such animals. These animals immediately fascinated me as a labyrinth fish lover and I started looking for a breeder in Vietnam who would sell them to me.
How did I get this paradise fish:
After some time, I had located a breeder in Vietnam on Facebook. At that time, the fish were quite new even in Vietnam and only known among hobbyists for a few years. He told me that the variety is called Royal Blue and it should be a breeding form from the Macropodus spechti. Due to the still high price in Asia, the small quantity I wanted to purchase as an individual, and the resulting single animal shipping, each fish would cost a fortune. I decided to import 3 pairs through a shipping agent at over 100 Euros each to still have replacement animals in case of any failures. Although this import meant a high risk for me, I decided to send money to the Vietnamese via Western Union and trust in the good in people.
Arrival and breeding:
Thank God, a few weeks later 6 young animals arrived at my place alive. They were as white as chalk and swam nervously up and down the glass of the quarantine aquarium. Also live food in the form of water fleas and cyclops, which I offered, had to be newly recognized until they ate it. As far as I have learned, paradise fish in Vietnam are mainly fed rice worms and Tubifex. Tubifex I have also tried, but made rather bad experience. Therefore, I suspect that there are either other types of Tubifex or fresher quality in Vietnam. Feeding high quality granules, live and frozen Artemia, Cyclops and water fleas seems to suit the paradise fish best with me.
After some time the paradise fish showed a nice, strong dark blue color and I could start the first pairs for breeding. Unfortunately this was unsuccessful at first, because the eggs were not fertilized and did not develop. That started well…
A few weeks later it worked and I had the first broods swimming, which I fed with infusoria and after about 1 week switched to freshly hatched Artemia. After a few weeks the fry started to develop color and I was curious if I had got purebred animals. To my great joy all fry became blue! These offspring now showed completely normal behavior and were accustomed by me to commercial food.
After a first post in the Facebook group of the IGL and the overwhelming response it was clear to me that this variety should be made available to a larger group of customers.
So much for our breeder. We have nothing to add to this, except to point out that the males of this form develop very lush finwork.
For our customers: the fish have code 425613 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The changed legal situation in Brazil now makes the import of several species from the south of Brazil possible again, which for many years were only available as offspring, among them the magnificent Scleromystax barbatus (formerly Corydoras b.). We have been able to import a good number of wonderful, fully grown specimens. For more information on the species, please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/scleromystax-barbatus/
The sexes are extremely differently marked in S. barbatus; the easiest way to go is by the light-colored forehead blaze, which only the male shows. By the way, the „Banded Coryoras“ is one of the very few species among the typical armored catfishes, which show rudimentary brood care. The male defends the spawning ground for some time.
For our customers: the fish have code 224006 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The dwarf cichlids of the genus Biotoecus were shrouded in mystery for decades. The first species, B. opercularis, was scientifically described as early as 1875. It originated from the Amazon River basin in Brazil, a well-collected area for aquaristic purposes, and yet the first import was not accomplished until the mid-1980s and early 1990s. The species was considered one of the most delicate aquarium fishes around. Its nice pastel colors and unusual breeding behavior – as sand dwellers, the fish like to build small “castles” for egg laying – nevertheless made it a sought-after keeper among specialists.
In 1989 a second species of the genus, B. dicentrarchus, was described from the Orinoco basin. Preserved animals differ from B. opercularis almost only by tiny anatomical details, which have to be examined under the microscope. Thus one looked with each of the (rare!) imports of Biotoecus very exactly whether differences were recognizable.
Nowadays Biotoecus are everything else than everyday fishes, but by far not so sensitive. The ever improving catching, transporting and keeping methods on site are the reason for this. And so both B. opercularis and B. dicentrarchus, when offered, arrive here in good to very good condition and present no one with unsolvable problems. The distinction between B. dicentrarchus and B. opercularis is very simple: B. dicentrarchus has free, extended rays in the front part of the dorsal fin, so that a “cockatoo” shape of the dorsal fin is formed here. In B. opercularis, all rays in the dorsal fin are approximately the same length.
For care a bottom of fine sand is the most important, in addition warmth (26-30°C), humic substances (from dead leaves, alder cones, peat, etc.) and if possible no or only extremely peaceful company, because Biotoecus are stress sensitive. If you now also do good water care and create low-germ conditions, you will have a lot of fun with the animals.
At the moment we have very nice B. dicentrarchus from Colombia in our stock.
For our customers: Biotoecus dicentrarchus has code 634483 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This season we received especially attractive Pterophyllum leopoldi from Brazil. Unfortunately, the animals do not like the photo tank at all and show there only a fraction of the wonderful colors – a magnificent green shimmer all over the body and a very nice red tone in the back – that well acclimated animals of this form can show.
But also in “fear pallor” the fish are still very beautiful. The very distinctive teeth of this P. leopoldi are also striking, especially in the male (the larger of the two photographed specimens with higher red content in the back) very eye-catching.
For more information please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pterophyllum_leopoldi_en/
For our customers: the fish have code 699006 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale market. Only available in small quantities!
It is indicative of the difficulties in piranha identification that this widespread species, which also occurs in an area intensively collected for the aquarium hobby (namely, the Rio Negro) was not scientifically described until 1992 and, moreover, almost never appears in the hobby. The terra typica is Anavilhanas, Río Negro, Brazil.
The representatives of this species undergo a dramatic change of color and shape during their life. The fish, which grows to about 30 cm in length, is quite round-backed when old and then resembles a Pygocentrus. As a juvenile, it has a peculiar head shape reminiscent of Serrasalmus manueli, with a massive, nearly horizontal lower jaw. In contrast to S. manueli, which like S. gouldingi often shows vertically elongated body dots when young (but there are also specimens with a rounded dot pattern), S. gouldingi lacks the humeral spot (= a dark, conspicuous spot immediately behind the edge of the gill cover), which is always very prominent in S. manueli, at all age stages.
Juvenile S. gouldingi have a transparent caudal fin with a black wedge at the base, making them very reminiscent of S. eigenmanni, which, however, has a prominent humeral spot. As they grow, the caudal fin becomes darker and darker and eventually is almost black except for a transparent fringe. This distinguishes S. gouldingi well from S. rhombeus, which also occurs in the Rio Negro, but always has a black fringed caudal fin. In older S. rhombeus, which, like S. gouldingi, tend to become very dark to black overall, eye color is a reliable distinguishing characteristic. S. rhombeus always has a red iris, S. gouldingi has a silvery iris.
Serrasalmus gouldingi is widely distributed in the Amazon and Orinoco, our current stocked specimens were obtained via Manaus. Outside of the spawning season the adult fish appears silvery with smoky black fins and red or yellow coloration of the gill cover area, at spawning time the entire animal darkens considerably and then appears almost completely black. Any dot patterns are only indistinctly discernible on the body of adult live animals. S. gouldingi is a typical fin eater and therefore must be kept mostly individually.
For our customers: the animals have code 292105 (10-12 cm) and 292106 (12-15 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From Peru we received four specimens of a top rarity: L350. This peculiar fish does not fit any genus of loricariid catfish known to date. It originates from deep, turbid, very fast flowing water of the Peruvian Amazon, where it can only be caught with great difficulty and rarely. It is a carnivorous species whose interesting black and white mouth disc pattern is characteristic of the species. There are occasional snow-white speckles on the ventral side, and the upper side is a pure jet black. The maximum final size is unknown, but specimens 40 cm long have been offered; exporters usually count the caudal fin, but not the very long caudal fin filaments, as part of the length. Our four animals are currently 14-18 cm long.
Sometimes L350 is equated with a species that is anatomically similar to it, but unlike L350 is completely colorless: Hemiancistrus (or Peckoltia) pankimpuju. So far only two specimens of H. pankimpuju are known, and they lack any color pigment. Such bright whte animals have not been offered on the ornamental fish market so far. It is not completely excluded that the raven black L350 discolors at certain times (similar to what is known from golden Parancistrus aurantiacus). However, it does not seem very likely.
For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 350-6 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The changed legal situation in Brazil now makes the import of several species from the south of Brazil possible again, which for many years were only available as offspring, among them the magnificent Scleromystax barbatus (formerly Corydoras b.). We have been able to import a good number of wonderful, fully grown specimens. For more information on the species, please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/scleromystax-barbatus/
The sexes are extremely differently marked in S. barbatus; the easiest way to go is by the light-colored forehead blaze, which only the male shows. By the way, the „Banded Coryoras“„ is one of the very few species among the typical armored catfishes, which show rudimentary brood care. The male defends the spawning ground for some time.
For our customers: the fish have code 224006 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
This small (about 4 cm) species of tetra originates from upper Rio Tapajós basin the Mato Grosso state in Brazil. It is the only species of Moenkhausia with such a colour pattern. So already in the original scientific description (1979) the author mentioned that this generic placement can be only provisionally. This makeshift stands until today for Moenkhausia phaeonota…
Sadly this charming tetra is only very rarely available. If one observes the life fish the behaviour reminds one in that of croaking tetras (Stevardiinae). We are able to offer this rare tetra currently.
For our customers: the fish have code 269003 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Only from few breeding forms is so well known, when they originated, as with Colisa lalia “Flame Red”. At the same time the fish decorated the covers of all aquaristic journals worldwide in the early 1980s, so sensational were they found. The animals were bred in the Lim Choa Kang area of Singapore, a rural area at the time, where five farms were primarily involved in breeding dwarf gourami. According to a scientific study in 1985, 8,000 to 9,000 kg of dwarf gourami of the Red, Neon, Gold and Wild breeding forms were produced there annually, which at that time corresponded to a wholesale value of between US$800,000 and US$1,000,000. In comparison, the most expensive food fish that can be produced in such breeding ponds fetched just 1% of this amount at wholesale.
In 1985, the Red Dwarf Gourami was still the most expensive farmed species, costing 4-5 times as much as the “common” Colisa lalia. Nowadays this has all been put into perspective and all dwarf gourami cost similar. Every now and then we have XXL specimens of the “Flame Red” from Singapore in our stock. They are beautiful fish even after 40 years. By the way, in the breeding ponds in Singapore, these fish take just 5 months from egg to show size. Their overall natural life expectancy is 1-2 years. They are the orchids among the ornamental fishes, which will probably still find enthusiastic lovers in another 40 years.
For our customers: the animals have code 411705 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Unfortunately, almost all predatory fishes have one unpleasant characteristic: most of them grow too large for average aquarium dimensions. In many cases we can only keep juveniles for some time and have to part with them when it becomes nice. What a pity!
An exception to this rule is Acestrorhynchus minimus, a barracuda tetra from Amazonia. The barracuda tetras are widely distributed in South America with 14 currently recognized species. Most species grow to 20-30 cm in length, so can still be maintained quite well in very large aquariums. However, Acestrorhynchus minimus even grows to only about 8-10 cm in length and can thus still be accommodated excellently in medium-sized aquariums of perhaps 120 cm edge length. Unfortunately the species is imported only very rarely. From scientific collections the fish is known from Brazil, Venezuela and the Brazilian-Colombian border area. Its type locality is the Lago Jacaré at the Rio Trombetas in Brazil. However, the specimens illustrated are from Peru, but all diagnostic characteristics of the species fit. From morphologically similar, large-bodied species, A. minimus can be most reliably distinguished by the fact that A. minimus has only a dark spot on the root of the tail, but not at the end of the gill cover.
For our customers: the fish have code 202254 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The very nice Corydoras eversi lives in the Araguaia drainage (Brazil) and became known as C 65. It was only scientifically described in 2016. The scientific treatment of C. eversi is based on a collection by Hans-Georg Evers in 1998, who was also able to bring living animals with him. As mentioned, they were initially assigned the number C65.
The species is present in aquaristics since its first import by conservation breeding – a nice example that conservation breeding is also possible by hobby aquaristics. Also our fish, which we can offer just now, are offsprings. C. eversi is very similar to C. araguiaensis from the same distribution area and differs – apart from color details, especially the golden yellow shimmer – by a structure in the cranial skeleton.
For our customers: the animals have code 229575 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Now begins the season for one of the best algae eaters of all, the La Plata algae eater from Paraguay. Originally the species was described as Parodon affinis. It is amazingly similar in shape and coloration to the Asian Flying Foxes; but of course, the La Plata algae eater can always be easily recognized by the tetra-typical adipose fin that flying foxes always lack.
Apareiodon affinis grows to a maximum length of 15 cm and should be kept in a group of 5 specimens upwards. The fish are out all day looking for food. Besides algae they also consume any common fish food. Since they are subtropical fish, they can be kept in a wide range of temperatures (16-28°C), but sudden changes in temperature are just as harmful as keeping them constantly above 26°C for a long time (more than half a year).
The chemical composition of the water is irrelevant for the care of the animals, but it should be clean and rich in oxygen. Against conspecifics and non-species fish the La Plata algae eater is completely peaceful.
For our customers: the animals have code 275803 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Lexicon: Apareiodon: means “without teeth on the side of the mouth”. Parodon: means “with the same teeth”. affinis: means “similar”.
The wild mollies are – from a zoological-systematic point of view – certainly one of the most difficult fish groups at all. Not without reason, science has been wavering between two extreme views for over 100 years: the first states that all wild mollies belong to only one, highly variable species, which would then be called Poecilia sphenops, others assign the so far 33 scientifically described forms to 12 species. In addition there are still undescribed species. In short: it is very difficult.
This is due to the fact that all species are polymorphic and polychromatic. So: in each population there is a whole set of color and body variants. It is therefore impossible to define them in such a way that the determination of single specimens can be successful, one must always examine large series of wild catches (50 or more specimens), in order to be able to come to a decision concerning the species. By the way, the matter is not made easier by the fact that wild mollies, just like guppys and gambuses, were released quite arbitrarily for mosquito control until the 1950s.
The species Poecilia mexicana and P. sphenops do not differ appreciably externally. P. sphenops has single-pointed teeth, P. mexicana has three-pointed teeth, and there are minor differences in the structure of the mating organ of the males. Both species have a vast natural range and have additionally been displaced by humans, so knowing the origin does not help in identification either.
Campeche is a Mexican state that covers much of the western part of the Yucatan Peninsula. The ancestors of the strain of P. mexicana, which we can now offer from time to time for several years from Asian pond breedings, originate from there. The beautiful and easy-to-care-for mollies have as a special attraction that the males can change color in a flash. In highest excitement they are deep blue-black, relaxed males are like the females light olive green with blue shiny scales. Not all, but most males develop an orange fringe in the caudal fin, the color intensity of which is controlled in part by social position.
Usually the Mexico Molly reaches a size of 4-6 cm, as does the Black Molly, in whose ancestry it is also represented, by the way. But sometimes giant growth can occur with these fish, then giants of over 10 cm length have been observed.
For our customers: the animals have code 280558 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
No fish species is as changeable as the Guppy. There are no two males in nature that are exactly alike in color. This is true for all four Guppy species (Poecilia reticilata, P. wingei, P. obscura and P. kempkesi), which therefore cannot really be distinguished from each other externally (genetically, however, they can).
In the case of the Endler Guppy (Poecilia wingei), there are now so many breeding forms in which the males look identical that the impression can arise that this guppy species is also uniformly colored in nature. This is not the case at all. The animals we offer as “Endler Guppy” originate from non-directional swarm breeding, i.e. a larger number of males and females swim together in the breeding aquarium and have the free choice of mate. The resulting colorful society represents the natural color variability quite well, however, even with this breeding method appearances of domestication develop, because all natural predators are missing. Thus also these “pure”, on wild-catches based breeding-strains have meanwhile often clearly larger fins and become also altogether larger than their wild-living cousins. The females prefer bigmouths – excuse me, I mean of course big fins. Nothing can be done about that…
For our customers: the animals have code 419063 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From the Brazilian state of Amazonas, more precisely from the surroundings of the city of Anori, we once again received a good number of a beautiful armored catfish, which is known to science for a long time, but rarely appears aquaristically: Corydoras eques.
This typical schooling Corydoras looks most attractive when kept in black water. The bright orange neck banding undoubtedly serves to keep the swarm together when underwater visibility is poor. C. eques becomes about 6 cm long.
For our customers: the animals have code 227814 on our stocklist.Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The Alligator gars are so-called living fossils. They developed about 100 million years ago in the upper Cretaceous and haven´t changed much since then. Currently two genera live in the New World, namely Atractosteus (containing three species) and Lepisosteus (four species).
The members of Atractosteus can reach about 2 m in length (formerly they are said to have reached even 3 m, but formerly everything was better ;-)) and are thus the largest recent members of the Alligator gars. The three species are very similar to each other and differ only in details which are not observable from outside. Our specimens are currently about 8-10 cm long and have been bred in Indonesia. We believe the breeders regarding the identity of the species as we have no opportunity to verify or falsify this.
Among the ancient features of the fish are the very strange bony scalation and the remains of a “tail” in the upper half of the caudal fin, which is clearly visible in our baby fish. Gars do not breath only via gills, but also via the swim bladder which serves as a lung. So they can survive even in very oxygen-poor water.
Gars feed exclusively on fish, but can be easily accustomed to feeding by forceps. Against conspecifics and other species of fish the gars are absolutely peaceful as long as they do not serve as food. Alligator gars are gorgeous animals for large show aquaria.
Sadly the natural population is decreasing due to habitat loss. The animals offered by us for public aquaria or owners of really big tanks are bred ones from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The latest sport offered from there are Platinum fishes; we imported currently a 25 cm long specimen.
For our customers: the fish have code 848122 (wild type) and 847004 (Platinum) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Atractosteus: means “arrow-bone”. spatula: means „short sword“, referring to the shape of the snout. Lepisosteus: means “bone-scale”.
Again we could import the lampeye fish Procatopus aberrans from NIgeria; unfortunately we do not know the location where they were collected. However, we know that our supplier occasionally receives fish from Cameroon. Anyway, the current imports are a bit more graceful in body structure and the upper half of the iris lacks the red rim that was so characteristic of the specimens imported in January. See https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/procatopus-aberrans-6/
These are very beautiful, elegant fish that should be kept and bred separately from other P. aberrans populations to be on the safe side.
For our customers: the animals have code 343103 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
This is the only almost always available aquarium fish that comes from the large, geologically old island of Madagascar. All other freshwater fishes from this island, which unfortunately are often threatened with extinction due to massive environmental changes, are only suitable for specialists.
The beautiful Madagascar rainbow (Bedotia geayi) grows to a length of 10-12 cm and is about 10 years old, but in nature it always remains smaller and no free-living specimen is likely to live to such an age. Although Bedotia are only distantly related to the Australian rainbowfishes, they are very similar to them in terms of behavior. Males and females differ with respect to the coloration of the fins. Sexual maturity begins at an age of less than one year, then the animals are usually 4-6 cm long. The animals photographed for this post are such young, just sexually mature specimens.
You have to be a bit careful with very large specimens, they have a relatively large mouth, in which a half-grown guppy may well disappear. So you should only combine fish with them that are at least half the size of the Bedotia to be on the safe side.
Regarding the chemical composition of the water and the food, the animals are completely undemanding, any tap water suitable as drinking water and any commercial ornamental fish food meet their requirements. In nature they are forest dwellers, often colonizing very soft and acidic water.
For a long time B. madagascariensis was synonymous with B. geayi, which is why the latter name is widely used in the hobby (these animals were first introduced to France in 1953 and have never disappeared from aquaristics since). The easiest difference for aquarists to recognize between B. madagascariensis and B. geayi (whose ranges are separated by several hundred kilometers) is the caudal fin pattern. In B. madagascariensis both sexes have a continuous black band in the caudal fin (clearly in front of the edge of the caudal fin – the technical term for this is “submarginal” – and the red zone in the male), which is missing in B. geayi. Also, the males of B. geayi have a red chin spot, while those of B. madagascariensis do not.
The first imported animals for aquaristics were actually B. madagascariensis, the “real” B. geayi was introduced much later. Nowadays both species are available in the hobby (we include a picture of B. madagascariensis here for comparison) and are usually not distinguished in the trade. Basically it doesn’t matter, only if you want to breed you have to be careful not to accidentally create unnecessary hybrids. Since both Bedotia species have to be classified as endangered in nature, it is important to keep the aquarium populations pure.
For our customers: the animals have code 373313 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Silver dollars and Pacus are magnificent fish. However, they grow quite large and most species eat plants, so they are mainly suitable for show aquariums and specialists, less for the classic community tank. Therefore, the demand can usually be met well with wild catches. However, some time ago breeders in Asia have taken up the species Myloplus schomburgkii (formerly the species was placed in the genus Myleus) to be independent from the irregular supplies from South America.
Myloplus schomburgkii is widespread and common in the middle and lower Amazon, the Rio Nanay, and the upper Orinoco. The species reaches a maximum length of about 45 cm and is used as a food fish. Juveniles show a crescent-shaped banding on a silvery ground, which varies in width depending on origin, so it is reasonable to assume that future studies will show that there are multiple, closely related species. The anal fin is colored red.
How and when the breeding form “Lamax III” appeared for the first time is not documented, we probably showed the first pictures in the western press, that was in 2012. It seems to be a very rare form, which is difficult to manifest in breeding, because on the world market in 2012 only 30 animals were offered, of which 20 came to Aquarium Glaser. One can probably say without exaggeration that at that time Myloplus “Lamax III” was one of the rarest fish in the world. In the meantime this has been put into perspective and you can get the form from several Asian breeders for more moderate (but still high) prices.
It is a bit speculative to assign Lamax III to the species Myloplus schomburgkii, but the thesis seems credible, since the breeder from which the fish originally came offered “normal” M. schomburgkii as “Lamax I” and the naturally occurring variant or species with the broad central band from the Alto Solimoes as “Lamax II”. Thus, it is reasonable to think that “Lamax III” is a mutation that occurred during the breeding of the aforementioned two forms. On the other hand, it is most likely not a cross, because all 20 “Lamax III” from the import of 2012 and also the now (2021) imported animals look identical. Moreover, in case of a hybrid there would certainly be more specimens, since such large fish as M. schomburgkii spawn several tens of thousands of eggs at once. The Lamax III are internationally also called “Blackberry”.
For our customers: the fish have code 270904 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
There is a number of tail fin shapes of the guppy, which have been standardized by the guppy breeders. As a rule, however, these breeds are only found at private breeders. In the pet trade the triangle guppies dominate in such a way that aquarists, who do not inform themselves specifically about guppies, could get the impression that these are the “normal guppies”. Recently, however, there has been a move away from this trend.
Double sword guppies are an old breeding form. Already in many wild guppies you can see hints of lower or upper swords – that is a pointed extension of either the upper or the lower tail fin edge. By appropriate breeding selection the double sword can be developed. First reports of double swords date back to 1928, already some years earlier animals with clear predispositions to the double sword appear in illustrations. In contrast, the triangle guppies, which are so dominant today, did not appear until the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Interestingly, however, the double sword was a direct predecessor of the fan tails, from which in turn the modern triangle guppies were bred. The fantail – as can be shown by crossbreeding experiments – is a double sword, so to speak, in which the space between the swords is filled with fin material. The tail fin shape “fan tail” comes from the combination of a certain color gene with the gene for double swords.
One of the most popular double sword guppies in the trade is the beautiful “Japan Blue”. While the name actually refers to the coloration and could be bred on other fin shapes, only specialized guppy breeders usually do. Supposedly, the Japan Blue is called this way because the color is said to have first appeared in feral free-living guppies in Japan. The color is inherited from the male (it is linked to the Y chromosome).
Quite new is the Japan Red, which should actually be correctly named Japan Blue Red, as it exhibits the typical Japan Blue cover sheen, but on a red and gold base coloration. The Japan Red is also bred as a double sword.
For our customers: Japan Blue has code 419043, Japan Red code 419047 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This species of swordtail is only very rarely offered in the trade. At the first glimpse one may think that they are a variety of the common swortail X. hellerii, but the species X. signum is much more slender. The mark that is responsible for the scientific name (latin signum = sign) is always good visible in females on the caudal fin base, while in males it is covered by the dark border of the sword.
Xiphophorus signum is, like most wild types of swordtail, quite demanding. It needs clear, bacteria poor water and a proper feeding with different types of food, including frozen and live food. Our specimens are German bred ones.
For our customers: the fish have code 476655 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The South American puffer fish Colomesus asellus are ideal for aquarium care. They remain small (usually around 6-8 cm, at most around 12 cm, other sizes given in the literature are based on confusion), are pure freshwater inhabitants, love to eat small snails and are absolutely peaceful, both against conspecifics and against other fish species. They have only one characteristic, which is negative: they are unbelievably active and rush continuously through the aquarium. They should not be kept together with calm fish species and also nervous aquarists should keep their hands off them.
Care must be taken during acclimation: Colomesus are very susceptible to Piscinoodinum and Ichthyophthirius (velvet and spot disease). The diseases can be combated well with commercially available medications, additionally a temperature increase to 30°C and a flow pump helps. After the acclimatization the fish are robust and long-lived and give a lot of joy by their droll nature.
Now is the season for these animals, which we get from the upper Amazon (Peru). By the way, in 2013 a cryptic sibling species was described from the Rio Tocantins drainage in Brazil, which practically does not differ in color from C. asellus, but in small anatomical details and especially by DNA: Colomesus tocantinensis. This species is also a pure freshwater pufferfish. To our knowledge it is not exported and its care should not be different from C. asellus, but it is good to know that it exists.
For our customers: Colomesus asellus has code 218303 (approx. 3 cm) on our stock list. please note that we only supply wholesale.
Spectracanthicus zuanoni L 354 originates from Rio Xingu and the Rio Iriri in Brazil. It has been described scientifically only in 2014 (see http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/archiv.php?news_id=1195). The fish belongs to the same species as L 20, with however clearly larger white marks, so that the design reminds of a black net on a bright background. The reddish, large eyes form a beautiful contrast.
A characteristic for the former Oligancistrus species is the large dorsal fin, therefore the name Sailfinloricariids suggested by Seidel appears as very applicable for this group. Since Spectracanthicus species are found in shallow water zones with fast flowing water, they place high requirements against the water quality. As many other Loricariids from this region they should be kept at higher temperatures.
It should be paid attention on their nutrition. A too rich food with a high protein content can lead in the long term to liver damages.
For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 254-3 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in very limited numbers only!
One of the most attractive large catfishes is Pimelodus ornatus, which is common in large parts of tropical South America. It is reported from the big rivers Amazonas, Orinoco and Parnaná, in addition the Guyana states. Maximum size reported is 38.5 cm (excluding caudal fin).
The beautiful and lively fish is notorious for its venomous fin spines. Stings are considered extremely painful and are also prone to infection. Therefore, some caution should be exercised when catching it and fine-meshed nets should be used if possible, otherwise the fish can easily become entangled in the meshes with their serrated fin spines. When freed, stings can then easily occur.
Interestingly, females of this species have been found to have the ability to store sperm. Thus, once fertilized, they can lay viable fertilized eggs without a male. Since this requires internal fertilization, it would be very interesting to know how this occurs. Any externally recognizable sex differences or mating organs do not exist in P. ornatus.
Unfortunately Pimelodus ornatus is imported only rarely, so that breeding reports in the aquarium – one needs for it undoubtedly larger aquariums starting from 200 cm edge length and several specimens of both sexes – are still pending. The care itself is simple, there are no special demands on food and water. A strong current, soft bottom and dim light meet the requirements of the species perfectly. P. ornatus is peaceful among each other and towards other fish, as long as they are not considered as food.
The animals we can currently offer come from Peru.
For our customers: the fish have code 279604 (9-12 cm) and 279605 (12-15 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Corydoras loxozonus belongs to the beautiful armored catfishes, which we receive relatively regularly from Colombia. The species is quite variable in pattern and therefore has already received the C-numbers C79 and C83. There was never any “proof” that these C-numbers really belong to the species C. loxozonus; this was only concluded from the fact that these unusually patterned C-numbers were always imported together with C. loxozonus.
We just received pretty Corydoras loxozonus and between them was a longnose with amazingly similar coloration. This longnose has so far not been described scientifically nor in the hobby, in the hobby an extremely similar species has the code number C16. C16 in turn has always been imported as a bycatch of another Colombian species, namely C. melini. C. melini is clearly more high-backed than C. loxozonus and originates from the Rio Uaupes (= Rio Vaupes), which belongs to the Amazon River system, whereas C. loxozonus originates from the Rio Meta, an Orinoco tributary. Therefore, the C16-like bycatch to C. loxozonus is probably not a C16, but another undescribed species! Unfortunately, this animal is not expected to ever enter the trade in larger numbers.
However, this example shows once again that it is worth to have a closer look also at “common” species. They also hold many a surprise!
For our customers: Corydoras loxozonus has code 233703 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesaler.
The systematics of the Indian deep bodied loaches – they represent the remaining species in the formerly much broader genus Botia – is confused. Botia lohachata was described from Bihar in India as early as 1912. Their coloration is very specific: three Y-shaped bands – the first in front, the second below and the third behind the dorsal fin – and between each band in the middle of the flank a circular dot – YoYo loaches!
The body marking is on the one hand the only characteristic to distinguish closely related Botia species from each other, but on the other hand it is also highly variable. With Botia lohachata things are like this: since this species is very popular in aquaristics – it is pretty, relatively peaceful (at least if kept in sufficiently large groups from 10 specimens upwards), remains with usually 8-10 cm length (the maximum length given in the literature is 15 cm) handily small and eat quite reliably all small water snails in the aquarium – and wild catches are available only seasonally, it is bred commercially in Southeast Asia already since the 1970s. For unknown reasons, these captive-bred specimens are marketed as “Botia pakistani”. There is no “Botia pakistani”, this name is pure fantasy and the offspring correspond perfectly to Botia lohachata regarding the pattern of markings.
How variable Botia lohachata can be, however, can be seen when wild caught specimens are available, like right now (the season runs from about July until October). And in the age the pattern changes strongly to a net pattern. This raises doubts whether B. lohachata is really a good species, because at least B. almorhae, B. birdi and B. histrionica are extremely similar and have been described much earlier; a good overview of the many similar looking Indian loaches is given by Grant (2007) in the electronic publication Ichthyofile Number2.
For our customers: the animals have code 403001 (3-4 cm), 403003 (5-6 cm) and 404802 (“pakistani”) on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
One of the absolute routine measures in the everyday care of the fish is to examine it regularly in the beam of a strong flashlight for possible disease. In this context, one of our keepers, Martin Möller (who has a degree in biology), made the discovery that under certain light incidence, the glass catfish show a distinctly colorful iridescence. This is basically the same effect of light refraction that leads to the formation of rainbows. However, it is not easy to capture it photographically, because the interaction of light and movement of the fish must fit absolutely. After many unusable pictures, however, we finally succeeded in depicting the Möller effect. Fascinating, to say it with Mr. Spock!
For our customers: the animals have code 422005 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Nannacara taenia is with a maximum of 5 cm total length one of the smallest cichlids at all. Additionally it is absolutely peaceful and therefore an ideal fish for community aquariums. The species was described in 1911 from aquarium fishes believed to have been exported via Manaus. However, these animals were never found again in the much fished Rio Negro area around Manaus. It was not until 1987 that they were rediscovered in the lower Amazon and subsequently found in several more Amazon tributaries in this region.
Like all Nannacara species the species is an open breeder. It is difficult to distinguish the sexes. It is said that only the females – but this is also due to mood – show vertical stripes from time to time. Unfortunately, N. taenia is so rarely kept that general statements on this subject are difficult to make. Best is to buy a troop of 10-12 animals and just let the pairs find themselves.
At the moment we can offer nice offsprings of this species.
For our customers: the animals have code 684253 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
What is the saying? Who does not ask, remains stupid. In the case of the rock cichlids of Lake Malawi, the so-called Mbuna, it is undoubtedly the garish, bright colors that initially attract attention and led to the much quoted comparison with coral fish. In fact, the colors of the mbuna have primarily the same task as those of the coral fishes: a demarcation against other species as clear as possible. This makes it easier to recognize one’s own species and this in turn avoids fights, because with members of other species there is no need to fight so intensively for available food (other species usually eat something else) and for females.
Among the most combative mbuna of all is the type species of the genus Chindongo, C. bellicosus, which was described along with the genus in 2016. The species name “bellicosus” means “warlike”! Chindongo includes the species C. ater, C. bellicosus, C. cyaneus, C. demasoni, C. elongatus, C. flavus, C. heteropictus, C. longior, C. minutus, C. saulosi, and C. socolofi. They are among the smallest mbuna and – at least in the wild – barely exceed 8 cm in length. In the aquarium, however, they can grow 50% larger.
In many mbuna, also in quite a few Chindongo, there is a clear gender dichromatism. In other words, sexually mature males are colored differently than females. Juveniles all look like females. Why? Because only sexually mature males defend territories and indicate with flaunting colors that they cordially invite any passing female to mate with them. Other males in showy colors, on the other hand, are beaten up. So far, so logical. But why are there species, like Cindongo socolofi, where males and females cannot be distinguished optically? Only the egg spots in the anal fin are missing in the females or are at least less pronounced. Why this? There is no answer to this question yet.
Maybe you will find out, dear reader? In any case, we have just pretty, fully colored and with 6-7 cm length almost fully grown Chindongo socolofi from Southeast Asian breeding in the stock. By the way, this species is relatively peaceful in the aquarium. So the opportunity to explore is there: go ahead!
For our customers: the animals have code 573202 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Knifefishes are found in the Old World (Africa, Asia) and in the New World (South and Central America). However, the two groups are not closely related. Aquaristically, however, they are quite comparable. They inspire above all by their elegant swimming. The very special fin structure allows them to maneuver both forward and backward. At the same time, they are lightning fast. And knifefish are intelligent – at least by fish standards. They get to know the keeper and come to receive tidbits on whistle. Among themselves, they communicate with sounds and “electric speech,” which uses weak electrical impulses.
The smallest species of Old World knifefish is Xenomystus nigri, which usually grows to 12-15 cm, exceptionally to 20 cm. It is widely distributed in western Africa; the photographs show a juvenile specimen from the Congo and two adults from the Niger River in Nigeria, from where we usually obtain them. X. nigri can be very easily distinguished from all other Old World species by the fact that it lacks a dorsal fin, all other species have one.
Very small fish become eaten by African knifefish, they are peaceful to all larger fish. They are crepuscular animals, as can be easily seen from their large eyes. In the aquarium Xenomystus do not necessarily want caves, but dim shelters. The sexes are hardly distinguishable, males are a bit more high-backed. Xenomystus nigri are crevice spawners, “shooting” their eggs individually into depressions or small holes. The species does not seem to take broodcare.
Xenomystus nigri feeds in nature mainly on insects and worms. In the aquarium, it readily accepts all common frozen foods, but will also accept dry foods. Although the fish is not colorful, it is a wonderful contrast fish to other aquarium inhabitants, it is, as we say, the salt in the soup.
For our customers: the animals have code 192004 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The Indian Dwarf Mudskipper, Periophthalmus novemradiatus, is the ideal aquarium mudskipper with its usually 6 cm length (in literature up to 10 cm are given, but we have never seen such large specimens, probably this statement is based on confusion with other species). In addition to its small size, it has many other favorable attributes: it is much more peaceful than most other mudskippers, it is not very shy, and it is hardly susceptible to disease. As with most mudskippers, males can be easily distinguished from females by dorsal fin size. In males, the first dorsal-fin ray is elongate, the fin itself is larger and more colorful, and, when attached, extends well past the base of the second dorsal fin; in females, the attached first dorsal fin ends before the base of the second.
Periophthalmus novemradiatus is a coastal dweller – our specimens come from Bengal in India – and feeds on organic debris, small animals and algae left on the muddy bottom at low tide. It is, like all mudskippers, capable of living in pure freshwater and pure seawater. In practice, maintenance in brackish water (5-15 g sea salt/l) has proven best. Basically, the pH should not fall below 7. Water temperatures should be kept in the range of 20-28°C, even if the animals tolerate a little less and a little more without harm.
The care is best done in an aqua-terrarium in a larger group. In such a tank there is always something to observe. The animals are fed on a dry food basis, for variety all small frost and live foods can be given, also smallest crickets and flies are taken from time to time with pleasure. Breeding is complex (see the article by Hans-Georg Rupp in the magazine Koralle, issue 87 (2014)), but at least in principle possible.
For our customers: the animals have code 441182 on our stoclist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
A very long name for a very small fish! The genus Curculionichthys was established only in 2015 to accommodate dwarf sucker catfishes of the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae (formerly: Otothyrinae) of Loricariidae, which were previously placed in the genus Hisonotus. Both anatomical and molecular data showed that two independent evolutionary lineages existed within Hisonotus, namely that around the genus type Hisonotus notatus and another that was consequently described as Curculionichthys. The genus name translates as “fish with a long snout”.
A total of 14 species have since been assigned to the genus, but none of these have made aquaristic appearances to date. With 269 described species the subfamily Hypoptopomatinae is also very confusing. Many species look very, very similar to each other, the determination is mostly only possible for trained specialists. Therefore also we cannot exclude that the charming dwarfs – they are only about 1,5-2,5 cm long – which we could import under the name C. sabaji, turn out to be something else. But purely optically they agree very well with C. sabaji. The maximum length of C. sabaji known so far is 23.6 mm without caudal fin.
The tiny fishes keep well with us. Experience with similarly small Paraotocinclus species has shown that such dwarfs should be provided with aquariums as old as possible, with a rich micro growth on which they feed. Dead leaves, root wood etc. should therefore be abundant. In addition, the completely peaceful animals also accept fine dry and frozen food.
Curculionichthys sabaji originates from the drainage of the Rio Xingu. In nature Curculionichthys species are found in flowing water; they can be found in shallow shore areas on sand and gravel, as well as in brush hanging into the water or between water plants. A water temperature of 25-30°C is recommended.
For our customers: the animals have code 250853 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Among the species threatened by the construction of the Bela Monte Dam is L82, a species of loricariid up to about 15 cm long, which cannot yet be assigned to any genus described scientifically to date; it is most similar to Scobinancistrus. Also on species level L82 is not yet worked on. The only certainty is that it belongs to the carnivorous catfishes and has only been found in the Rio Xingu.
Sometimes you can read that the animals are only found at Altamira. However, there are color variants, which indicates a wider distribution. For example, the photographed animals are decorated with large, yellowish dots and have an abdomen without markings. But there are also animals with smaller, more whitish dots and a pattern on the abdomen.
The species is considered to be relatively peaceful and could be reproduced in the aquarium. For the care the usual applies for L-catfish from the Xingu: high water temperatures (28-30°C) and strong current. Hardness and pH-value do not play an important role at least for the care. As a carnivorous species L82 is fed with food tablets, granules and frozen food.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480- L082-4 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The marbled headstander is perhaps the most unusual of all headstanders. This beautiful fish grows to about 15-20 cm in length and is hard to mistake because of its high body shape. There is only a second Abramites species, A. eques, but it has never been imported alive. It lives exclusively in the Rio Magdalena in Colombia. All live photos known to us, which are supposed to show A. eques, are in reality color variants of A. hypselonotus. In A. eques there is no stripe on the anterior body, the first bandage starts only below the dorsal fin and runs over the middle of the body.
In the extremely widespread Abramites hypselonotus – it exists practically in the whole of South America east of the Andes, from Argentina to Venezuela – the stripes start directly behind the head. Thereby, at least in wild collected ones, each animal is individually recognizable by its stripe pattern. One has to doubt that the marbled headstander is really the same species everywhere in this vast area, but they look very, very similar.
Mostly we have offspring of this fish from Indonesia in our stock, but occasionally we receive wild catches. The fish currently swimming with us are from Peru.
Abramites are social animals that interact constantly. If you have too few animals, this can become a nuisance, but in larger groups and large aquariums this is not so noticeable. Unfortunately, these beautiful fish are extreme herbivores.
For our customers: the animals have code 200503 on our stoclist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This very flat Pseudacanthicus from the Rio Tocantins belongs to the rarest L-catfishes on the market. Even before the export ban by the Brazilian authority IBAMA, which was lifted only recently, the fish came to us only very sporadically. L79 certainly grows over 20 cm long, but exactly how big is unknown. Our animals are currently 10-12 cm long.
The care is not different from other carnivorous Loricariid catfishes. L79 is somewhat shy, but you have to keep a close eye on them if you want to keep several animals together. If there are any incompatibilities, they can hurt each other badly. Otherwise they are very pretty and interesting keepers for a large aquarium.
For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 079-4 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Poecilia wingei is widely distributed in the hobby after its best known local variant as Endler´s Guppy. It remains much smaller than the normal Guppy and is very popular with many aquarists because of its graceful body shape.
Just as with the common Guppy, numerous local forms can be observed with P. wingei. The ancestor of the “Blue Star” was caught in 2010 by Phillippe Voisin and friends in Venezuela, some also call it French Blue Endler. We can offer this beautiful fish in good numbers of pairs right now.
For our customers: the animals have code 419106 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Many rock dwelling cichlids (mbunas) of Lake Malawi live isolated on certain rocky shores. These are often miles away from other rocky biotopes, so geographic isolation leads relatively quickly to local color variations.
Other cichlids of the lake, such as Sciaenchromis fryeri, are not bound to specific biotopes and occur accordingly throughout the lake. Although there are tendencies for them to look slightly different in certain regions – for example, in S. fryeri the anal fins of males from the south of the lake are reddish, while those from the north are more yellowish – on the whole these differences are rather marginal.
Of Sciaenochromis fryeri the “Iceberg” variety (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/sciaenochromis-fryeri-iceberg-2/) is especially popular, but also the wild colored animals are beautiful fish with their brilliant azure blue. One should not keep these cichlids together with the fast and aggressive mbunas of Lake Malawi. These species interfere with each other and also have completely different food requirements. While S. fryeri is a small predator that follows large cichlids in the wild, which dig for food in the substrate, scaring up small fish and shrimp that S. fryeri grabs, mbunas feed mainly on aufwuchs, i.e. algae and microorganisms found in it, a very high-bulk diet. In the aquarium, Sciaenochromis get shortchanged compared to fast Mbunas, resulting in fatty Mbunas and malnourished Sciaenochromis. No one wants that.
Sciaenochromis fryeri is a typical mouthbrooder in the female gender and grows to about 15 cm long. Males and females differ clearly in coloration.
For our customers: the animals have code 574295 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Males of all dolphin catfishes (Ageneiosus) develop huge dorsal fin spines and a penis-like mating organ at spawning time, also strange tooth-like looking papillae on the posterior margin of the upper jaw. They use the dorsal fin spine to clamp females for mating, and fertilization occurs internally. After spawning, the dorsal fin spine is shed again, like deer antlers after the rut, and the mating organ regresses so that males and females can no longer be distinguished externally.
Unfortunately, the relatively small remaining (under 10 cm) dolphin catfishes are rather inconspicuous in color. We could import now from Venezuela splendid, sexually active A. magoi. The fish are currently about 15 cm long. The maximum length given in the literature for A. magoi is 18-20 cm. Thus A. magoi is surely the most interesting dolphin catfish for aquaristics: highly attractive colored and comparatively small.
For our customers: the animals have code 203353 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers. Only available in small numbers.
Wertheimeria maculata belongs to the strangest thorny catfishes. You don’t see this on the relatively inconspicuous juveniles with their 6-8 cm length, but it is nevertheless so. The first thing that catches your attention is the really high price that is demanded for them. This is due to the fact that these fish are local endemics and occur exclusively in the Jequitinhonha and Pardo rivers in Brazil, where there is no organized ornamental fishing. The area of occurrence covers more than twice the area of Switzerland, W. maculata is not considered endangered.
Already on the occasion of the first description of the species in 1877 the genus Wertheimeria was established for it, of which it remained the only member until today. The independence of Wertheimeria has never been doubted; within the spiny catfishes (Doradidae) a separate subfamily Wertheimerinae was established for the species and two others (Franciscodoras marmoratus and Kalyptodoras bahiensis).
Adult Wertheimeria maculata are about 30 cm long; then they look spectacular: on a black background the species has large, cream-colored spots. Whoever acquires this species should keep it for himself if possible. Our young animals are compatible with each other. The animals are hiding-loving and mainly nocturnal and are easily disturbed by other species. One hardly gets to see them then. Wertheimeria maculata do not have special demands on water and food, but it goes without saying that they should be kept in aquariums as large as possible with well maintained water and fed with high quality food (mussel meat is ideal, but any commercially available ornamental fish food is accepted) to quickly turn the ugly little duckling into a proud swan.
For our customers: the animals have code 299053 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
In the meantime, further correspondence with our supplier revealed that the animals did indeed come from the Rio Tocantins. We have received another shipment of the animals, which are somewhat larger (5-7 cm) and are now developing very attractive colors. In addition, the head shape is more recognizable. We now think that the animals are the species Mylesinus paucisquamatus, which grows to about 20-25 cm and if you look at how pretty the juveniles are now, you can expect a lot more from the adults!
For our customers: the animals have code 270053 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The “pointed tail” mutation, in which the middle caudal fin rays are elongated, appeared relatively late: the first specimens appeared on the market in the 1980s. It originated in the Southeast Asian large-scale breederies.
The characteristic, which first appeared in the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus), can also be transferred to other Xiphos, but the pointed tail has really become established in the long term only in Wagtail Platys. Here it is especially the red breeding forms, which are offered with pointed tail. Because with very large and old animals the innermost rays can grow somewhat over the fin, one calls this breeding form sometimes also “brush tail”. Apart from the fin shape, the pointed tails are quite normal platys: lively, colorful and robust.
For our customers: the animals have code 442103 on our stoclist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Acanthicus hystrix is one of the great myths in the literal sense. With a length of almost one meter it is one of the largest loricariid catfishes at all. In addition, the species, which was already described in 1829, is extremely prickly: “hystrix” means “porcupine”!
Unfortunately, the specimen on which the description of this species is based was destroyed during the Second World War. Where it was captured is unknown. Thus, it is unclear which of the three or four Black Adonis Catfishes known so far is the “real” A. hystrix. For one of them, a form from the Rio Xingu, the L-number 155 was assigned. In the trade it has become common practice to refer to the Black Adonis Catfishes all as L155, regardless of origin. Our L155 come from the Furo Maguari, a tributary of the Rio Tocantins.
Black Adonis Catfish are fish for specialists who can accommodate these giants, which can also be quite aggressive. For show aquariums large Adonis catfish are excellent subjects. Our animals in the stock are currently 18-21 cm long.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 155-6 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
The Orange Blotched are now one of the most common Malawi cichlids on the market. No wonder: there is hardly a fish species, which shows such a variety of bright colors, like these animals!
For our customers: the fish have code 502763 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The convict cichlid Amatitlania (formerly Cichlasoma) nigrofasciata is really not a novelty anymore: it has been kept and bred in aquariums since 1939. The first aquarium animals of this very widely distributed fish in Central America came from the lakes Atitlan and Amatitlan in Guatemala. The genus to which the convict cichlid currently belongs was named after the latter.
As early as the 1960s, a uniformly flesh-colored variety appeared in breedings, and since then the “piggies” have also found their enthusiasts. “New” is the marble variety. It originated in 1992 by chance in large-scale breeding of the monochrome animals in Florida and became lokal quite popular. Across the ocean they spilled first to Southeast Asia, where the busy professional breeders are always on the lookout for interesting novelties, from there to Europe and the animals we are currently offering, we got from a Czech breeder.
Apart from the coloration, which is different for each individual, they are typical convict cichlids, which move through the aquarium like a pack of wild pigs, examine every corner for food and are always ready for a fight. You can almost hear them squealing…
For our customers: the animals have code 655922 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The new Hellboys have a halfmoon tail fin, which means that when the tail fin is folded completely out, the edges are at a 90° angle to the longitudinal axis of the body. In a “normal” Pla Kat, this angle is smaller.
While the first Hellboys were predominantly red in color with a few speckles, they are now still red-grounded fish – hence the name, which refers to the comic and movie character Hellboy, an all-red, friendly but belligerent demon – but they have quite different cover colors, ranging from silvery-white pelts to koi patterns.
Thus, the new Hellboys are visually quite different from the first ones – as in the Hellboy movies, because in the third part the main character Ron Perlman is replaced by David Harbour, who also looks different…
For our customers: the animals have code 390082 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Guppy breeders are currently very active again and bring new, attractive strains on the market. The Guppy Kohaku Koi Tuxedo combines two special characteristics: The Kohaku factor, which causes males and females to have a red head combined with a red caudal fin and red dorsum; and the Elephant Ear factor, which causes the greatly enlarged pectoral fins of males to be colored (usually black, but white ones exist) instead of transparent; coupled with the Elephant Ear is often the Tuxedo factor, which causes a black body color with a blue anterior dorsum, but without spilling over to the fins.
They are very lively, beautiful fishes that will definitely gain a permanent place in the assortment.
For our customers: the animals have code 419205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Paracheirodon simulans is the smallest and tiniest species of neon tetra. The maximum length is around 2.5 cm. One should not confuse this species with the neon costello, Hemigrammus hyanuary, which is also called the “green neon” occasionally. This is the reason why some people call Paracheirodon simulans the “blue neon”, but in the international trade the name “green neon” is established for the species.
Despite this babylonic confusion one cannot confuse P. simulans with any other species. Only in this neon tetra the intensive shining neon band runs from the tip of the snout right through to the end of the caudal peduncle.
We can offer green neons the greatest part of the year. They originate from Colombia and Brazil. But only rarely such large, adult (about 2 cm long) specimens are available as we have currently in stock. This is a perfect occasion to stock a nano tank with these shimmering jewels….
For our customers: the animals have code 275704 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The species of the genus Brycon belong to the large tetras of the open water. 21 species east of the Andes were distinguished in the last revision by Flávio C. T. Lima (there are others west of the Andes). Their identification, especially of juveniles, presents considerable difficulties, because they usually grow to 30-40 cm in length and adults look quite different from juveniles. That is why we listed B. amazonicus as Brycon sp. Colombia on our stocklist until now. However, the fine line pattern of the juveniles, which is very unusual for Brycon species, and the distinctive caudal fin pattern now lead us to believe that these animals are the species B. amazonicus, which is widely distributed in the Amazon and Orinoco systems.
The care of Brycon is in principle simple, but one must not save on food. They are very greedy and fight for a food tablet like a pack of puppies for a bone. Due to their expected final size (approx. 50 cm!), combined with swimming pleasure they need large aquariums.
For our customers: the animals have code 212652 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Literatur
Lima, F. C. T. (2017): A revision of the cis-andean species of the genus Brycon Müller & Troschel (Characiformes: Characidae). Zootaxa 4222 (no. 1): 1-189.
Our current Congo import contained among others the magnificent tetra Alestopetersius leopoldianus, which originates from Lac Mai Ndombe (formerly: Lake Leopold) and the middle Congo. With this maximum 9 cm long species one can get philosophical about the supposed objectivity of photography. Depending on the incidence of light the animal looks completely different! With the naked eye one almost always sees a dark, broad longitudinal band. This is also the only significant coloration feature mentioned in the first scientific description from 1899.
Wonderful is the deep blue dorsum, which is the first thing that catches the eye of the importer when he closely examines his newly arrived treasures with a strong flashlight. The result can be seen in the photo pool. Here, too, the back of the animal shines in a magnificent blue, but the effect is completely different. And depending on the angle of light, the reflective colors can be so intense on the body that they even cover the longitudinal band, or almost invisible.
The nice thing is: In the aquarium you have all these colors at once, because the fish swims and so the incidence of light also changes permanently. So you have in an aquarium with Alestopetersius leopoldianus a beautiful picture, which you never get tired to admire.
For our customers: the animals have code 100173 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
The beautiful Corydoras elegans is widely distributed in the Amazon region and locally forms numerous color forms. Possibly all these variants are even independent species, but scientifically this has not been investigated yet. A color variant from the Rio Nanay in Peru stands out above all by yellow-orange tinted fins. Some males (they have higher dorsal fins with dark bands) have even strongly orange colored dorsal fins, but only in old age and our animals are still quite young. Anyway, this Rio Nanay variant has been given the code number C123 to facilitate communication among enthusiasts.
Apart from the pretty fin coloration, C123 is a typical Corydoras elegans. The fish are very social and peaceful, swimming in open water more often than most other Corydoras. The maximum length is about 5-6 cm.
For our customers: the fish have code 229102 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Since a long time we received again a Congo import. Beside many other interesting fishes and novelties also the good old acquaintance Nanochromis parilus was among them. These beautiful, assertive dwarf cichlids are very common in the region around the capital Kinshasa. It is astonishing that they were described by science only in 1976. In the hobby they have been known since 1952, however they were initially misidentified as Nanochromis nudiceps (which is a different species).
Nanochromis parilus are river-dwellers, but not rapids cichlids, preferring calmer sections. With a maximum of 8 cm (male) the species remains handy, females even stay smaller. They can be recognized by the broad white band in the dorsal fin. This species is a cavity breeder, with the female caring for the clutch and the newly hatched young, and the male defending the territory. When the young are larger, both parents lead the young.
Care is similar to the closely related Pelvicachromis, but keep in mind that breeding animals can be quite aggressive.
for our customers: the animals have code 554594 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Again we can announce a first import: Moenkhausia nigromarginata. For the first time ever we received some of these tetras described in 1994. The species reaches a length of about 5 cm. Striking are the blue eye, the blue back in incident light and the – sometimes more and sometimes less visible – zigzag bands on the belly. This tetra comes from the drainage of the upper Rio Tapajós in Brazil and was caught together with Moenkhausia rubra.
Very interesting is the escape behavior of this species, which may explain why the animals did not appear in the hobby so far: when they feel threatened, M. nigromarginata shoot towards the ground and try to push themselves, lying on their side, under stones, roots and the like. This looks quite alarming for the keeper, who naturally fears that the animals would injure themselves in panic or become trapped in such a way that they would not be able to get out of the self-imposed trap again. But this worry is unfounded. Once acclimated, M. nigromarginata is no more skittish than other tetras.
All in all an interesting new form, which will surely find its followers.
For our customers: the animals have code 268852 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers. Only available in small quantities!
From the larger growing, mouthbrooding whiptail catfishes of the genus Loricaria only the very widespread L. simillima is in the trade from time to time, the others – after all there are 17 recognized plus several scientifically still undetermined species – are absolute top rarities. We have now received L. lata from Brazil. This species grows 20-25 cm long. It originates from the drainage of the Rio Tocantins. Like so many mouthbrooding loricariids this species is polychromatic, i.e. within one population there are quite differently marked animals. Our fish also show this polychromatism. Some are almost completely black, others rather bright with black bands and there are all conceivable intermediate stages; depending upon mood the animals also can change color.
Among themselves our fish are peaceful. However, they are somewhat skittish and try to hide in the bottom when disturbed. A sandy bottom is therefore useful for the care, even if the fish then look in the close-up as if they had the white spot disease (Ichthyophtirius). We can reassure you: the animals are perfectly healthy.
For our customers: the fish have code 266563 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
In the 1990s, when the large river cichlids of Brazil experienced a certain boom, also four Crenicichla species came to Europe for the first time, which were named Crenicichla sp. Xingu I – IV due to the lack of availability of a scientific name. All four grow quite large by ornamental fish standards, you have to expect 30-40 cm in length, moreover Crencichla are robust animals that are able to assert themselves. Very large aquariums are therefore a basic requirement for the care of these animals. For a long time they were closed for export, now Brazil has released them again. Two of the species we can offer right now.
Crenicichla sp. Xingu I is strangely not described scientifically until today. Juveniles up to 5 cm length are bright red, then they turn orange. Adult fish look quite different; the males are then brassy yellow, the females gray-green with a bright red band in the middle of the body. We have juveniles (“fries”) in the stock that are decidedly schooling fish. Kept in a school, they sometimes retain their beautiful coloration until 20 cm in length. When this size is reached, the keeper has to watch out! In the “puberty”, before they become sexually active, these fish are extremely incompatible among themselves! Only when the sexes are clearly recognizable, you can dare to try to put pairs together.
Crenicichla sp. Xingu IV was scientifically described as C. percna in 1991. From this very rarely imported species we have only one large animal of 24-28 cm length in the stock. We do not agree about the sex, but it speaks more for a male than for a female. This fish has a real personality, watching everything that is going on in front of the aquarium very closely, and it takes quite a bit of cunning and guile to approach it for a photo. Once the animal understands what’s planned, it squats in a corner and won’t budge – if it could, it would certainly stick its tongue out at the photographer!
For our customers: C. sp. Xingu I/Orange has code 671801 (5-7 cm) and 671802 (6-8 cm), C. percna has code 671896 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Under the name “Hasemania hansseni” a new tetra has recently appeared on the market, which with its intense orange coloration is indeed somewhat reminiscent of the well-known copper tetra, Hasemania nana. However, one of the characteristics of the genus Hasemania is that it lacks the adipose fin that is so typical for tetras. This is however present in the new imports. They are Hyphessobrycon moniliger, a species first mentioned in scientific literature by Lowe-McConnell in 1991 as “Hyphessobrycon sp. golden tetra”. It was then scientifically described in 2002 based on specimens from the Rio Tocantins drainage. In the meantime it was also reported from the Rio Tapajós drainage.
The males of H. moniliger have broadened fin rays in the anal fin, which are also covered with numerous hooks. This characteristic is known rather from the Hemigrammus relationship, but as we have already mentioned several times, the systematics of the small tetras of South America is so far only very unsatisfactory clarified.
With about 4 cm total length H. moniliger remains handy small. They are very beautiful and peaceful fish, a real enrichment of the assortment!
For our customers: the animals have code 261393 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
New legislation in Brazil now allows the import of species whose export was previously not allowed. One of these species is Moenkhausia rubra, which was only scientifically described in 2014. The species is so far known only from the Rio Juína and the Rio Juruena, both belonging to the upper Rio Tapajós drainage, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The new species is quite unusually colored; especially the red back of the males is striking. Additionally – but this can only be seen in light obliquely from above – the anterior dorsum and the area along the longitudinal band have wonderful green iridescent zones.
The largest specimens known so far from nature were about 5.5 cm long (so with caudal fin about 6.5 cm). Probably they become somewhat larger in the aquarium than in the free life. In our facility these beautiful novelties proved to be robust, peaceful and easy to care for so far.
For our customers: the animals have code 269203 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Only very rarely we receive wild collected Corydoras paleatus. Imports of this species, which is widespread in southern South America, didn´t appear for more than 10 years, because many export stations in southern Brazil had to close down when some of the most important ornamental fishes of the region were forgotten on the Brazilian positive list, which regulated which species could be caught and exported as ornamental fish. Now a negative list is in effect, meaning that all species may again be caught and exported unless they are specially protected.
This veteran among the aquarium fishes was already bred in 1878 by the Parisian aquarium pioneer Pierre Carbonnier, outside France the species is available since 1893. Since then there have always been offspring and also various breeding forms (long-finned, albino etc.) are always available in the trade.
For our customers: the wild caught species have code 239553 (lg) and 239554 (xlg) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
There are many criteria, why to choose this or that fish for the aquarium. Those who like colorful fish should avoid Anabas. But who likes to observe biological peculiarities is well advised with the climbing perch. General information about Anabas can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/anabas_de/.
We have now once again imported climbing perch from Bengal. The animals are only 5-7 cm long and already sexually differentiated. Very nice animals – for Anabas standards anyway!
For our customers: the animals have code 364203 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The Pitbull Pleco (Parotocinclus jumbo, formerly Hypostominae gen. sp.) was one of the most popular small sucking catfishes until about 10 years ago. Then it was accidentally forgotten on the list of Brazilian ornamental fishes allowed for export. Since then, it has only been around in breeder circles. This species, very common in the wild, was one of the most important export fish in southern Brazil. Almost all exporters had to close their farms when the export of the Pitbull Pleco was no longer possible.
Now the situation has changed fundamentally, from Brazil all fish may be exported again, if they do not enjoy protection status due to a special situation. And finally we have received the first Pitbull Plecos again. Still a lot of lost infrastructure has to be rebuilt, the bad corona situation in Brazil, combined with extreme flood events does not make this easier, but we expect that in the future Pitbull Plecos (LDA25) will be seen regularly in the trade again.
For all who have forgotten or do not know it yet: This is a very peaceful, sociable fish that should definitely be kept in groups. The substrate should consist of fine sand at least in places, as the fish sometimes like to dig themselves in. Breeding is similar to that of Corydoras. P. jumbo does not practice broodcare. The males of the species are darker colored and slimmer. The normal size of this fish is 5-6 cm, but actually 8 cm giants of the species have been known.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-LDA 025-2 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Aquaristics is unimaginable without the multitude of colorful livebearer breeding forms. However, this also means that there is competition between the different breeding lines for the buyers’ favor. A good name clearly sells. And even if, strictly speaking, the Neon Green Lyretail is neither neon green in color nor has a lyre tail – who cares? The little beauty has been sold under this name for a good 20 years and enjoys great popularity.
For our customers: the animals have code 418883 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
From Brazil we received this really nice novelty, which looks a bit like an enlarged edition of the Ember tetra, Hyphessobrycon amandae. However has the “Muzel Red Cherry” two (although indistinct) shoulder spots, which never occurs in H. amandae. In addition, the dorsal fin in “Muzel Red Cherry” is red with a light margin, while in H. amandae it has a large black spot on the posterior margin. The novelty also bears a certain resemblance to the “Bolivia Orange”, which in turn is placed in the relationship of Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (although it is completely different in coloration). In contrast to the “Bolivia Orange” the “Muzel Red Cherry” has a red caudal fin, this is transparent in “Bolivia Orange”. In addition, there is a sex difference in “Muzel Red Cherry”, which is missing in “Bolivia Orange”: the males of “Muzel Red Cherry” grow larger than the females and have enlarged fins, as known from the Rosy Tetras.
The origin of the novelty is still unknown, the imported animals are bred ones. As our supplier learned, the Brazilian ichthyologist Flavio Lima from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in the state of Sao Paulo is working on the scientific description.
It will be interesting to see which genus Lima will come to, because the “Muzel Red Cherry” basically looks like a “Rosy Tetra” of the genus Hyphessobrycon, but it also has an incomplete lateral line and a scaled caudal fin base, both characteristics of Hemigrammus.
Anyway, this 3-4 cm long tetra is a real color wonder and a wonderful enrichment of the tetra assortment.
For our customers: the animals have code 261943 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The Diamond Rainbowfish – Melanotaenia praecox – is one of the smallest species of the actual rainbowfishes and grows only 6-7 cm long. It shows already from 3 cm length its splendid iridescent body coloration. That is why it is one of the most popular species in the trade. With age the males become high-backed and then the red in the vertical fins develops even more intensively.
Since Melanotaenia praecox is only found on the island of New Guinea and there only in a small area in the western half of the island called Irian Jaya, all Diamond Rainbowfishes in the trade are descended from a few animals. Carelessly raised animals are susceptible to disease, well raised ones are not.
For our customers: the animals have code 428601 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Aulonocara are a specious and colorful genus of Malawi cichlids; because of their brightly colored dress they are called “peacocks” in English. They are small-animal eaters that selectively ingest small chunks of food.
Another group of cichlids in Lake Malawi feeds on the algae and the microorganisms (= Aufwuchs) they contain, which grow on rocks. These cichlids are called “mbuna” after a name given to this group of fish by local fishermen. Among the Mbunas there is a phenomenon that is not yet well explained: the so-called O- and OB- forms. O stands for “orange”, OB for “orange blotch”. These extremely deviant colored animals can occur in several species and are not necessarily bound to the sex.
Although peacock cichlids and mbunas look very different, they have common ancestors. And the amazing thing is: they can even be crossed! Of course, such crossbreeding is done artificially, i.e. eggs and sperm are mixed and incubated “in the test tube”. Thereby the so called Fire Fish, Dragon Blood, O- and OB-Aulonocara were created, of which nowadays there are countless lines and at least as many imaginative names. All in all, hardly any animal is identical to the other, as it is to be expected due to the hybrid character. In feeding behavior and general body shape these animals resemble the Aulonocara species.
They are extremely colorful fish with bright colors, a real alternative for aquarists who like it very colorful, but do not want to make the effort of coral fish aquaristics. A basic requirement, however, are aquariums as large as possible, because although these animals grow only 10-15 cm long, they can develop a lot of temperament!
For our customers: the animals have code 502783 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
We have already introduced several wild strains of Xiphophorus variatus, which rightly bears its scientific species name (variatus = variable).
Now we have again two new variants on offer, both are German bred ones, descended from wild populations. The first is a pretty speckled fish discovered and brought back on a scientific collecting trip in Mexico. It comes from the area around Hotel Taninul (Carretera Km. 15, 79250, Tampico, Valles, 79250 Cd Valles, S.L.P., Mexico). Located in a natural park, “Set inside the Huasteca, a 740-acre ecological preserve, this rural resort hotel surrounded by tropical forest is 17 km from the town of Tamuín and 19 km from the center of Ciudad Valles.” (quoted from the hotel’s promotional website). Near the hotel grounds flows a nameless sulfurous brook and from it came the said X. variatus. Other fish species living in the brook were Poecilopsis gracilis, Astyanax mexicanus, Poecilia formosa and unspecified aquatic turtles.
The second form was found by the same expedition along road 85 in a drainage near Mante towards Victora (11 km north of Mante at km 105). There is no publication on this so far, this information was passed on orally. Therefore, so far there is only the provisional designation “1243” made in the field notes. This Platy is rather interesting than beautiful, because one looks for color with him in vain. Interesting are the strong melanophores in the front half of the body and the dark reticulation in the middle of the rear, which gives the impression of a longitudinal band. This variety will hardly be able to establish in the hobby, here is probably an unique buying opportunity for specialized friends of livebearers, while “Hotel Taninul” will certainly find its friends, especially since the males with increasing age develop increasingly strong yellow tones in the fins and back, as the breeder told us.
For our customers: “Hotel Taminul” has code 443095, “1243” code 443093 on our stocklist. There are limited quantities of both varieties available. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
The bluegray mbuna or the electric blue johanni (Melanochromis johannii) was imported so early (1972) from Lake Malawi for the hobby that one still made the effort to invent a popular name for it. This was later abandoned in view of the great number of species. In the wild, these fish, like many other Aufwuchs-feeding rock cichlids (mbunas), remain a good third smaller than in the aquarium, where they can grow to a maximum length of 12 cm. At about 5 cm in length, the males begin to color. They then get a bright blue base coloration, while the females remain orange. Juveniles show female coloration. However, when a male gets tired of being constantly beaten up by the boss (mbunas are quite aggressive fish), he puts on female clothes and then has peace for the time being. You can always recognize males disguised as females by the eggspots in the anal fin, which are missing in females.
The generic classification of the Mbunas is based to a large extent on the pattern of markings. Melanochromis has horizontal dark bars and in males the pattern reverses with the onset of sexual maturity, i.e., what was previously yellow becomes black, for example, and what was previously black becomes blue, for example, as in the well-known auratus cichlid, M. auratus. Because the latter does not occur in M. johannii, but the black streaking in males and females remains the same and only the basic coloration changes, it has been suggested to place M. johannii in Pseudotropheus. Some follow the suggestion, others do not. In the end, this is of rather minor importance in aquaristics.
Anyway, M. johannii has many friends since its first importation and is always available as offspring for aquarium enthusiasts all over the world. They are typical agame mouthbrooders in the female gender, i.e. after spawning the male does not take care of the female and the offspring. To keep these fish colorful and vital even after hundreds of generations in the aquarium, they must not be fed too fat and protein-rich, but need a diet rich in fiber and vitamins. The water should not be too cool (26-28°C) and the pH should be well above 7.5. A lot of water changes ensures low polluted water, which is also important. Because of the aggressiveness Mbunas are best kept in large groups of both sexes, 10 animals are good, 20 better. The aquarium should also have many hiding places where inferior specimens and breeding females can retreat.
For our customers: the animals have code 551500 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The Serpa Tetra, also called the Callistus Tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques, formerly known as H. callistus or H. serpae), is the little man’s piranha. Just like piranhas, serpa tetras have an irresistible urge to bite the fins of other fish. And they constantly want to test out who is the stronger. This makes many exciting observations in the aquarium, but one thing you hardly ever see is Serpa Tetras with their fins completely intact.
The magnificent coloration and interesting behavior make many aquarists overlook the naughtiness of fin biting since 1924. In the course of time even a veil-finned variety of these up to 4 cm long animals developed. It too always appears somewhat tattered, but this does not detract from their enjoying life and also recognizably causes the fish neither pain nor discomfort.
One must always maintain Serpa Tetras in as large a group as possible of 10, better 20 animals or more, and offer them a richly structured aquarium. Since they originate from southern South America, where it can get quite fresh at certain times of the year, they should not be kept at high temperatures above 24°C all year round. Every now and then a few weeks without heating at 18-20°C will do the animals a lot of good and improve the colors.
For our customers: Serpa Tetras „Longfin“ have code 261953 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
This interesting, about 20-25 cm long sucking catfish from Peru should only be kept by really experienced aquarists. Beside some adult specimens we could import this time also 4-7 cm long juveniles. The size of these fish is difficult to state, because one should not count the tail fin filaments, which are much longer than the body length, but it is common in aquaristics to count the tail fin in length measurements. In adult Pterosturisoma microps the caudal fin filaments are usually absent, but grow again in the aquarium.
Pterosturisoma microps (there is only the one species in the genus) is oxygen demanding, needs warm water (26-28°C), low germ load and is difficult in feeding. The animals hate to lie on sand or gravel. They prefer the vertical aquarium glass. If they do lie on the bottom, it is on rocks or roots. As an Aufwuchs feeder, they must have something to feed on throughout the day. The best food is a jelly food based on agar or gelatine, which you spread in liquid form (still hot) on stones, which you place in the aquarium after they have cooled down.
By the way, a bare glass bottom is also not good for the animals, as a bacterial lawn can form here over time, which can cause infections on the belly of the fish. It is best to cover the aquarium floor with flat stone slabs. If the animals become thinner and thinner despite good food intake, the intestinal flora is probably damaged. Feces from healthy, other sucking catfish (e.g. Ancistrus) can help here and should be available especially in the acclimation phase.
All in all Pterosturisoma microps are a real challenge for specialists.
For our customers: the animals have code 286551 (4-7 cm) and 286556 (16-20 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The red-breasted shoaling piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is present throughout the Amazon River basin. It is the most common piranha species kept in aquariums. The breeding of these animals succeeds according to plan. Pairs are formed from a shoal, which spawn in bottom pits; the parents guard the spawning site, there is no brood care beyond that. Since this piranha species lives in a shoal (most of the approximately 30 species are incompatible loners), they can be raised together.
Mostly therefor are bred ones for the aquaristic demand in the trade; but occasionally also wild catches are imported and then one notices that there are locally quite clear coloration differences with the populations. Many wild-caught fishes are very intensively colored. Especially the blood red breast makes them very attractive. As juveniles of 6-15 cm length these piranhas are most beautiful. The pictures show 6-7 cm long wild catches from Colombia (Dept. Amazonas).
The final size of these fish is 25-30 cm, so you have to provide big aquariums for them.
For our customers: Wild caught have code 292404, captive bred have 292395 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The Rio Candelaria is a lowland river in Central America. It originates in northern Guatemala and flows through regions there and in southeastern Mexico whose jungle landscapes were almost untouched by man for a long time. The Rio Candelaria gained sad fame because the conquistador Hernán Cortez had the last Aztec ruler Cuautémoc, a fierce fighter for the independence of his people, executed here. Whether the firemouth cichlids (Thorichthys meeki) of the Rio Candelaria are so intensely red in color because the blood of the Aztec got into the river? Probably not, because Cuautémoc was hanged, but the thought is romantic, isn’t it?
We currently have beautiful offspring of this location variant of the Firemouth Cichlid in various sizes in the stock. They have all the advantages of this magnificent species, i.e. relative peacefulness and magnificent appearance, plus the originality of this strain.
For our customers: the animals have code 654702 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
For the first time we can offer this pretty Leporinus, which was scientifically described only in 2000. Be careful not to confuse it with L. octomaculatus, because this is a completely different species; here the confusion of one letter has consequences!
So far Leporinus ortomaculatus is known from the Rio Surumu, Roraima, Brazil and from the rivers Rio Caroni, Rio Caura and Orinoco to the Delta Amacuro in Venezuela. Our animals originate from Brazil.
Two peculiarities make Leporinus ortomaculatus especially interesting for aquarium care: first, the species remains small by Leporinus standards. The largest specimen known to date was 11 cm long, so it can be assumed that the fish will hardly become longer than 15 cm in the aquarium (as is well known, Leporinus are long-lived fish and will certainly become much older and thus larger in the aquarium than in the wild). And secondly Leporinus ortomaculatus belongs to the most peaceful of all Leporinus species. Although there is constant teasing and chasing among them, as it is so typical for Leporinus, there is not even any fin damage!
For our customers: the animals have code 265763 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
One of the most beautiful freshwater fishes of all is Channa micropeltes. This snakehead lives in groups and its favorite pastime is eating. It is therefore constantly on the lookout for food and swims lively in a shoal through the aquarium.
Although every word up to this point is true, it is still only half the truth. Because with over 130 cm maximum final size Channa micropeltes is also one of the largest snakeheads at all. And from about 15-20 cm length it loses the beautiful, bright juvenile coloration and changes from a schooling fish to an aggressive loner. Now it is black-brown marbled on the back. However, his favorite pastime remains eating and who makes the mistake to put Channa micropeltes because of his beautiful juvenile coloration in a community aquarium with small peaceful fish, soon has only one fish in the aquarium: a fat Channa micropeltes.
So if you are interested in these animals, you must have a really big aquarium. Then snakehead and human can enjoy each other for decades.
For our customers: the animals have code 409202 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
The correct name of this beautiful catfish from the Rio Xingu is a matter of dispute among experts. In many parts of South America similar looking catfishes can be found, which are all close to the species already described in 1840 as Hypostomus emarginatus. These were assigned to the genus Squaliforma in 2001, and to the genus Aphanotorulus in 2016. There are also some L-numbers: L11 (Rio Xingu, Brazil), L108 (Ecuador, Rio Napo), L116 (Rio Trombetas, Brazil), L131 (Rio Tapajós, Brazil), and L153 (Venezuela).
Nathan Lujan wrote us: “All the members of the Hypostomus emarginatus “group” were pretty well resolved in our paper where we identified that they were actually in Aphanotorulus. Even though the type location is only listed as the Amazon, we showed that it likely came from the lower Amazon. Figure 8 in our paper is a distribution map for A. emarginatus, which shows the lower Amazon and its major tributaries plus the Essiquibo. The likely sister species is A. horridus, found in the upper Amazon, basically upstream of its confluence with the Rio Negro. Figure 12 in our paper is it’s distribution map. Here’s the link to the paper: https://www.mapress.com/…/view/zootaxa.4072.5.1/4170“
L11 is a wonderful large catfish for appropriate aquariums with fish from the Rio Xingu. In cichlid tanks it is an excellent algae eater. On the one hand it can take a poke, but on the other hand it is peaceful against conspecifics as well as against other fish. Fish from the Rio Xingu should be kept warm, 26-30°C correspond to the natural conditions. Under such conditions L11 can grow up to 40 cm long and live in the aquarium for decades.
For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 011-5 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Quite clearly – none at all! Because this genus is exclusively from South America. But in Indonesia these beautiful large tetras are bred and occasionally we import juveniles from there. Then one wonders which species it is. We get them as S. insignis and so we sell them on, but is the determination correct? This question never left us and now we believe we can give an answer.
According to the most recent scientific review of the group (Castro & Vari, 2004), there are six species of Semaprochilodus: S. brama (Rio Tocantins and Rio Xingu), S. insignis (Amazon basin), S. kneri (Orinoco basin), S. laticeps (Orinoco basin), S. taeniurus (Amazon basin), and S. varii (Suriname and French Guiana). A common name in the hobby is S. theraponura, this is a synonym of S. insignis.
Semaprochilodus brama and S. varii are not of further interest in the following, because S. brama has a completely markless caudal fin and is therefore easily recognizable and S. varii has more than 12 narrow stripes in the caudal fin and is therefore also unmistakable. Very small juveniles of 3-4 cm look quite colorless with all Semaprochilodus, therefore we had to wait with our Indonesian imports until they had grown up to about 6 cm length.
From the remaining four possible species we could now exclude S. insignis, because it has five stripes in each caudal fin lobe (plus one in the middle of the caudal fin), but our animals have only three to four. This leaves S. kneri, S. laticeps and S. taeniurus, all of which have three to four stripes per caudal fin lobe. The three species have distinctly different high backs. S. taeniurus is the most slender species, almost topedo shaped compared to the others, then comes S. kneri and S. laticeps is really high-backed. Of the three, only S. laticeps has a pitch black membrane adjacent to the gill cover. This is clearly missing in our animals and so we can put the identification case to the files: the bred ones are Semaprochilodus kneri. But whether this name will be accepted in the trade is questionable. In practically all aquarium books S. kneri is shown as S. insignis, S. taeniurus or S. theraponura (e.g. in volumes 2 – theraponura – and 3 – insignis and taeniurus – of the Aquarium Atlas, but all three entries show S. kneri) and as is well known, nothing is as persistent as a thorough error.
For the care this is unimportant, because all Semaprochilodus become 30-40 cm long and are beautiful, impressive large tetras. They are Aufwuchs and detritus eaters and can be compared aquaristically quite well with kissing gouramis (Helostoma). Like them they have only a narrow throat and can’t do much with coarse food, which is why they can be kept together with much smaller fish. Among themselves they are sometimes somewhat quarrelsome. This can be counteracted by keeping at least 5-6 specimens together.
For our customers: the animals have code 290452 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
The zebra cichlids of Lake Malawi were among the first cichlids to come to us from this great lake in the 1960s. At that time they caused real enthusiasm storms. Aquarists had no idea of the enormous diversity of species and forms that exist there. So the zebras were simply called “Pseudotropheus zebra” after one of the few described species.
Today one knows it better and distinguishes with the zebra cichlids 32 different species, whereby there are also still undescribed ones and all form besides several distinguishable location variants. These zebra cichlids in the narrower sense were also separated from Pseudotropheus and transferred into their own genus, which is called Maylandia. A synonym to Maylandia is Metriaclima, so you can find all Maylandia species in the aquaristic literature also as Metriaclima.
Unfortunately, these species interbreed easily in the aquarium, so unintentional hybrids often occur. The beautiful blue Maylandia we received from Thailand under the name “M. estherae Blue” certainly do not belong to the species M. estherae, but are M. callainos with some M. zebra blood. For all hobbyists who just want to keep beautiful blue Malawi cichlids, Malawi cichlids from Far Eastern breeding are a good choice.
The first documented domesticated form of the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) was a Spadetail. That was in 1849. At that time certainly fighting fishes were bred for a long time, but they resembled more or less the wild fishes and were selected only for their fighting characteristics. The appearance of these animals was a minor matter. Only much later, when fighting fish were bred for export as ornamental fish to Europe and the USA, were veil-finned animals also bred. This was shortly after the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.
Nowadays the spadetail has largely disappeared. We have now received very interesting and rare spadetails with yellow ground color and bright yellow gill cover stripes (in the wild species these are red) from Thailand, the mother country of fighting fish breeding. Short-finned fighting fish are generally called pla kat.
During the photo session we had to look carefully the animals did not hurt each other. Because unlike most Betta splendens, the animals of the Pla kat Yellow cheek Spadetail bite very early, when other forms still display harmlessly for a long time. Our trick: there were 10 adult females in the tank. So the males always dsiplayed only briefly (a few seconds) and were immediately distracted from each other again by the ladies. We can therefore assure you, dear readers, that all fighting fish involved in the photo session were brought back into their single rooms completely unharmed,
For our customers: the animals have code 390071 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Fully grown angelfish of the various breeding forms are comparatively rare in the trade. The reasons are obvious: The breeding is time and space consuming, because they are still cichlids, which demand a certain individual space for themselves. That’s why XL angels have to be comparatively expensive. But occasionally such animals are in demand and we then ask our breeders to satisfy this demand.
Therefore we have just such adult angelfish in color mix in the stock. With them it shows up clearly that probably all breeding strains finally – at least by crossbreeding – are to be assigned to the eimekei form of the angelfish. Pterophyllum eimekei is currently by most scientists not seen as an independent species, but as a variant of P. scalare, which differs among other things by a lower body height from typical P. scalare. However, this only becomes apparent in fully adult animals, the otherwise commercially available angelfish juveniles of 3-6 cm body length of both forms look the same.
For our customers: the animals have code 688707 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Finally we have the dwarfish Neoheterandria elegans in our stock again. They originate from German breeding. These are among the smallest livebearing toothcarps regularly kept in the aquarium. Males grow to about 1-2 cm long, females up to 3 cm, but usually around 2 cm.
The Teddy Livebearer, as it is called to distinguish it from the actual Dwarf Livebearer Heterandria formosa, originates from Colombia and likes it cozy and warm with 24-28°C.
Otherwise the animals do not have high care requirements, which even beginners can fulfill well. The water values (hardness, pH etc.) hardly play a role, everything is eaten, which fits into the small mouth. In addition, the species is completely peaceful.
The females of the Teddy Livebearer have only 1-2 young per day during a litter period, but this takes several days. Therefore, they should not be placed in spawning boxes, but in densely planted, small extra aquariums, from which the young are collected daily and transferred to a rearing aquarium.
For our customers: N. elegans has code 438352 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Lexicon: Heterandria: means “different male”. Neoheterandria: means “new heterandria”. elegans: means “elegant”.
One of the oldest aquarium fishes is the Buenos Aires tetra, of which the correct scientific name was only recently determined: Psalidodon anisitsi. To most aquarists, however, the species is probably still known as Hemigrammus caudovittatus (or Hyphessobrycon anisitsi), and it is under this name that it is found in most aquarium books.
Since its first importation in 1922 from the inflow of the La Plata River (Argentina/Uruguay) this up to 7 cm long fish has not disappeared from the hobby, although it is quite fond of aquatic plants, which is not appreciated by most aquarists. But its beauty and unpretentiousness – especially with regard to the water temperature, which can drop to 14°C, which used to be an important criterion – let it find new friends again and again.
It is almost never imported from South America, all animals in the trade are offspring. Also an albino breeding form of the Buenos Aires tetra has been created and enjoys a certain popularity among albino fans.
It is important to keep this fish in a group (from 10 specimens upwards) in aquariums as large as possible with plenty of free swimming space, then it comes into its own best. The robust species can be kept very well as a by-fish to cichlids of this region (Gymnogeophagus, Geophagus of the brasiliensis group and Australoheros). Supplemental feeding of plant-based flake food can at least somewhat curb the cravings for aquatic plants.
For our customers: the natural form has code 256202, the albino form 256302 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Nannostomus, also known as pencil fish, propel through the aquarium like small, colorful zeppelins. The unusual, somewhat stiff-looking swimming style makes them unique in the colorful world of tetras. There are quite a few species of Nannostomus-species, but the Red Pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi), which grows up to 6.5 cm long (but appears smaller due to its slender body shape), is the species best suited for community aquariums. Usually it grows only 5 cm long.
Important for Nannostomus beckfordi, which originates from the central regions of the Amazon basin and Guyana (the photos show bred ones), is a calm fish community, so that it can develop fully. It prefers to swim in the middle and upper water layers. The males in courtship mood are completely different colored than the females, otherwise they can be recognized by the higher amount of red in the fins and the differently shaped anal fin. A water temperature of 24-26°C suits them best.
For our customers: the fish have code 271513 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The species of the genus Lepidiolamprologus belong with about 15 cm final length to the largest representatives of the Lamprologus relationship in Lake Tanganyika. They are predatory animals that like to feed on small fish. Like so many predators, they are remarkably peaceful toward fish that do not serve as food.
In the lake, Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus inhabits areas with sandy bottoms; it builds craters in which it spawns. However, the species does not spawn in the sand itself, but on small stones or shells found in the crater, because all Lamprologus relatives are adhesive spawners that must attach their eggs somewhere. Both parents guard the fry together. At breeding time they get black pelvic fins, as can be seen well in the animals on the pictures, which came in breeding mood in the photo tank.
By the way, L. attenuatus can easily be confused with a snail cichlid, Neolamprologus meeli, which has a very similarly marked caudal fin. However, the head profile of both species is very different. During our photo session, an N. meeli had accidentally snuck in with them, because when caught out – that is, in fright coloration – the two species look extraordinarily similar, and the N. meeli must have jumped in from the neighboring tank to join its cousins. In fact, Ad Konings argues that N. meeli should be placed with Lepidiolamprologus at the genus level. More about N. meeli can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/neolamprologus_meeli_en/
For our customers: Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus has code 541602 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Archerfishes can be divided into two groups: those that live in the brackish water of estuaries, reproduce there as well (all archerfishes are free spawners without brood care) and can also live in pure seawater. These species are therefore widely distributed along the coasts of the Indo-Pacific from India to Japan and Australia. And then there are the freshwater species that spend their entire lives in freshwater and reproduce there as well. Complicating things is that there are populations of the brackish water species that live in pure freshwater. However, you cannot tell from which population the brackish water species come from and therefore you have to rely on the information provided by the exporter so that you can finally care for them correctly.
Many of these findings have only been made in the last few years and have not yet become common knowledge. One of the pure freshwater species is Toxotes mekongensis, which, as the name suggests, is known from the Mekong River. We have now received this species from Vietnam. The pattern of markings with the long band in the middle of the body, reaching from the back to the belly, is typical for this species.
T. mekongensis grows to about 15 cm in length. It is not necessary to feed archerfish with insects (although T. mekongensis spits well and unerringly), but they need a lot of food. Ideal are dried stream shrimps (Gammarus) as basic food, which you give 2-3 times a day in small amounts (as much as will be eaten in 5 minutes). In addition, the animals take almost all food of animal origin that fits into the mouth, including small fish and shrimp. Only from the bottom they do not like to eat. Among themselves archerfish are relatively compatible. Females grow larger, otherwise there are no external sex differences.
For our customers: the animals have code 468512 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
If there is one fashionable fish that has defined the last decade, it is the Endler guppy, Poecilia wingei. This small guppy species has countless fans all over the world and efforts are made to preserve the “pure” strains of wild caught variants. However, in the wild these wild variants are by no means uniformly colored, on the contrary, they occur partly strongly mixed, and often only a few specimens with particularly striking coloration have been taken. By selection breeding, strains can be obtained relatively quickly, in which the males look very similar.
The “Campona No48” is such a cute dwarf. One of its peculiarities are the white pelvic fins in the male, which in certain stages of courtship are stretched far forward that they could form a straight line with a white line in the dorsal fin. As with all Endler forms, the black pattern elements are additionally particularly prominent during courtship.
For our customers: the animals have code 419019 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
In 1915 the scientist Carl Eigenmann described a new tetra genus, which he named Megalamphodus. Type species is M. megalopterus, an aquaristic very well known species: the Black Phantom Tetra. In 1997 Megalamphodus became a synonym of Hyphessobrycon. Of the remaining species assigned to Megalamphodus in 1915 (ecuadoriensis, eques, heteresthes, melanotus, micropterus), only the Serpae tetra, H. eques, is encountered in the hobby; the appearance of the others is largely unclear – they are known only from dead, preserved specimens.
Now we could import most likely one of these species: Hyphessobrycon micropterus. This tetra is considered endemic to the Rio Sao Francisco river system (it flows through the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Sergipe, Pernambuco and Alagoas in Brazil), so it occurs exclusively there. The Rio Sao Francisco flows in the east of Brazil and has no connection to other rivers, which easily explains the high percentage of species endemic there.
Whether the pretty tetras now imported by us from the Rio Sao Francisco, which somewhat resemble very intensely colored Pristella, really belong to the species H. micropterus, which has been described over 100 years ago, must be shown by further, time-consuming investigations. Only in 2018 an almost identical looking species, H. piorskii, was described, but it occurs about 1,500 km further north (Maranhao state in the Munim and Preguiças rivers).
For our customers: the animals have code 261853 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
We are proud to present this unusual first import. The rarity of this pretty large catfish in the hobby stands in strong contrast to the fact that it was scientifically described as early as 1876, is widespread (our animal comes from the Rio Negro in Brazil, but it also exists in the Rio Madeira, in Peru and in the llanos of Venezuela and other areas of the Orinoco) and is a popular and frequently traded food fish. However, the high color variability described in scientific papers suggests that several unrecognized species are involved. The genus Pimelodina is monotypic, so there is only this one scientifically accepted species.
Pimelodina flavipinnis grows to a length of about 40 cm, our specimen is therefore adult. Within the large catfishes of South America P. flavipinnis stands out due to its unusual snout shape in combination with an underslung mouth. This naturally raises the question of how and from what the animal feeds. The long barbels indicate the predatory character; however, stomach content examniations revealed aquatic insect larvae and substances that accumulate when chewing through soil, such as sand and seeds.
The preferred habitat of this species is riverine lagoons. In June and July the animals perform spawning migrations. We cannot say much about aquarium life yet, except that our animal behaves relatively calmly and does not tend to frolic; this is a feared phenomenon in larger fish, because panic reactions are naturally associated with a high risk of injury. The slight injuries that our animal showed after importation are therefore probably due to the catch. In Brazil, the professional fishermen who catch this species for food use long seines.
For our customers: the animal has code 278957 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
In the meantime it has turned out that these animals are Mylesinus paucisquamatus from the Rio Tocantins and the statement that they came from the Rio Xingu was a mistake.
New species of large fish are still being found in the rivers of South America, despite they have been well studied. This is mainly due to the fact that many species look extraordinarily similar. For some, such as the large silver dollars or pacus, there is also the fact that they undergo quite dramatic changes in shape and color during their lives; this is also called ontogentic changes.
The Rio Xingu is a clear water tributary of the Amazon in Brazil. From there, more precisely from the rapids area, two new Tometes species were described in 2016, namely T. kranponhah and T. anclorhynchus. The two species look quite similar. The main distinguishing feature is the mouth shape. There is also a color difference, because T. kranponhah has a black spot on the gill cover as an adult fish, which is missing in T. anclorhynchus. The two species also differ in final size. T. kranponhah grows to around 40 cm in length, while T. anclorhynchus reaches around 30 cm in length.
Tometes kranponhah is an endemic of the Xingu, where it is said to be quite common. In contrast, there are only a few collections of T. anclorhynchus, but the species is more widespread and also occurs in the system of the Rio Tocantins.
We can say little about the behavior. Our juveniles (10 specimens, 5-7 cm long) are somewhat quarrelsome among themselves, as can be seen from the slight fin damage, but this is kept within acceptable limits.
For our customers: The animals have code 297333 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The “Cape Lopez” (Aphyosemion australe) is one of the longest serving killifishes. It was discovered due to aquarium imports from Gabon (Ogooué River estuary, Port-Gentil, Cape Lopez, northwestern Gabon), from where it was first brought in 1913. In 1921 Arthur Rachow described it as a new species, then cautiously as Haplochilus calliurus var. australis. The close relationship to Haplochilus calliurus (today Aphyosemion calliurum) assumed by Rachow has not been confirmed, the two species cannot be successfully interbred beyond a first generation.
It is not even that unlikely that many of the Cape Lopez kept in aquariums today are still descended from these first imports. In the 1950s a golden colored mutant was added, which was given the scientifically invalid name Aphyosemion australe hjerreseni, and later a dark brown breeding form, called “chocolate”.
The Cape Lopez is among the simplest of all killifishes. It is a plant spawner and the eggs can develop both underwater and stored dry. Few killifishes are suitable for community aquariums, but the Cape Lopez is one of them because it is not very shy and is also uncomplicated with regard to feeding. Of course one must select a possible company with much expert knowledge, by-fish must be absolutely very peaceful and not too lively.
The life expectancy of the Cape Lopez is about the same as for similar sized livebearers (e.g. guppies), i.e. 1-3 years. The maximum size for Aphyosemion australe is given with approx. 5,5 cm (including tail fin).
For our customers: the wild form has code 304502, the golden 304702 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
We have received juveniles of the “Black Lancer” from Indonesia. The adult fish is pitch black with a white caudal fin and a narrow white horizontal stripe running along the middle of the body. The stripe begins below the dorsal fin and extends into the caudal peduncle.
The 4-6 cm juveniles of this up to 20 cm long animal look quite similar in places, but some have white markings on the body; however, they can turn these on and off depending on their mood. In the case of a Bagrichthys macracanthus juvenile, which appears black to the naked eye, the lighter banding does show up in the strong light of the flash.
We could import the beautiful species Pyrrhulina brevis already several times from Peru (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pyrrhulina-brevis-2/). This time they have a very intensive pattern in the anal fin, which reminds of an eye spot and corresponds with a similar pattern in the caudal fin. They are magnificent fish!
For our customers: the animals have code 286754 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
This is probably the most beautiful species of the bumble bee gobies, because the males (also some females) develop a splendid orange-red in the rear half of the body. The females are mostly yellow in color, but they are easily recognized by the comparatively smaller head regardless of coloration.
The species was and still is confused with B. xanthozonus. However, B. xanthozonus has more than 50 scales in the longitudinal row (our animals have a little bit more than 30); it is very questionable, if the “real” B. xanthozonus has ever been kept in the aquarium.
Brachygobius doriae grows only 3.5-4.5 cm long and therefore fits perfectly into smaller aquariums. We have magnificent animals in showsize in the stock, which come from Borneo. Some salt addition (1-2 grams per liter) does the animals good, but is not absolutely necessary. This is a brood caring species in which the male guards the spawn, which is pinned to a cave wall or the like, until the larvae hatch. After that the brood care ends.
For our customers: the animals have code 403705 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Lexicon: Brachygobius: Latin, means “short goby”. doriae: dedication name for the collector of the species, the Marquis J. Doria. xanthozonus: Latin, means “with yellow bands”.
From the upper Amazon in Peru comes the beautiful garnet tetra, which grows 3-4 cm long. The very peaceful animal actually has characteristics like a carbuncle, a gemstone, which in fairy tales has the ability to make the owner invisible: because the eye and tail root of Hemigrammus pulcher shimmer like gemstones, but the individual fish in the troop is thus difficult to spot for prey predators. Within the species the luminous markings serve for recognition of conspecifics in the dark home waters.
Perhaps in the first moment one passes it by carelessly in the pet shop, because in the bright dealer tank it does not appear very colorful, but this changes when the carbuncle tetra comes into a well planted aquarium with subdued light! As is common with tetras, the male is smaller and more delicate than the female. The garnet tetra is an ideal combination to the neon tetra, which comes from the same region.
For our customers: the animals have code 257002 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The tetras of the genus Leporinus (the genus name is a derivative of the Latin word “lepus” for “hare”) belong to the characteristic river fishes of South America. They owe their name to the shape of their mouth in combination with the elongated “hare teeth” in the lower jaw of some species, which reminded the genus descriptor of hare snouts. About 90 species have been scientifically described. Exactly how many species there are, however, is a matter of debate, as it is difficult to distinguish one species from another.
The only species regularly available in the pet trade is certainly Leporinus fasciatus. On golden-yellow, sometimes silver-white ground the vertical bands stand out effectively. This widespread species grows to a length of about 40 cm and we currently have both wild caught specimens from Venezuela and captive bred specimens from Indonesia in our stock. The pictures show wild specimens.
Very similar is Leporinus affins, which grows about 25 cm long. The word affinis means “similar” (meaning “similar to Leoprinus fasciatus”) and that fits it very well. The outward similarity of the two is striking at first, but you can clearly see that they are different species if you know what to look for. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the body ringlets below the adipose fin: in L. affinis there is one broad band here, while in L. fasciatus there are two narrow bands that are much closer together than the rest of the body bands.
Leporinus are very interesting aquarium fishes if you can provide the space for them. Among themselves they form a hierarchy. Important is additional vegetable food (leafy plants, like spinach, salads, dandelion etc.), also water plants are grazed with stump and stem. Concerning the water values the fish are undemanding, however humic substances promote the coloration. In soft, slightly acidic water they are very, very colorful.
The aquarium must be covered absilt completely: Leporinus jump incredibly accurate!
For our customers: Offsprings from Indonesia have code 265903, wild caught (currently from Venezuela) have code 265905 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The needle catfishes (Farlowella) are one of the most species-rich genera within the whiptail catfish relationship with currently 30 recognized species. The species look very similar to each other. Distinguishing features are mainly the arrangement of the bony shields along the flanks and on the abdomen, which is naturally hard to recognize on the living animal. From an aquaristic point of view, the shape and coloration of the snout process, also called rostrum, is more useful, but uncertainties in identification always remain with these animals.
From Manaus in Brazil we currently receive an attractive Farlowella species, which is probably F. amazonum. That this species is very variable is shown by the high number of synonyms: no less than six double descriptions are listed by Retzer & Page in their 1996 revision of the genus! Farlowella amazonum grows over 20 cm long. There is a great similarity to F. platorhynchus (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/farlowella_platorhynchus_en/, there also general care instructions for Farlowella), which by the way is also put into the synonymy of F. amazonum by newer authors.
For our customers: the animals have code 253633 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
If you like Danios you will love Opsarius! They are lively, very elegant swimmers, more similar in behavior and appearance to trout than to other danios. As a popular collective name for the group, which includes the genera Opsarius, Barilius, Raiamas and Opsariichthys with a total of about 70 species in Asia and Africa, “Trout danios” fits very well. However, the classification of the genera is not always unanimous, because they are quite similar in their overall habitus.
This is also the case with Opsarius barna, which was already scientifically described in 1822 and is now and then classified in the genus Barilius. Currently, however, the up to 15 cm long danio is classified in the genus Opsarius. In fact this is not only an academic question, because it has been shown in aquaristic practice that Opsarius species are much more compatible than Barilius species. In the case of Barilius – according to practical experience – it is necessary to keep as many animals as possible (preferably 10 or more) in aquariums as large as possible with strong currents, so that intra-species aggression is kept within limits, while Opsarius are also well tolerated in smaller groups (from 5 specimens) in normal sized aquariums (10x the body length with appropriate width and height) and aquarium-standard currents.
Opsarius barna is found along the foot of the Himalayas and is widely distributed. Accordingly, the adaptability is good. However, these subtropical fish should not be kept year in and year out at constantly high temperatures. 16-20°C in winter and 24-26° in summer (a few degrees above or below will not hurt, but should not last for long periods) are just right.
Eaten is dry, frozen and live food of suitable size, vegetable food does not interest O. barna. Males grow slightly larger than females and appear more high-backed. We know nothing about breeding Opsarius in the aquarium; the closely related Barilius and Raiamas species are bottom spawners, depositing their spawn in sand and gravel.
For our customers: the animals have code 372832 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Hearing the name Tabasco, the first thing that comes to mind for a Central European is the spicy chili sauce. However, the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) that bears this name is neither particularly fiery nor particularly red – it merely originates, like the chili sauce, from the Mexican state of Tabasco, where this population was first found by Dutch ornamental fish enthusiasts and brought to Europe (more informations on that are in preparation).
The basic coloration of the animals is an inconspicuous gray; what makes them very special is the golden bordered shoulder spot, which many (but not all) animals show. This characteristic is also known from populations from the Mexican state of Veracruz. So far this “Admiral´s epaulette” has not been crossed into breeding lines. Other interesting features of this wild platy from Tabsco are the partially transparent gill cover, resulting in a red spot, and a highly variable tail root pattern that can be completely absent, form a double crescent, or a Mickey Mouse pattern.
The particular challenge in long term breeding of such fish is to maintain variability. It is all too easy to succumb to the temptation of selecting particularly pretty specimens, which results in a uniform type after only a few generations that no longer has much in common with the wild population. To avoid this, as many color variants as possible from the respective population should be allowed to swim in the largest possible mixed shoal. This at least increases the probability that the diversity of forms of a population prevailing in nature will also be preserved among the offspring born in the aquarium.
For our customers: the animals have code 476577 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The genus Lithodoras belongs to the thorny catfishes (Doradidae). There is only one species scientifically described, which has its distribution in South America: L. dorsalis, which inhabits the Amazon basin; in addition, the species was reported from a creek near Cayenne (French Guiana), but the latter occurrence still needs confirmation. The maximum length of L. dorsalis is given with about 100 cm, it is one of the largest thorny catfish species at all.
We could import four Lithodoras catfishes now. Our specimens are 25-30 cm long, so probably young sexually mature. In contrast to many other thorny catfishes they are very active swimmers. Possibly they were caught on spawning migration, because in the two photographed animals (which by the way get along excellently and are good eaters) differ in the shape of the dorsal fin spine. The possible male has a dorsal spine whose shape is reminiscent of the shape of the dorsal fin spines of sexually active male dolphin catfish (Ageneiosus & Co.). But such indications are, by their nature, speculative. We feed our Lithodoras mainly with dry food (granules), which is eagerly accepted, plus Tubifex from time to time.
For our customers: the animals have code 266459 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
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