Although Hemigrammus coeruleus has a very wide distribution in Amazonia (Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia) and was scientifically described as early as 1908, it only entered aquariums in the early 2000s (at least recognized). H. coeruleus is a fish with two faces: in neutral mood it is pretty, but not spectacular and looks like a mixture of glowlight and three-banded tetra. But when he gets into courtship mood, it is a sensation! After it was celebrated enthusiastically at the beginning and also already offsprings appeared on the market, it has become quiet about this tetra today. Why only?
We think that it lacks a good popular name. The scientific name “coeruleus” (= the blue one) does not fit at all. It becomes blue only dead in alcohol. We suggest “volcano tetra”, because the deep red color of courting males actually reminds of glowing lava!
In 1997, the US ichthyologists Stanley Weitzman and Lisa Palmer published a scientific paper that caused a sensation among experts. In it, they described the new species Hyphessobrycon epicharis, but also commented in detail on a relationship group within the South American small tetras known as the “rosy tetra clade”. The authors showed, among other things, that the phantom tetras belong to this group and that the genus Megalamphodus, in which the phantom tetras stood until then, does not represent an independent genus.
The actual “rosy tetra”, i.e. the species that precedes the group as the eponymous species, has been one of the most popular ornamental fishes since 1933. Since there are a number of species in the rosy tetra clade that look extremely similar, it is understandable that there have been several misidentifications. At the first import in 1933 it was believed to be a scientifically unknown species, which was described as Hyphessobrycon ornatus. It sailed under this name until the 1960s. Then it was believed that H. ornatus was identical with H. bentosi from Brazil described in 1908. This was split into two subspecies, H. bentosi bentosi and H. bentosi ornatus. The current state of affairs is (fide Zarske, 2014) that the rosy tetra is in fact identical to H. rosaceus, a species described from Guyana in 1909 and to which H. ornatus is a synonym.
Regardless of the name confusion, the tetra still swims in our aquariums and is propagated by several breeders. This is good, because from Guyana, its homeland, for many years no or only very sporadic imports take place for most different reasons (mainly to high costs). The very rare imports then do not contain common species like the rosy tetra. It is a good example that conservation breeding can easily be done over decades if only there is sufficient and continuous demand for the animals.
For our customers: Hyphessobrycon rosaceus (“ornatus”) has under the name H. ornatus code 261402 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Literature:
Weitzman, S. H. and L. Palmer (1997): A new species of Hyphessobrycon (Teleostei: Characidae) from the Neblina region of Venezuela and Brazil, with comments on the putative `rosy tetra clade’. Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters v. 7 (no. 3): 209-242.
Zarske, A. (2014): Zur Systematik einiger Blutsalmler oder “Rosy Tetras” (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Characidae). Vertebrate Zoology v. 64 (no. 2): 139-167.
The Emperor Tetra (Nematobrycon palmeri) has been one of the most popular tetra species for decades due to its beauty and interesting behavior, and is available year-round as a captive breed.
Wild catches, on the other hand, are only available for a limited time and on a seasonal basis. We have now once again received a beautiful shipment of these animals from Colombia.
As with most tetras, the main difference between wild-caught and captive-bred tetras is that wild-caught tetras are much smaller and more graceful than captive-bred tetras, which is due to the fact that the food supply in nature is by far not as abundant as in the aquarium. The photographed animals are fully sexually differentiated (i.e. the males have the three-tipped tail fin and both sexes are capable of spawning) and yet they are only 2-3 cm long!
Regarding the colorfulness there is no difference between captive bred and wild caught fish: both are beautiful!
For our customers: the animals have code 272603 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Head-and-Taillight tetras were introduced to Germany as early as 1910 and were also bred soon after. They soon belonged to the iron stock of ornamental fish. Since then there are practically no more wild-caught imports. Now we have received head-and-taillights from Peru, which we initially mistakenly determined to be wild Hemigrammus ocellifer. Tetra specialist Flávio Lima pointed out to us that they are actually H. luelingi, however! He wrote: „This is not Hemigrammus ocellifer, but rather Hemigrammus luelingi, a related species. Hemigrammus ocellifer does not have the anterior humeral blotch rounded as this fish but vertically elongated and more faded. Also, it is a relatively stockier fish. Hemigrammus ocellifer is actually much more common and widespread than H. luelingi, which is a common species in western Amazon basin, especially Peru and Colombia, but not elsewhere.“
Many thanks to Flávio also once again at this point!
Tetra lovers should definitely pay attention to the differences so they don’t accidentally produce unwanted hybrids (if the two species mate). It is gratifying that another handsome tetra species is now available in the hobby. The animals look especially pretty in aquariums with dark substrate, then the luminous spots on the shoulders and tail and the eyes seem to literally glow.
Penguin tetras (Thayeria) are well known aquarium fishes. Of the scientifically accepted four species (T. boehlkei, T. ifati, T. obliqua, T. tapajonica) T. boehlkei is always on offer in the ornamental fish trade. Almost all of them are offsprings, although the species is widely distributed in South America (Peru, Ecuador, Brazil and Bolivia).
The Rio Teles Pires is an approximately 1,400 km long river in Brazil and one of the two headwaters of the Rio Tapajós. Apparently, a biodiversity hotspot for Thayeria is located in the Teles Pires: in a recent scientific study of Teles Pires fish species (Ohara, W. M. et al. (2017): Peixes do rio teles pires: diversidade e guia de identificação.), the authors were able to detect 3 different species: T. boehlkei, the then undescribed T. tapajonica, and another scientifically new species in which the lateral stripe begins only below the dorsal fin (as in T. ifati from the Maroni River in Guiana). They provisionally call this species “falso ifati”.
But the most spectacular new discovery from the Teles Pires probably passed them by: the Thayeria sp. Red Tail! It is a wonderfully colorful Penguin tetra, which combines all positive characteristics of the T. boehlkei (size, swimming, social behavior, demands on the aquarium keeping), only that it is additionally very colorful. Whether the species really originates from Teles Pires, we can of course not judge, but we can now offer this new gem in larger numbers as a German offspring for the first time.
For our customers: Thayeria sp. Red Tail Teles Pires has code 296752 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The large genus Leporinus comprises more than 90 species and still confronts science with hardly solvable problems concerning the delimitation of the species. Among the groups of species known for decades as particularly complicated is the group of forms around Leporinus maculatus. These are Leporinus, where at least a part of the flank pattern consists of round spots. Leporinus pellegrinii, which was described in 1910 from Surinam, belongs to the “maculatus group” (the spelling with two “i” at the end is the correct one). The author Steindachner later also assigned animals from the Rio Branco to this species. Unfortunately, the species was not illustrated in the scientific description, so that until today there are doubts about its identity. According to the present opinion the species exists in the Rio Branco, Essequibo, Tibit, Saramacca, Suriname, Mana and in the Peruvian Amazon.
We have at present very beautiful Leporinus, which are to be counted most probably to the species L. pellegrinii, in stock. Our animals come from Brazil, we did not get more exact information. It is a relatively small Leporinus species, which according to the available information does not exceed 12 cm total length (including tail fin). Among themselves the beautiful fish are peaceful, which is always worth mentioning with Leporinus.
For our customers: the animals have code 265933 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
After a long time we could finally import some of the beautiful Hyphessobrycon haraldschultzi from the Rio Araguaia in Brazil. The animals are clearly slimmer than serpa tetras (H. eques, “serpae”, “minor” etc.). The coloration is more reminiscent of H. amandae, because the red is – unlike serpa tetras – not a rich blood red but a beautiful crystal red.
The elegant predatory tetras of the genus Boulengerella are divided into 5 species: B. cuvieri, B. lateristriga, B. lucius, B. maculata and B. xyrekes. They are widely distributed in the major river systems of Amazon and Orinoco. Distinguishing the species is not easy, especially with juveniles.
We just received from Peru pretty 10-12 cm long juveniles of B. maculata. This species is very widespread (Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela). The mottling is much coarser in juveniles than in adult specimens (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/boulengerella_maculata_en/). B. maculata reaches a total length of about 30 -35 cm and should be kept in groups, thus needs sufficiently large aquariums.
For our customers: the animals have code 210703 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Head-and-Tail light tetras were introduced to Germany as early as 1910 and were also bred soon after. They soon belonged to the iron stock of ornamental fish. These first head-and-taillight tetras were identified as Hemigrammus ocellifer. In 1958 Hermann Meinken noticed that the head-and-taillight tetra in the hobby does not have a shoulder spot, but the “real” H. ocellifer does. Therefore Meinken described the old known fish without shoulder spot as a new subspecies, which he named H. ocellifer falsus.
Nowadays, it is believed that H. ocellifer and H. falsus are even different species, because they do not mix in nature. Since the “true” H. ocellifer (with shoulder spot) was considered prettier, H. falsus gradually disappeared from the hobby. Nowadays only H. ocellifer is offered. Practically without exception they are offspring.
The Hemigrammus falsus illustrating this post, however, are wild-caught. They came as so called bycatch from Peru to us
Head-and-Tail light tetras were introduced to Germany as early as 1910 and were also bred soon after. They soon belonged to the iron stock of ornamental fish. These first head-and-taillight tetras were identified as Hemigrammus ocellifer. In 1958 Hermann Meinken noticed that the head-and-taillight tetra in the hobby does not have a shoulder spot, but the “real” H. ocellifer does. Therefore Meinken described the old known fish without shoulder spot as a new subspecies, which he named H. ocellifer falsus.
Nowadays, it is believed that H. ocellifer and H. falsus are even different species, because they do not mix in nature. Since the “true” H. ocellifer (with shoulder spot) was considered prettier, H. falsus gradually disappeared from the hobby. Nowadays only H. ocellifer is offered. Practically without exception they are offspring.
The handsome red-backed bleeding heart tetra of the bleeding heart tetra group (three scientifically known species to date) is the most recently discovered, and was only described by Burgess in 1993. The males having elongated dorsal fins and a very handsome and conspicuous red dorsal, less pronounced also the females.
A successful breeding has not been reported so far, but wild caught animals, which, as far as we know, come from the Rio Erere, a tributary of the Rio Negro (Brazil), have been regularly offered to us for more than 25 years now. The conspicuous coloring comes however only with attitude in softer, easily sour water and indirect lighting to the full validity, in the dealer tank one can the beauty of these animals unfortunately frequently only guess.
For our customers: the animals have code 261655 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Text: Peter & Martin Hoffmann, photos: Frank Schäfer
Every year is the season for a desirable fish for large show aquariums: Salminus maxillosus. And every year after the import of juveniles the question arises: are they really? Because the mostly up to 60 cm (maximum 1 m) long Salminus – they are pure predators, which feed only on other fish – imitate in color a harmless herbivore, the Brycon hilarii. Brycon hilarii also grows quite large, about 40-50 cm. In the shoal of harmless Brycon, Salminus can sneak up close to prey fish. This is called “aggressive mimicry”. So color-wise Salminus and Brycon look very similar.
The first import of such fish this season arrived last week from Colombia. They are all Brycon hilarii. Brycon hilarii is a comparatively peaceful fish, although it certainly cannot resist the “appetizer” of very small fish. But among themselves the animals are very compatible, quite different from the quarrelsome Salminus.
The correct scientific naming of our Brycon species was somewhat questionable, as a revision of the group appeared in early 2017. According to it, there are four Brycon species with a distinct black band in the caudal fin: B. orthotaenia, B. hilarii, B. whitei and B. polylepis. Of these, only B. whitei and B. polylepis occur in Colombia. Both species look completely different from our imported animals (B. whitei has a dark longitudinal band over the whole body and B. polylepis is much slimmer built than our animals). B. orthotaenia looks very similar to our fishes, but is an endemic of the Sao Francisco. Therefore, for the time being we stick with the name as Brycon hilarii (this species occurs naturally in the Amazon and Paraguay River, but is much farmed as a food fish), even though future research may show that it is a different species.
After all, in order to clarify this question, we raised a few animals years ago. In adult coloration (the photographed animals were about 16-18 cm long at that time and reached this length in 6 months, with an initial length of 4-7 cm) there is no doubt in our mind that it is B. hilairii. In addition, DoNascimiento et al. included the species Brycon hilarii in the updated checklist of freshwater fishes of Colombia published in October 2017; according to them, it occurs there in waters belonging to the drainage of the Amazon.
For our customers: the animals have code 212700 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
Literature
DoNascimiento, C., E. E. Herrera-Collazos, G. A. Herrera-R., A. Ortega-Lara, F. A. Villa-Novarro, J. S. U. Oviedo & J. A. Maldonado-Ocampo (2017): Checklist of the freshwater fishes of Colombia: a Darwin Core alternative to the updating problem. ZooKeys No. 708: [1-114] 25-138
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
From Colombia we received Iguanodectes spilurus. This brings the number of Iguanodectes species imported by us in recent times to four: the red-striped I. geisleri and I. adujai, the three-striped I. purusii and now the golden-striped I. spilurus.
The lizard bite tetras (Iguanodectidae) are a peculiar family of South American tetras that got their scientific name from the shape of their teeth, which somewhat resemble the teeth of iguanas (Iguana). The popular adaptation „lizard bite tetras“ is therefore somewhat unfortunate. Lizards (Lacerta) have quite differently shaped teeth. Anyway: there are three genera in the family Iguanodectidae: Bryconops with 28 species, Iguanodectes with 8 species and Piabucus with 3 species. None of these species is imported more frequently, with the exception of the above mentioned Iguanodectes. Our knowledge about these fishes is therefore extremely poor.
At least the breeding of an Iguanodectes species was successful once (Böhm, 1985). Even if Böhm could not observe the spawning itself, the duration of the egg development with more than 10 days is very remarkable and to our knowledge unique among the tetras!
Some of our new imports differ rather strongly regarding coloration from the fish otherwise called I. spilurus in the hobby, which are also included in the import. So nowhere else the curved reddish band below the golden longitudinal band is mentioned, which many of our animals show. Possibly these animals are therefore even members of a scientifically still unknown species! But it could also be the other way around and these animals are the “real” I. spilurus and the other fishes without the reddish additional band belong to an undescribed species. Or is it a gender difference? There is still a lot to explore about the lizard bite tetras!
For our customers: the animals have code 264503 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
Literature:
Böhm, O. (1985): Gelungene Nachzucht des Eidechsensalmlers Iguanodectes spilurus. Tatsachen und Informationen aus der Aquaristik (TI), #69, (März): 12-13.
The so-called common hatchetfish Gasteropelecus sternicla is found in practically the entire tropical area of South America. In this huge area probably different genetic lines have developed. In any case, it is extremely unlikely that this is not the case. Nevertheless, they look extremely similar everywhere: they are simply success models of evolution!
A recent import from Colombia – we have Gasteropelecus sternicla practically always in our stock, sometimes also as offspring from Indonesia – is interesting because these animals originate from the Rio Magdalena. This river, which is about the size of the Rhine, is quite isolated from other river systems in South America and that is why many of its fish species occur exclusively there; the technical term is: they are endemic there. In fact, a hatchetfish species was also scientifically described from the Rio Magdalena in 1912, namely Thoracocharax magdalenae. Today it is considered a synonym of Gasteropelecus maculatus. Of course we were curious if the G. sternicla from the Rio Magdalena would look different than their cousins from other areas. Wrong! Nevertheless it is interesting to have seen them once…
For our customers: due animals have code 254406 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The African Red-eyed Tetra is one of the few permanently available tetra species from tropical Africa; the species lives endemically in Nigeria, so it is found only there. The species owes this to its magnificent appearance and the fact that it is very easy to keep. Unfortunately, the species is now considered endangered in parts of its range due to massive water pollution caused by oil production. Catching and exporting it as an ornamental fish has no influence on the population. Nevertheless: it could happen that this old aquarium fish has to be taken into conservation breeding one day to prevent its extinction. It should be noted that there are different color variants, which apparently live geographically separated from each other. In our current stocked animals, the males have yellow colored anal fin stripes and the females have a clearly separated spot in thatr fin. But there are also populations with red anal fin stripes, where the anal fin spot also looks different in the females (see pictures). Therefore one should always breed only with animals from the same import, in order not to risk producing a mongrel pet form.
The maximum length of Arnoldichthys spilopterus is about 8 – 10 cm, females are generally larger than males. It is very easy to distinguish the sexes by the coloration of the anal fin, only the males show the beautiful stripes in this fin. The care should take place in a shoal of at least 10-15 animals.
There are hardly any demands on the water composition, but Arnoldichthys are somewhat sensitive to organic pollution. The water temperature should be between 22 and 26°C. Every usual fish food is eaten. Plants and other fish are disregarded, as long as the latter are not too small. For breeding you have to provide the fish with approach food (small insects), otherwise the females will hardly develop eggs. They are productive free spawners without brood care.
For our customers: the animals have code 100204 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Lexicon: Arnoldichthys: dedication name for the eminent aquarist Johann Paul Arnold (1869-1952). spilopterus: means “with spot in the fin”.
One of the very first tetra species ever imported for aquaristics was the red fin tetra, Aphyocharax anisitsi. Its first import was in 1906 and it soon succeeded in breeding, making further imports unnecessary. It is very likely that the redfin tetras living in the aquarium today are also descendants of these first import fish.
Aphyocharax anisitsi was scientifically described in 1903 from the surroundings of Asuncion in Paraguay, but at first the imports were not correctly identified, but were thought to belong to a new species, which was described in 1921 as A. rubripinnis. Under this name one finds in older aquarium literature the information about Aphyocharax anisitsi. The natural distribution of the redfin tetra is in Argentina, Paraguay and southern Brazil (rivers Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay and the Laguna dos Patos drainages). Therefore the species is rather insensitive to low temperatures (down to approx. 14°C), as they could occur before the 1st World War because of the difficult heating possibilities of aquaria.
The species grows to a maximum length of 5.5 cm. Males can be recognized by many small hooks on the anal fin. They are very peaceful fish, which also leave plants undisturbed. No demands are made on the chemical composition of the water. These schooling fish thrive in literally any water that is also suitable for drinking. Nowadays most redfin tetras come as offspring from Indonesia, so also the specimens photographed for this post.
For our customers: the animals have code 206405 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The “Peru Bleeding Heart” (Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma) is exported primarily from Peru, but is quite widely distributed in the upper Amazon and is also found in Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia.
The three species of bleeding hearts are closely related and look very similar. H. pyrrhonotus is the easiest to recognize because it has a blood red stripe on its back that the other species lack. H. socolofi and H. erythrostigma are most easily distinguished by the coloration of the anal fin: H. socolofi has a bright shiny stripe here that does not run into the anterior tip of the anal fin, while in H. erythrostigma this stripe goes into the anterior tip of the anal fin, making a hook. You can see this well in the photos.
Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma grows to about 6 cm long, with caudal fin this makes about 8 cm total length, the females remain smaller and do not have such a long extended dorsal fin. The fish is rarely bred. The reason is not that it can’t be done, but because it is a portion spawner that lays only a few eggs a day for long periods of time. This makes rational breeding impossible, because 10 young fish make just as much work as 1,000 young fish. That is why professional breeders have no interest in these fish, but this is not a problem at all, because the Peru bleeding heart is common and thus means a good, regular and environmentally friendly income for the fishermen in Peru.
For a community aquarium Hyphessobrycon erythrostigma is particularly suitable and here a troop (there should always be at least 10-15 specimens, the gender composition is irrelevant) is a real feast for the eyes, which also regularly inspires even non-aquarists.
For our customers: the fish has code 260103 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
We have received beautiful Semaprochilodus from Colombia. Unfortunately the naming of the Semaprochilodus species was very wrong in the past. According to current knowledge, our animals are definitely S. laticeps. In the aquaristic literature and in the internet the species is mostly called S. taeniurus (this is another species from Brazil) or S. theraponura (this species is today considered as synonym to S. insignis and originates from Peru). Therefore we have listed the animals under the name S. taeniurus.
The “real” S. taeniurus can be easily distinguished from S. latipes. S. taeniurus lacks the black stripe behind the opercle completely and the species is much more slender than S. latipes.
For care the species affiliation is irrelevant, because all Semaprochilodus grow to 30-40 cm in length and are beautiful, impressive large tetras. They are Aufwuchs and detritus eaters and can be compared aquaristically quite well with kissing gouramis (Helostoma). Like the latter they have only a narrow throat and cannot do much with coarse food, which is why they can also be kept with much smaller fish. Among themselves they are sometimes somewhat incompatible. This can be counteracted by keeping at least 5-6 specimens together.
Our animals are currently 11-14 cm long and show partly quite pronounced sex differences. At least in some specimens the dorsal fin is extended long (male?) and in others of the same size not (female?). In nature, these fish perform spectacular spawning migrations, during which the huge shoals also overcome rapids and waterfalls, similar to salmon in Europe in the past. Semaprochilodus do not practice brood care, they are prolific free spawners.
For our customers: the animals have code 290508 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The tetra Astyanax fasciatus is – if one follows the literature until the recent past – the most widespread fish in America, from the Rio Negro in Argentina to the Rio Grande in Texas. This was doubted early on, but the similarity of these fish was enormous no matter where they were caught. Only a few years ago it was possible to create an overview based on modern views. According to this, the actual A. fasciatus only occurs in the Rio Sao Francisco in Brazil. The Mexican and Central American representatives of this group were subsequently merged under “Astyanax aeneus”. Schmitter-Soto processed the group in 2017. He concludes that there are 19 valid species behind A. aeneus, plus 14 synonyms. Difficult remains: they all look extremely similar.
Aquaristically, all these Astyanax are of no importance. They are silvery fishes, which grow 10-15 cm long. There is only one reason why Astyanax mexicanus, a species which according to Schmitter-Soto is restricted to the Rio Balsas basin in Mexico, makes some aquarists curious: it is supposed to be the seeing ancestral form of the Blind Cave Tetra (Anoptichthys jordani, according to other authors also Astyanax jordani)! Unfortunately Schmitter-Soto does not comment on this.
If you look at both together, there are hardly any similarities. Nevertheless: we are pleased to be able to offer some Astyanax mexicanus to aquarists interested in natural history, which by the way are offsprings from the Wilhelma in Stuttgart. We have adopted the name under which we received them. In comparison these fishes fit well to the diagnosis of A. mexicanus in Schmitter-Soto.
For our customers: the animals have code 209003 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Literature:
Schmitter-Soto, J. J. (2017): A revision of Astyanax (Characiformes: Characidae) in Central and North America, with the description of nine new species. Journal of Natural History v. 51 (no. 23/24): [1-94] 1331-1424.
Already since 1958 a tetra from Peru enjoys great popularity among aquarists under the fantasy name “Hyphessobrycon robertsi”. The males like to impress each other with their enormously extended dorsal fins, which led to the German common name “Sichelsalmler” (= sickle tetra). However, the species was not scientifically named for a long time. In a study on the relationship of the „rosy tetras”, to which the robertsi-tetra belongs, the scientists Stanley Weitzman and Lisa Palmer assumed in 1997 that the animals were the same species as Hyphessobrycon bentosi.
Then Axel Zarske of the Senckenberg Museum presented a new study in 2014 in which he identified differences between Hyphessobrycon bentosi and the robertsi-tetra. He concluded that the two belong to different species and described the robertsi-tetra with the valid name Hyphessobrycon jackrobertsi. With this Zarske honors the discoverer of the species, Jack Roberts from Miami, who was already meant with the invalid name “robertsi”.
We just have again beautiful young adult wild specimens of the species in the stock. The type specimens for the first description of H. jackrobertsi originated also from our fishhouse.
For our customers: the animals have code 261703 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The species-rich genus Leporinus includes some quite large trout-sized species, which are therefore, despite their beauty, rather used as food fish than as ornamental fish. However, there are also species that remain small, such as Leporinus sexstriatus, which reaches only 10-12 cm.
This small Leporinus is a zoological rarity, because the species has only a small, remote distribution area. So far it has been found only in the Rio Papagaio (Mato Grosso) and in the Rio Juruena (one of the headwaters of the Tapajós) in Brazil. The price is still very high, but the breeding has already been successful, so we expect that this beautiful novelty will be available for many hobbyists in a few years.
At the moment we have one specimen of this treasure in our stock.
For our customers: the 6-8 cm long animal has code 265993 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Finally we were once more able to import some of the very rarely offered Leporellus vittatus from the Rio Xingu in Brazil. This extraordinary species attains a length of approximately 25 cm and belongs to the headstander tetra relationship. However, in Leporellus the air bladder is mostly reduced and so the fish live strictly bottom orientated.
Our animals are currently 7-12 cm long. Like all headstanders, these fish establish a hierarchy among themselves. They look most beautiful in strongly lightened aquaria with a good current. Leporellus feed readily on any type of fishfood, but all headstanders have a type of teeth that are specialized for feeding on plant material. So one should offer the fish a great variety of plant material for a proper feeding.
For our customers: the fish have code 265725 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Leporellus: diminuative of Leoprinus, eg “small Leporinus”; Leporinus is another genus of tetra. vittatus: Latin, means “striped”.
Suggestion of a common name: Yellow-golden Striped Tetra
The unusual term “Aphyoditeinae” is a collective term for small-sized tetra genera in the form of a subfamily, which could not be reasonably placed anywhere else. The world-renowned tetra specialist Jaques Géry introduced the term in 1972 in reference to the genus Aphyodite, but not as a subgenus, but as a vaguely defined term Aphyoditeini. The small Morse tetra, which is the subject here, is scientifically still undescribed. It has characteristics of many different genera, probably therefore even a new genus must be created for it. Until then, however, it needs a provisional name in the trade, because it must somehow be recorded in the merchandise management system. That’s why we decided to group it in Aphyoditeinae when it was first imported in 2006. Others refer to it as Hemigrammus or Brittanichthys sp. The very apt and catchy name Morse tetra has caught on with everyone.
This tiny, only 2 – 2,5 cm long growing fish is a very calm representative of the tetras. It comes from Peru, more detailed information is missing. Mostly it stands near a conspecific, the head slightly tilted downwards, and twitches now and then with the fins. Unnecessary movements are far away from him. That is why the Morse tetra is an ideal fish for small aquariums, so-called nano tanks. The care is easy and corresponds in all basic features to that of the Neon Tetra (Paracheirodon innesi).
For our customers: the animals have code 206173 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The marble hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata) is a very common, small-bodied surface fish in the wild. Its maximum length is about 4.5 cm. A very dark form (“vesca”) comes from the upper Amazon (Peru) , a lighter, more delicately marked one from the middle Amazon (Brazil). For “vesca” see here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/carnegiella-strigata-vesca-2/ From Brazil we have just large, fully grown specimens in stock.
When caring for them, it is important to keep in mind that these fish have a high food requirement. One should feed at least 2x, better 3-4x daily, but always only as much as is eaten up completely in a few minutes. An automatic feeder can be helpful. Maybe it is the hugely enlarged ventral keel, where the “flight muscles” are attached, which is responsible for the fact that the stomach is not very expandable and therefore the fish have to eat frequently. If you pay attention to this, you will enjoy these beautiful animals for a long time.
For our customers: the fish have code 214205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
For the first time we could import large (10-12 cm), beautiful Lebiasina tetras from Colombia. The species identification is not completely sure. The animals originate from the Choco region in the south of Colombia; from there e.g. the emperor tetras Nematobrycon lacortei and N. palmeri are exported regularly, between which also young individuals of Lebiasina are found from time to time. In the Choco region there are seven Lebiasina species, namely L. astrigata, L. aureoguttata, L. chocoensis, L. festae, L. narinensi and L. multimaculatus. Of these species, L. astrigata, L. chocoensis, L. narinensi and L. multimaculatus have a similar color pattern. Without more detailed research, only after optical comparisons, our animals come closest to L. multimaculatus. But since all other species are only known from alcohol preparations, we are rather cautious and add a small “cf. ( = confer, so compare with) between genus and species name.
In any case they are beautiful fishes. The sexes can be easily distinguished by the anal fin, which is much larger in sexually mature males of comparable size than in females. Unfortunately, these animals are incredibly incompatible with each other and also the photo session could be carried out only under greatest precautions with a pair. With their impressive teeth these animals cause heavy damage very fast in case of conflicts! The second attribute that distinguishes them is the incredible voracity. It took less than 30 seconds after the release and the two fish were greedily searching for the remains of a food tablet that was still in the tank from the previous session. One gets the impression that part of the incompatibility is also due to them trying to eat each other. Adding a large batch of Tubifex was supposed to distract the fish and did. The more dominant specimen, the male, ate the Tubifex immediately and then left the somewhat shyer female largely alone.
Lebiasina are undoubtedly highly interesting and beautiful fish, but because of their characteristics they are only suitable for (predatory fish) specialists. By the way, the animals are obligatory air breathers. About a possible brood care with Lebiasina nothing is known; they are – systematically seen – relatives of the pencil fish (Nannostomus and Co.). Also with these there is the sex difference with the enlarged anal fin of the males.
For our customers: the fish have code 265184 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Do you know this tetra? The species is unusual in several respects! First of all there is its strange species name, goethei. Was the species named after our poet prince and universal genius, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Unfortunately no. It was dedicated to the controversial eugenicist Charles Matthias Goethe (1875-1966). But that is rather beside the point. The little fish – it grows to only 3-4 cm in length – looks at first glance like perhaps the most common tetra in Amazonia, Hemigrammus bellottii, but it belongs to a completely different family and is actually a closer relative to predatory tetras such as the freshwater barracudas of the genus Acestrorhynchus. What you can’t see with the naked eye is that the dentition of Hoplocharax goethei is not made up of jagged incisors like Hemigrammus bellottii but of needle-sharp fangs! Nevertheless, this miniature predator is a peaceful animal that will not harm any of its equally sized tankmates. Maybe the fish prefers to eat fish larvae in nature, who knows? In the aquarium it accepts any common fish food, including dry food. By the way, the bright red eye of Hoplocharax goethei is much more brilliantly colored than in any other tetra species.
Until recently Hoplocharax goethei was imported rather accidentally as cardinal tetra bycatch from Colombia and Brazil; these were mostly single specimens. For some years we have been able to import a somewhat larger number of animals from Venezuela from time to time. Maybe one day we will even succeed in breeding them?
For our customers: the animals have code 258853 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
This interesting species, which we obtained from Venezuela, belongs to the Curimata-relationship. At the first glimps it reminds one strongly to the well known headstander (Chilodus punctatus), but it can be easily recognized by the black stripe through the eye. Moreover, Cyphocharax swims in a “normal” horizontal way.
Cyphocharax feed on Aufwuchs and look the whole day through on stones, roots, and plants for algae and the small animals inside them. Against each other C. multilineatus are very peaceful. Maximum length reported for the species is about 10 cm.
For our customers: the fish has code 251353 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Cyphocharax: from ancient Greek, means “Charax with a hump”; Charax is another genus of tetra. multilineatus: Latin, means “with many stripes”. Chilodus: ancient Greek, means “with teeth on the lips”. punctatus: Latin, means “spotted”.
This interesting species, which we obtained from Venezuela, belongs to the Curimata-relationship. At the first glimps it reminds one strongly to the well known headstander (Chilodus punctatus), but it can be easily recognized by the black stripe through the eye. Moreover, Cyphocharax swims in a “normal” horizontal way.
Cyphocharax feed on Aufwuchs and look the whole day through on stones, roots, and plants for algae and the small animals inside them. Against each other C. multilineatus are very peaceful. Maximum length reported for the species is about 10 cm.
For our customers: the fish has code 251353 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Cyphocharax: from ancient Greek, means “Charax with a hump”; Charax is another genus of tetra. multilineatus: Latin, means “with many stripes”. Chilodus: ancient Greek, means “with teeth on the lips”. punctatus: Latin, means “spotted”.
There is a conspicuous group of tetras in South America, which we will call “humpback tetras”. They have attracted the interest of researchers since the beginning of fish science (ichthyology), but proved to be a very difficult group in terms of their relationship classification. There are three genera of humpback tetras, which can hardly be distinguished purely visually, according to external characteristics: Charax (18 species), Cynopotamus (12 species), and Roeboides (22 species). The most important feature to distinguish them are the teeth. Cynopotamus are the most specialized fish eaters with long, tusk-like teeth, followed by Charax, which probably eat mostly small fish in nature and also have tusk-like but much shorter teeth, and finally Roeboides, which appear to be small animal and scale eaters and have small teeth suitable for rasping. Of course, this is highly simplified, but gets to the heart of the matter. However, some species are so ambiguous in their characteristics that they have already been placed in all three genera over the last 150 years …
We were able to import interesting humpback tetras from Colombia, which of course presented us with identification problems. The animals are of a nice orange coloration, slightly transparent like glass. They are currently 5-7 cm long. They are attractive animals, peaceful among themselves. After many attempts we had a sufficiently sharp identification photo, in which the teeth were reasonably well visible. According to the tooth structure it had to be a Charax species. Some animals had a black shoulder spot, others a black tail root spot , some both, some neither. Close observation revealed that the fish can switch this feature on and off, apparently due to mood.
There are currently (2022) 9 Charax species described from Colombia. We found the most similarities with Charax michaeli, a species described only in 1989, which is widespread in the Amazonian drainage of Brazil, Colombia, Peru and probably also Ecuador; of course we cannot be completely sure because of the described situation, therefore the “cf. ( which means: confer, so: compare with) between genus and species name.
Charax michaeli becomes about 20 cm long according to the available publications. We warn against keeping them with small fish (less than a quarter of the length of Charax), they could end up as food, but otherwise the fish proved to be peaceful, somewhat shy contemporaries with us.
For our customers: the animals have code 216313 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The tetras of the genus Nannostomus, called pencil fish because of their somewhat stiff swimming style reminiscent of traveling zeppelins, have been among the most popular ornamental fish for decades. They are very beautiful, usually peaceful and remain small. Three species swim at an angle with their heads up: Nannostomus eques, N. britzkii and N. unifasciatus. While N. britzkii has never been imported in numbers, the other two are commonplace in the ornamental fish market. They are extremely widespread (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana states) and occur in large numbers. However, there are distinct color differences locally. The variant of N. eques from Peru, which we present here, differs clearly by the coloration of the anal and caudal fin from the conspecifics exported from Brazil (Rio Negro drainage) (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/nannostomus-eques-and-n-unifasciatus-two-odd-birds/).
Nannostomus eques is a very peaceful species, which is always a real eye-catcher due to its unusual swimming style. You should always keep these fish in a group of 10-20 specimens, because they are very social and always stay close to conspecifics in the aquarium.
For our customers: the animals have code 271804 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
The tetras of the genus Curimatopsis are widely distributed in South America. The prettiest species is C. evelynae. Nevertheless, this attractive fish has hardly found its way into aquariums so far.
C. evelynae grows to a maximum length of 4 cm. The males can be recognized by their clearly higher caudal peduncle, furthermore the females always have a strong black caudal spot, which is usually superimposed by the red coloration in the male. This means any animal with a red tail root patch is a male, but not every individual without this patch is a female. Socially weak males show the red coloration likewise not or only indistinctly!
C. evelynae is a very peaceful fish, ideal for a community aquarium. It is most beautiful in water slightly colored yellow by peat or foliage, then a neon green stripe shines along the body flank, during courtship this green stripe turns into red in the male.
We were able to import Curimatopsis evelynae, which occurs in the Amazon and the Orinoco, currently from Venezuela.
For our customers: the fish have code 251314 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
In 1996, ichthyologists Santos, Jegu, and Lima described an unusual Leporinus from the Rio Xingu and Trombetas as L. julii. The new species is closely related to L. pachycheilus, an extremely color variable Leporinus species. Unique to L. julii, which was named in honor of Júlio Garavello, is the completely underslung mouth and teeth position. In 2008 the subgenus Hypomasticus, which was already established for Leporinus mormyrops in 1929, was elevated to generic rank and 12 species from the large collective genus Leporinus were assigned to it.
For the first time we were able to import 2 specimens of this rapids inhabitant from the Rio Xingu. In the photographic aquarium they behaved like two too large ground tetras, sitting on the bottom and supporting themselves with their strong pelvic fins. It can be assumed that in nature they have to swim strongly against the current and graze stones. Our two specimens are somewhat differently colored, one animal is darker than the other and has a strikingly different colored adipose fin. We do not know if this is a sex difference.
In the photographic aquarium the animals, in which intense red spots in the corner of the mouth and in the shoulder area are very conspicuous color features, were rather uninterested in each other, but the darker animal shooed the lighter specimen energetically out of its immediate vicinity after a certain period of acclimation. Because of the known tendency of Leporinus to quarrel, we have housed them separately in our fish house anyway.
The maximum length of the species is about 20 cm (standard length without tail fin).
For our customers: the animals have code 262205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Unfortunately the beautiful penguin tetra, Thayeria obliqua, from the upper Amazon is offered only very rarely, in contrast to its cousin T. boehlkei, which can always be found in the trade. In the trade are only offsprings of T. boehlkei; it originates from the Rio Xingu drainage in Brazil. A third species, T. ifati from Guyana is restricted to the Maroni River and is probably extinct in the hobby, while a fourth species, T. tapajonica, was only scientifically described in 2017 and has probably only been maintained in aquaria by accident. T. tapajonica is very similar in color to T. boehlkei and even occurs locally with it.
All Thayeria species swim obliquely at an angle of about 30° to the water surface. The contrasting black and white pattern, along with the unusual swimming style, breaks up the typical fish outline, making Thayeria better protected from predatory fines.
All penguin tetras grow to 5-6 cm in length and are peaceful schooling fish. We are very pleased to once again offer T. obliqua from Peru.
For our customers: Thayeria obliqua has code 296704 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The tetras belonging to the genus Pyrrhulina combine the advantages of two basic groups of ornamental fish. The first group are the schooling species that are always visible and swim merely in the open water: tetras and barbs. The second group has a fascinating behaviour and takes care for the brood: the cichlids and the labyrinth fish.
One of the most attractive species of Pyrrhulina is P. spilota. We were able once more to import it from Peru. The males of the up to 7-8 cm long species can be easily distinguished from the females. Males have silvery scales in the first third of the body and a contrasting marked anal fin. Both features are missing in the smaller females.
Usually P. spilota behave like „regular“ tetras and swim in the open water. They prefer the upper third of the water column, but can be found anywhere in the tank. Like most tetras they feed happily on any type of usual fish food – even dried food items – and don´t damage any plants. So far their behaviour is much alike other tetras.
But when the breeding season comes everything changes. Now the males occupy territories, preferably around a plant with broad leaves, but if this is not availble a stone or a root will also do. For this is the substrate the fish spawn on. Most tetras are egg scatterers that take no care for their spawn at all. In contrast to them Pyrrhulina produce a pretty compact spawn that looks much alike the spawn of a cichlid. In Pyrrhulina, the male alone takes care for the eggs, like in labyrinth fish. And it is very serious with that! Possible tankmates have to take good care not come too close to the spawning site! When the offspring hatches and leaves the leaf the male´s job is done and it turns back to the behaviour of a regular tetra…
For our customers: P. spilota have code 286782 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in limited numbers only!
The marble hatchetfish (Carnegiella strigata) is the ideal aquarium fish. It remains small (4 cm), is peaceful and has an interesting coloration. The species is widely distributed in South America (Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Peru and Suriname) and common. That is why it is almost always found in the offer of the ornamental fish trade.
In the different distribution areas the marble hatchetfish looks different. In the past several subspecies were described, so fasciata from Brazil (Tabatinga), marowini and surinamensis from Suriname and vesca from Guyana. At present, however, the subspecies are not recognized. Perhaps the most beautiful, because most contrasting variant comes to us from Peru and is called “vesca” in the trade.
Hatchetfishes are somewhat skittish during acclimation and should never be kept with rowdy species. Ideal is a combination with bottom fish like corydoras catfish. When feeding, make sure that the animals only take food from the surface. Dry food is a good nutritional basis, but for breeding you have to put a little more effort and feed small insects like fruit flies. The sexes are not distinguishable externally, but females grow slightly larger and are plumper around the middle at spawning time.
For our customers: the fish have code 214304 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Since the first scientific description of Hyphessobrycon epicharis in 1997, this species is on the dream list of many tetra enthusiasts. Unique feature of this Rosy tetra is the shape of the shoulder spot, which distinguishes it from all other species.
The specimens on which the first description was based came from the upper reaches of the Rio Baria in the Cerro de Neblina area in the extreme south of Venezuela (Territorio Federal Amazonas) on the border with Brazil; no ornamental fish are exported from there. In the meantime it turned out that the species is much more widespread in Venezuela and Brazil (upper Rio Negro, Casiquiare and upper Orinoco), but always away from the usual fishing routes. The first live photo was brought by Hans-Georg Evers in 2000 with a cuvette photo of the Rio Miuá taken at the site. Later Kai Arend was able to photograph a pair in the aquarium of a guide in Venezuela, which he had caught above the mouth of the Rio Ventuari into the Orinoco and brought home.
Now, for the first time ever, we were able to import this tetra jewel. They are magnificent, very elegant fish, even though they hardly show any red color, contrary to many pictures on the internet. This is obviously a matter of local populations. Where exactly our animals come from we do not know, they were exported from Brazil. The females differ clearly from the males by the coloration of the dorsal fin. By the way, they are the more active part during courtship. During the photo session for this post, there were three males and one female in the aquarium. The female dominated the males! During courtship our H. epicharis develop a smoky dark coloration due to expansion of the black pigment cells (melanophores), while otherwise they are cistalline-transparent with a red tinge.
The unfortunately very expensive animals will certainly be welcomed with open arms by tetra specialists. We assume that the breeding will succeed soon and they will become accessible to a wider public.
It has been a long time since we could import the last time the beautiful tetra Gymnocorymbus bondi from Colombia. Very small animals remind strikingly of the Yellow Tetra (Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus), but with increasing growth the shape changes more and more to the one known from Gymnocorymbus. Now we finally got this orangefin tetra once again.
Until 2015, the orangefin tetra was known as Gymnocorymbus socolfi. Then, during a revision of the genus, Benine et al. realized that it had been previously overlooked that the orangefin tetra had already been described as Phenacogaster bondi and that this name is older than G. socolofi, thus has priority.
For our customers: the animals have code 254792 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Four species of the peculiar lizard tetras (Iguanodectes) are imported from time to time: I. spilurus, I. adujai, I. geisleri and I. purusii. But altogether there are eight accepted species and because of the similarity of these fishes and their wide distribution it is not always so sure if the classification of the imports is correct. After all there are clear differences between the four species mentioned at the beginning: I. spilurus has no red longitudinal banding; I. adujai has a very long anal fin compared to the other species; I. geisleri and I purusii have a tricolor longitudinal banding – red-gold-black from top to bottom. For pictures of I. geisleri and I. adujai see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/iguanodectes_geisleri_en/ and https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/iguanodectes_arrived__en/.
Now we have received from the Rio Purus in Brazil very nice three-banded lizard tetras, which we address as I. purusii; but it is also not excluded that it is a local form of I. geisleri, which is clearly different in color from the animals we received earlier from Venezuela; this is indicated by the low number of anal fin rays. By the way, these peaceful schooling fishes, which reach 6-7 cm in length, got the strange name “lizard tetra” from their tooth shape, which reminds of the tooth shape in certain iguanas.
Iguanodectes are extremely attractive, somewhat sensitive fish, which attract attention by their unusual body shape and swimming style. These fish are especially sensitive during transport and acclimation. Once well acclimated they do not cause any problems and please the owner for many years. We don’t know anything about a successful breeding; however, we have such fish in one of our show aquariums for a long time and there you can observe from time to time that single males separate themselves from the shoal and defend a broad-leaved plant (Anubias) against other males; females, on the other hand, are then intensively courted. Possibly they are adhesive spawners. Males are slimmer and more colorful than females, otherwise there are no externally recognizable sex differences.
For our customers: the animals have code 264402 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The diamond tetra (Moenkhausia pittieri) has been in the hobby since 1933. The species lives endemically in Lake Valencia in Venezuela, so it only occurs there (including some inflows and outflows). Usually it is only in the trade as offspring, very rarely a few wild catches come in.
At first sight the diamond tetra may seem a bit inconspicuous, but the glittering and sparkling fish in the right light are really a show and fully deserve the name diamond tetra. Add to that the lushly developed, flowing fins…
The pictures were taken from the fantastic wild catches that we are currently maintaining in our show room.
For our customers: the animals have code 269102 (offspring, medium) on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
There is probably no other freshwater fish that can show such a poisonous green as body coloration as the about 4-5 cm long ground tetra Ammocryptocharax elegans, which we were able to import in small numbers from the Orinoco darinage (Colombia/Venezuela).
However, the animals have an extreme color change ability and if they sense danger, they are camouflaged brown in a flash. You should keep the animals in planted aquariums, because only if they can sit on plants, they stay permanently green – this has been found out in field studies.
For our customers: the fish have code 203753 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Now we have received young sexed animals of the narrow-banded form (species?), 12-15 cm long. The males have developed – in addition to the modified anal fins, typical for sexually mature Myloplus males – black horizontal banding on the ventral side. To our knowledge, this has not yet been documented for M. schomburgkii. Possibly the phenomenon is related to reproduction, similar to the spawning rash in carp fish.
For our customers: the animals have code 270506 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small quantities!
To say it right away: yes, we also know that the species P. ternetzi is currently seen by most ichthyologists as a synonym of P. nattereri. This assessment is based on the fact that the “true” Pygocentrus nattereri is the yellow-breasted species from the drainage of the Rio Paraguay (type locality of P. nattereri described by Kner in 1858 is Cuiabá and Mato Grosso in Brazil), while the red-breasted “common” Amazonian spiranha should be scientifically referred to as Pygocentrus altus (described in 1870 by Gill from the upper Amazon) (Géry, Mahnert & Dlouhy, 1987). However, the scientific community has so far followed the aforementioned authors only in that P. ternetzi is seen as a synonym of P. nattereri, but the name P. nattereri is applied indiscriminately to the red- and yellow-breasted piranhas, which is certainly incorrect. Therefore, the name P. ternetzi is still used in aquaristic circles to have a name available for the yellow-breasted piranha of the Rio Paraguay inlet. P. ternetzi was described by Steindachner in 1908 from the Rio Paraguay near Descalvados, Mato Grosso, Brazil.
This yellow-breasted species is unfortunately rarely available. So we are glad to be able to import it once again from Paraguay at present. Typical for all Pygocentrus species is the more bulbous head shape compared to Serrasalmus, at least in larger animals. It is important for aquaristic practice whether a piranha belongs to Pygocentrus or Serrasalmus, because Serrasalmus species are fin eaters and are basically best kept singly, while Pygocentrus are schooling fishes that hunt larger prey. Since exporters often keep both genera together because juveniles cannot be easily distinguished, piranhas often arrive with severely mutilated fins – the work of Serrasalmus. It then takes some time for the fins to grow back.
For our customers: Pygocentrus ternetzi has code 293104 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
You think these neon tetras are nothing special? They are! They are wild collected ones from Peru! Although for sure 99.99% of all neon tetras traded worldwide are bred ones the species is still very common in the wild. And so every now and then they are sent to Europe as ambassadors of their kind.
It is quite interesting that the wild collected ones display a nice schooling behaviour which is almost lost in their domesticated cousins. So these small fishes are perfect study objects for comparable studies on the behaviour of wild fish and specimens which are bred in captivity over hundreds of generations. And always keep in mind that the neon tetra once was such a sensation that it was transported to the US from Germany in the legendary Hindenburg zeppelin and that the only surviving specimen in the Shedd aquarium in Chicago was lionized by tens of thousands of excited visitors.
For our customers: the animals have code 275512 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Only very rarely this “vampire predator tetra” gets into our tanks, because this species is extremely sensitive. So we are of course especially pleased that our specimens are very stable and in good health. We received the animals from Peru.
Cynodon gibbus is a predatory fish that feeds on small fish. The species is very widespread in the Amazon and Orinoco. The maximum length is about 30 cm, our animals are currently 12-15 cm long.
For our customers: the fish have code 251324 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Since a few weeks pictures of bright red Nannostomus are circulating, which seem to be unnaturally colorful. However, these are actually wild forms from Peru, which are very close to or even identical with the Nannostomus rubrocaudatus (the “Purple”), which is also found there. Like the latter, the novelties have a prominent black spot in the lower caudal fin lobe, a feature lacking in other Nannostomus of the form circle around N. marginatus and N. mortenthaleri.
Two forms are involved: one is called “Super Red Cenepa”. Their exact locality is still unknown. These animals have a deep black bar across the back and along the ventral edge, the fins are transparent or whitish. As far as we know, they have only been exported to Hongkong so far. The second form, of which we can show pictures here, because already small numbers reached Europe, comes from the Rio Amaya in Peru. We owe this information to Oliver Lucanus, who visited the catchers on site. Many thanks for this!
In the first imports we could see, all (80) fish were extremely red, only in some of them the head and the front fifth of the body was yellowish-whitish. We do not yet know if this is a sex difference or a variance in the coloration of the males. Elsewhere, females were included in shipments that were not outwardly different from Nannostomus rubrocaudatus females. We cannot decide if these are true females of Nannostomus sp. “Super Red” or if the exporters simply met the request for females from their customers in Europe, Asia and America by supplying females of N. rubrocaudatus. In the opinion of O. Lucanus, the females of the „Super Red“ are merely paler red in color, but otherwise resemble the males. As said, we do not know. But they are beautiful fish, that has to be said!
Again we succeeded in importing the unfortunately very rarely offered, very attractive Hyphessobrycon micropterus from the Rio Sao Francisco in Brazil.
So far we could import this probably most beautiful of all Leporinus only once: Leporinus sp. “Strawberry”. That was in the season 2010/2011, in which we managed two imports in small numbers. For these fishes please see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/leporinus_sp_strawberry__en/ An interesting side note: five of the fishes imported at that time we got back in top condition only a few weeks ago and were able to resell them. So they are very long-lived fish!
Now there is a chance that more people will be able to enjoy these beautiful fish in the future, because we have been offered offspring for the first time. Of course we bought them and we didn’t regret it in any way! Already with their 4-6 cm length (the photographed specimens are about 4 cm long) they are extremely colorful goblins. We are quite sure that this species will become a perennial favorite if the breeding continues to be successful and the prices drop a bit as a result.
For our customers: the fish have code 265892 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Only rather rarely – every few years – and if, then always in the summer months June-July-August, we receive Hyphessobrycon socolofi from Brazil, in which the back shines conspicuously green; besides, the second cherry-red spot on the tail root is colored particularly intensively red with these animals. We have been observing this phenomenon for many years. We have not found an explanation yet.
In any case they are beautiful animals, an enrichment for every aquarium with peaceful fish!
For our customers: the animals have code 261994 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
For the first time we can offer this interesting and attractive tetra novelty: Hyphessobrycon sp. aff. bifasciatus “Ghost”. The origin of this fish is not known to us. Our breeder received the parents from Vienna. When the young fish obtained with them developed strong red fins, which they lost again when growing up, the close relationship to the Yellow Tetra (Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus) could no longer be overlooked. The “Ghost” has indeed, as one can see with certain incidence of light, still the black pigments, which form the species-characteristic double shoulder stripe of H. bifasciatus. The “Ghost” looks very attractive as an adult fish due to its ghostly transparency in combination with the deep black eyes.
The Yellow Tetra (Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus) was kept and bred in aquariums as early as 1925. It is very similar to the Flame Tetra (Hyphessobrycon flammeus). In fact, the Flame Tetra was misidentified as H. bifasciatus when it was first imported in 1920. It was not until the “true” H. bifasciatus was imported a few years later that the error was noticed and it was realized that the Flame Tetra was an undescribed species at that time. Both species grow to 4-5 cm in length and come from Brazil, state of Rio de Janeiro. However, the red is a blackwater form and therefore acutely threatened with extinction, while the yellow is very adaptable and still manages well even in nature destroyed by man. Wild catches for aquaristics have, as always in such cases, no influence on the natural populations.
Interesting about H. bifasciatus is that many of the juveniles have bright red fins. This disappears with the growing up. One only wonders: what is this good for? Because what we humans like very much, is noticed by predators: red fins! While taking pictures we noticed that it is mainly young females that have the red fins; during the random catch for the photo session all red-finned animals were indeed presumed females (because of the clearly smaller anal fin), while all animals with a large anal fin were presumed males; they did not show any red in the fins. All fish were about 2 cm long at this time. From then on, the females also lost more and more of their red until there was none at all.
In former times the Yellow Tetra was a popular aquarium fish, because it does not need additional heating in living rooms. 16-22°C is its comfort range, only for breeding it wants it a bit warmer. Nowadays the species is not colorful enough for many. But who knows, maybe the Yellow Tetra experiences a renaissance because of the enormously rising energy prices? Right now is one of the rare opportunities to acquire this fish, because we have wild catches in stock.
For our customers: Hyphessobrycon bifasciatus WILD have code 259653, H. sp. aff. bifasciatus “Ghost” code 259713 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Finally we were able to import once more one of the most charming dwarf tetras at all: Tyttocharax cochui. These very lively and absolutely peaceful blue flashes become only 1.5-2 cm long. The story how T. cochui was discovered is quite interesting.They were imported for the first time in April 1949 to Germany – as feeder fish! The mean importation was of the leaf fish, Monocirrhus polyacanthus. This species is a well known predator. It was not intended to let the leaf fish hunger during the long journey (at that time by ship over the ocean) and so a number of „young fish“ was accompanied in the transport can to feed Monocirrhus.
However, some survived the trip and proofed to be a dwarf species new to science. They were described as „Microbrycon cochui“ scientifically only a short time later. Obviously Monocirrhus polyacanthus became sea-sick. Great luck for the feeder fish!
For our customers: Tyttocharax cochui has code 298952 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The strange narrow hatchetfish of the genus Triportheus belong to the flying fishes of freshwater. This is already indicated by the mighty pectoral keel with the muscles attached to it and the very long pectoral fins. The fish are predominantly silvery colored and grow to about 15 cm in length, which is why they are only suitable for owners of large aquariums. Here, however, they enliven very much the upper area and are therefore excellent company fish e.g. for catfishes, cichlids or silver dollars.
The identification of the 16 species is tricky and there have been many mix-ups in the past. We have received a species from Brazil that is most likely Triportheus rotundatus according to the current revision of the group by Malabarba 2004. This species is quite widespread in South America and colonizes practically the entire Amazon basin. With a maximum of 17.8 cm standard length (plus the tail fin) it belongs to the larger species of the genus.
The care is not difficult. Apart from the space requirement, it is best to keep the animals in larger groups, otherwise they become quarrelsome, like many other tetras. They will eat any common ornamental fish food, but only very reluctantly from the bottom. Water temperature can be between 22 and 28°C, chemical water composition is indifferent, any drinking water is suitable for keeping. The sexes hardly differ, females grow larger.
For our customers: the fish have code 298703 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
The Coffee Bean Tetra is an exceptional species within the so-called Rosy Tetras: no other species has even a hint of such a large shoulder spot. The distribution area of the species is in the lower Amazon basin, the border area between Brazil and French Guyana. There you can find the Coffee Bean Tetra in the tributaries of the rivers Araguari and Oyapock – if you can find it! Because what sounds so easy on paper is not really easy to realize in the huge water worlds of the Amazon.
After Hyphessobrycon takasei had disappeared from the export lists for many years, we have now once again succeeded in importing a larger number of animals. According to our supplier it is still the same catcher who brought the animals before the export stop.
When the fish arrived at our place, we were skeptical at first, if they really were coffee bean tetras, because a big part of them hardly showed a shoulder spot. Within a few days, however, this changed and the H. takasei looked like you would expect them to. But it is interesting how drastically the tetras can change their coloration when disturbed!
Anyway, we are happy to finally offer again this beauty, which reaches about 4 cm in length and is an ornament in any well maintained community aquarium with peaceful fish and abundant plant growth. Our animals are still youngsters and thus do not yet show the whole beauty of the species.
For our customers: the fish have code 262092 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The tetra Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia was originally imported as “Lapis-Tetra” from Brazil; that was more than 20 years ago (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/?s=cyanotaenia). Since the breeding was successful this beautiful and easy to keep fish is now a common sight in the trade. The origin was mysterious for a long time, because the scientific description was based on offspring, but today it is known that H. cyanotaenia is native to the upper parts of the Rio Juruena (basin of the Rio Tapajós) and the Rio Guaporé (basin of the Rio Madeira) in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil.
The species characteristic of Hyphessobrycon cyanotaenia is the massive black longitudinal band extending from the posterior margin of the eye to the posterior margin of the caudal fin. This band is accompanied above by a bright blue band across the back.
As wild catch H. cyanotaenia is only rarely on the market, because it belongs to the fixed assortment of many breeders. We have now once again received wild-caught specimens, which differ quite clearly from the offspring we are familiar with due to their very bright yellow colored back. In the few golden animals, which are also included in the import, the back shines particularly intensively.
For our customers: the wild caught specimens have code 259843 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
One of the still very expensive tetra novelties in the aquarium is the very, very pretty Hyphessobrycon procyon from the Rio Aripuanã in the middle basin of the Rio Madeira. It looks confusingly similar to the kitty tetra, H. heliacus, at first glance. H. procyon and H. heliacus form a species complex together with the also very similar H. peugeoti and H. lowae. For differentiation see the article of Hans-Georg Evers in the journal Amazonas No 99/2021: 22-27, there is also a detailed breeding report on H. procyon.
Here therefore only the most important key data: H. procyon reaches a length of 4-5 cm. They are easy to keep tetras, which have no special demands on water and food. For optimal color and fin development soft, slightly acidic water (pH 6 – 6.5) is favorable, as well as secondary plant matter (peat, dead leaves, alder cones). Aquatic plants are not damaged, H. procyon are very peaceful among themselves and against other species of fish. The males like to display among themselves, which is wonderful to look at and ends without injuries. The best way to keep these tetras is in groups of 10 or more, the sex ratio is not important, but there should be at least two males.
Hyphessobrycon notidanos from the upper drainage of the Rio Tapajós in Brazil, which was scientifically described only in 2006, is apparently a quite multicolored animal. So there is the “Red Devil” with much red in the body and blue iris and the “Yellow Devil” with red iris. Both color forms are said to occur together in nature, but they are exported separately. They are really pretty animals, not at all devilish!
In collections from nature there were no specimens over 3 cm length (measured without caudal fin). Characteristic for the species is the pointed, extended dorsal fin of the males, which reaches almost to the adipose fin.
The care of the unfortunately still quite expensive fish is easy and corresponds to that of e.g. king tetras (Inpaichthys kerri). For feeding, the animals greedily accept any common fish food of suitable size. Hyphessobrycon notidanos is completely peaceful and does not damage plants. The water temperature in the wild is around 26°C, a value that certainly deviates occasionally by a few degrees up or down due to weather and seasonal conditions.
For our customers: the “Red Devil” has code 261263 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Hatchetfishes are normally wild caught. They are very common, easy to transport and therefore a welcome addition to the sustainable ornamental fish fishery in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. This is also true for the “Common” Hatchetfish, Gasteropelecus sternicla. For general information on the species, please also see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/ein-grosser-klassiker-gasteropelecus-sternicla/.
For some years now, offspring of this species have been coming from Indonesia, which is a very popular way to bridge supply bottlenecks from the wild. Such supply bottlenecks occur seasonally once in a while during high water etc.. It was actually only a question of time until albinos appeared among the offspring with their thousands of offspring. Et voilà: We can now offer albinos of Gasteropelecus sternicla as offspring for the first time.
For comparison on some photos you can see normal colored G. sternicla. These are wild caught specimens from Colombia, the albinos are offered pure.
For our customers: the albino hatchetfishes have code 254422 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
At present the small tetras of South America experience a new boom. Numerous species have been and are being described scientifically. Thus also the ornamental fish collectors leave their beaten tracks and look for these animals, particularly since currently peppered prices are paid for the novelties. Naturally, such a thing only works for a short time, then offspring of the particularly attractive species come onto the market, the less attractive ones disappear again and wild catches only come to us once in a blue moon as rarities for a few specialists. But we are still in phase 1 of this development and welcome the novelties enthusiastically.
One of them is Hyphessobrycon negodagua, which was scientifically described in 2001. Its area of origin is in the northeast of Brazil, in the state of Bahia. There, this tetra with a maximum length of 3 – 3.5 cm inhabits the Rio Pratinah, a tributary of the Rio Santo Antonio, which in turn drains into the Rio Paraguaçú, which is one of the important coastal rivers of Brazil without connection to other river systems. H. negodagua differs from almost all other Hyphessobrycon species by the absence of the typical tetra adipose fin in most specimens, the unique coloration of the males in courtship display also makes them distinctive. Freshly imported and not yet acclimated animals are silvery, but acclimated males show already after a few days their fiery courtship dances, during which they turn black, which contrasts very effectively with the white fin seams. The fluttering courtship swim of this pretty species prompted Hans-Georg Evers to call it the “Butterfly Dwarf Tetra”.
The care of the animals is simple and corresponds to that of other small tetras. Incidentally, the species name “negodagua” refers to a mythical man-like monster (Nego d’agua) that lurks at the bottom of rivers and attacks inattentive fishermen at night. Why scientists associated the small, peaceful tetra with this monster, they do not reveal….
For our customers: the animals have code 261232 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small quantities!
This cute dwarf tetra was described in 1913 from the Rio Madeira, where it was collected near Porto Velho. It is a typical companion fish of the two neon species Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. simulans and, as we know today, occurs throughout the range of the two neons, i.e. in the upper Orinoco and the Rio Negro drainage of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The maximum size given for Axelrodia stigmatias is 23 mm. Sometimes these tiny specimens are more yellowish, sometimes deep reddish in color. Very red specimens are mostly traded as A. riesei (see also https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/axelrodia_stigmatias_colombia_en/). The true A. riesei comes from the upper Rio Meta, a large Orinoco tributary.
Some Axelrodia stigmatias have an additional intense red stripe above the luminous spot in the caudal fin. It is possible that this represents a sex difference, but this has not been investigated.
The care of the dwarfs is easy, but they need very small food. The reproduction succeeds best in the species aquarium. Here the fish spawn daily in small portions in fine-feathered plants, if the water values are suitable (extremely soft water, pH around 5). An efficient breeding method is not yet known, but in biotope-fairly furnished aquariums (plentifully dead leaves at the soil, fine-sandy underground, moderate current, damped light) usually without assistance of the keeper a few young animals come up.
For our customers: the fish have code 209922 (yellow) and 209913 (red, riesei) on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
At the moment we can offer magnificent, fully grown bred specimens of Hyphessobrycon melanostichos.
Hyphessobrycon melanostichos is very eye-catching due to its bright sky-blue back coloration. The species was scientifically described in 2006 from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, where it occurs in the upper drainage of the Rio Tapajós. The species is distinguished from all other Hyphessobrycon species by the combination of the following features: a broad, black longitudinal band that begins at the posterior margin of the eye and extends to the posterior margin of the caudal fin; an oval shoulder spot; 16-18 soft fin rays in the anal fin.
It is very interesting that in this fish, similar to Hemigrammus coeruleus, the males develop a distinctly different coloration during courtship; many thanks to Peter & Martin Hoffmann for providing us with the picture of a courtship active male. Such changes in coloration are unusual in tetras of the Hemigrammus-Hyphessobrycon group, usually the colors intensify only insignificantly during courtship.
For our customers: H. melanostichos has code 261834 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.
Text: Frank Schäfer, Photos: Frank Schäfer, Peter & Martin Hoffmann
Literature:
Carvalho, T. P. and V. A. Bertaco (2006): Two new species of Hyphessobrycon (Teleostei: Characidae) from upper rio Tapajós basin on Chapada dos Parecis, central Brazil. Neotropical Ichthyology v. 4 (no. 3): 301-308.
Finally we managed to import Wimple Piranhas (Catoprion mento) once again. In nature C. mento is a scale eater – at least at certain times. In terms of feeding, right now is a good time of year because there are plenty of live white mosquito larvae now, which are an ideal food for Wimple Piranhas. Acclimated specimens will take all the usual varieties of frozen and live foods of suitable size.
A new fashion trend in the hobby is emerging: tetras from the Congo! The region was already often in the focus of the hobby, but it was about killifishes or cichlids. The large flock of silver glittering open water species was of less interest. With the discovery of the unbelievably colorful Phenacogrammus sp. “Fantastique” (in courtship dress) a few years ago, this changed. Because also the “Fantastique” looks rather unspectacular in the normal pattern.
Now, in the wake of the “Fantastique” all kinds of other species come to us, mostly under invented names. It is then often difficult to decide which species it is. Unfortunately, the animals are quite expensive.
One of the species, which has never been imported before, is the relatively small Phenacogrammus cf. taeniatus. It looks confusingly similar to Alestopetersius smykalai from Nigeria, but unlike the latter it has a black pigmented longitudinal banding that is either barely visible or intensely black, depending on the mood. In preserved specimens, this band is very prominent because the pigment cells relax in death. The rapid color change of many fish is due to the fact that the pigment cells can contract – then the color becomes almost invisible – or expand – then the color suddenly shines.
Phenacogrammus taeniatus is so far only known from Cameroon. Possibly the fish from the Congo is therefore a scientifically still undescribed species. However, all externally recognizable characteristics of the new import fit very well to P. taeniatus.
Who knows, maybe this tetra will also develop such a beautiful mating dress like the P. sp. “Fantasique”? The photographed male (recognizable by the anal fin shape, females have a “normal” triangular anal fin) is fully sexually differentiated with a total length of 5-6 cm, so the species probably does not grow very large.
For our customers: the fish have code 159122 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
These beautiful tetras were called Copella nattereri in literature for many years until a scientific study found that C. nattereri is in fact the species previously known as C. nigrofasciata and that the “C. nattereri” from the Orinoco and Rio Negro belong to a scientifically unnamed species called Copella meinkeni. We regularly offer this attractive species (further information here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/copella_meinkeni_en/).
For our customers: the animals have code 219803 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
The Rainbow Emperor Tetra (Nematobrycon lacortei) is certainly one of the most attractive tetras in South America. Its home is in western Colombia where it is caught in the catchment area of the Rio San Juan. Males and females can be easily distinguished by the color of the iris. Already in small juveniles the males have a red, the females a blue iris.
To the same genus belongs the usually better known emperor tetra Nematobrycon palmeri. Nematobrycon can only be described as schooling fish to a limited extent, since the males at least occasionally defend territories against conspecifics – and this can happen quite violently. Your aquarium should therefore contain structure-forming elements such as roots and large plants.
Emperor tetras can be kept in medium hard water, but for breeding it should be soft and acidic. They will eat almost all offered foods, for a good spawning it is recommended to feed black mosquito larvae (Culex) regularly.
For our customers: the fish have code 272504 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
From Venezuela we received very nice Myloplus torquatus. The up to approx. 25 cm long species is scientifically known for a very long time (since 1858) and in the course of time it was already assigned to the genera Myletes and Myleus. A very good recognition feature is the black fringe in the caudal fin, a color feature that is not known so far in any other silver dollar species. However, small juveniles look completely different (see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/myleus-cf-torquatus/).
Our animals are currently about 7-10 cm long and are already beginning to differentiate sexually. The males develop a more extensive anal fin and the dorsal fin – compared to the dorsal fin of the females – takes on a broader, blunted shape.
Myloplus torquatus is widely distributed in tropical South America and is found in the basins of both the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.
For our customers: the fish have code 270635 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Tetras, which – as Hans-Georg Evers so aptly put it – are magnificently white wine colored, have a hard time in aquarists. In the dealer’s tank there is usually nothing to be seen of the discreet colors and why, many ask, should one buy colorless fish when there are so many colorful species?
This opinion changes, if one gives oneself a jerk, and maintains a troop of perhaps 15 or 20 specimens of such white wine fishes in a well planted community aquarium together with the colorful classics (cardinal tetra etc.). Then you will notice that the “ugly gray ducklings” do not develop into magnificent swans, but they attract at least as much attention as their brightly colored cousins. The magic word is: contrast!
One such contrast fish is Hyphessobrycon dorsalis, which circulated in the hobby as “Hyphessobrycon minor” before its scientific description in 2014. It is the slimmest representative of the so-called “Rosy Tetras”, which are well characterized within the large group of small tetras by their white-black-white dorsal fin coloration. By the way, the fish from which the scientific description is based came from our facility. We imported them from Brazil via Manaus at that time, and our current import also comes from this source.
For our customers: the animals have code 261362 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.
From the Rio Xingu we could import the probably strangest of all headstander: Sartor respectus. Unfortunately there were only two specimens, which one of our employees acquired. Nevertheless we did not want to withhold this speciality from you, dear readers.
Sartor (there are two other very similar species, one from the Rio Trombetas (S. elongatus) and one from the Rio Tocantins (S. tucuruiensis) are specialized in picking insect larvae from the underside of trees and branches that have fallen into the water. For this purpose they have the tusk-like teeth in their lower jaw. The genus name “Sartor” is the Latin word for “tailor” or, more generally, someone who works with a needle. This refers to the long, needle-like teeth in the lower jaw.
Sartor remain relatively small, around 10 cm. Among themselves they are quarrelsome, as is generally known of anostomids, without serious injury. An exciting animal that we would like to have “more” of….
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, Hasamania 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.
The South American darters of the genus Characidium are unfortunately almost indeterminable. There is no current revision of the 95 described species, but additional species are constantly being described and it is known that there are still numerous scientifically unrecorded species. In aquaristics one therefore helps oneself by simply calling everything “Characidium fasciatum”, well knowing that this is wrong, and additionally numbering it.
The species, which we currently got again via Rio de Janeiro, is imported from time to time since the 1990s. In the Photo-Collection of Aqualog it is named as sp. V. Of all described species it resembles C. pterostictum the most, mainly because of the caudal fin pattern, which is much less variable than the body pattern.
This Characidium species grows to 9-10 cm in length. Juveniles have divergent coloration, showing a dark longitudinal band with fairly regular streaking; however, the caudal fin coloration is already distinctly species-typical, as is the conspicuous yellow patch on the edge of the gill cover.
South American darters are extremely entertaining fish, always curiously observing their surroundings. They rarely swim in open water, usually sitting, supported by their large pectoral fins, on some vantage point looking around. These tetras are among the few fish that can move their heads. Since each animal builds its own small territory, the aquarium should not be too small and well structured. South American darters can be fed with frozen and dry food without any problems, live food of all kinds is of course also taken with pleasure. Temporarily (a few weeks a year) this species should be kept cool (16-20°C), no demands are made on the water composition.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Yellow Congo Tetra (Alestopetersius caudalis) originates, as the name suggests, from the Congo. However, it is almost never traded as wild catch, because it can be bred very well. With a final length of about 6 cm it belongs to the smaller species of the Congo tetra relationship. In the course of its aquaristic career it has already changed the genus name several times and one finds it in the literature also as Hemigrammopetersius caudalis or Phenacogrammus caudalis.
Depending on the incidence of light, the animal looks different. In light from above it is yellowish-transparent, in light obliquely from above the back glows blue and in light from the side the body sparkles as if it is set with diamonds.
Alestopetersius caudalis is completely peaceful, but somewhat shy, which is why it should be kept in as large a group of conspecifics as possible in a densely planted aquarium that also leaves enough swimming space, with light that is not too bright. Each drinking water is suitable for the care. However, the animals show the most beautiful fin development in soft, slightly acidic water (pH around 6). The temperature should be between 22 and 28°C. All food of animal origin is eaten, no matter if dry, frozen or live food. A special joy for the animals is feeding them small fruit flies (Drosophila), a trick breeders use to achieve the most abundant spawning of females.
For our customers: the animals have code 138004 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The genus Curimatopsis comprised five described species until 2009 – now (2021) there are more than twice as many, namely 11! Curimatopsis can be divided into two major groups. First the C. macrolepis group with 6 species and second the C. evelynae group with 5 species. The best distinguishing feature of the two groups is the mouth position. In the species of the C. macrolepis group the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, i.e. it protrudes slightly, in the C. evelynae group both halves of the jaw are of equal length.
We could now import some Curimatopsis from Venezuela, which are C. macrolepis. This attractive little fish has hardly found its way into the aquarium so far.
Curimatopsis macrolepis grows to a maximum length of 6 cm, but at 4 cm it is fully sexually differentiated and colored. The males can be recognized by their clearly higher tail and the quite differently shaped tail spot. This is round or lengthways-oval with females, with the male on the other hand at the end moved out to a stripe, that runs through the entire tail fin. Depending on the social rank within the group, a red tail spot shines with different intensity. Again, only the males have this color characteristic. That means, every animal with a red tail spot is a male, but not every individual without this spot is a female. Socially weak males also do not show the spot or only indistinctly!
Curimatopsis macrolepis is a very peaceful fish, which is ideal for a community aquarium. It is most beautiful in a water colored slightly yellow by peat or leaves, then sometimes a neon green stripe shines along the body flank.
The mouth of Curimatopsis is toothless, a peculiarity among the tetras; accordingly, they are to be fed with soft foods, in nature they eat mainly detritus, that is, the “mulm” consisting of rotting plants and microorganisms. Live plants are not on the menu. Artemia nauplii, adult Artemia, cyclops and flake food are the optimal diet for the fish in the aquarium.
For our customers: the species has the code number 251333. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
Already in 1894 the three-banded flag tetra (Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus) was described scientifically; the animals on which the description was based came from the Brazilian state of Pará, more detailed information or illustrations are not available. From 1910 and in the 1920s, when the tetras advanced to the most popular aquarium fishes, also three-banded tetras came to Europe; these animals had a red, a white and a black longitudinal band over the entire body length – hence three-banded tetras. According to some sources, they came from the lower Rio Tocantins (whose lower reaches are in Pará), according to other sources from the southern tributaries of the middle Amazon (i.e. Rio Madeira, Rio Tapajós, Rio Xingu). A whole group of species has been named after the three-banded tetra – the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus group. They have a black longitudinal band as a common characteristic. From the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus group many new species have been described in the last years and some more are already known but not formally described yet; this makes identification not easy.
We have now received very nice animals of this group with the locality Apeú, whereby it is not specified whether this means the district of the large city Castanhal in Pará or the small river Apeú, which flows through the district of the same name, but this forgives nothing. Freshly arrived the animals showed only two stripes, one light and one black, which is why we first determined the species as Hyphessobrycon agulha, but after a few days of acclimation red colored scales were also visible above the light longitudinal band. We are now of the opinion that this is indeed the “true” H. heterorhabdus, while the central Amazonian form mentioned in the old literature probably belonged to the species Hyphessobrycon sateremawe described only last year (2020). H. sateremawe differs from H. heterorhabdus by a much wider black longitudinal band.
For our customers: the animals have code 261103 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
In our last post on this impressive and beautiful tetra species from Colombia, we wrote “This tetra usually grows to around 5 cm long, with 8 cm given as the maximum size.” (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pseudochalceus-kyburzi-4/). Since last week we know, this maximum size can actually be reached! Wow, that’s the first thing we thought of these huge animals.
Moreover, one of these XXL males has also developed spring fever and got into courtship mood. These gorgeous colors were not visible before. To be on the safe side, we took pictures directly in the holding tank; unfortunately, it came as feared, in the relatively small and inevitably bright photo tank the animal faded immediately, which is why we show here, in order to be able to present the colors in full intensity, also one of the aesthetically less appealing pictures, as we shoot them for documentation purposes in principle of interesting new arrivals in the fishhouse.
For our customers: the fish have code 283804 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
In 1957, when the first Green Tetras or Neon Costello (Hemigrammus hyanuary) were imported, the tetras were absolute fashion fish. Otherwise the comparison with the neon or cardinal tetra can hardly be explained, because H. hyanuary – which by the way is named after Lake Hyanuary in Brazil – is really nicely colored, but it has little in common with a neon fish. Much more striking is the animal’s contrasting tail root pattern.
The Neon Costello is widely distributed in the upper Amazon region. Mostly bred ones are offered, we have currently pretty Peru imports in stock. In aquariums with sandy bottom and subdued light, as it can be well achieved by floating plants, the animals are most beautiful. They should be kept in a group (10-20 specimens) at temperatures between 23 and 25°C (for breeding 2-3°C higher).
For our customers: the animals have code 256492 af our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
For many aquaristis the Bucktooth tetra, Exodon paradoxus, is simply the most beautiful tetra from South America. The splendid fish glitter and glimmer like diamonds and they never stay still. They hunt and hit their conspecifics permanently and an uneducated watcher may become quite concerned that the fish will eventually hurt each other. But this doesn´t happen. In the wild, Exodon paradoxus feed almost exclusively on scales of other fish. Their highly specialized teeth enable that. Like a flash they attack their prey and the victim doesn´t understand what actually happened. The game of the Bucktooth tetras has two purposes. First: the game fools the potential victims and makes them „believe“ that the Bucktooth tetras are not interested in them. And second: for sure this permanent swimming is a perfect training for the small predators.
