Where do the many Guppys that populate the aquariums of the world actually come from? The answer: they come from breeding farms, where these animals are professionally propagated, just like plants in a nursery. The largest breeding centers are located in tropical Asia (Sri Lanka, Singapore/Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam) and Israel. Breeding is carried out under strict veterinary supervision and is scientifically monitored by geneticists. Thus it is possible to offer the beautiful high-bred forms in excellent quality for decades, after it had come in the 1980s by failed breeding methods internationally to a true Guppy crisis.

But where does the name “Moscow Guppys” come from? Are these animals bred there? No, they are not. The name goes back to an article in the now defunct magazine “Aquarien-Magazin” in 1976. At that time Viktor Datskevich reported about the community of guppy breeders in Moscow, which organized an annual exhibition with 50 to 70 guppy aquariums. Two male guppys of the hobby breeder A Gribov were shown, which he exhibited together in a motley mix, contrary to the rules of high breeding. This tank was the crowd puller of the exhibition, which somewhat dismayed the “serious” breeders.

The two fishes pictured to the article were colorful mosaic guppies with triangle tail, basic color gray, the front body heavily reticulated, the hind body (from the base of the dorsal fin) black with green or blue shimmer. And since that time more and more Guppy forms are called “Moskow Guppys”. Originally this was probably done to make clear that they were particularly colorful and attractive Guppys. Later the term was used mainly for guppys with predominantly black body coloration, which had a green or blue iridescent sheen. Today a whole range of different Guppy color varieties are called “Moscow“, which actually do not have much in common with each other.

From Sri Lanka we get at present a whole row of very beautiful Moskows, Guppys of which we show in this post the color varieties black, green and blue.

For our customers:the animals have code 418673 (Black), 418683 (Blue) and 418693 (Green) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Literature:

Datskewitsch, V. (1976): Hübsche Guppys aus Moskau. Aquarien Magazin 10 (1): 4

Compared to the breeding varieties of Xiphophorus maculatus, the “common” Platy, there are only comparatively few breeding forms of the Parrot Platy. This is surprising, because this species is very variable by nature, hence the species name “variatus = the variable”. But perhaps this also makes it more complicated to fix color characteristics in a way that results in a uniform picture. The Xiphophorus variatus Highfin Orange is one of the few color variants that have existed for a long time.

Alpha males, i.e. the bosses in the ring, color themselves particularly attractively. With them the orange basic color is still covered by red, so that “Sunrise” or “Sunset” coloration develops. The high dorsal fin first appeared as a mutation in swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii) and was transferred to the two Platy species via crossbreeding. Interestingly, female Highfin platies seem to be very fond of especially high-finned males, although there is no use for this trait in their natural instinctive repertoire.

For our customers: the animals have code 442883 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

There is truly Babylonian confusion of language among the breeding forms of livebearers. This is unpleasant for everyone involved, but a solution to the problem is not in sight. Bulky descriptions do not look good on the offer lists, not every customer is a specialist and knows the breeder codes, and besides, nobody can tell the breeders how to name their animals. Therefore we try from time to time to bring some clarity into this name jungle.

The Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) we are looking at today is a not common, but very pretty breeding form. The body is red, scattered all over the body it has black spots. Swordtails (X. hellerii) colored like this are called “Berliners”, that’s why some call the corresponding Platy like this. In contrast to the Berlin swordtails, the black dots of the Platy never degenerate into cancer. Other breeders call black speckled Platy breeding forms Salt & Pepper, others Calico. But behind all three names the same fish is hidden.

For our customers: the animals have code 443553 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Although this small molly had been known since 1939, and studied in aquariums since 1957, its official scientific naming did not occur until 1975. It is the smallest member of the True Mollies (Mollienesia), which are currently a subgenus to Poecilia, but may regain full generic status in the future.

In the wild, the dwarf molly lives in the south of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Here it has been known only from three smaller, isolated river systems: Rio Cuetzmala (or Cuixmala), Rio Purificacion, and a northern tributary to Rio Cihuatlan (or Chacala). This information is still based on Miller’s 1975 data; no scientific research appears to have been conducted on free-living populations since then. The small range unfortunately makes the species vulnerable to environmental catastrophes.

Today, dwarf mollies are slightly larger than their ancestors that entered the aquarium in the 1950s. We obtain our animals as offspring from Southeast Asia. The alpha male photographed for this post has a total length of just over 4 cm. Wild-caught specimens were no more than 3 cm long. This is a consequence of living well in the aquarium, where predators, hunger, disease and bad weather periods no longer have a significant impact on the fish, quite unlike in nature, where 99.9% of the animals perish before reaching sexual maturity.

Care and breeding of the dwarf mollies are simple and roughly correspond to the guppy. You should always keep several males and females mixed in a group. They are not schooling fish in the true sense, but otherwise the hierarchy can not develop and one misses the fascinating observation that the dominant male – the so-called alpha animal – changes color to an almost black fish in a fraction of a second.

For our customers: the animals have code 280822 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The wild guppy from the Rio Morichal in Venezuela is also known as “orange line” among the specialists for wild forms of livebearers. These fish are a very tiny and slender variety of wild guppy, but not an artificial sport. In contrast to other wild populations of the guppy this one is known to be a bit sensitive. One should always take care that the bacterial content of the water column is as low as possible. Orange lines will get very fast very sick if this basic rule is neglected! These little jewels are perfect nano fish for experienced hobbyists.

For our customers: the animals have code 419115 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

This tiny fish from Peru is one of the smallest killifishes. The photographed, sexually mature animals are only about 2 cm long including the caudal fin! As maximum length 3.5 cm are given in the literature. 

Around this small fish jewel there were some ambiguities concerning the scientific naming. At first it was called Rivulus ornatus. Today it is classified in the genus Anablepsoides. In 2021 Huber described the little animal, which has its type locality not far from Iquitos on an island in the Amazon, as Rivulus collieri, the now valid name is Anablepsoides collieri.

As with all Rivulus-like, it is important to cover the aquarium absolutely tightly, otherwise these little animals will sooner or later inevitably end up on the floor. If you want to keep several males together, it is important to put them in at the same time, because they can get quite nasty among themselves.

These tiny fish can live up to 3 years in the aquarium, so they are not short-lived killies, but long-lived ones!

For our customers: the fish have code 343902 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

The Blackfin pearlfish (Austrolebias nigripinnis, formerly Cynolebias n.) is a true classic among killifish. Since its first importation in 1908, this small natural wonder has delighted fish lovers. It is only a maximum of 4.5 cm long (females remain smaller) a typical seasonal fish, which lives in nature only a few weeks. It uses this time continuously to feed, grow, bicker with conspecifics and spawn. For the latter, both partners dive deep into the bottom. The eggs laid there can remain alive in the dried out soil for up to 3 years. Fully developed, the larvae wait for the next rain. Once the puddle is filled, they hatch and the game begins again.

In the aquarium, the little jewels can live a considerably longer life than in nature. A life span of up to one year can be observed in the aquarium, especially if they are kept at room temperature (about 18°C). Higher temperatures shorten the life and increase the susceptibility of these fish to disease. They originate from the south of South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and southern Brazil), but are exclusively traded as offspring. The eggs require special treatment. Without a dry period for the eggs it is not possible to breed this species successfully. 

Important in the care is above all to take into account the enormous food requirements of these animals. Normally one cannot warn enough about the dangers of overfeeding aquarium fish, but here one may feed as often and as heartily as one likes. But above this, water maintenance must not be neglected! In dirty broth killies inevitably fall ill.

The sexes are very different in color; but don’t be fooled by pale males! After a losing fight, previously black fish become very, very pale. Females are also light colored, but have irregular brownish spots all over their bodies, which are always absent even in pale colored males.

For our customers: the fish have code 320502 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

There are three tiny Oryzias species in the Mekong River basin of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, which only grow to about 16 mm in length when fully grown in the wild; animals kept in aquariums can grow somewhat larger because they live much longer here (2-5x as long, i.e. 2-3 years). These are Oryzias minutillus, O. mekongensis and O. songkhramensis.

We have now once again been able to import Oryzias minutillus from Thailand. These tiny fishes are not very sensitive despite their small size. Their care and breeding is similar to that of the currently so popular Medaka (O. latipes), but the food has to be small and the water temperature should not drop below 18°C. In the aquarium it is advisable to give freshly hatched Artemia nauplii two to three times a week. Otherwise the tiny fishes like to eat finely grated dry food, frozen cyclops, microworms etc.

While taking pictures we noticed that there are also some equally tiny bycatch between our O. minutillus. They have a very different head shape and orange dots at the base of the caudal fin, and some specimens have orange stripes on the upper and lower edges of the caudal fin. The similarity to O. mekongensis, which we have been able to import occasionally in the past, is great, but the males have small hooks on the anal fin. This is the distinguishing feature of O. songkhramensis. So we can announce with some pride to have imported this species now for the first time (at least recognized).

Because of the delicacy of these tiny fishes, sorting them is prohibited. Any handling should be kept to an absolute minimum, because the risk of mechanical injury is simply too great. It is best to catch such miniature fish in nets as large as possible and then scoop them out of the net with a suitable container, avoiding contact with air. This way, injuries to the small fish are almost impossible.

For our customers: the animals have code 340053 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

A long name for a small fish, but this extremely pretty platy is surely worth to break your tongue for. The base coloration is snow white, the fins are transparent, the eye (the iris) sky blue. The famous “Mickey Mouse” pattern is emblazoned on the caudal peduncle, which is called “moon complete” in the breeder’s language. The vermilion dorsal patch, which in dominant males extends well into the ventral region and may extend to the root of the tail, stands out effectively from this.

Xiphophorus maculatus Platy Mickey Mouse White Red Tail is not a new breed in the actual sense – all mentioned colors are known in the Platy for decades – but in him it succeeded in a particularly beautiful way to combine these different characteristics to a new, purely bred variant.

For our customers: due animals have code 443253 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The rice fish of Japan are also called medaka and enjoy a great popularity. They belong to the first foreign ornamental fish ever, which came to Europe. Already in 1887 the first “golden panchax” were imported to Germany. But one cared for the fish at first wrongly. One wanted to do the exotics something good and heated their aquariums on 25-30°C (at that time a technical challenge, because electrical aquarium heaters did not exist yet). So the animals died out in the aquarium. It was not until over 100 years later that a new hype arose around the small cold-water fish in the western world.

When exactly the Medaka was domesticated in Japan is unknown. However, one assumes several hundred years of breeding history. Today, more than 450 breeding variants are distinguished. But you have to be a specialist to recognize them. Among the best known and already in the 19th century imported breeding forms are the golden yellow forms. Among them is also the “Pink”, which we have just received from Taiwan. They are strong, orange colored animals, some of which have silver glittering scales.

The only 3-4 cm long Medaka are perfect fish for mini garden ponds, where they reliably prevent mosquitoes. Of course, you should not put the freshly imported animals into the mini-pond now, but only when it has become permanently warm! In autumn, when the water temperatures drop below 10°C, fish them off and overwinter them indoors. Males are distinguished from females by a larger anal fin and a small gap in the dorsal fin. As with all Oryzias, females carry the spawn around in the form of a cluster under their abdomen for a few hours until they find an egg-laying site they like. The brood care ends with the stripping of the egg cluster.

For our customers: the animals have code 339753 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The striped panchax (Aplocheilus lineatus) is the largest of the Aplocheilus species. It reaches a length of up to 10 cm in the aquarium. In nature, such capital specimens are hardly ever found, because wild fish do not grow old enough for this. Accordingly, sexual maturity begins at about 5 cm in length.

Since 1909 A. lineatus live in the aquarium and are bred here. The origin of the fish is South India. There they look – depending on the locality – quite different, while the aquarium strains show a rather uniform outfit. Usually this fish, which is common in nature, is sold as offspring, but just now we can offer some wild catches from the Indian state of Kerala. It is very exciting to study such wild fish in comparison to their domesticated cousins!

For our customers: the animals have code 303623 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Again we can offer the friends of livebearers a special treat: Xiphophorus variatus Rio Coacuilco is a wild form of the variable platyfish that has only recently become available in the hobby.  The Rio Coacuilco (unfortunately we originally made a typo when adding the species to our stock list, the spelling of the river used here is the correct one) is a very fast flowing, small river in the state of Hidalgo in Mexico, where also the swordtail species X. birchmanni occurs. The Rio Coacuilco is part of the Río Pánuco system.

Variable platys are known to be very variable in coloration, even within a population. This is also true for the Rio Coacuilco form. Normally the fish are pale lilac with black speckles; the males always have a “pregnancy spot”, a band in the dorsal fin and rather pale vertical stripes on the flanks. In courtship the males become very beautiful: the chest turns yellow-orange, the tiger pattern becomes intense and two dark bands appear in the caudal fin.

We have also made a small film about these fish, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAhLK5fCkb4

For our customers: the animals have code 442988 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

In 1896 Jordan and Evermann described a spotted swordtail form from the Rio Chisoy in honour of Günther from the British Museum as a separate species, Xiphophorus guntheri (sic!); they knew that there occur also unspotted green swordtails of the species X. hellerii. Over 60 years later, in his revision of the genus Xiphophorus, Rosen declared Günther’s swordtails as a valid form, which he classified as a subspecies of Xiphophorus hellerii. It is important to note that Rosen did not recognize X. h. guntheri on the basis of the black spots, because Rosen excluded the common occurrence of two swordtail species in the same biotope, which were only distinguished by colouring details. So the X. h. guntheri in Rosen’s sense could be spotted as well as unspotted. Rosen included numerous spotted and unspotted populations from Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and Mexico in X. h. guntheri, which represents the southernmost form of the races around X. hellerii, as Rosen understood the species.

At present, no subspecies are recognized in the Green Swordtail, although several local forms look quite different. In seemingly eternal fidelity the aquarists hang on the name “guentheri (sic!)” for the spotted ones among them. The variant from the Rio Atoyac (Veracruz, Mexico) is such a guentheri. In 1985 Wischnath and Meyer reported about this swordtail population. They especially noticed it during a collecting tour in November 1980, because there were red-colored wild males. They were found together with “normal” green swordtails, of both colours, red and green, there were also black-spotted individuals.

Whether the Güntheri, which are bred today as “Rio Atoyac”, still go back to the collection at that time, we do not know. In any case, they are very beautiful animals, which all show a strong spotting thanks to breeding selection. Very attractive is the different coloration of the males, if the fish are kept in sufficiently large aquaria, which allow to keep several males together with a group of female animals. This is when alpha males with orange-red lower half of the tail develop, while subordinate males have intensely orange-red to transparent dorsal fins in varying degrees.

Because this form is so popular, we have them from different breeders in stock. Recently we received animals with orange-red backs; according to the breeder this is a selection breeding, i.e. the animals were bred out of naturally occurring color variants by selection and not by crossbreeding of breeding forms.

For our customers: the animals have code 476774 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The small island of Mafia is located off the coast of Tanzania. It is the southernmost island of the so-called Zanzibar archipelago and has an area of about 435 km2. In 1972 Edith Korthaus, editor of the magazine “Das Aquarium”, visited the island. She found there a yellow Nothobranchius, which one year later – in her honor – was scientifically described as Nothobranchius korthausae. Later, red males were also found. The females of all color morphs are colored the same. 

Nothobranchius korthausae is only known from a tiny species area with very few localities. This alone makes the species highly endangered. The few collections by traveling aquarists are not a threat to the natural populations, all scientists agree. There are of course no commercial catches of this species, all animals kept in aquariums are captive bred. The current aquarium population has a mixed heritage, i.e. all possible forms from yellow to red with intermediate forms occur. However, aquaristically more and more the red ones prevail, they are just perceived as prettier.

The relatively small Nothobranchius (4-5 cm) is not complicated to maintain. It likes soft, slightly acidic water best. It is one of the very few Nothobranchius species whose eggs hatch even if they have not gone through a dry phase.

For our customers: the fish have code 334502 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

From the only very rarely offered species Micropoecilia picta we can offer besides the attractive orange-red variant from Surinam (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/micropoecilia-picta-red-surinam-2/) also a second locality variant, namely from the island Trinidad. 

Perhaps this form may seem less attractive than the red cousins at first sight. But these little jack-of-all-trades more than make up for it with their lively courtship displays, in which the black and white dorsal fin is visually very striking.

For our customers: the animals have code 268538 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The Seychelles archipelago off East Africa in the Indian Ocean is known mainly for the giant tortoises that live there. There are hardly any freshwater fish in the Seychelles, most of the freshwater species were brought there by man as food fish. The vast majority of the rest – apart from a few gobies – consists of marine fish, which only migrate to freshwater intermittently. The endemic killifish Pachypanchax playfairii is something very special.

The Golden Panchax, as it is called in English, was brought to Germany as early as 1924 and has been bred in aquariums ever since. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, it was somewhat forgotten, because at that time small aquariums, especially with small tetras, were in fashion. There P. playfairii attracted unpleasant attention, because it can be quarrelsome under such conditions.

But a few aquarists kept faith with him and so we are very happy to be able to offer some specimens as German offspring. Concerning the water values the Golden Panchax is completely undemanding, in nature it even goes into brackish waters. A special feature of the species is that the scales along the back appear slightly ruffled. This is completely normal for this species, which by the way usually grows to 7 cm, according to literature up to 10 cm, and is not a sign of disease. The females can be easily recognized by the black spot in the dorsal fin, which is missing in the males.

For our customers: the animals have code 342402 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

The Marble Platy (Xiphophorus meyeri) is one of the rarest species on earth. It was known only from a small area in Mexico, where it was found only in very few places. The species is already considered extinct in the wild. As with its close relative, the Monterrey Platy (X. couchianus), it was the increasing water consumption in the region that caused the few occurrences to dry up.

So it is very good that some aquarium fish enthusiasts breed and propagate this – compared to the colorful cultivated forms – less attractive fish and thus at least preserve it for posterity. From time to time a few specimens come to us in this way. Our now offered fish are German offspring. This wild platy grows to about 3 cm (male) and 4 cm (female). Care and breeding are roughly similar to the well known parrot platy (Xiphophorus variatus), but X. meyeri is not very productive.

There is a conservation breeding program for X. meyeri, also known as Northern Platy. The head of the program wrote to us:

I just thought it might be interesting for you to know that Xiphophorus meyeri is extinct in the wild (last seen in 1997). This was published in the IUCN Red List in 2019. Just in case you want to update your information.

I am coordinating a conservation breeding programme for northern platyfish since 2018 and we are working hard to reintroduce the species one day – with major help from hobbyists. But that’s not relevant, it only explains why I care. I believe that people should know when they keep a species which is extinct in the wild…

Best regards,

Markéta

Markéta Rejlková

Curator of aquarium/terrarium

Zoo Ostrava

Michálkovická 197

710 00 Ostrava

Czech Republic

Many thanks for this info! This is – also against the background of a planned EU-wide positive list, which wants to prohibit the private keeping of wild animals in principle – very interesting! The EU would decide with a positive list by law the eradication of X. meyeri, because this relatively inconspicuous and demanding species would certainly not be included on the positive list!

For our customers: the fish have code 476532 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in small numbers only!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

A splendid new breed from Sri Lanka are the Guppy Galaxy Koi, in whose males the hereditary red head and tail markings have been combined with the body color of a Snakeskin. They are beautiful, very vital animals!

For our customers: the animals have code 418563 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

With a maximum length of 14 cm, the Tanganyika lampeye fish is the largest lampeye fish at all. It is found exclusively (= endemic) in Lake Tanganyika, where it lives in huge schools along rocky coasts. It is a breathtaking sight when such a shoal, comprising several thousand individuals, comes swimming around a cape like a closed jewel band. However, only the males are colorful. The females are much smaller and inconspicuous in color. 

Like all lampeyes, this species spawns in crevices. The spawn takes 3-6 weeks to develop. L. tanganicanus is a very sensitive fish, with high demands on water quality. The water must be very clean and germ-poor, the pH should be absolutely over 7. Against injuries of all kinds this fish is extraordinarily sensitive, why it appears in the trade practically only as offspring and in relatively small sizes. Large specimens are too vulnerable to injury. Fortunately, the species becomes sexually mature early and colors already with a length of 5-6 cm. 

For care it is recommended to have a shoal as large as possible in an aquarium as large as possible. Regarding food Lamprichthys tanganicanus is easy, it will gladly accept all common ornamental fish food. The fish is very peaceful but skittish, so for a possible company intended other species must be absolutely peaceful.

For our customers: Lamprichthys tanganicanus has code 328003 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer