18. Toothcarps: Killis and Livebearers (282)

Poecilia reticulata Guppy Moskow Blue, Green, Black

31. July 2023

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

Xiphophorus variatus Highfin Orange

26. July 2023

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

Platy red Berlin or Salt & Pepper or Calico

4. July 2023

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

Poecilia chica

30. June 2023

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

Wild Guppy “Rio Morichal”

26. June 2023

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

Anablepsoides collieri (formerly: Rivulus ornatus)

14. June 2023

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

Austrolebias nigripinnis

31. May 2023

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

Oryzias minutillus

26. May 2023

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

Xiphophorus maculatus Platy Mickey Mouse White Red Tail

19. May 2023

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

Oryzias latipes “PINK”

10. May 2023

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

Aplocheilus lineatus Wild

5. May 2023

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

Xiphophorus variatus Rio Coacuilco

22. March 2023

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

Xiphophorus hellerii “Rio Atoyac”

13. March 2023

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

Nothobranchius korthausae

6. March 2023

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

Micropoecilia picta “Trinidad“

17. February 2023

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

Pachypanchax playfairii

10. February 2023

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

Xiphophorus meyeri (update)

3. February 2023

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

Poecilia reticulata Guppy Galaxy Koi

30. January 2023

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

Micropoecilia picta Red Surinam

11. November 2022

At first sight the Micropoecilia species resemble the Guppy; however, they are not closely related. Nevertheless Micropoecila picta is often called “swamp guppy” in Surinam, because the species is not only very common in general, but also very common in swampy habitats.

Now one could think, the care of such fish of slightly disreputable origin (in the swamp it stinks properly!) can not be particularly difficult. This is true, but only for adult fish. The opposite is true for breeding: only very experienced aquarists manage to breed M. picta healthy over generations. Who thinks swampy origin saves water changes, is wrong! Fortunately we have a breeder who masters this difficult species and so we are very happy to be able to offer this lovely livebearer in good numbers and squeaky clean.

For our customers: the animals have code 268443 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia (Mollienesia) sphenops Marble Ancient

19. October 2022

The livebearers are the backbone of aquaristics. The hobby would be unimaginable without Guppy, Platy, Molly and Co. We notice two trends in the breeding of these fish: one deals with the wild forms, which were very rare or not available at all in the trade; and the other develops new, colorful breeding forms, but without the fin enlargement that used to accompany them, so that the charm of the wild fish is preserved, just in colorful. Breeders in Asia refer to these wild-type-like animals as “ancient”, meaning “original”.

The short-finned Molly (the correct spelling would actually be Mollie, as the genus was named after a Mr. Mollien), which we can currently offer, is a prime example of a successful breeding form. The beautiful animals are insensitive and show the diverse behavior of the wild forms. The position in the rank order is shown in the males in the form of the yellow and black portion in the coloration. The higher the rank, the more contrasting the coloration of the fish!

For our customers: the animals have code 432182 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Lexicon: Mollienesia: dedication name in honor of Monsieur Mollien; the genus is currently generally considered a subgenus to Poecilia. sphenops: ancient Greek, means “pointed head”.

Suggested common name: Antique Molly

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Lamprichthys tanganicanus

16. September 2022

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

Aphyosemion (Chromaphyosemion) bivittatum “Funge”.

16. September 2022

The Funge is a river or, rather, estuary in southeastern Cameroon in the district of Ndian. The Funge is less than 40 km long and is part of a system of coastal marshlands whose best known outlet is the Rio del Rey. This in turn is in contact with the Cross River drainage, which forms the border between Cameroon and Nigeria. From this wild, beautiful and internationally protected landscape comes the population of the killifish Aphyosemion bivittatum, which we present to you here. Of course the fish we can offer are, as almost always with Killifishes, captive bred specimens.

Aphyosemion bivittatum belongs to a well defined Aphyosemion group, for which the name Chromaphyosemion is available and preferred within the killifish community. However, scientists concerned with killifish systematics consider it premature to separate some groups from the larger genus Aphyosemion without an overall revision. That is why Chromaphyosemion is currently listed only as a subgenus.

Chromaphyosemion are wonderful beginner killifishes, as they can definitely be kept in community aquariums with calm small fish. Their life expectancy is as high as of other small fish species, so they are not seasonal fish. Usually such animals become 2-3 years old. Aphyosemion bivittatum is an adhesive spawner that lays its eggs on fine-grained plants, roots, etc. The eggs take about 14 days to develop. Since Aphyosemion bivittatum is considered to be exceptionally voracious, this species will also sometimes eat its own spawn, which is otherwise uncommon in killies. 

For our customers: The species has code 305512 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia (Mollienesia) sphenops RED

9. September 2022

The breeders in Southeast Asia have realized a new color variation of the good old Black Molly, which they call “Red”. This is not a solid red fish, like for example a red swordtail, but the breeding form “Red” of the Molly has red spots in different intensity on the scales. When viewed from above, this is particularly noticeable because most fish have more of these red spots in the top three rows of scales. In addition, there is a red colored chest to varying degrees.

So that no rogue thinks that this red coloration is a product of Photoshop, we have photographed some of the long time known golden Mollies with the new “Red”. In direct comparison the difference is very clear.

The beautiful new “Red” are available in traditional shortfin and lyrafin.

For our customers: normal finned Molly “Red” have code 432152, lyra finned code 432154 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Endler “Smoky Mary“

17. August 2022

Breeders can’t get enough of creating new color combinations in Endler guppies. The latest thing is the “Smoky Mary”, an Endler in which the entire back appears covered in smoke, which intesivates to a deep black during courtship.

Even though we don’t know the breeding way: the females of Smoky Mary are normally light colored, so they are not melanistic animals, like Black Guppies.

For our customers: The Endler Guppy Smoky Mary has code 419025 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus signum

12. August 2022

This species of swordtail is only very rarely offered in the trade. At the first glimpse one may think that they are a variety of the common swortail X. hellerii, but the species X. signum is much more slender. The mark that is responsible for the scientific name (latin signum = sign) is always good visible in females on the caudal fin base, while in males it is covered by the dark border of the sword.

Xiphophorus signum is, like most wild types of swordtail, quite demanding. It needs clear, bacteria poor water and a proper feeding with different types of food, including frozen and live food. Our specimens are German bred ones. We can currently offer XXL animals.

We have also made a small film about these fish, which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFpvzF09W-k

For our customers: the fish have code 476655 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. 

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nothobranchius rachovii ALBINO

11. July 2022

Rachows Nothobranch (named in honor of Arthur Rachow, therefore in the common name with “w” at the end) belongs not only to the longest serving, but also to the timelessly most beautiful Killifishes in the aquarium. The orange color form of Beira is the most common in the trade, and has been continuously maintained in the aquarium by enthusiastic enthusiasts since 1958. For more information see also https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/nothobranchius-pienaari-en/

In addition to this “normal” form, we also occasionally have albinos of Nothobranchius rachovii in our program, which also exude a very special charm.

For our customers: The albinos have code 338023 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers. 

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Xenotoca doadrioi

1. July 2022

In the past, this particularly pretty goodeid (Xenotoca doadrioi) was known as “Xentotoca eiseni San Marcos”. Unfortunately, the species, which was only “officially” described as a distinct species in 2016, is highly endangered. More than 50% of the originally known populations have already disappeared, with the rest showing a steady downward trend. The causes are always the same: Water pollution by agriculture and high competitive pressure from alien fish (Pseudoxiphophorus bimaculatus and Tilapia), which also cope with the changed environmental conditions much better than X. doadrioi. Catching them for aquarium maintenance has no effect on wild populations. All specimens represented in the hobby are also offspring. 

We have now once again Xenotoca doadrioi in stock, so that every aquarist who wants to do some species conservation at home can do so. This is an exceptionally colorful strain, even the females have some red in their caudal peduncles! Care and breeding are not difficult. One pays attention with these animals to as little as possible loaded water with good current, middle hardness degrees and a stable pH value, best around 7,5-8. Generous (60-70% of the tank contents) water changes do the animals very well. They will eat any common ornamental fish food, but green food should make up a good portion. This can be given either in the form of special vegetable flake food or in the form of scalded lettuce leaves, dandelion leaves, chickweed or similar. The fish are viviparous. At birth, the young still have the strange “nutrient cords” (trophotaenia) on their abdomens, which supply nutrients to the embryo in the womb, much like the umbilical cord in mammals. Xenotoca are very lively fish that thrive best in large aquariums. Temperature should vary throughout the year. It is important to have some kind of “winter break” at water temperatures of 17-20°C. The temperature should not rise above 25°C permanently. Keeping them outdoors during the warm months, when there is no fear of the temperature dropping below 17°C, is very good for the health of these fish. 

We have posted a small film showing our animals: https://www.facebook.com/AquariumGlaser/videos/583392523143542.

For our customers: the animals have code 476513 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nothobranchius patrizii

1. June 2022

The nothobranchs (Nothobranchius) represents with N. furzeri one of the shortest-lived vertebrates of the world. Only the marine goby Eviota sigillata tops it, with it (in nature) never an animal became older than 59 days. In the case of N. furzeri, the time between hatching from the egg and death from old age is also only 12 weeks (84 days). No wonder that researchers, who study processes during aging, are obsessed to work with this animal. 

But we aquarists love Nothobranchius for their magnificent appearance. Of course, we also enjoy their behavior, which is an adaptation to waters that periodically dry up completely. The fish survive the dry phase in the form of eggs in the bottom. Because they hardly live longer than one year (Latin: annus), the short-lived killis are called “annual” species. This has been taken from botany, where annual herbs that die off after flowering and seed formation are referred to as annual species.

Nothobranchius patrizii belongs to the already long known species of the genus, which currently comprises 90 species and occurs in southern and eastern Africa in savannas. In 1927 the species was described, in 1981 it was imported for the first time. The occurrence includes Kenya and Somalia. The species is not the most colorful of the genus, but it is considered very robust and therefore very suitable for beginners in the care and breeding of annual killies.

For our customers: the animals have code 337502 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Oryzias woworae 

30. May 2022

The Blue Daisy (Oryzias woworae) is known by almost every aquarist child and we have this beautiful and easy to care fish regularly in our offer. Our current stock, offspring from Indonesia, consists of particularly large animals, which color themselves splendidly almost black in the courtship display. Apparently one has successfully crossed the attractive “Black” strain, which unfortunately mostly had no dorsal fin.

The females (recognizable by the smooth-edged anal fin) look quite normal and even frightened males or those that are not currently courtship active show only the classic blue sheen, orange belly and red caudal fin stripes.

For our customers: the fish have code 340134 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale. 

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Phallichthys quadripunctatus

29. April 2022

Unfortunately only very rarely we can offer this cute dwarf livebearer from Costa Rica. The males grow to a length of about 1.5 cm, the females to a maximum of twice this size. The species name “quadrimaculatus” refers to the typically four spots these fish have on their flanks. However, many variations also occur in nature. Some specimens have only one spot, others five, but in most the pattern looks like that of the females photographed for this post. 

In nature, the dwarfs have to go through all sorts of things and are exposed to extremely different water conditions there. In the scientific original description, Bussing describes several biotopes, including a partly shaded, partly sunlit forest stream with clear, 20°C cool water, and turbid, fully sun-exposed residual water puddles where the water was 34°C. He also mentions that this species is shy in the aquarium, but sheds the shyness when kept with other, less shy fish in a densely planted aquarium.

We now have a few German offspring of this rarity in stock.

For our customers: the animals have code 278253 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Fundulopanchax scheeli

27. April 2022

Within the genus Fundulopanchax, which was established already in 1924, but then was seen as a synonym to Aphyosemion for a very long time, there are very large species, like F. sjostedti, which can reach 12 cm (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/fundulopanchax_sjostedti_usa_blue_en/), but also many small species, which do not grow longer than 6 cm. Among the latter is Fundulopanchax scheeli. This small beauty was described in 1970 from aquarium specimens of unknown origin. Only much later it was found out that F. scheeli has only a small distribution area at the lower Cross River in southeastern Nigeria.

This killi is relatively popular because of its good breedability and beauty. It can be recommended, similar to the “Cape Lopez” even with restrictions for community aquariums. However, the company in such a case must be selected very carefully. In a colorful “teeming tank” or with aggressive fishes F. scheeli must not be housed under any circumstances. They need calm, densely planted aquariums with soft, dark substrate (peat fibers) to feel safe. In such an aquarium you will have a lot of fun with the animals.

For our customers: the animals have code 313702 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aplocheilus panchax

12. April 2022

Because of the still bad flight connections imports from India come in only sporadically. Now once again an import worked out. It contained among others the common panchax, Aplocheilus panchax. A. panchax is the most common fish in large parts of India and can be found literally everywhere, from the smallest puddle to the shores of large rivers and lakes, even the salty water of estuaries can be tolerated by the panchax. The water temperatures especially in the small waters vary enormously, in the sun they easily rise to well over 30°C, at night they can cool down to 12-14°C. 

So it is not surprising that Aplocheilus panchax was one of the first tropical ornamental fishes ever. It came to us for the first time in 1899 and was quickly bred. The great color variability of this 6-7 cm long fish caused heated, sometimes polemic discussions about whether they were species, subspecies or color morphs. Today we know: they are color morphs, reddish, orange and white fin seams occur within a single population, also the number of orange-red spots on the scales varies.

After World War 2, the Panchax gradually disappeared from aquariums. People had electric heaters (instead of spirit burners under the aquarium), filters and aeration, and especially lighting. Previously, aquariums were placed at an angle to the window, so that the sunlight coming from the side illuminated the aquarium. In such light panchaxes are quite colorful, because many scales shine blue. This is quite different in fluorescent light from above, where the Panchax appear quite gray, especially if they are not yet acclimated. We’ve also attached a shot to this post where the lighting conditions are like they used to be, so you can see what we mean.

Care from the Panchax is simple. They are surface-dwelling fish that will happily accept any bite-sized fish food. The water values and the temperature play practically no role (see above). Mostly A. panchax are peaceful, but there are sometimes quarrelsome males, so by-fish should not be too delicate. Well suited are e.g. rosy barbs and zebra danios, which come from the same biotopes. Plants leave the Panchax unnoticed. Males differ from females by the shape of the anal fin (see photos).

For our customers: the animals have code 303703 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Endler “Bengal Tiger”

7. March 2022

The tiger breeding forms of the Endler guppy enjoy special popularity. There are multicolour, blue and also selected for yellow body color strains. The latter is called “Bengal Tiger”. The manifestation of pure yellow animals is not easy, there is a tendency to revert to a gray-blue base coloration. But these are also very pretty fish. The caudal fin shape varies between round tail, spear tail and upper sword tail. We supply this breeding form in pairs, so that every keeper can work on his dream guppy by further breeding and further selection. 

For our customers: the animals have code 419129 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera Blood Red

1. March 2022

The golden albino breeding form of the sailfin molly (Poecilia velifera) was created in the early 1980s. At that time it was celebrated as a sensation. Nowadays it is one of the most popular breeding forms of this molly. 

Particularly color-intensive golden sailfin mollies are called “Blood Red”. These animals are currently brought to the market in very good quality from Southeast Asia.

For our customers: the fish have code 432864 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Micropoecilia parae German Bred

14. February 2022

Micropoecilia parae belongs to the very few fish species, whose breeding in the aquarium over numerous generations has not succeeded so far. Basically the reproduction of the viviparous fish is not difficult, but from generation to generation the animals become smaller and smaller, until finally no further breeding is possible, because the fish die before reaching sexual maturity.

The reason for this is unknown. Two main factors are discussed: feeding and lighting. Since these problems do not occur when breeding in outdoor ponds in Southeast Asia, the lack of certain components of sunlight – probably from the UV range – seems to be the key to solving the problem. The German offspring we offer are large, strong animals that do not yet show any signs of this degeneration.

The care of Micropoecilia parae is easy. The beautiful animals, which superficially remind somewhat of Guppys, do not cause any problems. The animals, which are very common in the wild (Guyana countries to Brazil) and widespread near the coast, do not make any special demands on the water composition. Some populations even tolerate light brackish water. An exciting phenomenon is the polychromatism of the males, the biological meaning of which is still completely unknown. The offspring we can offer right now are yellow or blue longitudinally striped, but there are also red, tabby, solid color and spotted males (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/beautiful_new_varieties_of_liverbearers_arrived_en/ and https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/micropoecilia_parae_red_tiger_en/).

For our customers: the animals have code 268472 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii “Jalapa”

5. January 2022

When you first see this slender, splendidly colored swordtail wild form, you involuntarily think: this is no X. hellerii! And yet, when X. hellerii was first described in 1848, exactly such animals became the type specimens. The traveler of the royal imperial horticultural society Karl Heller discovered and collected the animals in clear streams of the mountain Orizaba in Mexico (the highest mountain of Mexico and third highest of North America) and was already enthusiastic about the colorfulness of the fish at that time. At that time, however, aquaristics did not yet exist, so Heller could only send his new discovery to Vienna dead and faded in alcohol.

About 50 years later, in 1902, Meek described the Jalapa swordtail again under the name Xiphophorus jalapae, which is of course a younger synonym for the typical X. hellerii. On the other hand, it’s not so sure whether the “ordinary” Green Swordtail, which we have in the aquarium since 1909, is actually the same species as the “real” X. hellerii (the Jalapa form).

In comparison to “ordinary” green swordtails, the colors of the Jalapa swordtail look like painted on the body with neon pencils. They are really wonderful fish. Regarding care and breeding the Jalapa swordtails do not differ however from the “usual” green swordtails.

We get our specimens from a German breeder. 

For our customers: the animals have code 476595 on our stocklist. Please note that we only deliver to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl

20. December 2021

We have just obtained very attractive offspring of the “Northern Mountain Swordtail”. The fish are young adults, i.e. the sword of the males is still relatively short. For comparison we show here also an adult pair of another strain.

In former times X. nezahualcoyotl was considered as a local variant of X. montezumae. The name refers to Nezahualcoyotl,the poet philosopher emperor of Tezcoco (Texcoco), considered to be coequal with Montezuma, monarch of the Aztecs in the Aztec Triple Alliance, because the species is to be considered a sister taxon of X. montezumae. X. nezahualcoyotl is found only in the headwaters of some rivers in the state of San Lous Potosi in Mexico. The water there is clear, the soil stony, the temperatures moderate (22-24°C). Care of this small-bodied swordtail – body length rarely exceeds 4 cm (the largest wild-caught male measured had 48 mm standard length), plus fins – is not very difficult, but care must be taken to maintain good water hygiene.

The species may appear with or without black mottling. The black speckling, as shown by the animals of our currently stocked strain, is linked to the Y-chromosome, so it is inherited from the father. 

For our customers: the animals have code 476562 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia wingei Campoma No31 Snake Blue

6. December 2021

Infinite is the variety of colors, patterns and color combinations possible in wild guppys. In natural biotopes no two males are alike. There are multiple mechanisms, genetic and biological, that ensure this. This is also true for the two wild guppy populations assigned to the species Poecilia wingei: Campoma and Cuminá.

However, if individual males of such natural populations are placed and mated separately and their offspring as well, it is possible to breed a largely uniform color variant in a very short time (one guppy generation takes less than 8 weeks). Such a selection breeding is Campoma No31. It is not a special species, but a color variant of the Endler Guppy. We can offer these cute animals in pairs.

For our customers: the fish have code 419017 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Filigran Guppys – King Cobra Guppys

3. December 2021

The Filigran Guppys belong to the most popular Guppy forms. They have a body pattern of squiggles and dots, which is also called “Snakeskin” or King Cobra. This body pattern sometimes appears in wild Guppys, but it was not until the 1950s that it received more attention and was genetically characterized by M. Dzwillo in 1959. It is a gene localized on the Y chromosome, which only the male possesses. This makes breeding with filigree pattern relatively easy, since each son inherits this gene from the father. The real breeding art is to get this pattern in beautiful expression on the fish and this is now again anything but easy.

We always have different filigran guppys in the stock, very recently especially beautiful “King Cobra Red”, a blond fish with a rust red dorsal stripe starting behind the eye, a rust red caudal peduncle and orange red caudal fins decorated with thin black stripes and “Leopard”, which are filigran guppies with carpet pattern in the caudal fin. 

For our customers: Leopard has 418493, King Cobra Red 418473 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Girardinus uninotatus

5. November 2021

From the currently seven accepted species of the genus Giradinus only G. metallicus and occasionally G. falcatus are offered in the trade. We have now received a small number of G. uninotatus from a breeder. They are really no color miracle, but their pretty apricot color is quite interesting.

The species oirginates from Cuba. The name was given to this livebearer already in 1860, referring to the fact that many of the males (but by no means all) develop a black spot at the base of the gonopodium ( = the mating organ). 

The peaceful animals usually grow 3-5 cm long, but they grow throughout their life and so old ladies (the females always grow larger than the males) can sometimes grow over 8 cm.

For our customers: the animals have 416952 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in small numbers!

Text & photos: Frank SChäfer

Poecilia mexicana “Campeche”

8. October 2021

The wild mollies are – from a zoological-systematic point of view – certainly one of the most difficult fish groups at all. Not without reason, science has been wavering between two extreme views for over 100 years: the first states that all wild mollies belong to only one, highly variable species, which would then be called Poecilia sphenops, others assign the so far 33 scientifically described forms to 12 species. In addition there are still undescribed species. In short: it is very difficult.

This is due to the fact that all species are polymorphic and polychromatic. So: in each population there is a whole set of color and body variants. It is therefore impossible to define them in such a way that the determination of single specimens can be successful, one must always examine large series of wild catches (50 or more specimens), in order to be able to come to a decision concerning the species. By the way, the matter is not made easier by the fact that wild mollies, just like guppys and gambuses, were released quite arbitrarily for mosquito control until the 1950s.

The species Poecilia mexicana and P. sphenops do not differ appreciably externally. P. sphenops has single-pointed teeth, P. mexicana has three-pointed teeth, and there are minor differences in the structure of the mating organ of the males. Both species have a vast natural range and have additionally been displaced by humans, so knowing the origin does not help in identification either.

Campeche is a Mexican state that covers much of the western part of the Yucatan Peninsula. The ancestors of the strain of P. mexicana, which we can now offer from time to time for several years from Asian pond breedings, originate from there. The beautiful and easy-to-care-for mollies have as a special attraction that the males can change color in a flash. In highest excitement they are deep blue-black, relaxed males are like the females light olive green with blue shiny scales. Not all, but most males develop an orange fringe in the caudal fin, the color intensity of which is controlled in part by social position.

Usually the Mexico Molly reaches a size of 4-6 cm, as does the Black Molly, in whose ancestry it is also represented, by the way. But sometimes giant growth can occur with these fish, then giants of over 10 cm length have been observed. 

For our customers: the animals have code 280558 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Endler

8. October 2021

No fish species is as changeable as the Guppy. There are no two males in nature that are exactly alike in color. This is true for all four Guppy species (Poecilia reticilata, P. wingei, P. obscura and P. kempkesi), which therefore cannot really be distinguished from each other externally (genetically, however, they can).

In the case of the Endler Guppy (Poecilia wingei), there are now so many breeding forms in which the males look identical that the impression can arise that this guppy species is also uniformly colored in nature. This is not the case at all. The animals we offer as “Endler Guppy” originate from non-directional swarm breeding, i.e. a larger number of males and females swim together in the breeding aquarium and have the free choice of mate. The resulting colorful society represents the natural color variability quite well, however, even with this breeding method appearances of domestication develop, because all natural predators are missing. Thus also these “pure”, on wild-catches based breeding-strains have meanwhile often clearly larger fins and become also altogether larger than their wild-living cousins. The females prefer bigmouths – excuse me, I mean of course big fins. Nothing can be done about that…

For our customers: the animals have code 419063 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Procatopus aberrans

1. October 2021

Again we could import the lampeye fish Procatopus aberrans from NIgeria; unfortunately we do not know the location where they were collected. However, we know that our supplier occasionally receives fish from Cameroon. Anyway, the current imports are a bit more graceful in body structure and the upper half of the iris lacks the red rim that was so characteristic of the specimens imported in January. See https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/procatopus-aberrans-6/

These are very beautiful, elegant fish that should be kept and bred separately from other P. aberrans populations to be on the safe side.

For our customers: the animals have code 343103 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Japan Blue and Japan Red

24. September 2021

There is a number of tail fin shapes of the guppy, which have been standardized by the guppy breeders. As a rule, however, these breeds are only found at private breeders. In the pet trade the triangle guppies dominate in such a way that aquarists, who do not inform themselves specifically about guppies, could get the impression that these are the “normal guppies”. Recently, however, there has been a move away from this trend.

Double sword guppies are an old breeding form. Already in many wild guppies you can see hints of lower or upper swords – that is a pointed extension of either the upper or the lower tail fin edge. By appropriate breeding selection the double sword can be developed. First reports of double swords date back to 1928, already some years earlier animals with clear predispositions to the double sword appear in illustrations. In contrast, the triangle guppies, which are so dominant today, did not appear until the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Interestingly, however, the double sword was a direct predecessor of the fan tails, from which in turn the modern triangle guppies were bred. The fantail – as can be shown by crossbreeding experiments – is a double sword, so to speak, in which the space between the swords is filled with fin material. The tail fin shape “fan tail” comes from the combination of a certain color gene with the gene for double swords.

One of the most popular double sword guppies in the trade is the beautiful “Japan Blue”. While the name actually refers to the coloration and could be bred on other fin shapes, only specialized guppy breeders usually do. Supposedly, the Japan Blue is called this way because the color is said to have first appeared in feral free-living guppies in Japan. The color is inherited from the male (it is linked to the Y chromosome).

Quite new is the Japan Red, which should actually be correctly named Japan Blue Red, as it exhibits the typical Japan Blue cover sheen, but on a red and gold base coloration. The Japan Red is also bred as a double sword.

For our customers: Japan Blue has code 419043, Japan Red code 419047 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus signum

24. September 2021

This species of swordtail is only very rarely offered in the trade. At the first glimpse one may think that they are a variety of the common swortail X. hellerii, but the species X. signum is much more slender. The mark that is responsible for the scientific name (latin signum = sign) is always good visible in females on the caudal fin base, while in males it is covered by the dark border of the sword.

Xiphophorus signum is, like most wild types of swordtail, quite demanding. It needs clear, bacteria poor water and a proper feeding with different types of food, including frozen and live food. Our specimens are German bred ones.

For our customers: the fish have code 476655 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia wingei Blue Star

25. August 2021

Poecilia wingei is widely distributed in the hobby after its best known local variant as Endler´s Guppy. It remains much smaller than the normal Guppy and is very popular with many aquarists because of its graceful body shape. 

Just as with the common Guppy, numerous local forms can be observed with P. wingei. The ancestor of the “Blue Star” was caught in 2010 by Phillippe Voisin and friends in Venezuela, some also call it French Blue Endler. We can offer this beautiful fish in good numbers of pairs right now.

For our customers: the animals have code 419106 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Platy Wagtail Pointed Tail

16. August 2021

The “pointed tail” mutation, in which the middle caudal fin rays are elongated, appeared relatively late: the first specimens appeared on the market in the 1980s. It originated in the Southeast Asian large-scale breederies.

The characteristic, which first appeared in the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus), can also be transferred to other Xiphos, but the pointed tail has really become established in the long term only in Wagtail Platys. Here it is especially the red breeding forms, which are offered with pointed tail. Because with very large and old animals the innermost rays can grow somewhat over the fin, one calls this breeding form sometimes also “brush tail”. Apart from the fin shape, the pointed tails are quite normal platys: lively, colorful and robust. 

For our customers: the animals have code 442103 on our stoclist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Guppy Kohaku Koi Tuxedo

6. August 2021

Guppy breeders are currently very active again and bring new, attractive strains on the market. The Guppy Kohaku Koi Tuxedo combines two special characteristics: The Kohaku factor, which causes males and females to have a red head combined with a red caudal fin and red dorsum; and the Elephant Ear factor, which causes the greatly enlarged pectoral fins of males to be colored (usually black, but white ones exist) instead of transparent; coupled with the Elephant Ear is often the Tuxedo factor, which causes a black body color with a blue anterior dorsum, but without spilling over to the fins. 

They are very lively, beautiful fishes that will definitely gain a permanent place in the assortment.

For our customers: the animals have code 419205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Neon Green Lyretail

9. July 2021

Aquaristics is unimaginable without the multitude of colorful livebearer breeding forms. However, this also means that there is competition between the different breeding lines for the buyers’ favor. A good name clearly sells. And even if, strictly speaking, the Neon Green Lyretail is neither neon green in color nor has a lyre tail – who cares? The little beauty has been sold under this name for a good 20 years and enjoys great popularity.

For our customers: the animals have code 418883 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorius variatus “Hotel Taninul” and “Code 1243”

2. July 2021

We have already introduced several wild strains of Xiphophorus variatus, which rightly bears its scientific species name (variatus = variable). 

Now we have again two new variants on offer, both are German bred ones, descended from wild populations. The first is a pretty speckled fish discovered and brought back on a scientific collecting trip in Mexico. It comes from the area around Hotel Taninul (Carretera Km. 15, 79250, Tampico, Valles, 79250 Cd Valles, S.L.P., Mexico). Located in a natural park, “Set inside the Huasteca, a 740-acre ecological preserve, this rural resort hotel surrounded by tropical forest is 17 km from the town of Tamuín and 19 km from the center of Ciudad Valles.” (quoted from the hotel’s promotional website). Near the hotel grounds flows a nameless sulfurous brook and from it came the said X. variatus. Other fish species living in the brook were Poecilopsis gracilis, Astyanax mexicanus, Poecilia formosa and unspecified aquatic turtles.

The second form was found by the same expedition along road 85 in a drainage near Mante towards Victora (11 km north of Mante at km 105). There is no publication on this so far, this information was passed on orally. Therefore, so far there is only the provisional designation “1243” made in the field notes. This Platy is rather interesting than beautiful, because one looks for color with him in vain. Interesting are the strong melanophores in the front half of the body and the dark reticulation in the middle of the rear, which gives the impression of a longitudinal band. This variety will hardly be able to establish in the hobby, here is probably an unique buying opportunity for specialized friends of livebearers, while “Hotel Taninul” will certainly find its friends, especially since the males with increasing age develop increasingly strong yellow tones in the fins and back, as the breeder told us.

For our customers: “Hotel Taminul” has code 443095, “1243” code 443093 on our stocklist. There are limited quantities of both varieties available. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Neoheterandria elegans

9. June 2021

Finally we have the dwarfish Neoheterandria elegans in our stock again. They originate from German breeding. These are among the smallest livebearing toothcarps regularly kept in the aquarium. Males grow to about 1-2 cm long, females up to 3 cm, but usually around 2 cm.

The Teddy Livebearer, as it is called to distinguish it from the actual Dwarf Livebearer Heterandria formosa, originates from Colombia and likes it cozy and warm with 24-28°C. 

Otherwise the animals do not have high care requirements, which even beginners can fulfill well. The water values (hardness, pH etc.) hardly play a role, everything is eaten, which fits into the small mouth. In addition, the species is completely peaceful.

The females of the Teddy Livebearer have only 1-2 young per day during a litter period, but this takes several days. Therefore, they should not be placed in spawning boxes, but in densely planted, small extra aquariums, from which the young are collected daily and transferred to a rearing aquarium.

For our customers: N. elegans has code 438352 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Lexicon: Heterandria: means “different male”. Neoheterandria: means “new heterandria”. elegans: means “elegant”.

Text & photos. Frank Schäfer

Poecilia wingei Endler Campona No48 black green snakeskin

31. May 2021

If there is one fashionable fish that has defined the last decade, it is the Endler guppy, Poecilia wingei. This small guppy species has countless fans all over the world and efforts are made to preserve the “pure” strains of wild caught variants. However, in the wild these wild variants are by no means uniformly colored, on the contrary, they occur partly strongly mixed, and often only a few specimens with particularly striking coloration have been taken. By selection breeding, strains can be obtained relatively quickly, in which the males look very similar.

The “Campona No48” is such a cute dwarf. One of its peculiarities are the white pelvic fins in the male, which in certain stages of courtship are stretched far forward that they could form a straight line with a white line in the dorsal fin. As with all Endler forms, the black pattern elements are additionally particularly prominent during courtship.

For our customers: the animals have code 419019 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aphyosemion australe

7. May 2021

The “Cape Lopez” (Aphyosemion australe) is one of the longest serving killifishes. It was discovered due to aquarium imports from Gabon (Ogooué River estuary, Port-Gentil, Cape Lopez, northwestern Gabon), from where it was first brought in 1913. In 1921 Arthur Rachow described it as a new species, then cautiously as Haplochilus calliurus var. australis. The close relationship to Haplochilus calliurus (today Aphyosemion calliurum) assumed by Rachow has not been confirmed, the two species cannot be successfully interbred beyond a first generation.

It is not even that unlikely that many of the Cape Lopez kept in aquariums today are still descended from these first imports. In the 1950s a golden colored mutant was added, which was given the scientifically invalid name Aphyosemion australe hjerreseni, and later a dark brown breeding form, called “chocolate”.

The Cape Lopez is among the simplest of all killifishes. It is a plant spawner and the eggs can develop both underwater and stored dry. Few killifishes are suitable for community aquariums, but the Cape Lopez is one of them because it is not very shy and is also uncomplicated with regard to feeding. Of course one must select a possible company with much expert knowledge, by-fish must be absolutely very peaceful and not too lively.

The life expectancy of the Cape Lopez is about the same as for similar sized livebearers (e.g. guppies), i.e. 1-3 years. The maximum size for Aphyosemion australe is given with approx. 5,5 cm (including tail fin).

For our customers: the wild form has code 304502, the golden 304702 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus maculatus “Tabasco”

23. April 2021

Hearing the name Tabasco, the first thing that comes to mind for a Central European is the spicy chili sauce. However, the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) that bears this name is neither particularly fiery nor particularly red – it merely originates, like the chili sauce, from the Mexican state of Tabasco, where this population was first found by Dutch ornamental fish enthusiasts and brought to Europe (more informations on that are in preparation). 

The basic coloration of the animals is an inconspicuous gray; what makes them very special is the golden bordered shoulder spot, which many (but not all) animals show. This characteristic is also known from populations from the Mexican state of Veracruz. So far this “Admiral´s epaulette” has not been crossed into breeding lines. Other interesting features of this wild platy from Tabsco are the partially transparent gill cover, resulting in a red spot, and a highly variable tail root pattern that can be completely absent, form a double crescent, or a Mickey Mouse pattern. 

The particular challenge in long term breeding of such fish is to maintain variability. It is all too easy to succumb to the temptation of selecting particularly pretty specimens, which results in a uniform type after only a few generations that no longer has much in common with the wild population. To avoid this, as many color variants as possible from the respective population should be allowed to swim in the largest possible mixed shoal. This at least increases the probability that the diversity of forms of a population prevailing in nature will also be preserved among the offspring born in the aquarium.

For our customers: the animals have code 476577 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera Silver

6. April 2021

Silver mollies are among the most popular livebearers. Most of the silver mollies in the trade are a breeding form of Poecilia latipinna. Since the species Poecilia latipinna, P. sphenops, P. mexicana and P. velifera can be crossed and color characteristics and certain fin shapes (e.g. lyratail) are transferred to the hybrid young, the desired characteristics can be transferred to the parent species by backcrossing the hybrid young to the parent species. This is what happened with the silver colored sailfin mollies (Poecilia velifera), which, like sailfin mollies in general, are not easy but splendid fish for advanced enthusiasts.

For our customers: the animals have code 433034 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2”

1. April 2021

From a German breeder we received this extraordinarily attractive wild form of the swordtail. Unfortunately we could not find out where exactly and by whom these animals were collected. It could only be determined that they were originally brought from Yucatan (Mexico). As a distinction to the completely different looking X. hellerii “Yucatan” (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/xiphophorus_hellerii_yucatan_en/) the animal is called Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2”. 

Besides the attractive coloration Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2” stands out due to its peaceful nature. It is well known that males of the swordtails can be quite incompatible with each other, but the males of “Yucatan 2” are a laudable exception to this rule, according to the breeder!

For our customers: the animals have code 476759 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aplocheilus blockii

26. March 2021

The Green panchax (Aplocheilus blockii) is one of the tiniest and most beautiful species of panchax in Asia. We were able once more to import the species from Kerala (South India). Its maximum length is around 3 cm, at least as far as wild collected specimens are concerned. Aquarium specimens may become a bit larger due to the paradise-like aquarium conditions. The absolutely peaceful animals are ideally suited for the so called nano-aquaria. Regarding water chemestry the species is not demanding at all, but very soft or very acidic water should be avoided. In the case such a water runs out of the tap, one should add a teaspoon of salt (for reef aquaria) per 10 litres of water.

Live food is very much wanted, but the fish also feed readily on frozen or dried food items. The Green panchax ignores plants with the exeption of spawning. Here the fish prefers the roots of small swimming plants like Salvinia.

For our customers: the fish have code 303213 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Aplocheilus: means “with a simple lip”, refers to the mouth structure. blockii: dedication name.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera Green

5. March 2021

From the sailfin molly, Poecilia velifera, which originates in the hot coastal regions of Mexico, there are mostly cultivated forms in the trade: Golden, chocolate, leopard, dalmatian, black, etc.. The “green” wild form is much rarer, although they are very colorful animals. All sailfin mollies on the market are bred ones.

The huge dorsal fin of the males is not bred to the sailfin molly, it is a species characteristic. It is not useful for anything – except showing off. Sailfin females are obviously totally into showing off (quite different from human females; who would have ever heard that a woman falls for a guy just because he looks good, drives a swanky car and has a fat watch on his wrist) and so the huge dorsal fin developed already in nature by the breeding choice of the females.

For our customers: the animals have code 432604 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia salavatoris

15. February 2021

The Liberty Molly is a long-established aquarium fish that was imported into the hobby before World War 2 and has never disappeared since. However, our aquarist forefathers considered any short-finned molly to be Poecilia sphenops, and so the Liberty Molly was also treated as a variant of this species. Today we distinguish again a lot of species among the short-finned mollies and so the Liberty Molly was assigned to the species Poecilia (subgenus Mollienesia) salvatoris, which was already described in 1907 from warm springs in the area of San Salvador in El Salvador.

The name “Liberty Molly” was given because the three-colored dorsal fin of the males reminded imaginative people of the colors of the French tricolor and the American flag – both symbols of liberty.

Liberty Mollies are extremely lively, fast fish, which give a lot of pleasure, but they should never be combined with calm-loving species. 

For our customers: the animals have code 280562 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text % photos: Frank Schäfer

Procatopus aberrans

15. January 2021

We obtained very nice Procatopus aberrans from Nigeria. These lampeyes are very peaceful schooling fish that live near the water surface or at least in the upper third of the water column. In contrast to most other species of lampeye that have an iridescent blue zone in the iris, in P. aberrans the iridescent zone in the eye is copper red. This is seen best when the light comes from top. It is recommended to keep lampeyes in general in a tank in which at least a few hours per day natural sunlight can shine in. Under these conditions the brillant turquoise flanks and the bright copper red eyes shine in a way the delights the heart of every real aquarist! Males become considerably larger than the females, the latter have moreover a differently shaped, much shorter anal fin.

For our customers: the animals have code 343102 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera “Dalmatiner”

8. January 2021

At least three species of mollies are the parent species of the numerous breeding forms that exist of these fish today: Poecilia sphenops, P. latipinna, and P. velifera. Possibly P. mexicana was also involved, but this is unclear, as this species was long considered a synonym of P. sphenops.

Some color and fin characteristics could only be established in the strains through species crosses, but others occur naturally in wild mollies. These include the gene for black coloration, which is found in many natural populations of all four species mentioned. In its maximum expression it leads to the so-called Black Molly. 

Very popular at present are the black speckled mollies, which are called “Dalmatians” after the dog race. In the wild, only one black speckled specimen occurs among thousands of normally colored animals, but the color morph, being inherited on only one allele and in both sexes, can be well established in selection breeding (when a morph is inherited from several alleles, possibly even on different chromosomes, breeding becomes complicated).

The largest of the Dalmatian mollies is the sailfin molly – and the most beautiful! 

For our customers: the animals have code 433053 (lg) and 433054 (7-8 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus montezumae

4. December 2020

With the swordtails (Xiphophorus), the males carry a sword-like extension at the low end of the tail fin in many species. This is a luxury structure, that serves the intraspecific communication. Sword-bearing males appear especially sexy on the females and especially intimidating on male conspecifics. The also with primates (the ape-like animals) well known game “who has the longest” always wins Xiphophorus montezumae with the Xiphos. 

We have now once again received a small number of offspring of this magnificent swordtail, which has a comparatively limited distribution area in nature (rivers in the state of San Lous Potosi, on the Atlantic side of Mexico). Since the Montezuma swordtail prefers relatively low temperatures (18-22°) for permanent keeping – it does no harm if the temperatures climb above 24°C in summer – it grows rather slowly. The species is also by far not as productive as for example Green Swordtails (X. hellerii), the litters usually include much less than 20 young. This explains why this beauty will always remain a rarity in the hobby.

For the care it is important that one has to pay attention to constantly good water quality. Generous weekly partial water changes are therefore absolutely necessary. The water should preferably be hard and the pH should be in the slightly alkaline range (8 – 8.5). A good flake food can be the nutritional basis, in addition one feeds frost and live food of all kinds. Regular feeding of Artemia nauplii (also to adult fish, 2-3 times a week) has proved very successful.

For our customers: the fish have code 420143 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Characodon audax Puente Pino Suarez and Guadalupe Aguilera

24. November 2020

Several goodeids are a parade play for the fact that conservation of species in captivity by hobby aquarists is possible and partially extraordinarily successful. The species Charcodon audax occurs endemically (i.e. exclusively there) in parts of the catchment area of the headwaters of the Rio Mezquital in the Mexican state of Durango. It is threatened by many influences. Mainly the species inhabits springs as long as they are clear enough. Because of the great drought in recent years, the individual populations are widely scattered and have hardly any contact with each other. In the remaining habitats released fishes are the biggest threat: Gambusia senilis, sunfish (Lepomis), black bass (Micropterus) and tilapias were exposed there, partly for mosquito control (which is useless, because they are eaten by Characodon as well), but mainly as food fish. Nowadays there are released tilapias in almost all habitats, which compete for habitat, food and oxygen, but also are direct predators, at least for young animals.

This year we had five different populations of this colorful goodeid on offer, but three of them were sold out before we could create a newsletter. Still in stock are “Guadalupe Aguilera” and “Puente Pino Suarez”. We ask our customers for understanding that we can not deliver such treasures by pairs and also the sizes are quite variable. There are only a few specimens available each year anyway, and we buy them all to support the conservation breeding efforts.

For our customers: Puente Pino Suarez has code 216273, Guadalupe Aguilera code 216243 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus xiphidium

13. November 2020

The sword platy, Xiphophorus xiphidium, belongs to the top rarities among the live-bearers. The species is found on the headwaters of the Soto La Marina River and its tributaries, Tamaulipas State, on the Atlantic side of Mexico. The very pretty species remains with approx. 3 cm (male) resp. 4 cm (female) clearly smaller than the common Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus). Since both species can cross in the aquarium, one should refrain in view of the rarity of X. xiphidium from maintaining it together with its close relatives.

There are sword platies that look slightly different, for example those with a circular spot on the tail base, those with two small dots or with a crescent moon. Since these different colour forms also represent different populations, one should also pay attention to pure breeding on this level. Currently we have a variant without any tail pattern in stock.

Young males look very similar to females, also because they also have a “pregnancy spot”. Fully developed adult alpha males are very attractive fish with their tiger pattern.

The care and breeding of the sword platy is much more demanding than that of the ordinary platy. Above all, X. xiphidium should not be kept too warm, preferably at room temperature without additional heating.

For our customers: the animals have code 476702 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii Wagtail Red White

17. August 2020

The pretty swordtail breeding form Xiphophorus hellerii Wagtail Red White is still young, it was only created in our millennium. The animals are descendants of the red and white “Koi swordtails”, which by the way are mostly born red and in which the white areas only develop with increasing growth.

These fish have less silvery scale dye (guanine) than “normal” swordtails, therefore the gill covers appear transparent, the blood-red gills shimmer through. The red body colour in the red-white Koi swordtails – and thus also in the black-finned Wagtail variant – appears for the same reason as a kind of transparent orange-red, which gives it its special charm.

For our customers: the animals have code 420043 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Jordanella floridae

24. July 2020

This killifish from North America is one of the evergreens in the aquarium hobby and has delighted many generations of aquarists. Unfortunately it has become quiet around this attractive animal in the last years. But now beautiful and stable American Flag fish are available again from Southeast Asian breeders. 

Jordanella floridae grows 4-6 cm long and is very temperature tolerant, which is why it is also well suited for stocking mini ponds in the warm season, where it reliably prevents the occurrence of mosquito larvae. Furthermore, filamentous algae are part of the food spectrum, which certainly does not annoy the pond owner. The eggs are also laid in algae cushions, the male defends the spawning ground against possible predators. In very small aquariums or miniature ponds, the American Flag is kept in pairs, otherwise group keeping is also possible without any problems.

Males and females are easily distinguished by the black spot in the dorsal fin, which only the females show.

As soon as the water temperature falls permanently below 15°C, you have to bring the American Flag into the house.

For our customers: the animals have code 327503 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus continens

27. May 2020

For the first time ever we can offer this dwarf swordtail rarity. Our animals are German offsprings. At first sight the small, only 2-3 cm long animals remind of the also dwarf X. pygmaeus, but they are not so closely related to this species. Only in 1990 X. continens was formally described, first collected in 1984.

They are very pretty fish, which require attentive water care. They are inhabitants of running water and want low-germ, oxygen-rich water. Medium-hard water with a pH between 7 and 8 is best suited for care, temperatures can be between 20 and 24°C (occasionally a little below or above). Every common fish food is eaten when it is small enough. Without live food (2-3 times a week) the dwarf swordtails will wither; Artemia nauplii have proven to be very useful as supplementary food.

For our customers: the animals have code 476542 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia sp. Central America

8. May 2020

Right now we can offer a very special delicacy for the friends of livebearers: a scientifically still undescribed wild molly!

It is a F1 offspring of a wild collected species from the Poecilia sphenops relationship. The parent animals were collected on a scientific expedition. The description of the species is in progress, so we have committed ourselves not to give any further information about the animals, in order not to endanger the scientific work. We have received about 50 specimens from our breeder. They are currently 4-5 cm long, but will probably grow a bit larger.

For our customers: the animals have code 280577 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nothobranchius rachovii

24. April 2020

Rachow´s Nothobranch (the species has been named to honour Arthur Rachow, thus the common name must end on a “w”), also called the bluefin notho, belongs not only to the longest-serving, but also to the timeless most beautiful species of killifish at all in our aquaria. Most often the orange colour morph is kept, which has been collected in 1958 near Beira and never disappeared since then, because enthusiastic hobbyist preserved them by breeding. For more informations, please see also http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fishes/killifish-en/nothobranchius-pienaari-en/

In the wild, these beautiful fish usually live for only a few months, after which their home waters dry up. But in the aquarium they can get much older, about one year. Important for the successful care is a very nutritious food (best worm food like Tubifex etc.), because the fish have a very fast metabolism. In nature, strong temperature fluctuations of the water of more than 10°C often occur in the day-night change. A daytime temperature of 24-25°C is favourable, at night the temperature may drop to room temperature (i.e. about 18°C). This temperature fluctuation is achieved quite simply by switching off the heater with the light at night. Even though the fish, which by the way become about 5 cm (males) and 4 cm (females) long, are rather indifferent to the chemical composition of the water, they are less susceptible to Oodinum in harder water.

Nothobranchius species are best kept in single-species tanks, they are hardly competitive against other fish. 

For our customers: the animals have code 338003 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade. Only available in limited quantities!

Lexicon: Nothobranchius: Ancient Greek “nothos” = fake and “branchion” = gill; refers to the structure of the gills. rachovii: dedication name in honour of the German aquarist Arthur Rachow (1884-1960).

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Oryzias javanicus

13. March 2020

The rice fish (Oryzias) have been in the focus of aquarists for several years. First the fantastically colored O. woworae were discovered on Sulawesi, then the Japanese Medakas (O. latipes) experienced a renaissance, because many interesting new breeding forms developed. Most species of the genus, which comprises more than 30 species, occur quite locally. Two species, however, have a wide distribution because they are so salt-tolerant that they can even tolerate pure seawater: Oryzias dancena and O. javanicus. They are therefore found in nature not only in fresh water, but also in brackish water and along the coasts of South and Southeast Asia.

We were able to import a nice number of wild Oryzias from Sumatra, which must have been one of the two species. Oryzias dancena and O. javanicus are very similar, females can hardly be distinguished. In O. dancena the males have silver-white fin seams, but lack the yellow stripes in the caudal fin that distinguish the males of O. javanicus. In both species the males develop long, free fin rays in the anal fin, the edge of which is smooth in the females. Our current imports could be identified as O. javanicus based on the above mentioned characteristics.

Basically it doesn’t matter which of the two species you care for, both are very pretty, peaceful, small (3-4 cm) and easy to care for. They are also easy to breed, the females carry the eggs in the form of grape-like bundles for a while before they shed them in plants etc., as is common with Oryzias. But as both species can crossbreed, the hybrids often have many deformations and are not breedable in the long run, it is better not to mix the two species in the aquarium.

For our customers: Oryzias javanicus has code 339703 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum IJEBU ODE

8. February 2020

Finally we have once again this beautiful killi as German offspring in our stock. The species grows 4-5 cm long. 

Unfortunately, this magnificent killi is offered only very rarely. At the moment we have some of these offspring from the population Ijebu Ode (Nigeria, state of Ogun) in stock, fully colored and very colorful. This species is well suited for community aquariums with peaceful small fish (characins, barbs, catfish etc.).

For our customers: the fish have code 305312 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in limited quantities!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii “Tiger”

20. December 2019

Breeding marbled swordtails with red basic colour is a challenge. With the “Tiger”, which we can offer for the first time, this goal has succeeded. In every “tiger” the body spotting is individually different. So far that type of swordtails were offered almost exclusively with whitish body-basic-coloring (then one calls them Marble). Many of the black scales have a blue glimmer (in breeder circles one calls that the “mirror”) what shines splendidly and glitters with lateral incident light. In the age, the black coloring of these sword-bearers increases more and more. They are beautiful animals, which a German breeder could deliver to us.

For our customers: the animals have code 420409 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aplocheilus lineatus RED

11. December 2019

The striped panchax (Aplocheilus lineatus) from South India has been inspiring generations of aquarists for over 100 years. Its magnificent coloration compensates for its sometimes quarrelsome temperament. One should not keep the striped panchax together with too tender fish, very small fish are also eaten by the up to 10 cm long animal. But with medium-sized barbels, catfish and labyrinth fish the care is problem-free and here the striped panchax is a perfect tankmate for the upper water layers.

In the last years mainly the golden cultivated form of the striped panchax was in the trade, we have now once again received wild-colored fish, which are really beautiful and for better differentiation from the golden ones are called “Red”.

For our customers: the animals have code 303603 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Gambusia hurtadoi

22. November 2019

Gambuses don’t have a good reputation in aquaristics. They are considered grey, quarrelsome and difficult fish. This is not completely wrong, especially when it comes to the worldwide plague Gambusia holbrooki. But few aquarists realize that there are 45 different species of Gambusia and it is very unfair to use the same comb for all of them.

Gambusia hurtadoi is a pretty and quite peaceful species. Unfortunately, it belongs to the endangered fish species, because it only exists in a single area of less than 4 km2 in Mexico. There it colonizes a pond called El Ojo de Haicenda Delores and its drains. The pond is used as a recreational area and swimming pool. In addition, too much groundwater is taken in the area, which can quickly lead to the disappearance of this animal forever.

There are still quite good aquarium stocks of this Gambusia, but of course such a fish is not for common aquariums, but belongs to the attentive care of connoisseurs and experts who appreciate the pretty creature.

For our customers: the little fishes have code 416211 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus maculatus “Belize Purple”

6. November 2019

The wild type of the “normal” Platys (Xiphophorus maculatus) is cared for as good as never in the aquarium. This is partly due to the fact that “the” wild type of the Platy does not exist at all, but a large number of colour variants, which partly only occur locally, but partly also in different populations. Already between 1912 and 1934 different such colour variants were imported and bred in the aquarium, so “pulchra” (= the beautiful one), “rubra” (= the red one), “nigra” (= the black one) or “cyanellus” (= the blue one). The fact that these are not independent species, but only colour variations, is made clear by the fact that several variants often occur at the same locality. These colour variants form the basis for the many Platy breeding forms that exist today in the aquarium.

Despite the many breeding forms, wild types are desirable and interesting fish, because they show us the breeding choice of nature, not the taste of human breeders. One such wild form is the Belize Purple, which Harry Grier collected in 2003 at a place called “Kate´s Lagoon” on the Belize River.  There do occur four colour variants: body red (br), which are the “Belize Purple”, but also spotted dorsal (sd), iridescent blue (blue) and wild type body (+). The abbreviations in brackets indicate the genetic code used internationally by Platy researchers.

Belize Purple is pure breeding, both sexes show the unusual red coloration, but it is more intense in the males. According to our breeder, the colours of older fish become even more intense!

For our customers: the animals have code 476568 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Cyprinodon variegatus

6. September 2019

The pupfish of the genus Cyprinodon live, so to speak, in the limbo for fish. Once the area, which today represents the desert regions of the western USA and northern Mexico, was a huge lake plate, the fish there lived in paradise. But the lakes gradually dried up over the millennia. Today, some species of pupfish can only be found in a single small water hole in the desert, such as the Devils Hole Pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). Some of the 49 currently recognized Cyprinodon species are therefore acutely threatened with extinction, some are even extinct, because if the groundwater sinks or the pond is polluted, it was.

But some species, such as Cyprinodon variegatus, are widespread and in no way threatened. All these survival artists can endure one thing: strong temperature fluctuations (up to 20°C in the day-night-change) and rapid changes in the salt content. C. variegatus also occurs in hypersaline waters (where the salt content is higher than in the sea), on the other hand there are also pure freshwater populations.

The Cyprinodon variegatus, which we can currently offer, come from a garage roof in southern Germany. They have been living there for many years now and reproduce happily. It doesn’t matter to them whether the sun is burning or the rain is crackling, they do everything. They are only not allowed to freeze, not even pupfish can stand that.

For our customers: the animals have code 321503 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Limia vittata

19. July 2019

We have received a very charming lifebearer from a breeder from Thailand: Limia vittata. This species, which originally comes from Cuba, has been known aquaristically for a long time: the first import date is 1913. In the hobby, however, the animals are only sporadically available. That is hardly to be understood, because each animal has an individually different spot pattern, whereby a swarm presents itself very attractively.

With a length of up to 10 cm, females are among the largest species of livebearing toothcarps, if this information is correct. Sometimes it is hard to resist the impression that even in the past the authors sometimes “went through the nags” and they produced some angler Latin… but in any case you should provide the animals with the largest possible aquariums so that they can grow out.

For our customers: the animals have code 424892 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Flexipenis vittatus

5. July 2019

Once more we are able to offer a beautiful dwarf livebearer that proofed to be a bit problematical in respect of breeding – not keeping! – in a long time sight under traditional aquarium conditions. However, under the open skies of Southeast Asia they breed pretty well.

Flexipenis vittatus is also often placed in Gambusia. Males become 2.5 – 4.5 cm, females 4 – 6 cm long. In nature, this livebearer inhabits Mexico (Atlantic slope).

In contrast to Gambusia Flexipenis has a highly developed courtship display, meanwhile the males present their pretty yellow-black dorsal fins in a very attractive way. It is wise not to keep these fishes year-in year-out at too high water temperatures. In living rooms no extra aquarium heater is necessary. Temperatures may lie between 18 and 26°C.

For our customers: the fish have code 415073 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Gambusia: derived from the Cuban term “Gambusino” for something unimportant. Flexipenis: means “with pliant sexual organ”. vittatus: Latin, means “Striped”.

Suggestion of a common name: Small flag livebearer, Blackline mosquitofish

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi

14. June 2019

Only extremely rarely, this pretty, maximum 7 cm long killifish is offered in the trade. Formerly, Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi was placed in the genus Aphyosemion. The species appears from Nigeria to Cameroon.

No fear of short-lived Killifishes: this species is approximately as long-lived as other popular aquarium-fish, like Guppys or Platys. It should be noted that the males of Fundulopanchax spoorenbergi like to quarrel and are always ready to mate. Therefore, numerous hiding places in the aquarium for inferior males and annoyed females have to be provided. Even if killifish in general are not well suited for typical community aquariums (they simply get lost there), they can still be kept problem free together with small tetras and barbs of the region.

For our customers: the animals have code 314283 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Endler Guppy “Blue Tiger”

17. May 2019

There are two different ways of breeding new Endler or Dwarf Guppies. One is to cross different color varieties of the pure species Poecilia wingei (Endlerguppy) with each other or to select and intensify certain color characteristics, which occur within a population, by selective breeding. The other way is to cross Endlerguppy and “normal” Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) to transfer certain color characteristics of the “normal” Guppy to the Endler without losing the dwarf character of the Endlerguppy. This is achieved by backcrossing the hybrids to the parent species Endlerguppy until the desired phenotype (i.e. the outer appearance) has developed.

The “Tiger”-Endler has been bred in this second way and it exists already some years; however, the blue color of the “Blue Tiger” is new. We have received such animals from an Endler breeder now for the first time; they are still quite uneven in their characteristic, but very, very promising!

For our customers: the animals have code 419128 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Oryzias woworae XXL

10. May 2019

The neon rice fish was the absolute sensation during its aquaristic discovery in 2010. At that time two neon rice fish were known: the “real” O. woworae from the small island of Muna and an O. cf. woworae from the main island Sulawesi. The most important optical difference between the two was seen in the courtship display. With the “real” O. woworae the males in the courtship display become very dark, almost black, with O. cf. woworae rather somewhat brighter than normal. Additionally the “real” O. woworae has a strong orange-red belly edge in males, which is missing in O. cf. woworae. In 2013 two more neon rice fishes were described from Sulawesi; the O. cf. woworae was separated as an independent species, O. wolasi, from O. woworae. In addition, a much more slender species compared to O. woworae and O. wolasi was described as O. asinua (so far only known from the administrative district Kendari on Sulawesi). This neon rice fish is a bit paler coloured than the other two species and has found no further distribution in the hobby.

We have now received XXL bred ones of the “real” Oryzias woworae from Taiwan. With over 4 cm of length, they are clearly bigger than their wild living cousins, who remain at least 1 cm smaller. Some years ago (2013) the breeders complained that the dark coloration of mating O. woworae males decreased from generation to generation. This problem seems to be overcome, our Taiwan-bred fish get very, very dark at the courtship display… 

For our customers: the animals have code 340134 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nothobranchius palmqvisti

5. April 2019

Yes, this pretty magnificent killifish actually writes itself “palmqvisti” and not, as one would think, “palmquisti”; this spelling with “v” was used in the first scientific description in 1907 and may not be changed. Palmqvists Nothobranch is an old acquaintance in the hobby and was first imported in 1958 and soon also bred with good success. Nothobranchius species are typical seasonal fish whose spawn, hidden in the bottom, has to be stored dry for a while before being returned to the water, whereupon the young hatch very quickly. 

For our customers: the animals have code 337003 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia (Limia) tridens

15. March 2019

There is no agreement on the systematic position of the livebearers living on the Caribbean islands. According to anatomical characteristics, the genus Limia is today mostly regarded as synonymous with Poecilia, but they have so many independent characteristics that Limia is almost always mentioned as a subgenus. 

Aquaristically this is not so important whether Limia is a genus or a subgenus; it is much more important that they are beautiful animals. We currently have P. tridens in our assortment as pond offspring from Southeast Asia. All Limia species love warmth and should therefore be cared for at temperatures above 24°C. So that strongly coloured, dominant males form, these animals should be kept in swarms if possible, i.e. several males with several females. All Limia species need vegetable supplementary food; algae, vegetable-based flake food, scalded salad, spinach or dandelion cover this need.

For our customers: the animals have code 424873 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Endler Cross “Santa Maria Bleeding Heart”

8. March 2019

Since 2015 we know this very attractive Guppy, which is a cross of the species Poecilia reticulata and P. wingei and which is attributed to the Japanese breeder Kenichiro Tamura. From the common Guppy, this fish has inherited the more robust shape, especially of the females, and the less intense courtship behaviour, while the petiteness of the males and the caudal fin pattern comes from the Endler heritage. 

What exactly was crossed with whom here is not known to us; there have been Endler-Guppys with black saddle spots for quite some time, e.g. the “Yellow Half Tuxedo” (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/brandnew_guppy_endler_yellow_half_tuxedo_en/), the very clear division of the body in respect of coloration shows only the “Rio Morichal” (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/wild_guppy_rio_morichal_en/) among the common guppys.

Anyway: Santa Maria Bleeding Heart is a beautiful, lively and cute fish and according to our breeders it is even purebred. We offer the animals with suitable females.

For our customers: the fish have code 419109 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum LAGOS

22. February 2019

This beautiful killi is only very occasionally available as German bred. Currently we have some of these bred ones in stock. They are descendants from the population from Lagos (Nigeria). Our fish are large, full in colour and very pretty. This species is suitable for community tanks with peaceful, small fish (barbs, tetras, catfish etc.).

For our customers: the fish have code 305303 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Black Molly = Black Molly?

19. January 2019

Sometimes we also take a closer look at the everyday species; one tends to judge fish like the Black Molly in trade only according to the aspects: 1. are the fish healthy and stable? and 2. are they well grown? 

But Black Molly is certainly not the same as Black Molly. Depending on which wild species dominates in the respective strain – as is well known, Black Mollys were created by multiple crosses of different species, whereby the blacklings (Melanos) that already occur sporadically in nature were crossed into existing aquarium strains of Molly species – they sometimes differ considerably from each other.

Currently we offer e.g. Black Mollys from Sri Lanka, which are very similar to the wild species Poecilia latipinna. Especially beautiful here are dominant males, which have a red seam along the magnificent dorsal fin.

Another Black Molly form we get from Vietnam. It is closer to the species Poecilia sphenops and P. mexicana, the dorsal fin is much smaller than in the one mentioned before. The alpha males develop an orange border along the caudal fin, which is very attractive.

Not as Black Molly, but as Black Velifera one calls the splendid animals, which come after the species Poecilia velifera. They are clearly larger than the other Black Mollys. 

For our customers: Black Mollys from Sri Lanka have code 432003, those from Vietnam 432132 and black velifera 433004 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Oryzias latipes – Medaka breeding forms

22. December 2018

The care and breeding of the Japanese Rice Fish or Medaka has a very long tradition in Japan. Already around 1900 gold-colored Medakas were mentioned in the aquaristic literature. The breeding of these small fish is currently experiencing a renaissance in Japan. Friedrich Bitter drew attention to this and also imported many of these forms which had not previously existed in Europe. From him we have received 10 variants of these animals, which we present to you:

Panda White

Genetic pure strain often used for crossings. Since some of his genes are recessively inherited, the other parent usually prevails in crosses. Is bred especially for top view.

Blue & Black Lame

Moderately variable strain, with which also animals with orange-yellow body-color appear from time to time in the offspring. The name Lame refers to the silver scales, which are mainly on the flanks and less on the back. Is bred equally for the view from the side and from above.

Miyuki Super Long Line

Genetic pure strain. The basic body colour is slightly bluish, which is why the animals are called Miyuki. A silver-blue band runs along the back from the head to the tail, which helped the variant to the designation Super Long Line. Is bred often also for the top view.

Panda Grey

Moderately variable strain in which individual adult fish develop a fine blue dorsal line. The term panda refers to the eyes that appear dark from above. The basic colour of the fish is grey. Is bred mainly for the top view.

Red & Black Lame

Slightly variable strain. In the offspring animals with yellow-orange, white and blue basic colour can appear. The term Lame refers to the metallic reflective scales of the body, which almost appear gold-coloured towards the back, especially in intensively orange-coloured animals. These are bred for side and top view.

Red & White

Very variable strain. Breeding goal are actually fish with red-orange head and orange areas on fins and light body. In the offspring, however, also strongly orange-colored and white-pink-colored specimens appear in all gradations. For aquarium (side view) and mini pond (top view).

Tricolor (Akane-Nishiki)

A variable strain that always brings surprises. One-, two- and three-coloured (Tricolor) animals appear. For the breeding goal Tricolor it is best to combine three-coloured with two-coloured specimens, because the colours appear stronger and clearer in the offspring. Red, white (or transparent) and black remind strongly of Koi in the Tricolor, which is why they are mostly bred for the top view.

Yokihi Orange

A strain that looks rather yellow-orange in an aquarium. If the animals are kept in the open under direct sunlight, they become strong orange-red after few weeks. This form is multiplied equally for aquarium and outdoor.

Akari Aurora

All strains with the designation Akari are very variable in respect of the color distribution. This is exactly what attracts breeders to use them for cross-breeding. The additional designation Aurora refers to darker scales, which increase strongly towards the back. Also interesting about this trunk are the irregularly distributed silver scales on the body sides. This strain is bred for aquarium and outdoor keeping.

Yellow Head, Clear Scales

A very rare strain in Germany with moderate variability. The head should be as yellow (orange) as possible, the body is at least partially transparent. The fins are sometimes orange, from the back sometimes irregular, dark spots reach up to the flanks. Fish for top and side view.

Text: Friedrich Bitter, photos: Friedrich Bitter & Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus andersi

10. December 2018

Once again we can present and offer you a top rarity among the wild forms of livebearers: Xiphophorus andersi. Most likely the animals we have received from a German breeder are the first ever to be offered in the ornamental fish wholesale trade. 

Xiphophorus andersi comes from the Rio Atoyak in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, which is one of the Atlantic processes of the Central American country. The species was only scientifically described in 1980 and seems to occur only very locally. 

In this species there are small early males and large late males. In practical breeding it has been shown that it is better to leave both forms in the breeding line (many breeders tend to exclude the early males as “Mickerlings” from breeding), because otherwise there is the danger that the offspring consists only of animals of one sex (one cannot predict whether male or female).

The fish are demanding to look after. It is important to pay attention to the best water quality, generous, regular partial water changes are absolutely obligatory, so that these rare animals thrive well in the long run.

For our customers: the animals have code 476525 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade. Only available in small quantities!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aplocheilichthys luxophthalmus (= Poropanchax luxophthalmus)

23. November 2018

Currently we were able to import once more one of the most beautiful lampeyes from Nigeria: Aplocheilichthys luxophthalmus. Those who follow the splitting of the genus Aplocheilichthys place the maximum 3 cm long fish in the genus Poropanchax.

A. luxophthalmus is a schooling fish that should never be kept in groups with less than ten specimens. They are absolutely peaceful against all other fish. Males and females can be easily told apart by the shape of the anal fin (see photos). They spawn in fine plants, the eggs need 10 – 14 days to hatch.

Experienced aquarists prefer to keep this species in medium hard to hard water for the fish are much hardier under these conditions. Often a slight addition of salt is recommended (a teaspoon full of salt on 10 litres of water). This is not necessary, but has the advantage that artemia nauplii, which form an important part of the diet of these tiny fish in the aquarium, stay longer alive.

The brilliant shining colours of the fish are best shown in dark aquaria. Alder cones make the water brown (like a dark tea) and also have a nice side affect, for they are strengthening the fish’s immune system. The water temperature should lie between 22 and 28°C.

For our customers: the fish have code 301402 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale market.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

New highly selected guppys: Koi Red Tuxedo Red Nose and Full Black

21. November 2018

In this case “new” does not mean that there were no colour varieties like this before, but that we have a new breeder, who gives us these and other high end breeding guppies in pairs and colour hits, so that we can pass on really fantastic animals. Of course there is also a certain variance within the high end breeding guppies.

For our customers: Koi Red Tuxedo Red Nose has code 419088, Full Black 419089 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pachypanchax sakaramyi – one of the rarest fish in the world

2. November 2018

Although the species Pachypanchax sakaramyi – it originates from the Sakaramy River on Madagascar – was described as early as 1928, it could not be found for decades afterwards and even was referred to the realm of legends. It was not until the 1990s that they were found again. From these animals (5 pairs), which Paul Loiselle was able to collect in October 1994, all animals living today in aquaria originate.

Unfortunately, the population in nature has developed very negatively. At present, the species is considered “critically endangered”. After that only “extinct” remains! One of the last populations was destroyed by drinking water withdrawals for private residences and a monastery, now there is only one confirmed occurrence of the species in a river section between Ambohitra and the village Sakaramy. Originally this beautiful killi probably occured along a mountain range (the Ambohitra mountains). There it is said to have been exterminated by introduced Guppies and Gambuses, which eat the young fish of Pachypanchax; the incessant deforestation gave the remaining populations the rest.

Fortunately, P. sakaramyi can be traded freely, so you can contribute to the conservation of the species without the hassle of bureaucracy by buying these beautiful fish. The requirements of the species are easy to meet: medium-hard water, pH around 7.5 and temperatures between 20 and 25°C are acceptable. They are robust killis, which can also be well maintained in community tanks, but not with very small and delicate fish.

For our customers: the animals have code 342452 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade. Only available in small quantities!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Priapella compressa

12. October 2018

The Blue-eyes from Mexico are closely related to the Knife-bellies (Alfaro). Like these, the males of Priapella have a massive keel along the underside of the tail. All Priapella attract attention by their blue, shining eyes. They are powerful swimmers who appreciate a good current. In nature they live close to the surface in clear flowing waters. That is why they have high demands on water hygiene. The aquarium for Priapella should always contain very clear, clean and oxygen-rich water. The temperature can be between 22 and 28°C. Priapella are schooling fish and should best be cared for in groups of 10 or more. When breeding, approach food (Drosophila) is almost essential. 

All in all, blue-eyes are beautiful but demanding fish, which are therefore rarely bred and offered. At the moment we have Priapella compressa in beautiful, adult specimens in stock. They are German bred ones.

For our customers: the animals have code 444493 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus variatus “Puente Escalanar”

25. September 2018

Once again we can offer a  extremely beautiful wild strain of the variatus platy in good numbers as German offspring. The ancestors of these animals were collected in 2002 in Puente Escalanar, Veracruz, Mexico by private hobbyists and brought along. Since then, the animals have enthused mainly the community of friends of livebearers; to our knowledge, they have not yet appeared in regular trade.

A special characteristic of these animals is the sickle-shaped tail-root-spot, which all specimens, males and females, show. Males have two basic coloration types. First specimens with tiger stripes on the flanks of the front body and second such, which are dotted here. Dominant specimens of the tigred variety become quince-yellow, with the dotted is much blue shimmer in the front body. Particularly beautiful are the sky-blue scales, which some males of the tigered form show along the mid of the front body.

They are lively, very healthy animals, whose behaviour has remained very original. When they are worried, they join together to form the swarm, which is very rarely observed among the domesticated tribes that have been around for a hundred years.

For our customers: the animals have code 443000 (sm-md) and 443002 (md-lg) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii „Hamburg Highfin“

19. September 2018

Only very rarely one of the most beautiful breeding forms of the swordtail comes to us: the black Simpson with orange fins. Among fish lovers Bayreuth is known as the spade for this very distinctive swordtail breeding form and is called “Bayreuth Cross”. In Germany, this variant was first exhibited in 1968 (report by the Nordbayer Kurier on 11 October 1968). As with other swordtails – Hamburg, Wiesbaden, Berlin – the name of the city was adopted for this helleri and thus it became the Bayreuth swordtail.

However, this was not the first time that a swordtail of the “Bayreuth type” was bred. In fact, five years earlier, Hawaiian fish breeders Eric and Larry Nishida crossed a red Simpson fin male with a normal fin Hamburg female. Hamburgers are black swordtails whose scales have a green or blue sheen. The result of this crossing had the high Simpson fin, the body coloration of the hamburger, a well developed sword, a bright red throat region and red fins.  An article about this “Nishida Highfin-helleri” appeared in the American magazine “The Aquarium” in November 1963.

Our fish are offspring from Vietnam.

For our customers: the animals have code 420972 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy “Red Smoke”

12. September 2018

Glasbelly guppies do not produce guanine due to a genetic peculiarity – this is the silver dye that makes fish glisten. This makes them more or less transparent, as the guanine normally reflects the light and prevents transparency like a mirror. Mostly Glasbelly guppies are bred as albinos. If the black melanin also falls away, the view becomes perfect.

Not everyone likes albinos and therefore there are other established Glassbelly strains, but almost all are blonde, yellow-red in colour. We have now received a number of Glasbelly smoke guppies from a German breeder for the first time. They lack guanine, but not melanin. We think they are distinctive animals and also very vital.

The line was created by mating a normal coloured male with an albino glassbelly female. The young were all wild-coloured, i.e. with normal guanine expression, so the genes of the father were dominant as expected. However, according to Mendel’s rules, the second generation produced a proportion of glass belly with black eyes from which the „Red Smoke“ was bred. The strain isn’t fully bred yet, but that doesn’t matter. For ornamental fish breeding, it is a well-known fact that the path is the goal!

For our customers: the animals have code 419091 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only available in limited quantities!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia caucana

5. September 2018

With an overall length of 3 – 5 cm the Cauca Molly (Poecilia caucana), originating from Colombia, Venezuela, and Panama belongs to the smaller livebearers. Remarkably is the yellow – orange coloured dorsal fin and a violet metallically shining along the body as well as the orange band in the proximal part of the caudal fin in males. 

The water equivalents (pH values of 8,2- 8.6, LF 360 and 420 Mikrosiemens/cm), based on different places where the animals are found in the area of the Rio Cauca, makes them to suitable aquarium inhabitants for the most Central European tap waters. These fish appreciate higher temperatures between 26 and 28°C. 

As an algae eater the Cauca molly is constantly on the search for food. All usual kinds of fish food are greedily eaten. With appropriate care a new generation will appear sooner or later. THe fish we can offer currently are bred ones from Southeast Asia.

For our customers: the fish have code 424713 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusiveky supply the wholesale trade.

Photos: Frank Schäfer, Text: Klaus Diehl

Micropoecilia picta Red

10. August 2018

This extremely beautiful livebearer has been discovered in 1991 by Dieter Bork in eastern Venezuela near Tucupita. Here it inhabits the floodplains of the Orinoco river. Bork was able to collect and export some specimens. Micropoecilia picta is very variable in respect of coloration. However, in contrast to M. parae, usually only one colour variety inhabits a given biotope. Nevertheless it is possible to develop certain strains during breeding in captivity.

The Red Picta is, like all members of the genus, a very demanding fish that can be kept and bred over longer periods only by very experienced hobbyists. Nevertheless M. picta is the least demanding species of the genus. We currently have very pretty young adults of M. picta Red in stock. The fish were bred in Thailand. To show you the extend of coloration these fish can have we added two pictures of fully grown specimens to this post; the remaining pictures show animals from our actual stock.

For our customers: the fish have code 268542 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii „Kohaku“

1. August 2018

Red-white, koicoloured livebeares are very hip currently. Usually the commercial breeders do not name their creations by their genetic compostion – like private hobbyists do -, but name them instead with as fancy names as possible. The „Kohaku“ is a white albino swordtail with a bright red patch on the front part of the body. This sport is known for some time already with black eyes. This was named „Marlboro“ and the selection with the red patch on the front part of the body „Tanchu“. No doubt: the albino selection called „Kohaku“ is a real eyecatcher!

For our customers: the fish have code 421273 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply e wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Endler Red Chest Saddleback

28. May 2018

A few years ago we were able to import for the first time guppys that exhibited a black saddle bar over the back, starting at the base of the dorsal fin. These fish were called Yellow Half Tuxedo (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/brandnew_guppy_endler_yellow_half_tuxedo_en/).

An advancement of these guppys represents the Red Chest Saddleback. The breeder takes care that red pattern appears in the chest region. Moreover, the caudal fin pattern has much developed, compared with the typical Endler caudal fin pattern. We can offer the variety Red Chest Saddleback now as German bred ones. The strain itself has been developed by the Japanese breeder Hiroshi Sugino.

The „true“ females of the saddleback Endler guppys can be recognized by a dark spot at the upper base of the caudal fin.

For our customers: the fish have code 419125 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia reticulata Guppy Kohaku / Koi

18. May 2018

The red-white albino guppy is a very attractive fish. The females are quite uniform in respect of coloration. They all have a red head and a red caudal fin. In males things are different. Initially they are colored like the females, but fully grown males develop an individually different degree of red pattern on the body; so in large males all specimens look different.

For our customers: the fish have code 419203 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer