Odontocharacidium cf aphanes

18. April 2011

Once more we were able to import this cute dwarf tetra from Peru. The maximum length of the fish is around 2 cm total length. Despite their small size the males can be very aggressive against each other. If one can keep a lot of them together they are peaceful (the same phenomenon can be found in many cichlid species), but in a normal sized tank one should keep only one male along with one or more females.

The sexes can be distinguished easily by coloration. Only the males become bright red. Depending on mood, mating males can also develope a deep black humeral spot.

So far only one species of the genus Odontocharacidium is known to science, namely O. aphanes from the Rio Negro in Brazil. However, this species has a rather dull coloration. Is is not known wether the Peruvian fish represents a new species or a variety of O. aphanes.

The water parameters on a collecting site of this fish in the Rio Shishita drainage were as follows: pH 5,32, conductivity 21µS/cm, temperature 24°C. Keeping these very nice fish proofed unproblematical so far.

For our customers: the fish have code 272973 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Odontocharacidium: means about “Characidium with teeth”; Characidium is another genus of ground tetra. aphanes: ancient Greek, means “unconspicuous”.

Suggestion of a common name: Red Dwarf Darter Tetra

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Angaben zum Tier
Herkunft Peru
Verfügbare Größe in cm 1,5 - 2