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.
Hatchetfishes are normally wild caught. They are very common, easy to transport and therefore a welcome addition to the sustainable ornamental fish fishery in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Brazil. This is also true for the “Common” Hatchetfish, Gasteropelecus sternicla. For general information on the species, please also see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/ein-grosser-klassiker-gasteropelecus-sternicla/.
For some years now, offspring of this species have been coming from Indonesia, which is a very popular way to bridge supply bottlenecks from the wild. Such supply bottlenecks occur seasonally once in a while during high water etc.. It was actually only a question of time until albinos appeared among the offspring with their thousands of offspring. Et voilà: We can now offer albinos of Gasteropelecus sternicla as offspring for the first time.
For comparison on some photos you can see normal colored G. sternicla. These are wild caught specimens from Colombia, the albinos are offered pure.
For our customers: the albino hatchetfishes have code 254422 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.
The cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi, is one of the most traded ornamental fish worldwide. It is a big exception in the ornamental fish trade, because it was mainly traded as a wild catch; it is different with almost all other important ornamental fishes, which are mainly or exclusively traded as bred ones. It is said that in the 1980s up to 10 million specimens were exported annually from Brazil. Scientific studies prove that this is without negative consequences for the natural stocks.
Unfortunately, ornamental fish exports from Brazil became increasingly difficult for political reasons. That is why nowadays more and more bred cardinal tetras are appearing on the world market, certainly at the expense of the natural environment – the unemployed ornamental fish catchers have to try to feed themselves and their families by slash-and-burn and gold mining, with devastating consequences for nature.
When an animal species is domesticated, it does not take long before mutations – i.e. changes in the genes – occur among the offspring. In contrast to nature, where 99.99% of all born animals die before they reach adulthood, up to 90% survive in human care. Although mutations also occur in nature, the probability that they will survive and pass on their genes is almost zero. For ornamental fish breeders, on the other hand, a mutation is virtually a survival advantage if it looks interesting. One such mutation is the Golden Red Neon.
Technically speaking it is a partial albino. The Golden Red Neon lacks the guanine, that is the silvery shining color, which almost all fish have. This makes the eye red and you can see the eggs in the belly of the females, because the normally silver reflecting belly skin is now transparent. The Golden Red Neon therefore look very strangely beautiful.
Due to the low genetic diversity – usually such breeding forms go back to only one specimen, which is crossed with a normally colored one; by inbreeding one finally gets hereditary strains – the Golden Red Neon are considerably less adaptable than normally colored conspecifics. One should treat it therefore very carefully.
For our customers: the animals have code 216614 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
About 80 years ago, a German breeder found by chance an albinotic paradise fish among a brood of normal siblings. The breeder was successful in rearing the fish and this animal became the ancestor of all albinotic paradise fish known today. However, breeding albinotic paradise fish is not that easy and so they always were rare in the trade. Nevertheless obviously there were enough people who found them worth keeping and breeding, for otherwise the sport would not have survived such a long time.
Currently we have breeders who are able to supply us continously with high quality albinotic paradise fish, so we can offer the beautiful fish on a regular basis.
For our customers: the fish have code 426002 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Breeding forms are like certain foods: you like them – or not. But it is a fact that the aquarium hobby, like all other areas of domestic animal and plant care, cannot get along without breeding forms.
The albino of the krib, Pelvicachromis pulcher, is a breeding form whose charm is not obvious at first sight. The animals come mostly adolescent into the trade and are then simply white kribs. Well. Now we have full-grown animals in our stock. And the situation is very different. The red and yellow colour elements remain in the albino, only the black colours have been genetically lost. In reproductive mood, both the males and the females of the albino krib look quite wonderfully!
For our customers: the fish have code 559703 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusiveky supply the wholesale trade.
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.
There is no consensus among aquarists regarding albino sports. One part of the hobbyists find them awkward, the other part simply wonderful. Readers belonging to the first group: please accept our excuse, next week a different fish will be subject of the post again. For all the others: The Malawi-Eyebiter (Dimidiochromis compressiceps) has a bad reputation and a bad popular name. However, the „eyebiting behaviour“ has never been observed in the aquarium. So in fact this fish is a favorite aquarium inhabitant for decades already, most probably due to its unusual shape. But one should not keep these fish with young fish, except the younsters are brought in as feeder fish…
Against all other species of cichlid, which are too large to serve as food, D. compressiceps is comparatively peaceful – as most predators are. The Malawi-Eyebiter is not much territorial (except the breeding season) and so the species is very well suited for a community tank with other Malawi cichlids except the rock-dwelling Mbuna. The latter are too hectic for the calm predator which inhabits, by the way, preferrably the reed-zones with soft bottom along the shores of lake Malawi.
For our customers: the fish have code 520244 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
The Port Hoplo Megalechis thoracata – maybe the synonym (now invalid) name Hoplosternum thoracatum is more familar to some readers – is one of the earliest aquarium fish at all. The fish has only one real disadvantage: the maximum size, which is about 15 cm (or sometimes even larger). However, the species has a comparatively small mouth and so it fits quite well in a community tank with more robust and somewhat larger fish. Megalechis have a great fan community who calls them the „fighting sausages“.
Breeding Megalechis is very interesting, for male Port Hoplos build up a foam nest, similar to that known from anabantoids. Megalechis prefers to build it under a swimming item (breeders often use the covers of old coffee boxes, but this is hardly ever available in the wild). The male is very pugnacious while guarding the nest and will even jump in the keeper´s face if this curious person comes too close to the nest!
Until now no artificial sports became known from Megalechis. But now we obtained from a breeder an albino sport. These animals look very attractive. We wanted to make also photos from „regular“ Port Hoplos for comparison and while looking through the animals we have in stock we also found two almost black animals! This is quite astonishing after decades of keeping and breeding Megalechis without such mutations!
For our customers: the fish have code 259322 (albinos) and 250302 (regular coloured) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Currently we receive beautiful cultivated albino Congo Tetras (Phenacogrammus interruptus) from Southeast Asia. Like in all true albinos the eyes of the fish are red due to the genetically caused lack of black body pigment (melanin). In many other species of fish albinos have a uniform whitish, yellowish or flesh-coloured body. Not so in the Congo Tetra. The iridescent colours of the body of that species are also extant in the albino variety. This makes the fish look so extraordinary nice.
Lexicon: Phenacogrammus: from ancient Greek, meaning “with tricky line”; this refers to the fact that the shape of the lateral line cannot be used to distinguish this genus from other genera. interruptus: Latin for “interrupted”. Refers to the shape of the lateral line.
For our customers: the fish have code 159454 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively the wholesale trade.
We received this extraordinary and beautiful sport of Acarichthys heckelii from Taiwan. A. heckelii is a comparatively large species of cichlid that can attain over the years a total length of more than 20 cm. And the fish becomes more and more beautiful with every year! The species is very peaceful. Aquarium maintenance is comparable with Geophagus or the Ram, but A. heckelii is much less demanding in respect of the water chemistry. A. heckelii is a cave brooder that can be quite productive.
For our customers: the fish have code 601043 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos. Frank Schäfer
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