Tag Archives: fasciatus

Leporinus fasciatus

30. April 2021

The tetras of the genus Leporinus (the genus name is a derivative of the Latin word “lepus” for “hare”) belong to the characteristic river fishes of South America. They owe their name to the shape of their mouth in combination with the elongated “hare teeth” in the lower jaw of some species, which reminded the genus descriptor of hare snouts. About 90 species have been scientifically described. Exactly how many species there are, however, is a matter of debate, as it is difficult to distinguish one species from another.

The only species regularly available in the pet trade is certainly Leporinus fasciatus. On golden-yellow, sometimes silver-white ground the vertical bands stand out effectively. This widespread species grows to a length of about 40 cm and we currently have both wild caught specimens from Venezuela and captive bred specimens from Indonesia in our stock. The pictures show wild specimens.

Very similar is Leporinus affins, which grows about 25 cm long. The word affinis means “similar” (meaning “similar to Leoprinus fasciatus”) and that fits it very well. The outward similarity of the two is striking at first, but you can clearly see that they are different species if you know what to look for. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the body ringlets below the adipose fin: in L. affinis there is one broad band here, while in L. fasciatus there are two narrow bands that are much closer together than the rest of the body bands.

Leporinus are very interesting aquarium fishes if you can provide the space for them. Among themselves they form a hierarchy. Important is additional vegetable food (leafy plants, like spinach, salads, dandelion etc.), also water plants are grazed with stump and stem. Concerning the water values the fish are undemanding, however humic substances promote the coloration. In soft, slightly acidic water they are very, very colorful.

The aquarium must be covered absilt completely: Leporinus jump incredibly accurate!

For our customers: Offsprings from Indonesia have code 265903, wild caught (currently from Venezuela) have code 265905 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Haludaria fasciata, the melon barb (formerly: Barbus fasciatus)

12. November 2018

In the south of India rises the ancient high plateau of the Deccan, which was already formed when India was still part of Africa. From here numerous small rivers flow directly into the Indian Ocean and in many of these rivers own colour variations, subspecies or species of freshwater fish have formed due to the geographical isolation. Barbs and loaches in particular can be found here in a great variety of forms, which, by the way, has not yet been scientifically researched.

A typical fish of this region is the melon barb, Haludaria (formerly Barbus or Puntius) fasciata. The above-mentioned applies to them fully, there are many colour strokes of them in the different rivers. The most attractive varieties – from an aquaristic point of view – are red, but they are also yellow and orange varieties.

We have often quite wonderful wild-caught specimens in stock, which have a fantastically deep red as basic color. The males seem to glow from the inside. The melon barb becomes about 8 cm long and is completely peaceful. As a barb it nibbles on delicate plant parts if it is not sufficiently supplied with plant food. The water-composition is secondary, the temperature should amount to around 26°C. A “hibernation” of 6-8 weeks at temperatures between 18 and 22°C has a very positive effect on the fish, but is not absolutely necessary.

For our customers: the animals have code 369523 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer