Tag Archives: pulcher

Neolamprologus pulcher (= N. brichardi)

10. May 2022

Whoever coined the name “Princess of Burundi” for this beautiful small cichlid: it is a brilliant name! The fish commonly known as Neolamprologus brichardi is by no means found only in Burundi, but is distributed in numerous color variants in Lake Tanganyika, which led to several scientific descriptions: Lamprologus savoryi pulcher, L. olivaceus, L. elongatus savoryi, Neolamprologus daffodil, Lamprologus crassus and just L. brichardi. If one follows the opinion of Ad Konings, these are all members of the same species, which should then be correctly named Neolamprologus pulcher according to the rules of naming.

Fortunately, the little noblewoman does not care, because she does not read. And so the beautiful, including the long extended caudal fin only about 9 cm long fish delights now already the third or fourth aquarist generation with its wonderful appearance and the highly interesting breeding behavior. Both parents (which by the way hardly differ externally) defend together the spawning place (usually a stone crevice) and the young. In contrast to most other cichlids, the young, when they become independent, only partially migrate, the rest stay at home and take care of the younger siblings with mom and dad. Thus, over time, a fantastic picture emerges, a teeming of several ages that you really should have seen at least once in your life.

For our customers: the fish have code 542502 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hemigrammus pulcher

30. April 2021

From the upper Amazon in Peru comes the beautiful garnet tetra, which grows 3-4 cm long. The very peaceful animal actually has characteristics like a carbuncle, a gemstone, which in fairy tales has the ability to make the owner invisible: because the eye and tail root of Hemigrammus pulcher shimmer like gemstones, but the individual fish in the troop is thus difficult to spot for prey predators. Within the species the luminous markings serve for recognition of conspecifics in the dark home waters.

Perhaps in the first moment one passes it by carelessly in the pet shop, because in the bright dealer tank it does not appear very colorful, but this changes when the carbuncle tetra comes into a well planted aquarium with subdued light! As is common with tetras, the male is smaller and more delicate than the female. The garnet tetra is an ideal combination to the neon tetra, which comes from the same region.

For our customers: the animals have code 257002 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Datnioides microlepis

23. April 2020

The Indonesian Tiger Fish (Datnioides microlepis) is without any doubt the most beautiful species of Tiger Perch. These large growing predators can reach a maximum length around 50 cm and are wonderful show fish for large aquaria. But the photographed fish are still young, 4-6 cm long.

There are two populations of this perch, one originating from the southeast Asian mainland (the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins, this population is sometimes regarded as a separate species, D. pulcher) which has invariably 5 bars, while specimens from Indonesia have an individually variable number of bars. Both have in common the double bar on the tail.

It is fascinating to observe how fast the fish can change their coloration. When the fish are in a cool mood, they show the typical dark bars on a light ground. When the fish are upset – for example on hunt – they become very dark within a glimpse. Even small tiger fish prefer other fish as food. The feeder fish are hunted by swimming after them or by lying in ambush. When the latter tactic is chosen, only the light blaze discloses the hunter. The remaining body melts optically with the background.

For our customers: the fish have code 414002 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Datnioides: means “similar to Datnia”; Datnia is another genus of fish. microlepis: means “with small scales”. pulcher: means “beautiful”.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pelvicachromis pulcher Albino

14. September 2018

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.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

L168 Zonancistrus brachyurus

18. October 2017

We obtained wonderful L168 from Brazil. In this case the L-number provides a safer information than the scientific name. Due to several misidentifications this fish was in the hobby initially named Peckoltia pulcher, then Dekeyseria pulcher, sometimes also Zonancistrus pictus. But the valid name (this is at least current state of the art) is Zonancistrus brachyurus. Moreover, this species is often confused with the very similar species L52 from the Orinoco basin.

Zonancistrus brachyurus attains a maximum length of about 15 cm.  It originates from the Rio Negro system. L168 is very peaceful against conspecifics and can be kept in larger groups. This makes breeding attempts easier. Anyone who tries to breed the beautiful fish is recommended to use very soft water with an pH of 5.5 to 6 and a water temperature between 26 and 28°C. L168 is a typical cave spawner.

For our customers: the fish have code 26480-L 168-4 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Luciocephalus pulcher

28. August 2017

The pikehead, Luciocephalus pulcher, is a highly specialized anabantoid, a relative of the chocolate gouramies. Like the latter the pikehead is a mouthbrooder. Luciocephalus is the only true predator among the various anabantoids; in its natural habitat it feeds preferably on shrimps. The calm, beautiful animal (Latin pulcher = beautiful) would for sure be a favorite aquarium fish despite it is always hungry, but there is a big problem: Luciocephalus is among the most sensitive fish at all. This is why we are very glad that our most current importation of the fish is absolutely problem-free. We obtained the adult, about 11-13 cm long pikeheads via Singapore. Sadly we don´t know the collecting site, for our pikeheads are not only extraordinary healthy but also extraordinary coloured.

Usually the pikehead has a broad, horizantal brown band along the flanks. Only when the fish are under distress or during mating this band vanishes and irregular spots are visible. Our new importations shows this spotted pattern now since they arrived 10 days ago. We have no satisfying explanation for the phenomenon, maybe currently is the breeding season for pikeheads?

For our customers: the fish have code 424904 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pelvicachromis pulcher wild Yellow

6. March 2017

The yellow sport of Pelvicachromis pulcher originates from southwest Nigeria. Here they are collected west of the Niger delta in the area of the Ethiop river. The names Yellow, Red or Green for the different sports of P. pulcher refers to the colour of the opercles; all of them get a red belly at times. In all Pelvicachromis the females are the more attractive fish, P. pulcher is no exception from that rule. One can study in wild collected fish the variation of the eye-spots in die dorsal fin of the females, which can differ individually from zero to five.

For our customers: the fish have code 560202 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer