Physical description: An elongated, tall fish which has an arched back when adult. This fish has large eyes and a small head with a pointed snout. The body coloration is beige to light brown and marked with seven to nine dark stripes. The forehead is yellow and so is the adipose fin. The dorsal and pelvic fins are striped and the other fins are transparent. Size/Length: To 5.5" (14 cm) Similar species: None Habitat: South America; widespread throughout the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers. S: bottom, middle Aquarium: 32" (80 cm) or 30 gallons (114 L). As for other species of the Anostominae family. Water chemistry: pH 6-7.5 (6.8), 2-18 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C) Social behavior: The young are peaceful and can be combined in nearly any community tank. Adults do not usually tolerate others of their species. Suggested companions: See general Headstander description. FOOD: Algae; vegetable; spinach, lettuce; fruits; vegetable flake food; plants; live; worms, crustaceans, aquatic insects, insect larvae. SEX: Unknown Breeding techniques: Unknown Breeding potential: 10. Breeding is not difficult. Remarks: This species swims in head pointing downwards position, grazing algae off rocks and searching for fallen food. This fish may jump when frightened. Difficulty of care: 4. A hardy community fish. Recent articles about fish Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees (2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health. Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees (10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine. Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater (12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina. |
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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2009 The copy for fish.mongabay.com was written in 1994-1995. Therefore some information such as scientific names may be out of date. For this, I apologize. Feel free to send corrections to me. |
