Physical description: A flattened species, having an oval shape. The body is elongated and the eyes are located on the right side of the body. The body color is light brown to beige and is irregularly spotted with large and small brown markings. Size/Length: To 4" (10 cm) Similar species: Salt-Pan Sole ( Brachinus salinarum ) Habitat: Areas with sandy riverbeds. South America; the Amazon and Paraguay rivers. S: bottom Aquarium: 28" (70 cm) or 20-25 gallons (76-95 l). The tank should have a substrate of fine gravel or preferably sand. Provide hiding places with stones, roots, and wood. Use a cover of floating plants to diffuse the lighting. Some plants should be used. Shallow tanks are preferred. Water chemistry: pH 5-7 (6.5), 2-10 dH (7), 79-86°F (26-30°C) Social behavior: Peaceful. Keep with other small to medium sized, peaceful fish of the upper swimming levels. This fish does best in a species tank. Suggested companions: Tetras, hatchetfish, pencilfish, Otocinclus. FOOD: Live; Tubifex , chopped earthworms, insect larvae-especially blood worms, shrimp; chopped meat; occasionally tablets. This fish should be fed after the lights are turned off. Sexual differences: Unknown Breeding techniques: Unknown Breeding potential: 10. No reports of successful spawning have been reported. REMARKS: Delicate species which is short lived. Has trouble acclimating and is very sensitive to water conditions, medications, and chemicals. Nocturnal Difficulty of care: 7. A sensitive fish that requires live foods in its diet. 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. |
