Physical description: An elongated fish with an up-turned mouth. The back is brownish orange. The flanks have a multitude of colors becoming darker towards the belly. The coloring starts out as orange becoming yellow, then green, then blue, and finally violet near the belly. The body is marked with five, red, lateral dotted line. The dorsal fin is green with two red stripes. The caudal fin is many colors like the body, and is marked with red spots and stripes. The lower edge of the caudal, anal, and pectoral fins are yellow. The anal and pectoral fins are blue in color with red markings. Size/Length: To 2" (5 cm) Similar species: Several other Aphyosemion species. Habitat: Inhabits small, shallow streams. West Africa; Northern Gabon. S: bottom, middle Aquarium: a tank measuring 16" (40 cm) with a volume of 5 gallons (19 L) is sufficient for a pair. The tank should be heavily planted with a cover of floating plants. Use a dark substrate and provide hiding places with wood and roots. Cover the tank well. Water chemistry: pH 5.5-7 (6.0), 4-14 dH (8), 68-73°F (20-23°C). A small, 0.5% addition of salt is suggested to help prevent infections. This can be accomplished by adding 4 TSP. of salt for every 10 gallons (5 g of salt/10 L) Social behavior: A small, peaceful species that can be kept in pairs. Suggested companions: Other Aphyosemion species, tetras of the upper swimming levels, hatchetfish, pencilfish, lamp-eyes that can tolerate lower water temperatures, Corydoras , Loricarids, Trichopsis , Pangio , Puntius titteya. FOOD: Live; flying insects- Drosophila, insect larvae, Brine Shrimp, other crustaceans, Tubifex worms; flakes. Sexual differences: Males are more colorful. Breeding techniques: This species can be bred in small tanks planted with large amounts of Java Moss. A pair in top condition may spawn 20-30 eggs daily for a period of three to four weeks. The eggs adhere to the tank bottom. Remove the eggs after a day's spawning. The eggs take 10-14 days to hatch and the fry can be raised on small Brine Shrimp nauplii. Breeding potential: 6. Breeding is moderately difficult. Remarks: At higher temperatures, this species will lose some colors and live for shorter periods. Difficulty of care: 5. A moderately sensitive Killifish. 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. |
what's new | tropical fish home | rainforests | news | search | about | contact |
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. |
