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Characins
/ Characinae / Blind Cavefish
Blind Cavefish, Blind Cave Characin, Blind Cave Tetra
Astyanax fasciatus mexicanus | Pictures
SYN: Anoptichthys
jordani, A. hubbsi
PD: The body is flesh colored with a silvery iridescence. The fins are colorless and transparent.
Where the eyes should be, there are dark areas where the eyes have been covered with skin.
SIZE: To 3.5" (9 cm)
SS: None
S: middle
HAB: This fish is found in underwater lake and stream caves, and sub-terrain streams.
North
and Central America; from Texas to Panama.
TANK: 24" (60 cm) or 15 gallons (57 L).
Very undemanding with regards to the
tank set-up.
The tank can include live plants as this species will not harm them.
WATER: pH 6-7.8 (7.2), 10-30 dH (14), 64-79°F (18-26°C)
SB: A peaceful fish that can be kept with other calm fish in a community tank. Can be kept
singly or in groups.
SC: Livebearers, Corydoras,
Loricarids, tetras, Gouramis.
FOOD: Live; aquatic insects, shrimp,
Tubifex, insect larvae; flake.
SEX: Females are plumper and larger when mature.
B: Can be bred in cooler water temperature from 66-70°F (19-21°C). The eggs are
laid at random. The eggs hatch in 24-72 hours and the fry are free swimming after six days. They can be feed small
live and crushed dry foods. They grow quickly. The young have eyes which disappear shortly after hatching.
BP: 6.
Breeding this fish is not difficult in tanks with a cooler water
R: This fish locates its food by its excellent sense of smell. The Blind Cavefish was formerly
known as Anoptichthys jordani
.
This fish can mate with
A. mexicanus, the regular, non-blind form. The Blind
Cavefish navigates its way around the tank by using its lateral line.
It is able to find foods and avoid obstacles.
DC: 2.
A hardy, and excellent 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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