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Characins
/ Characinae / Black Phantom Tetra
Black Phantom Tetra
Megalamphodus megalopterus | Pictures
SYN: None
PD: The black dorsal fin is tall and elongated.
The body color is smoky-black.
A faint
black line extends from the gill cover to the tail.
The belly is silver.
A large black, comma-shaped mark is located behind
the gill cover, but it lessens in intensity with age.
The anal and pectoral fins are elongated and like the rest of the fins,
black in color.
SIZE: To 1.8" (4.5 cm)
SS: None
HAB: Shaded areas with heavy vegetation.
South America; in the Rio Guapore, on Bolivia
and Brazil border.
S: middle
TANK: 24" (60 cm) or 15 gallons (55 L).
A cover of floating plants is needed
to diffuse the lighting.
Offer shelter with well-planted areas, but leave some open areas for free-swimming.
WATER: pH 6-7.5 (6.8), 4-18 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C)
SB: A peaceful, schooling fish that is recommended for a community tank.
This fish can be kept in a pair or groups.
Do
not keep singly, as single fish lose color, stop eating, and often die.
Males may battle, although no injuries
occur.
SC: Tetras, Corydoras,
Apistogramma, Loricarids, Discus,
Colisa.
FOOD: Flake; live; insect larvae, Brine Shrimp,
Tubifex.
SEX: Males are slimmer with larger and more elaborate fins.
The female has red adipose, pectoral,
and anal fins.
B: The pair can be introduced into a breeding tank after separate conditioning.
Use
a breeding tank with muted light, a pH of 5.5-6.0, and a water hardness of 4 dH.
After an impressive courtship, spawning
takes place among fine-leafed plants during the morning hours.
Eggs hatch in 1-2 days and the fry are free-swimming
after 2-4 more.
The fry are slow-growing and sometimes difficult to raise.
Start feeding with small live foods.
BP: 6.
Breeding is not difficult.
R: Fishes of the genus
Megalamphodus are very similar to
Hyphessobrycon,
the only difference being that they have a difference in the skull structure.
DC: 3. This fish is somewhat susceptible to fish tuberculosis, otherwise the Black Phantom
Tetra is a hardy 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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