Physical description: A bullet-shaped species with strong lateral compression and a long, slender caudal penuncle. The head and snout are rounded and the mouth is small. The anal and dorsal fins are located far back on the body and are opposite one another. The body color is light gray to gray-brown and can be speckled with small dark spots. The fins are brown and the caudal fin is forked. A faint red stripe extends from the caudal penacle to the gill cover. Size/Length: To 6" (15 cm) in nature, although rarely larger than 3.5" (9 cm) in captivity. Similar species: Marcusenius species, Hippopotamyrus species, Petrocephalus species, and other Pollimyrus species. Habitat: Africa; Lower Nile, Upper Zambezi S: bottom, middle Aquarium: A 28" (71 cm) or 20-25 gallon (76-95 L) tank is sufficient. Follow suggestions for G. petersii. Water chemistry: pH 6-8 (7.5), 4-18 dH (10), 77-84°F (25-29°C) Social behavior: A peaceful, schooling fish recommended for a community tank. This species should be kept singly or in groups of five or more. It is important to provide a retreat for each fish. Larger Mormyrids tends to harass this gentle, but territorial species. A nocturnal species. Suggested companions: See M. macrolepidotus. FOOD: Live; Tubifex, other worms, insect larvae, Artemia; occasionally flakes. Feed after the lights are off. Sexual differences: Unknown Breeding techniques: Unknown Breeding potential: 10. Breeding has not been successful. REMARKS: An easy fish to keep, although it is sometimes intolerant of unfavorable water conditions. Difficulty of care: 5. This interesting species requires a diet of live foods. 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. |
