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Characins
/ Characinae / Boehlk's Penguin Fish
Boehlk's Penguin Fish, False Penguin Fish
Thayeria boehlkei | Pictures
SYN: None
PD: An elongated fish with a base body color of brown to golden. The belly is white to
silver. a broad black stripe extends from the gill cover down the tip of the lower flank of the tail. The other
fins are transparent.
SIZE: To 3" (8 cm)
SS: Penguin Fish ( T.
obliqua)
S: middle, top
HAB: South America; well-planted sections with slow-moving water in the Rio Araguaia (Brazil)
and the Peruvian Amazon
TANK: 24" (60 cm) or 15 gallons (55 L).
The tank should be well-planted and
have a cover of floating plants to diffuse the lighting.
Leave open swimming areas.
WATER: pH 5.8-7.5 (6.5), 4-20 dH (8), 72-82°F (22-28°C)
SB: A peaceful, schooling fish recommended for a community tank.
Keep this fish in groups.
SC: Tetras, Hatchetfish,
Corydoras, Apistogramma, Discus, Loricarids, gouramis
FOOD: Flakes; live; insect larvae, Brine Shrimp,
Tubifex
SEX: The females are plumper.
B: Use a breeding tank that contains bushy plants.
The spawning takes place at night.
As
many as 1000 eggs are laid at a time, which hatch in 20-24 hours.
Remove parents after eggs are laid.
The
fry can be fed small live foods.
BP: 6.
Breeding Boehlk's Penguin Fish is not difficult.
R: This fish is often sold as the Penguin Fish, a name which actually belong to
Thayeria obliqua.
This fish swims in an oblique position
with its head toward the surface of the water.
Boehlk's Penguin Fish is sensitive to toxic compounds, especially nitrate.
Perform
frequent partial water changes to keep this fish in top condition.
DC: 4.
A fairly hardy fish recommended for a community tank.
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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