Physical description: An elongated fish with characteristic elongated tip on the pectoral fins. The body is brown with a silvery iridescence. The gill cover is marked with a black spot with a small silver crescent to the left. Under the eye may be a fine violet line. The fins are dark gray to black with a fine yellow line between each ray. Size/Length: To 4.5" (12 cm) Similar species: None Habitat: Eastern Africa; found living on a mud or sand substrate at depths of 65-164 feet (20-50 m) in Lake Tanganyika S: bottom, middle Aquarium: A tank of 30" (76 cm) with a volume of 20-25 gallons (75-98 L) is adequate. Use a coral sand substrate and leave open swimming areas. The background should be rock structures with caves, over-hangs, and crevices for hiding. Water chemistry: pH 8.2-9.0 (8.2), 10-20 dH (15), 75-81°F (24-27°C) Social behavior: A peaceful fish that does not set-up strong territories. Instead of chasing off other fish who near their area, the Otostigma simply opens its large mouth as a warning to trespassers. The Otostigma can be combined in a Lake Tanganyika community tank. Suggested companions: Lake Tanganyika cichlids, Lake Tanganyika Rainbowfish FOOD: Live; insect larvae, crustaceans, Tubifex, aquatic insects; chopped meat; pellets. Sexual differences: Unknown; possibly the fins of male fish are more elongated. Breeding techniques: The Otostigma is known to be a mouth brooder who cares for the brood a short time after the fry hatch. Otherwise little has been discovered. Breeding potential: 9. Spawning this far have usually been accidental. Remarks: This species appears to be related to the bottom-dwelling marines fish of the family Triglidae. Difficulty of care: 5. A hardy fish who requires 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. |
