We
received in our current import from the Congo a beautiful species of
CongoTetra under the name of “Phenacogrammus sp. Lukeni River”. As the
correct determination was impossible at first (the systematics of this
group of tetra are quite complicated) we adopted that name for our
stocklist. In the meantime we are quite sure that our fish belong to the
species Alestopetersius hilgendorfi.
May
this be as it is: the fish are really breathtaking beautiful! When we
caught them to transfer the animals to the photo-tank they looked much
deeper red than later. The solution of that enigma can be found in the
magnification of one of the pictures. Here we see that all over the body
small red cells are scattered, looking a bit like spread ink. These
color-cells can be widened or contracted by the fish, depending on its
mood. Obviously the lightning of the photo-tank was a bit too strong for
the fish, so they contracted the color cells and looked less red.
These
Congo Tetras can obtain a maximum length of 6-7 cm. They should be kept
by experienced keepers only, as they need very clean, bacteria-poor
water.
For our customers: the fish have code 159004 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
