In 2010 this beautiful rainbowfish was discovered on a private expedition in eastern West Papua. It lives there in the Taritatu River (former: Idenburg River). At first it was thought to be a Chilatherina species, but genetic studies rather point to Glossolepis. The species could be brought back alive and propagated in the aquarium. Nowadays captive bred specimens even appear in the regular trade (eg not only among spezialised hobbyists), so good was the success to establish the species in the hobby.
This slender Glossolepis becomes about 12 cm long, females remain smaller. The photographed specimens are 8-9 cm long. A particularly striking feature of this species is the red anterior dorsal stripe, which the females also show, although much weaker than the males. In the high courtship (in this mood the animals come naturally in the photo tank hardly) the body ground coloration darkens to a wonderful blue.
For our customers: the fish have code 417603 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
