Our current import from the D.R. Congo contains inter alia two pretty species of dwarf bushfish: Microctenopoma ansorgii and M. fasciolatum. While M. ansorgii, the Orange bushfish, is imported on a rather regular basis, M. fasciolatum is found only very rarely in the trade.
The Striped bushfish – this is the common name of M. fasiolatum – can be compared best with the gouramis of the genera Colisa and Trichogaster in respect of care and behaviour. Like the gouramis, M. fasciolatum is a peaceful fish that feeds on small insects, crustaceans etc (in the aquarium it feeds on all types of dried, frozen and live food) and becomes only a bit quarrelsome during the breeding period when the bubble nest is built and becomes defended.
Males and females can be distinguished best by the coloration of the fins, which are spotted in males and plain in females. The coloration differs drastically depending on mood. For example, sometimes the fish show a cream white horizontal stripe which cannot be spotted at all in other mood-depending patterns.
The maximum length of this species is around 8-9 cm, the fish become sexually mature at about 5 cm total length.
For our customers: the fish have code 117002 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Lexicon: Microctenopoma: means “small Ctenopoma”; Ctenopoma is another genus of bushfish. fasciolatum: means “striped”.
Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer
| Angaben zum Tier | |
|---|---|
| Herkunft | D. R. Congo |
