Author Archives: Frank Schäfer

Amatitlania (formerly Cichlasoma) nigrofasciata Marble

9. August 2021

The convict cichlid Amatitlania (formerly Cichlasoma) nigrofasciata is really not a novelty anymore: it has been kept and bred in aquariums since 1939. The first aquarium animals of this very widely distributed fish in Central America came from the lakes Atitlan and Amatitlan in Guatemala. The genus to which the convict cichlid currently belongs was named after the latter.

As early as the 1960s, a uniformly flesh-colored variety appeared in breedings, and since then the “piggies” have also found their enthusiasts. “New” is the marble variety. It originated in 1992 by chance in large-scale breeding of the monochrome animals in Florida and became lokal quite popular. Across the ocean they spilled first to Southeast Asia, where the busy professional breeders are always on the lookout for interesting novelties, from there to Europe and the animals we are currently offering, we got from a Czech breeder.

Apart from the coloration, which is different for each individual, they are typical convict cichlids, which move through the aquarium like a pack of wild pigs, examine every corner for food and are always ready for a fight. You can almost hear them squealing…

For our customers: the animals have code 655922 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Betta splendens Hellboy II

6. August 2021

Some time ago we introduced a short-finned fighting fish breeding form (“Pla Kat”) of Betta splendens as “Hellboy”. (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/betta-splendens-pla-kat-hellboy-and-giant-halfmoon/). Now we have received Pla Kat under this name from Thailand again, but they differ from the first Hellboys in color and fins.

The new Hellboys have a halfmoon tail fin, which means that when the tail fin is folded completely out, the edges are at a 90° angle to the longitudinal axis of the body. In a “normal” Pla Kat, this angle is smaller.

While the first Hellboys were predominantly red in color with a few speckles, they are now still red-grounded fish – hence the name, which refers to the comic and movie character Hellboy, an all-red, friendly but belligerent demon – but they have quite different cover colors, ranging from silvery-white pelts to koi patterns.

Thus, the new Hellboys are visually quite different from the first ones – as in the Hellboy movies, because in the third part the main character Ron Perlman is replaced by David Harbour, who also looks different…

For our customers: the animals have code 390082 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Kohaku Koi Tuxedo

6. August 2021

Guppy breeders are currently very active again and bring new, attractive strains on the market. The Guppy Kohaku Koi Tuxedo combines two special characteristics: The Kohaku factor, which causes males and females to have a red head combined with a red caudal fin and red dorsum; and the Elephant Ear factor, which causes the greatly enlarged pectoral fins of males to be colored (usually black, but white ones exist) instead of transparent; coupled with the Elephant Ear is often the Tuxedo factor, which causes a black body color with a blue anterior dorsum, but without spilling over to the fins. 

They are very lively, beautiful fishes that will definitely gain a permanent place in the assortment.

For our customers: the animals have code 419205 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Paracheirodon simulans

5. August 2021

Paracheirodon simulans is the smallest and tiniest species of neon tetra. The maximum length is around 2.5 cm. One should not confuse this species with the neon costello, Hemigrammus hyanuary, which is also called the “green neon” occasionally. This is the reason why some people call Paracheirodon simulans the “blue neon”, but in the international trade the name “green neon” is established for the species.

Despite this babylonic confusion one cannot confuse P. simulans with any other species. Only in this neon tetra the intensive shining neon band runs from the tip of the snout right through to the end of the caudal peduncle.

We can offer green neons the greatest part of the year. They originate from Colombia and Brazil. But only rarely such large, adult (about 2 cm long) specimens are available as we have currently in stock. This is a perfect occasion to stock a nano tank with these shimmering jewels….

For our customers: the animals have code 275704 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Brycon amazonicus Colombia

2. August 2021

The species of the genus Brycon belong to the large tetras of the open water. 21 species east of the Andes were distinguished in the last revision by Flávio C. T. Lima (there are others west of the Andes). Their identification, especially of juveniles, presents considerable difficulties, because they usually grow to 30-40 cm in length and adults look quite different from juveniles. That is why we listed B. amazonicus as Brycon sp. Colombia on our stocklist until now. However, the fine line pattern of the juveniles, which is very unusual for Brycon species, and the distinctive caudal fin pattern now lead us to believe that these animals are the species B. amazonicus, which is widely distributed in the Amazon and Orinoco systems. 

The care of Brycon is in principle simple, but one must not save on food. They are very greedy and fight for a food tablet like a pack of puppies for a bone. Due to their expected final size (approx. 50 cm!), combined with swimming pleasure they need large aquariums.

For our customers: the animals have code 212652 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Literatur

Lima, F. C. T. (2017): A revision of the cis-andean species of the genus Brycon Müller & Troschel (Characiformes: Characidae). Zootaxa 4222 (no. 1): 1-189.

Alestopetersius leopoldianus

30. July 2021

Our current Congo import contained among others the magnificent tetra Alestopetersius leopoldianus, which originates from Lac Mai Ndombe (formerly: Lake Leopold) and the middle Congo. With this maximum 9 cm long species one can get philosophical about the supposed objectivity of photography. Depending on the incidence of light the animal looks completely different! With the naked eye one almost always sees a dark, broad longitudinal band. This is also the only significant coloration feature mentioned in the first scientific description from 1899. 

Wonderful is the deep blue dorsum, which is the first thing that catches the eye of the importer when he closely examines his newly arrived treasures with a strong flashlight. The result can be seen in the photo pool. Here, too, the back of the animal shines in a magnificent blue, but the effect is completely different. And depending on the angle of light, the reflective colors can be so intense on the body that they even cover the longitudinal band, or almost invisible.

The nice thing is: In the aquarium you have all these colors at once, because the fish swims and so the incidence of light also changes permanently. So you have in an aquarium with Alestopetersius leopoldianus a beautiful picture, which you never get tired to admire.

For our customers: the animals have code 100173 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras elegans C123

30. July 2021

The beautiful Corydoras elegans is widely distributed in the Amazon region and locally forms numerous color forms. Possibly all these variants are even independent species, but scientifically this has not been investigated yet. A color variant from the Rio Nanay in Peru stands out above all by yellow-orange tinted fins. Some males (they have higher dorsal fins with dark bands) have even strongly orange colored dorsal fins, but only in old age and our animals are still quite young. Anyway, this Rio Nanay variant has been given the code number C123 to facilitate communication among enthusiasts.

Apart from the pretty fin coloration, C123 is a typical Corydoras elegans. The fish are very social and peaceful, swimming in open water more often than most other Corydoras. The maximum length is about 5-6 cm.

For our customers: the fish have code 229102 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nanochromis parilus wild

28. July 2021

Since a long time we received again a Congo import. Beside many other interesting fishes and novelties also the good old acquaintance Nanochromis parilus was among them. These beautiful, assertive dwarf cichlids are very common in the region around the capital Kinshasa. It is astonishing that they were described by science only in 1976. In the hobby they have been known since 1952, however they were initially misidentified as Nanochromis nudiceps (which is a different species). 

Nanochromis parilus are river-dwellers, but not rapids cichlids, preferring calmer sections. With a maximum of 8 cm (male) the species remains handy, females even stay smaller. They can be recognized by the broad white band in the dorsal fin. This species is a cavity breeder, with the female caring for the clutch and the newly hatched young, and the male defending the territory. When the young are larger, both parents lead the young.

Care is similar to the closely related Pelvicachromis, but keep in mind that breeding animals can be quite aggressive.

for our customers: the animals have code 554594 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Moenkhausia nigromarginata

23. July 2021

Again we can announce a first import: Moenkhausia nigromarginata. For the first time ever we received some of these tetras described in 1994. The species reaches a length of about 5 cm. Striking are the blue eye, the blue back in incident light and the – sometimes more and sometimes less visible – zigzag bands on the belly. This tetra comes from the drainage of the upper Rio Tapajós in Brazil and was caught together with Moenkhausia rubra.

Very interesting is the escape behavior of this species, which may explain why the animals did not appear in the hobby so far: when they feel threatened, M. nigromarginata shoot towards the ground and try to push themselves, lying on their side, under stones, roots and the like. This looks quite alarming for the keeper, who naturally fears that the animals would injure themselves in panic or become trapped in such a way that they would not be able to get out of the self-imposed trap again. But this worry is unfounded. Once acclimated, M. nigromarginata is no more skittish than other tetras.

All in all an interesting new form, which will surely find its followers.

For our customers: the animals have code 268852 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers. Only available in small quantities!

Loricaria lata

23. July 2021

From the larger growing, mouthbrooding whiptail catfishes of the genus Loricaria only the very widespread L. simillima is in the trade from time to time, the others – after all there are 17 recognized plus several scientifically still undetermined species – are absolute top rarities. We have now received L. lata from Brazil. This species grows 20-25 cm long. It originates from the drainage of the Rio Tocantins. Like so many mouthbrooding loricariids this species is polychromatic, i.e. within one population there are quite differently marked animals. Our fish also show this polychromatism. Some are almost completely black, others rather bright with black bands and there are all conceivable intermediate stages; depending upon mood the animals also can change color.

Among themselves our fish are peaceful. However, they are somewhat skittish and try to hide in the bottom when disturbed. A sandy bottom is therefore useful for the care, even if the fish then look in the close-up as if they had the white spot disease (Ichthyophtirius). We can reassure you: the animals are perfectly healthy.

For our customers: the fish have code 266563 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Crenicichla from the Rio Xingu

21. July 2021

In the 1990s, when the large river cichlids of Brazil experienced a certain boom, also four Crenicichla species came to Europe for the first time, which were named Crenicichla sp. Xingu I – IV due to the lack of availability of a scientific name. All four grow quite large by ornamental fish standards, you have to expect 30-40 cm in length, moreover Crencichla are robust animals that are able to assert themselves. Very large aquariums are therefore a basic requirement for the care of these animals. For a long time they were closed for export, now Brazil has released them again. Two of the species we can offer right now.

Crenicichla sp. Xingu I is strangely not described scientifically until today. Juveniles up to 5 cm length are bright red, then they turn orange. Adult fish look quite different; the males are then brassy yellow, the females gray-green with a bright red band in the middle of the body. We have juveniles (“fries”) in the stock that are decidedly schooling fish. Kept in a school, they sometimes retain their beautiful coloration until 20 cm in length. When this size is reached, the keeper has to watch out! In the “puberty”, before they become sexually active, these fish are extremely incompatible among themselves! Only when the sexes are clearly recognizable, you can dare to try to put pairs together. 

Crenicichla sp. Xingu IV was scientifically described as C. percna in 1991. From this very rarely imported species we have only one large animal of 24-28 cm length in the stock. We do not agree about the sex, but it speaks more for a male than for a female. This fish has a real personality, watching everything that is going on in front of the aquarium very closely, and it takes quite a bit of cunning and guile to approach it for a photo. Once the animal understands what’s planned, it squats in a corner and won’t budge – if it could, it would certainly stick its tongue out at the photographer!

For our customers: C. sp. Xingu I/Orange has code 671801 (5-7 cm) and 671802 (6-8 cm), C. percna has code 671896 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hyphessobrycon moniliger

19. July 2021

Under the name “Hasemania hansseni” a new tetra has recently appeared on the market, which with its intense orange coloration is indeed somewhat reminiscent of the well-known copper tetra, Hasemania nana. However, one of the characteristics of the genus Hasemania is that it lacks the adipose fin that is so typical for tetras. This is however present in the new imports. They are Hyphessobrycon moniliger, a species first mentioned in scientific literature by Lowe-McConnell in 1991 as “Hyphessobrycon sp. golden tetra”. It was then scientifically described in 2002 based on specimens from the Rio Tocantins drainage. In the meantime it was also reported from the Rio Tapajós drainage. 

The males of H. moniliger have broadened fin rays in the anal fin, which are also covered with numerous hooks. This characteristic is known rather from the Hemigrammus relationship, but as we have already mentioned several times, the systematics of the small tetras of South America is so far only very unsatisfactory clarified.

With about 4 cm total length H. moniliger remains handy small. They are very beautiful and peaceful fish, a real enrichment of the assortment!

For our customers: the animals have code 261393 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Moenkhausia rubra

16. July 2021

New legislation in Brazil now allows the import of species whose export was previously not allowed. One of these species is Moenkhausia rubra, which was only scientifically described in 2014. The species is so far known only from the Rio Juína and the Rio Juruena, both belonging to the upper Rio Tapajós drainage, Mato Grosso state, Brazil. The new species is quite unusually colored; especially the red back of the males is striking. Additionally – but this can only be seen in light obliquely from above – the anterior dorsum and the area along the longitudinal band have wonderful green iridescent zones.

The largest specimens known so far from nature were about 5.5 cm long (so with caudal fin about 6.5 cm). Probably they become somewhat larger in the aquarium than in the free life. In our facility these beautiful novelties proved to be robust, peaceful and easy to care for so far.

For our customers: the animals have code 269203 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Coyrdoras paleatus wild

16. July 2021

Only very rarely we receive wild collected Corydoras paleatus. Imports of this species, which is widespread in southern South America, didn´t appear for more than 10 years, because many export stations in southern Brazil had to close down when some of the most important ornamental fishes of the region were forgotten on the Brazilian positive list, which regulated which species could be caught and exported as ornamental fish. Now a negative list is in effect, meaning that all species may again be caught and exported unless they are specially protected.

This veteran among the aquarium fishes was already bred in 1878 by the Parisian aquarium pioneer Pierre Carbonnier, outside France the species is available since 1893. Since then there have always been offspring and also various breeding forms (long-finned, albino etc.) are always available in the trade. 

For our customers: the wild caught species have code 239553 (lg) and 239554 (xlg) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Anabas testudineus

14. July 2021

There are many criteria, why to choose this or that fish for the aquarium. Those who like colorful fish should avoid Anabas. But who likes to observe biological peculiarities is well advised with the climbing perch. General information about Anabas can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/fischarchiv/anabas_de/.

We have now once again imported climbing perch from Bengal. The animals are only 5-7 cm long and already sexually differentiated. Very nice animals – for Anabas standards anyway!

For our customers: the animals have code 364203 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

LDA25 Parotocinclus jumbo

12. July 2021

The Pitbull Pleco (Parotocinclus jumbo, formerly Hypostominae gen. sp.) was one of the most popular small sucking catfishes until about 10 years ago. Then it was accidentally forgotten on the list of Brazilian ornamental fishes allowed for export. Since then, it has only been around in breeder circles. This species, very common in the wild, was one of the most important export fish in southern Brazil. Almost all exporters had to close their farms when the export of the Pitbull Pleco was no longer possible. 

Now the situation has changed fundamentally, from Brazil all fish may be exported again, if they do not enjoy protection status due to a special situation. And finally we have received the first Pitbull Plecos again. Still a lot of lost infrastructure has to be rebuilt, the bad corona situation in Brazil, combined with extreme flood events does not make this easier, but we expect that in the future Pitbull Plecos (LDA25) will be seen regularly in the trade again.

For all who have forgotten or do not know it yet: This is a very peaceful, sociable fish that should definitely be kept in groups. The substrate should consist of fine sand at least in places, as the fish sometimes like to dig themselves in. Breeding is similar to that of Corydoras. P. jumbo does not practice broodcare. The males of the species are darker colored and slimmer. The normal size of this fish is 5-6 cm, but actually 8 cm giants of the species have been known.

For our customers: the animals have code 26480-LDA 025-2 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Guppy Neon Green Lyretail

9. July 2021

Aquaristics is unimaginable without the multitude of colorful livebearer breeding forms. However, this also means that there is competition between the different breeding lines for the buyers’ favor. A good name clearly sells. And even if, strictly speaking, the Neon Green Lyretail is neither neon green in color nor has a lyre tail – who cares? The little beauty has been sold under this name for a good 20 years and enjoys great popularity.

For our customers: the animals have code 418883 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hyphessobrycon sp. “Muzel Red Cherry“

7. July 2021

From Brazil we received this really nice novelty, which looks a bit like an enlarged edition of the Ember tetra, Hyphessobrycon amandae. However has the “Muzel Red Cherry” two (although indistinct) shoulder spots, which never occurs in H. amandae.  In addition, the dorsal fin in “Muzel Red Cherry” is red with a light margin, while in H. amandae it has a large black spot on the posterior margin. The novelty also bears a certain resemblance to the “Bolivia Orange”, which in turn is placed in the relationship of Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (although it is completely different in coloration). In contrast to the “Bolivia Orange” the “Muzel Red Cherry” has a red caudal fin, this is transparent in “Bolivia Orange”. In addition, there is a sex difference in “Muzel Red Cherry”, which is missing in “Bolivia Orange”: the males of “Muzel Red Cherry” grow larger than the females and have enlarged fins, as known from the Rosy Tetras.

The origin of the novelty is still unknown, the imported animals are bred ones. As our supplier learned, the Brazilian ichthyologist Flavio Lima from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in the state of Sao Paulo is working on the scientific description.

It will be interesting to see which genus Lima will come to, because the “Muzel Red Cherry” basically looks like a “Rosy Tetra” of the genus Hyphessobrycon, but it also has an incomplete lateral line and a scaled caudal fin base, both characteristics of Hemigrammus.

Anyway, this 3-4 cm long tetra is a real color wonder and a wonderful enrichment of the tetra assortment.

For our customers: the animals have code 261943 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Melanotaenia praecox

6. July 2021

The Diamond Rainbowfish – Melanotaenia praecox – is one of the smallest species of the actual rainbowfishes and grows only 6-7 cm long. It shows already from 3 cm length its splendid iridescent body coloration. That is why it is one of the most popular species in the trade. With age the males become high-backed and then the red in the vertical fins develops even more intensively. 

Since Melanotaenia praecox is only found on the island of New Guinea and there only in a small area in the western half of the island called Irian Jaya, all Diamond Rainbowfishes in the trade are descended from a few animals. Carelessly raised animals are susceptible to disease, well raised ones are not.

For our customers: the animals have code 428601 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aulonocara “Dragon Blood”

2. July 2021

Aulonocara are a specious and colorful genus of Malawi cichlids; because of their brightly colored dress they are called “peacocks” in English. They are small-animal eaters that selectively ingest small chunks of food.

Another group of cichlids in Lake Malawi feeds on the algae and the microorganisms (= Aufwuchs) they contain, which grow on rocks. These cichlids are called “mbuna” after a name given to this group of fish by local fishermen. Among the Mbunas there is a phenomenon that is not yet well explained: the so-called O- and OB- forms. O stands for “orange”, OB for “orange blotch”. These extremely deviant colored animals can occur in several species and are not necessarily bound to the sex. 

Although peacock cichlids and mbunas look very different, they have common ancestors. And the amazing thing is: they can even be crossed! Of course, such crossbreeding is done artificially, i.e. eggs and sperm are mixed and incubated “in the test tube”. Thereby the so called Fire Fish, Dragon Blood, O- and OB-Aulonocara were created, of which nowadays there are countless lines and at least as many imaginative names. All in all, hardly any animal is identical to the other, as it is to be expected due to the hybrid character. In feeding behavior and general body shape these animals resemble the Aulonocara species.

They are extremely colorful fish with bright colors, a real alternative for aquarists who like it very colorful, but do not want to make the effort of coral fish aquaristics. A basic requirement, however, are aquariums as large as possible, because although these animals grow only 10-15 cm long, they can develop a lot of temperament!

For our customers: the animals have code 502783 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorius variatus “Hotel Taninul” and “Code 1243”

2. July 2021

We have already introduced several wild strains of Xiphophorus variatus, which rightly bears its scientific species name (variatus = variable). 

Now we have again two new variants on offer, both are German bred ones, descended from wild populations. The first is a pretty speckled fish discovered and brought back on a scientific collecting trip in Mexico. It comes from the area around Hotel Taninul (Carretera Km. 15, 79250, Tampico, Valles, 79250 Cd Valles, S.L.P., Mexico). Located in a natural park, “Set inside the Huasteca, a 740-acre ecological preserve, this rural resort hotel surrounded by tropical forest is 17 km from the town of Tamuín and 19 km from the center of Ciudad Valles.” (quoted from the hotel’s promotional website). Near the hotel grounds flows a nameless sulfurous brook and from it came the said X. variatus. Other fish species living in the brook were Poecilopsis gracilis, Astyanax mexicanus, Poecilia formosa and unspecified aquatic turtles.

The second form was found by the same expedition along road 85 in a drainage near Mante towards Victora (11 km north of Mante at km 105). There is no publication on this so far, this information was passed on orally. Therefore, so far there is only the provisional designation “1243” made in the field notes. This Platy is rather interesting than beautiful, because one looks for color with him in vain. Interesting are the strong melanophores in the front half of the body and the dark reticulation in the middle of the rear, which gives the impression of a longitudinal band. This variety will hardly be able to establish in the hobby, here is probably an unique buying opportunity for specialized friends of livebearers, while “Hotel Taninul” will certainly find its friends, especially since the males with increasing age develop increasingly strong yellow tones in the fins and back, as the breeder told us.

For our customers: “Hotel Taminul” has code 443095, “1243” code 443093 on our stocklist. There are limited quantities of both varieties available. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Melanochromis johannii

30. June 2021

The bluegray mbuna or the electric blue johanni (Melanochromis johannii) was imported so early (1972) from Lake Malawi for the hobby that one still made the effort to invent a popular name for it. This was later abandoned in view of the great number of species. In the wild, these fish, like many other Aufwuchs-feeding rock cichlids (mbunas), remain a good third smaller than in the aquarium, where they can grow to a maximum length of 12 cm. At about 5 cm in length, the males begin to color. They then get a bright blue base coloration, while the females remain orange. Juveniles show female coloration. However, when a male gets tired of being constantly beaten up by the boss (mbunas are quite aggressive fish), he puts on female clothes and then has peace for the time being. You can always recognize males disguised as females by the eggspots in the anal fin, which are missing in females.

The generic classification of the Mbunas is based to a large extent on the pattern of markings. Melanochromis has horizontal dark bars and in males the pattern reverses with the onset of sexual maturity, i.e., what was previously yellow becomes black, for example, and what was previously black becomes blue, for example, as in the well-known auratus cichlid, M. auratus. Because the latter does not occur in M. johannii, but the black streaking in males and females remains the same and only the basic coloration changes, it has been suggested to place M. johannii in Pseudotropheus. Some follow the suggestion, others do not. In the end, this is of rather minor importance in aquaristics.

Anyway, M. johannii has many friends since its first importation and is always available as offspring for aquarium enthusiasts all over the world. They are typical agame mouthbrooders in the female gender, i.e. after spawning the male does not take care of the female and the offspring. To keep these fish colorful and vital even after hundreds of generations in the aquarium, they must not be fed too fat and protein-rich, but need a diet rich in fiber and vitamins. The water should not be too cool (26-28°C) and the pH should be well above 7.5. A lot of water changes ensures low polluted water, which is also important. Because of the aggressiveness Mbunas are best kept in large groups of both sexes, 10 animals are good, 20 better. The aquarium should also have many hiding places where inferior specimens and breeding females can retreat.

For our customers: the animals have code 551500 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hyphessobrycon eques “Longfin”

28. June 2021

The Serpa Tetra, also called the Callistus Tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques, formerly known as H. callistus or H. serpae), is the little man’s piranha. Just like piranhas, serpa tetras have an irresistible urge to bite the fins of other fish. And they constantly want to test out who is the stronger. This makes many exciting observations in the aquarium, but one thing you hardly ever see is Serpa Tetras with their fins completely intact.

The magnificent coloration and interesting behavior make many aquarists overlook the naughtiness of fin biting since 1924. In the course of time even a veil-finned variety of these up to 4 cm long animals developed. It too always appears somewhat tattered, but this does not detract from their enjoying life and also recognizably causes the fish neither pain nor discomfort.

One must always maintain Serpa Tetras in as large a group as possible of 10, better 20 animals or more, and offer them a richly structured aquarium. Since they originate from southern South America, where it can get quite fresh at certain times of the year, they should not be kept at high temperatures above 24°C all year round. Every now and then a few weeks without heating at 18-20°C will do the animals a lot of good and improve the colors.

For our customers: Serpa Tetras „Longfin“ have code 261953 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Pterosturisoma microps

25. June 2021

This interesting, about 20-25 cm long sucking catfish from Peru should only be kept by really experienced aquarists. Beside some adult specimens we could import this time also 4-7 cm long juveniles. The size of these fish is difficult to state, because one should not count the tail fin filaments, which are much longer than the body length, but it is common in aquaristics to count the tail fin in length measurements. In adult Pterosturisoma microps the caudal fin filaments are usually absent, but grow again in the aquarium.

Pterosturisoma microps (there is only the one species in the genus) is oxygen demanding, needs warm water (26-28°C), low germ load and is difficult in feeding. The animals hate to lie on sand or gravel. They prefer the vertical aquarium glass. If they do lie on the bottom, it is on rocks or roots. As an Aufwuchs feeder, they must have something to feed on throughout the day. The best food is a jelly food based on agar or gelatine, which you spread in liquid form (still hot) on stones, which you place in the aquarium after they have cooled down. 

By the way, a bare glass bottom is also not good for the animals, as a bacterial lawn can form here over time, which can cause infections on the belly of the fish. It is best to cover the aquarium floor with flat stone slabs. If the animals become thinner and thinner despite good food intake, the intestinal flora is probably damaged. Feces from healthy, other sucking catfish (e.g. Ancistrus) can help here and should be available especially in the acclimation phase.

All in all Pterosturisoma microps are a real challenge for specialists.

For our customers: the animals have code 286551 (4-7 cm) and 286556 (16-20 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pygocentrus nattereri

25. June 2021

The red-breasted shoaling piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is present throughout the Amazon River basin. It is the most common piranha species kept in aquariums. The breeding of these animals succeeds according to plan. Pairs are formed from a shoal, which spawn in bottom pits; the parents guard the spawning site, there is no brood care beyond that. Since this piranha species lives in a shoal (most of the approximately 30 species are incompatible loners), they can be raised together.

Mostly therefor are bred ones for the aquaristic demand in the trade; but occasionally also wild catches are imported and then one notices that there are locally quite clear coloration differences with the populations. Many wild-caught fishes are very intensively colored. Especially the blood red breast makes them very attractive. As juveniles of 6-15 cm length these piranhas are most beautiful. The pictures show 6-7 cm long wild catches from Colombia (Dept. Amazonas).

The final size of these fish is 25-30 cm, so you have to provide big aquariums for them.

For our customers: Wild caught have code 292404, captive bred have 292395 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Thorichthys meeki “Rio Candelaria”

23. June 2021

The Rio Candelaria is a lowland river in Central America. It originates in northern Guatemala and flows through regions there and in southeastern Mexico whose jungle landscapes were almost untouched by man for a long time. The Rio Candelaria gained sad fame because the conquistador Hernán Cortez had the last Aztec ruler Cuautémoc, a fierce fighter for the independence of his people, executed here. Whether the firemouth cichlids (Thorichthys meeki) of the Rio Candelaria are so intensely red in color because the blood of the Aztec got into the river? Probably not, because Cuautémoc was hanged, but the thought is romantic, isn’t it?

We currently have beautiful offspring of this location variant of the Firemouth Cichlid in various sizes in the stock. They have all the advantages of this magnificent species, i.e. relative peacefulness and magnificent appearance, plus the originality of this strain.

For our customers: the animals have code 654702 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Leporinus ortomaculatus

21. June 2021

For the first time we can offer this pretty Leporinus, which was scientifically described only in 2000. Be careful not to confuse it with L. octomaculatus, because this is a completely different species; here the confusion of one letter has consequences! 

So far Leporinus ortomaculatus is known from the Rio Surumu, Roraima, Brazil and from the rivers Rio Caroni, Rio Caura and Orinoco to the Delta Amacuro in Venezuela. Our animals originate from Brazil.

Two peculiarities make Leporinus ortomaculatus especially interesting for aquarium care: first, the species remains small by Leporinus standards. The largest specimen known to date was 11 cm long, so it can be assumed that the fish will hardly become longer than 15 cm in the aquarium (as is well known, Leporinus are long-lived fish and will certainly become much older and thus larger in the aquarium than in the wild). And secondly Leporinus ortomaculatus belongs to the most peaceful of all Leporinus species. Although there is constant teasing and chasing among them, as it is so typical for Leporinus, there is not even any fin damage!

For our customers: the animals have code 265763 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Channa micropeltes

18. June 2021

One of the most beautiful freshwater fishes of all is Channa micropeltes. This snakehead lives in groups and its favorite pastime is eating. It is therefore constantly on the lookout for food and swims lively in a shoal through the aquarium.

Although every word up to this point is true, it is still only half the truth. Because with over 130 cm maximum final size Channa micropeltes is also one of the largest snakeheads at all. And from about 15-20 cm length it loses the beautiful, bright juvenile coloration and changes from a schooling fish to an aggressive loner. Now it is black-brown marbled on the back. However, his favorite pastime remains eating and who makes the mistake to put Channa micropeltes because of his beautiful juvenile coloration in a community aquarium with small peaceful fish, soon has only one fish in the aquarium: a fat Channa micropeltes. 

So if you are interested in these animals, you must have a really big aquarium. Then snakehead and human can enjoy each other for decades. 

For our customers: the animals have code 409202 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aphanotorulus sp. L11

18. June 2021

The correct name of this beautiful catfish from the Rio Xingu is a matter of dispute among experts. In many parts of South America similar looking catfishes can be found, which are all close to the species already described in 1840 as Hypostomus emarginatus. These were assigned to the genus Squaliforma in 2001, and to the genus Aphanotorulus in 2016. There are also some L-numbers: L11 (Rio Xingu, Brazil), L108 (Ecuador, Rio Napo), L116 (Rio Trombetas, Brazil), L131 (Rio Tapajós, Brazil), and L153 (Venezuela).

Nathan Lujan wrote us: “All the members of the Hypostomus emarginatus “group” were pretty well resolved in our paper where we identified that they were actually in Aphanotorulus. Even though the type location is only listed as the Amazon, we showed that it likely came from the lower Amazon. Figure 8 in our paper is a distribution map for A. emarginatus, which shows the lower Amazon and its major tributaries plus the Essiquibo. The likely sister species is A. horridus, found in the upper Amazon, basically upstream of its confluence with the Rio Negro. Figure 12 in our paper is it’s distribution map. Here’s the link to the paper: https://www.mapress.com/…/view/zootaxa.4072.5.1/4170“

L11 is a wonderful large catfish for appropriate aquariums with fish from the Rio Xingu. In cichlid tanks it is an excellent algae eater. On the one hand it can take a poke, but on the other hand it is peaceful against conspecifics as well as against other fish. Fish from the Rio Xingu should be kept warm, 26-30°C correspond to the natural conditions. Under such conditions L11 can grow up to 40 cm long and live in the aquarium for decades.

For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 011-5 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Which Semaprochilodus comes from Indonesia?

16. June 2021

Quite clearly – none at all! Because this genus is exclusively from South America. But in Indonesia these beautiful large tetras are bred and occasionally we import juveniles from there. Then one wonders which species it is. We get them as S. insignis and so we sell them on, but is the determination correct? This question never left us and now we believe we can give an answer.

According to the most recent scientific review of the group (Castro & Vari, 2004), there are six species of Semaprochilodus: S. brama (Rio Tocantins and Rio Xingu), S. insignis (Amazon basin), S. kneri (Orinoco basin), S. laticeps (Orinoco basin), S. taeniurus (Amazon basin), and S. varii (Suriname and French Guiana). A common name in the hobby is S. theraponura, this is a synonym of S. insignis.

Semaprochilodus brama and S. varii are not of further interest in the following, because S. brama has a completely markless caudal fin and is therefore easily recognizable and S. varii has more than 12 narrow stripes in the caudal fin and is therefore also unmistakable. Very small juveniles of 3-4 cm look quite colorless with all Semaprochilodus, therefore we had to wait with our Indonesian imports until they had grown up to about 6 cm length.

From the remaining four possible species we could now exclude S. insignis, because it has five stripes in each caudal fin lobe (plus one in the middle of the caudal fin), but our animals have only three to four. This leaves S. kneri, S. laticeps and S. taeniurus, all of which have three to four stripes per caudal fin lobe. The three species have distinctly different high backs. S. taeniurus is the most slender species, almost topedo shaped compared to the others, then comes S. kneri and S. laticeps is really high-backed. Of the three, only S. laticeps has a pitch black membrane adjacent to the gill cover. This is clearly missing in our animals and so we can put the identification case to the files: the bred ones are Semaprochilodus kneri. But whether this name will be accepted in the trade is questionable. In practically all aquarium books S. kneri is shown as S. insignis, S. taeniurus or S. theraponura (e.g. in volumes 2 – theraponura – and 3 – insignis and taeniurus – of the Aquarium Atlas, but all three entries show S. kneri) and as is well known, nothing is as persistent as a thorough error.

For the care this is unimportant, because all Semaprochilodus become 30-40 cm long and are beautiful, impressive large tetras. They are Aufwuchs and detritus eaters and can be compared aquaristically quite well with kissing gouramis (Helostoma). Like them they have only a narrow throat and can’t do much with coarse food, which is why they can be kept together with much smaller fish. Among themselves they are sometimes somewhat quarrelsome. This can be counteracted by keeping at least 5-6 specimens together.

For our customers: the animals have code 290452 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Bright blue Maylandia from Thailand

14. June 2021

The zebra cichlids of Lake Malawi were among the first cichlids to come to us from this great lake in the 1960s. At that time they caused real enthusiasm storms. Aquarists had no idea of the enormous diversity of species and forms that exist there. So the zebras were simply called “Pseudotropheus zebra” after one of the few described species.

Today one knows it better and distinguishes with the zebra cichlids 32 different species, whereby there are also still undescribed ones and all form besides several distinguishable location variants. These zebra cichlids in the narrower sense were also separated from Pseudotropheus and transferred into their own genus, which is called Maylandia. A synonym to Maylandia is Metriaclima, so you can find all Maylandia species in the aquaristic literature also as Metriaclima.

Unfortunately, these species interbreed easily in the aquarium, so unintentional hybrids often occur. The beautiful blue Maylandia we received from Thailand under the name “M. estherae Blue” certainly do not belong to the species M. estherae, but are M. callainos with some M. zebra blood. For all hobbyists who just want to keep beautiful blue Malawi cichlids, Malawi cichlids from Far Eastern breeding are a good choice.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Betta splendens Pla kat Yellow cheek Spadetail

11. June 2021

The first documented domesticated form of the Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) was a Spadetail. That was in 1849. At that time certainly fighting fishes were bred for a long time, but they resembled more or less the wild fishes and were selected only for their fighting characteristics. The appearance of these animals was a minor matter. Only much later, when fighting fish were bred for export as ornamental fish to Europe and the USA, were veil-finned animals also bred. This was shortly after the turn of the 19th to the 20th century.

Nowadays the spadetail has largely disappeared. We have now received very interesting and rare spadetails with yellow ground color and bright yellow gill cover stripes (in the wild species these are red) from Thailand, the mother country of fighting fish breeding. Short-finned fighting fish are generally called pla kat. 

During the photo session we had to look carefully the animals did not hurt each other. Because unlike most Betta splendens, the animals of the Pla kat Yellow cheek Spadetail bite very early, when other forms still display harmlessly for a long time. Our trick: there were 10 adult females in the tank. So the males always dsiplayed only briefly (a few seconds) and were immediately distracted from each other again by the ladies. We can therefore assure you, dear readers, that all fighting fish involved in the photo session were brought back into their single rooms completely unharmed,

For our customers: the animals have code 390071 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos. Frank Schäfer

Angelfish XL

11. June 2021

Fully grown angelfish of the various breeding forms are comparatively rare in the trade. The reasons are obvious: The breeding is time and space consuming, because they are still cichlids, which demand a certain individual space for themselves. That’s why XL angels have to be comparatively expensive. But occasionally such animals are in demand and we then ask our breeders to satisfy this demand. 

Therefore we have just such adult angelfish in color mix in the stock. With them it shows up clearly that probably all breeding strains finally – at least by crossbreeding – are to be assigned to the eimekei form of the angelfish. Pterophyllum eimekei is currently by most scientists not seen as an independent species, but as a variant of P. scalare, which differs among other things by a lower body height from typical P. scalare. However, this only becomes apparent in fully adult animals, the otherwise commercially available angelfish juveniles of 3-6 cm body length of both forms look the same. 

For our customers: the animals have code 688707 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Neoheterandria elegans

9. June 2021

Finally we have the dwarfish Neoheterandria elegans in our stock again. They originate from German breeding. These are among the smallest livebearing toothcarps regularly kept in the aquarium. Males grow to about 1-2 cm long, females up to 3 cm, but usually around 2 cm.

The Teddy Livebearer, as it is called to distinguish it from the actual Dwarf Livebearer Heterandria formosa, originates from Colombia and likes it cozy and warm with 24-28°C. 

Otherwise the animals do not have high care requirements, which even beginners can fulfill well. The water values (hardness, pH etc.) hardly play a role, everything is eaten, which fits into the small mouth. In addition, the species is completely peaceful.

The females of the Teddy Livebearer have only 1-2 young per day during a litter period, but this takes several days. Therefore, they should not be placed in spawning boxes, but in densely planted, small extra aquariums, from which the young are collected daily and transferred to a rearing aquarium.

For our customers: N. elegans has code 438352 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply to wholesalers.

Lexicon: Heterandria: means “different male”. Neoheterandria: means “new heterandria”. elegans: means “elegant”.

Text & photos. Frank Schäfer

Psalidodon anisitsi (= Hyphessobrycon a., Hemigrammus caudovittatus)

7. June 2021

One of the oldest aquarium fishes is the Buenos Aires tetra, of which the correct scientific name was only recently determined: Psalidodon anisitsi. To most aquarists, however, the species is probably still known as Hemigrammus caudovittatus (or Hyphessobrycon anisitsi), and it is under this name that it is found in most aquarium books.

Since its first importation in 1922 from the inflow of the La Plata River (Argentina/Uruguay) this up to 7 cm long fish has not disappeared from the hobby, although it is quite fond of aquatic plants, which is not appreciated by most aquarists. But its beauty and unpretentiousness – especially with regard to the water temperature, which can drop to 14°C, which used to be an important criterion – let it find new friends again and again. 

It is almost never imported from South America, all animals in the trade are offspring. Also an albino breeding form of the Buenos Aires tetra has been created and enjoys a certain popularity among albino fans.

It is important to keep this fish in a group (from 10 specimens upwards) in aquariums as large as possible with plenty of free swimming space, then it comes into its own best. The robust species can be kept very well as a by-fish to cichlids of this region (Gymnogeophagus, Geophagus of the brasiliensis group and Australoheros). Supplemental feeding of plant-based flake food can at least somewhat curb the cravings for aquatic plants.

For our customers: the natural form has code 256202, the albino form 256302 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Nannostomus beckfordi

4. June 2021

Nannostomus, also known as pencil fish, propel through the aquarium like small, colorful zeppelins. The unusual, somewhat stiff-looking swimming style makes them unique in the colorful world of tetras. There are quite a few species of Nannostomus-species, but the Red Pencilfish (Nannostomus beckfordi), which grows up to 6.5 cm long (but appears smaller due to its slender body shape), is the species best suited for community aquariums. Usually it grows only 5 cm long. 

Important for Nannostomus beckfordi, which originates from the central regions of the Amazon basin and Guyana (the photos show bred ones), is a calm fish community, so that it can develop fully.  It prefers to swim in the middle and upper water layers. The males in courtship mood are completely different colored than the females, otherwise they can be recognized by the higher amount of red in the fins and the differently shaped anal fin. A water temperature of 24-26°C suits them best.

For our customers: the fish have code 271513 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus

4. June 2021

The species of the genus Lepidiolamprologus belong with about 15 cm final length to the largest representatives of the Lamprologus relationship in Lake Tanganyika. They are predatory animals that like to feed on small fish. Like so many predators, they are remarkably peaceful toward fish that do not serve as food.

In the lake, Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus inhabits areas with sandy bottoms; it builds craters in which it spawns. However, the species does not spawn in the sand itself, but on small stones or shells found in the crater, because all Lamprologus relatives are adhesive spawners that must attach their eggs somewhere. Both parents guard the fry together. At breeding time they get black pelvic fins, as can be seen well in the animals on the pictures, which came in breeding mood in the photo tank.

By the way, L. attenuatus can easily be confused with a snail cichlid, Neolamprologus meeli, which has a very similarly marked caudal fin. However, the head profile of both species is very different. During our photo session, an N. meeli had accidentally snuck in with them, because when caught out – that is, in fright coloration – the two species look extraordinarily similar, and the N. meeli must have jumped in from the neighboring tank to join its cousins. In fact, Ad Konings argues that N. meeli should be placed with Lepidiolamprologus at the genus level. More about N. meeli can be found here: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/neolamprologus_meeli_en/

For our customers: Lepidiolamprologus attenuatus has code 541602 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Toxotes mekongensis

2. June 2021

Archerfishes can be divided into two groups: those that live in the brackish water of estuaries, reproduce there as well (all archerfishes are free spawners without brood care) and can also live in pure seawater. These species are therefore widely distributed along the coasts of the Indo-Pacific from India to Japan and Australia. And then there are the freshwater species that spend their entire lives in freshwater and reproduce there as well. Complicating things is that there are populations of the brackish water species that live in pure freshwater. However, you cannot tell from which population the brackish water species come from and therefore you have to rely on the information provided by the exporter so that you can finally care for them correctly.

Many of these findings have only been made in the last few years and have not yet become common knowledge. One of the pure freshwater species is Toxotes mekongensis, which, as the name suggests, is known from the Mekong River. We have now received this species from Vietnam. The pattern of markings with the long band in the middle of the body, reaching from the back to the belly, is typical for this species.

T. mekongensis grows to about 15 cm in length. It is not necessary to feed archerfish with insects (although T. mekongensis spits well and unerringly), but they need a lot of food. Ideal are dried stream shrimps (Gammarus) as basic food, which you give 2-3 times a day in small amounts (as much as will be eaten in 5 minutes). In addition, the animals take almost all food of animal origin that fits into the mouth, including small fish and shrimp. Only from the bottom they do not like to eat. Among themselves archerfish are relatively compatible. Females grow larger, otherwise there are no external sex differences.

For our customers: the animals have code 468512 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia wingei Endler Campona No48 black green snakeskin

31. May 2021

If there is one fashionable fish that has defined the last decade, it is the Endler guppy, Poecilia wingei. This small guppy species has countless fans all over the world and efforts are made to preserve the “pure” strains of wild caught variants. However, in the wild these wild variants are by no means uniformly colored, on the contrary, they occur partly strongly mixed, and often only a few specimens with particularly striking coloration have been taken. By selection breeding, strains can be obtained relatively quickly, in which the males look very similar.

The “Campona No48” is such a cute dwarf. One of its peculiarities are the white pelvic fins in the male, which in certain stages of courtship are stretched far forward that they could form a straight line with a white line in the dorsal fin. As with all Endler forms, the black pattern elements are additionally particularly prominent during courtship.

For our customers: the animals have code 419019 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hyphessobrycon micropterus

28. May 2021

In 1915 the scientist Carl Eigenmann described a new tetra genus, which he named Megalamphodus. Type species is M. megalopterus, an aquaristic very well known species: the Black Phantom Tetra. In 1997 Megalamphodus became a synonym of Hyphessobrycon. Of the remaining species assigned to Megalamphodus in 1915 (ecuadoriensis, eques, heteresthes, melanotus, micropterus), only the Serpae tetra, H. eques, is encountered in the hobby; the appearance of the others is largely unclear – they are known only from dead, preserved specimens.

Now we could import most likely one of these species: Hyphessobrycon micropterus. This tetra is considered endemic to the Rio Sao Francisco river system (it flows through the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Sergipe, Pernambuco and Alagoas in Brazil), so it occurs exclusively there. The Rio Sao Francisco flows in the east of Brazil and has no connection to other rivers, which easily explains the high percentage of species endemic there. 

Whether the pretty tetras now imported by us from the Rio Sao Francisco, which somewhat resemble very intensely colored Pristella, really belong to the species H. micropterus, which has been described over 100 years ago, must be shown by further, time-consuming investigations. Only in 2018 an almost identical looking species, H. piorskii, was described, but it occurs about 1,500 km further north (Maranhao state in the Munim and Preguiças rivers).

For our customers: the animals have code 261853 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pimelodina flavipinnis

28. May 2021

We are proud to present this unusual first import. The rarity of this pretty large catfish in the hobby stands in strong contrast to the fact that it was scientifically described as early as 1876, is widespread (our animal comes from the Rio Negro in Brazil, but it also exists in the Rio Madeira, in Peru and in the llanos of Venezuela and other areas of the Orinoco) and is a popular and frequently traded food fish. However, the high color variability described in scientific papers suggests that several unrecognized species are involved. The genus Pimelodina is monotypic, so there is only this one scientifically accepted species.

Pimelodina flavipinnis grows to a length of about 40 cm, our specimen is therefore adult. Within the large catfishes of South America P. flavipinnis stands out due to its unusual snout shape in combination with an underslung mouth. This naturally raises the question of how and from what the animal feeds. The long barbels indicate the predatory character; however, stomach content examniations revealed aquatic insect larvae and substances that accumulate when chewing through soil, such as sand and seeds. 

The preferred habitat of this species is riverine lagoons. In June and July the animals perform spawning migrations. We cannot say much about aquarium life yet, except that our animal behaves relatively calmly and does not tend to frolic; this is a feared phenomenon in larger fish, because panic reactions are naturally associated with a high risk of injury. The slight injuries that our animal showed after importation are therefore probably due to the catch. In Brazil, the professional fishermen who catch this species for food use long seines.

For our customers: the animal has code 278957 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Tometes kranponhah

26. May 2021

In the meantime it has turned out that these animals are Mylesinus paucisquamatus from the Rio Tocantins and the statement that they came from the Rio Xingu was a mistake.

New species of large fish are still being found in the rivers of South America, despite they have been well studied. This is mainly due to the fact that many species look extraordinarily similar. For some, such as the large silver dollars or pacus, there is also the fact that they undergo quite dramatic changes in shape and color during their lives; this is also called ontogentic changes.

The Rio Xingu is a clear water tributary of the Amazon in Brazil. From there, more precisely from the rapids area, two new Tometes species were described in 2016, namely T. kranponhah and T. anclorhynchus. The two species look quite similar. The main distinguishing feature is the mouth shape. There is also a color difference, because T. kranponhah has a black spot on the gill cover as an adult fish, which is missing in T. anclorhynchus. The two species also differ in final size. T. kranponhah grows to around 40 cm in length, while T. anclorhynchus reaches around 30 cm in length.

Tometes kranponhah is an endemic of the Xingu, where it is said to be quite common. In contrast, there are only a few collections of T. anclorhynchus, but the species is more widespread and also occurs in the system of the Rio Tocantins.

We can say little about the behavior. Our juveniles (10 specimens, 5-7 cm long) are somewhat quarrelsome among themselves, as can be seen from the slight fin damage, but this is kept within acceptable limits.

For our customers: The animals have code 297333 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aphyosemion australe

7. May 2021

The “Cape Lopez” (Aphyosemion australe) is one of the longest serving killifishes. It was discovered due to aquarium imports from Gabon (Ogooué River estuary, Port-Gentil, Cape Lopez, northwestern Gabon), from where it was first brought in 1913. In 1921 Arthur Rachow described it as a new species, then cautiously as Haplochilus calliurus var. australis. The close relationship to Haplochilus calliurus (today Aphyosemion calliurum) assumed by Rachow has not been confirmed, the two species cannot be successfully interbred beyond a first generation.

It is not even that unlikely that many of the Cape Lopez kept in aquariums today are still descended from these first imports. In the 1950s a golden colored mutant was added, which was given the scientifically invalid name Aphyosemion australe hjerreseni, and later a dark brown breeding form, called “chocolate”.

The Cape Lopez is among the simplest of all killifishes. It is a plant spawner and the eggs can develop both underwater and stored dry. Few killifishes are suitable for community aquariums, but the Cape Lopez is one of them because it is not very shy and is also uncomplicated with regard to feeding. Of course one must select a possible company with much expert knowledge, by-fish must be absolutely very peaceful and not too lively.

The life expectancy of the Cape Lopez is about the same as for similar sized livebearers (e.g. guppies), i.e. 1-3 years. The maximum size for Aphyosemion australe is given with approx. 5,5 cm (including tail fin).

For our customers: the wild form has code 304502, the golden 304702 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Bagrichthys macracanthus

7. May 2021

We have received juveniles of the “Black Lancer” from Indonesia. The adult fish is pitch black with a white caudal fin and a narrow white horizontal stripe running along the middle of the body. The stripe begins below the dorsal fin and extends into the caudal peduncle.

The 4-6 cm juveniles of this up to 20 cm long animal look quite similar in places, but some have white markings on the body; however, they can turn these on and off depending on their mood. In the case of a Bagrichthys macracanthus juvenile, which appears black to the naked eye, the lighter banding does show up in the strong light of the flash. 

For more information about this highly interesting catfish see: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/bagrichthys_macracanthus_en/

For our customers: the animals have code 368482 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pyrrhulina brevis

5. May 2021

We could import the beautiful species Pyrrhulina brevis already several times from Peru (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pyrrhulina-brevis-2/). This time they have a very intensive pattern in the anal fin, which reminds of an eye spot and corresponds with a similar pattern in the caudal fin. They are magnificent fish!

For our customers: the animals have code 286754 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Brachygobius doriae

3. May 2021

This is probably the most beautiful species of the bumble bee gobies, because the males (also some females) develop a splendid orange-red in the rear half of the body. The females are mostly yellow in color, but they are easily recognized by the comparatively smaller head regardless of coloration.

The species was and still is confused with B. xanthozonus. However, B. xanthozonus has more than 50 scales in the longitudinal row (our animals have a little bit more than 30); it is very questionable, if the “real” B. xanthozonus has ever been kept in the aquarium.

Brachygobius doriae grows only 3.5-4.5 cm long and therefore fits perfectly into smaller aquariums. We have magnificent animals in showsize in the stock, which come from Borneo. Some salt addition (1-2 grams per liter) does the animals good, but is not absolutely necessary. This is a brood caring species in which the male guards the spawn, which is pinned to a cave wall or the like, until the larvae hatch. After that the brood care ends.

For our customers: the animals have code 403705 on our stock list. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Lexicon: Brachygobius: Latin, means “short goby”. doriae: dedication name for the collector of the species, the Marquis J. Doria. xanthozonus: Latin, means “with yellow bands”.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Hemigrammus pulcher

30. April 2021

From the upper Amazon in Peru comes the beautiful garnet tetra, which grows 3-4 cm long. The very peaceful animal actually has characteristics like a carbuncle, a gemstone, which in fairy tales has the ability to make the owner invisible: because the eye and tail root of Hemigrammus pulcher shimmer like gemstones, but the individual fish in the troop is thus difficult to spot for prey predators. Within the species the luminous markings serve for recognition of conspecifics in the dark home waters.

Perhaps in the first moment one passes it by carelessly in the pet shop, because in the bright dealer tank it does not appear very colorful, but this changes when the carbuncle tetra comes into a well planted aquarium with subdued light! As is common with tetras, the male is smaller and more delicate than the female. The garnet tetra is an ideal combination to the neon tetra, which comes from the same region.

For our customers: the animals have code 257002 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Leporinus fasciatus

30. April 2021

The tetras of the genus Leporinus (the genus name is a derivative of the Latin word “lepus” for “hare”) belong to the characteristic river fishes of South America. They owe their name to the shape of their mouth in combination with the elongated “hare teeth” in the lower jaw of some species, which reminded the genus descriptor of hare snouts. About 90 species have been scientifically described. Exactly how many species there are, however, is a matter of debate, as it is difficult to distinguish one species from another.

The only species regularly available in the pet trade is certainly Leporinus fasciatus. On golden-yellow, sometimes silver-white ground the vertical bands stand out effectively. This widespread species grows to a length of about 40 cm and we currently have both wild caught specimens from Venezuela and captive bred specimens from Indonesia in our stock. The pictures show wild specimens.

Very similar is Leporinus affins, which grows about 25 cm long. The word affinis means “similar” (meaning “similar to Leoprinus fasciatus”) and that fits it very well. The outward similarity of the two is striking at first, but you can clearly see that they are different species if you know what to look for. The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at the body ringlets below the adipose fin: in L. affinis there is one broad band here, while in L. fasciatus there are two narrow bands that are much closer together than the rest of the body bands.

Leporinus are very interesting aquarium fishes if you can provide the space for them. Among themselves they form a hierarchy. Important is additional vegetable food (leafy plants, like spinach, salads, dandelion etc.), also water plants are grazed with stump and stem. Concerning the water values the fish are undemanding, however humic substances promote the coloration. In soft, slightly acidic water they are very, very colorful.

The aquarium must be covered absilt completely: Leporinus jump incredibly accurate!

For our customers: Offsprings from Indonesia have code 265903, wild caught (currently from Venezuela) have code 265905 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Farlowella amazonum

26. April 2021

The needle catfishes (Farlowella) are one of the most species-rich genera within the whiptail catfish relationship with currently 30 recognized species. The species look very similar to each other. Distinguishing features are mainly the arrangement of the bony shields along the flanks and on the abdomen, which is naturally hard to recognize on the living animal. From an aquaristic point of view, the shape and coloration of the snout process, also called rostrum, is more useful, but uncertainties in identification always remain with these animals.

From Manaus in Brazil we currently receive an attractive Farlowella species, which is probably F. amazonum. That this species is very variable is shown by the high number of synonyms: no less than six double descriptions are listed by Retzer & Page in their 1996 revision of the genus! Farlowella amazonum grows over 20 cm long. There is a great similarity to F. platorhynchus (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/farlowella_platorhynchus_en/, there also general care instructions for Farlowella), which by the way is also put into the synonymy of F. amazonum by newer authors.

For our customers: the animals have code 253633 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Opsarius barna

23. April 2021

If you like Danios you will love Opsarius! They are lively, very elegant swimmers, more similar in behavior and appearance to trout than to other danios. As a popular collective name for the group, which includes the genera Opsarius, Barilius, Raiamas and Opsariichthys with a total of about 70 species in Asia and Africa, “Trout danios” fits very well. However, the classification of the genera is not always unanimous, because they are quite similar in their overall habitus.

This is also the case with Opsarius barna, which was already scientifically described in 1822 and is now and then classified in the genus Barilius. Currently, however, the up to 15 cm long danio is classified in the genus Opsarius. In fact this is not only an academic question, because it has been shown in aquaristic practice that Opsarius species are much more compatible than Barilius species. In the case of Barilius – according to practical experience – it is necessary to keep as many animals as possible (preferably 10 or more) in aquariums as large as possible with strong currents, so that intra-species aggression is kept within limits, while Opsarius are also well tolerated in smaller groups (from 5 specimens) in normal sized aquariums (10x the body length with appropriate width and height) and aquarium-standard currents.

Opsarius barna is found along the foot of the Himalayas and is widely distributed. Accordingly, the adaptability is good. However, these subtropical fish should not be kept year in and year out at constantly high temperatures. 16-20°C in winter and 24-26° in summer (a few degrees above or below will not hurt, but should not last for long periods) are just right.

Eaten is dry, frozen and live food of suitable size, vegetable food does not interest O. barna. Males grow slightly larger than females and appear more high-backed. We know nothing about breeding Opsarius in the aquarium; the closely related Barilius and Raiamas species are bottom spawners, depositing their spawn in sand and gravel.

For our customers: the animals have code 372832 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus maculatus “Tabasco”

23. April 2021

Hearing the name Tabasco, the first thing that comes to mind for a Central European is the spicy chili sauce. However, the Platy (Xiphophorus maculatus) that bears this name is neither particularly fiery nor particularly red – it merely originates, like the chili sauce, from the Mexican state of Tabasco, where this population was first found by Dutch ornamental fish enthusiasts and brought to Europe (more informations on that are in preparation). 

The basic coloration of the animals is an inconspicuous gray; what makes them very special is the golden bordered shoulder spot, which many (but not all) animals show. This characteristic is also known from populations from the Mexican state of Veracruz. So far this “Admiral´s epaulette” has not been crossed into breeding lines. Other interesting features of this wild platy from Tabsco are the partially transparent gill cover, resulting in a red spot, and a highly variable tail root pattern that can be completely absent, form a double crescent, or a Mickey Mouse pattern. 

The particular challenge in long term breeding of such fish is to maintain variability. It is all too easy to succumb to the temptation of selecting particularly pretty specimens, which results in a uniform type after only a few generations that no longer has much in common with the wild population. To avoid this, as many color variants as possible from the respective population should be allowed to swim in the largest possible mixed shoal. This at least increases the probability that the diversity of forms of a population prevailing in nature will also be preserved among the offspring born in the aquarium.

For our customers: the animals have code 476577 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Lithodoras dorsalis

21. April 2021

The genus Lithodoras belongs to the thorny catfishes (Doradidae). There is only one species scientifically described, which has its distribution in South America: L. dorsalis, which inhabits the Amazon basin; in addition, the species was reported from a creek near Cayenne (French Guiana), but the latter occurrence still needs confirmation. The maximum length of L. dorsalis is given with about 100 cm, it is one of the largest thorny catfish species at all. 

We could import four Lithodoras catfishes now. Our specimens are 25-30 cm long, so probably young sexually mature. In contrast to many other thorny catfishes they are very active swimmers. Possibly they were caught on spawning migration, because in the two photographed animals (which by the way get along excellently and are good eaters) differ in the shape of the dorsal fin spine. The possible male has a dorsal spine whose shape is reminiscent of the shape of the dorsal fin spines of sexually active male dolphin catfish (Ageneiosus & Co.). But such indications are, by their nature, speculative. We feed our Lithodoras mainly with dry food (granules), which is eagerly accepted, plus Tubifex from time to time.

For our customers: the animals have code 266459 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Red Gars

19. April 2021

From Indonesia we have received captive bred specimens of a gar species, which stands out due to its reddish brown (normally blackish, gray or silver) basic coloration with partly brick-red coloration parts. Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to name the species correctly, because the reliable identification of gar is only possible on the basis of characteristics that are not visible on living specimens, and we have never had any losses with these fish so far. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that these fish are cross-bred (hybrids), which could only be “unmasked” with elaborate genetic examinations.

To us it seems most likely that the fish are a breeding form of Lepisosteus oculatus – or a cross. 

One must assume with these animals that they can become over one meter long. From this it is obvious that the red gars are only suitable for specialists, zoos and show aquariums. However, for them the fish is a beautiful attraction.

The care is not difficult, except for the size. The fish become tame and can be easily fed with frozen fish, which they take from a forceps. In nature, gars often inhabit oxygen-deficient waters and therefore have an air-breathing habit. Strong currents are not liked by gars. They are completely peaceful against conspecifics and non-species fish that do not serve as food.

For our customers: the animals have code 848023 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Boraras merah

16. April 2021

Currently we have very nice Boraras merah in stock. The species is a very close relative to B. brigittae and at least in some populations the females of B. merah look like B. brigittae and only the males have a typical B. merah pattern (see also http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/boraras-brigittae–boraras-merah_de_1107.html). Cross-breeding experiments also show that both varieties are extremely close to each other in a genetic sense. In the population we could import now, however, both sexes seem to be represented and both look like B. merah.

For our customers: the animals have code 452752 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Monodactylus argenteus

16. April 2021

Moonies are magnificent brackish water fish. In pure fresh water they should be kept only temporarily, if possible, because they are very sensitive there. If it has to be freshwater, then the pH value must not drop below 7 and the nitrate value must not rise above 50 mg/l, nitrite is harmful even in very small amounts. In brackish or seawater (from 10-15 g salt/liter), however, they are robust animals. The fish we can offer right now are from Indonesia and were caught near Java.

Monodactylus argenteus should be kept in aquariums as large as possible, because they grow to a length of 15-20 cm and are very eager to swim. Juvenile specimens can be very incompatible with conspecifics, but this varies from individual to individual and there are also very compatible animals. It is best to keep them in a group of 10-12 (or more) so that any aggression is dispersed. A strong current and a good oxygen supply are further prerequisites to enjoy the animals for many years. The sexes cannot be distinguished externally. The fish spawn at night. They are free spawners without brood care.

The temperature should be between 24 and 28°C. They eat all usual dry, frozen and live food, if it fits into their mouth. Since these fish have a high metabolism, feeding several times a day in small portions is recommended. 

For our customers: the fish have code 436202 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Glyptothorax cf. housei

14. April 2021

The belly sucker catfishes (Glyptothorax) are almost unknown in aquaristics. It is a very species-rich group (over 100 accepted plus probably still numerous undescribed species) of mostly small, current-loving catfishes. The extremely sparse care experiences with these catfishes show that they are (as with many stream fishes) sensitive animals, which tolerate neither stronger organic pollution nor the accompanying bacterial load. In other words: the largest possible, well acclimated, vigorously filtered and sparsely stocked aquariums are the basic prerequisite for the long-term successful care of these fish.

Concerning the compatibility it is to be said that neither other species nor conspecific fish are bothered. As flowing water inhabitants they are adapted to sandy substrate (in which they also sometimes burrow) with larger stones. Chemical water composition is incidental, but remember that hard, alkaline water provides more favorable living conditions for many bacteria than soft, acidic water. Therefore, because of their sensitivity to bacterial infections, we recommend soft to medium hard water and a pH between 6 and 7. These fish are also demanding in terms of diet. Dry food and granulates are hardly accepted, at least not during acclimation. Preferably live food is given (white mosquito larvae and adult Artemia are ideal for hygienic reasons, but the animals also like to eat Tubifex and red mosquito larvae, plus mayfly larvae and various small crustaceans), later the animals also take frozen food.

From South India (Kerala) we have now received 2-3 cm long juveniles of a Glyptothorax species, which is tricky to determine. Unfortunately all Glyptothorax from Kerala have to be considered as endangered species, because the distribution areas are small and pollution by industry and agriculture is increasing everywhere; the few specimens caught for aquaristsics do not pose a threat to the free-living population, that much can be considered as certain.

But which species have we imported? Of the Glyptothorax species reported from South India so far, G. lonah, G. trewavasae, G.poonaensis, G. elankadensis, G. davissinghi and G. annadalei can be excluded because they have a completely different pattern, while G. madraspatanus, G. malabarensis, G. anamaliensis and G. housei roughly correspond to our animals in terms of body coloration. Since we received only juveniles (all mentioned species grow to about 10 cm) we decided to call them G. cf. housei for the time being, to which they correspond most closely in coloration at present.

For our customers: the animals have code 418053 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers. Only a few specimens available!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Atyopsis moluccensis

12. April 2021

Among the numerous shrimp species that have gained a firm foothold in the hobby are two larger species of fan shrimp, namely Atyopsis moluccensis, the Moluccan mountain rock shrimp from Southeast Asia, and Atya gabonenis, the Gabon giant fan shrimp from West Africa. They grow relatively large (A. moluccensis approx. 9 cm, A. gabonensis approx. 14 cm), but are completely harmless to even small fish, as they only fish small food particles out of the water with their claws, which have been transformed into fans.

For food acquisition, the shrimp sit down in the current and open their hand fans. This looks a bit like they are positioning radar antennas. As an adaptation to the strong currents in the natural habitat, the end limbs of the rear three pairs of walking legs are re-shaped into pointed spines, with which the shrimp still find a firm hold even in tiny cracks in the rock. Fortunately, the animals do not only eat the floating material they fish out of the water, but also finely grated dry food, food tablets and frozen cyclops.

Atyopsis moluccensis is enormously variable in color, there are beige, green and brown animals within one import, they can have a dorsal stripe or also a diamond pattern or white spots. All color variants have the characteristic stripes on the side of the carapace. The males can be recognized by the thickened first pair of walking legs.

Usually these shrimps are not bred, because the larvae develop only in seawater and their breeding is connected with some expenditure; since the adult shrimps are popular food in their countries of origin, the comparatively few animals, which are needed for aquaristic purposes, are available inexpensively as wild collected specimens.

For our customers: the animals have code 481235 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to the wholesale market.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Rineloricaria heteroptera

9. April 2021

From Brazil we received beautiful whiptail catfishes, which we thought at first sight to be Rineloricaria lanceolata, a species with a very wide distribution. The high proportion of reddish animals was striking.  The majority of the fish are small, 3-4 cm long and marked like R. lanceolata, but there are a few adult specimens among them. These fish have a conspicuous dot pattern on the head. Consultation with loricariid specialist Ingo Seidel and review of the original description revealed that it is probably Rineloricaria heteroptera. This whiptail catfish was described from the Manaus area in 1976; the paratype shown in the original description is spotted exactly like our adult fish.

According to Evers & Seidel (Welsatlas Vol.1), R. heteroptera was often bred in the former GDR, but was later displaced by the similar and more productive R. lanceolata. The popular Red Whiptail Catfish, a breeding form, probably originates from the old strains of R. heteroptera.

This whiptail catfish grows to about 13-15 cm in length and is very suitable for aquarium care and breeding. The clutches are relatively small with 40-60 eggs. Rineloricaria are mixed feeders, eating both plant and animal foods. They appreciate free bottom areas with sand and gravel. They breed in relatively narrow burrows (bamboo tubes or the like), the male guards the spawn and larvae until they swim free. The water temperature should be between 24 and 30°C, for breeding usually soft and slightly sour (pH 5,5-6,5) water is necessary. Without breeding intentions the water values are of secondary importance.

For our customers: the fish have code 288352 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras cf. armatus “Spotted Putumayo“

9. April 2021

From Colombia we received a nice Corydoras species, which threw us into some confusion during identification. They were sent as C. armatus, a species described from the Rio Huallaga, a right-bank tributary of the Rio Maranon (the larger of the two headwaters of the Amazon) in Peru.  C. armatus is a conspicuously high-backed species with a black, particularly elongate dorsal-fin spine, and is one of the first species of Corydoras ever known to science. The species was described in 1868 as Callichthys armatus.

In the hobby, a scientifically undescribed species from Peru was initially thought to be C. armatus, which today bears the C number 96 and has a conspicuous dark stripe running vertically below the dorsal fin. In addition, this species has a distinctive eye mask. It originates from the Rio Nanay.

There is also a very close resemblance to Corydoras loretoensis, which is less high-backed compared to C. armatus. C. loretoensis comes from the province of Loreto in Peru.

Finally, in the border area of Brazil and Bolivia, in the upper Rio Madeira basin (Rio Abuna), there is a Corydoras optically not separable from C. armatus, which is traded as C. sp. “dorsalis” or C. sp. “ogawae”. If there were not 2.500 km air-line between both localities, nobody would doubt that the animals should be counted to C. armatus. This fish got the code CW86.

Also the Corydoras armatus, which we sometimes receive from Venezuela, are optically indistinguishable from typical specimens from the Rio Huallaga.

Also very similar is Corydoras osteocarus from Venezuela, which is very rare in the trade. It can be recognized quite well by the short dark band immediately in front of the caudal fin and the much lower dorsal fin.

Back to the Colombian: these animals are in their physique rather of the flat type and we suspected at first, it would be C. loretoensis, which the Colombian supplier had bought in Peru. This was indignantly rejected by the supplier and in the two days of correspondence with the supplier some of the animals also developed a black coloration in the dorsal fin spine which was not seen before. In fact, they now look more like C. armatus than any other species in the complex. We have learned that they originate from the Rio Putumayo, a left-sided Amazon tributary in the border region between Colombia and Brazil.

For our customers: the animals have code 222124 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Epalzeorhynchos kalopterum

7. April 2021

The Flying Fox, Epalzeorhynchos kalopterum (Epalzeorhynchos is neuter, so if the species name is an adjective – as in this case – it must end in the Latin neuter suffix -um), originates from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, where it is a resident of flowing waters that carry deep dark brown black water. They are probably the most beautiful algae eaters of all. From time to time we have offspring on offer, which is why only relatively rarely wild catches are imported. Currently, however, we have once again received adult specimens via Singapore, whereby “adult” refers to the wild animals. In the wild they reach 10-12 cm in length, while old aquarium specimens are said to have grown up to 16 cm. This is because fish grow throughout their lives (albeit slowly and little after reaching sexual maturity), and since such a Flying Fox will easily live up to 10-15 years in the aquarium (hardly ever over 3 years in the wild), they can grow quite large under certain circumstances.

You will certainly not keep these beauties only because of their algae-eating properties, especially since adult animals are rather to be classified as “lazy” in this respect, in contrast to 3-4 cm long juveniles, but they still have to grow.

Among themselves, the animals can be quarrelsome, which is why you can often keep only one specimen in smaller aquariums. In large tanks (from 150 cm), which are also furnished with a lot of root wood, this is much less unpleasant. Although the fish form a hierarchy, which is strictly observed, they are often found resting together in the same hiding place. If you want to try a group keeping, there should not be less than 8 specimens, so that this behavior can develop. Epalzeorhynchos kalopterum are usually peaceful against fishes of other species as long as they don´t look similar to the Flying Fox.

For our customers: the animals have code 415306 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. Only a few specimens available!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera Silver

6. April 2021

Silver mollies are among the most popular livebearers. Most of the silver mollies in the trade are a breeding form of Poecilia latipinna. Since the species Poecilia latipinna, P. sphenops, P. mexicana and P. velifera can be crossed and color characteristics and certain fin shapes (e.g. lyratail) are transferred to the hybrid young, the desired characteristics can be transferred to the parent species by backcrossing the hybrid young to the parent species. This is what happened with the silver colored sailfin mollies (Poecilia velifera), which, like sailfin mollies in general, are not easy but splendid fish for advanced enthusiasts.

For our customers: the animals have code 433034 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2”

1. April 2021

From a German breeder we received this extraordinarily attractive wild form of the swordtail. Unfortunately we could not find out where exactly and by whom these animals were collected. It could only be determined that they were originally brought from Yucatan (Mexico). As a distinction to the completely different looking X. hellerii “Yucatan” (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/xiphophorus_hellerii_yucatan_en/) the animal is called Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2”. 

Besides the attractive coloration Xiphophorus hellerii “Yucatan 2” stands out due to its peaceful nature. It is well known that males of the swordtails can be quite incompatible with each other, but the males of “Yucatan 2” are a laudable exception to this rule, according to the breeder!

For our customers: the animals have code 476759 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Mikrogeophagus ramirezi wild

1. April 2021

Because of the enormous popularity of the butterfly cichlid or blue ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi), there are mainly offspring and breeding forms on the market. Also the wild-colored offsprings differ clearly from the wild species: they are considerably larger (4-5 cm body length without caudal fin compared to 2-3 cm with wild-caught fish) and at the same time twice as heavy! 

The original home of the blue ram is in the hot Llanos in the Orinoco basin of Colombia and Venezuela. We obtain them fairly regularly from there, although in much smaller numbers than the offspring, because at first glance the wild cousins appear more colorless and inconspicuous, which is why offspring sell much better in the trade. The wild cousins are rather something for connoisseurs and experts.

Recently, when we had jumbo offspring in the stock again, we wanted to photograph a wild-caught male and an offspring male together to demonstrate the difference, but the offspring – probably due to their body mass – intimidated the natural cousins so much that they did not approach each other – the offspring dominated in the tank, the wild-caught hid. That’s why the wildlings remained alone in the photo tank for a while after the offspring rams had already moved out again. After a short time they felt so well there that they marked out territories and showed by their lively nature and their beautiful color, why they became one of the most popular ornamental fish at all!

For our customers: the animals have code 686513 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Oligolepis acutipennis

31. March 2021

Oligolepis acutipennis is one of the most widespread gobies of the Indo-West Pacific. The species, which can grow up to 15 cm long, is distributed from South Africa via East Africa, the Persian Gulf, Madagascar, Indonesia and along the entire coast of Southeast Asia to Japan. From this wide distribution one can easily conclude that the larvae of this goby develop in the sea. However, the goby itself is euryhalin, so it can tolerate both pure freshwater and pure seawater (and any salt content in between). Only the pH-value must never drop below 7, just above 8 is better. Our specimens come from Indonesia, are 4-6 cm long and sexually fully developed. We maintain them in pH-stabilized fresh water.

When the males bicker – and they love to bicker – it is a fantastic sight. With their mouths wide open and their fins literally stretched to breaking, the males circle around each other until one of them gives up. Females are similar in colour to the males, but have less strongly developed fins. The fish are cave spawners, the male guards – as far as we know – the spawning until the hatching of the young. 

The whole colouring of the fish indicates that sandy bottom is their preferred habitat. On the sand, which should be as fine as possible, a few flat stones of about 6-8 cm diameter are placed, which become the centre of the males’ territory and are undermined. Everything that fits into the (big!) mouth is eaten, even small fish, but actually the big drawer is used to chew through the sand for small food particles.

For our customers: the animals have code 439722 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras reynoldsi & Corydoras tukano

29. March 2021

Corydoras reynoldsi is a pretty cory catfish that has been described in 1960. It was collected in the Caquetà province, eastern Colombia. It remained unknown in the hobby quite long, as this area is far away from the usual collecting areas. In 1997 the cory enthusiasts became aware of another, quite similar species of Corydoras that was exported from Brazil. Although the species looked very much like Corydoras reynoldsi, there were also many differences. So the new fish was called Corydoras sp. aff. reynoldsi (= similar species to reynoldsi). Another usual trade name was Corydoras „Asher“ after the exporter. Only 2004 the real Corydoras reynoldsi appeared in the hobby. Now it was clear that we were dealing with two different species. The “Asher“ in the meantime (2003) had been scientifically described as Corydoras tukano. Its natural distribution is the Rio Tique in Brazil, which is a tributary of the Rio Negro basin.

Both Corydoras species are really nice and stay relative small. They hardly reach 5 cm. However, they should be kept by experienced aquarists only, as they are rather delicate and easily get bacterial infections. It is necessary to keep them at high temperatures (26-28°C), and soft and acidic water.

For our customers: Corydoras tukano has code 245622, Corydoras reynoldsi 243603 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Sphaerichthys osphromenoides

26. March 2021

The chocolate gourami (Sphaerichthys osphromenoides) still belongs to the legendary ornamental fish species. Although the species is common in the wild and other fish of the same habitat (e.g. harlequin barbs) do not cause significant problems in the aquarium, it is a gamble whether chocolate gouramis will do well there. Possibly this is related to the fact that there are several, very similar species and that they have different sensitivities – at least this is what some observations and field collections indicate. 

Additionally, all chocolate gouramis are extremely susceptible to infectious diseases of all kinds and tolerate medications poorly – an unfavorable combination!

We currently have chocolate gouramis in stock from Jambi Province on Sumatra. Many specimens from this population stand out with an attractively marked anal fin. Another peculiarity of these fish is that there are often specimens with Piebald markings. This refers to animals in which pigmentless (i.e. white), irregular spots appear. At first sight this seems frightening, because bacterial infections and also other diseases look quite similar. However, treatment is not necessary, and may even be harmful. We observe this phenomenon with the animals of Jambi from time to time, first we noticed it in 2007. We bred these fish once as a test, the photo of the breeding female is from this time.

For our customers: the fish have code 455803 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aplocheilus blockii

26. March 2021

The Green panchax (Aplocheilus blockii) is one of the tiniest and most beautiful species of panchax in Asia. We were able once more to import the species from Kerala (South India). Its maximum length is around 3 cm, at least as far as wild collected specimens are concerned. Aquarium specimens may become a bit larger due to the paradise-like aquarium conditions. The absolutely peaceful animals are ideally suited for the so called nano-aquaria. Regarding water chemestry the species is not demanding at all, but very soft or very acidic water should be avoided. In the case such a water runs out of the tap, one should add a teaspoon of salt (for reef aquaria) per 10 litres of water.

Live food is very much wanted, but the fish also feed readily on frozen or dried food items. The Green panchax ignores plants with the exeption of spawning. Here the fish prefers the roots of small swimming plants like Salvinia.

For our customers: the fish have code 303213 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Aplocheilus: means “with a simple lip”, refers to the mouth structure. blockii: dedication name.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Clarotes laticeps

24. March 2021

This is one of the large river catfishes of Africa. We were able to import some specimens once more from Nigeria. However, the species has a very far distribution and is found in the Nile, most parts of West Africa and also in the rivers that flow through the savannahs and riparian forests of East Africa. The species can become as long as 80 cm.

In the aquarium these cats are rather peaceful, but of course small fish are eaten. Clarotes laticeps is swimming more often if the open water than one is used to see from that type of fish. They also try to jump for food over the water surface; so it is wise to cover the tank properly.

For our customers: the fish have code 114954 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in small numbers only!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Apistogramma allpahuayo

19. March 2021

For a long time this beautiful dwarf cichlid from the basin of the Rio Nanay in Peru sailed under the name “cf. juruensis” or “sp. Black Chin”. Only the scientific description of the species in 2012 put an end to the confusion. 

Great similarity exists to A. juruensis and A. cacatuoides. From both species living Apistogramma allpahuayo (the species name refers to the type locality, small streams flowing into the Quebrada Allpahuayo in the Reserva Nacional Allpahuayo Mishana) can be distinguished by the pitch black chin area, which is only rarely not well visible in very few mood situations.

These are very beautiful, easy-care dwarf cichlids. Males grow to about 7 cm, females to about 4 cm. One should offer them, like all Apistogramma species, preferably germ-poor water, sandy soil and structure-rich furnished aquariums. In nature a large part of the food of Apistogramma species consists of decaying plant parts (dead leaves etc.). The fish do not digest the plants (they cannot do that), but the numerous microorganisms living in the “compost”. In the aquarium you must therefore be careful not to feed too fat, the digestive system of these fish is set up for high fiber food. Wrong feeding (e.g. too much worm food) makes Apistogramma inevitably ill. 

Apistogramma allpahuayo is a black water inhabitant and shows accordingly in soft, sour water the most beautiful colors. The temperature can be between 24 and 28°C.

For our customers: the animals have code 622723 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Sorubim lima

19. March 2021

The large-sized species of the spiny catfishes (Pimelodidae) belong as adult fishes to the desired food fishes and not less desired species for fans of predatory catfishes with giant aquariums. As juveniles, these animals often look completely different and have, for example, absurdly long fin processes.

The Shovelnose catfishes of the genus Sorubim are with about 50 cm final length still to be counted to the smaller representatives of this group. Their youngsters have a gigantic enlargement of the lower tail fin half, which is colored black besides. The purpose of this anatomical peculiarity is probably that potential predators mistake this caudal fin lobe for the fish. If they snap at it, the thrust often goes nowhere because a prey grabber expects the prey to move forward.

Aside from their expected size, Sorubim are good aquarium fish that are peaceful toward conspecifics and other species that are not considered food. Sorubim like to stand vertically, head down, on wood or large plant leaves, so this should be taken into consideration when setting up the aquarium.

Interestingly, Shovelnose catfish shed their skin regularly, similar to what is known from reptiles. When catching them, beware of the pointed pectoral fin spines, which can sting poisonously.

In the aquarium, small juveniles prefer to eat live food (e.g. white mosquito larvae), but Sorubim can be well accustomed to frozen food. Grown-up animals are best fed with frozen smelts. Shovelnose catfish are not interested in plant food.

For our customers: the animals have code 293202 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Barilius ardens

18. March 2021

Fishes of the genus Barilius are ecologically best compared to trout in the Indian region, where they do not naturally occur. Barilius thus prefer to live in clear waters with a gravelly bottom and some current. They are mostly seen in loose groups, they are not really schooling fish. They like to “play” among themselves, chasing each other over short distances, but without harming each other. They are small predators that prefer to eat insects that fall on the water surface, but also insect larvae living in the water, crustaceans or even small fish belong to the prey spectrum. The mouth gap of Barilius is comparatively large.

The coloration of Barilius is also comparable to that of young trout. Both have a number of dark vertical stripes on the flanks. There is a lack of striking colors, but Barilius are nevertheless often very colorful, especially yellow and blue colors iridesce on their bodies depending on the incidence of light.

Quite different from trout, however, is their reproductive behavior. While trout are migratory fish that move upstream to reproduce and dig pits in the ground where they spawn, Barilius, as far as this is known at all, dive into the ground and spawn in the gravel. However, it must be said at this point, the reproductive behavior of Barilius species is virtually unexplored.

One of the most beautiful Barilius species is B. ardens from the Indian state of Karnataka, which we can offer just once again. The magnificent fish grows (with caudal fin) about 12 cm long.

Very similar (and apparently sometimes mixed with B. ardens) is B. malabaricus, which differs from B. ardens by smaller flank spots and a differently colored caudal fin; in B. malabaricus the median caudal fin rays are not white.

For our customers: the animals have code 372842 (md) and 372843 (lg – xl) on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hypancistrus sp. “Nhamunda” L475

15. March 2021

The Hypancistrus catfishes with striped pattern are on the one hand a wonderful enrichment for the aquaristics, because they look beautiful, don’t grow too big and can be bred quite well, on the other hand they are constant cause for quarrel. Because in many cases it is hardly possible to determine them exactly. This is due to the fact that these catfishes are extremely variable in their markings and also vary greatly in body shape. In the case of the Rio Xingu species (L66 & Co.) it has already been established by molecular genetic studies that they frequently hybridize in nature.

The said applies in full extent also to L475, which we could import now. According to the exporters it originates from the Rio Nhamunda (Brazil), where ornamental fishes have been caught for a long time because of the very beautiful discus fishes that occur there. However, Hypancistrus are hard to catch without diving equipment, which is why the entire genus of these very conspicuous and by no means rare catfishes was not scientifically recorded until 1991.

There are not two specimens of L475, which have exactly the same pattern. Most animals have an irregular banding pattern of broad, dark bands on a white background, but there are also specimens where the dark bands are so broad that it looks as if in this case black animals have a pattern of white, thin bands. In most animals the dorsal fin has three horizontal bands, but there are also animals with a vertically striped dorsal fin. Typical for all individuals of L475 is that they have a white nuchal band running around the body from one ventral edge to the other, beginning at the base of the pectoral fins and continuing in most cases on the inner side of the fins, behind the spine ray. Furthermore, all animals have a white, suggestively W-shaped band just anterior to the base of the dorsal fin.

Like all Hypancistrus, L475 are mixed feeders, eating both plant and animal foods. The maximum length seems to be 12-14 cm. Such fish are kept in aquariums rich in hiding places and caves, with strong currents and good filtration and temperatures between 28 and 32°C. Too low temperatures are the most common care mistake with these fish. The water values are of secondary importance for the fish, but soft water with a pH around 6 is favorable, because less bacteria develop in this environment than in hard water with a pH around 8.

For our customers: the animals have code 26480-L 475-3 (8-10 cm) and 26480-L 475-4 (10-12 cm) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Alestopetersius caudalis

12. March 2021

The Yellow Congo Tetra (Alestopetersius caudalis) originates, as the name suggests, from the Congo. However, it is almost never traded as wild catch, because it can be bred very well. With a final length of about 6 cm it belongs to the smaller species of the Congo tetra relationship. In the course of its aquaristic career it has already changed the genus name several times and one finds it in the literature also as Hemigrammopetersius caudalis or Phenacogrammus caudalis.

Depending on the incidence of light, the animal looks different. In light from above it is yellowish-transparent, in light obliquely from above the back glows blue and in light from the side the body sparkles as if it is set with diamonds.

Alestopetersius caudalis is completely peaceful, but somewhat shy, which is why it should be kept in as large a group of conspecifics as possible in a densely planted aquarium that also leaves enough swimming space, with light that is not too bright. Each drinking water is suitable for the care. However, the animals show the most beautiful fin development in soft, slightly acidic water (pH around 6). The temperature should be between 22 and 28°C. All food of animal origin is eaten, no matter if dry, frozen or live food. A special joy for the animals is feeding them small fruit flies (Drosophila), a trick breeders use to achieve the most abundant spawning of females.

For our customers: the animals have code 138004 on our stock list. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Etroplus suratensis Bred

12. March 2021

Mostly we receive the Indian Pearl Cichlid (Etroplus suratensis) as wild catch from South India (formerly also from Sri Lanka) or as German offspring from zoo aquariums. Now, for the first time, we have imported bred ones from Indonesia; some specimens of these offspring do not show a stripe pattern, but have an irregular bow and scroll pattern on the back half of the body. In the wild, such fish would have little chance of survival. Juvenile Etroplus suratensis live in larger groups and whoever stands out in color quickly becomes the prey of a fish eater. But in the aquarium there are no predators and so such mutations can survive. One thing is for sure, they look very interesting!

For more information about Etroplus suratensis see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/etroplus-suratensis-2/

For our customers: the animals have code 415902 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Lasiancistrus heteracanthus

10. March 2021

We were able to import the rare Red-eyed Deltatail-suckercat, Lasiancistrus heteracanthus, in small numbers from Peru. The species attains a total length of 15-18 cm. Besides the bright red eye the most striking feature of the species is the pretty brown-red lower lappet of the caudal fin.

Lasiancistrus, in general, are good algae-eaters and fit in any community tank of appropriate size. The water temperature should be a bit higher than usual, 25-29°C are ideal. In the natural habitat, the water is only slightly acidic or even alcalic; so there is no need for a low pH, to the contrary, one should avoid a pH lower than 6.5.

Like almost all species of ancistrine catfish this species is a cave-brooder. A clutch of eggs found in the wild contained about 200 eggs and was deposited in a cave in a tree lying under water. The male guards the eggs.

For our customers: the fish have code 264952 (5-7 cm) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in limited numbers only!

Lexicon: Lasiancistrus: Latin, means “shaggy ancistrus”, referring to the skin-spines (odontodes). heteracanthus: ancient Greek, means “with aberrant spines”.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Poecilia velifera Green

5. March 2021

From the sailfin molly, Poecilia velifera, which originates in the hot coastal regions of Mexico, there are mostly cultivated forms in the trade: Golden, chocolate, leopard, dalmatian, black, etc.. The “green” wild form is much rarer, although they are very colorful animals. All sailfin mollies on the market are bred ones.

The huge dorsal fin of the males is not bred to the sailfin molly, it is a species characteristic. It is not useful for anything – except showing off. Sailfin females are obviously totally into showing off (quite different from human females; who would have ever heard that a woman falls for a guy just because he looks good, drives a swanky car and has a fat watch on his wrist) and so the huge dorsal fin developed already in nature by the breeding choice of the females.

For our customers: the animals have code 432604 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Ancistrus macrophthalmus LDA74

5. March 2021

From time to time we receive a very flat-bodied Ancistrus from the Orinoco drainage in Colombia and Venezuela under the name of A. ranunculus/L 34. However, this species does not exist there, A. ranunculus is only known from the Amazon tributaries Xingu and Tocantins/Araguaia; the Orinoco species is Ancistrus macrophthalmus, which has received the LDA number 74.

The easiest way to distinguish between the two is by the caudal fin, which in A. macrophthalmus is always distinctly pointed above and below and has white tips. In A. ranunculus the caudal fin appears truncated, sometimes even slightly rounded above and below. In males there is another easily recognizable difference: A. ranunculus never has “antennae” on the middle of the snout towards the forehead, A. macrophthalmus does.

Regarding coloration, most A. macrophthalmus are pure black (with a bluish tinge under suitable light), but they may also have small white spots. Both color forms can be found mixed in the same import. When A. macrophthalmus is nerved, light transverse stripes appear over the back. The large eye and the dusky coloration already show that A. macrophthalmus is a crepuscular animal, which only comes out of its hiding place during the day after a longer period of acclimation. Otherwise the usual care conditions for Ancistrus apply, with the restriction that A. macrophthalmus likes it warm and is comparatively oxygen-demanding.

For our customers: the animals have code 26480-LDA 074-2 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Chaca bankanensis “Sumatra”

3. March 2021

This week we received a good number of the interesting frogmouth catfishes of the species Chaca bankanensis from Sumatra. In contrast to the rather reddish animals we could import earlier (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/chaca_bankanensis_en/), this time they are rather brown-black colored, probably an origin-related color characteristic. 

Very interesting is that some animals have striking white colored eyes. At first we thought of a mechanical injury or a parasite, but both do not seem to apply, because in all corresponding animals both eyes are equally affected. In the macrophotography we can also see well that only the upper half of the iris is white, the pupil and the lower half of the iris, however, are sharply demarcated. Presumably this is a characteristic that sexually active males show, this seems to us at least the most plausible explanation of the phenomenon. Externally recognizable sexual characteristics are not yet known with certainty in Chaca, but in the top view of a presumed pair one recognizes quite well the possible sex differences (head width, ventral fins).

For our customers: the animals have code 408253 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesale. 

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Curimatopsis macrolepis

1. March 2021

The genus Curimatopsis comprised five described species until 2009 – now (2021) there are more than twice as many, namely 11! Curimatopsis can be divided into two major groups. First the C. macrolepis group with 6 species and second the C. evelynae group with 5 species. The best distinguishing feature of the two groups is the mouth position. In the species of the C. macrolepis group the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw, i.e. it protrudes slightly, in the C. evelynae group both halves of the jaw are of equal length.

We could now import some Curimatopsis from Venezuela, which are C. macrolepis. This attractive little fish has hardly found its way into the aquarium so far.

Curimatopsis macrolepis grows to a maximum length of 6 cm, but at 4 cm it is fully sexually differentiated and colored. The males can be recognized by their clearly higher tail and the quite differently shaped tail spot. This is round or lengthways-oval with females, with the male on the other hand at the end moved out to a stripe, that runs through the entire tail fin. Depending on the social rank within the group, a red tail spot shines with different intensity. Again, only the males have this color characteristic. That means, every animal with a red tail spot is a male, but not every individual without this spot is a female. Socially weak males also do not show the spot or only indistinctly! 

Curimatopsis macrolepis is a very peaceful fish, which is ideal for a community aquarium. It is most beautiful in a water colored slightly yellow by peat or leaves, then sometimes a neon green stripe shines along the body flank.

The mouth of Curimatopsis is toothless, a peculiarity among the tetras; accordingly, they are to be fed with soft foods, in nature they eat mainly detritus, that is, the “mulm” consisting of rotting plants and microorganisms. Live plants are not on the menu. Artemia nauplii, adult Artemia, cyclops and flake food are the optimal diet for the fish in the aquarium. 

For our customers: the species has the code number 251333. Please note that we only supply wholesale.

Text & Photos: Frank Schäfer

Parosphromenus gunawani

26. February 2021

The charming licorice gouramis are ideal inhabitants of nano tanks. They can not compare with other fish and so they settle even in nature extreme habitats. The water there is very poor in nutrients, very soft and acidic. These dwarfs among the anabantoids become astoundingly old and can easily reach an age of 5 or more years. So they compensate the low number of eggs they produce per spawning – usually less than 20. These tiny fish should be kept in one-species tanks. They can be fed exclusively with live brine shrimp nauplii (Artemia).

Parosphromenus gunawani comes from the island of Sumatra from the province of Jambi. It is a Parosphromenus species of the bintan type and was scientifically described only in 2012; previously it was known to specialized labyrinthfish enthusiasts as Parosphromenus sp. Danau Rasau. The fish attain a length of about 3 cm. In all licorice gouramis the sexes can be distinguished even in fright coloration. Both males and females look like Betta-females in that mood, but the caudal fin of the females is completely hyaline whereas in the caudal fin of the males always a iridescent shine can be observed that reflects the courtship-coloration.

For our customers: the fish have code 441133 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Parosphromenus: means “stands beside Osphromenus”; Osphromenus is another genus of anabantid. bintan: after the island of Bintan, the type locality; gunawani: the species is named in honour of Gunawan ‘Thomas’ Kasim, who, together with Horst Linke and others, collected the type specimens of this taxon.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus

26. February 2021

Already in 1894 the three-banded flag tetra (Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus) was described scientifically; the animals on which the description was based came from the Brazilian state of Pará, more detailed information or illustrations are not available. From 1910 and in the 1920s, when the tetras advanced to the most popular aquarium fishes, also three-banded tetras came to Europe; these animals had a red, a white and a black longitudinal band over the entire body length – hence three-banded tetras. According to some sources, they came from the lower Rio Tocantins (whose lower reaches are in Pará), according to other sources from the southern tributaries of the middle Amazon (i.e. Rio Madeira, Rio Tapajós, Rio Xingu). A whole group of species has been named after the three-banded tetra – the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus group. They have a black longitudinal band as a common characteristic. From the Hyphessobrycon heterorhabdus group many new species have been described in the last years and some more are already known but not formally described yet; this makes identification not easy.

We have now received very nice animals of this group with the locality Apeú, whereby it is not specified whether this means the district of the large city Castanhal in Pará or the small river Apeú, which flows through the district of the same name, but this forgives nothing. Freshly arrived the animals showed only two stripes, one light and one black, which is why we first determined the species as Hyphessobrycon agulha, but after a few days of acclimation red colored scales were also visible above the light longitudinal band. We are now of the opinion that this is indeed the “true” H. heterorhabdus, while the central Amazonian form mentioned in the old literature probably belonged to the species Hyphessobrycon sateremawe described only last year (2020). H. sateremawe differs from H. heterorhabdus by a much wider black longitudinal band.

For our customers: the animals have code 261103 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Campylomormyrus tamandua BRED

24. February 2021

Elephant fishes or mormyrids are very interesting and also entertaining fish. They communicate among themselves with electrical signals and have – similar to birds – a relatively well developed cerebellum. Their bizzare body shape makes them additionally interesting. However, they have little to offer in terms of color, mostly coming along in shades of brown and black, broken up by dull white or light gray.

The most colorfully attractive mormyrid, additionally equipped with a “proboscis”, is Campylomormyrus tamandua, at least as a juvenile. The species is widespread in western Africa (drainages of the rivers Volta, Niger, Shari (including Lake Chad) and Congo) and can become stately 40 cm long, but even in the wild it is very rare to see animals larger than 15-20 cm. Very old animals darken and lose almost all markings.

Since a few years we can offer this fish as offspring from Indonesia. Campylomormyrus tamandua are not very compatible with each other, in a group there is constant chasing and fighting. In principle not much happens, because mormyrids do not have teeth, but in the long run the bickering can lead to losses. If you only have a medium sized aquarium, you can therefore only keep a single animal. Against other fish (no mormyrids) C. tamandua is peaceful.

The key to successful group keeping is as large a group as possible (at least 10, better 20 or more specimens), as large an aquarium as possible, plenty of hiding places, and abundant feeding. Bloodworm (frozen or live) are particularly suitable as food. Spawning takes place in crevices, the animals do not practice brood care. The sexes are indistinguishable in juveniles, sexually mature females are fuller and the anal fin shape of males and females is different. But it should be emphasized again: keeping them in pairs is not possible.

For our customers: the animals have code 110111 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Synbranchus marmoratus

22. February 2021

Only very rarely marbled swamp eels from South America are available. After a quite long time we now have a number of juveniles from Peru in stock. The species attains a maximum length of about 1.5 m. These very large individuals are always males, because swamp eels change their sex. Most of them are born as females and become males at an age of about 4 years. This type of sex change, which is quite common in marine fish, but very unusual for freshwater fish, is called protogynous hermaphroditism. All species of swamp eel can breath atmospheric air and so survive in very oxygen-poor water.

For our customers: the fish have code 295202 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras sp CW 98

19. February 2021

This beautiful Corydoras belongs to a scientifically undescribed species. It originates from the upper Rio Negro in Brazil. Because of the bright orange neck spot it is usually misidentified as Corydoras burgessi, which also comes from this region, especially as C. burgessi has a very variable pattern and there are also spotted colour variants of this species. Overall, CW 98 reminds us more of C. brevirostris from the Orinoco drainage.

For our customers: the animals have code 225043 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Shubunkin

19. February 2021

It is and remains the oldest ornamental fish in the world: the goldfish (Carassius auratus) and its many cultivated forms. It has been propagated and kept by humans for about 1,000 years. 

Many consider goldfish to be garden pond fish, especially the varieties with “nomal”, wild fish-like body types. This is quite true, and they do grow into huge (over 20 cm, sometimes up to 30 cm long), magnificent specimens in the pond. But there is a reason why the goldfish has been in culture for so long: the wild form is also one of the most adaptable fish in nature. The temperature range can be between 0 (!) and over 30°C, the fish can also tolerate temporary oxygen deficiency due to special physiological adaptation mechanisms and if in nature the water is only small and the food supply is low, it only grows to 5-8 cm in length and also reproduces at this size. That is why all goldfish forms can be excellently kept in the aquarium. However, our western understanding of animal husbandry is not so much to push the genetic limits of what is possible; we prefer to keep animals as “optimally” as possible, i.e. under the conditions that are subjectively most comfortable for the animals.

The Shubunkin belongs to the large-growing goldfishes and therefore should be kept in large aquariums (from 150 cm). It is a five-colored breeding form, in which blue, red, orange, white and black colors can be found in highly variable proportions. Five-colored goldfish are also called calico goldfish in Japan (calico is actually a special cotton fabric, which was colorfully printed in Japan). Usually shubunkin are sorted by the primary colors of blue and red, but this need not be the case. Pure goldfish breeding forms, where one animal looks like the other, do not exist, because the genes for fin length and body colors are located on several alleles. Many prefer the shubunkin as a comet (i.e. with elongated fins), but in the same brood normal-finned siblings can also occur. Because of the complex inheritance relationships, each Shubunkin is unique.

The Shubunkin is a relatively young breeding form, which was “only” created in 1892 by the Japanese breeder Yoshigoro Akiyama I by crossing calico dragon eyes (“Telskop-Eyes„), common goldfish and wakin with a single tail fin. Shubunkin were first introduced to the public in 1902. The name “Shubunkin” was coined by Shinosuke Matsubara, whom the bright colors reminded of a kimono.

For our customers: we have shubunkin in several sizes on sale all year round. They have depending on size, code 811000-811007 on our stock list. Please note that we supply only wholesale.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Monodactylus sebae

17. February 2021

The African Mono is widely distributed along the tropical Atlantic coast of Africa. As a completely euryhaline fish, it can freely change between fresh, brackish and seawater; it prefers to stay in brackish water. In its native range M. sebae is a common fish and is caught there for food. In the past, aquaristic needs were met by wild-caught fish from Lagos Bay, Nigeria, but for decades this species has only been available as offspring from Southeast Asia. 

M. sebae was one of the first marine fishes to be successfully reared in the aquarium. First breeding reports date back to 1968, planned breeding succeeded since the 1970s. The animals are free spawners without brood care, the spawn swims around during development, external sex differences are not known.

With a maximum length of 25 cm (but mostly around 15 cm, the animals are spawning at about 10 cm at the age of about 1 year) Monodactylus sebae is not a small fish, furthermore they are fast swimmers and should be kept in a troop (from 8 specimens upwards). So they require a correspondingly large aquarium. A value of 3-4 g/l has proven to be the ideal salt content. Monos are carnivores, which can be well fed with all common frozen and live foods. Dry food is accepted, but should not be used as a sole food. Monos like it warm, the water temperature should be between 25 and 28°C.

For our customers: the animals have code 150002 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Apistogramma sp. Oregon

12. February 2021

The attractive Apistogramma sp. Oregon comes from the wider surroundings of Iquitos in Peru. Don’t ask us why this one is called “Oregon” – we don’t know that either. It belongs to the closer relationship of A. nijsseni, but differs clearly from this species by the bulky body structure, the large tail spot and a group of black spots on the lower half of the caudal peduncle.

This beautiful fish is quite hardy and adaptable, but it has been shown that for long-term care and breeding, very soft water with a pH of 5-6 is most favorable. In hard water with higher pH, the fish first become paler and then start to care. It is still unclear whether the soft acidic water is actually a physiological necessity or whether the animals – like so many fish from comparable habitats – just cannot tolerate the higher bacterial load in harder and more alkaline water.

According to the information available so far, A. sp. Oregon is known from only one forest pool. This does not necessarily mean that it does not exist elsewhere, but it has not been found so far. Therefore imports of the animals occur only in large time intervals, breeders should strive for them.

For our customers: the fish have code 625112 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Literature

Römer, U. & D. P. Soares (2019): Beiträge zur Biologie von Apistogramma-Arten: Apistogramma sp. „Oregon“, ein selten gepflegter Zwergbuntbarsch aus dem peruanischen Amazonas-Tiefland in Loreto. DCG-Informationen 50 (8): 174-183 

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras sp. aff. parallelus CW127

12. February 2021

Just as L-numbers are assigned for undetermined loricariids, C- and CW-numbers are assigned for undetermined Corydoras. One of the first species to receive such a number was Corydoras parallelus, which was assigned the number C2 in 1993. In the same year Burgess described it as C. parallelus. 

The species originates from the upper Rio Negro and never came frequently to Europe, mostly as by-catch to Corydoras schwartzi and C. incolicana. The exporters called him C. “Perreira II”. Why the species is so rarely caught is unknown. It can be bred quite well, but never in large numbers, so that usually the offspring go directly from aquarist to aquarist and never appear in the general trade.

We have now received magnificent XXL-Corydoras from Brazil that almost exactly match the colours of Corydoras parallelus, but actually come from the Rio Jamanxim, a tributary of the Tapajós. These animals are still scientifically undescribed and were given the code number CW127 by Ian Fuller. It is the round snouted sibling species of the Corydoras bifasciatus from the same area, a long snouted species that is currently not available in significant numbers in the hobby.

This is for sure: CW127 are really gorgeous fish!

For our customers: the animals have code 240254 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Leiarius marmoratus

10. February 2021

There are two species of catfish in South America that look like siblings: Leiarus marmoratus (called “Achara” by the natives) and Leiarius (formerly: Perrunichthys) perruno. Both species attain a length of about 60 cm, have the very same leopard pattern and the long, ringed whiskers. But there does exist an easily recognizable difference: Leiarius marmoratus has 10-11 rays in the dorsal fin, L. perruno only 8. The fish usually have the dorsal fin erected. So it is pretty easy to count the finrays on a sharp photo.

Due to the attractive pattern and the peaceful nature of the fish (any tankmate that does not fit as food will be ignored), acharas are much sought for by enthusiasts that love big fish. However, they are only rarely available on the ornamental fish market. Currently we have a number of very charming youngsters from Peru in stock, which are 5-7 cm long.

For our customers: the fish have code 265202 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Available in limited numbers only!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hemimyzon nanensis

8. February 2021

With the import of Hemimyzon nanensis we were once again able to fill a white spot on the map of fishes that have become known in the aquarium with content. At least for us it is a first import. Hemimyzon belongs to the family of hillstream loaches (Balitoridae) and is closely related to the genus Jinshaia. Both genera differ quite well from the other Balitoridae in that in Hemimyzon and Jinshaia the pelvic fins are not merge together to form a sucking disc, but are still separate from each other. In Hemimyzon the caudal fin is straight cut off or slightly emarginated, in Jinshaia it is deeply forked.

The particularly interesting thing about H. nanensis is that all other species of the genus originate from China or Taiwan. H. nanensis, on the other hand, is found in the upper reaches of the Chao Phraya basin in northern Thailand. Like all hillstream loaches, H. nanensis loves strong currents and prefers to feed from solid substrate. The animals are very variable in colour and are peaceful among each other. You should not keep them too warm, 16-22°C are ideal. Very important is clear, oxygen-rich, bacteria-poor water, whose composition is otherwise rather secondary. A good lighting is favourable to promote algae growth. Many microorganisms live in the algae film and are used by H. nanensis as food.

Hemimyzon nanensis grows 6-8 cm long. Since these are fish for specialists, we have imported only a few specimens. They have code 421363 on our stocklist.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pseudochalceus kyburzi

5. February 2021

In our last post on this impressive and beautiful tetra species from Colombia, we wrote “This tetra usually grows to around 5 cm long, with 8 cm given as the maximum size.” (https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/pseudochalceus-kyburzi-4/). Since last week we know, this maximum size can actually be reached! Wow, that’s the first thing we thought of these huge animals.

Moreover, one of these XXL males has also developed spring fever and got into courtship mood. These gorgeous colors were not visible before. To be on the safe side, we took pictures directly in the holding tank; unfortunately, it came as feared, in the relatively small and inevitably bright photo tank the animal faded immediately, which is why we show here, in order to be able to present the colors in full intensity, also one of the aesthetically less appealing pictures, as we shoot them for documentation purposes in principle of interesting new arrivals in the fishhouse.

For our customers: the fish have code 283804 on our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Tympanopleura cryptica

5. February 2021

For the first time we could (recognized) import this dolphin catfish from Peru. The small species (the biggest scientifically known animal had a standard-length – therefore without tail fin – of barely 8,5 cm) occurs in the area of the upper Amazon, where the river is still called Solimoes.

Tympanopleura cryptica was described scientifically only in 2015; before that the species was probably always confused with other species, hence the species name cryptica, which means “hidden, concealed”. The males of T. cryptica get a strongly extended back-fin during the reproductive-time – like all dolphin-catfish – that serves during the mating to press the female against the side of the male. The inner fertilization takes place on that occasion with a mating-organ, that is formed from the first five rays of the anal fin. One can recognize the males by it also outside the reproductive-period while the long back-fin-spine is shed. One can compare this quite well with the antlers of the stags, that is formed also again annually. The photographed animal is a male, clearly recognizable at the mating organ.

Interesting are the very large nose pores, which at first made us think that the animals had bumped somewhere. But since this phenomenon occurs in many specimens and always on both sides, and can also be seen in the preserved type specimens, we think it is normal.

In our facility these catfish are strictly nocturnal and move during the day only when food is given, as it is known from other driftwooid catfishes (e.g. Duringlanis (former Tatia) perugiae). Concerning the feeding it is to be said that one should be careful with Tympanopleura, what concerns the tankmates. Tympanopleura are predatory fish that can eat surprisingly large fish. However, the catfish also accept all usual frozen food.

For our customers: the animals have code 203033 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Hemigrammus hyanuary Wild

4. February 2021

In 1957, when the first Green Tetras or Neon Costello (Hemigrammus hyanuary) were imported, the tetras were absolute fashion fish. Otherwise the comparison with the neon or cardinal tetra can hardly be explained, because H. hyanuary – which by the way is named after Lake Hyanuary in Brazil – is really nicely colored, but it has little in common with a neon fish. Much more striking is the animal’s contrasting tail root pattern.

The Neon Costello is widely distributed in the upper Amazon region. Mostly bred ones are offered, we have currently pretty Peru imports in stock. In aquariums with sandy bottom and subdued light, as it can be well achieved by floating plants, the animals are most beautiful. They should be kept in a group (10-20 specimens) at temperatures between 23 and 25°C (for breeding 2-3°C higher). 

For our customers: the animals have code 256492 af our stocklist. Please note that we supply exclusively to wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Pseudolithoxus kelsorum L189

1. February 2021

Unfortunately this interesting catfish from Venezuela is offered only very rarely. It lives in the tributaries of the middle Orinoco. With a maximum length of 10 cm (only very rarely some specimens reach this size, the normal size is 6-7 cm) the species remains relatively small. Pseudolithoxus species are all quite flat, but P. kelsorum especially. Besides the flat shape and appealing pattern, L189 has another characteristic that makes it particularly suitable for the aquarium: it is also very active during the day and by far not as addicted to hiding as many other L-catfish.

We have not yet heard of successful breeding of this species, but this is surely only due to the rare imports. The sex differences are well pronounced at 5-6 cm length, the males can be recognized by the strong bristling (see photos).

The flat body structure indicates that this species is adapted to stronger water currents. They are typical Aufwuchs feeders, which should be offered temperatures in the range of 26-30°C, whereby one must pay attention to good oxygen saturation.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Corydoras elegans

29. January 2021

The armored catfishes of the closer relationship around Corydoras elegans belong to the most interesting species of this huge genus. They do not live as strongly bottom-bound as most other armored catfishes and are very nicely colored. Males and females differ relatively clearly in coloration. However, it is not easy to provide a color description of these extremely variable colored animals because coloration changes with sexual activity. Animals ready to spawn are the most colorful and contrasting in coloration, the males also more intense than the females. Outside the spawning period the color intensity decreases.

We have already introduced you to this species from Peru: https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/corydoras-elegans-peru-4/

Currently, we have these as well as very beautiful representatives of a Brazilian variant (the pictures of this post) in stock.

For our customers: the fish have code 229005 on our stockiest. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Aulonocara “Rubescens”

25. January 2021

Do you know the game “Silent Mail”? You play it with at least 10 participants, the more, the better. One of the players thinks up a term and whispers it – inaudible to the others – into the ear of the player next to him. This whispers what he has understood to the next one, and so on. It is often very exhilarating what comes out at the end.

It sometimes goes similarly with ornamental fish names. Aulonocara “Rubescens” is a fantasy name, which is based on transmission errors. However, the fish is not a breeding form in the true sense, but only a selection breeding from wild animals, in this case from Aulonocara sp. “stuartgranti Maleri” from the population that lives near the island of Chidunga Rocks near Chipoka. Through continuous breeding with the most colorful animals, some of the fishes were very colorful. However, these are not really red, but rather orange. Nevertheless they became known as “Red Ruby”, which has nothing to do with the gemstone, but so – Rubin – was the first importer’s surname. At some point they were called “Rubescens”, which is Latin and means “blushing”. But this is not a scientific name.

We currently have very pretty offspring of the original “Rubescens” from Thailand in stock. 

For our customers: the animals have code 502932 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Microsynodontis batesii

22. January 2021

Squeakers or upside-down catfishes are a fish family occurring exclusively in Africa. The best known genus is Synodontis, which comprises over 130 species. Closely related to this genus is the genus Microsynodontis. The genus name means “small Synodontis” and is program, because these fish already become sexually mature with 3-4 cm of length, are thus true dwarf fish. The biggest known species becomes maximum 10 cm long, most reach 5-6 cm of final-length.

Unfortunately, it is very tricky to determine the species correctly; until 2004 the fish presented here were called M. batesii, then the species was divided into 8 species, but so far no scientist has found the time to correctly determine the animals imported by us from Nigeria. It is possible that this is a species that has not yet been scientifically recorded, among the already described species M. emarginata is the most similar one; it is obvious that all the species previously grouped under M. batesii look extraordinarily similar.

We receive these fish with a length of 2-3 cm and have never seen specimens larger than about 5 cm. They are very sociable animals that like to live in dense association with their conspecifics. Microsynodontis are very peaceful against other fish. They are well suited for the containment of a possible mass increase of small water snails, because these form a component of the food of the small catfish. Otherwise, all usual feeds are eaten gladly. The chemical water composition is of no importance for the care of these animals, but extremes should be avoided. The water temperature can lie in the range of 22-28°C.

For our customers: the animals have code 149302 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Macrognathus siamensis Red Tail

20. January 2021

At the moment we can once again offer very beautiful – i.e. strongly colored – offsprings of a dwarf spiny eel, which is not yet precisely identified. It is offered under the name Macrognathus aculeatus, but for various reasons it will probably not be this species. It shows the most similarity to Macrognathus siamensis, because like this species our redtail has strong pronounced, broad white bordered eye spots in the dorsal fin. 

In any case they are very pretty, sociable animals, which under normal circumstances are not to be expected to grow much bigger than about 15 cm. All spiny eels are inquisitive and adaptive fish, which can give you a lot of pleasure. However, community fish should not be too small, otherwise they will be eaten. Water temperatures can be between 22 and 30°C, with the middle range being the most favorable. Every frozen and live food that fits into the mouth is eaten, also water fleas catch these fish skillfully from the water column, whereby they take a position like a seahorse. But also granulated food is accepted. Water hardness and pH-value do not play a role for the care, every drinking water is suitable. 

There are two things to keep in mind when caring for spiny eels: absolutely escape-proof aquariums and sufficient hiding places in the form of caves. Since spiny eels also like to dig themselves in, the substrate should consist of sand at least in places.

For our customers: the animals have code 425208 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Cherax snowden

18. January 2021

The diversity of the crayfishes of New Guinea is hard to keep track of. Most difficult is the decision, whether a freshly imported form is a color variant of a long known species or a new species; because the color variance within the species is enormous.

Cherax snowden was known as Cherax sp. “Orange Tip” for quite some time before its scientific description. The orange tips of the claws are a good identifying feature of the species, except for the completely orange color variant that became known as “Irianto Red” (see https://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/fish-archives/cherax-snowden-irianto-red-and-cherax-holthuisi/)

The Orange Tip is a very good crayfish to keep and breed in the aquarium. The only thing to know is that crayfish often have quite idiosyncratic ideas about how an aquarium should be set up and like to redecorate it. And they usually consider plants as food. But such trivialities one looks after these beauties with pleasure, isn’t it?

For our customers: the animals have code 481442 on our stockiest. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer