Author Archives: Paul_

The correct determination of piranha species is one of the most difficult chapters in ichthyology at all. Even the specialized authorities for that group of fish have often different points of view. And so we quite often can only look for the very few features that are accepted as species specific, like the black bands in the caudal and the anal fins, the existence of a humeral spot etc.

But the fish is by far more important than its scientific name! And one thing is for sure: this piranha is the most beautiful one we ever were able to import! There is no doubt that the fish belongs to a relationship around Serrasalmus spilopleura and S. maculatus and most probably they reach the same size and can be kept and bred equally to these mentioned species. So please take a look on our entrance on them on our homepage: http://www.aquariumglaser.de/en/serrasalmus-maculatus-und-s-marginatus_de_1179.html

We have added the river name “Tapajos” to the scientific name on our stocklist. This is due to the fact that in the Tapajos river a type of Serrasalmus spilopleura can be found that has equal to our fish a brilliant deep red to orange breast, whereas the other piranhas of that group have a yellow one. The exact origin of our specimens is unknown to us.

For our customers: the fish have code 292814 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Serrasalmus: from Latin, means „salmon with a saw“. Refers to the saw-like arranged scales along the keel of the breast. spilopleura: ancient Greek, means “with spotted flanks”. maculatus: Latin word for „spotted“

Suggestion of a common name: Charcoal piranha

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Sometimes the enormous number of new and attractive importations makes us forget that some of the alltime-evergreens also are real beauties. One of the most beautiful among those is the Threestripe pencilfish, Nannostomus trifasciatus. The species has a very wide distribution (Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, and Peru) and a large number of local varieties with different coloration does exist. It is not unlikely that at least some of them one day will be described as full species. The photographed animals we have in stock currently originate from Brazil and have been exported via Manaus.

For our customers: the fish have code 272304 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Nannostomus: from ancient Greek, means “with a tiny mouth”. trifasciatus: Latin, means “with three stripes”.

Common name: Threestripe pencilfish

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

For our customers: the animals have code 268634 on our stocklist.

The lively species of the genus Tyttocharax belong to the smallest species of tetra at all. They hardly ever become larger than 2 cm. Two species are currently quite often imported, both originate from Peru: T. cochui and T. madeirae. At the first glimpse both species look very similar and have been often confused in the past. Another reason for this is the fact that T. madeirae has not been recognized in scientific collections from Peru so far.

Both dwarf tetra species can be distinguished best by the coloration of the dorsal and the anal fins. Both fins are hylaine in T. cochui and have dark markings in T. madeirae.

Males become larger than the females and are very deep bodied at age. Keeping these tiny fish is not much demanding. Any usual fishfood is readily taken as long as it fits the mouth. The dwarf fish are very peaceful against tankmates, may they belong to their own or to other species. Plants are not harmed.

For our customers: the fish have code 298952 (cochui) and 298963 (madeirae) on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Tyttocharax: ancient Greek, means “tiny Charax”; Charax is another genus of tetra. cochui: dedication name. madeirae: after the Rio Madeira in Brazil.

Suggestion of common names: T. cochui: Whiteband Frippery Tetra; T. madeirae: Madeira Frippery Tetra

Code number: 215703

Photos: Frank Schäfer

The tretras represent a group of fishes that has developed a lot of very contrasting forms. Everybody knows the cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) as a paragon for a peaceful community fish, but the pack hunting piranha that bites big pieces of meat off its victim is also well known.

Among the predatory species are the three or four species of Galeocharax. These fishes can reach a length of 20-25 cm. All species look very similar to each other, our determination bases mainly on the origin (Peru), as only G. gulo is reported from there so far. These fishes are real rarities in the import business, the current importation is only the second in the history of our company.

Galeocharax belong to the group of the so-called “water-dogs”, which have needle-pointed teeth that are used to hold the prey. It is quite obviously that such predators are only suited for specialized aquaristis. They need large tanks for they are active swimmers. Against conspecifics the fish are relatively peaceful as well as against tankmates that are too large to be eaten. However, Galeocharax are shy fish and one should keep that in mind in respect of planned tankmates.

For our customers: the fish have code 254152 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Galeocharax: compound of the ancient Greek word for a small shark and “charax”: Charax is another genus of tetra. gulo: after the scientific name of the wolverine (Gulo gulo), a large species of weasel.

Suggestion of a common name: Barrakuda water dog

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Code number: 298282

Photo: Frank Schäfer

Recently described: Cyanogaster cf. noctivaga

We were able to import a new species of dwarf tetra in january 2011 from Peru. The tiny fish were only 1-2 cm long and we were neither able to assign them to an existing genus nor to an existing species. Thus we gave them the provisional name Characidae gen. sp., Dwarf Glass Tetra (code 215503). Now our idea that the fish are completely new to science has proofed to be true: the scientists George Mattox, Ralf Britz, Monica Toledo-Piza, and Manoelo F. Marinho described recently (March 2013) this or a very similar species under the name of Cynaogoster noctivaga, new genus and new species. The scientific generic name means “blue belly” due to the coloration and the specific name “noctivaga” means “night wanderer”, because all specimens were collected during nighttime (between 20.00 and 24.00).

There is no doubt that the fish we imported from Peru belongs to the same genus, eg Cyanogaster. However, the species noctivaga has been described from the Rio Negro area in Brazil. Only a very close look on preserved specimens will allow a decision wether both populations belong to the same species or not. So we hope that we will be able to import this nice fish in the near future once more – sadly currently they are not available.

Code number: 215503

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

We were recently able to obtain a very ununsual Brazilian tetra in limited numbers as German bred: Moenkhausia cosmops. This species has been described scientifically only in 2007. It is reported so far from the upper basins of the rivers Rio Paraguai and Rio Tapajos in the State of Mato Grosso, namely Rio Juba, Rio Juruena, Rio Papagaio, and their tributaries.

This species has been considered to be a close relative to the well known species Moenkhausia oligolepis (Glass tetra) and M. sanctaefilomenae (Red eye tetra). Other close relatives are M. cotinho, M. diktyota, M. forestii, and M. pyrophthalma which are of no relevance in the hobby so far. All mentioned species have in common a red iris and a conspicious tail spot. M. cosmops can be distinguished from all these species at the first glimpse by the blue-green iris and the red stripe on the snout.

The unique colour pattern reminds one of the one hand on the marvelous emperor tetras (Nematobrycon) and on the other hand on the cute lipstick barb (Barbus erythromycter) from Asia. However, these similarities do not represent any phylogenetic relationship.

Maximum length reported for Moenkhausia cosmops is about 6 cm. In the beginning the fish are a bit shy. In our facility the fish have proofed so far to be hardy and little demanding. Like in most tetras, feeding is quite unproblematic. The stomach of wild fish contained insects (mainly ants), plant material, and algae. The water temperature should be between 24 and 26°C, soft and slightly acidic water is close to the findings in the natural habitat. The biotopes are described as whitewater biotopes with sandy bottom. Here the fish are found in schools with 50 or more specimens which prefer the backwaters near the vegetation of the banks. They live between dead branches etc.

For our customers: the fish have code 268643 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Moenkhausia: dedication name for W. J. Moenkhaus, a friend of Eigenmann. oligolepis: ancient Greek, means “with only few scales”. sanctaefilomenae: refers to the collection site of the type specimens (“lagoon near St. Filomena at the Parnahyba”). cosmops: ancient Greek, means “with decorated face”. cotinho: dedication name for a Major Cotinho, collector of the species and Brazilian attaché of the Thayer expedition. diktyota: ancient Greek, means “with reticulated pattern”. forestii: dedication name for Fausto Foresti, a geneticist. pyrophthalma: ancient Greek, means “with red eye”. Nematobrycon: ancient Greek, means “Brycon with a thread”, which refers to the caudal fin; Brycon is another genus of tetra. Barbus: Latin, means “the bearded one”. erythromycter: ancient Greek, means “with red nose”.

Suggestion of a common name: Lipstick tetra

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

We were recently able to import a very ununsual tetra from Brazil in limited numbers: Moenkhausia cosmops. This species has been described scientifically only in 2007. It is reported so far from the upper basins of the rivers Rio Paraguai and Rio Tapajos in the State of Mato Grosso, namely Rio Juba, Rio Juruena, Rio Papagaio, and their tributaries.

This species has been considered to be a close relative to the well known species Moenkhausia oligolepis (Glass tetra) and M. sanctaefilomenae (Red eye tetra). Other close relatives are M. cotinho, M. diktyota, M. forestii, and M. pyrophthalma which are of no relevance in the hobby so far. All mentioned species have in common a red iris and a conspicious tail spot. M. cosmops can be distinguished from all these species at the first glimpse by the blue-green iris and the red stripe on the snout.

The unique colour pattern reminds one of the one hand on the marvelous emperor tetras (Nematobrycon) and on the other hand on the cute lipstick barb (Barbus erythromycter) from Asia. However, these similarities do not represent any phylogenetic relationship.

Maximum length reported for Moenkhausia cosmops is about 6 cm. In the beginning the fish are a bit shy. In our facility the fish have proofed so far to be hardy and little demanding. Like in most tetras, feeding is quite unproblematic. The stomach of wild fish contained insects (mainly ants), plant material, and algae. The water temperature should be between 24 and 26°C, soft and slightly acidic water is close to the findings in the natural habitat. The biotopes are described as whitewater biotopes with sandy bottom. Here the fish are found in schools with 50 or more specimens which prefer the backwaters near the vegetation of the banks. They live between dead branches etc.

For our customers: the fish have code 268643 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Moenkhausia: dedication name for W. J. Moenkhaus, a friend of Eigenmann. oligolepis: ancient Greek, means “with only few scales”. sanctaefilomenae: refers to the collection site of the type specimens (“lagoon near St. Filomena at the Parnahyba”). cosmops: ancient Greek, means “with decorated face”. cotinho: dedication name for a Major Cotinho, collector of the species and Brazilian attaché of the Thayer expedition. diktyota: ancient Greek, means “with reticulated pattern”. forestii: dedication name for Fausto Foresti, a geneticist. pyrophthalma: ancient Greek, means “with red eye”. Nematobrycon: ancient Greek, means “Brycon with a thread”, which refers to the caudal fin; Brycon is another genus of tetra. Barbus: Latin, means “the bearded one”. erythromycter: ancient Greek, means “with red nose”.

Suggestion of a common name: Lipstick tetra

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Currently we were able to import the most beautiful species of Leporinus we have ever seen from Brazil. As the determination of juvenile Leporinus is almost impossible in many cases we decided to adopt the exporter ´s name given for the fish on his stocklist.

Without any doubt, however, the new fish belongs to a group of Leporinus closely related to (or identical with) Leporinus granti, a species known so far from the Guianas only. It is mentioned in the elder aquarium literature also under the name of Leporinus “maculatus”. The good news is that so far no species of this group is known to grow larger than 15 – 20 cm, most stay even smaller. Another positive announcement from an aquarist´s point of view is the fact that L. granti (or a very close relative of it) is the only Leporinus species that has been bred successfully in aquaria so far. The fish are egg-scatters that do not care for their brood in any way.

Like all Leporinus, L. sp. “Strawberry” is a plant eater and has a very vigorous pecking order. Thus it is much easier to keep two fish of different sizes together than animals of equal size. In specimens of differnt size it is quite clear who is the stronger one and so there is no need for fighting. In specimens of equal size they fight every day to find out who is the stronger and this results in ruffled fins.

For our customers: the fish have code 265892 on our stocklist.Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Leporinus: Latin, means “hare-nose”. granti: dedication name for “Mr. William Grant, my most efficient Indian guide on the Potaro, who later made additional collections, which among other new species contained this.” (Eigenmann, 1912). maculatus: Latin, means “spotted”.

Text & Photo: Frank Schäfer

At least in Germany members of the genus Copeina are pretty well known, which is reflected by the fact that an accepted common name exists: Forellensalmler, which means “trout tetra”. However, this knowledge is rather outdated and nowadays the fish can be regarded as real rarities in the hobby. There are only two accepted species in Copeina, namely C. gutta and C. osgoodi. Both can be distinguished from each other only by internal features of the dentition and the collecting site: C. guttata is known from the central Amazon basin in Brazil, and C. osgoodi from the upper Amazon in Peru (following Géry, 1978).

We received our beautiful specimens from Peru. Depending on the light they look quite different. Lateral illumination makes them shining bright blue, light from the top highlights the red spots on the scales and the orange red finnage.

According to the scientific literature C. osgoodi becomes 5.1 cm long (standard length, eg without caudal fin) and C. guttata 7.6 cm. Aquarium literature gives even 15 cm for C. guttata (of course with caudal fin).

Keeping Copeina is very interesting due to their broodcare. They spawn on roots, stones, leaves, etc. and even in holes in the sand. The male defends the breeding territory against all other fishes, including the female. This ends when the brood swims free.

For our customers: the fish have code 219893 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Copeina: Dedicated to E. D. Cope, an ichthylogist with worldwide reputation. osgoodi: dedication name. guttata: Latin, means “speckled”.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Literature: Géry, J. (1977): Characoids of the World. Neptune City.

Currently we received from Peru a new species of Hemigrammus, which does not fit the description of any species known so far. Thus we decided to adopt the name on the import list, eg. “Boqueron”. The pretty fish looks like a cross of the glowlight tetra (Hemigrammus erythrozonus) and the silvertip tetra (Hasemania nana). Due to its nice orange fins we thought initially indeed it would be a Hasemania species. However, our fish has a well developed adipose fin. The lack of this fin is genus-specific for Hasemania.

The new tetra seems to be a rather small species. Our specimens are 2.5 to 3 cm long and already sexually developed. Regarding the behaviour they do not show any significant differences to other small tetras of that type. Until now our fish have prooved to be pretty hardy. All in all: a nice addition in the palette of tetras available for the hobby.

For our customers: the fish has code 257533 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Hemigrammus: ancient Greek, means “with half line”, referring to the incomplete lateral line, which is genus-specific. Hasemania: dedication name for J. D. Haseman. nana: Latin, means “small, dwarfish”.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

For the first time ever we were able now to import this beautiful tetra from Peru. Scientifically H. agulha is known for quite a long time, but it has never become an aquarium fish so far. In Jaques Géry´s classical work on Characoids of the World even a complete group of Hyphessobrycon is named after H. agulha. It is defined as “lower half of the body dark, especially above anal fin; usually a horizontally elongate humeral spot, more or less united with the asymmetrical, broad band”. The H. agulha-group comprises, besides the name-bearing species, H. peruvianus, H. loretoensis, H. metae, and H. herbertaxelrodi, which are well known aquarium inhabitants.

IN THE MEANTIME THE SPECIES HAS BEEN DESCRIBED SCIENTIFICALLY UNDER THE NAME OF HYPHESSOBRYCON ESCHWARTZAE.

A conspicuous feature of our fish is the brightly shining spot in the upper part of the caudal peduncle. Along with the shining upper part of the eye this is a signal for conspecifics in the dark waters of the natural invironment of the species. If one keeps the pretty tetra in so-called black-water the effect is really enchanting.

Regarding general keeping of the fish: there is no difference to that of the well known remaining members of the group.

For our customers: the fish has code 255973 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Hyphessobrycon: ancient Greek, means “small Brycon”. Brycon is another genus of tetras. agulha: after a popular name given to the species in the region of the Rio Madeira, the type locality.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Recently we received beautiful Rosy tetras under the name of “Hyphessobrycon robertsi” from Peru. However, the fish is not identical with the well known “robertsi” (the species has not been described formally by a scientist yet, but it is unknown whether is has been made available “by chance” in the past 60 years of its career as an aquarium fish). To be honest, we didn´t recognize this at first. But when Peter and Martin Hoffmann, two aquarists specialized in tetras, visited us and led our attention on the fish, we realized what we have.

Still our specimens are too young to say more, but the new species is distinguished from most other Rosy tetras by the bright shining stripes alongside the humeral spot. This unique feature is very reminescent of Hyphessobrycon pando, a species quite recently described from Bolivia.

For our customers: the fish have code 261442 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Hyphessobrycon: ancient Greek, means “small Brycon”. Brycon is another genus of tetras. pando: after the Bolivian department of Pando, where the species has been collected.