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Just picked up an issue of Practical Fishkeeping magazine, and it has reports of some new fish species that have been discovered!

They are:

[1] Apteronotus milesi, a new species of Ghost Knife Fish from Colombia;

[2] Thanks to a revision of the Genus Phalloptychus, it has now been discovered that Phalloptychus iheringi, previously thought to be a synonym of Phalloptychus januarius, is actually a separate species in its own right;

[3] Two new Characins, namely Astyanax elachylepis and Astyanax totae, both from Brazil;

[4] Pseudobagrus gracilis, a new species of Bagrid catfish from southern China;

[5] Two new dwarf Apsitogramma Cichlids from Brazil, namely Apistogramma salpinction, which is a 'typical' member of the Genus in terms of habitat and habits, while Apistogramma angayuara is unusual in being the smallest Apistogramma known - largest male 24.7 mm, largest female 22.7 mm - and in being an inhabitant of rapid flowing water that feeds upon rhizopods. For those unfamiliar with the term, 'rhizopod' refers to members of the Superclass Rhizopoda, which covers the Rhizopod Amoebae, the Entamoeba group of amoebae, the Foraminiferans and the Testaceans.

I can't wait to see the new Apistos in particular - especially that 'super dwarf Cichlid' that's only an inch long! Now THAT will be a Cichlid that LOTS of people will want to get their hands on once they discover it's actually smaller than a fully grown Neon Tetra and thus won't need vast quarters to keep it!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Great info! Thank you for sharing, as always!

Wow, thats alot of new fish. I wonder how many years before they become widespread in the hobby?

Might not be long. For example, Rhino Glassfish were on the market quite soon after they're discovery in, if I'm not mistaken, around 2001.

New species are always a joy.

Last edited by metagon at 16-Dec-2005 07:25

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I wanna see the characins.

Makes you wonder truly how many other species are out there, it's fascinating to see!!

Among the species I listed anove, that "super dwarf Apisto" will be in massive demond once the news spreads. Let's face it, one BIG disadvantage of Cichlids has always been that even the 'Dwarf' Cichlids have needed a fair amount of space because of territoriality, and in some cases because 'dwarf' meant three inches or so in length. A truly 'dwarf' Cichlid that's smaller than a Neon Tetra in body length is going to be a little jewel that will not only have the Cichlid fans gasping and panting over the prospect of acquiring it, but quite a few other people who would like to try Cichlids but don't have the space or the finances for a 4ft setup just for the Cichlids. (Or 6ft in the case of Convicts, or 8ft in the case of Oscars, you get the picture!).

Throw in to the mix that it's reputed to be an attractive fish too, and you have all the ingredients for sky-high prices for that beastie until people start breeding it in earnest (and of course, those sky high prices will be a massive incentive to breed it). If we're fortunate and it turns out to be a relatively undemanding and accommodating Cichlid in the aquarium, the 'get rich quick' dreams will be short lived (unlike the case of L-number Plecs, which look set to continue to be expensive for some time to come), whereupon we can all reap the benefits and discover the joys of a 'super Dwarf Cichlid' that will live in more affordable quarters while providing all of the usual Cichlid joys.

In the case of the Astyanax characins, chances are they won't make it into the big time, because most existing Astyanax species are fairly large (6 inches or so), and possess at least some potential for being fin-nippers. However, they do make good dither fish for medium-large Cichlids, because they're tough, fast moving and have frequently evolved to live alongside some of our more interesting aquarium Cichlids in the wild - in some cases (see Astyanax mexicanus as a prime example) they are actually a threat to Cichlid eggs and fry in the wild, teaming up in shoals of several thousand and striking when the Cichlid parents' guard is down. That they have evolved to live alongside big Guapotes and otherCentral/South American bruisers, have done so successfully for a good few million years, and show no sign of dying out due to pressure from the Cichlids, is a sure sign that the new ones will certainly come to the attention of South American Cichlid keepers looking for a tough, hardy, dependable dither fish that will survive the attentions of Green Terrors or Festaes.

Mind you, I'm still waiting for the 'Junior Pandurini' Tetras to make it into the big time, which they should do pretty soon - after all, we have in the case of this fish (new in 2003) a small Tetra (about 1½ inches long) that is in effect a solid metallic iridescent claret coloured fish, and which when it hits the hobby in big numbers is going to be a total 'wow' of a fish! I can guarantee than any of the FPilians here would have their eyes on stalks looking at them in a dealer aquarium, and I know I'd want some pretty damn quick if they turned up in my locality!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I got to get my hands on two of those apistos...
But how the heck would you feed them?

New species are discovered on almost a daily basis.

one also has to ask what the coloration on these dwarf apistos is like.

I'm with cup on this one. Though not nessecarily on a daily basis, they are being discovered all the time, especially in SA. The thing is, there are still many places that are very difficult to get to, especially in SA. One way to see this, is to watch the L number count on Planet Catfish. In the last few years, it has gone up drastically, with newly discoverd fish.

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There is always a bigger fish...

megil has a good point, they're probably like dark brown or something since they're wild. But give them a couple of years of sellictive breeding and you'll wind up with double reds and triple reds and orange flashes and all those other variations

Bah. Wild types are better looking, IMO.

that is assuming the dwarf has the genetic make u for those traits. not all apistos have red colorations. But I will be hopeful, but so far we can do only what the fish have in them. unless tey decide to make glo-apistos, which is unlikely

In the last ten days, in silurid taxonomy alone:

Megalechis species have been rearranged

Two new Noturushave been described

Two new Lepthoplosternum have been described

A new Pseudomystus species has been described

A new Glanidium has been described

A new Mystus has been described

A new Batrochoglanis has been described

Keep in mind these are merely catfish. Take a look at the many orders of different fish, and you've realistically got multiple species being named on a daily basis. Thanks to PC for the info.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 18-Dec-2005 10:49