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I found this Hyphessobrycon at the local Petco yesterday; it was a contaminant in their last shipment of wild-caught Flame Tetras.

Superficially, it resembles Hyphessobrycon robertsi, but there are a number of differences that lead me to believe it is not the former species.

First, the pattern of colors on the dorsal fin is different... Here is a sort of diagram to show (excuse the crudeness, I was just trying to get the basic idea).



Second, my tetra has three red spots on the caudal fin as opposed to just two. The one in the middle is less distinct as the other two, but it is definitely there.

Third, the tips of the pelvic and anal fins of my tetra are white with no significant amounts of black, while in H. robertsi they are pure black.

Fourth, and perhaps the most important difference, is that the ranges of H. robertsi and H. flammeus do not overlap. How would a Robertsi tetra be a contaminant in a shipment of Flame tetras? Does anyone know of a species that looks similar to the Robertsi tetra but is found in the Flame tetra's range?

Here are the pictures of my tetra...





And here are some Robertsis for comparison...



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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

bentosi? I highly doubt that petco would even bother with wild caught fish unless absolutely necessary.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 26-Jul-2005 16:02

Hyphessobrycon bentosi and Hyphessobrycon robertsi are synonyms.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I highly doubt that petco would even bother with wild caught fish unless absolutely necessary.

Actually, most of the tetras seen in stores that are not intensely popular (like Flame Tetras) are wild-caught. The evidence for this is the fact that sometimes rare and unusual contaminants get into the shipments. At work I have an entire tank devoted to contaminant tetras, many of which I have identified. I have several Hemigrammus stictus (one of my favorite species ) and also a few Hyphessobrycon robertsi that look quite a bit different than the tetra I got yesterday.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

"Hyphessobrycon bentosi and Hyphessobrycon robertsi are synonyms. "

oh.


Also, all species of freshwater fish at my petco that are GUARENTEED to be in stock on the shipping date are farm rasied and bred. Puffers, monos, scats, needlefish, pictus, and the odd and end "ask a petco specialist if this fish is right for you" piece of livestock are not, and thus are not guarenteed to be on the stocking list. I can only speak from my experience with petco, but I do believe that flames are captive bred: hyps are relatively easy characins to triggger.

What do you mean by "guaranteed to be on the stocking list"?

The Petco in my city carries tons of fish that are almost certainly wild-caught, such as Baby Whales, Botia loaches, Elephantnoses, halfbeaks, Ghost Knives, and "freshwater" Morays.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

The photos look like Hyphessobrycon rosaceus to me. That's the nearest I've seen in the flesh to this fish of yours.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ah... That does appear to be it. Thanks!

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

It's hard to compare your store with petco. For example, we purchase wild neons and, on the off beat, wild angels every so often, while petco tends to farm breed more of their less than pricey stock. One is devoted to livestock while the other is in it for the profit.

What do you mean by "guaranteed to be on the stocking list"?

When they place out an order, they do so in a similar fashion as we do in independant LFSs. Some species are not always on the stocking list from which they order, whereas others (scissortails, neons, whatnot...) are. This, I believe, includes flame tetras as well.

"The Petco in my city carries tons of fish that are almost certainly wild-caught, such as Baby Whales, Botia loaches, Elephantnoses, halfbeaks, Ghost Knives, and "freshwater" Morays."

Like I said, I can only speak from personal experience, as each petco differs with locality. The rarest fish species regularly observed at my petco are probably panaqolus.





Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 29-Jul-2005 08:08

I found a female yesterday at work... Now they just prance around the tank and flare their fins at each other.

The female is the one on the right.



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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

If they're Rosies, then males will have taller dorsals when mature, and deeper anal fins too. Males will flare fins at each other relentlessly once adult, and provide a nice display, but they remain well behaved - the 'jousting' is ritualistic as in Lemons. Persuading them to breed is also not that difficult - lots of live food in a well-planted aquarium with open swimming spaces will get them into breeding condition in no time once they're mature. While they're growing, alternate live foods with colour enhancing flakes and watch them turn into little jewels.

Some day I'm going to get Rosies myself. I havea big soft spot for them.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002