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Practical Fishkeeping magazine in the UK has reported new fish species for us all to await eagerly!

First, new Parotocinclus Loricariid catfishes. These are Parotocinclus bidentatus and Parotocinclus muraiensis, which are anatomically distinct from other members of the Genus in lacking a fully developed adipose fin, and possessing additional teeth (known as 'accessory teeth') which are also unusual in being unicuspid.

Second, a freshwater sponge feeding fish! Anostomoides passionis from the Rio Xingu is a 30 cm fish that feeds on freshwater sponges, which will make it a challenging species to keep in the aquarium unless it can be weaned onto alternative foods ...

Next up, a new Dwarf Cichlid from Africa - Nanochromis wickleri. This is an unusual Cichlid, as the following quote from the magazine illustrates:

Nanochromis wickleri is quite striking among the dwarf cichlids in the genus as it has significantly more soft rays in the dorsal fin (10-11 rather than the usual 5-8 seen in other species) and adults develop membranous "fin lappets" that extend the length of the second and third dorsal fin spines.

Schliewen and Stiassny say that they have tentatively placed the species in the Nanochromis nudiceps group but stress that further work is needed to determine whether wickleri is a member of this morphologically diagnosable subclade of the genus.

Next, two new Characins -Astyanax microschemos and Astyanax pelecus. As well as information on the new species, this page is valuable because it has links to distribution information for ALL KNOWN Astyanax species near the bottom of the page!

Enjoy ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002