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That sounds great! Yeah, the ones at the FS look pale blue(ish), but they do have the purple near the tail. My 55 is heavily planted with a dark blue (almost black) background and black gravel.....man, they sound perfect for my tank.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Yet to see them here in the UK. When they do arrive, Cochu's Blues will probably fetch truly obscene prices for some time to come. Oh well, never mind.

Oddly enough, one oddity among the Characins that is becoming available, albeit in small numbers, in my neck of the woods is Poecilocharax weitzmani, the Black Morpho Tetra. But I wouldn't recommend that to anyone other than a veteran aquarist of many years' standing, because it's a pig to keep alive. It needs live food constantly, and fairly specialised live foods too. Breeding it is possible in the aquarium, but it's a supremely skilled aquarist that succeeds with this species. Drop dead gorgeous, but ABSOLUTELY NO WAY is this anything other than a specialist's fish - it's one of the few fishes that make Discus look easy, which should tell you a LOT.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I didn't know the cochu's were so hard to find in other countries. I actually bought them because they were some of the cheapest tetras in the store so I wasn't out much if they turned into agressive little monsters that tore the fins off everything in the tank. They ended up being one of my favorite tank inhabitants. So far they don't seem easy to breed though. I can get congos, black neons, and emperors to spawn but those pretty blue tetras are not even interested.

That fish you're talking about Cali sounds a little like a PITA. I'm in no way shape or form ready to attempt such draconian fish keeping habits such as that.

Wonder why your blues won't breed Sham. Perhpas Cali could shed some light on the breeding habits of the Cochu's blue. I'm sure he has the info around...what say you Cali? Inquiring minds want to know.

I'm still coming up blank on these fish....I'm waiting for PetSmart to order some more since my buddy in town bought all the ones they had....dang him!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I haven't found much info online about breeding cochu's. I did a few searches and most just say a dim tank with lots of plants especially broadleaved plants. I borrowed a few pieces of anubias covered driftwood from another tank, java fern, swords, and let the top get covered in duckweed. They were quite happy and fat from all sorts of frozen and live food but the best I got was some really nicely colored fish and no signs of spawning. Changing ph, water hardness, temp, water level, and flow rate/type of filtration made no difference. I gave up and stuck them all back in the 55g community.

Cochu's Blues ... breeding ... hmm, going to have to do some research on this, because I've not encountered this myself.

However, it strikes me that since they're part of that group of Characins which includes Nematobrycon and Inpaichthys, I'd try using the techniques that are used with Emperor Tetras and see if such a breeding attempt succeeds. Feed live food copiously to the prospective parents for conditioning. Watch very closely what goes on in the aquarium and take copious notes. Film them if you can.

The VERY FEW scant details I can find on the Net says 'soft, acidic water'. Looks like they'll be a challenge like Neons in that case. Peat filtration or Blackwater Tonic might be advisable for a serious breeding attempt. Fishbase says they're Amazon River basin fishes, which makes sense in that regard - soft, acid water would be the order of the day for such fishes. Gender separation characteristics are few and far from obvious - I suspect you're down to the basic 'plumper female' scenario and that's it, unlike some of the other 'oddity tetras' such as Pseudocorynopoma doriae, whose males have towering dorsal fins compared to the females.

Mongabay says that few details are available, and says use broad leavd plants in the breeding aquarium, claiming that the eggs are laid under these. This means Hygrophyla polysperma or similar and Amazon Swords or Cryptocorynes in the breeding aquarium if this is true. This would mean that they breed somewhat like Beckford's Pencils. Would be interesting to find out if their breeding behaviour was like that of Beckford's Pencils, because that fish, though a LOT hardier and generally easier to persuade to breed, has a few quirks, including a strange approach to egg survival. Mongabay also says they're Peruvian Amazon fishes, so yes, you're looking at peat filtration and possibly RO water if you're going to get these fishes to breed, particularly if they're wild caught.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

The males do have slightly more blue to them but it's not guranteed. Some of the females have a more blueish silver body with only a blue streak from behind the belly area to the tail and then purple streaks around the base of the tail whereas at least 2 of the males have a fairly visible blue streak and darker cast to their body all the way from the head to the base of the tail. 2 of the males and 2 of the females though are pretty much identical aside from females being fatter.

I've got RO water and peat granules but they didn't care. I may have to go split all the baby plants off my crypt wendtii and fill a tank with them to try again.

Cochu's Blues "haven't turned up yet in the UK"? I'm amazed -- they're now available in positive swarms over here, ever since (I gather) a Florida fish farm found out how to breed them efficiently. (Unfortunately, I don't know the technical details.) They now show every sign of becoming a new "staple fish" of pet stores.

Anyway, I imagine that when they finally do hit the UK, their prices will be quite reasonable for this reason. And another observer has now confirmed my own observation that the captive-bred ones seem to be much less sensitive to water conditions than the wild-caught ones. (Oddly, on the basis of my own observations they also seem to have less of that aggressiveness that makes the wild ones persistently chase other fish all over the tank, although without ever actually biting them. Maybe growing up in a forced crowd is socializing them as fry or something.)

Let me add that I'm almost as amazed that the Black Morpho tetra is turning up in Britain as I am that the Cochu's Blue is NOT -- as I say, the latter, since captive-breeding them became practical, is now available in absolute swarms around here. And -- given both their beauty and the fact that the captive-bred ones seem distinctly less delicate than the wild ones (although I'd still rank them "intermediate in Tetra delicacy) -- I imagine they'll become one of the staple store fish. (I'm half-serious when I wonder whether the captive-bred ones also seem less aggressive because the fry are being forced to grow up in crowded quarters -- fish DO have some learning ability, after all.)

Diamond Tetras are also turning up in rapidly increasing numbers here, indicating that they too are being captive-bred -- although they remain distinctly more expensive than your average Tetra, at about 5 dollars per fish. (I've just started trying to keep them again and so can't as yet offer an opinion on whether their delicacy has improved -- but, again, their beauty is sufficient that I think they'll become a permanent item.)

As for the Black Morpho: I have NEVER seen it here -- and while I usually frequent only two fish stores, those two are extremely well-stocked and staffed by knowledgeable professionals. (You name it, and Capitol Aquarium in Sacramento has had it at some point -- their salt-water division even had a whole tankful of Garden Eels once, with the little buggers sticking out of a sand bed just as they do in the wild.) There is a good article on the Black Morpho's care in the July 1992 issue of TFH. The author succeeded in resurrecting a whole school of them, under the name "Phosphorescent" or "Black Darter" tetras, from near-death at a LFS, but he confirms that they are delicate as hell and absolutely DEMAND live food to survive -- he used brine shrimp nauplii, live daphnia and finely chopped blackworms. They are also bottom-feeders -- they totally ignore even live food until it's near the bottom of the tank -- and prefer peat-filtered, very soft water at pH 6.5 to 6.9 and a temperature of 75-79 F (24-26 C) with frequent partial water changes, and dark conditions (he used rather dim lights, wrapped black paper around the sides and back of the tank, and added some floating water plants). They seem to get along fine with other small tetras, though.

Oh, the Black Morpho Tetra is definitely a speciality item, but I've seen it in one of the branches of Maidenhead Aquatics. It was, admittedly, a special order, but when I asked about them, I was told that if I wanted some (albeit at a fairly stiff price) I could have them delivered within 2 weeks. Cochu's Blues, on the other hand, are like rocking horse droppings here, at least in my part of the UK, and I've not heard of them turning up in significant numbers anywhere else on this side of the pond.

Mind you, some other oddities of the UK market include the fact that Anomalochromis thomasi, despite being possibly THE best Cichlid for anyone to keep upon account of its multiplicity of virtues and virtual absence of vices, is again a serious rarity, while Cyphotilapia frontosa turns up with startling regularity in comparison. I've even seen Cyprichromis leptosoma more often than the poor neglected Thomasi!

Likewise, among the Characins, other rarities that I'd LOVE to see more of, but which are unlikely to become more popular despite their many reasons for being 'must haves' among Characin fans, are Neolebias ansorgei (gorgeous little fish, not too demanding, woefully rare, you'll be lucky to find a dealer who has even heard of it here), and Hyphessobrycon amandae, the tiny Ember Tetra, which given its striking colouration and tiny size would be a good choice for all those people who make the mistake of buying 10 US gallon aquaria at Wal-Mart, because at just 2 cm adult size, it's undemanding in space terms and relatively hardy.

Oh, here is one of the VERY FEW photos of neolebias ansorgei I've seen in circulation, and it doesn't do the fish justice. Anyone who has the old looseleaf Exotic Tropical Fishes book will find a MUCH better one of the fish in there.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Wow! What a pretty little fishy. I wish some of these interesting oddities could be acquired a little more regularly, it certainly would break up some of the monotony often seen in aquaria.

Having said that, I picked up 4 Cochu's blue tetras last week!!! These fish are doing fantastic in my tank. They are not bothering anybody, just chasing each other around and swimming really fast back and forth with the 2 left over rummy noses. I can easily see how these fish would require a fairly large tank. They may be small in inches, but they are VERY active. They seem to love the length afforded by my 55. I highly recommend these lovely tetras if you can get your mitts on them!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Too active for a 24" x 12" x 12" aquarium you'd say then CrazyRed?

* Makes mental note *

As for me, my next fish hunt is probably going to be a toss up between trying to track down Anomalochromis thomasi again, and trying to lay my hands on some Neolebias ansorgei. Probably won't enjoy much success finding either (sigh) ...

Mind you, if I DO lay my hands on some Neolebias ansorgei, pictures will follow.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yes, these little honey's would be a bit cramped in 24" x 12" x 12". I'd at least give them 30" or longer. They are very speedy indeed.


Those are two worthwhile species to go on a serious fish finding mission. Yes, pictures are a must if you are are successful in you hunt.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Never, ever seen a Neolebias here either; but the Ember Tetra turns up occasionally in stores around here in large numbers. They're rather pale in color, though -- transparent orange -- and they don't seem to sell worth a damn.

Two other interesting items have turned up lately at Capitol Aquarium. First, the "Catalina Tetra" -- more correctly regarded as an unusually slim-bodied Hatchetfish (Triportheus rotundatus) -- has shown up there twice recently, at about the same price as Diamond Tetras. Quite odd-looking; not really very attractive in my view, but Characin fiends should be pleased to hear this. Second, to my delight, they have a whole huge tankful of dozens of our endangered little friend the Dwarf Loach (Botia sidthimunki), thereby apparently confirming that the Asians have finally found out how to breed the little buggers using hormones. (The store calls them "Checkerboard Loaches"; but there's at least one other kind of Loach sold under that name -- and these are very definitely sidthimunki.) At any rate, they've been there for about 3 months now, and (hormone-bred or not) seem extremely active and healthy (as well as all being full-grown down to the last fish). They're still pretty expensive -- $12.95 per fish -- but it now looks as though we no longer have to worry about this neat-looking little fish going extinct.

We're off the subject of Tetras; but there's a remarkable story at
http://www.aquafriend.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=78
to the effect that we have an emergency fire sale at the London Zoo to thank for the fact that Asian fish wholesalers acquired a stock of Dwarf Loaches big enough to start breeding them. (And, yes, the little guys in the photos are what I saw.)

(Footnote: remove that semicolon from the middle of the URL above to get to the story. I can't seem to remove it using this site's "Edit" function, for some reason.)

EDIT: Got it fixed for you.

Better photos of Neolebias ansorgei (even if they do disagree oddly with each other) at

http://www.zierfisch-ratgeber.de/art065.htm

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v81/MrTree/Characins/Others/?action=view&current=ansorgii.jpg

http://chaosmongers.org/marcel/aqua/westafrika_scans/tn/neolebias_ansorgei.jpg.html

http://www.kara-inci.nl/kweek%20neolebias_ansorgei.htm

http://www.findfish.nl/vispages/vispageevg/Neolebias_ansorgei.htm

(I note that that damned semicolon has turned up again in the second of these URLs.)

EDIT: If that pops up again, you should be able to manually use the [ link] [ /link ] tags to take care of the problem.
-Books

Thanks, Sirbooks.

By the way, one other Characin to keep your eyes out for as a potential major comer in the future is the Red Arc Pencilfish. The females and juvenile males are unimpressive-looking (if mildly attractive in an Art Deco way) -- but the adult males are absolutely staggering. Imagine a full-sized pencilfish whose entire body is exactly the same brilliant, reflective, glowing fiery deep red as the stripe on a really good Glowlight Tetra.

So far I've seen any specimens at all of this fish only twice -- once at Capitol Aquarium, where I saw an adult male for the first time (actually two of them, which drew a crowd) -- and they've been priced pretty consistently at about $10. I wouldn't dare buy one for the library tank which I maintain; but if I had my own tank (our neighborhood's erratic electricity supply has kept me from doing so), I would have bought those two fish for that price and then sweat blood trying to keep them alive and healthy. (Of course, I'm also still waiting for people to appreciate how glowingly luminescent and stunningly beautiful adult male Blue Emperors are...)

While we're talking about weird new tetras, what do y'all know of: Hummingbird Tetra Characidium fasciatum a.k.a. Peru Darter Tetra, Walking Tetra?

I have seen this fish available for purchase here: http://www.azgardens.com/schooling_fish.php (second fish down) and have been wondering about it for a while. it gives some information about them, but I don't always trust the 411 on websites where the lone goal is to sell the fish. Any info from you guys would be great....I'm not really condisering to purchase, just curious.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I've kept that little guy a couple of times. (A much better photo at http://gonewild.net/peru/107/107.html -- this fish is strictly black and white in color.) Not much on looks, but a charming little thing that is indeed a perfect Characin version of a goby -- it hops about very energetically on the bottom. Also very cheap when it is available (which it has been several times here), and seems fairly tough.

First of all, hat tip to you Bruce for finding some good pics of Neolebias ansorgei. The disgreement in image appearance is caused by the fact that the species is seriously sexually dichroic - juveniles are all striped, but when sexual maturity arives, males become a gorgeous iridescent green. So, basically, this fish]http://www.zierfisch-ratgeber.de/art065.htm[/link] and [link=this fish are mature males.

As for Characidium fasciatum, this fish is mentioned in the venerable Innes book. Apparently it was spawned in captivity even back in the 1930s, and it likes dense mossy foliage to deposit its eggs in - Innes quotes Fontinalis or Willow Moss as the plant of choice, but Java Moss is probably just as good a medium (and a LOT easier to obtain!). Innes says in his piece on the fish, however, that it likes cooler than usual water - 67 to 73 degrees F. Not that compatible with sauna lovers like Venezuelan Rams then.

One thing that the blurb on that site DOES mention correctly though, is that if they're kept in small groups, i.e., less than 8 individuals, they're scrappy and belligerent with each other. They're territorial, but in a large group (say 12 or more), this behaviour becomes somewhat suppressed, particularly if they're kept with fishes that "look" threatening, i.e., an adult pair of Keyhole Cichlids or a Moonlight Gourami.

Innes mentione in addition that breeding is something of a challenge because the young fry MUST have small live foods, being weaned on to dead matter at a later stage. Personally I'd run with a group of 12 in a suitable sized aquarium, because one on its own might be less than ideally happy even though it's a territorial fish, because in the wild they do occur in groups. Of course, in the wild they've far more space to spread out over for territorial purposes, but when predators approach, they bunch up.

Haven't seen the Red Arc Pencilfish, but it sounds amazing. Can't wait to see a photo of that beauty!

I'm still waiting for a truly gorgeous little Tetra that was new to the hobby in 2003 to receive a valid scientific name - this little gem is currently known as the "Junior Pandurini", and it's tiny at just 4 cm max SL. It's a stunning little fish, changing hands for silly money in Germany at the moment, and is effectively a claret coloured fish with gold iridescence along the lateral line, cyan flashes in the tail tipped with more of the claret body colour, and the remaining fins are a really strange sort of fuchsia cerise colour ... all in all it's a blast of a fish, and another of my "Wish List" Characins! Apparently it was introduced to the hobby by Erwin Schraml, better known in connection with L-number Plecs than Characins, and a group of 12 in a planted aquarium is guaranteed to blow the socks off even veteran fishkeepers who've seen it all

I've got a picture of the "Junior Pandurini", but I can't embed it here because I'm not a premier member at the moment. So, if CrazyRed wants to do the honours, and illustrate this fish for everyone (hint, hint!), E-Mail me and I'll send the photo by return mail. Oh, warning, the photo is a big one file size wise as I scanned it at 300 dpi and saved it at top quality (minimal JPEG compression), so you might want me to compress it a lot more if you're on a dialup connection!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

This isn't the Junior Pandurini, is it? (There are several references to a fish of that name on Google, but none accomapnied by a photo -- but this photo is of a critter called the "Junior Tetra" (Hemigrammus caudovittatus):

http://www.mtfb.com/SouthernApistos/tetraJunior1WEB.jpg

As for the male Red Arc Pencilfish (Nannostomus mortenthaleri), there ARE several photos and paintings of the male on the Web. I'll see if I can find one that accurately reflect this fish's appearance, although if I do find an accurate one I have doubts that you'll believe me -- the intensity of its deep, fiery red glow must be seen to be believed. (It might better be called the "Inferno Pencilfish".)

First off - that isn't the 'Junior Pandurini' that I have illustrated by Erwin Schraml. The fish in the photo I have is a claret coloured fish without ANY dark stripes on the body whatsoever. There's virtually no black markings on it at all. Plus, it only reaches 4 cm SL, whereas Hemigrammus caudovittatus is a bruiser in comparison, reaching 9 cm!

Semd me an E-Mail and I'll return the photo of the 'Junior Pandurini'. Click on "Profile" below and you'll find my E-Mail address.

Meanwhile, as I reported in my Recovery Room account of my trip to Maidenhead Aquatics, Cochu's Blues are now here, and at a price that is ridiculously cheap given how sky high desirable these fishes are. For them to be this cheap, somemone must be breeding them in industrial quantities! Additionally, I found Hyphessobrycon amandae, the Ember Tetra, along with goodness knows how many others - you'd LOVE the Diamond Tetras they have in stock, they're pristine and the males have wonderfully developed finnage!

Just a pity I can't afford to set up another two aquaria for all the Tetras I want to buy from there!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

" For [Cochu's Blues] to be this cheap, someone must be breeding them in industrial quantities!"

Somebody (although I don't know who) certainly is -- we are, as I say, literally awash in them now over here in the US. And somebody has started cranking out Diamond Tetras like crazy, too (although their price remains higher than that of most Tetras).

Finally, "Lamb Chop" Rasboras (R. espei, I presume) have also started appearing here in very large numbers. (This is another fish that I recommend very highly; it's extremely beautiful against a black background, being a downright brilliant glowing rose red, much brighter than the Harlequin Rasbora -- although it also seems more delicate. Parenthetically, I've also been amazed to discover lately how attractive Black Neons are against a black background -- that stripe of theirs, which looks so blah against a light background, takes on a consistent apple-green glow against a black background.)

Oh yes, with some fishes, lighting and decor choices make a WORLD of difference, and utterly transform their appearance.

Most people would look at Lemon Tetras in a bare dealer aquarium and pass them by. House them in an aquarium lavishly forested with the right plants, interspersed with open swimming areas, and with a range of foliage choices (some dark, some light), and Lemons become little jewels. Feed the juveniles colour food and live Daphnia upon arrival, and keep doing so for six weeks, and your washed out insipid Lemons from the dealers end up as blasts of fishy sunshine - take a look at Sirbooks' Lemons for example!

I suspect (apart from the hazards of collecting fishes in the Cameroons, where human strife tends to be lamentably commonplace) that this is the reason Neolebias ansorgei tends to be overlooked as well - juveniles in a dealer aquarium are washed out, because they're like Lemons, they like their foliage. Transfer them to a nice, planted aquarium, feed them up on live food, and WHAM - iridescent green bundles of joy. Trouble is, all too many people (as I recounted in my article An Aquarium Is Not A TV) want instant gratification - plug in, switch on, push buttons and enjoy. Getting the best out of the more unusual fishes requires spadework that all too many people aren't willing to put in (thankfully this Board is replete with people who DO put in the spadework!) but when you do, it's SO worth it in the end.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Here, as promised, are some good Web photos of the Red Arc Pencilfish (originally regarded as a subspecies of Nannostomus marginatus, but recognized since 2001 as a separate Peruvian species,, "N. mortenthaleri" ) . Let me assure you again that the extraordinary fiery red glow on the photos of the adult males is completely accurate -- they really are that intensely colored.




http://images.google.co.jp/images?q=Nannostomus+mortenthaleri&hl=ja&lr=&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

(a complete photo gallery.)

http://www.israquarium.co.il/Fish/Nannostomus/Nannostomus%20mortenthaleri.html

http://www.52fish.com.cn/files/tropicalfish/datadetails.jsp?id=160 (a good photo of the totally different coloration of the female)

As I say, these fish are currently running $10-11 on the rare occasions when they show up here. I can hardly wait for someone to start breeding them and knock their price down.

[link]

WOW.

That is one AMAZING fish.

Had to overcome the semicolon bug again to view the Google Images, but the second link took me to a truly STUNNING photo.

Those fishes will change hands for an ENORMOUS sum ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

And here's a bit on their care from http://www.edas.com.au/EDAS-Weird.htm :

"The water should be fairly warm (27 degrees C), be soft and have a pH below 7. The tank should be well planted and the fish should be kept in larger groups to reduce intra-specific agression and fin-nipping. They can be placed together with other small and peaceful fish species, however. The red pencilfish requires a hearty diet of live foods. Prepared foods are also accepted.

"Dr. Stanley Weitzman, Curator of Fishes at the Smithsonian Institution, has reportedly succeeded in spawing the red pencilfish. They spawned in a 30 gallon tank with Hygrophila on the surface. The water was 78 degrees F, pH 6.6, 20 ppm total hardness. The fry are presumably first fed with infusoria and after a week they accept brine shrimp nauplii."

I imagine that breeding and care is similar to other pencilfish species. Nannostomus mortenthaleri is a recently discovered and described fish, much like Puntius denisonii. Prices will sink in the years to come. Definitely beautiful fish, no matter how much they cost.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Now that I'm able to link photos, here is the 'Junior Pandurini' Tetra that Erwin Schraml photographed in 2003:



Attached Image:

"Junior Pandurini" Tetra - no scientific name currently available

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

That's a completely new fish to me, but obviously a lovely one.

Thought that one would raise a few eyebrows

Still waiting to hear if a scientific name has been bestowed upon it. Probably have to polish up my rusty German and go trawling through DATZ archives to see ...

Meanwhile, here's a couple more pics ... new Characins as of 2003, some of which have doubtful names ...

Attached Image:


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Next up, a really attractive one ...

Attached Image:

Acrobrycon ipaniquianus from Peru

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

So that's what the Kitty Tetra looks like. First photo I've seen of one.

As for the Peruvian Sapphire Tetra: is that the same one shown in this photo from the "Southern Apistos" ( http://www.southernapistos.com/ ) site?

http://www.mtfb.com/SouthernApistos/blueredtetra.jpg

On that site, the fish in the photo is called a "Boehlkea sp. 'Rio Nanay' ". (Alas, Southern Apistos hasn't had it -- or, indeed, any Peruvian characins -- for a long time. If that fish really looks like the photo, then -- to steal a line from S.J. Perelman -- there are few lengths short of murder to which I would not be prepared to go to get it; and if murder proved unavoidable, I would not let mere squeamishness stand in my way. Note also their photo of a new fish which they call the "Blue Neon Tetra": http://www.mtfb.com/SouthernApistos/tetra2.jpg )

Oh, before I continue, those photos - I forgot temporarily to mention that they're courtesy of no les a leadingf aquaristic light than Erwin Schraml himself, who is also credited with bringing them to the hobby. My currently defunct article on new Tetras should mention this fact (and indeed cite the magazine articles in which I first alighted upon them).

You're not alone Bruce, some of those fishes are real show stoppers, and I'd be more than happy to have them in my collection too - though whether I'd risk nding up sharing my meals with the likes of Dennis Nilsen to obtain them is a thought I won't dwell too long upon ... these are in the German hobby at the moment, and although the Kitty Tetras have come down to reasonable price levels because German aquarists have discovered how to breed them in quantity, some of the others are still 'mystery fishes' from the breeder's standpoint, and consequently change hands for Discus type money.

The Peruvian Sapphire Tetra I've just illustrated, and another fish called Boehlkea sp. "Sky Blue" is not ony a breeding mystery, but because they are closely related to those 'grey area' fishes from the old Innes book, namely Glandulocauda inequalis and Mimagoniates microlepis, there is the faint possibility that they may practice internal fertilisation of the eggs, even though there is no obvious anatomical adaptation to allow them to do so at first sight - Innes highighted this under the species details for Glandulocauda inequalis, in which he says:

Although this fish has been successfully bred a number of times, there remains some question as to just how fertilisation tkes place. The fishes do a side-by-side love dance, but no eggs seem to appear at the time. Reliable observers claim that the female several hours later deposits fertile eggs without the presence of the male. Possibly she draws into her egg duct water that has been charged with the sperm of the male. The author has not proven the process and there is not sufficient confirmiong evidence for him to make positive statements regarding it. The male may be distinguished by a more bulging outline to the outer edges of the tail fin, particularly the lower lobe.

With respect to the gender differentiation observation made by Innes in his piece, the specific name inequalis refers to just this trait, and is sufficiently visibly notiecable for the taxonomist describing it to make it a feature of the fish's scientific name. Incidentally, the same trait appears, to a lesser extent, in that other mystery fish, Mimagoniates microlepis (again Innes gives details), this latter fish having been called the "Blue Tetra" way back in the late 1930s, before Boehlkea fedcochui was discovered. However, the blue in this fish is NOWHERE near as obvious as that seen in the Cochu's Blue.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

then -- to steal a line from S.J. Perelman -- there are few lengths short of murder to which I would not be prepared to go to get it; and if murder proved unavoidable, I would not let mere squeamishness stand in my way.

ROFLMAO..... Ditto the sentiment. We can do time in the slammer together. I love that fish!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Here's another fish for you to covet Bruce ... I don't think this is the same fish as the Red Arc Pencilfish, but it's a spectacular one nonetheless ...


Attached Image:

Nannostomus marginatus "Purple" - Photographed by Erwin Schraml

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yeah, there are at least two Red Arc-type Pencilfish known now -- one of them, as you note, somewhat less colorful than the other, and maybe a slightly different hue as well. The number of entirely new species of attractive tropical fish still being discovered in jungles across the world continues to amaze me -- it gives you some idea of what we're going to lose if man-made ecological problems really do seriously reduce the world's biodiversity.

Mike Jacobs of "Southern Apistos" had a whole article in 2004 on some of the pretty new fish coming in from Peru to his store (although, maddeningly, he seems to be carrying almost nothing right now except dwarf cichlids and Plecos. Not that there's anything wrong with dwarf cichlids and Plecos, but, well, you know...):
http://www.mtfb.com/mikepage.htm

Note his entry on that second "Red Arc Pencilfish", which is less dramatically colored than N. mortenthaleri but still looks quite attractive: http://www.mtfb.com/SouthernApistos/redcoral2.jpg . Note also his entry on the "Morado Tetra", which I forgot to mention earlier, and which is also mentioned in a few other places on the Web as starting to come into stores here and there -- although I've never seen one. Again, his photo makes it look quite beautiful ( http://www.mtfb.com/SouthernApistos/moradoWEB.jpg ) -- although the one other photo of it I've found isn't quite as attractive-looking ( http://www.blackwaterfish.com/morado.htm ). As always, lighting angle may make all the difference.

Of all the fish he mentions, the only ones I've actually seen so far anywhere are N. mortenthaleri and the little "Zebra Otocinclus", which came in once in a small shipment at my rural but very well-stocked LFS. The little fellers look just like Jacobs' photo, and were very reasonably priced (about $4, if I remember correctly) -- but I didn't dare get any at the time because of one of the periodic epidemics in the library tank that I maintain.

Regarding those "epidemics", by the way, a side note that perhaps belongs in the Medical section, but which I'd like to hear your opinions on. I've been mystified for years as to why epidemics of bacterial diseases kept sweeping my tank despite the fact that repeated tests by experienced personnel showed the tank water to be entirely clean.

Then, about 2 months ago, I was vacuuming my tank and noticing how the fish swarmed eagerly around the tank vacuum to snap up dislodged pieces of food, and the low-voltage light bulb over my head suddenly lit up. I have never kept many bottom-feeders in that tank (usually no more than one or two, and sometimes none), and it suddenly hit me: my other fish may have been eating lots of bits of partially-decayed food off the bottom -- thus getting a far more concentrated dose of putrefactive bacteria than they could possibly get out of the water itself -- and giving themselves food poisoning!

I promptly stocked up on bottom-feeders (not just loaches, which I've always liked, but a few nice big Corydoras), and threatened the library staff with violence and sudden death if they overfed the fish, no matter HOW pathetically the little liars begged every time a human walked up to the tank. My fish-loss rate instantly plummeted to very low levels. This -- not keeping the water itself clean -- seems to be THE key reason why bottom-feeders are crucial to a healthy tank. (For all I know, a lot of books have mentioned this fact. All I know is that I myself have never seen this particular rationale for bottom-feeders mentioned in print.)

I ***WANT*** Morado Tetras. SOOO badly.

They are STUNNING. Probably be about £10 each when they reach the UK though (sigh).


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002