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Those "kitty" tetras remind me somewhat of the garnet tetra, Hemigrammus pulcher. I'd like to see more of these fish in the near future, they're pretty cool.

Actually, a lot of the new tetras shown here and in the site Bruce linked to are very nice. But my experience so far has been that most people relegate tetras to second fiddle, and don't pay much attention to new discoveries or rare species. Because of this, many stores won't carry anything but the bread and butter tetras. They miss out on the good-looking fish that way.

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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."

Another area where I'm fortunate Sirbooks - the big dealership I visited a while back carries a LOT more than the 'bread and butter' Tetras, and can order some of the oddities if required. After all, how hard is it for you to get Ember Tetras? Or Garnet Tetras? These and several other less frequently seen species are a 40 minute cycle ride away.

As to whether they could obtain Red Arc Pencilfishes or some Peruvian Sapphires, that would probably involve a special order (and in the case of the Red Arcs, a frightening level of expensse) but I don't doubt they could get them. I suspect that if I twisted the odd arm here and there, they could even get hold of Pseudocorynopoma doriae or Corynopoma riisei, which are usually considered to be as rare as the proverbial rocking horse dollop on both sides of the Atlantic ... mind you, I can foresee that involving some hairy financial juggling as well, given that they might have to be imported direct ...



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ember Tetras are pretty infrequent even here in California (and not that attractive, at least to me, when they do turn up, alas) -- but Garnet Tetras have been VERY common for a decade or more, and in fact turn up under several different names, including "Pretty Tetras" and "Stop-and-Go-Light Tetras".

The Characin whose absence from the "easily available" list has always mystified me most is the Three-Striped Pencilfish (N. trilineatus). These are rather delicate; but at their maturity they are absolutely beautiful fish, and they're supposed to be extremely common in the wild. But just try finding one in a store without special-ordering it.

I've seen them over here and in another state (Oregon). Both stores were pretty large though, and obviously could carry more fish than the typical outfit. Pretty nice looking pencilfish, especially when they get those little blue fringes on them. Still not as good-looking as Nannostomus mortenthaleri though.

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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."

In that case Books, you and Bruce should get together and organise some swaps!

Depending of course upon the practicalities of distance and the logsitical fun and games involved therein ...

Meanwhile, I think Bruce would be quite pleased to see the Garnet Tetras I've seen recently - they were quite a size. Certainly a good deal bigger than the Head & Tail Lights that they resemble, which were in a separate aquarium some distance from the Garnets.

Mind you, it's still strange to consider that I can, if I wish to indulge in the expense and commit myself to major live food cultivating in the kitchen, obtain Poecilocharax weitzmani without too much difficulty!

Oh, I haven't seen trifasciatus among the Pencil Fishes recently, but I've seen beckfordi, espei and unifasciatus - and even more surprisingly, all together at the same time! Next time I pop in there, I'll have to ask if he can get trifasciatus Pencil Fishes ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

The Garnet Tetras we see here (and I repeat that we've been seeing them entirely routinely for a decade or more) are always considerably bigger than the Head-and-Tail-Lights. (I kept a couple once about a decade ago; they seem to be quite easy to keep, although I wouldn't put them in the top rank aesthetically.)

As for N. trifasciatus, when they hit maturity they can be very spectacular-looking indeed -- rather like sports cars with fins. Their gold color between the black stripes is very bright gold (unlike any other Pencilfish I've seen), they have a few little red dots down their sides, and the combination of red fins with a sky-blue edge on the pelvic fins is very nice. Unfortunately, they are also quite delicate, unlike Beckford's penciflish. (This is not to put down Beckford's -- the stores are aswarm with them, they're fairly tough and quite attractive, and unlike Caly I've had no trouble with any fights between the males other than the occasional symbolic side-by-side wiggling routine. N. espei also come in with lesser but still surprising frequency, but I can't say anything at all for thir dingy looks.)

While this is getting off the subject of Tetras, I'm also on the lookout for the recently discovered bright green Kubotai Rasbora (Microrasbora kubotai). I've seen a shipment of this little fish only once -- and I didn't dare get it at the time because of (you guessed it) my trouble at the time with a tank epidemic. But it is very attractive; it looks just like the brighter photos of it on the Web, and one experienced clerk who kept some said that it seems fairly tough. (He keeps trying to order shipments of it for me and getting Emerald Eye Rasboras instead.)

http://filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=58581

http://www.fischhaus-zepkow.de/gruppe_karpfenaehnliche2.html

http://www.rva.ne.jp/gallary2/carp/kubotae.htm

Note also the photo of a school of the little buggers swimming in the Songgaria River, to which they were accidentally introduced after a local fish merchant died and his family dumped all his remaining stock into the river. They seem to be doing very well in their new home, which suggests again that they're not greatly delicate:
http://siamensis.org/survey/s049e.asp