Filigree rainbow fish
| Filigree rainbow fish | ||||||||||||
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Filigree rainbow fish ( Iriatherina werneri ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Iriatherina | ||||||||||||
| Meinken , 1974 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Iriatherina werneri | ||||||||||||
| Meinken, 1974 |
The filigree rainbow fish ( Iriatherina werneri ), also known as the pin-fin rainbow fish or the magnificent rainbow fish , is native to northern Australia and central and southern New Guinea . It was first collected in 1973 by aquarists Werner and Frech in a rice field near Merauke in western New Guinea , imported to Germany and scientifically described in 1974 by aquarist and ichthyologist Hermann Meinken. Due to its attractive appearance, it is bred commercially for the aquarium hobby, although it is only suitable to a limited extent for keeping in community aquariums.
features
Filigree rainbow fish have a laterally flattened and slender body that has a metallic sheen. The males have a fan-like first dorsal fin. Their second dorsal, anal and caudal fins have very elongated filaments that are delicately colored at the edges. The fins are spread when imposing and courtship. The females, on the other hand, have short fins and have a significantly weaker body and fin color. Filigree rainbow fish grow to be about four centimeters long, females stay slightly smaller than males.
distribution
In New Guinea, filigree rainbow fish from coastal rivers between Merauke and the Fly are known. In the Fly River , they were collected in marshy lagoons next to the main stream up to 500 kilometers upstream. In Australia they occur on the Cape York Peninsula opposite the Fly River Delta . The populations isolated from this in the Northern Territory , for example in the Arafura swamp , differ significantly in color and genetically from the first-mentioned populations.
Way of life and habitat
Filigree rainbow fish live in larger groups and prefer clear water in swamps, drainage ditches, billabongs, and slow-flowing waters that are heavily overgrown. In these habitats they were found at temperatures of 22 to 30 ° C and pH values of 5.2 to 7.5.
In the wild, filigree rainbow fish usually spawn in the warmer seasons, with water temperatures above 25 ° C
These rainbow fish have a comparatively small mouth. In nature, they likely eat planktonic algae and diatoms, as well as small crustaceans .
Individual evidence
- ↑ GR Allen, AW Storey, M. Yarrao: Freshwater Fishes of the Fly River . Ok Tedi Mining, Tabubil 2008, ISBN 978-0-646-49605-4 .
- ^ Unmack, Allen, Johnson: Phylogeny and biogeography of rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) from Australia and New Guinea . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 67 , 2013, p. 15-27 .
literature
- Hermann Meinken : Information from the VDA's fish identification office, No. 77. A new genus and species of ear fish (Pisces, Atherinidae) comes from New Guinea . In: Aquarium Aqua Terra . tape 8 , 1974, p. 9-11 . (first scientific description)
- GR Allen, DF Hoese: A Collection of Fishes from the Jardine River, Cape York Peninsula, Australia . In: Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia . tape 63 , no. 2 , 1980, ISSN 0035-922X , p. 53-61 .
- Bruce Hansen: Werneri from the wild . In: Fishes of Sahul . tape 4 , no. 2 , 1987, ISSN 0813-3778 , pp. 165-168 .
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
Web links
- Filigree rainbow fish on Fishbase.org (English)
- Gourdfin rainbow fish Iriatherina werneri Meinken, 1974 in zierfischverzeichnis.de
- Horst Ebert: The sun ray fish "Iriatherina werneri". aquaristik.de
- Adrian R. Tappin: Iriatherina werneri on Home of the Rainbowfish (English)