Brass tetra
Brass tetra | ||||||||||||
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Brass tetra ( Hemigrammus rodwayi ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name | ||||||||||||
Hemigrammus rodwayi | ||||||||||||
( Durbin , 1909) |
The Messingsalmler ( Hemigrammus rodwayi ), also known as Gold Tetra or shine Tetra known, is a tetra family Characidae . It lives in the rivers of the lower Amazon basin and Guayanas , where it feeds on mosquito larvae and small crustaceans.
features
The brass tetra is 4, according to questionable information also 5.5 cm long. It is elongated and laterally flattened. The color of healthy fish is gray-green to gray-yellow, the upper side is more olive, the underside lighter. A silvery collateral band extends from the level of the dorsal fin to a black spot on the base of the tail. The scales on the top of the body have dark edges. Each lobe of the caudal fin has a cherry-red spot at its base. The dorsal fin has a reddish base, the anal fin is reddish with a white front edge. The sexes are difficult to distinguish, females may be fuller in the abdomen, their fins are yellowish, the anal fin lacks the white front edge.
Fin formula : dorsal II / 8–9, anal IV / 19–21, pectoral 1 / 9–11, ventral I / 7
The gold tetra
The species is susceptible to disease and is particularly often attacked by the larvae ( metacercaria ) of certain flukes (Trematoda). The fish encapsulate the parasites through guanine excretions, which gives the fish a golden color and makes them interesting for aquaristics . The infested fish are almost exclusively males. The pathological form was described in 1955 by Schultz and Axelrod as a separate species ( Hemigrammus armstrongi ).
Reproduction
Like all tetra of the genus Hemigrammus , the brass tetra is a free spawner that does not care for the brood.
literature
- Günther Sterba : The world's freshwater fish. 2nd Edition. Urania, Leipzig / Jena / Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-332-00109-4 .
- Hans A. Baensch & Rüdiger Riehl : Aquariums Atlas, Volume 1 . Mergus Verlag, 1997, ISBN 3-88244-101-1 .
Web links
- Messingsalmler on Fishbase.org (English)