Black ribbon rainbow fish

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Black ribbon rainbow fish
Systematics
Ovalentaria
Superordinate : Earfish relatives (Atherinomorphae)
Order : Earfish (Atheriniformes)
Family : Rainbow fish (Melanotaeniidae)
Genre : Melanotaenia
Type : Black ribbon rainbow fish
Scientific name
Melanotaenia nigrans
( Richardson , 1843)

The black band rainbow fish ( Melanotaenia nigrans ) is a freshwater fish from the rainbow fish family . He lives in North Australian streams, swamps and billabongs . Melanotaenia nigrans is the type species of the genus Melanotaenia .

features

The black-band rainbow fish is a relatively small rainbow fish, typically 6 cm long, which, unlike other species in this family, maintains its slender and elongated body shape even with age. The females appear even slimmer than the males due to their narrower tail stalk and the smaller, unpaired fins. The male can reach a length of up to 10 cm (animals from Litchfield National Park ), the female becomes 6 cm tall. Life expectancy (in the aquarium) is around five years.

The back and the abdomen are iridescent bluish. From the mouth to the caudal fin there is a black-colored band about two scales wide, from which the fish got its German name. The black band is not the only feature of this species, but also occurs in some other species of the genus Melanotaenia , which, however, have a much higher back shape. The unpaired fins of the male on the belly and back shimmer noticeably blue, at the rear end they each come to a point. The fins of the females are less noticeable and rounded at the rear end. The coloring of M. nigrans is slightly different depending on the local area of ​​origin.

distribution

The black band rainbow fish is native to the northern territories of Australia. It is called "Yalgunda" in the Aboriginal language . Like many rainbow fish , it occurs in rivers and streams near the coast, sometimes even in brackish water . The populations are distributed over three contiguous areas: There are occurrences on the northern tip of the Kimberleys (Western Australia), in the Northern Territory from the Daly River to Arnhem Land and in northern Queensland on the tip of the Cape York Peninsula including small tributaries of the Jardine River .

The water temperatures in its relatively large distribution area fluctuate seasonally between 20 and 35 ° C, with the average temperature in the dry season being 26 ° C, in which practically all data were determined. The pH value in these waters is between 5 and 8, but mostly in the neutral range.

Systematics

Melanotaenia nigrans is closely related to the also slender North Australian species Melanotaenia exquisita , Melanotaenia gracilis and Melanotaenia pygmaea .

Aquaristics

Rainbow fish erroneously referred to as " Melanotaenia nigrans " in the "Illustrated Catalog of the Fishes of South Australia", 1921.

Like all rainbow fish , the black ribbon rainbow fish is kept as an ornamental fish in freshwater aquariums. In trade outside of Australia, this species is practically not offered, and other species such as Melanotaenia australis , Melanotaenia fluviatilis or Melanotaenia duboulayi are often incorrectly offered as Melanotaenia nigrans . Even in aquarists who specialize in rainbow fish (such as within the IRG ), this species is rarely found. The real M. nigrans was first imported to Europe in 1976 for the aquarium hobby.

The black band rainbow fish can be kept well in the aquarium at water temperatures between 18 and 24 ° C, the upper temperature range is required for breeding.

swell

  • Heinrich winner: rainbow fish. The genus Melanotaenia . Natur und Tier-Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-86659-154-7
  • GR Allen, SH Midgley & M. Allen: Field Guide to the Freshwater Fishes of Australia . CSIRO Publishing, 2002, ISBN 978-0730754862
  • Peter Schubert: Rainbow fish . Urania, Freiburg, 1991, ISBN 3332004697

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Melanotaenia nigrans at www.aquagreen.com.au, accessed May 12, 2015

Web links