Nannostomus sp...ID Please...

[ste12000]

Ok Guys dont all shout at me at once...I know its a dwarf cichlid forum but these are one of my ditherfish and i cant match them up to any of the known species i have seen so far...I thought id set a challenge and see just how good you guys are

The fish spawned last night and i witnessed a very strange scene, the fish were paying the Java fern leaves a lot of attention and came togeather as shown in the photo below..Only thing is they stayed like that for FIVE minutes and didnt move??? I saw no eggs fall and there were non deposited on the leaf..

I guess you learn something new everday in this hobby and i certainly have tonight..It was a very interesting show..

 

[skh]

Hi,

Wow, I´ve never seen fish like these. For a first guess, I would suggest N. bifasciatus. Do you know, where your fish are from?

best regards

Stefan

Ok Guys dont all shout at me at once...I know its a dwarf cichlid forum but these are one of my ditherfish and i cant match them up to any of the known species i have seen so far...I thought id set a challenge and see just how good you guys are

 

[Mike Wise]

I looked through Weitzman's descriptions and it looks like N. digrammus to me. At least, your fish match Weitzman's description the best. N. digrammus comes from tributaries of the middle Amazon (Madeira/Guaporé, Purus, Lago Manacapuru (near Manaus), & Urubú. This area is commonly collected commercially.

 

[Tom C]

I don't know what the description says (Remember Mike ?:wink: ), but according to Reiner Massman's excellent site, Das Salmlernetz, the true Nannostomus digrammus should have a black (primary) lateral band that extends out in the caudal fin, and there ending in a big, black blotch.
Anayway, he also shows a picture of a Nannostomus cf. digrammus, without this lateral band extension, and this fish, like your fish, also shows red color in the (primary) lateral band.
In Das Salmlernetz it is said that the anal fin in males is elongated, and could reach 1/4 of SL. Your fish seems to have short anal fins, but maybe they both are very young ?

Here is the actual page in Das Salmlernetz.

.

 

[Microman]

You can see some of these yourself soon Tom.... I will bring a few over with me.
If these are from the auction Steve they were actually imported as N nitidus but when they arrived from Glasers there was a fair mix of species within the shipment.
I too thought N cf digrammus after recently looking at Reiner Massmans site.
Lots of interesting pencils on the lists of late but IDing them correctly when they arrive can be a little difficult....
Mark....

 

[ste12000]

Thanks guys..What would i do without you

They were from the Auction Mark..Beautiful fish mate, thanks..Have you spawned them yet because the behaviour last night was very interesting, as usual i took loads of pics and video so you chaps can share it aswell..

 

[ste12000]

And heres a short video...http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=DbXl32MowfM

 

[Tom C]

Very nice pictures and fish, and a very interesting video !

I've been keeping Nannostomus for many years now; I have seen them fight, hide, flirt, breed, eat and shoal, and I've even collected them in the wild, but I've never seen anything like the very strange behavior they show in your video !
Thanks for sharing!

You can see some of these yourself soon Tom.... I will bring a few over with me......

Great Mark! Santa Claus is coming.....
.

 

[ste12000]

Thanks Tom..Your not the only one mate..It had me baffled aswel..It is certainly spawning related because they were chasing all night, unfortunatly they are dithers for a breeding pair of Nannochromis Parilus and they kept getting chased from the java fern that they liked so much..
The clinch i videoed lasted at least three minutes, enough time to shoot three videos and take numerous shots, unfortunatly due to angles and relections i was unable to get a vent shot of the two fish joined..Another behaviour i noted was that the male rested on the females back at times before entering the moss, third picture down shows this behaviour.
I am hoping to free up a tank soon and give them a chance to strut their stuff..Water conditions were excellent quality..
PH 6.7
TDS - 76ppm
Temp - 79f