NEWS103
46
Lexicon
Wild livebearers
Priapella:means "littlemember
", referring to themale
copulatoryorgan.
intermedia:means
"intermediate”,“inbetween”.
compressa:means
"compressed".
olmecae:after theaboriginal
inhabitantsofMexico, the
Olmecs.
Aplocheilichthys:means "fish
similar toAplocheilus ";
Aplocheilus is another fish
genus.
Xenophallus:means“withan
unusualmale sexorgan”.
umbratilis:means“preferring the
shade”.
Xenophallusumbratilis
are interestinganddainty fishes,andalso suitable for small aquaria.
Female
Xenophallusumbratilis
.The species is alsopopularlyknownas theGoldenTeddy.
Rica,where it occurs in only a fewwaters
that empty into the Atlantic. They are
rather delicate-looking fishes but aren’t
delicate at all. Males attain around 4 cm,
females around5 cm in length.
Special fishes like this shouldn’tbekept in
community aquaria thrown together any-
old-how, but should have a tank set up
specially for them.Otherwise youwill get
little pleasure from these fishes, as in
unsuitable company they look pale and
unremarkable.Things arequite otherwise
in quiet, densely-planted, and not too
brightly-lit aquaria.
The fish’s German name of Shadow
Livebearer iswell justified.As in thewild, it
avoids open, brightly-lit areas of the
aquarium. If the tank issetupasdescribed
above,withcleanwater andagood,albeit
not excessive current, then the aquarist
will be enchanted by the splendid
coloration of courting males. Like
numerousother livebearers theyestablish
an order of rank among themselves and
this canbe recognizedby the color of the
dorsal fin.Themoreorange,thehigher the
rankof the fish.
Xenophallus
umbratilis
should
be
maintained at temperatures between 20
and24 °C.
After around 28 days of pregnancy the
females givebirth to15-25 frywhich look
very delicate and should be reared on
Artemianauplii
.
