NEWS107
47
Hoplias
cf.
teres
Photo:Andreas Jekel
Be thatas itmay,thisnew trahira isan inter-
estingfishforspecialists.Despite itshigh (in-
cluding intraspecific)aggression
Hoplias
can
evenbebred in theaquarium.Theyare se-
xuallymatureataround20-30cm in length
and lay theireggsamongaquaticplants.At
Hottonia, theDarmstadt aquariumand ter-
rarium club, specimens of the species
Ho-
plias malabaricus
have spawned several
times ina2500-literaquarium.Bothparents
guarded thespawningsite.
Hoplias
canbe very easily accustomed to
frozen fishes as food, which means that
their maintenance poses no problems
when it comes toprovidinga food supply.
Ammocryptocharax
sp.
Venezuela
Theconcluding fish inour reviewof recent
characin imports is this tiny, barely 3 cm
long,darter characin fromVenezuela.Dar-
Ammocryptocharax
sp.Venezuela
Lexicon
Characins
Crenuchusmeans "protectorof the
spring".
spilurusmeans "withacaudal spot".
Bryconopsmeans "similar toBrycon";
Brycon isanother characingenus.
Serrasalmusmeans "saw salmon".
altispinismeans "with tall spines"
Acnodonmeans "lacking thebarbsof
ahunting spear", referring to themi-
stakenobservation that thepredorsal
spinewasmissing in the type species,
A.oligacanthus.But it is in factpre-
sent.
normani:named inhonorof John
RoxbroughNorman (1898-1944).
Metynnismeans "between the
plowshare"; referring to the spine in
frontof thedorsal fin.
fasciatusmeans "striped".
Hyphessobryconmeans "small Bry-
con";Brycon isanother characin
genus.
melanostichosmeans "withablack
streak".
Hopliasmeans "weaponbearer",on
accountof thepowerful teeth.
teresmeans "cylindrical"
Ammocryptocharaxmeans "Charax
that looks likeanAmmocrypta";both
areother fishgenera.
ters lack a swimbladder andhencemove
aroundwithahoppingmotion.Thegenus
Ammocryptocharax
currentlycontains four
described species, and the little fishes im-
ported fromVenezuela byAquariumGla-
sermost closely resemble
A.minutus
, but
couldequallywell representaspeciesnew
to science.Questions of this sort requirea
long time, often several years, to answer.
With its tiny littlemouth this Ammocryp-
tocharax is completelyharmless.Thisdeli-
cate fish isbestkeptoverasubstrateof fine
sand, with a few pebbles and clumps of
low-growing plants. To create healthy
waterandsupplement thedietsomedead
leaves (Oak, Beech, Catappa, etc.) and a
numberofalderconesshouldbeplaced in
thewater - but that applies for almost all
fishes.Ideally thesedwarfcharacinsshould
be fed fine frozen and live foods,but they
will also takedry food.
