March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species is very rarely-traded since collections of fishes for commercial purposes aren’t common in Suriname. It’s a member of the nominal G. surinamensis ‘group’ of closely-related species within the genus and can be identified by a combination of characters including: no dark preopercular marking; six vertical/parallel bars on each flank (normally visible only when the fish are stressed, spawning or preserved); dark, squarish lateral spot positioned within the third vertical bar; sixth (posterior) bar elongate an…
Comment » | Category: Cichlids, Perciformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
It’s a member of the nominal G. surinamensis ‘group’ of closely-related species within the genus and can be identified by a combination of characters including: presence of dark preopercular markings; seven parallel vertical bars on each flank (normally visible only when the fish are stressed, spawning or preserved); vertical bars four and five meet in such a way that they form a ‘Y’ shape; dark lateral spot positioned within the third vertical bar; caudal fin reddish with variable pattern of iridescent blue spots and stripes.
Comment » | Category: Cichlids, Perciformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
It also occurs in the río Caura on the Guyana Shield plus the Ventauri and Mavaca drainages in the middle and upper Orinoco where it’s also known from some white water, referring to turbidity rather than turbulence, habitats. To the north its distribution appears limited by the Las Majaguas dam on the Río Cojedes, a tributary of the Apure where a probable introduced population inhabits the res…
Comment » | Category: Cichlids, Perciformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species was available in the hobby several years prior to being described, invariably traded as G. sp. aff. altifrons ‘Tocantins’, G. sp. ‘Tocantins’ or G. sp. ‘rio Areoes’. The latter of these names refers to an Indian reserve named ‘Areões’ in the rio Das Mortes drainage, a tributary of the Araguaia which itself drains into the Tocantins, and the aquarium specimens in our images have been identified as G. neambi by Dr. Paulo Lucinda, co-describer of the species.
Comment » | Category: Cichlids, Perciformes
Rainbow Stiphodon
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species is traded as S. sp. ‘rainbow’, S. sp. ‘gold fin’, or S. sp. ‘gold cheek’ and is among the more widely-available members of the genus although its identity was unclear prior to 2013.
The most commonly-traded fish certainly appears to…
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species seems not to have appeared in the trade and is similar to several congeners in appearance, most notably S. weberi which is native to the Maluku archipelago and other islands around the coast of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). The two are said to be most easily-distinguished by examination of the belly which is fully-scaled in S. pelewensis but lacks scalation in S. weberi.
The Gobiidae is the most speciose vertebrate family and notoriously problematic in terms of identifying fishes down to sp…
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species probably hasn't been seen in the trade yet but should make an interesting aquarium fish if it ever becomes available. Within the genus it's most similar to S. surrufus and S. mele from which it differs only in terms of meristics. In description it's distinguished from the former only by possession of more teeth in the upper jaw although images of live specimens depict S. surrufus as a more intensely-coloured, reddish fi…
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
Orange-fin Stiphodon
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species was referred to as S. sp. ‘orange fin’ or S. sp. ‘ST01’ prior to being offically named and is one of the more commonly-traded members of the genus, though often in batches containing only one gender, a mixture of species, or misidentified under an incorrect name such as S. zebrinus.
It can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: usually 9 soft second dorsal-fin rays; 15 soft pectoral-fin rays; first dorsal-fin in male poin…
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
Cobalt Blue Goby
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species has been traded for a number of years, though not always under the correct name. We've seen it on sale as S. elegans or S. atropurpureus on numerous occasions, for example, and other trade names include 'Sumatran blue neon goby', 'cobalt blue goby' and 'freshwater neon goby'. Further confusion has arisen because other species are sometimes sold as S. semoni meaning identification has not always been easy and there …
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
Blue Neon Goby
March 13th, 2012 — 1:25pm
This species is available occasionally, though not always under the correct name. We've seen it on sale as S. elegans on numerous occasions, for example, and other trade names include 'Sumatran blue neon goby' (it's not found on Sumatra), 'cobalt blue goby' and 'freshwater neon goby'. Further…
Comment » | Category: Gobies & Sleepers, Perciformes
Product reviewers wanted
Hello! Very much interested in writing for you, please include me in the info. Thank you for the opportunity!
6th Sep 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I would be interested in reviewing products. Before retiring I was a technical writer and managed a Quality Management Program.
30th Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I'm interested and can write reviews from the perspective of someone new to the hobby. I'm only 3-4 months in, but hopefully I can help someone that's...
23rd Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I’m interested in doing this if there is still availability, it sounds like fun! Thanks
19th Aug 2020
Barbodes semifasciolatus – Golden Barb* (Barbus sachsii, Puntius schuberti)
I simply had a question (please forgive if this is not allowed, I read the FAQ but I was not sure). I was wondering if there is any evidence of offsp...
12th Aug 2020