About a week ago I stocked my tropical freshwater tank from a local store. Went with the usual thing, but they also had a "Limited Availability" fish in (It might sound like some odd backalley store, but it's quite reputable, Pets at Home if any UK users are reading). Now the placard called it a Lampeye fish, and I got two but since reading up on them on the internet I really can't find them anywhere. I've tried searching by name, trawling through the whole list of fish. I was wondering if anyone here can help me.
I'll try to take a picture but as it's a near-transparent fish i'm finding it hard to take a photo. The description is as follows:
The fish is about two thirds of an inch long, "glass" coloured, with very striking cyan eyes. The body gradually seems to slope upwards towards the tail. The closest analogy I can think of to describe it is imagine a pear swimming round end first, it's got that sort of slope to it (although not nearly that fat)
behaviour wise (Although I know this could be down to the individual fish and not reflective of the species as a whole) the pair of them were initially very shy, they lurked near the surface mostly, and never strayed far from each other. Always very reluctant to eat, preferring to sneak in and grab some neglected flakes as they started to float (Although they're in a very peaceful community tank). One inexplicably died a few days later (prompting my initial search into the specie, wondering if there was a particularity I had overlooked). However, yesterday one of them released a large amount of eggs (translucent white, about 60 or so, and strung together in clumps of 4-10). I don't suppose any fish are like insects and die after mating?
All of this is quite confusing really, and I appreciate how difficult it is for you to identify it from a terrible description. once I'm home from work tonight I'll make another attempt at a photo, even if I need to quickly pluck the poor thing out of the tank for a second to take a quick picture without tank-glare.
Is it anything like either of these. I know you said glass color/transparent, but I mean as far as size/shape. If so then we atleast have a more narrow genus search.
If not then we atleast have ruled out a few genera.
Oh and Welcome to Fishlore.
(If your camera has a setting label 'M' or Manual try using that from a distance with zoom. It requires a more steady hand, but allows you to get a tighter picture, and frequently cuts down on glare, in my experience. Also, my camera has a setting for when the subject is expected to move, so basically it snaps the pic fast enough that the movement doesn't give a blur. That setting also cuts down on light/glare, so I usually put a very bright light directly over the tank, which gives a great picture if all the surroundings are pitch black. )
It's definitely more similar to Procatopus similis that you linked me to, the other one bears no resemblance at all.
Another behavioural note, now that there's only one of them it seems much more active and sociable, sometimes when it's excited and feeding it'll almost do a loop-the-loop, but veer off to the side at the top, i'm not sure if this is an instinctive feeding characteristic that could help identify it, or if it's just a lunatic.
Killifish do not have long lifespans. Some are called "seasonal" killifish, which means they live about 12-18 months and it is considered a full life. That would've eased my search if I wouldn't have skipped over the paragraph, lol.
Will keep looking and see what we can come up with.
I went back today to check exactly that, there's only "Lampeye" I asked a PaH assistant, and they went to check and came back saying they had no idea, and didn't know the Latin name for it, but they'd "Ask the Delivery guy on Thursday if he knows"
Edit : Nope, that isn't the fish in your link unfortunately
It may be a lamprichthys tanganicanus - native to lake tanganyika. found a link on google to you tube - video of someone else's that looks like yours.
found lots of pics, mostly non-english web sites... Most of the pics look more colorful than yours, but if yours is a female, the websites say the females do not have the colors the males have.
Found this information on a cichlid forum...don't remember which one (I pasted to a word document as I was searching).
Synonyms: Haplochilus tanganicanus, Lamprichthys curtianalis
Physical description: An elongated fish with a slightly arched back. The back of male fish is dark olive-yellow, while the flanks are lighter. The body is covered with bright sky-blue spots. The fins are yellow with numerous bright yellow spots. The frontal part of the caudal fin has blue spots, although the rest is colored like the other fins. All the fins are marked with a yellow fringe. Females are less colorful, with silver-blue spots.
Size/Length: Males to 6" (15 cm), females to 4.7" (12 cm)
Similar species: None
Habitat: East Africa; inhabits the rocky shore areas of Lake Tanganyika.
Aquarium: A tank measuring 48" (122 cm) with a capacity of 50 gallons (190 L) is sufficient for adults. It is very important to leave large open swimming areas. Set up the tank as for Lake Tanganyika Cichlids.
Water chemistry: pH 7.5-8.8 (7.8), 10-25 dH (12), 75-79°F (24-26°C)
Social behavior: An active shoaling fish that should be kept in groups of at least six. A dominant male, distinguishable by elaborate fins, will establish a large territory among rocks. Works well in a Lake Tanganyika community tank.
Suggested companions: Altolamprologus, Julidochromis, Lamprologus, Neolamprologus, and Synodontis species.
FOOD: Live; insect larvae, flying insects, crustaceans, Tubifex; flakes; pellets
Sexual differences: Males are larger, more colorful, and have more elaborate fins.
Breeding techniques: Use a large tank with many rock structures. The dominant male will pair with a female. The spawning is a slow process and the eggs are laid in crevices. Remove the rocks from the tank as the parents will eat the eggs. The eggs, not usually numbering more than 100, hatch after 11-14 days. Start feeding the fry with nauplii and powdered dry foods. The young are slow-growing.
Breeding potential: 7. A difficult species to breed.
Remarks: Make frequent partial water changes.
Difficulty of care: 6. This somewhat delicate species makes a fine addition to a Lake Tanganyika community tank.
Case closed, the fish is an Oryzias Javanicus, my LFS owner researched it for me
Thanks for all the help and suggestions though! I just wish I had time to preserve some of those eggs the female dropped, they're apparently nearly impossible to get in shops these days!
Medaka, related to what you have, can often be ordered via education and science suppliers since they make great model organisms. Once you get some male and females, they will breed nonstop. The only difficulty in breeding them is that you must seperate each egg by hand from one another (they are attached by VERY sticky filaments) because if one egg in the clutch is bad, it will grow mold rapidly killing any other eggs in that clutch.
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