ur factsheet for the month of May 2012
centres on a species from the
family Doradidae which is beginning to make its way
back into the hobby in
the U.K. after a few missing years. In the 1980s and
90s this species was known as Opsodoras leporhinus
but now it is treated as a synonym on the differences
on the make-up of the maxillary barbels and the groove
in the fontanel not being continuous. Since August
2015. Nemadoras leporhinus is now Tenellus
leporhinus.
Tenellus
leporhinus
This dorad is
best kept in groups as they will not do well singularly.
Avoid boisterous or aggressive tank mates as this
is a shy species that will hide out during the day
and appear for food at night under darkness. Provide
a dimly lit tank with floating plants. This is not
an easy species to keep so you would need to keep
up water changes and good aquarium husbandry as they
can be prone to whitespot infections.
T.
leporhinusat
the top and aHemidoras sp.
below (probablystenopeltis)
Nemadoras
and Hemidoras species are quite alike but
the main differences are that Nemadoras has
a shorter snout and smaller bony scutes.
There are at the
moment five described species of Nemadoras,
our factsheet of the month plus N. elongatus (Boulenger,
1898), N. hemipeltis (Eigenmann, 1925),
N. humeralis (Kner, 1855), and N. trimaculatus
(Boulenger, 1898) all ranging from 10 to 14cm SL.
Update:
August 2015. Nemadoras leporhinus is now
Tenellus leporhinus due to the paperby Birindelli (2014). The new genus also includes,
Nemadoras
trimaculatus,N.
leporhinus,N.
ternetziand
the new speciesN.
christinaeall of course now in the Tenellus
genera.
South
America: Orinoco,
Branco and Essequibo River basin.
Size
10.0cm. (4ins)
Temp.
22-25°C
(72-77°F)
p.H.
6.5-7.0
Characteristics
Feathered maxillary barbels.
Very large eyes.
Colouration
Background body colour silver
grey with two blue/black horizontal stripes just
above and below lateral line which starts just behind
the operculum and runs through into the caudal.
Another stripe begins at the front edge of the dorsal
and ends at the adipose fin.
Aquarium
Care & Compatibility
A peaceful species that would
be better kept with non aggresive tankmates such as
Characins, livebearers, Corydoras and smaller
members of the Loricariidae family such as the various
Hemiloricaria and Rineloricaria
species.
Sexual
Differences
There are no proven external
sexual differences.
Reproduction
As yet unknown.
Diet
Tubifex, Daphnia,
Cyclops. Once settled in they will take frozen
foods, flake and tablet foods.
Etymology
Tenellus:
From the Latin tener, meaning delicate, in reference
to the delicate appearance of those dorads.
Glossary
of Terms
Adipose
fin:Fleshy finlike projection
without rays, behind the rayed dorsal fin. Caudal fin:The tail. Dorsal fin:The primary
rayed fin(s) on top of the body. Fontanel: The
space(s) between the bones on top of the skull covered
by skin. Maxillary barbels: Pertaining to the
upper jaw. (maxillary barbels). Operculum: The bony covering of the
gills of fishes. Scutes:
Bony covering.
References
Baensch,
H.A. and R. Riehl 1985 Aquarien atlas. Band
2. Mergus, Verlag für Natur- und Heimtierkunde
GmbH, Melle, Germany. 1216 p. Birindelli, J. L. O. 2014 (16 Sept.)
Phylogenetic relationships of the South American Doradoidea
(Ostariophysi: Siluriformes). Neotropical Ichthyology
v. 12 (no. 3): 451-563 [1-102]. Burgess, W.E. 1989 An atlas of freshwater
and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes.
T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey
(USA). 784 p.
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