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CHILDREN OF MORNING RAINBOW - 2 (CONTINUED).


Red glossolepis - Glossolepis incisus Weber, 1908 first entered our aquariums in the late seventies. Hungarian colleagues from the Budapest cichlid club brought them to me in the autumn of 1978. Poorly looking fry and a complete lack of information about these fish in literature, then played a negative role. Fry simply lost among dozens of species of Malawian cichlids and disappeared.
Somewhat later, glossolespis came to the famous Moscow aquarist A. Androshchuk. Anton Antonovich took them with due attention, and soon the fish were divorced and presented at the traditional exhibition of the Moscow City Aquarium Club. Bright-red individuals made a real furore. Such is the brief history of the appearance of glossoles in Russia.
At home, these fish inhabit Lake Sentani, as well as other ponds in the northern part of Papua New Guinea. Expeditions that took place in these places with the participation of the famous Dutch explorer Max Weber between 1890 and 1907 provided a wealth of material for study. Beautiful bright red fish with large flaking scales, as M. Weber noted a year after the end of the expedition, received the name "glossolepis". Collected by the Germans A.Werner (Munich) and E.Freh (Memmingen) during their expedition to Java, Celebes and West Irian, they got aquariums of Western European amateurs only in 1973.
The habitats of glossoles are characterized by pronounced seasonal rainy periods, which take place from December to March. At this time in some places there is so much rain that the water level in the reservoirs can rise more than 6 meters. Relatively dry season lasts from May to October. It is obvious that the composition of water during these periods undergoes significant changes, so the fish are sufficiently plastic and well adapted to changing conditions. The only thing that they really suffer from is acidic water with a pH below 7.
The size of the fish is up to 15 cm. The males are bright red, the females are slightly smaller, with a silvery-bronze color, in comparison with the males. Stable redness is retained only by adult active males under optimal conditions of maintenance. Otherwise, brownish-brown tones appear in their coloring.
Like other rainbow-lovers, glossolespices reach the apogee of their beauty during spawning in the morning hours. A bright, straight golden radial wide ridge, extending from the tip of the upper jaw to the dorsal fin, makes the fish irresistible. Even the coloring of the females at these moments flashes with chased gold. The fry (again, like all the iridescent girls) are plain and begin to show their color as they mature. First fins are colored, then colored spangles appear on the body and then on. Natural conditions define a rigid (dGH up to 18 - 25 degrees) water with a pH of about 7.5.
It is quite obvious that these fish are a real gift for lovers of African cichlids, especially tangangiks, in aquariums with which to obtain the richest range of colors so lacks red.
Besides the purely decorative effect, the benefits of glossoles are really great. Furiously swimming around the aquarium, they are due to their peace of mind and "confidence" make almost brash even the most timid cichlids. In addition, morning feeding always "fresh caviar" promotes better maturation and stimulates the spawning of endemic species of the Great African lakes.
Glossolespans are fast enough and maneuverable to dodge territorial aggressors. Their manner of swimming in the free space of the aquarium far from the shelters of cichlids does not cause excessive irritation and furious attacks of the latter. Plants do not touch the gloooleops, so you can safely plant the most delicate species.
Conditions for keeping, breeding and rearing juveniles are common for the family. Fry, brought to a month of age, further grow faster and faster. It is important that in order to avoid cannibalism among juveniles in the growing reservoir there is always a suitable food. The main cause of failure and death of fry is the poor quality of water and its contamination with the products of juvenile life, as well as the decomposition of uneaten food. Therefore, it is desirable to replace the water in the fry as often as possible.
With the filters there is also a problem - the juveniles there simply suck in the current and avoid this fate only one.
To enhance the saturation of the red color, carotenoid rich foods like "Tetra-Ruby", "Extra-Purple", etc., can be recommended, periodically adding them to the diet of glossoles from an early age. Feeding a live or frozen Cyclops and Artemia also gives an excellent effect.
Other types of glossoles are smaller and less popular. Iris collectors often encounter bluish Wahan glossolepis (Glossolepis wanamensis Allen & Kailola, 1979). Their name was given to the fish by the name of Lake Wanam (Papua New Guinea), where they were originally caught.
The Sentaniel Hilaterina is Chilatherina sentaniensis (Weber, 1908). For the first time, the fish were collected by M. Weber in the same Lake Sentani in Papua New Guinea as the red glossolepis. Later, other places of their habitat were found. In Russia, they appeared in the mid-eighties, but were not widely spread among amateurs - the fashion for irises was not yet there. Male hilaterin reach 12 cm, females are smaller. The bluish color of the fish during the usual time strongly darkens and becomes fantastically bright during spawning in the early morning hours or some time after switching on the light if the aquarium is located far from the window. Like other rainbow-lovers, along the top of the head, a surprisingly bright orange-colored color appears in the fish-a wide crest. To a lesser extent, this phenomenon is influenced by the diet, as is the case with other Melanotenia species.
Fish are thermophilic and feel better at a temperature of 25 - 28 degrees C. Content and breeding - like in glossoles, but because of smaller sizes they are not so prolific.


S. Kochetov, Moscow, Aquarium No. 3, 2001.