Teleostei (teleosts) >
Characiformes (Characins) >
Characidae (Characins; tetras) > Aphyocharacinae
Etymology: Aphyocharax: Greek, aphye, -es, sardine, anchovy + Greek, charax = a marine fish; diminutive (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Juan Daniel Anisits (1856–1911) was born in Hungary and became a Paraguayan citizen. He worked at the the National University of Paraguay and collected many specimens that he sent to Eigenmann for study. (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
More on authors: Eigenmann & Kennedy.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: ? - 30. Subtropical; 18°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)
South America: Paraná River basin.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 21.0 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 5.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 38382)
Adults swim mainly in the upper and middle water layers. Feed on worms, small insects and crustaceans (Ref. 5723). Aquarium keeping: in groups of 5 or more individuals; minimum aquarium size 60 cm (Ref. 51150). Mature males always with gill glands and hooks in the anal fin ray (Ref. 58431).
In the tank, spawning occurs usually in early morning, after a period of very active driving by the male. Female lays numerous glass-clear eggs, sometimes 700 to 800, which sink to the bottom of the tank. Eggs hatch in about 20 to 25 hours (Ref. 7020).
Number of hooks present in the anal fin rays and frequency of occurrence of gill glands suggest stage of maturation in males (Ref. 58431).
Lima, R.S., 2003. Subfamily Aphyocharacinae (Characins). p. 197-199. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 38382)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquarium: highly commercial
Tools
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5005 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01122 (0.00514 - 0.02450), b=3.04 (2.87 - 3.21), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.2 ±0.37 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm<1; Fec=345).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).
