INTERESTING IMPORTS

Black ruby barb Photo: Robert Beke

Despite the impact of Covid-19 on international freight, the importers continue to offer an impressive selection of aquarium fish. For nano tank fans there are dwarf rasbora (Boraras maculatus), emerald dwarf rasbora (Celestichthys erythromicron), Beckford’s pencilfish, Norman’s lampeye, pygmy corys, and HaraHara cats. And if you have a small coldwater tank it’s hard to go past white cloud mountain minnows (available as standard and gold). On the tetra front there are 29 species of small tetras available, including the popular species like neon, black neons, and glowlights, through to black widows, blue emperors, glass bloodfins, rummynose, and wild caught bleeding heart tetras. For barb fans there’s a good selection with black ruby, checker, cherry (including longfins), golden, Odessa, rosy, and tiger barbs in standard, golden, green, platinum green and albino (gold ghost).

Royal farlowella Photo: Robert Beke

If you are after something different, why not a try whiptail, four types of these bizarre looking catfish are available: the royal farlowella (Sturiosoma species), twig whiptail, long-nosed farlowella, and panda whiptails (likely an aquarium strain of Loricaria simillima). While they are not everyone’s flavour, hybrid parrot cichlids (thought to be a cross between midas and severum cichlids) are available in a range of colours including red, red and white, red and white pandas, and yellow. Blue tiger parrots, thought to be a hybrid of parrot and convict cichlids, are also on the importers’ lists. And if you have a very large tank why not try a school of silver dollars, spotted silver dollars, (Metynnis maculatus) silver sharks, a black shark, clown knife, or black or silver arowana.

The editorial team