LIVEBEARERS T Phallichthys tico - - a dainty new ... - Aqualog

Aqualognews NUMBER 94 5
right into the substrate of the body of water
and lay their eggs “underground”.
In the wild the lifespan of such fishes is
usually only a few months. Then their home
waters dry up and they die. Only the eggs
Moema cf.ortegai,male
Rivulus retrocaudatus,male
survive in the substrate and hatch many
months later when it next rains. They live
considerably longer in the aquarium.
Moema cf.ortegai,female
Rivulus retrocaudatus,female
Rivulus, the “grasshoppers”
The strategy of the Rivulus species is quite
different. These slender fishes have learned
to travel on land. In wet weather they jump
out of the water and cling to damp terrestrial
plants. In this way they significantly reduce
predation pressure from piscivorous fishes
and can simultaneously colonize small
waters that in fact hardly deserve the name,
such as damp meadows containing a few
small puddles. These fishes live considerably
longer than their fellow killies, the seasonal
fishes. Rivulus are adhesive spawners that lay
their eggs on plants, among fine roots, etc.
The eggs usually develop within 2-3 weeks.
Because Rivulus are particularly fond of
mosquito larvae they are of great interest for
the biological combating of mosquitoes.