Photo: -serwacy01-, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wrestling halfbeak
Dermogenys pusilla
5.5 cm
Adult size
80 L
Minimum volume
5
Minimum group
5 years
Lifespan
Water parameters
Understand these values- Genus
- Dermogenys
- Diet
- carnivore
- Social life
- small group
In the wild
Overview
Halfbeaks owe their name to their elongated lower jaw. Males of this species fight by gripping each other by the jaws, hence the name “wrestling halfbeak”; male fights are even staged in some countries. It is a livebearing fish.
- Scientific name
- Dermogenys pusilla Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1823
- Classification
- Beloniformes › Zenarchopteridae
- IUCN Red List
- Data deficient (DD)
Natural habitat
Southeast Asia; in the strict sense, Java (Indonesia)
Observations (GBIF) and localities Native countries Rivers and lakes
It lives in slow or still water rich in surface vegetation: rivers, canals, ditches, rice paddies, lakes and ponds; it is sometimes found in brackish water near mangroves in the rainy season.
Behaviour
Peaceful but shy, it lives with species of similar size (livebearers, small rainbowfish, freshwater gobies), not with larger or lively fish. It feeds only at the surface: fruit flies, brine shrimp, larvae. Sensitive to sudden changes in water and temperature, it needs small, frequent water changes.
Sources:FishBase Seriously Fish GBIF · Base map: Natural Earth