Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 8.0; dH range: 5 - 12. Tropical; 25°C - 29°C (Ref. 1672)
South America: lower Amazon, coastal Guianas to mouth of the Orinoco River.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 3.4 cm SL male/unsexed; (Ref. 37104); max. published weight: 0.33 g (Ref. 125972)
Feeds on worms, insects and crustaceans (Ref. 7020).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Deposits eggs on underside of objects above the water surface. Male in water splashes the clutch periodically (Ref. 7471). In the aquarium, male and female swim vertically to the surface, flick their tails and leap up to a leaf. Female lays from 5 to 8 eggs on the leaf and male fertilizes them immediately. This procedure is repeated several times until some hundreds of eggs have been laid. Male then keeps the eggs damp by flicking his tail to spray them with water. As eggs hatch, fry fall into the water (Ref. 7020).
Weitzman, M. and S.H. Weitzman, 2003. Lebiasinidae (Pencil fishes). p. 241-251. 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. 37104)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 126983)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Aquarium: commercial
More information
ReferencesAquacultureAquaculture profileStrainsGeneticsAllele frequenciesHeritabilityDiseasesProcessingNutrientsMass conversion
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Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5020 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00692 (0.00385 - 0.01244), b=3.08 (2.92 - 3.24), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.3 ±0.40 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (Females can lay hundreds of eggs (Ref.
7020)).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).