Edit Axelrodia stigmatias

You can suggest changes to this profile. A moderator will review each change.

Name

Scientific name

Axelrodia stigmatias

Described by

Authority Fowler, Year 1913, Bracketed

Family

Characidae

Common names

Not recorded

Photograph credits

All 5 credited

Summary

Axelrodia stigmatias is a tiny characid from the western Amazon region in Brazil and Peru, sometimes traded as the 'white star' or 'pepper'…

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

20mm, standard length

Aquarium size

Minimum length 60 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm

Water

Water conditions

Temperature 20–28°C, pH 4–6.5

Hardness

1–5dGH

Conductivity

Not recorded

Behaviour

Temperament

Peaceful

Community suitability

Not for a community

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Brazil, Peru, Amazon, Solimões, Ucayali

Writing

Etymology

Axelrodia: named for American author, publisher, and entrepreneur Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod. stigmatias: from the Latin stigmatias, meaning 'one who is branded', …

Distribution

Native to the western Amazon region with confirmed records existing from the rio Madeira and lago Manacapuru complex off the rio Solimões (Amazon) main channel…

Habitat

Said to be an inhabitant of blackwater environments, but detailed information is lacking. Presumably it inhabits smaller, forested tributaries rather than larg…

Aquarium size

Despite its small size minimum base dimensions of 60 ∗ 30 cm or equivalent are recommended for long-term care, though smaller aquaria can be used for breeding.

Maintenance

Best-maintained in a well-structured set-up, ideally comprising a sandy substrate plus some driftwood roots and branches. The addition of dried leaf litter fur…

Water conditions

Not written yet

Diet

Probably a micropredator feeding on tiny invertebrates and other zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it will normally accept dried foods of a suitably small…

Behaviour and compatibility

Peaceful with other species but does not make an ideal community fish due to its small size and somewhat specialised requirements Ideally it should be maintain…

Sexual dimorphism

Sexually mature females should appear rounder-bodied than males, however, especially when gravid. It is unclear whether the differences in colour pattern in ne…

Reproduction

Has been achieved and in a properly-structured, mature aquarium it is possible that small numbers of fry may start to appear without intervention. The main req…

Has been achieved and in a properly-structured, mature aquarium it is possible that small numbers of fry may start to appear without intervention.

The main requirements are soft, slightly acidic water and provision of fine-leaved plants such as Taxiphylum or similar within which the fish will spawn.

Addition of leaf litter is also recommended due to the microorganisms which colonise it as decomposition occurs since these constitute a useful food source for fry.

Once in condition adults spawn on a daily basis so if attempting to breed this species in controlled conditions a pair or male and several females can be placed in a smaller aquarium and removed after a few days with the eggs and fry left to hatch and grow in the spawning tank.

Editing needs JavaScript. This is the text as it was last saved.

Where does this come from?

My own experienceFor example, I've kept twelve in a planted 60 cm tank since March 2024.A website I sawFor example, an IUCN Red List assessment, a museum catalogue or a FishBase page.A paperFor example, Marshall et al. (2011), Water temperature differences in interfluvial palm swamp habitats of Paracheirodon axelrodi and P. simulans.A book, or something not onlineFor example, Tappin (2010), Rainbowfishes: their care and keeping in captivity.Something already on the pageFor example, the Behaviour and compatibility section already says this.

Web address

Paste the address of the page that says this. What counts as a source

DOI

Paste a DOI and we will look up the rest of the reference. A DOI looks like 10.11646/zootaxa.4694.4.1, and most papers print it on the first page.

Title

Enter the title of the paper, book or page. If you leave it empty, we will use the website's address.

Authors

Separate authors with semicolons, e.g. Tan, H.H.; Ng, P.K.L.

Year

Journal or publisher

Pages

Enter the page that says this, e.g. 218 or 218–221.

Anything worth adding

Describe what you saw, or which part of the source says this.

Notes

This species is sometimes traded as 'white star' or 'pepper' tetra. Axelrodia was proposed as a new genus when it was revealed that the type species Hyphessobr…

References

3 on this profile

Name

Scientific name

Described by

Family

Common names

Photograph credits

Summary

Size and aquarium

Maximum size

Aquarium size

Water

Water conditions

Hardness

Conductivity

Behaviour

Temperament

Social needs

Community suitability

Where it lives

Countries, regions, rivers and lakes

Writing

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Aquarium size

Maintenance

Water conditions

Diet

Behaviour and compatibility

Sexual dimorphism

Reproduction

Notes

References

References