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Nannatherina balstoni

(Balston´s Pygmy Perch)

Overview

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Family : Temperate perches ; Is the rarest of all the endemic freshwater fishes of southwestern Australia. Inhabits coastal streams , lakes , ponds and swamps , where the water is dark and acidic (pH as low as 3.0) and has a large seasonal fluctuation in temperature (11-30¦C). Larvae feed mainly on cladocerans, copepods and dipteran larvae, while juveniles and adults ingest mostly terrestrial fauna . Both males and females attain sexual maturity at the end of their first year of life when they have attained an average TL of 6.0 and 6.3 cm respectively[1]. Co-occurs with Edelia vittata over part of its range , but is generally more scarce[2]. Aquarium conditions: pH=7.2, H=8, 24¦C water temperature, rock and plant cover , carnivore , peaceful community fish, egg layer[3].

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in English:

Balston´s Perchlet, Balston´s Pygmy Perch, Balston's Perchlet, Balston's Pygmy Perch

Common Names in German:

Balstons Zwergbarsch

Common Names in Mandarin Chinese:

巴氏南脂鱸

Description

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Family Percichthyidae

Species of this family are distributed in Australia and South America (primarily Argentina and Chile). Rarely brackish . Complete and continuous lateral line. Dorsal fins continuous, with or without a notch ; spines 7-12 (1-3 in Gadopsis bispinosus); soft rays 8-38. Anal fin spines 3; soft rays 7-13 (16-20 in Gadopsis). Scales ctenoid, secondarily cycloid. Vertebrae 25-36 (40-50 in Gadopsis). Dioecious. Poorly defined group, its composition is subject to change. Eschmeyer (1998) recognized 14 valid genera. Percilia species are considered to be under its own family Perciliidae (Arratia, pers. comm. ).The family Percichthyidae belongs to the Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes ) and the Order Perciformes. It contains 11 genera and 22 species. It may be found in Brackish, and Freshwater environments and is primarily Peripheral/diadromous. Members of this family are not used in the aquarium trade. Reproductively, most members of this family are nonguarders. The main mode of swimming of adult fish in this family is subcarangiform. Compared with other fish, the activity level of this family tends to be normal. Members of this family have been dated back to the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period. This family may be found from 20° n to 55° s and 78° w to 152° e. Etymology of this family name : Greek perké = perch + Greek, ichthys = fish

Habitat

Biome: Fresh water . Benthopelagic.

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Nannatherina balsoni Regan, 1906

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Group expert : Arratia G., Data last modified by FishBase 08-Feb-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Nannatherina

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 1 species and subspecies in this genus:

N. balstoni (Balston´s Pygmy Perch)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 29, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Gill, H.S. and D.L. Morgan (1998). Larval development of Nannatherina balstoni Regan (Nannopercidae), with a description of ontogenetic changes in diet. Ecol. Freshwat. Fish 7:132-139. [back]
  2. Allen, G.R. (1989). Freshwater fishes of Australia. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey. [back]
  3. Axelrod, H.R., W.E. Burgess, N. Pronek and J.G. Walls (1991). Dr. Axelrod's Atlas of freshwater aquarium fishes. Sixth edition. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey. [back]
Last Revised: 7/2/2009