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Worlds Smallest Fish - Paedocypris progenetica

Discussion in 'Freshwater General Discussion' started by Anthony, Jan 27, 2011.

  1. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Member of the carp family measures less than 1/3 of an inch

    Scientists have discovered a fish living in forest swamps on the Indonesian island of Sumatra that is only 7.9mm long.

    The species of fish belongs to the carp family and is called Paedocypris progenetica . It is the world's smallest vertebrate or backboned animal.

    Living in acid

    The tiny, see-through Paedocypris fish have the appearance of larvae and have a reduced head skeleton, which leaves the brain unprotected by bone.

    They live in dark tea-coloured waters with an acidity of pH3, which is at least 100 times more acidic than rainwater.

    'This is one of the strangest fish that I've seen in my whole career', said Ralf Britz, zoologist at the Natural History Museum.

    'It's tiny, it lives in acid and it has these bizarre grasping fins. I hope we'll have time to find out more about them before their habitat disappears completely.'
    Threatened swamps

    The swamps were once thought to harbour very few animals, but recent research has revealed that they are highly diverse and home to many species that occur nowhere else.

    In 1997 the peat swamps were damaged by large forest fires and they are still threatened by logging, urbanisation and agriculture. Several populations of Paedocypris have already been lost.

    Fish discovery

    The new fish was discovered by fish experts Maurice Kottelat (from Switzerland) and Tan Heok Hui from the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research in Singapore. They were working with their colleagues from Indonesia and with Kai-Erik Witte from the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Ralf Britz, at the Natural History Museum , helped analyse its skeleton and the complex structure of the pelvic fin.
    Previous smallest

    The previous record for smallest vertebrate was held by an 8mm species of Indo Pacific goby. The UK's smallest fish is the marine Guillet's goby, Lebetus guilleti , reaching 24mm in length.
    female-Paedocypris.jpg smallest-fish.jpg
     
    Anthony, Jan 27, 2011
    #1
  2. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    looks like the size of a maggot, maybe a teensy bit longer.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Jan 27, 2011
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  3. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

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    Now that's cool
     
    HBIC, Jan 27, 2011
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  4. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    I'd like to have a tank of these guys. Could you imagine how many you could put in a small 10 gallon tank ? LoL
     
    Anthony, Jan 27, 2011
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  5. HBIC

    HBIC Need help??? That's what we're here for :)

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    I would hate to see the cost of the little buggers if they are ever available.
     
    HBIC, Jan 27, 2011
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  6. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    can you imagine the size of their fry? lol!
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 28, 2011
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  7. FishVixen

    FishVixen Active Member

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    can you imagine trying to keep a ph of 3
     
    FishVixen, Jan 29, 2011
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  8. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    Oh that's easy, just pour battery acid in the tank. LoL
     
    Anthony, Jan 29, 2011
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  9. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

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    I was curious as to what common liquids do have the PH of 3 (geek moment lol) and basically you'd have to house them in a tank containing orange juice. LOL
     
    NoctuVide, Jan 29, 2011
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  10. buzz4520

    buzz4520 Well-Known Member

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    acid rain is about pH4, the vinegar you have at home is about pH3, lemon juice about 2.5. another good guestion is...how would you "cycle" a tank for these fish ? most bacteria can't survive in water that acidic.
     
    buzz4520, Jan 29, 2011
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  11. Anthony

    Anthony Thread Starter Active Member

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    That's a good question.
     
    Anthony, Jan 30, 2011
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  12. FishVixen

    FishVixen Active Member

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    I wonder if this fish can handle ammonia or possibly even need ammonia I mean if crabs and fish on the bottom of the ocean take in sulfur and not O2 why not ammonia?
     
    FishVixen, Jan 31, 2011
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  13. MasterBlue

    MasterBlue Active Member

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    If they needed ammonia then it wouldn't be a byproduct of there life cycles, or at least not enough. So it'd have to come from some other place... So, what sorta tank mates could be kept with them? o.o;
    Nothing.

    I wonder if they could adapt to regular water conditions?

    I bet eating one would be as sour as a lemon!
     
    MasterBlue, Feb 3, 2011
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