Pygmy Halfbeak (pics)

[cometcattle]

Dermogenys pusillus commonly known as "Wrestling Halfbeaks" or "Pygmy Halfbeaks".

Thanks for looking.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ooh, looks good!

 

[Bloo]

Very interesting cool looking fish ! B)
Lovely pics !

 

[Annastasia]

Nice pictures cometcattle! Your halfbeak is looking great.

 

[cometcattle]

Thanks for all the nice comments.

 

[qwikimpss]

Oh wow. I want some! Time for some research....I have a lot of room in my 55 gallon!!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Awesome livebearers you have there !

 

[nmonks]

cometcattle,

Some really nice halfbeaks. And they actually appear to be genuine Dermogenys pusilla. I have a few Dermogenys sumatrana females in with my Nomorhamphus, and they're not nearly so colourful. But seemingly quite hardy.

What are you feeding yours on? I was pleasantly surprised to see mine go for flake straight away, whereas the Nomorhamphus spp. took some coaching. Are you planning on breeding? I recommend it; these fish aren't nearly so difficult to spawn as the 'experts' say. Stop by my web pages to see some pictures and a video or two.

Breeding halfbeaks

Halfbeaks

Anyway, halfbeaks are massively underrated in the hobby, and I think among the neatest aquarium fish out there.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Dwarfs]

Awesome, one of few livebearers I find interesting
I've been looking for halfbeaks for a while

 

[cometcattle]

Thanks everyone.

nmonks - I feed them Hikari frozen bloodworm and flake. They are quite the little pigs, and usually swim straight for my fingers when I stick them in the tank. I've fed them live blackworms 3 times and I thought they were going to fly across the room. I'm not quite sure I have a pair. They were the only 2 the LFS had left. The bigger one has red marking on both the dorsal and anal fin. The smaller of the 2 only has red marking on the anal fin, but a clear dorsal fin. I'm not sure if I could tell if one were gravid.

Your website is excellent, I've bookmarked it.

Dwarfs - I'm happy they ended up in a tank with a glass top because much of the viewing is from above. I must admit the first thing I look for in that tank are the Halfbeaks. Very cool fish. B)

 

[nmonks]

I'm not quite sure I have a pair. They were the only 2 the LFS had left. The bigger one has red marking on both the dorsal and anal fin. The smaller of the 2 only has red marking on the anal fin, but a clear dorsal fin. I'm not sure if I could tell if one were gravid.

Hello,

Sexing halfbeaks is quite easy. Look at the anal fin (that's the one underneath the fish, opposite to the dorsal fin). On females, the anal fin is pretty much the same size and shape as the dorsal fin. On males, the anal fin looks as if it has been 'trimmed', so instead of being more or less triangular, it is short and flat at the front, then becoming a bit more triangular towards the back. The anal fin on males is used to deliver sperm into the female in much the same way as the gonopodium on guppies and mollies.

The halfbeak in the two top pictures you posted is a female.

Colours are of no use at all in sexing halfbeaks. My dominant male halfbeak has no colour at all, while another female of the same species has bright orange fins.

Cheers,

Neale

Female:

Male:

 

[cometcattle]

I'm not quite sure I have a pair. They were the only 2 the LFS had left. The bigger one has red marking on both the dorsal and anal fin. The smaller of the 2 only has red marking on the anal fin, but a clear dorsal fin. I'm not sure if I could tell if one were gravid.

Hello,

Sexing halfbeaks is quite easy. Look at the anal fin (that's the one underneath the fish, opposite to the dorsal fin). On females, the anal fin is pretty much the same size and shape as the dorsal fin. On males, the anal fin looks as if it has been 'trimmed', so instead of being more or less triangular, it is short and flat at the front, then becoming a bit more triangular towards the back. The anal fin on males is used to deliver sperm into the female in much the same way as the gonopodium on guppies and mollies.

The halfbeak in the two top pictures you posted is a female.

Colours are of no use at all in sexing halfbeaks. My dominant male halfbeak has no colour at all, while another female of the same species has bright orange fins.

Cheers,

Neale

Female:

Male:

Thanks for your help, Neale.

I'm not sure where I read about the fin color. I only have the 2 Halfbeaks, so i definitly have 2 females. I'm going to buy a male now that I can properly sex them. Hopefully the LFS will get some in soon.