Tiny livebearer

[emeraldking14 65]

One of the smallest livebearer species...
Dwarf merry widow (Phallichthys tico) fry...

 

[davros4]

Emeraldking has all the cool fish. Don't see any available here, about 4x- 5x a guppy price it seems .

 

[emeraldking14 65]

Emeraldking has all the cool fish. Don't see any available here, about 4x- 5x a guppy price it seems .

Well, there are still a lot out there that I don't have when it comes to rare livebearers. As you know, I'm a real collector of rare ones. Well, it's true that these tiny livebearers do cost way more than a guppy. And if you really wanna see some activity of these fish, you'll need a group. So pricewise, it will be more expensive.

 

[WhistlingBadger30 13]

Merry widow is such a strange common name. Any idea where that comes from?

 

[Ichthys]

P. amates was the original Merry Widow. This from Wiki...

“...the common name for the species, merry widow, was invented by William T. Innes's friend and fishkeeping author Frederick H. Stoye due to the fish's "lively habits, plus the mourning [black] edge on the dorsal fin". German-born Stoye may have been further inspired by the then-popular Austrian opera The Merry Widow.”

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[emeraldking14 65]

P. amates was the original Merry Widow. This from Wiki...

“...the common name for the species, merry widow, was invented by William T. Innes's friend and fishkeeping author Frederick H. Stoye due to the fish's "lively habits, plus the mourning [black] edge on the dorsal fin". German-born Stoye may have been further inspired by the then-popular Austrian opera The Merry Widow.”

​

Yes, the Phallichthys amates amates is the regular Merry widow. But the Ph.amates amates is way bigger than the Ph.tico. The Ph.tico has got the same size as Heterandria formosa and Neoheterandria elegans.

 

[davros4]

Merry widow is such a strange common name. Any idea where that comes from?

I thought perhaps it came from the the male's umm- err- "enhanced" gonopodium

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[emeraldking14 65]

I thought perhaps it came from the the male's umm- err- "enhanced" gonopodium

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No, in this case, the name is not linked to the length of the gonopodium. There are more livebearer species with an elongated and smooth gonopodium.