Publication2 med aquascape Publication1cs complete | Page 93

Archocentrus spinosissimus female is diligently
guarding her offspring. Here the female can be
seen keeping a close eye on the wrigglers hang-
ing in water sprite roots
tank to rear. Unfortunately, these have since
passed, but I currently have a group of twelve of
their offspring that are growing up fast. They have
just started spawning for me. The first few spawns
have been infertile but I hope they will spawn suc-
cessfully in the near future.
Archocentrus spinosissimus is truly a fantastic and
interesting species to keep but unfortunately is
quite rare in the hobby. I suspect much of this is
due to the apparent rarity of this fish in the wild
and new specimens being imported into the hob-
by are not common. If you do see Archocentrus
spinosissimus available, you should really snatch it
up. You will not be disappointed by the amazing
beauty and behaviour of this docile species.
Archocentrus spinosissimus in breeding
dress become much darker.
separate tank. By this time the fry have sufficient-
ly grown enough to eat newly hatched baby brine
shrimp.
Raising the fry is not difficult in and they grow
fairly quickly, with fry growing to 2-2.5 cm after
two months. As they get larger, transitioning
them to prepared foods is quite easy.
Below, microscopic photos of Archocentrus
spinosissimus fry at a scale of 2mm
Conclusion
Until recently, I had only a few older Archocentrus
spinosissimus of around eight years of age. These
fish would spawn for me from time to time and
I’d be able to get a few fry out of the
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