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| Chilatherina bleheri - photo© Neil Armstrong |
Allen, 1985
Blehers Rainbowfish
Description
Chilatherina bleheri is a very attractive rainbowfish. They have an iridescent greenish body colour fading posteriorly to pastel shades of yellow to red. The dorsal and anal fins show these same pastel colours. The lower side of the body is white with a series of faint vertical dark markings. Males display a brilliant yellow-orange stripe on the middle of the forehead during spawning. Females are relatively uncoloured in relation to the males.
Distribution
Lake Holmes and feeder streams in the Mamberamo region of West Papua.
Habitat & Ecology
Vegetated shoreline of Lake Holmes and rocky bottom, tributary streams. Lake Holmes is a complex of three interconnected lakes lying at an altitude of about 430 metres above sea level and set in mountainous jungle terrain, approximately 290 kilometres west of Jayapura, the capital city of West Papua. The lakes lie within a radius of 6-7 kilometres with the main lake having a length of approximately 4.5 kilometres and maximum width of about 2 kilometres. The lakes are drained by a small stream, which flows into the Mamberamo River at a point approximately 15 kilometres directly to the north. The lake and surrounding creeks are inhabited by 11 fish species, including one other rainbowfish, Melanotaenia maylandi.
Two dorsal fins, very close together, the first much smaller than the second. May reach a maximum size of 12 cm, but usually less than 10 cm. Males are larger than females with older males developing a very deep body. Essentially a carnivore, feeding on a variety of terrestrial and aquatic insects, insect larvae, and small aquatic crustaceans. Aquatic algae and fallen plant pollens are also ingested.
Remarks
Live specimens of this species were initially collected in 1982. When first discovered it was thought that they were just another colour variety of Chilatherina fasciata. However, in 1985 they were described by Gerald R. Allen as a new species and named in honour of well-known fish collector, Heiko Bleher. Chilatherina bleheri were first imported into Australia as eggs in 1984.
© Copyright Adrian R. Tappin
Updated January, 2007.
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