Western Pygmy Perch
Encyclopedia
Western pygmy perch (Nannoperca vittata, previously known as Edelia vittata), is am Australia
n fish
. After four years, they may reach 65 mm long.
During the breeding season (July to November) both sexes become notably more colorful. Most of the male’s fins (except for the pectoral) become black, and its sides have an orange tinge on the lower and upper body. The upper portions of the female’s sides become bluish.
The eggs measure around 1.2 mm and are slightly adhesive, which allows them to cling to submerged plants, rocks or debris. Spawning usually occurs in the latter part of the morning.
Hatching occurs after around three days from laying. The 3mm larvae look quite different from juveniles of the species and have no mouth for several days, but are recognizably perch-like after around twenty-seven to thirty days.
Western Pygmy Perch Larva
Acclimatize readily to a range of water temperatures from almost 0° to 35°C.
larvae, including mosquitos, ostracods and copepods, and also small quantities of algae
, and are adept at taking mosquitoes from the surface of the water.
They are considered safe with tadpoles and so are used in frog ponds to control mosquito larvae.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. After four years, they may reach 65 mm long.
Reproduction
Pygmy perch are egg layers. They produce eggs singly, laying twelve to fifteen over a period of up to three hours.During the breeding season (July to November) both sexes become notably more colorful. Most of the male’s fins (except for the pectoral) become black, and its sides have an orange tinge on the lower and upper body. The upper portions of the female’s sides become bluish.
The eggs measure around 1.2 mm and are slightly adhesive, which allows them to cling to submerged plants, rocks or debris. Spawning usually occurs in the latter part of the morning.
Hatching occurs after around three days from laying. The 3mm larvae look quite different from juveniles of the species and have no mouth for several days, but are recognizably perch-like after around twenty-seven to thirty days.
Western Pygmy Perch Larva
Environment
Predominantly lakes, streams and swamps, and can withstand a degree of brackishness. They have a preference for living amongst vegetation in the shallows around the water perimeter.Acclimatize readily to a range of water temperatures from almost 0° to 35°C.
Distribution
Indigenous to the lower Southwest of Western Australia.Diet
Mainly carnivorous, eating various dipteraDiptera
Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...
larvae, including mosquitos, ostracods and copepods, and also small quantities of algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
, and are adept at taking mosquitoes from the surface of the water.
Uses
Pygmy Perch may be safely kept in an aquarium along with tropical fish.They are considered safe with tadpoles and so are used in frog ponds to control mosquito larvae.