Blue Notobranch

Males display to attract ripe females, pair off and spawn, grasping the female by folding over the large dorsal and anal fins; spawning occurs daily for an extended period; few eggs are laid at a time; eggs are laid in the bottom sediments and development is suspended when the waterbodies dry out; eggs can endure dessication; eggs hatch the following rainy season when the pan fills, fish growing to maturity in a few weeks; males grow larger than females and are brightly colored; usually complete their life within a year (Ref. 30558).

Ref. 30558 reports that the species occurs in seasonal (temporary) pools, swamps, ditches (rain pans) and small streams usually without connection to the river courses; adults die when waterbodies dry out; aggressive predators on insects and other aquatic invertebrates; popular aquarium species; used for mosquito larvae control; males display to attract ripe females, pair off and spawn, grasping the female by folding over the large dorsal and anal fins; spawning occurs daily for an extended period; few eggs are laid at a time; eggs are laid in the bottom sediments and development is suspended when the waterbodies dry out; eggs can endure dessication; eggs hatch the following rainy season when the pan fills, fish growing to maturity in a few weeks; males grow larger than females and are brightly colored; usually complete their life within a year.

It occurs in temporary pools, swamps and ditches or rain pans, usually without connection to river courses (Ref. 30558). The adults die when waterbodies dry out with low rainfall (Ref. 30558). Males display to attract ripe females, pair off and spawn, grasping the female by folding over the large dorsal and anal fins (Ref. 30558). Spawning occurs daily for an extended period with a few eggs laid at a time (Ref. 30558). It is a bottom spawner (Ref. 27139, Ref. 30558) and development is suspended when the water bodies dry out (Ref. 30558). The eggs hatch the following rainy season when the pan fills, the fish growing to maturity in a few weeks (Ref. 30558). It are aggressive predators on insects and other aquatic invertebrates (Ref. 30558); therefore it is used for mosquito larva control (Ref. 30558). It is easy to maintain in the aquarium (Ref. 27139) and thus a popular aquarium fish (Ref. 30558).

aquarium: commercial