Blackline penguinfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Blackline penguinfish |
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The Blackline penguinfish (scientific name: Thayeria boehlkei) is a cool fish. It lives in the Amazon river basin and the Araguaia river in South America. You can find them in countries like Peru and Brazil.
Many people who love aquariums keep these fish as pets. They are known by several fun names. These include blackline penguinfish, hockey-stick tetra, and penguin fish.
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Why is it Called Thayeria Boehlkei?
This fish got its scientific name, Thayeria boehlkei, to honor a person named James E. Böhlke. He was a scientist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Mr. Böhlke was very interested in fish from South America. He also helped us learn a lot about them.
Where Do Blackline Penguinfish Live?
The Thayeria fish live in small streams. They also hang out near the edges of smaller rivers. These places are in the lowlands of the Amazon basin. This area is home to many different kinds of fish.
What Do Blackline Penguinfish Eat?
These fish enjoy eating small things. Their diet includes worms and tiny insects. They also like small crustaceans. If you keep them in an aquarium, they will eat flake food too.
How Do Blackline Penguinfish Reproduce?
In an aquarium, these fish usually swim in groups. But when it's time to have babies, they form pairs. The female fish lays many sticky eggs among plants. She can lay up to 1000 eggs! The tiny fish inside the eggs are black.
The eggs hatch in about 20 hours. The baby fish can swim freely after about 4 days.
Keeping Blackline Penguinfish as Pets
If you want to keep these fish, it's best to have them in groups. This allows them to swim together, which they love to do. They are good for a tropical freshwater community aquarium. This means they can live with other peaceful fish that won't try to eat them.
These fish can handle different water conditions. But if you want them to breed, they prefer slightly acidic water.
See also
In Spanish: Thayeria boehlkei para niños
- Tetra
- List of freshwater aquarium fish species
