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Etymology: Named in honour of Peters.

Synonyms:Mormyrus petersii, Gnathonemus pictus

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) Order: Family: Mormyridae

First European import: Belgium(?), 1950

Description: See picture.

Care: Difficult fish to keep. Peacefull towards other fish, but territorial towards it's own kind. Requires densely planted large tanks, with lot's of shade(floating plants, dark soil). Provide the fish with holes, and because of the delicate nose with sandy patches or rounded gravel. Actually the best substrate would be a peat layer. The fish are sensitive to pollution, regular waterchanges with pretreated water are necessary.

Temperature:22-28°C

Feeding: Omnivorous. Best fed with live foods, but flake is also accepted.

Size: Up to 23 cm.

pH: 6.0-7.0

Breeding:Has been bred in aquaria. There is an article on breeding these fish in "Het aquarium", a magazine of the National Dutch Aquarium Terrarium Organisation.

Sexual dimorphism:Unk

Prices:4-6€

Additional:

Picture references:Picture 1: E. Naus

References:Baensch, H. A., Riehl, R.(1982): Aquarien Atlas I. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany.(click on the link to buy this book)