Hemirhamphodon Pogonognathus

[nmonks]

Hello halfbeak fans!

A trip to Wildwoods in Enfield not only furnished me with a couple more Dermogenys sumatrana, but also my very first Hemirhamphodon pogonognathus. If you've never seen these before, they're like regular halfbeaks, only more so -- the beak is almost as long as the body!

I've never seen these for sale before, and this one specimen, a female about 3 cm long, was included in with the Dermogenys. As far as the retailer was concerned, it was just a regular Dermogenys with an unusually long beak. As I've said before, when it comes to halfbeaks, the retailers make no effort to separate out species, and couldn't care less what's bundled together in the tank.

Anyway, some pictures below. So far, she's settled in well enough and ate at least one bloodworm (always a good sign). Fingers crossed!

She was the only specimen of the species there, sadly. Probably have to wait another year just to find a male!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Fella]

Incredible!

It looks fantastic. What sort of maximum size will it attain? And is it's behaviour similar to that of other halfbeaks?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Oooo, that is one amazing looking fish! I do hope you can find her a mate, the world needs more of these!

 

[nmonks]

According to Baensch, the males of this species are bigger (9 cm) than the females (6 cm), which is the reverse of the situation with the other freshwater halfbeaks. In terms of behaviour, it seems to be identical to the other halfbeaks. I had to put her in a 10 gallon tank with the two tiny (2.5 cm) Dermogenys, and they're schooling together peacefully.

The first day or two are always the risky ones with halfbeaks; if they make the change to your aquarium, you're fine -- they just don't always make the change.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[diburning]

awesome!! I was looking for something like that in a halfbeak but I have found that most halfbeaks have short stubby beaks. This is indeed a rare find!

 

[nmonks]

And I'm pleased to say she seems quite easy to look after. Happily eats a little flake, frozen bloodworm, tiny catfish pellets, and live Daphnia. With the bloodworms, she seems to do best with them if I hand feed them (with forceps), otherwise the other fish get them first.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[guppymonkey]

WOW! Very nice looking halfbeak! I wish I had some shops that would carry some of the rarer livebearers! I can't even find most half beaks on the internet!

 

[diburning]

And I'm pleased to say she seems quite easy to look after. Happily eats a little flake, frozen bloodworm, tiny catfish pellets, and live Daphnia. With the bloodworms, she seems to do best with them if I hand feed them (with forceps), otherwise the other fish get them first.

Cheers,

Neale

Theres an invention of a disposable tool called toothpicks in the case that you lose your forceps

 

[0x0000ff]

Hey there

I believe I just got my hands on a few of these

I'll get some pics up soon.. one of them is a little different though.. slightly stockier and shorter body with some red markings on the dorsal fin and the beak is entirely red.


They're in their own tank right now, and have happily eaten flake, small pellets and live worms


pics up:




the red-ish one:




What do you think?

 

[nmonks]

Having problems seeing the pictures except for the first one. But that photo definitely is H. pogonognathus [female]. These are nice fish, but a bit delicate. They do best in soft water and are intolerant of bacterial infections, so keep the tank as clean as you can. Another useful thing to know is that they probably need some plant matter in their diet -- algae-rich flake ("livebearer food") is ideal. Anyway, good catch, and good luck with them!

Cheers,

Neale

 

[diburning]

I am having problems distingushing between halfbeaks and Xenentodon cancila. (the needlenose gar)

the finnage is similar, the needlenose gar does indeed have a half-beak... and they don't appear to have the "chain-mail" styled scales.

 

[nmonks]

The jaws of adult Xenentodon cancila should be of equal length, unless they've been damaged at some point. That is the key difference between halfbeaks and needlefish (which appear to have evolved from halfbeaks): halfbeaks have jaws of different length through their life, while needlefish start with a lower jaw longer than the upper, but then they equal out as the juveniles mature.

Beyond that, apart from size, the overall morphology of both groups is very similar.

By the way, the "red beaky" looks a lot like a male Dermogenys sp. to me.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[0x0000ff]

cheers for that Neale, it is similar to a Dermogenys - I wish I could get a better picture but that little guy is FAST.

The beak is a long and thin spine, like Hemirhamphodon. It lacks the 'flanges' to the sides like on Dermogenys.

The beak is still a very red colour, and the fish swims underneath the biggest Hemirhamphodon female in the parallel fashion seen in other species of halfbeak.

 

[QuotheRaven]

Congrats on a fabulous find there superb fish

 

[Annastasia]

Ah, this is the new one you were telling me about! She looks great.