Apollo shark minnow

Luciosoma setigerum

Also known as Apollo shark, Long-finned Apollo shark

FreshwaterFish

Apollo shark minnow (Luciosoma setigerum) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 11.8 in (30 cm)
Minimum tank: 106 gal (400 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Top
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra
Family: Danionidae

Overview

The Apollo shark minnow is a large, fast surface fish, so plan on a big tank of at least 400 liters with two meters of open length and a tight lid, since it patrols the top and leaps. Keep a small group of five or more; in larger groups the pecking order settles and no single fish is picked on. It is peaceful toward tankmates too big to swallow, but anything small enough to fit its mouth is treated as food, so pair it only with robust, similar-sized companions. Feed floating pellets and meaty frozen foods, and it will also snap at insects at the surface.

In the wild

This fish cruises the surface of large rivers across the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, and Sumatra, in clear to slightly tannin-stained water with steady current. Give it a long, open tank with strong flow, a dark substrate, and floating plants or overhanging cover it can shelter beneath. Hold the water at 22 to 27 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.

Good to know

Luciosoma setigerum is a slender, pike-shaped predator in the danio family, Danionidae, reaching around 25 to 30 centimeters. Valenciennes described it in 1842; the name setigerum means bristle-bearing and refers to the long, trailing filament on each pelvic fin that gives the fish its long-finned look. It is a surface hunter of insects and small fish, and its breeding is unrecorded in aquaria.

Did you know

The trailing filaments on its pelvic fins are the bristles its name describes, and they stream behind the fish like pennants as it holds station in the current just under the surface.

Tank mates

Apollo shark minnow is a mostly peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the top. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.