Red line halfbeak

Hemirhamphodon phaiosoma

Also known as Phaiosoma halfbeak

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 4.5–6.5
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 14 gal (54 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Top
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Sundaland peat swamps
Family: Zenarchopteridae

Overview

A quiet, slender surface halfbeak that holds near the top of a dim, soft-water tank. Keep it as a small group with more females than males, as males display and spar with one another along the surface. It is peaceful and pairs well with calm, lower-dwelling tankmates that leave the top of the water clear, with nothing large or boisterous to crowd it. Feed small floating and surface foods: mosquito larvae, fruit flies, small live and frozen insects, daphnia and fine floating dried foods. It wants soft, acidic, tea-dark water and stillness, so give it a planted, well-covered tank of around 54 liters with gentle flow.

In the wild

The red line halfbeak ranges across the Sunda region, on Bangka and Belitung, western Sumatra and Borneo, living at the surface of soft, acidic, tannin-stained peat waters. Match that with warm water, about 23 to 27 C, and soft, acidic conditions around pH 4.5 to 6.5. Use driftwood, leaf litter, floating plants and dim light for a blackwater surface, and keep the flow gentle and the lid tight, since it will jump.

Good to know

Hemirhamphodon phaiosoma is a halfbeak of the family Zenarchopteridae, reaching about 6 centimeters, with a slim, shaded body and a red or orange tip to the lower beak. It is a surface insectivore that bears live young, and breeding is of moderate difficulty. It is one of several closely similar Bornean and Sundaic halfbeaks that keepers can find hard to tell apart.

Did you know

Its species name phaiosoma means dusky body, describing its plain, shaded flanks, yet the trade sells it as the red line halfbeak, so the scientific name and the shop name pull in opposite directions.