Phoxinellus dalmaticus

This scaleless minnow is endemic to a short section of the Cikola, a tributary of the Croatian Krka River. My stock is the third generation in captivity; the original individuals had lived for eight years. They inhabit a large tank with a small Phragmites reed. This species matures with three years and spawns several times between May and September usually close to the surface in algae or roots. They prey little on their larvae but much on their eggs. The original broodstock were 12 individuals which was increased to 25 fishes. From this stock, I could never raise more then 60 larvae in a season. While more intensive breeding methods would lead to a much more productive reproduction, the broodstock could be kept stable for many years and juveniles had been given to several enthusiasts. In 2010, most adults got infected by trematodes from wild caught freshwater snails and spent the rest of their time with many black spots. Obviously, this scaleless species is especially vulnerable to trematode infections as other fishes in the tank were not affected. In 2012, most of the broodstock has been lost due to an Ichtyophtirius infection. Such problems are difficult to be diagnosed early enough in the outdoor tanks. Based on surviving five juveniles, the broodstock is actually rebuilt. These five fishes spawned the first time in May 2014 and I raised about 50 juveniles which are doing very well. While my broodstock was reasonable large at the beginning, it went through a serious bottleneck in 2014. Meanwhile, the new generation has build up a new broodstock of about 15 individuals.

The breeding tank for my Phoxinellus