Chocolate Whiptail

The chocolate whiptail differs from the common whiptail (R. parva) in the dark bands on its brown body and its distinctly dark dorsal fin. It lives over a wide area, above all in the Amazon basin, so the temperature requirements of fish of different origins can vary somewhat.

Adults reach 10–12 cm. It is a calm, easy-to-keep species that breeds readily in the aquarium; it hybridizes easily with the red lizard whiptail (L010a). The male guards the eggs laid inside the tube until the fry hatch.

• 60 liters for a pair or a small group.
• Soft sand, roots and tubes 2–3 cm in diameter for breeding.
• 24–27°C, clean and well-oxygenated water; gentle flow.

Omnivorous. Sinking tablets and granules, frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia, and blanched vegetables can be given in rotation.

Calm and peaceful; it can lie motionless on the sand for hours. It does not harm other fish, shrimp or plants.

Good companions: Small tetras, rasboras, corydoras, otocinclus, dwarf cichlids, shrimp.

Avoid: Cichlids that claim the bottom, greedy and fast bottom dwellers, fin-nipping fish.