Western pygmy perch

Western pygmy perch
Male, showing breeding colors
Female, showing breeding colors
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Percichthyidae
Genus:	Nannoperca
Species:	N. vittata
Binomial name
Nannoperca vittata

Western pygmy perch (Nannoperca vittata, previously known as Edelia vittata), is an Australian fish. After four years, they may reach 65 mm long.

Reproduction

Pygmy perch are egg layers. They produce eggs singly, laying twelve to fifteen over a period of up to three hours.

During the breeding season (July to November) both sexes become notably more colorful. Most of the male’s fins (except for the pectoral) become black, and its sides have an orange tinge on the lower and upper body. The upper portions of the female’s sides become bluish.

The eggs measure around 1.2 mm and are slightly adhesive, which allows them to cling to submerged plants, rocks or debris. Spawning usually occurs in the latter part of the morning.

Hatching occurs after around three days from laying. The 3mm larvae look quite different from juveniles of the species and have no mouth for several days, but are recognizably perch-like after around twenty-seven to thirty days.

Western Pygmy Perch Larva

Environment

Predominantly lakes, streams and swamps, and can withstand a degree of brackishness. They have a preference for living amongst vegetation in the shallows around the water perimeter. Acclimatize readily to a range of water temperatures from almost 0° to 35°C.

Distribution

Indigenous to the lower Southwest of Western Australia.

Diet

Mainly carnivorous, eating various diptera larvae, including mosquitos, ostracods and copepods, and also small quantities of algae, and are adept at taking mosquitoes from the surface of the water.

Uses

Pygmy Perch may be safely kept in an aquarium along with tropical fish.

They are considered safe with tadpoles and so are used in frog ponds to control mosquito larvae.