Already in the year 1988 this Plesiolebias glaucopterus was described by Costa & Lacerda. At that time the genus was Cynolebias but later in 1990 Costa placed it in Plesiolebias, a new genus with Plesiolebias xavantei as type species.

The given name is referring to the blue color of the fins.

The original location is situated near Cáceres, a town in the state Mato Grosso. It was found in a lagoon not far from the Rio Paraguay. Coordinates: 57 28'W; 16 05'S.

Breeding all members of the Plesiolebias family is for experienced hobbyists only. The eggs need a long incubation period of sometimes 6 to 9 months and are very mall compared to the most other annual fishes. The young fry need absolute infusoria to eat in the fist weeks of their life. Growing to maturity is under good circumstances very quick and within 2 months Plesiolebias is able to reproduce already. This is my expirience but I am aware of other written articals that state this will be more. Slow growth could be triggered by insufficient food in the first weeks of their life.

Production of eggs is abundant but the outcome gives mostly not a good rate in gender and often males are 90 % or more in the offspring what makes it difficult to spread the fish otherwise than by sending eggs. As the members of the genus are also easely stressed it is not easy to send or transport these delicate fishes also.

For every hobbyist that has a special interest in this genus therefore it is a challenge to keep and reproduce them over a longer period of time.

Remarks :

The fry are very small and need to be fed with paramecium or other micro organisms. The use of a bunch of plants in the breeding container also will help the fry to feed for the first days. After one or two weeks fresh artemia can be eaten.

Max. size 3.0 cm.
Dorsal 9.0,
Anal 16.0,
D/A 5.5,
LL scale count (average)24.0
Pre- dorsal length to % SL – 65.7 %
Depth to % SL – 30.6 %

Costa, W.J.E.M. & M.T.C. Lacerda. 1988. Descriciao de uma Especie de Peixe annual do Genero Cynolebias do Brasil central (Cyprinodontiformes, Rivulidae). Revista Aquariophilia, 5: 16.

Costa W.J.E.M. 1990. Descricao de um Genero e duas Especies novas de Peixes anuais do centro da America do Sul. Comunicacies de Museu de Ciencias, Pontifica Univ. Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul, 2 (1989) (10): 193.

Costa, W.J.E.M. 2007. Taxonomy of the plesiolebiasine killifish genera Pituna, Plesiolebias and Maratecoara (teleostei: Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae), with descriptions of nine new species. Zootaxa 1410: 25-27, figs. 16-17.

Wildekamp, R.H. 2004. A World of Killies. Atlas of the Oviparous Cyprynodontiform Fishes of the World. Vol. 4. {Amer. Killifish Assoc. Publ.: 368pp, figs.} :