work of Ohee (2016)
documents in detail the
potential effects of palm oil
plantations on the environ-
ment and the fish diversity
in the area.
All the fishes from the
main rivers and their trib-
utaries belong to a fasci-
nating group of species. In
addition to the hardyhead
Craterocephalus nouhuy-
si and the rainbowfishes
Melanotaenia goldiei, M.
rubrostriata, and M. ogilbyi,
the blue-eyes are particular-
ly interesting to aquarists.
The hardyheads and the
larger M. goldiei and M.
rubrostriata mainly live
in clearwater streams and
rivers; the rarer M. ogilbyi is
found only in black water,
both in small rivers in the
rainforest and in forest swamps.
Different blue-eyes also inhabit different biotopes. The purely surface-oriented Transparent
Blue-Eye, Pseudomugil pellucidus, and the New Guinea Blue-Eye, P. novaeguineae, are usually
found in fast-flowing clearwater biotopes, hanging headfirst in the current in small groups ofAMAZONAS
The Kali Kopi near Timika looks like a blackwater creek.
The water values, however, are moderate—more in
keeping with the clearwater streams of the region.Pseudomugil pellucidus “Timika”
is a typical inhabitant of the edges
of clearwater rivers.A male Pseudomugil pellucidus
“Mimika” with the typical red
coloring in the fins.TOP & BOTTOM: H.-G. EVERS; MIDDLE: F. WANG