Danio albolineatus

Danio albolineatus. Blyth 1860.

Danio 'tweediei' Brittan 1956

Danio albolineatus Blyth 1860
Common Name:		Pearl Danio
Scientific Name:		Danio albolineatus
Origin:		Found over most of S.E.Asia.
Size:		55mm (2¼ inches). S.L.
Comments:		Another of the "standard" Danios. Has lovely "mother of pearl" colour in natural daylight. A semi albino "gold" variety is also available and is common in captivity. There have been a number of species which have been deemed to be synonyms of D. albolineatus. These were generally colour morphs. Dr Martin Brittan in his paper of 1955, described a species and named it after Mr M.W.F. Tweedie, Director of the Raffles Museum & Library in Singapore. This was Danio (Brachydanio) tweediei. Subsequently, it was deemed to be a synonym of D. albolineatus. Recently, in a tank in a local fish shop, there were a number of different coloured D. albolineatus. These were purchased by Paul Rowntree who has since successfully bred them. Reference to Dr Brittan's paper indicates that they are probably the previously named Danio tweediei. Paul has been in contact with Dr Gerhard Ott in Germany. He and Dirk Dettmers caught D. tweediei in Sumatra in 2003 and have successfully bred them in an garden pool each year. They are of course housed inside during the winter months. Dr. Rainer Hoyer from Leipzig, Germany has a F2 fry from Gerhard's F1. Preserved samples will be sent to Dr Fang Kullander for her examination. The difference in colour vis-a-vis albolineatus and tweediei is quite noticeable. It is of course recognised that colour alone does not make a new species!