Order Characiformes
Family Lebiasinidae
Subfamily Pyrrhulininae
Genus Copella
Continued…
— Red-bellied Copella — Copella compta [Myers, 1927]. Synonym: Copeina compta. Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, upper Rio Negro basin, Orinoco. 5 cm. Beige back, raspberry-red belly, wide dark stripe along the middle line of the body. Slender body covered with large scales, each with a dark spot, creating a reticulated pattern. All fins are larger in males. Females are smaller and paler. Peaceful, but fight among themselves. Do not like the company of active and aggressive fishes; keep in a school with calm fishes.
Do not keep with surface-dwelling fishes. Floating plants, dense vegetation with semi-shaded areas and free swimming space are needed. They live near the water surface. Distance to the cover glass 3-8 cm. Do not like strong water circulation. A beautiful copper color is shown only in soft, slightly acidic water. At dH above 15°, they lose their shine. Without insects in their diet, they feel poorly and do not live long. Males are prone to territorial fights; during spawning, they chase away and drive off all fishes near the eggs. Eggs are spawned on the surface of broad-leaved aquarium plants. pH 5.5-7.0; dH up to 12°; T 23-27°C.
— Copella eigenmanni — Copella eigenmanni [Regan, 1912]. Synonym: Copeina eigenmanni. South America: Atlantic coast between Pará, Brazil, and the mouth of the Orinoco River. This is perhaps the most beautiful representative of its genus. A dark, narrow stripe runs across the snout through the lips, eyes, and gill covers, without extending to the rest of the body. The male differs from the female by longer and more pointed fins, with a glowing mark on the dorsal fin appearing even before the fins elongate.
— Copella meinkeni — Copella meinkeni [Zarske & Gery 2006]. Brazil, Venezuela. 5 cm. Characterized by the following features: • absence of the dark and light body stripes found in C. nattereri; • presence of five to six rows of red spots on the flanks and absence of a spot on the dorsal fin. Copella spec. aff. meinkeni externally differs from the previous species in that its lateral spots are dark or red-brown, and there is a triangular spot on the dorsal fin. The belly has even contours.
The main body coloration is gray-blue. The back is darker, the belly is light. There are 5-6 rows of red dots along the sides of the body, with the dots surrounded by a black border in the middle of the body. The dorsal fin has a dark spot bordered below by a red stripe. The fins are colorless. In males, all fins are larger, pointed, with small black spots visible on the tips of the tail, and its upper lobe is longer than the lower.
Very peaceful, keep in a school of 6 or more individuals. In a group, their coloration and behavior are much better. They spend most of their time in the upper zones of the aquarium, so long-stemmed and floating plants are needed. Water is preferably acidic and soft. They accept floating dry foods, as well as bloodworms, Daphnia, etc. pH 4.0-6.5; T 23-27°C.
— Copella metae — Copella metae [Eigenmann, 1914]. Synonym: Pyrrhulina, Copeina metae. Meta River and rivers of the Peruvian part of Amazonia. 4 cm. Graceful, spindle-shaped elongated body slightly widens in the middle. Characterized by a dark longitudinal zigzag located on the side of the body. Use soft water with a hardness below 6° for keeping. Plants with broad leaves are needed for spawning. pH 5.8-7.5; T 23-27°C.
— Plain Nattereri — Copella nattereri [Steindachner, 1876]. Synonym: Pyrrhulina nattereri, Copella callolepis. (Eng. Plain Nattereri, Spotted Tetra). Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana, in the Negro rivers, the lower Amazon basin, and the upper Orinoco. Male 5 cm, female 4 cm. Cylindrical elongated body slightly compressed laterally. Adipose fin absent.
Characterized by the following features: • a dark long stripe from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal fin; • a dull or silvery stripe located above the dark one; • about three rows of red spots on the flanks and a dark, usually triangular spot at the base of the anterior dorsal fin rays.
It has a light bronze coloration with a lilac hue and large scales with black spots rimmed with red, creating a reticulated pattern. The body is dotted with round spots running in five rows from the head to the end of the caudal peduncle, forming horizontal lines. The head has no black spots, but features a less noticeable brown stripe starting near the mouth and ending after crossing the eye.
The fins are almost transparent, faintly tinted with a straw-yellow shade. However, the first rays of the dorsal fin are reddish at the base and intensely black in the middle. In some individuals, the caudal fin may show a reddish color at the base under certain conditions.
The male can be distinguished from the female by its long, pointed dorsal fin with a large black spot. In addition, the caudal fin may show a slight reddish color at the base in certain situations. In the female, the dorsal fin is smaller and decorated with several small spots.
Peaceful, but males are prone to territorial fights. Do not like the company of active and aggressive fishes. Keep in a school of 6 or more individuals; if kept alone, they join similar fishes. They do not like bright light. They live near the water surface; floating plants, dense vegetation with semi-shaded areas, and free swimming space are needed.
An aquarium with a cover glass, as they are excellent jumpers. Distance to the cover glass 3-8 cm. Highly sensitive to unstable chemical and physical water parameters, so it is advisable to introduce them into biologically mature aquariums. Eggs are laid on broad-leaved aquarium plants. Omnivorous, accepting almost any fish food. Feel poorly without insects in their diet. Mature after 3 months at a length of 4 cm. pH 5.5-7.0; dH up to 12°; T 23-27°C.
Identification: Plain Nattereri — Copella nattereri.
— Copella nigrofasciata — Copella nigrofasciata [Meinken, 1952]. Synonym: Pyrrhulina nigrofasciata. South America, Peru, upper Amazon basin, Ucayali River. 5 cm. Copella nigrofasciata is very close to C. nattereri and differs from it by the presence of five or six dotted rows of spots on the flanks. Throat and belly are white, back is dark olive. A black longitudinal stripe with uneven jagged edges, accompanied by a silvery-blue ribbon, runs from the mouth through the eyes and gills to the tail.
In males, the fins are enlarged, yellowish, or orange. Caudal lobes are reddish. There is a small black triangle on the dorsal fin. The aquarium should be well lit and planted with dense vegetation. In soft, slightly acidic water, the fishes feel especially comfortable. pH 6.0-7.0; dH up to 10°; T 21-25°C.
— Rainbow Copella — Copella vilmae [Gery, 1963]. (Eng. Rainbow Copella). Upper Amazon, Brazil. Male up to 5 cm, females no more than 4 cm. Eggs are laid on the surface of broad-leaved aquarium plants. Fishes are omnivorous, eat moderately, not greedily, and do not overeat. Unfortunately, they are very rare in trade. pH 4.5-5.2; T 23-25°C.
Pyrrhulina brevis, beni, eleanorae, filamentosa, laeta.
Genus Derhamia, Genus Lebiasina, Genus Piabucina. 
