Amniataba percoides
Banded Grunter
Species Summary
The second most widespread of Australia’s freshwater grunters, after the Spangled Perch, Amniataba percoides is also one of the smaller and more attractive members of the family, usually under 10 cm, with a yellowish body crossed by four or five vertical black bands of variable width.
Keeping & Caring
Like other grunters, Amniataba percoides does best given a well-decorated tank with rocks or driftwood arranged into a territory, since it will cruise the tank (and, given the chance, the surrounding room) searching for anything resembling food once settled in. Any aged domestic water supply suits it, with pH 6–8, hardness 10–400 ppm and temperatures 20–30 °C all tolerated provided changes are gradual; vigorous filtration and regular partial water changes matter more than exact water chemistry, given how much a fish this size eats. Most individuals become tame enough to hand-feed, taking commercial cichlid pellets, frozen mixes and live foods such as shrimp, earthworms and small fish with equal enthusiasm. A secure, heavy-duty cover glass is essential — grunters are excellent jumpers, and an escapee is as likely to end up in the tank next door, eating its neighbours, as on the floor.
Breeding
Spawning in the wild is a group affair, triggered by environmental cues such as temperature and rainfall rather than courtship between pairs, and has not been recorded under aquarium conditions for this species.
Compiled for Home of the Rainbowfish from ANGFA sources: B. Hansen, “Tune in and Turn on to Grunters”, Fishes of Sahul 14, 2000, pp. 663–666.