English Deutsch Français Italiano Español Português 繁體中文 Bahasa Indonesia Tiếng Việt ภาษาไทย
All categories

My boyfriend was in a pet store and they had a new animal, a supposed miniature fresh water dolphin. It apparently grows up to 24 inches and they insisted it was actually a dolphin. I cannot find any information about such a species and am thinking that it is probably just a fish that looks like a dolphin (i.e. rainbow sharks are actually a cat fish), I would love to know more about it, if anyone has any information. It would seem to me that if it were an actual dolphin, it would be cruel to be selling them as pets, never mind illegal.

2006-08-11 06:29:04 · 7 answers · asked by allyalexmch 6 in Pets Fish

7 answers

Here's an easy way to tell the difference... marine mammals of all kinds have horizontal tails (spreading out from side to side) and they swim by bending their spines up and down.

Fish have vertical tails (spreading up and down) and swim by bending their spines side to side.

All that said, I really doubt it was a "miniature fresh water dolphin." I'd bet it was an elephant nose fish. As you can see here, they're sometimes called dolphins.
http://www.fishinthe.net/html/fishguide/fishguide_fish.php?FC=90&nl=17&nt=3

See another photo:
http://www.photovault.com/Link/Animals/Aquatic/bFreshwaterFish/show.asp?tg=AABVolume01/AABV01P05_04.2563

2006-08-11 07:04:32 · answer #1 · answered by pixelscapes 3 · 0 0

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Miniature Fresh Water Dolphins?
My boyfriend was in a pet store and they had a new animal, a supposed miniature fresh water dolphin. It apparently grows up to 24 inches and they insisted it was actually a dolphin. I cannot find any information about such a species and am thinking that it is probably just a fish that looks like...

2015-08-19 16:58:31 · answer #2 · answered by Noemi 1 · 0 0

There is an African cichlid called a "blue dolphin" (its' actual name is haplochromis moorii) because it gets a large hump on its' forehead and its' mouth extends out farther than most other fish. It is also a very pretty blue. The only problem is that they do get large ( at least 14" ) and are kind of nasty with fish other than their own kind. They are not actual "fresh water dolphins."

Take everything you hear from people in pet stores with a grain of salt. Most of the people who work there are not well versed in aquatic species, let alone the care and feeding of them. If in doubt, ask the store manager or go a google search for the name of the creature (if they know it...).

2006-08-11 07:04:39 · answer #3 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 0 0

There are 2 kinds of dolphins. One is actually a fish and not a mammal. I would like to see a picture of what you're talking about.

2006-08-11 06:36:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Saltwater dolphins can tolerate for a while but cant live there, there is a certain species of dolphin though that do live in fresh water rivers

2016-03-22 18:11:07 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

Mahi Mahi fish are also called Dolphins. They are not the porpoise/mamal animals you see at Seawold or on "Flipper". See here:

http://www.ocean.udel.edu/mas/seafood/mahi.html

2006-08-11 06:37:17 · answer #6 · answered by j_teague68 4 · 0 0

I don't know what it is but it sounds illegal.You should go and see the animal then look it up on google!

2006-08-11 06:38:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

there fish!There just saying that to get to you buy them!

2006-08-11 14:26:53 · answer #8 · answered by Whispering.Cranes 2 · 0 0

fedest.com, questions and answers