Pygmy Sweepers, gen.  – 07/17/09
Dear WetWebMedia Crew:
I saw a rather distinct school of fish at work (my work, not the fishes') the other day. They are apparently called "pygmy sweepers." After looking up the name on the Internet, I found they are also called "golden sweepers"
or "Parapriacanthus ransonneti." Unfortunately, I have not found any other information. Have you heard of them? Do they make good aquarium fish?
Much thanks,
Diane
<The Pygmy Sweeper is Parapriacanthus ransonneti. If all else fails, Fishbase usually comes up trumps! In this case, did a search for "Sweeper", and found the beastie, spelled Pigmy to be sure, but that's life. You'll
find info there re: size, diet, social behaviour.
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=5803
They aren't normally kept as aquarium fish; they're gregarious, nocturnal, feed mostly on zooplankton, and don't adapt well to small tanks despite their "pygmy" size. If you have a very large aquarium with big caves,
strong water current, and the ability to offer them suitably small foods, a school of at least 6, ideally 10 or more specimens might be worth a flutter. There's a little about them in the (big) Axelrod Marine Atlas.
Cheers, Neale>

Re: Pygmy Sweepers   7/18//09
Dear Neale:
Thank you very much for the quick reply. By the way, don't worry about the fish; they will live in a public aquarium's large, live coral exhibit, so they will have plenty of room and plankton.
Sincerely,
Diane
<Hi Diane. Glad to have helped; sounds as if these fish are going to a lovely home! Good luck with them. Cheers, Neale.>