Taxonomy & naming
Lebiasina floridablancaensis was described by Colombian ichthyologist Ardila Rodríguez in 1994, with the type locality in the drainage associated with the Floridablanca region of the Cauca River system in Colombia. The specific epithet is a toponym derived directly from that locality. The valid name is governed by Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (CAS), which lists the authority as Ardila Rodríguez, 1994.
The genus Lebiasina belongs to the family Lebiasinidae, a Neotropical family that includes the pencilfish (Nannostomus), the piraputanga relatives, and several small stream-dwelling genera. Lebiasina itself comprises small, slender fishes inhabiting the blackwater and clearwater streams of Andean foothills and lowland Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru. L. floridablancaensis is one of the lesser-studied species in the genus, and detailed taxonomic revisions of the wider Lebiasina group remain incomplete; its placement and relationships within the genus await fuller phylogenetic treatment.
Morphology
Lebiasina floridablancaensis is a small fish, reaching approximately 1.5 in standard length. Like other members of the genus, it is slender and elongate, with a rounded snout, a terminal to slightly upturned mouth suited to surface and mid-water feeding, and a single dorsal fin set well back on the body. The caudal fin is forked or weakly forked, and the body is covered in small cycloid scales.
Detailed colour descriptions are not widely published in accessible English literature. Lebiasina species generally display a pale to yellowish or silvery body, often with a darker lateral stripe or series of spots along the midline, and fins that may be faintly tinted. Given the data-sparse nature of the English-language record for this species, a precise colour account must await examination of fresh material or the primary description.
Habitat
The species is associated with the streams and tributaries of the Cauca River system in the Colombian Andes, in the vicinity of the Floridablanca region. Lebiasinid fishes in Andean foothill and montane drainages of Colombia typically inhabit cool, clear to tea-coloured headwater streams with dense riparian and aquatic vegetation, leaf-litter substrates, and low to moderate current.
Water conditions in these peat-influenced Andean streams are characteristically soft and acidic: pH values of roughly 4.5–5.5 and temperatures in the range of approximately 68–75 °F are consistent with the habitat type. Conductivity is low. The streams are often shaded by gallery forest, with dappled light and considerable allochthonous input of leaves and organic matter. Data on precise depth, substrate type, and microhabitat preferences for L. floridablancaensis specifically are not available in published English sources.
Feeding
No detailed dietary study of Lebiasina floridablancaensis is available in accessible literature. Based on the ecology of the genus and family, it is most likely a micropredator and opportunistic feeder, taking small aquatic invertebrates — insect larvae, microcrustaceans, and small surface-drifting insects — as the primary prey, along with incidental plant and organic matter.
In the aquarium, Lebiasina species are typically reported to accept small live and frozen foods such as Daphnia, micro-worms, and newly hatched brine shrimp, as well as finely powdered dried foods. Given its small size, appropriately sized micro-foods are essential; larger prepared foods may be refused or incompletely consumed.
Mating
No specific observations of courtship behaviour in Lebiasina floridablancaensis are documented in accessible sources. Members of the broader Lebiasinidae family are generally egg-scattering open spawners: males pursue and display to females, and pairs scatter small, adhesive eggs among fine-leaved plants, submerged mosses, or leaf litter, after which no parental care is given.
Spawning is likely triggered or reinforced by soft, acidic water conditions and a slight temperature drop to mimic the seasonal rainfall patterns of the Andean foothills. Sexual dimorphism in lebiasinids is often subtle, with females appearing plumper when gravid.
Breeding
Captive breeding data for Lebiasina floridablancaensis are not available in hobby literature, and the species is essentially unknown in the aquarium trade. By analogy with other small Lebiasinidae in soft, acidic Andean streams, breeding in captivity would likely require the provision of very soft, acidic water (pH around 5.0–5.5), moderate temperatures in the low 20s Celsius, fine-leaved plants or Java moss as a spawning substrate, and separation of eggs from the adults immediately after spawning to prevent predation.
Eggs in related species are small and adhesive, hatching within a few days at typical breeding temperatures. Fry are tiny at hatching and require infusoria or commercial liquid fry food as a first food, advancing to newly hatched brine shrimp nauplii as they grow. Given how rarely the species is encountered in the hobby, documented captive breeding remains to be reported.
In the aquarium
Lebiasina floridablancaensis is essentially absent from the commercial aquarium trade and is not a species the average hobbyist is likely to encounter. Should specimens become available — through specialist collectors or ichthyological fieldwork — its maintenance requirements would follow those of the genus and of small soft-water Lebiasinidae generally: a well-planted aquarium with soft, acidic, slightly tannin-stained water, subdued lighting, a dark substrate to bring out the fish's natural colours, and a diet of small live and frozen foods.
Given its maximum size of around 1.5 in SL, suitable tankmates would be other small, peaceful soft-water species. A group of at least six to eight individuals is preferable to highlight the social behaviour typical of small schooling Neotropical fish. Sudden changes in water chemistry, particularly shifts to harder or more alkaline water, should be avoided. Because so little is published in English about this species, keepers who succeed in obtaining and maintaining it are in a position to contribute meaningfully to its husbandry record.
Conservation
Lebiasina floridablancaensis has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, and its conservation status is formally Not Evaluated. Its native range in the Cauca River tributaries of Colombia places it within a region subject to ongoing habitat pressures including deforestation, agricultural run-off, water extraction, and stream channelisation associated with urbanisation near Colombian Andean cities.
Small-bodied, range-restricted stream fishes of the Colombian Andes are disproportionately vulnerable to these pressures, and several congeners and family relatives with similarly narrow distributions are considered threatened or data-deficient. The rarity of L. floridablancaensis in collections and the absence of formal population data mean that a precautionary approach to its conservation is warranted, though no specific protection measures are known to be in place for this species. Formal assessment against IUCN criteria would be a necessary first step toward identifying its actual status.