Eeeek! I might be getting some Psuedomugils luminatus!

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Anyone here ever kept these beauties?

Have an advert out to sell some pygmy and bronze cory youngsters, and someone I've traded plants with before is interested in a trade, and has some of these! Might be getting some eggs to try to hatch, or some adults/youngsters. I'm both excited and terrified! From a brief search it looks like it might work to have eggs in a fine net breeder box in my pygmy tank, or the older ones with the pygmies, but I'm also reading up in case it would be better to set up another tank for them. I have spare small tanks. I've been thinking I'd like psuedos of some kind in the future, given my water being harder but also liking nano fish, and these are really, really stunning! And not easy to get hold of.
@Colin_T @Stan510 @Wills @Byron

 

[Slaphppy7]

Anyone here ever kept these beauties?
View attachment 163296

Have an advert out to sell some pygmy and bronze cory youngsters, and someone I've traded plants with before is interested in a trade, and has some of these! Might be getting some eggs to try to hatch, or some adults/youngsters. I'm both excited and terrified! From a brief search it looks like it might work to have eggs in a fine net breeder box in my pygmy tank, or the older ones with the pygmies, but I'm also reading up in case it would be better to set up another tank for them. I have spare small tanks. I've been thinking I'd like psuedos of some kind in the future, given my water being harder but also liking nano fish, and these are really, really stunning! And not easy to get hold of.

Beautiful fish, but don't they only live a year or two? May be wrong about that...

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Beautiful fish, but don't they only live a year or two? May be wrong about that...

Yep, only 1-2 years apparently, which is sad. But this guy is saying they're pretty prolific spawners, as you'd imagine

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yep, only 1-2 years apparently, which is sad. But this guy is saying they're pretty prolific spawners, as you'd imagine

They are "annuals", is that correct?

If you can get them to breed, though, that would be wonderful

 

[Colin_T]

I have kept their cousins (Pseudomugil gertrudae). They are all pretty easy to keep. Set up a 2 foot (18 inch minimum) tank for them and get young fish or as many eggs as you can get. Hatch them and grow them up. Breed them asap and get as many going as possible because they are short lived (2-3 yrs is good) but most breeding is done in the first year of life.

They won't show full colour like that unless they are mature males showing off.

The following link has them, just scroll down the page to find them.

Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae

A website dedicated to Rainbowfishes of Australia and New Guinea

rainbowfish.angfaqld.org.au

 

[GaryE]

luminatus are easy to breed. Big eggs for their size, good development, decent growth. Buy 2 and make a few dozen.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

luminatus are easy to breed. Big eggs for their size, good development, decent growth. Buy 2 and make a few dozen.

He's trading me these in exchange for a group of my pygmy corydoras that I have colony breeding like mad So it's a win for us both!

He said he's having a hard time sexing them for sure until the males mature, since the young males often look like females? So it looks like he's going to be giving me a trio of a definite male and two that look like females, but might turn out to be young males, and some eggs laid in moss.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Eeeekk! I'm super over-excited about this! Almost never saw any of the smaller rainbowfish in my LFS when it was open, only dwarf neon blues once, and threadfins once. These are absolutely gorgeous, even the females are super pretty. Nervous about trying to hatch eggs and raise these fry since it would be a first for me, but ready to give it a shot! Celebrate with me please!! lol

 

[GaryE]

Once you get them set up, I can run you through how I did them. I lost my group in the period before my move when we were selling the house, but they were easy to breed and as pretty as the pictures.

 

[Rocky998]

AWESOME!! I've always loved the species like threadfins!
Hopefully you can get a nice group going

Update us!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Once you get them set up, I can run you through how I did them. I lost my group in the period before my move when we were selling the house, but they were easy to breed and as pretty as the pictures.

I really appreciate that, thank you! I'm sorry you lost yours, it's always tough to move, let alone with as many fish as I'm sure you had! These things happen.
I'll try to grab a photo of the tank I have in mind later, I was thinking of putting the trio with my pygmy cories? Heavily planted 15g long established. Then the moss with eggs in a net breeder box that I've adapted by removing the net it came with, and stretching the foot of a pair of ladies (nude, no dyes) tights over it, so the holes are tiny. I've reared cory eggs and fry in a net breeder that way before. That way the eggs and fry be in and sharing water with the parent tank.

This guy says they don't like a ton of flow, so doesn't suggest using the Fluval HOB breeder box I have. The tank currently has a double sponge filter and a HOB on it, but I could remove the HOB without problems I think. Do you think they'd be okay with pygmy cories? I could set up a different 15g if not.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

AWESOME!! I've always loved the species like threadfins!
Hopefully you can get a nice group going

Update us!

Thank you! I'm so excited. I will bore you all with updates and photos once I have them, I promise! lol

 

[Colin_T]

You are unlikely to find the fish in shops so try to get at least 6 off him, even if it means giving him a couple more cories.

They usually lay eggs in the substrate but will use plants like Java Moss.

The babies eat infusoria, green water and commercial fry food for egg layers (fine green powder). After a few days to a week on fry foods you can offer newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms.

 

[connorlindeman]

The title makes it sound like you may be getting a terrible disease lol

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

You are unlikely to find the fish in shops so try to get at least 6 off him, even if it means giving him a couple more cories.

They usually lay eggs in the substrate but will use plants like Java Moss.

The babies eat infusoria, green water and commercial fry food for egg layers (fine green powder). After a few days to a week on fry foods you can offer newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms.

He's pretty new to it himself, so he doesn't have enough to give me six, but I'm hoping with the four he now says he'll give me and the eggs, I'll be able to get a decent shoal going! I'm happy to give him as many pygmies as he'd like really, since I need to reduce the stock, and he's clearly a good aquarist. We're staying in touch so always possible I'll be able to get more from him later. He's also trying to get his moina culture going again, and will give me a starter culture of them if he can - so now I'll be reading your "culturing live foods" thread again! I'm not sure why, but I'm really intimidated about culturing BBS, but I do have microworm cultures.

Looks like I'll be getting them on Friday... eeeekkk!! Researching like a mad thing here.