snowflake311
Fish nerd
Common Name: Flying Fox,
Scientific name:Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus
Family:Cyprinidae
Origin: southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia and the Greater Sunda Islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java
Maximum Size: 6"
life span: 8 years
Care: Tank size 40 Gal or larger is better
Temp : 72-78F = 22-26 C
PH: 6.0-7.5
They like a sandy bottom lots of cover and hide outs. Plants are much appreciated. When they want to they will do a great job at cleaning them. But I find the flying fox to be a lazy algae eater much more of a scavenger. These fish are fast and come from rivers.
Feeding: They like a meaty diet more then algae. Blood worms, small crustaceans, and yes some algae. They are not picky and will eat anything that falls to the ground. Flakes, Algae wafers, shrimp pellets, Dried food Frozen food and live. They will take it all. The do best with a verity of food not just one kind.
Sexing and Breeding: Very hard to sex and breed. They are not bred in home aquariums if you do have some that breed that is rare. Females once mature will be much more plump then the male who stays slender.
Comments: I find this fish to be hardy and good for a cichlid tank where the Cichlids are not TOO aggressive. I kept mine with a breeding pair of Blue acaras with no problems. The only time I saw mine get aggressive twars another fish was when I added a new young EBJD. The flying Fox will get territorial and will let other fish know when they are in its area. Once they settled down I did not see any other problems. I would not keep more then one in a tank. These are solitary fish by nature. These guys can hold there own with other semi aggressive fish of med size. Yet will be peaceful in a community.
These fish are not doing well in there native habitats Wild numbers are falling. Most fish in trade are Farm raised in Asia.
My 4" flying fox . Often confused with the SAE. The flying fox has much more color then the SAE and False SAE.
