My New Venture. Help Plz

[ClaytonCopelin]

I have been keeping and breeding fish for a decade now and have never ventured into labyrinth fish of any sort until I fell in love with these guys a few weeks ago. Correct me if I am wrong but are they tricopsis vittata? I got them for $2 at a ma and pa garden center that I goto for frozen food. They had gotten them on accident and didn't think much of them. I was immediately excited. They are now in a 20 long heavily planted tank with leaf litter, some thread fin rainbows, amano, and a few random tetras that were target fish. I am fairly certain it's a pair. I have heard them croak and I have seen him make amazing displays that show a stunning blue that you can't see unless he is very excited. Does anyone have experience with these guys? I am very much hoping to spawn them and maybe aquire some new blood and their own setup. Thanks!

 

[Munroco]

They certainly look like male and female in your pic. I haven't bred these but if I was trying I'd set them up in a planted tank with just a little circulation that won't wash away a bubble nest and feed them well.
 
What is that corydora bottom right? I don't recognise it.

 

[Essjay]

I can't help with the gourami - I recently saw some and was very tempted! - but the cory looks like C habrosus, one of the dwarf species. I have some of those.

 

[Byron]

I have maintained and spawned the close relative, Trichopsis pumila, but not T. vittata which is basically identical in requirements, etc. You will want them on their own (if survival of fry is intended), in a tank with plenty of floating plants such as Ceratopteris cornuta (Water Sprite) which has the surface cover plus the thick root masses.  They are bubblenest spawning fish, and the male builds the nest, initiates spawning, and then guards the nest until the eggs hatch.  More info:
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/trichopsis-vittata/
 
Byron.

 

[Munroco]

I can't help with the gourami - I recently saw some and was very tempted! - but the cory looks like C habrosus, one of the dwarf species. I have some of those.

Nice looking cory. I'm about to set up a shrimp tank. Maybe I'll try and get some of these to go with them.

 

[NickAu]

Ok a Betta is not a Gourami but they are related.
 
Water sprite is great I also like Riccia fluitans and Duck weed, try putting a medium size Indian Almond Leaf in the tank, Let it float, your fish will build a bubble nest under it in no time
 

 
PS with the plants I mentioned do not worry just dump the IAL on top they will be fine, As you may notice that leaf is starting to decay yet the plants under it are green.

 

[ClaytonCopelin]

It has been 8 days since I lucked out and found this tricopsis vittata pair and now I have ever a full nest. I plan to carefully scoop out nest (when should i) with a rubbermaid shoebox and float it in a very heavily planted tank full of first foods and lots of baby RCS. It's a 20 long with same water source. How long after they hatch and start eating would it be fairly safe to very slowly drip the tank water into the rubbermaid till it sinks? I use this method on other fish.

Top right

 

[jentik-jentik]

How have the last 5 weeks gone? When did you scoop out the nest? Did you wait after they hatched to sink the rubbermaid?
 
I've scooped the nests of several different labyrinth species over the last 40yrs, sometimes waiting until the first few fry could be seen hanging from the nest, sometimes waiting only until spawning had been completed.
 
​I would recommend scooping it before fry begin leaving the nest otherwise you'll be in a mess. Also, you needn't wait to sink the rubbermaid. We have always just used a ladle and put the nest in straight away, hundreds of scooped B. splendens nests over the years given as feeders for fry of other species. 
 
Speaking of which, T. vittata are used as feeders in Vietnam, Thailand, and Cambodia, as they breed weekly under ideal conditions and produce hundreds of fry per spawn. (Compare that vs species often used as feeders in North America, e.g. guppies, goldfish, fathead minnows, etc) You picked a good labyrinth to cut your teeth on.