Thai wonder

[vanalisa]

Added around 25 microdevario kubotai today.

Gosh they sure are active compared to the CPD I have in the same room. Still fairly washed out but they are starting to colour. The sids are still half asleep although they did all come rushing out when I first added the newcomers. A few scary moments (for me), but it didn't take long to learn the new tankmates were too big to be food and were not a threat to the established hierarchy so it settled down fairly quickly.

The tank has a decent flow and they are not at all bothered by it. I have set the powerhead to come on for 2 out of every 6 hours with a complete rest overnight. There is no noticeable change in behaviour whether the powerhead is on or off. Just need to get some plants in now as it is looking a bit sterile.

I had to look up what the fish are since I'm not familiar with the scientific name.
They are VERY pretty. I don't ever remember seeing them before at my LFS.

 

[Essjay]

I have seen them called neon green rasboras and even green tetras in UK shops.

 

[seangee]

I had to look up what the fish are since I'm not familiar with the scientific name.
They are VERY pretty. I don't ever remember seeing them before at my LFS.

I am not sure they have a recognised common name. They were (incorrectly) marked as green tetra when I bought them. Its best to ask for them by the scientific name - they look really wishy washy and boring in shop displays, so they could be selling you anything.

 

[Fishguy13]

Awesome tank

 

[Barry Tetra]

I am not sure they have a recognised common name. They were (incorrectly) marked as green tetra when I bought them. Its best to ask for them by the scientific name - they look really wishy washy and boring in shop displays, so they could be selling you anything.

Can you tell me what substrate you use, the black one? is it sand? i want one for my betta tank. and i would like to know what plant you use i tried to do aquascaping.

 

[seangee]

Can you tell me what substrate you use, the black one? is it sand? i want one for my betta tank. and i would like to know what plant you use i tried to do aquascaping.

I got this as an emergency tank last year. Like any 3rd child (at least when I grew up) it's mostly hand me downs and cast offs from the 2 older siblings.

The sand is black limpopo sand. Its not really black but shades of grey. Plants are frogbit, anubias nana, cryptocoryne wendtii, 2 types of hygrophila and an amazon sword. Also some duckweed which was not really planned

 

[Barry Tetra]

I got this as an emergency tank last year. Like any 3rd child (at least when I grew up) it's mostly hand me downs and cast offs from the 2 older siblings.

The sand is black limpopo sand. Its not really black but shades of grey. Plants are frogbit, anubias nana, cryptocoryne wendtii, 2 types of hygrophila and an amazon sword. Also some duckweed which was not really planned

How do you rinse it, is it gonna be cloudy after water change?

 

[seangee]

How do you rinse it, is it gonna be cloudy after water change?

I rinsed in a bucket before I put it in. Water changes don't make it cloudy. In case you are wondering about the name - all the fish (except the otos) are native to your country.

 

[Barry Tetra]

I rinsed in a bucket before I put it in. Water changes don't make it cloudy. In case you are wondering about the name - all the fish (except the otos) are native to your country.

I never seen them in fish store.

 

[seangee]

I never seen them in fish store.

Ambastaia sidthimunki – Dwarf Chain Loach (Botia sidthimunki, Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Microdevario kubotai (Microrasbora kubotai) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[Barry Tetra]

Ambastaia sidthimunki – Dwarf Chain Loach (Botia sidthimunki, Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Microdevario kubotai (Microrasbora kubotai) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

In my country (or just my province) this loach is illegal but i bought it when it was
legal.

 

[seangee]

Another day another water change. Sorry about the bubbles - I have just dumped 50 litres of water in there

Two significant changes to report on.
First I think I have cracked the lighting. I always felt the lighting was a bit underwhelming. I did try a standalone arcadia unit I had lying about but that didn't seem to make much difference, either in appearance or to the plants. No fancy meters so I used an SLR on manual and that confirmed that significantly less light reaches the substrate than in the flex its standing next to. It also showed that the arcadia unit has slightly more red. So this week I have been running both lights. This looked like the same intensity as in the flex (confirmed by the camera) so I turned the light period down to match the other tank. The difference in plant growth has been quite dramatic. They still look a bit tatty but I can now give them a trim knowing that they will grow at a decent rate.

The other change was in my siphoning technique. Since I usually drain 45-50 litres its easier and quicker just to use a hose and jerry can. But the little m.kubotai are so inquisitive they keep swimming up the hose, so I have been siphoning through a net. This stopped the fish escaping but it also stopped the bits of floating plant debris from leaving the tank. No real problems but I didn't like the look. I found an old filter inlet strainer and stuck it onto the end of the hose. Two 80% changes later and the water is chrystal clear, or it will be once the bubbles and duckweed have returned to the surface

 

[Byron]

In my country (or just my province) this loach is illegal but i bought it when it was
legal.

The species was briefly thought to be extinct but is now considered critically endangered in Thailand and is protected; hobby fishes are almost certain to be captive bred, and for years have been spawned with hormone treatments.

 

[seangee]

The species was briefly thought to be extinct but is now considered critically endangered in Thailand and is protected; hobby fishes are almost certain to be captive bred, and for years have been spawned with hormone treatments.

I understand most UK stock is commercially farmed in Eastern Europe using hormone treatment. My LFS manager (a genuine enthusiast rather than just a retailer) got really excited when I mentioned mine were spawning in the tank and offered to take any I could supply. Unfortunately I don't have the time or inclination to have a go at intentional breeding. But I can confirm there are 14 in my tank and I only bought 12

 

[vanalisa]

I covet your Frog-bit.
There, I said it.

Those bright green swimming things aren't too shabby, either,