Reply With QuoteI'm now considering putting 15 Boraras Brigittae (idk how to spell), 5 Espei Rasboras and 3 Otos into the tank.
Anyone knows where to get healthy and cheap Boraras? The same type as the one UA got for his Forest Edge tank HAHA.
Approximately 14days after flooding the Hillside tank, here's a quick update!
Ammonia: 0.25ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: No idea (no test kit but it's prolly low since the fertiliser that I use doesn't include nitrates)
pH: around 6?
Can someone see from the photo and tell me if I'm wrong!
Anyway, my monte carlo don't seem to be carpeting much... Either that or I'm just not noticing it. I've did my first rotala trimming, hoping they'll grow much thicker from here on.
Fertiliser: Tropica Premium Fertiliser 1ml/day
Pressurised CO2: 2.5bps 12hrs/day
Lights: 30+w 12hrs/day
Drop checker: Yellow
I will lower the intensity of those stuff once I add in fauna. But the question is, with my current water parameters can I add some fishes already!! I'm quite excited to add my first batch of algae eaters but I don't wish to be cleaning up dead ottos...
I'm now considering putting 15 Boraras Brigittae (idk how to spell), 5 Espei Rasboras and 3 Otos into the tank.
Anyone knows where to get healthy and cheap Boraras? The same type as the one UA got for his Forest Edge tank HAHA.
I believe I read somewhere that he 'collected' them slowly from multiple visits to multiple LFSes to get the reddest ones from each batch. Usually the ones you can commonly find at most of the LFS-es are pretty colourless with only little patches of red.
I have a bunch of them (7-in my 1.5ft tank and they are pretty shy and only really appear during feeding time. Also, they don't really shoal together, instead breaking up into 3 different groups chilling at 3 different parts of the tank haha. You might get a different experience tho. But might I suggest you get a species of fish that actually exhibit schooling behaviour? Since you do have a tank big enough for school of small schooling fishes. That might be more fun to watch!
My other plan was 8 Harlequin Rasboras and 5 Espei Rasboras to have a variety of colours and still the 3 Otos. But I really like the blue body on the boraras Brigittae.
But I was at Aquatic Avenue today and the guy said that it's really really tough to get the blue to be so bright like the one in UA's tank. He also showed me some boraras and I just realise they are really really really tiny....
Espei rasboras is a good choice. Should get more about 10. They seem abit dull in lfs but once they get comfortable in your tank they can really color up. Also, they are good directional schoolers and loves to swim against the flow. Their orange/red coloration is very nice when viewed from far and adds life to the tank.
Also they don't grow as big as the harlequins which is perfect for smaler tanks. Be mindful that many lfs have them in tanks with hengeli rasboras which has spots similar black color band and body shape but has transparent body. I think espei is prettier than hengeli. Espei sold at lfs are mostly juveniles which don't show full color yet so make sure to pick and choose the ones with best coloration potential!
I have 10 espei in my 2 ft tank.
I saw hengeli and Espei at AA but it seems like the Hengeli ones are brighter coloured tho! Will Hengeli, Espei and Harlequin all school together?
Yeah nowadays boraras with the deep red and black(blue under some light) colouration are pretty hard to find. If you really want blue you can get some sunadanio axelrodi, they're a nice metallic blue. But they are about the same size as the boraras. How about Purple Harlequin Rasboras instead of the Espeis? They can have a nice purplish-bluish colouration. I'm also pretty partial to Black Emperor Tetras, they are predominantly silver with a black stripe, but have can have a nice purplish-bluish sheen under certain lighting conditions!Originally Posted by Ryan Peh
About espei rasboras.
trigonostigma-genus.jpg
Source: http://www.aquaportail.com/topic-150...onostigma.html
Take your time to choose the best/right specimens, it's easy to confuse with them!
I just realise Galaxy Rasboras look really good too! Their deep red and spots looks really nice.
Maybe 10 of the Galaxy Rasboras with 5-6 Espei or Purple Harlequin!
Any idea where I can get purple harlequin?? I've literally never seen that before but I just did a quick search on google and they look pretty good.
I've seen purple harlequins at LFS Aquarium (that's the name of the store) at Clementi Blk 325. Galaxy Rasboras/Celestial Pearl Danios do look nice but they are also pretty small and they don't really school that well either, and in my experience their colours (surprisingly) don't really contrast that well and jump out against the backdrop of a planted tank.
Ooooo I see.. Hmmm so many choices I can't even decide!!
I thought the deep red on the Galaxy Rasboras would let them stand out from all the bright green plants in the tank...
As for Espei/Hengeli, their colours are much closer to the bright green colours in the tank...
Who knew it'd be this tough deciding what fishes to get!
I have 7 Galaxy rasboras in the same tank as my espei. Galaxy won't stand out when view from far. In fact their colors are quite dull from a distance. You can only appreciate them when viewed in proximity, nice spots and interesting behaviors. Still a good mix, different species for different viewing distance. Btw male Galaxy will spot reddish fins and more prominent coloration (bluish tint body with 'pearl' spots), females are more dull but rounder bodies. As usual juveniles won't show true colors. They are shoalers. Get a group of them, some good hiding place, espei as dither fish, and the Galaxy will be very outgoing. Mine doesn't hide much.
I thought the body of Galaxy Rasboras were red??
Hmm what other dark red coloured fish are there excluding barbs?
You can try Cardinal tetras. I'm not a big fan as I think they look better in at a big group in a big tank. Doesn't work for me in a small tank.
I'm already adding cardinals for my iwagumi style tank. Sooooo I'll pass on that. Plus I'm also a little tired of seeing them in almost every aquascape haha.
Haha exactly my sentiment about the cardinals. Anyway just to share with you, when viewing my tank from a distance (e.g. From sofa) my eyes are always looking at my espei due to then colors and schooling behavior. When I'm near the tank scrutinizing the inhabitants I'm almost always looking at my Galaxy (very interesting to watch them zooming and chasing each other among the plants).
Also, espei almost always hang out mid to top part of the tank, Galaxy on the lower half, so that's another consideration when choosing fish mix. I got some Pygmy corydoras as bottom dwellers, but I won't recommend them to you as they hide too much.
read up more on the behaviors of your fish species before committing. Their behavior is as important as their looks.
I'm getting Otos as my bottom feeders since I have some algae in my tank to clear too!
Yeah I noticed about the Galaxy and Espei behaviour when I was at the LFS but it didn't really hit me until you mentioned it.
Hmmm I guess Espei is definitely going in my tank but I'm considering either getting 5/6 (then mixing with harlequin rasboras) or around 8-10 by themselves.
As for the smaller Galaxy Rasboras, I'll need to think about it and look for even more choices before I settle with what I really want!
Thanks for all the suggestions and if you happen to think of more, I'd be more than happy to hear from you!
I'd go with just espei rather than mixture with harlequins. They are too similar yet different body shapes, I'd prefer an uniform look. Besides I find harlequins too big for anything below 3ft. I'd get more espei for nicer schooling effect. Not too many though else it'll be too crowded and they won't school as much. Also espei loves flow! Induces their schooling behavior. I think 10 espei is a good number to begin with. Anyway I didn't like them much at the beginning but they've certainly grew on me. Ymmv!
For something similar to galaxy, you can try Danio erythromicron http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species...erythromicron/
just my 2 cents!
Oh I notice they mentioned that the fish doesn't do well in acidic water... My tank is actually at a ph of 6.0 or so!
It's more for a shrimp friendly tank so my tanks are all soft and acidic!
I'm seriously consider getting like 10 of the Galaxy Rasboras with maybe 8 or 10 Espei Rasboras and 3 Otos and lastly 10 fire red shrimps to kick start my shrimp colony!
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