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Thread: Recommendation for School Biotope

  1. #1
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    Recommendation for School Biotope

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    I've got a biotope in school filled with indigenous fishes of Southeast Asia - primarily Singapore. Sadly, my Betta Pugnax died, one of my croaking gourami... croaked, and my three-spots are either dead or so shy I haven't seen them in weeks.

    Tank currently has 2 SAEs, a clown loach, some glassfins, glass catfish, otos, a croaking gourami and (possibly) a male and female three-spot gourami.

    Asking all the fish-geeks out there (geeks are smart) - have you any recommendation for a gregarious focal fish that is indigenous to SEA? Prefferably one that can fit in a 3ft tank.
    ~Kristen~

    Fish enthusiast is a nice euphemism for manic geekery.

  2. #2
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    you probably know that SAE, clown loach, and so on are not native to Singapore, and otos in particular is from the New World.

    if you want a gregarious native fish, I would recommend a school of Rasbora einthovenii or Rasbora elegans. six to ten of each species in a group would be great for a planted tank.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  3. #3
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    Haha actually, according to fishbase, SAEs are native :P However I took some liberty with the clown loaches and Otos in favour of an effective anti-snail/algae crew. I already have a school of harlequins which I... sort of forgot to mention.

    I was hoping for a big fish that the kids could look at, since they get bored with the tiny ones really quick (kids these days...).

    I do like the Einthoven's, but they grow huge don't they? 9cm x 10 fish?
    ~Kristen~

    Fish enthusiast is a nice euphemism for manic geekery.

  4. #4
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    well, fishbase is wrong. their photos are quite easily wrong also. although they are generally better than most hobby sites, they are nevertheless running a huge site with few manpower and no one is expert in all biogeographical regions.

    I wouldn't call R. einthovenii huge, or even big. I have yet to see a 9cm einthovenii even in the wild (R. elegans yes, but not R. einthovenii) and they will take a while to get that size, but their max size is limited by the space available.

    Since you have a school of Trigonostigma heteromorpha already, I suggest you focus on growing them to full size (they can be very gorgeous if they are the deep body variety). For larger fish suggest a pair of cyprinids such as Systomus banksi (also commonly known as Puntius binotatus depending on the taxonomic shool you follow) to contrast with the harlequins.
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  5. #5
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    here is a fairly large Rasbora elegans, if I recall it was around 10-12cm at that point.

    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  6. #6
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    if you didn't have the harlequins, you could consider a school of Rasbora cephalotaenia which is considered extirpated in Singapore, but still common in the region. hard to find in the shops though.

    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

  7. #7
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    Uhm, Fishbase actually didn't mention SAE as being found in Singapore...
    http://www.fishbase.org/Country/Coun...Name=siamensis

  8. #8
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    well it did say Malay peninsula which I don't believe is correct. Crossocheilus siamensis is a Indochinese fish (see the title of the Kottelat reference).
    why I don't do garden hybrids and aquarium strains: natural species is a history of Nature, while hybrids are just the whims of Man.
    hexazona · crumenatum · Galleria Botanica

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