Oriental Beauty - Macropodus ocellatus

[budak]

for starters you can search through the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology archives for papers on wild bettas: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/

One particular issue is very good: http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/news/index.ph...pplement13.txt

No pdfs for this but you can still find copies at Nature's Niche bookstore in the Botanic Gardens visitor centre.

[coldwater]

Hi!

Here in Bucharest, Romania the temperature dropped after 15 degC to 0,5C. Checked the Carassius and the M. ocellatus "Yangtse"- both species in slow motion, but quite active when sun, even in 10 deg water (didn't decreased below that, till now). I will take the Nelumbo indoors, since their leaves begin to turn yellow.
This night will be colder, since the sky is clear. Fish are outdoors since 2 months, so I don't worry about them.

Greetings,
Fabian

[benny]

Wow. I didn't realise that Macropodus ocellatus can take such low temperatures.

So you move your fishes indoors during winter? I'm sure they won't survive in the open right?

Cheers,

[coldwater]

Hi, Benny!

Being in a burried pot, they will not stay for the winter outdoors. First I will cover with some plastic, then, when ice will be permanent and no thawing occur, I will move them indoors in a cold place. I will try to keep them at max. 10C.
Their habitat reach Harbin in Heilongjiang (some say about entering adjacent Russia), with an absolute minima around -45 and ice cover for months. Fish from Shanghai will do well in Romania (Bucharest is quite like Beijing), and even more southern form as well.
Opercularis (northern forms, near Changjiang) can be left outdoors only in mild winters, it will not take all the cold- maybe in a protected pond, reducing the number of freezing days (a glasshouse-like enclosure).

All the best!

Fabian

[Quixotic]

Minimum -45? That's really cold.

So you will move them back outdoor again in the summer? Looks like a lot of work there. What is the summer in Romania like? Does it ever get extremely hot?

[coldwater]

We have as an average -3 January and 23 July, 560mm/year. Absolute min: -32, abs. max.: 43. 200 frostfree days. Last years brought anomalies. Usually we have a few weeks with extreme hot weather, 35-39, with a peak or two to 40 sometimes. Winters to -15...-25 minima.
This year we had 10 consecutive days with 40-43, and it was one heat wave of 3...and a fierce drought.

Manchuria is quite harsh, maybe Chinese fellows here can say more. I just read once some climatic data and it was -45 or -47 the abs. min. for Harbin.
Yes, I hope it will be a lot of work, that meaning a lot of fish.Now it is some work indeed, but only few fish so it is easier.

Fabian

[MrTree]

It's found in Russia further north of Harbin too.

As for the common M.opercularis, I've yet to find it in Shenzhen, but plenty M.hongkongensis....

[Quixotic]

Absolute min: -32, abs. max.: 43.

Wow, so they are able to tolerate both extreme ends, hot and cold. Brilliant.

[coldwater]

Hi!

I was to hurried and didn't find quickly this thread, and posted my "M. ocellatus " as a new one. If they can be moved here, please do it.

(Edit: Merged as requested)

Is that fish to find somewhere? A member from China, maybe? It's a pitty the fact that such a fish is so little known.
Some details about growing them- I think that Europeans have a good experience, even the material consists only in 3 strains. They observed- at least for those 3 strains- that linear, high temperatures for more than 6 months lead to various diseases. That is maybe the reason for the disappearing of some other imported strains, exceptions being the inspiration of some people knowing their original habitat climate and tried them in ponds. Those survived till today.
Keeping them indoors also made this fish to be considered as... sensitive and tricky! Today, others say it's invincible, but only when kept outdoors!
Maybe southern forms will tolerate such full-tropical conditions, as M. opercularis can do? It is possible to have the same problems, at least the first generations. For more northern forms is a permanent fact, they are not tolerant to classic aquarium conditions- observed for decades.
Mines are well, they even eat mosquito larvae this morning, in 10 degC water. It was a fine ice-dust on the grass every morning from Monday on, but sunny days keep them active.

Fabian
If you know a source or at least an information about, please let me know! It is the main interest fish for me!

[coldwater]

Hi!

Remembered something: a German owner of Macropodus ocellatus and opercularis said that they can grow much larger than believed in a pond with plenty of good food: ocellatus to 13 cm, opercularis to 15 cm- of course, old males. A friend of mine remembers some giant opercularis that he saw once.

[MrTree]

15 cm is monster. it's TL or SL? The largest wild caught specimens I've seen is maybe around 6 cm plus (SL) only. Can't deny the fact that many small fish can grow bigger than wild specimens....

[coldwater]

Well... I don't know what TL and SL means- please tell me. It is exceptionally find such thing. But any opercularis can reach 11 cm, and 8-9 for ocellatus- fins included, of course.

[benny]

TL stands for total length, which measures the fish from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail.

SL stands for standard length, which measures the fish from the tip of the head the the caudal peduncle, excluding the caudal fin altogether.

Cheers,

[Mr.Yeo]

thanks the nice pics those back my memory in Nan Jing,----NXQ keeps many type of this fish, i should say, they really nice