Sphaerichthys sp.

**Shi Xuan** · 14th Feb 2012, 00:00

Hi there,

Is there anyone keeping/breeding any Sphaerichthys sp. at the moment? I have seen Sphaerichthys osphromenoides for myself and I think they are magnificent fishes, in terms of color and size.

As for maintenance, I've heard how fragile and difficult they are, but I have to try any of these species at least once. The only gourami I really attempted to breed, was Trichogaster(Colisa) chuna and still think they are pretty. Too bad, they are not available in any LFS at the moment, I think, when they used to be so abundant many years ago.

I've also dug out an old thread for those who have never heard of them before.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...thys-vaillanti
I can only lament for not being there sooner.

**Emokidz** · 14th Feb 2012, 00:18

The last time I saw them was some time ago, when I got mine at Y618. The aunty referred to them as wild betta.. And I was like... -___-"

**Shi Xuan** · 14th Feb 2012, 00:22

Nice, I was implying to the pair I saw at your house.

What happened to them anyway? I have some space at home, so I'd thought, maybe I should give them a try since I have not kept them before.

**Emokidz** · 14th Feb 2012, 00:39

Haha they are still swimming around under the salvinas. I only have two left from the initial three I bought. Not sure if I have a pair since I'm terrible at sexing them. But I'd definitely like to try having a go at breeding them as they are just super cute things.

**Shi Xuan** · 14th Feb 2012, 00:51

Keep them going, while I'll wait or try my luck at some of the LFS. Perhaps, with luck, I can get a sexable pair, be it S.osphromenoides, S.vaillanti or even S.selatanensis, whichever is available.

**Emokidz** · 14th Feb 2012, 03:52

Yea. They're pretty stable since they've been with me for more than 5 months now. And after reading up, I think I may have a pair. Will try moving them to a separate tank and see how they behave soon.

Here's a video from youtube on their courtship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7hp7PxMtlI

**Mudskipper** · 14th Feb 2012, 21:37

Those are pretty fish. Bernard, you have an interesting collection.

**stormhawk** · 15th Feb 2012, 00:30

I had S. selatanensis many years ago, then all of a sudden they became scarce. Last saw them at C328 but in very bad shape. This was probably a year or two ago. The selatanensis I had were very territorial and the males would skirmish every now and then. I made a mistake thinking they would be fine in a 1ft tank, when I should have housed the quad I had in a 2 ft tank.

**Shi Xuan** · 15th Feb 2012, 21:19

Well, at least you had them in your tank before. I think someone you know very well

, was hoping to attempt S.vaillanti. I hope he gets them though, because I would be very interested.

Oh, what happened to your pair of S.vaillanti you kept last time? Did you manage to get them to spawn?

**stormhawk** · 15th Feb 2012, 22:27

No success with the vaillanti for me. They died about 2-3 months later.

They were seen at C328 and some other places before, but I think fairly rare to come by these days. The only Sphaerichthys I haven't seen here is S. acrostoma.