Siamese Dwarf Rasbora nano-tank. (Trigonostigma somphongsi)

[CaseyWagner]

An 8.5 gallon tank, formerly my shrimp tank, stripped down and replanted last week to begin the growout process as a Dwarf Rasbora breeding tank.
There's a variety of leaves to give them places to lay their eggs: Anubias, ludwigia, bacopa caroliniana, and cryptocoryne wendtii. The latter two were from small Tropica cups so will take a while to grow in.

TDS is currently 126, and will need to be slowly softened down to around 80-100 over the next couple of water changes.
pH target is just above 6.5 and there are alder cones in there working their magic.

Substrate is sand and fluorite.

I already really love these little guys, and I've only had them in the tank for just over an hour (after drip acclimation). If I get them to breed successfully I have a feeling I'm going to take the Danios out of the 55g and let these little ones take over.

 

[Joshaeus]

Isn't this the Trigonostigma sp. that is endangered in the wild? In any case, I will be watching this thread with interest

 

[CaseyWagner]

That very same one. The local fish store got in 2 dozen a while back, and they immediately caught my eye cuz I love nano fish. Read up on them and I was like "I have to make baby fish!!!"

 

[Joshaeus]

Good to see that I am not the only one who views the lasting future of the fish's species as a factor helping to determine which species they keep I am setting up a 5 gallon blackwater myself, and it will be intended to keep and breed a pair/trio of either licorice gouramies or coccina complex wild bettas - both endemic to peat swamps in southeast Asia and both rapidly losing their habitats to uncontrolled palm oil farming (and the accompanying deforestation and pollution).

 

[CaseyWagner]

Cool It's so weird to see fish that are labelled expert (the licorice) for 3 or 4 dollars.
You'd think that pricing would reflect care level to ensure that animals go to people willing to invest in their care, rather than an impulse purchase. At least it won't break your bank with a breeding program

I plan to buy the rest of stock they have on hand eventually, as I'm the one person really excited about them being in the store they're expected to be around for a bit

 

[Joshaeus]

Licorice gouramies need live food and VERY soft, acid water...much more difficult than your rasboras. No clue why they are cheaper...that seems like a recipe for disaster for the gouramies.

Sadly, I have no local source of either wild bettas or licorice gouramies, so I will need to resort to purchasing them online when the tank is ready in a month or two. Not nearly as cheap

 

[CaseyWagner]

Hopefully the shipping won't be too bad. At least if you get a bunch at once they won't take up a ton of space and cost extra for shipping

 

[Joshaeus]

True...a 5 gallon is good for a pair or trio of licorice gouramies (or coccina complex bettas, for that matter) and I only have one blackwater tank at this time, so ordering more than a trio of fish would not be wise right now.

 

[CaseyWagner]

Video of the little ones:

 

[CaseyWagner]

More footage

 

[CaseyWagner]

 

[John58ford]

I am also a huge fan of that fish. I don't have a plan to house then but they're so cool. I've seen some that would school tight without a dither (funny to call a larger faux predator the dither but it's true in this case) fish and others that wouldn't. Do yours school alone like the larger varieties or do they scatter more often?