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I am on temporary hiatus!
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"This stunning little fish must rank among the most attractive small cyprinids available in the hobby. In the correct setting, a shoal of these can make a truly enchanting sight, especially if the fish are in breeding condition, when the colours of the males deepen.
Although the common name suggests that this fish is a miniature rasbora, it's monotypic, and morphologically appear to fall somewhere inbetween Rasbora and Puntius. It's also variously known as the Asian rummynose or naked microrasbora. The latter name refers to the fact that, unusually for a cyprinid, it's a scaleless fish. This makes it sensitive to many common medications, particularly those containing copper, so take care if you have to treat your tank for disease.
It is in fact part of the Cyprindae family and is endemic to Lake Inle in Myannar and its surrounding waters.
The water is clear, shallow (2-3m deep in most places) and has a very fertile substrate.
Minimum tank size: An active species but due to its diminutive size a small shoal of these can be kept in a tank measuring 18" x 15" x 12" - 53 litres.
Set-up: Best lept in a heavily-planted setup, and it will show its best colouration in this kind of environment. It also appreciates a good amount of floating vegetation, which helps to mimic its natural habitat. Little to no water movement is best.
pH: 7.0-8.0. It will not do well in acidic conditions. Lake Inle is quite alkaline as it lies over calciferous rock.
Water hardness: 5-20°H
Diet
Omnivorous and relatively unfussy, but obviously any food offered must be small enough for its tiny mouth. It will accept flake and small live and frozen foods such as daphnia or young brine shrimp.
Compatibility: It's very peaceful but does not make an ideal community species due to its small adult size. It is easily intimidated by larger tankmates, and will not compete well for food with them. It is also the ideal snack for many fish often kept in community aquaria, such as angelfish, gouramis and some catfish. Keep it alone or in a community of other tiny species, such as pygmy corydoras and other similarly sized rasboras and tetras, or small freshwater shrimp. Always keep a group of at least 8-10 fish, or it will become very timid. Try to keep an equal number of both sexes, or a greater number of females than males, as the males can be quite aggressive to one another.
Sexual Dimorphism: Only the male fish exhibit the red face that give rise to the common name of the fish. The tips of the caudal fin are also red, and the body is a silvery blue colour. The female has no red colour whatsoever and has a more olive colouration overall.
A Lake Inle biotope community, containing other endemic species from the basin, such as Microrasbora rubescens , Microrasbora erythromicron, Inlecypris sp. and the loach Yunnanilus brevis could make an interesting project."
Credits to Matt Ford from seriouslyfish.com:
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