espei rasboras vs. harlequins = pics?

[driftwoodhunter]

I cannot decide between the two. I've never seen espeis in person, and the pics I google look like the saturation has been tweaked - can they really be such a deep, almost neon color? Are they smaller than harlequins? (bio load)
I have some harlequins (ok, 4. lol) so I know what they look like - can anyone post pics of espeis in a planted tank? I'd like to see how they "pop" against greenery.
Thanks!
Oh, and is one type more hardy than an other?

[freph]

These are my personal Espeis. They're pretty much equally hardy fish ime....also roughly the same size.

[driftwoodhunter]

Thanks! It's nice to see them shoaling - I'm looking for schooling fish, and I've narrowed my list down...espeis and harlequins are on it. They really do glow, don't they? Beautiful hardscape, btw!

[allaboutfish]

whats the difference between the two?

[freph]

Indeed they do. Also, I didn't notice it before but excuse the dissolving clumps of GH booster lol. Thanks for the compliment. As for differences between the two, as far as I know the "lambchop" shaped black pigmentation in Harlequinns is a bit larger compared to Espeis and Espeis also tend to have more of that lovely copper color to them as well as bolder colors in general. Harlequinns will color up nicely too as long as they're kept nice and healthy.

[VeeSe]

My harlequins aren't as orange as the espeis pictured above, but they still have a nice orange tinge to them and look great in the tank. Also, this is a side note, but on many mornings, at like 8 or 9am, I get up to see them having an orgy (upside down harlequins all over) which is encouraging for a new aquarist.

[koebwil]

Why not get like 8 harlequins and one espei and you can play where's Waldo.

[freph]

Originally Posted by koebwil

Why not get like 8 harlequins and one espei and you can play where's Waldo.

Hah. I like this idea. I'm not sure if the opposite would work though...since it'd be looking for larger pattern in smaller patterns and it'd be too easy....

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by koebwil

Why not get like 8 harlequins and one espei and you can play where's Waldo.

lol - that's pretty good!
My harlequins are very saturated in color, and they seem to have more color on their bodies, if not as bright/deep. The espeis look to be semi-transparent around their perimeter. The lambchop is def a different shape.
I don't know - my local Petsmart has harlequins for $1.25 with a 14 day return option. I may stick to them & get the things I want in huge schools in the 55g tanks from Rachel. (since I only want a handful of harls/espeis),
She's out of the eyespot rasboroas now, but I'm hoping to get them, as well as rummies from her when I get the 55s up & running in the next 6 weeks or so.

[msjinkzd]

harlequins are much "taller" than espei's. Espeis are smaller in length as well andhave more of a copper coloration than the harlie's "pinkness".

Yes, espeis GLOW.
These pics are not photoshopped at all and are of espeis in a bare qt tank



Harlies have a bigger black wedge, are taller and bigger. They are less orange and sometiems are more pinkish:
<not my pic>

[Studman0143]

Hey, can I ask what other fish you have on your schooling list? I'm trying to find a school for my 29G and have about 12 on the list, which is too big at the moment. I'm wondering what you may have because I like unique and not so common fish.

[msjinkzd]

Check out my vendor forum I always have a bunch of different things. Getting ready tomake an order this week as well.


Sorry forthe derail!

[driftwoodhunter]

Not a derail at all! The more info the better!
I'll even tell you a tale of my day, and the valuable lesson I learned. (Cheap does not equal good)
I had to get cat food, so I went to Petsmart, the only place that sells what I feed (Blue Wilderness, grain free - lol) I weakened due to funds, and had decided I'd get some of the $1.25 harlequins if they looked good. Well, they were so young & small that their color is just starting to develop. I couldn't tell if the milky grey perimeters were healthy tissue that didn't have pigment yet, or if they had a touch of a velvet-type thing. So I passed. I went across the street - against my better judgement - to the lfs that has BOGO on Mondays for fish less than $5.01. This is the same lfs where I bought the celebes rainbows that probably brought the columnaris to my 55g tank. I bought those fish, things started dying two days later. In less than a week I lost 22 fish.
So anyhow, I get there and they have pretty blue tetras (I had them bag up 5), gold tetras, red-eye tetras, lemon tetras, and diamond tetras - which is what I originally wanted. I'd been eyeing them since 4 days ago, waiting on the Monday special. So my 5 blue tetras are in the bag, but I see one of the diamond tetras is swimming as fast as it can - but it's body is vertical. Nose up, tail down, going around and around zippy fast. Nix the diamonds. I see the red-eyes are with head & tail lights, then I see one has a big, fat milky grey saddle. Maybe I'm paranoid, but I thought of columnaris right away. I pointed it out to the sales clerk abnd he goes "oh yeah, I'll get him outta there!". That's when I told him to put the blue tetras back in, too. I left empty handed for both places.
All the way home I said "stop being so d*mn cheap, and cough up the dough for shipping, and get good healthy fish from msjnkzd - they've already been quarantined!" LOL
Then I get home and the mailman is at the boxes (I live in a mobile home park and the mailboxes are in blocks). He says "you hit the jackbox today!" and I knew the plants I bought on SnS were in! But I didn't have a key left in my box (to open the drop boxes for big things). He checked & sure enough he'd put the key in someone else's mailbox. Normally he wouldn't even be there so late, so I got lucky! Then I open the boxes and it's like Christmas! Everyone sent extras, bonuses, other plants for me to try - woo-hoo!
Moral of the story; if you are good, use willpower, and pass on sick fish, the Fish Gods will reward you with plants.
And stop messing with Big Box stores and get the real deal from Rachel - lol.

[driftwoodhunter]

oh, and Studman ~
I'm looking at rummynose tetras, harlequin or espei rasboras, and I really liked the looks of the red eye tetras, the blue tetras, the diamond tetras, and the lemon tetras (I love tetras!). I have black tetras and the school very well, as do the celebes rainbows. I'm wondering if praecox rainbows do too? My tiger barbs just hang out together under the sword leaves, doing nothing. I've read that silver dollars school very well, but I've also read that they are very skittish. I have neons, but I think my cardinals schooled better. Sadly, the cardinals all died from columnaris.

[JasonG75]

I think one of the best schooling fish will always remain the Rummynose. Mine stay so packed tight in my 75. I have 10.