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I was just poking around the Web for information on Microrasbora kubotai (a bunch of the pretty little green fellers have finally fallen into my hands after a year of searching, but I've already lost several of them, apparently due to a pH clash) -- and I found THIS item in "Practical Fishkeeping" magazine website: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=557 . Wow.

I have seen some pictures of these on another forum. Very pretty fish! How big do these guys get? Did they brake the bank?

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I myself have been considering keeping these. Very pretty fish.

"No whammy, No whammy, No whammy, STOP!!"

1984-Michael Larsen On Press Your Luck

If you're asking about the price of the Kubotais: very reasonable -- $3 apiece, or 6 for $12. (My LFS spent most of the year repeatedly asking for them, and getting Emerald-Eye Rasboras instead.)

Unfortunately, the little buggers were very small -- the adult Kubotais are only about 3 cm, and these young ones were so small I had to put them into a protective enclosure to keep them from becoming hors d'oeuvres even for my rather small tetras. And, as I say, 4 of my 6 have died, possibly due to a pH clash (I seem to have been making my water too acidic by adding too much Blackwater Tonic). I'm not hopeful about the other two getting through this last holiday weekend (they're in the tank at the local library, which I maintain). But even if they do go to that Great Sushi Bar in the Sky, I intend to try again as soon as I can get my hands on some adults -- they're lovely.

I've kept these for a little while, about, say, 4 months, as I recieved one of the earlier batches available in the US, affordable at 5 dollars a piece. I have since given them to a better home after realizing that they could barely cope with even the most minimal current, and given my propensity for loricariids, it just wasn't meant to be. However, I sincerely hope thta they don't overharvest this species as they have with many others. Already there's been a HUGE boom of imports.

they could barely cope with even the most minimal current

Thats good info for me to know. So wouldn't work well in my tank then. Darn!

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

My LFS wastes very little time in getting new species in -- they already have some of the new Galaxy Rasboras. They seem healthy, but a warning -- these little fellers are TINY. They really are, at maximum, only 1 to 1.5 cm long -- you can see their white spots only as tiny white dots on them. I'm not quite sure I would dare to keep them even with fish as small as full-grown Neon Tetras -- but they could go in a tank with other EXTREMELY small fish, such as Maculata Rasboras and Ember Tetras, if anyone is interested in setting up a specialty "Lilliputian tank". (The ones at the fish store are at the moment the only piscine inhabitants of a tank otherwise devoted to plants.)

What would be the minimum....or perhaps maximum tank size you could recommend on those Bruce?

I was thinking of setting up a 5 with maybe of school of 6 or so...would that work?

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

I recently bought 5 of these Galaxy Rasboras. They are very beautiful, but bear in mind because of their size they're not eye-catching at a distance (for example, the flash of blue of Neon's is visible and attractive from the other side of the room), you have to get up close to see their real beauty. Personally, I like this, as it lures me in to really look at my tank.

Somebody mentioned about water conditions, they seem quite adaptable (as mentioned in the PFK article), my water is a PH of 8.0 and they seem quite happy. I checked with a couple of LFS's and they both said they were just using tap water and they hadn't had any losses, so if you want them I'd just check with your store.

They seem quite expensive here (at least compared to other more common Rasbora's), mine cost me £20 for the 5. They're happily taking flake food as well as frozen foods.

I'm finding they're quite inquisitive and brave. They would happily swim close to my hand whilst I was doing a bit of gardening (no way my Neon's would come near me) and they don't run away from the pair of DG's I've got in with them, they'll happily swim up to have a look. I've never kept Rasbora's before so I don't know if this is a common trait.

Finally, a sad note (if it's true), I've been told that because they've only been discovered recently, and the interest in them, that they have already been overfished and they are already becoming difficult to find.

To Crazyred: it might work, but I wouldn't recommend putting in any more than that, except maybe a little bit at a time. (Also, you might be able to put in a couple of Corydoras safely to keep the tank clean, which -- as I've discovered the hard way -- is an absolute necessity to keep tropical fish from getting frequent food poisoning by eating partially decayed food off the bottom. Corydoras seem fairly conscientious in not eating smaller fish.) I hope you guys aren't overestimating my range of experience in fishkeeping...

Note that the original article in "Practical Fishkeeping" said that they seem fairly tough -- and that they even breed easily in captivity, which is a lot more than you can say for many Rasboras. (As with the Dwarf Loach, it may be important for us to start a captive breeding population before they get wiped out in the wild.)

As Waldena says, they're definitely a fish for aesthetic specialists. You have to use a magnifying glass to even see the little guys properly.

Allright, i'll keep that in mind. I want to set up a 5 for my son and I think these tiny fishies would be perfect. I'll research it further. Thanks for the input y'all!!!

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

You found them then Bruce ...

These guys have been a 'hot ticket' here in the UK for weeks now. Dread to think what they'll cost when they finally hit my neck of the woods, though if it turns out they are easy to breed, prices could tumble quickly.

Oh yes, I WANT some of these.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

The only place I can find them here is online... I guess my area doesn't have many fish keepers. Once I save up, I plan on doing a 5-gal with a school of 6 and a bottom feeder (either a otto, a mini-catfish, or a cooli loach) ^_^ I cant wait they are so pretty.

Inky

Wow they are gorgeous, it would be worth the captive bred prices, especially if bruces experiences are anything to go by, waiting for a few of the tougher specimens to breed and make the grade to captive success might be the thing to do.

I just freed up some tankspace by moving the dollars .... wonder how many I can get in a 25 gal?

They're available on AquaBid.

Many lfs are no longer selling them due to the fact that they are believed to be extinct in nature because of over-collecting

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Practical fishkeeping magazine stated that the collection area which had previously been kept secret got trampled and that consequently the tiny local habitat has been ruined for the galaxy rasboras.They seem frighteningly close to extinction in the wild, and since captive breeding has barely commenced this would appear to be a nightmare scenario.

Personally id be glad to see the authorities lock that area down with conservation orders, and fishkeepers will just have to try damn hard to breed the ones they already have. No fish should be rendered extinct , even on a minor geographic level for this hobby, and this by no means is a minor case! I guess ill boycott any wild caught ones I see in shops from now, even though the temptation to grab a few and captive breed them is enormous!

Dang. Well, apparently I did my little bit to contribute to the disaster. (By the way, a recent article on the Dwarf Loach -- Botia sidthimunki -- says that probably the only thing that allowed a stable breeding population of it to be created in time was the fact that the London Zoo at one point sold its own collection of them to private collectors, who devoted more time to learning how to breed them.)

I do have to agree with you on this one LHG. If this is the only location that these fish are from and it does seem to be so, then the area needs to be closed and the surviving fish protected.

From the posts I've read it is highly likely that a captive breeding program is likely to be successful so we all just need to wait for their availability from those sources, but even if it isn't there is absolutely no reason to collect this fish into extinction.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain