Gold Harlequin Rasboras?

[Elaine T]

Hi, All. I'm new here (or actually very, very old depending on how you
look at it). I hope I'm not asking something that's already been
answered recently. Today at the LFS, I saw some charming gold-colored
harlequin rasboras. These weren't Rasbora vaterifloris - the black
triangle marking of the R. heteromorpha complex was clearly there.

Does anyone know if a gold sport of R. heteromorpha has actually been
developed, or were these just dyed fish? The guess from the LFS was
dyed, but they looked pretty natural so I wasn't sure.

Thanks in advance for any gold rasbora info.
Elaine

[Mean_Chlorine]

Thusly Elaine T > Spake Unto All:

>Hi, All. I'm new here (or actually very, very old depending on how you
>look at it). I hope I'm not asking something that's already been
>answered recently. Today at the LFS, I saw some charming gold-colored
>harlequin rasboras. These weren't Rasbora vaterifloris - the black
>triangle marking of the R. heteromorpha complex was clearly there.

Sounds like Trigonostigma espei:
http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Trigonostigma&speciesname=espei
It's far more strikingly colored than T. heteromorpha; I think "neon
orange" is the best way to describe the color of this fish.

Apparently it in English goes under the rather prosaic name "lambchop
rasbora"?

PS: if the link above wraps you'll need to cut & paste it into your
browser.

[Sue]

There is a leucistic form that retains the black triangle. I've also seen
photos of gold harlies with an inky overlay that appears injected. If the
triangle looked right then these are probably ok.

Sue


> Does anyone know if a gold sport of R. heteromorpha has actually been
> developed, or were these just dyed fish? The guess from the LFS was dyed,
> but they looked pretty natural so I wasn't sure.

[Elaine T]

Mean_Chlorine wrote:
> Thusly Elaine T > Spake Unto All:
>
>
>>Hi, All. I'm new here (or actually very, very old depending on how you
>>look at it). I hope I'm not asking something that's already been
>>answered recently. Today at the LFS, I saw some charming gold-colored
>>harlequin rasboras. These weren't Rasbora vaterifloris - the black
>>triangle marking of the R. heteromorpha complex was clearly there.
>
>
> Sounds like Trigonostigma espei:
> http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Trigonostigma&speciesname=espei
> It's far more strikingly colored than T. heteromorpha; I think "neon
> orange" is the best way to describe the color of this fish.
>
> Apparently it in English goes under the rather prosaic name "lambchop
> rasbora"?
>
> PS: if the link above wraps you'll need to cut & paste it into your
> browser.
>

Thanks, Mike and Sue

These gave me the impression of gold rather than neon orange. However,
there are some older shots of T. espei around that are gold rather than
orange. I've always noticed that harlequins only turn their subtle
orangey-red color when they're mature and tank conditions are good.
Perhaps T. espei is the same way. I'll have go back and look really
closely at the triangle markings and how orange vs. gold the fish are to
decide whether it's a leucistic form or T. espei. (Or ewww...injected.)

Elaine T

[Elaine T]

Elaine T wrote:
> Mean_Chlorine wrote:
>
>> Thusly Elaine T > Spake Unto All:
>>
>>
>>> Hi, All. I'm new here (or actually very, very old depending on how
>>> you look at it). I hope I'm not asking something that's already been
>>> answered recently. Today at the LFS, I saw some charming
>>> gold-colored harlequin rasboras. These weren't Rasbora vaterifloris
>>> - the black triangle marking of the R. heteromorpha complex was
>>> clearly there.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sounds like Trigonostigma espei:
>> http://filaman.uni-kiel.de/Summary/SpeciesSummary.cfm?genusname=Trigonostigma&speciesname=espei
>>
>> It's far more strikingly colored than T. heteromorpha; I think "neon
>> orange" is the best way to describe the color of this fish.
>>
>> Apparently it in English goes under the rather prosaic name "lambchop
>> rasbora"?
>>
>> PS: if the link above wraps you'll need to cut & paste it into your
>> browser.
>>
>
> Thanks, Mike and Sue
>
> These gave me the impression of gold rather than neon orange. However,
> there are some older shots of T. espei around that are gold rather than
> orange. I've always noticed that harlequins only turn their subtle
> orangey-red color when they're mature and tank conditions are good.
> Perhaps T. espei is the same way. I'll have go back and look really
> closely at the triangle markings and how orange vs. gold the fish are to
> decide whether it's a leucistic form or T. espei. (Or ewww...injected.)
>
> Elaine T

Went back to LFS today to grab some food for a finicky ram. They're
definately T. espei. They were no longer golden, but the most amazing
neon orange. I guess they must have just come in when I saw them at
first and have now colored up. Would that I had tank space for those
little beauties but they were chasing everything in sight and wouldn't
get along with my current fish.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><