Juvenile scissortail rasboras?

[Flash Wilson]

Hiya,

About a year ago I bought six of what I was told were baby
scissortail rasbora. I was told they would lose the blue colouring
and grow to need a larger tank.

Here they are: http://www.gorge.org/fish/what.shtml#scis
The photos aren't great, but they won't sit still and smile!

Now, it's been a year and they aren't any bigger! They are in a
70litre sof****er tank with tetras and harlequins.

Their behaviour is entirely peaceful, although they are the most
active fish in the tank, and they willingly feed from the top
(which my cardinals, for example, rarely do).

I would have thought by now I would have seen them lose colour
and grow bigger if they really are scissortails. For sure, the
tank isn't big enough for them if they do grow, but they'd be
moved to a larger tank as has happened to other fish. They are
each up to an inch long, no more.

Can anyone confirm the identification, or suggest an alternative?
I'm not aware of any other type that looks like that. The shop
where I bought them is usually bang on with its ID and advice
(and I checked at the time so I can't have read the wrong label!)

All help welcome!

Cheers and have a good week everyone,
--
Flash Wilson
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"The geek shall inherit the girth."

[Liisa Sarakontu]

(Flash Wilson) wrote in
:

> Hiya,
>
> About a year ago I bought six of what I was told were baby
> scissortail rasbora. I was told they would lose the blue colouring
> and grow to need a larger tank.
> Here they are: http://www.gorge.org/fish/what.shtml#scis

Scissortails are not blue when young, so these are certainly not that
species. The pics aren't exactly perfect, but I think I see an adipose fin.
If it is there, those are most probably blue tetras, Boehlkea fredcochui.
Not among the most peaceful tetras but still suitable for many community
tanks.

And if your fish has that adipose, you might want to look for a shop with
more knowledge. The amount of fins is one of the most important things how
to tell fish groups apart from each others. Adipose fin can be found only
from few fish groups, like many catfishes, nearly all salmonids and nearly
all tetras.

Liisa

[Flash Wilson]

On Sun, 14 Mar 2004 18:50:02 +0000 (UTC),
Liisa Sarakontu > wrote:
(Flash Wilson) wrote in
:
>> About a year ago I bought six of what I was told were baby
>> scissortail rasbora. I was told they would lose the blue colouring
>> and grow to need a larger tank.
>> Here they are: http://www.gorge.org/fish/what.shtml#scis
>
>Scissortails are not blue when young, so these are certainly not that

Thank you.

>species. The pics aren't exactly perfect, but I think I see an adipose fin.

*checks* Yes, it's tiny but there - about the same size as on my
cardinals.

>If it is there, those are most probably blue tetras, Boehlkea fredcochui.

Thank you! A quick google on these (I'd never heard of them!) suggests
that's what they are. A website I found says they need:

Darkly arranged tank, open space for swimming. Active tankmates.
pH: <7, H: soft.

They certainly have a dark tank - black background and gravel - and soft,
acidic water. There's some open space in the middle to swim, and they
are the most active of all of my fish but don't bother the others.

>Not among the most peaceful tetras but still suitable for many community
>tanks.

Great :-) They've been very peaceful with my cardies, harlequins,
black neons and catfish. So no problems!

>And if your fish has that adipose, you might want to look for a shop with
>more knowledge. The amount of fins is one of the most important things how
>to tell fish groups apart from each others. Adipose fin can be found only
>from few fish groups, like many catfishes, nearly all salmonids and nearly
>all tetras.

The trouble is that this shop is usually very good, it's also the only
one with a great selection and usually excellent knowledge. Others have
sold me sick or incompatible fish, and often have dead fish present.
The shop I use is great, people come from miles to use it! I'll let them
know next time I'm in there. It's the first mistake I'm aware of them
making, so I'll let them off this once :-)

Thanks very much for such a quick and helpful mail - I'm sure you're
right with the ID, very useful!


--
Flash Wilson Visit my website: http://www.gorge.org
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