Lamp Eye, Madagascar Rainbow Fish and the Medaka are three fish suitable for your tropical aquarium. Find out about their behavior, what they look like, water conditions, how to feed them and how to breed them
Lamp Eye - Aplocheilichthys macrophthalmus (Family: Cyprinodontidae)
As this fish rarely grows to more than 3 cms you need to assess your community aquarium to see if there are any of the others that lean towards the aggressive and might harm them. For their size these fishes eyes are bigger than you might expect and show as a greenish gold in low light; hence the common names, Lamp or Lantern eye.
As an active fish with a good leap, you must have a cover on the tank to stop them jumping out and the use of floating plants will help. For these fish to enjoy their stay, matured aquarium water is required at a temperature of between twenty three and twenty six degrees Celcius.
Shape wise, the fish has a long body, thinner at the front with a mouth that points upwards slightly. It has attractive fins on a gray green body which may have a dark line along the back with a spotted shiny thin band along the flank. The male's ventral and dorsal fins are more pointed than the female.
Breeding wise, eggs are either laid individually or in bunches that end up amongst the plants. Once laid it is best practice to remove the parents. The eggs will hatch in about a week and a half and you will have to be very careful with the fry as they are a bit delicate.
Madagascar Rainbow Fish - Bedotia geayi (Family: Atherinidae)
Keeping this fish in a shoal (not large) with water between 25 and 18 degrees centigrade will see them at their best in your community tank. It is an active swimmer and sturdy little fish that grows up to about 8 cms and likes to dwell in the top part of the aquarium. Although it has only come onto the scene a relatively short time ago this fish has become a favorite with aquarium lovers.
Body wise, it has a somewhat unique feature in that it has two dorsal fins, a short one and a long one. Color wise, the main color is olive green and there is a stripe along the sides of the fish from eye to tail. It is easy to feed as it it accepts most offerings so ideally give it a varied diet.
Breeding is easy for this species so you need to have thickly planted tank with hard water at a temperature of at least 26 degrees centigrade. Eggs laid will adhere to plants and the eggs themselves are quite big but you will have to wait a few days for completion as only a few eggs are laid per day. Bear in mind that due to the extended spawning period, fry will hatch and be at various stages of their development.
Medaka - Oryzias latipes (Family: Oryziatidae)
This fish is ideal for your tropical aquarium. It grows to about 5 cms, will consume most foods and can survive in a wide range of temperatures, although 20 to 24 degrees centigrade is the best for it. There are three other species of Oryzias that you may also come across under the name medaka but the Oryzias latipes is the main one.
With this fish there are no specific patterns on its mainly gold color. Its head is slimmer than you would normally expect and its body lengthier than usual. It is interesting to know that before breeding took place the original color was; well there wasn't one. It was transparent!
Males are somewhat smaller than females and have bigger fins. Breeding is relatively easy and the tank should be at the same temperature as the main tank, have floating plants and be thickly planted underwater with fine leaved plants. Until they have been fertilized, the eggs will stay attached to the end of the female.
It is best practice to take out all the plants with attached eggs from the tank to another one and after about two weeks the fry will emerge. Remove and feed on infusoria then fine dry food, then micro worms and other food for the more grown up fish.
So there you have it, three more excellent fish for your tropical aquarium collection.
