Indostomus paradoxus

[BigTom]

A quick video here of my newest favourite fish, Indostomus paradoxus. These guys are awesome, halfway between a pipefish and a stickleback, and only 2.5cm long. I currently have half a dozen of them in a 30cm cube.

Had major problems with dim lighting and reflections trying to film these little dudes, one or two shots are in focus though

 

[Kristoph91]

Really interesting! 🙂

 

[ghostsword]

Great tanks, I've never seen these fish before... 🙂

What do they eat?

 

[BigTom]

Great tanks, I've never seen these fish before... 🙂

What do they eat?

Really small things

Live foods only, but they have really tiny mouths... they're mainly eating the cyclops living in the tank at the moment, along with whatever other 'invisible' stuff is in there. Even daphnia/ostracods are too big for them. Have got some micro/banana/walter worm cultures going now, hope they'll take those. Apparently newly hatched artemia also work.

Great fish for a self-sustaining setup.

 

[ghostsword]

They look really nice, would not mind to add them to a 35l tank with some galaxy rasboras. Would they take artemia eggs? Or really only live food?

 

[BigTom]

Think this is one of those species that when people say 'live food only', they really mean it. They tend to lurk under branches and vegetation and just snap at things that move past them.

 

[ghostsword]

I will check if I can see them for sale anywhere in London. It can't be that hard to sort out a live culture for them.

 

[BigTom]

Tropical Fish Finder shows Aquatic Design Centre as having them in stock.

 

[ghostsword]

Fantastic, I will pop in on Monday to check it out. I think that they would be a good addiction for a messy tank I have, messy as it is full of moss, wood and ferns, barely see the galaxy rasboras. 🙂

 

[frothhelmet]

thanks for sharing.

 

[BigTom]

Fun times in the toothpick tank – saw some vigorous courtship displays a couple of days ago, and today spotted a fry about 6mm, so presumably from an earlier mating.

For the record; pH 6ish, 30ppm, 23 degrees. Tank shared with a trio of Parosphromenus and fed almost exclusively on micro/banana worms.

 

[sr20det]

Fun times in the toothpick tank – saw some vigorous courtship displays a couple of days ago, and today spotted a fry about 6mm, so presumably from an earlier mating.

For the record; pH 6ish, 30ppm, 23 degrees. Tank shared with a trio of Parosphromenus and fed almost exclusively on micro/banana worms.

Thats awesome, that look pucker, what filteration do you have noticed little water movement, so assume a HOB? read that they can take 215ppm TDS and up to 7.5 ph, which is pretty decent for tap water really.

 

[BigTom]

Fun times in the toothpick tank – saw some vigorous courtship displays a couple of days ago, and today spotted a fry about 6mm, so presumably from an earlier mating.

For the record; pH 6ish, 30ppm, 23 degrees. Tank shared with a trio of Parosphromenus and fed almost exclusively on micro/banana worms.

Thats awesome, that look pucker, what filteration do you have noticed little water movement, so assume a HOB?

There's a little Dennerle corner filter in there, turned down to lowest flow.

 

[darren636]

they really are something special. Your cube looks pristine as well. 30 ppm is pretty extreme and so is their feeding regime but they are fascinating. Tom does it again. Brilliant.

 

[BigTom]

they really are something special. Your cube looks pristine as well. 30 ppm is pretty extreme and so is there feeding demands but they are fascinating. Tom does it again. Brilliant.

The water params are just using tap water and an active substrate. The fish themselves are pretty adaptable - http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/in ... paradoxus/

 

[darren636]

active substrate.... Peat?

 

[BigTom]

active substrate.... Peat?

ADA Amazonia - just because I had some left over.

 

[Guest]

Another Attenborough-esque video; an interesting insight in to the behavior of these little dudes. I think I'd need a tank with a convex lens front to see them without the benefit of your video.

 

[darren636]

man..... I was glued to my laptop looking at these guys last night.... Not a good sign....

 

[Garuf]

Lovely little fish, I suppose it'd be too much to be small interesting and good in high turnover tanks! One for a species project I think! Great video, brilliant fish!