Stiphodon question

So I have a new scape in my 60L cube (15gal / 38 x 38 x 43 cm). The current stocking will be

5x Oryzias woworae
1x Zebra nerite

I've been looking into other nano species to keep alongside the ricefish. Specifically species from Indonesia and "bottom dwellers". Stiphodon popped up quite a lot on the site I used and I did some general research into them. There were quite a few conflicting opinions from websites and YouTube videos. It seems the majority agreed on a single specimen for a 10gal aquarium with the possibility of 2. As my tank is a cube aquarium and the length isn't that of a standard 60L aquarium do I run a risk of a battle for territory between 2 specimens? Or are they sociable fish?

The scape has a foreground of mostly river stones and sand substrate. The stones don't have filled gaps which allow for quite a few caves and hiding spots. The background is heavily planted with a larger piece of driftwood in the midground.

An alternative option was some cull neocaridina shrimp from a shrimp breeder a couple of hours away.

TIA


My LFS currently stocks the bottom two.

I have a stiphodon atropurpureus & 1 very similar, both males; & had tiny s. percnopterygionus, 2 pairs. I keep/kept them in a 55g "river-ish" tank, so lots of flow but calm areas too. I think, from what I've only read, that rice fish don't like much flow. I think your tank is too small for most but maybe percs if you can find them. The males display each other but no real aggression IME. To get the best colors you need more than 1, either a M & F or 2 males.

They are very interesting color-changing fish! They can turn their heads in an adorable way. They have fused pelvic fins, like a little suction cup, so they can climb up & possibly out. Does your cube have a lid? The percs stayed mostly on the bottom often not in a high flow area. Feeding them might be tricky; mine would eat Repashy Soylent Green mostly & sometimes flake. They also graze on algae & auf wuchs. The same as the snail?

You might be better off with shrimp to be honest. If you decide to try them anyway, be sure they are eating well & you can provide for them. I have to warn you, the 2nd "blue" kind, I lost 5 of 6 including the only female to camallanus worms. 11 years later the survivor is still alive. Thank goodness for quaratine!! The percs I got from a fellow hobbyist along with 2 hillstream loach species.

Thanks for the reply! I might miss out on keeping this species then. I did see that the vast majority are wild caught so they are prone to parasite issues. My cube does have a lid and I usually have the water line between 1.5-2 inches below the rim. The website I am using does have a vast library of species from Indonesia so I'll keep looking for alternatives

ALL stiphodon species in the market are wild caught AFAIK. They need a pelagic (gradual to full salt water & slowly back to fresh. Like salmon but tiny?) period after hatching. I'm not saying it can't or hasn't been done but don't think you're going to breed them without heroic efforts. A guy in my club breeds Amano shrimp & they need similar conditions I think.

If you've never kept shrimp, they are quite entertaining! I loved my cherries & neos come in many pretty colors. But don't mix the colors if you don't want them to turn back into brown, their natural coloration. Red, blue, orange, yellow or green just pick 1 color!!

fishorama said:

ALL stiphodon species in the market are wild caught AFAIK. They need a pelagic (gradual to full salt water & slowly back to fresh. Like salmon but tiny?) period after hatching. I'm not saying it can't or hasn't been done but don't think you're going to breed them without heroic efforts. A guy in my club breeds Amano shrimp & they need similar conditions I think.

If you've never kept shrimp, they are quite entertaining! I loved my cherries & neos come in many pretty colors. But don't mix the colors if you don't want them to turn back into brown, their natural coloration. Red, blue, orange, yellow or green just pick 1 color!!

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I don't think I'd breed fish again after I bred my Sawbwa a lot of time went into that.. especially if it requires brackish water . I've had amano shrimp for about 3-4 years now, very hardy shrimp. I've had cherry shrimp in my bigger tank but the numbers dwindled quickly. Went from 15-7 within a few months. I actually wouldn't mind them going back to natural coloration. I think they'd look decent in this tank. As for other bottom dwellers, I've never had any cory species. Of course, they aren't from the Indo-Pacific region but I had been considering possibly Pygmys? I've kept Oto's before as well but my overall luck hasn't been the best with them. I know the tank size limits my choices but I would love to have a bottom dweller who could make use of the river stones.