Rasbora dilemma

[MattW]

I found out the other day my LFS has just got in Sawbwa resplendens for the first time in a long while. I sent an email asking whether they had any females to which they responded they possibly did but couldn't 100% verify which is understandable since they're all somewhat juveniles in store. I asked a friend who lives close to the store to check in person since I was at work. They said the alot had orange markings starting to develop (male indicator) they then asked a worker who said they only get delivered as males.

If these rasboras are all males am I running a risk of getting more since the general rule for these fish is 4 females to 2 males?

I currently have 3 (1 female 2 male)

any help is much appreciated

 

[Magnum Man]

ya know... I hate Latin names... but can see where they are needed... I looked up "Sawbwa resplendens", and a rummy nose tetra, was what I found, but I had been looking at those, myself, but a different fish " Hemigrammus rhodostomus" I can find them both listed as Rummy Nose Tetras, though the latter, I think is sometimes is listed as Brilliant Rummy Nose or some such, it must make care guides confusing, if their care requirements are different???

 

[Wills]

Sawbwa resplendens is a rasbora from Myanmar in lake inle rummy nose tetras are from South America two different species with similar markings though.

In terms of mixing the genders they are not a really aggressive fish where gender ratios are demanded by the fish but in a big enough group it won’t matter too much. Interesting the lfs said they only get males though… I’d aim to get a group of 12-15 of them and see how you get on.

 

[MattW]

Sawbwa resplendens is a rasbora from Myanmar in lake inle rummy nose tetras are from South America two different species with similar markings though.

In terms of mixing the genders they are not a really aggressive fish where gender ratios are demanded by the fish but in a big enough group it won’t matter too much. Interesting the lfs said they only get males though… I’d aim to get a group of 12-15 of them and see how you get on.

Thanks for the advice. I originally got 6 of them from the same store around a year ago. All were juveniles without colour which turned out to be all males after they grew up. I had to get some online from a store that I knew had females. I ordered 8 and lost 5 of them since they were just under 1cm long and very young fish with shrunken stomachs. I personally think no fish that small and age should be shipped.

I haven't had the best luck with these fish

 

[GaryE]

Why don't you breed them? They are far easier than South American rummy noses, even if the markings are similar. I hate common names - they get us into trouble with things like this!

You have a female, and you could easily set up to get a whole bunch of both sexes. A lot of Asian exporters tend to triage females of easier to breed species out to keep their market, but you have an endangered fish and you have both sexes...

You'd need a second tank. You could condition the female away from the male for a week. Make some acrylic yarn mops. Make sure the temperature is right. Then have some fun.

 

[Byron]

For those interested, the South American "rummynose" species of which there are three are detailed in a post I did a while back. There are three posts on various aspects. And I just added photos of the three.

The Three Rummynose Tetras are reclassified

We had a thread a few weeks back in which we were discussing the differences in the three "rummynose" tetras. A new study published electronically on June 26, 2020 in the journal Neotropical Ichthyology proposes the taxonomic revision of the three "rummynose" tetra species Hemigrammus...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Wills]

Thanks for the advice. I originally got 6 of them from the same store around a year ago. All were juveniles without colour which turned out to be all males after they grew up. I had to get some online from a store that I knew had females. I ordered 8 and lost 5 of them since they were just under 1cm long and very young fish with shrunken stomachs. I personally think no fish that small and age should be shipped.

I haven't had the best luck with these fish

Thats interesting they were so small - I've had a very similar situation in the past too.

I think these are a fish well worth sticking with, coming from Lake Inle they live in naturally hard, alkaline water so should do well in most of the UK with our chalk bed streams and limestone bedrocks. I've noticed that a few stores have started mentioning they are in stock again (it seems to be quite seasonal) so keep your eye out if you are not sure on the LFS you have seen them at so far.

Wills