Ricefish owners, why did you get Ricefish?

[Mint]

I’ve been seeing Ricefish all over some aquarium sites, and I’m just wondering…why get them? They’re pretty expensive, from what I see, and they seem like fairly drab fish for being so expensive. Just curious. I’ve never owned them, and I’ve never met anyone else who did either.

 

[davros]

Also curious. People a talking about colors i didn't think were in the wild. Have they gene spiced them like the glo fish?

 

[Essjay]

It depends which rice fish you are talking about as there are several species.
A few years ago I had Daisy's rice fish, Oryzias woworae. These are colourful - pale metallic blue males (the same colour as dwarf neon rainbowfish, Melanotaenia preacox) and yellow females, both with red pectoral fins and the outer edges of the tail are red.

 

[Mint]

It’s probably just plain selective breeding, like the guppies, unless they’re literally glowing.

 

[Mint]

The ones I’ve been seeing are dull tan fish, with a very plain appearance.

 

[Mint]

They were selling for 16 bucks a fish, which I seriously do not get, since they were very plain.

 

[Mint]

Gold Medaka Ricefish (Oryzias latipes)

Gold Medaka Ricefish (Oryzias latipes) for sale from Dans Fish at $5.99 each. Shipped Next Day Air.

dansfish.com

These ones. Not the same pet store, this place sells them for way less, but it still seems like a lot for them.

 

[Essjay]

That is a plain coloured fish in the wild so gold ones are probably selectively bred.

Edit - looking at that website, the photos are probably taken under lighting to enhance their colours. I've looked at Daisy's rice fish on there, and the colours are stronger than in real life.

 

[Mint]

O latipes. I haven’t seen any other species/colors besides that in my area.

 

[Mint]

It still seems like quite a lot, since they’re very much minnow-like fish. I get asking a lot for Daisy’s Ricefish, I just looked them up and they’re beautiful, but the Medeka looks a lot like a rosy red minnow.

 

[Mint]

Yeah, they do that for most fish from what I’ve seen. I found the website that was selling them for a lot, too, and they’ve taken them under super faked photos.

Pearl Galaxy Medaka Ricefish (Oryzias latipes) - Aquatic Arts on sale today for $ 18.99 |

The Pearl Medaka Ricefish is an elegant white variety of the Japanese Ricefish, which is one of the hardiest and most adaptable fish in the world! On sale today for $ 18.99!

aquaticarts.com

 

[Mint]

That’s a sale price for…three fish

 

[Mint]

The only reason I can really see anyone getting those particular ricefish is them being blue-eyed.

 

[myrtle]

I'll answer this; part of the attraction for O. latipes is that they are one of the only peaceful tiny fish that can be kept at low temperatures, lower than WCMM. They're easy to breed and fun to raise from eggs which is much cheaper than buying the adult fish. The eggs can be bought for £1 each (give or take) and are easy to hatch and raise. The different colour strains are also designed to be viewed from above (like Koi) as the Japanese keep them in container ponds as opposed to aquariums.

 

[GaryE]

There has been a lot of linebreeding with these fish. They became very popular in Japana with the post trsunami power cut - they are hardy and very cheap to keep. They need a tank, a filter and a light, with no heater.

I'm unimpressed, but with linebred fish, that's no surprise. With their quick incubation, they are easy to manipulate and people who like selecting and linebreeding fish enjoy them. I've been expecting them to be marketed hard in places where energy costs are really high. They have a big place in the future of the commercial hobby
because they thrive unheated - tomorrow's guppies.

There are also 33 species in the Genus Oryzias. Some people still think there's the Japanese Medaka, and that's it. Some of the others are pretty, but you can'tgeneralize about their needs, as usual.

O. woworae is a cool species for its breeding. It is very odd, with its hanging egg clusters. Just as community fish, you see nothing but if you keep them alone they are something to think about. I kept and bred them for a bit, but they are a fish for people who like breeding and not just looking at tanks. Ricefish are perfect for communities.

I can see the usual name issue as all the species are called 'ricefish' in English, but as far as I know, "Medaka" is the name for the modified, increasingly sold community tank ones.