From Aqua Guide, the free encyclopedia
Lambchop Rasbora
Trigonostigma espei
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C
- pH
- 5.5 – 7.5
- Min. tank size
- 54 L
- Lifespan
- 5 years
- Diet
- omnivore
- Care level
- easy
| Scientific classification | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name: | Trigonostigma espei |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Origin: | Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia) |
| Care Characteristics | |
| Care Level: | easy |
| Diet: | omnivore |
| Max Size: | 3.00 cm |
| Water Type: | freshwater |
| Temp Group: | tropical |
| Temperament: | peaceful |
| Min Group: | 8+ together |
| Varieties: | No cultivated colour strains — the wild-type fish is what is sold, and its appeal is the copper body and the hook-shaped marking. Colour varies with origin, and with substrate, lighting and diet far more than with genetics. Most trade stock is commercially bred. The genus matters more than the varieties. Trigonostigma contains the three closely related "harlequin" rasboras: T. heteromorpha, the harlequin proper, largest at 45 mm with the broad black triangle; T. espei, this fish, smaller and warmer-coloured with the thin hook; and T. hengeli, the glowlight rasbora, smallest and most translucent with a thin black marking above an orange flash. They are frequently confused and sometimes mixed in shop tanks, and hengeli is regularly sold as espei. All three have essentially the same requirements and mix happily, though each schools with its own kind, so a single-species group of ten looks better than three of each. |
| Lifespan: | 5 years |
Quick Tips
- Bioload:Low
- Min Tank:54 L
- Substrate:Dark sand; planted with botanicals/tannins
- Plant Safe:Plant-safe
- Filtration:Low to moderate
Lambchop Rasbora (Trigonostigma espei) is a species of fish in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia). The lambchop rasbora is the harlequin's quieter relative, and for a lot of tanks it is the better fish. Where the harlequin carries a broad black triangle, Trigonostigma espei has a thinner, hook-shaped marking — the "lambchop" — over a body that is a warmer copper-orange, sometimes properly red in a mature male over dark substrate. It is also smaller: 30 mm standard length against the harlequin's 45, which puts a proper group inside a tank most people already own. The specialist minimum is a 60 × 30 cm base at around 54 litres. It is peaceful, undemanding within a soft-water preference, and it schools honestly rather than just occupying the mid-water. The one requirement worth taking seriously is numbers: eight to ten minimum, and more is visibly better.
Compatibility
- Temperament
- peaceful
- Keep in
- Groups of 8+
- Swims
- middle
- Fin nipper
- No
- Delicate fins
- No
Species similar to Lambchop Rasbora
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