Rasboras wont eat anything   5/30/11
Hello WWM,
I thank you very much for the advice on setting up the new aquarium.
Unfortunately, I was not able to get any *Boraras brigittae* (the shop only sold harlequins) so I bought a shoal of 10 harlequins and 4 *Trichopsis pumila*. For the last 5 weeks, the harlequins ate with gusto, often stealing food from the *Trichopsis*. However, starting from three days ago, whenever I put food into the aquarium, they completely ignored it. I feed them some food formulated for guppies (I kept guppies in the 10 gal just before I set it up for the biotope) together with pellets and dried bloodworms. The temperature is averaging 29-30 degrees Celsius, the nitrites are at 0-0.05 ppm and the nitrates are at 5-10 ppm.
I have searched all over the site and I have not found any explanations. I have checked them for parasites and injuries and I have searched the site for answers but I have yet to find one. Is it possible that when I cut the lighting from 14 hours to 8 hours to control algae I messed with their schedule and they are not used to the lights being off for longer periods of time or is it possible that they are eating the dying algae as their usual preference is the plant-based guppy food?
I appreciate some advice.
Joe
<Hello Joe. Your problem here is the wrong mix of species. Boraras species are far too shy and small to mix with other fish, and generally work best kept alone or with "micro" species that feed on the bottom of the tank, for example Cherry Shrimps. They also need a shady tank (floating plants are ideal) and, crucially for long term success, water that isn't hard, i.e., 2-10 degrees dH. Remove the Harlequins, lower the water temperature to a more reasonable 26 C/79 F, and you should also find nitrite drops to zero
(essential for these delicate fish) and things should sort themselves out. Very small live foods such as brine shrimp nauplii and sifted daphnia might be good starter foods but don't expect them to eat anything while [a] nitrite isn't zero and [b] there's any other midwater feeders kept with them. The Sparkling Gouramis should be okay, and both species appreciate very gentle filtration, i.e., an air-powered sponge or box filter rather than anything with a motor. They are micro predators, so no, algae isn't a major part of their diet. Cheers, Neale.>