First Residents to the Tank
In order not to destroy the newly established nitrification system, I had not put too many fish.
Moreover, I’m sorry that bitterlings in this blog do not display their best nuptial coloration, as they need time to acclimate the new tank.
Caridina Cantonensis
This is a kind of small shrimp inhabiting small ponds and streams in Sichuan province, China, with about 1.5 to 2 centimeters long.
Its Chinese name can be directly tranlated to “Tiger Stripe Shrimp” because of its reddish-brown stripes.
Sinorhodeus microlepis
Being an endemic species of Chongqing, China, it is discovered in 2017 and distributed in only a few streams around the city. As the only member of genus Sinorhodeus, Sinorhodeus microlepis has some special features such as its tiny scales, which are why it was named as “microlepis”, and I would like to talk about them in the future blogs.
I took these two photos just few hours after I put them to the tank, so they look frightened (you can even make a meme with them) and pink (instead of red body with black-red stripes on fins).
Besides, fish tend to find somewhere to hide when they are scared. Unfortunately, this one got itself stuck between the pump and the wall.
Here’s a video of the first time I fed them.
Rhodeus ocellatus
This is the most common bitterling in China. You can find them almost everywhere: from Beijing tu Guangzhou, from lakes and ponds to streams and big rivers.
Though their wide distribution become the cheapest bitterling you can buy on the market, its coloration is as pretty as, or even more pretty than some other bitterlings. It has pink or red dorsal and anal fins and abdomen, a metallic lustrous green forehead, a bright red tail, and a pair of pelvic fin with wight stripe. However, it is also really hard to make their coloration to reach the best state, especially when firstly adding to the tank.
I’m not very satisfied with the exposure and focusing, but these are some of the only photos I could find :(
Actually I took these two photos a few days after adding them, so you can see the coloration of both bitterlings are better.