Nimbochromis venustus

Care 

    They require hard water. Males are aggressive toward each other.keep in temperatures of 25-27C. Place rocks and sand in their tank to mimic their natural environment. The males will live in between the rocks and be aggressively defending its territory.

Breeding

   They are easy to breed. The female will lay eggs and keep them in her mouth. Remove the female once you notice eggs in her mouth to prevent others disturbing her which may result in her swallowing the eggs. the female will take care of the eggs until the fries are large enough to take care of themselves. Remove the female when she releases the fries. This is as she might eat them. Males are more colourful then females and the have egg spots on the anal fin.

 

Datnioides microlepis - Indonesian Tiger

Set-up 
     1) Provide lots of hiding spots with driftwood or dense vegetation.This provides security and encourages a stable condition where the fish shows its stripes more clearly. If its stressed, it will appear dark in colour and the stripes will not be visible. However, this set-up requires a lot of maintenance.




    2) Keep it in a bare tank. When the fish gets used to its new environment, it will start to show its normal colours, however it will get spooked easily. This set-up is easy to maintain and it displays the fish always as compared to the fish hiding behind a piece of driftwood.

Feeding 
    It is a predatory species, therefore feed it live foods like guppies or platies. Larger ITs can take larger feeders like goldfishes or catfishes. It can be trained to take frozen bloodworms or Market prawns. Keep the feeders healthy as it may transmit diseases to the IT.

Care 
   This species grow quite large, so keep it in a larger sized tank. Temperature of the water should be around 22-28 C . Keep in mildly acidic conditions around 6pH.

Compatability
   It is a peaceful species and is best kept with other predatory species such as an arowana or feshwater stingrays. It can also be kept with bichirs. DO not keep it with fishes that can fit into its mouth as it will eat them.

Nimbochromis venustus

Indonesian Tiger (Datnioides Microlepis)