Nandus nebulosus
Nandus nebulosus naturally inhabits water bodies in most of Southeast Asia (from Indochina and Thailand through peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia). The fish can be found in floodplain rivers with slower currents, lakes, marshes, as well as in fast currents near the banks, where the current is not as strong. The fish stay singly, among dense vegetation, with substrate in the form of a thick layer of sunken leaves and tree branches. The Bornean nandus has the following synonyms: Bedula nebulosus, Nandus borneensis.
These fish are not often found in the trade. But if you are lucky enough to get them, you will get a lot of positive emotions while watching their habits, believe me, it is worth it.
Nandus nebulosus is a solitary fish that is difficult to spot in the water. It has a rather interesting body pattern. Its brown and paler colouration with dark spots and leaf-shaped body shape effectively camouflage the fish amongst decaying tree leaves on the bottom, allowing it to catch careless prey such as small fish. Males have a more intense colouration, they are almost black. Females are paler. Maximum size reaches 12 cm.
The Bornean nandus leads a crepuscular lifestyle. When hunting, it hides in an ambush and swiftly grabs a stray fish. When keeping Borneo nandus in the general aquarium with other fish, you need to pick up their neighbours only large and quiet fish - all fish smaller than their size (up to 2/3 of their size), they will certainly be eaten. Male fish can be aggressive towards each other, so it is advisable to keep in the same aquarium is not more than one male and a few females.
One pair of fish should have a volume of at least 150 liters. It should be densely stocked with a variety of shade-tolerant plants. At the bottom can be placed on coconut shells, snags, large stones.
Water parameters: temperature 20-26° C, hardness dH 9-16°, pH 7.0-7.5.
Light is low, lasting about 8-10 hours per day. When growing plants in an aquarium, take this into account and select only shade-tolerant species.
In nature, the Nandus nebulosus feeds on fish, crustaceans and insect larvae. The menu in an aquarium consists of small fish, earthworms and bloodworms. Feed once a day before lights out in the aquarium.
Reproduction
There is very little information about successful breeding of Nandus nebulosus in captivity, although we have information about successful experience with breeding in aquarium.
It is known that the female lays eggs on the walls of the shelter. The male at this time protects the nest from other fish. When the fry hatch, their parents do not show parental care for them and are immediately ready to eat them. Therefore, the fry or producers should immediately be transferred to another aquarium.
The fry are fed Artemia nauplii for the first 2-3 weeks, after which they are fed larger food.
