Water conditions: Neutral, 24-27^oC

Spawning Method: Spawning Mops

Sex ratio: Somewhat female heavy

Breeding difficulty: Very easy

Success: Very successful

Other Comments: This fish is a biological hazard to any fish room. It can hide indefinately in a medium to large aquarium. It will inject it's eggs into mops meant for other species. Its fry will hatch first, outgrow and kill the other fry. Given beneign neglect, it can take over an entire fish room quickly. The eggs are easily transmitted from tank to tank on plants and such. It can be very attractive or exceptionally bland. It is a remarkable chameleon changing coloration and patterns from minute to minute. Peak coloration usually occurs during feeding or mating. Males are best identified by the yellow margin on the caudal fin. This fish is fast and has keen vision. It is room aware and will hide before you notice it in a fish tank. It is hard to catch and once it infests an aquarium, you can expect to find fry and young long after the parents are removed. It can survive extreme temperature and pH ranges and long periods without food. Generally this fish is peaceful. Dominant males are agressive to other members of the same species, but will fall short of actually exterminating their same species tank mates. In high density situations they will establish a pecking order. Smaller males will often take on female coloration. This Epiplatys may leave other fish they can't eat alone. It eats flake, frozen or live food of any kind I've tried. Use extreme care to isolate this species in a fish room or you may very well wind up with only one species left. It may take more than one generation in your fish room to get an individual that will regularly, if ever display peak coloration. In small aquariums, they can become accustomed to one or two people and eventually display well. Generally they will show poorly or hide for guests or in a larger planted aquariums. It has taken me 3 years to reduce this plague to a single reverse trio. They hatched out in an 2.5 gallon fistank sustancially without light, food, filtration or aeration for 6 months. They were only 2.5 cm long and unusually thin. Within 3 weeks of being found and moved to a 5 gallon tank in my office, away from all other fish tanks, the larger male reached 6 cm long. Growth is fast and these are long lived fish. Currently his coloration mimics N. rachovii with a narrow yellow rather wide orange dorsal margin. Thankfully, they do not appear to be spawning. I obtained these fish as part of a package deal for taking 8 fish tanks for free. Now I know why they came with 8 fish tanks. For those brave enough to actually want to spawn and maintain this species, one would likely suppose they will be impossible. But give a 15 gallon fish tank and large spawining mop a try. If that fails add lots of java moss and remove the parents after a couple of weeks. As a last resort put them in with some new and rare mop spawner. I know for sure that will work. Good luck, and beware this Epiplatys

Breeder: ~RJ~, USA (4 years experience with this species)