Salt & Pepper Corys, Phoenix Rasboras & Lake Tanganyika Julies — New In This Week at Pond Life Aquatics
Salt & Pepper Corys, Phoenix Rasboras & Lake Tanganyika Julies — New In This Week at Pond Life Aquatics
This week at Pond Life Aquatics we've got a particularly exciting mix: one of the most requested nano corydoras in the hobby fresh out of quarantine, a restock of a micro predator that blackwater enthusiasts will already know and love, and a brand new species to the shop that brings something genuinely unusual to the African cichlid world. Here's a proper look at all three.
Corydoras habrosus — The Salt & Pepper Corydoras
If you've ever kept pygmy corydoras and thought "I wish they actually stayed on the bottom," then Corydoras habrosus is probably the fish for you. These little South Americans are often grouped with pygmies in conversation — both are micro corydoras species, both reach a similar size — but habrosus are true benthic fish. Where pygmies regularly venture into the mid-water column, habrosus hug the substrate, sifting through leaf litter and soft sand in the way you'd expect a proper corydoras to behave.
Fully grown they'll reach 3 to 3.5 centimetres, with the females being noticeably rounder and broader. Their speckled black and white colouration is where the common name comes from, and it's genuinely beautiful up close. They hail from Colombia, where they're found in soft, slightly acidic water with plenty of leaf litter and dappled light, so replicating that in the aquarium goes a long way. Aim for a pH in the 6 to 7 range, a fine soft substrate to protect those barbels, and add dried leaves if you want to give them something to really explore.
Group size matters a lot with this species. You can technically keep six, but a group of 15 to 20 in a 50 to 60 litre setup is where you start to see the real behaviours — the coordinated shoaling, the playful dashing around the tank, the communal feeding. It's one of those species where the difference between a small group and a proper group is night and day.
For feeding, we've been using the Fish Science Corydoras tablet with these guys, which disperses slowly into the water and doesn't cause the kind of mess you can get with other sinking foods. Micro bloodworm pushed gently into the substrate works brilliantly — they'll seek it out. Cyclops, daphnia, and small live foods all go down well. Just avoid anything too large; jumbo bloodworm and mealworms are too much for a fish this size.
This group came in yesterday and the condition is excellent — we've got some proper breeding-size females in the batch, which a couple of our regulars have already been informed about. If habrosus breeding is on your list, now's the time.
Boraras merah — The Phoenix Rasbora
Boraras merah is one of those fish that keeps appearing on fish YouTube for good reason. Channels like Tiny Menagerie and Fish'd Up Matt have both featured different Boraras species at various points, and every time they do, the response is the same — people fall in love. It's not hard to see why.
These fish are true micro predators from the peat swamps and blackwater streams of Southeast Asia. They're tiny, reaching barely a centimetre and a half, and the colouration — deep red with a dark lateral stripe — is genuinely striking, especially in a well-planted setup. The challenge, such as it is, comes from their water requirements. These are proper soft and acidic fish. pH sitting at 6 to 6.5 is a good working range; if you want to try and trigger spawning you can push that lower, into the mid-fours, with near-zero general hardness. That's not a setup for everyone, but the fish will reward the effort.
If you don't want to go to those extremes, a blend of RO and tap water gives you the best of both worlds — lowered pH with just enough mineral content to support plant growth. Because you really do want plants with this species. The tank in the shop currently has the Phoenix rasboras running with galaxy hybrids in a tea-stained setup, with Java fern, bucephalandra, and Java moss all doing extremely well. Anecdotally, Java fern seems to actually do better in tannin-stained water — possibly because the diffused light suppresses the algae growth that stunts it in brighter conditions.
For tank mates, other small rasboras are the obvious choice. We've also been testing them with badis, which are another micro predator, and it's been working well so far — the Phoenix rasboras spend most of their time near the surface while the badis occupy the mid and lower levels, so direct competition hasn't been an issue.
Copepods were the morning feed when we filmed this, and watching them respond to live food is one of the great pleasures of keeping this species. Those micro predator instincts kick in immediately. If you're considering getting into Boraras, start with a group of 15 to 20 in a 30 to 40 litre. The difference a proper group makes to their confidence and visibility in the tank cannot be overstated.
One quick note: most Boraras species come in under the umbrella of "red rasboras" at import stage, so correct identification falls to the store. We previously had a batch identified as Boraras brigittae — this time we're confident these are merah, but if you know your Boraras and think otherwise, let us know in the comments.
Julidochromis regani — Regan's Julie
A new one for the shop this week, and an exciting one. Julidochromis regani — Regan's Julie — is a rock-dwelling cichlid from Lake Tanganyika in East Africa, and it brings everything that makes Tanganyikan fish so interesting to keep.
From a practical standpoint, these are genuinely beginner-friendly in London. Lake Tanganyika is one of the oldest and most stable freshwater bodies on Earth, and its inhabitants need the water to reflect that — high pH, high general hardness, well-oxygenated. That profile maps almost exactly onto London tap water, which means for once you don't need to fight your parameters. If you're elsewhere in the UK with softer water, options like Seachem Tanganyika buffer, Samoan sand, or crushed coral in the substrate will get you there without a huge amount of effort.
For the aquascape, the rule is simple: rocks. Lots of rocks. Give them crevices, overhangs, and caves to establish territory and eventually spawn. The crucial safety note here is to always place your rocks either directly onto the base glass or onto egg crate before adding substrate — never build a rockscape on top of sand with this species. Julidochromis are diggers, and if they undermine a rock stack it can crack the glass. It's an easy mistake to avoid.
What makes this species genuinely fascinating — and what sets it apart in the cichlid world — is its family structure. Julidochromis regani are bi-parental substrate spawners, but what's remarkable is that the first batch of fry will actively help raise subsequent broods. Cooperative breeding is rare in fish, and seeing it play out in an aquarium is something special. For a breeding setup, aim for 110 litres minimum for an established pair.
If you've got the tank size, pairing Regan's Julies with multifasciatus shell dwellers would create a proper Lake Tanganyika biotope — rock-dwelling cichlids from the upper zones alongside shell dwellers working the sandy bottom. It's an unusual setup that most people don't attempt, and it would be genuinely impressive to see done well.
We also had a lovely restock of marble hatchets come in this week, a stunning snow white blue dragon betta, and some beautiful discus. The shop is looking exceptional right now, and with pond season approaching fast, it's a great time to come in.
Come and see us at Pond Life Aquatics, Finchley Nurseries, North West London NW7 1AS — or find us at @pondlifeaquatics on Instagram.