An introduction to keeping the Japanese Rice fish (Medaka) including tips from the hobbyists and the scientific literature on breeding, feeding temperature, and water conditions.
I have them outside in the mountains and they survived freezing temperatures I was very surprised when I saw the babies also survived. They slow down during winter if left outside.
Same. I have mine outside in a 2ft D X 2ft H X 4ft W heavily planted vessel. Started off with 7 platinum 3yrs ago. They've survived and thrived thick layers of both ice and snow. Never fed them either and they seem to be totally fine living off of insect larvae etc. Their numbers fluctuate as I appear to also have dragonfly larvae living in amongst them. I don't mind as only the fittest survive and I get the additional bonus of beautiful dragonflies
Ah so that's why the Aquatic Pet Store here in PH don't know the name. Didn't knew this is a fairly new pet on the block. I want it in my Goldfish tank, small and compact.
Awesome 👌 video. I'm just getting into MEDAKA!🎉 HELLO Bob.B. this is B.randon Olson. I remember u from FB. I haven't been on Facebook. I'm still in NH living Hermit life in the woods with my swamp projects. I only have my good Ole white Clouds, pack of Kuhli loaches and this spring I'm starting a Medaka mini ponds project with the midnight/Black Medaka and start with nice black lineage. I like the black with Lame sparkles and I still LOVE❤ Killifish. Cheers. U got me excited
This is my second year, they overwintered here in California with no fuss, in more temperate climates, keepers reported that they have even overwintered with a couple inches of thick ice over the surface. I’m excited for this year, I got some orange and Pearl galaxies together, they pop out really well in my black container mini pond.
Since it looks like theres a picture of an Medaka Yo-kihi? on this video I thought I'd ask a question. Some pictures for sale online are brilliantly orange while others are washed out, have very little color, & are more transparent. Is this due to good strain vs bad strains, male vs female, and/or can these brilliantly colored fish wash out and loose there color when they're stressed or not doing well? Thanks Again for The Video & if You or any other viewers can answer this for me.
I house cherry shrimps with my Melaka’s and they get on well no obvious predation. They are fed regularly though and they are just like cichlids in that they recognise you and come to you for food….
Nice video but I just want to say hardiness of rice fish varies a lot based on different factors. Longfin types always need heaters. Many new fancy varieties coming out of Japan need heaters. In most ways they are very like goldfish or guppies, the simplest varieties that have been around a while and the species are obviously very hardy just like comet goldfish, mosquito fish, etc, but super-fancy goldfish and guppies are sometimes a huge pain to keep alive even in ideal aquarium conditions.
In terms of sexing ricefish for breeding projects, I’ve actually noticed the opposite. Females tend to have the little “hook” in their anal fin, while males have the more squared off anal fins. Domesticated variety males also sometimes develop streamers as they age.
They really enjoy being outside same as a lot of the shrimp I found they can survive winter as well. Also kept rainbow shinners and they did fine in winter as well. They g
@@sonnysfishroom3241 I had a 300 gallon stock tanks pond and a couple smaller ponds I was worried the first winter but they all seemed fine and after 2 winters they are all doing good. The rainbow shinners get huge outside. We don’t get much snow here maybe once a winter. Most of the winter is in the low 50’s and raining with a few cold days at below freezing.
@sonnysfishroom3241 Winters are surprisingly mild in the pacific NW - mostly due to it being our wet season. Most of our temps are just above freezing, with lots of rainfall. Snow does occur, but rarely above 4". We have had some bad winters that were pretty exceptional (winter of 2008/2009 was about 18" of snow and it stuck around for about a couple of weeks!)
My name is Tom from Northwest New Jersey....cherry shrimp and snail lover... and want to breed my white cloud mountain mino fish...♡♡♡ #want To LearnMore
They are really a more of a temperate climate fish and not a trully subtropical species. The diesease you have shown is a sign of weakened immune system and it can't be solved with medicine The maine cause is keeping them at a constant tropical temperature. They need hot summers and freezing winters in order to be healthy. If you can't provide those variations your fish won't last very long in the aquarim. The best way is keep them outdoors in tubs or ponds or in a room with no climate control, where they get full sun in the summer and almost freezing temperature in winter. I suggest a low temperature of at least 10°C in winter time but they do survive freezing water outdoors.
I keep mine with shubunkin in a raised outdoor pond all year (UK). I was a bit worried that the shubunkin would try and eat them, but they pay them zero attention. It doesn't get below -5c here and that's only for a short period at night. They survive that just fine.
Wrong. Preferred ideal temperatures for medaka can vary but upper 60's to mid-70's is ideal for the long term. They don't need extremes. More likely it's a lack of sunlight, the tank is overstocked, the water is too soft, or they're not being fed well. They could also be inbred, not acclimated, a longfin variety, or a lot of other reasons. Some people are keeping Java rice fish mistaking them for Medaka. Medaka are commonly kept, bred and raised indoors.
I breed them outside in tubs with no filter or airstone. Lot's of floating plants. Bring in for winter. Great fish
Thanks for the video. Rice fish are so fascinating.
Thank you!
I have them outside in the mountains and they survived freezing temperatures I was very surprised when I saw the babies also survived. They slow down during winter if left outside.
Yeah, that makes sense, given their range over parts of the country that get really cold in the winter. Thanks for the report.
@@sonnysfishroom3241 I’m going to upload a video of mine
Same. I have mine outside in a 2ft D X 2ft H X 4ft W heavily planted vessel. Started off with 7 platinum 3yrs ago. They've survived and thrived thick layers of both ice and snow. Never fed them either and they seem to be totally fine living off of insect larvae etc. Their numbers fluctuate as I appear to also have dragonfly larvae living in amongst them. I don't mind as only the fittest survive and I get the additional bonus of beautiful dragonflies
Ah so that's why the Aquatic Pet Store here in PH don't know the name. Didn't knew this is a fairly new pet on the block. I want it in my Goldfish tank, small and compact.
Used to study genetics? Im sold
Very good
Thank you!
You covered a lot of ground. Thanks ❤
Thanks for watching! Hope things go well for you.
Awesome 👌 video. I'm just getting into MEDAKA!🎉 HELLO Bob.B. this is B.randon Olson. I remember u from FB. I haven't been on Facebook. I'm still in NH living Hermit life in the woods with my swamp projects. I only have my good Ole white Clouds, pack of Kuhli loaches and this spring I'm starting a Medaka mini ponds project with the midnight/Black Medaka and start with nice black lineage. I like the black with Lame sparkles and I still LOVE❤ Killifish. Cheers. U got me excited
Northstar. Midnight sparkle Lame' like a clear night's sky
Glad to hear from you again. Sounds like you’re doing well and have some interesting projects going on. Thanks for stopping by.
メダカ可愛い
Good Video
Thank you.
This is my second year, they overwintered here in California with no fuss, in more temperate climates, keepers reported that they have even overwintered with a couple inches of thick ice over the surface.
I’m excited for this year, I got some orange and Pearl galaxies together, they pop out really well in my black container mini pond.
Glad to hear you’re doing well. I’ve picked some eggs, but they fungused over. Methylene blue didn’t stop it. Back to the drawing board.
I cannot confirm that but we had a hard winter this year
Since it looks like theres a picture of an Medaka Yo-kihi? on this video I thought I'd ask a question. Some pictures for sale online are brilliantly orange while others are washed out, have very little color, & are more transparent. Is this due to good strain vs bad strains, male vs female, and/or can these brilliantly colored fish wash out and loose there color when they're stressed or not doing well? Thanks Again for The Video & if You or any other viewers can answer this for me.
I think the color variations are largely genetic.
I house cherry shrimps with my Melaka’s and they get on well no obvious predation. They are fed regularly though and they are just like cichlids in that they recognise you and come to you for food….
Do you eat your fish when you are feeling a little hungry?
Are you high ? Or special ?
@@landonw8982 Just hungry.
@@corruptcrown7026 oh okay lol
Hello sir, i am from indonesia want to buy medaka fish, where im buying this fish?
I’m sorry, friend. I’ve never been to your part of the world, so I don’t know.
Try searching/looking in local ricefields (with water). I got mine from a ricefields
Hi Bob, do you know where can I get these medaka fish in northern Virginia
They show up periodically at the PVAS monthly auction. Also Blake at blue ridge breeders may have some.
I want to try this fish out but now am worried about maybe getting them with this disease. Good info on their breeding needs. Thanks.
If you get them, make sure you quarantine them for at least a month. Another strategy would be to buy eggs and hatch them yourself.
@@sonnysfishroom3241 I didn't know that one could buy their eggs. That would be fun to try out.
👏👏👏
Thanks!
Nice video but I just want to say hardiness of rice fish varies a lot based on different factors. Longfin types always need heaters. Many new fancy varieties coming out of Japan need heaters. In most ways they are very like goldfish or guppies, the simplest varieties that have been around a while and the species are obviously very hardy just like comet goldfish, mosquito fish, etc, but super-fancy goldfish and guppies are sometimes a huge pain to keep alive even in ideal aquarium conditions.
Good information. Thank you.
Great video you really broke alot down
Thank you! I finally got a group that doesn’t seem to have worms. Wish me luck!
Is a beautiful fish maybe new breed❤❤❤❤❤❤
In terms of sexing ricefish for breeding projects, I’ve actually noticed the opposite. Females tend to have the little “hook” in their anal fin, while males have the more squared off anal fins. Domesticated variety males also sometimes develop streamers as they age.
They survived a couple winters outside in ponds here in Portland Oregon
They really enjoy being outside same as a lot of the shrimp I found they can survive winter as well. Also kept rainbow shinners and they did fine in winter as well. They g
That’s impressive. It gets really cold there, no?
@@sonnysfishroom3241 I had a 300 gallon stock tanks pond and a couple smaller ponds I was worried the first winter but they all seemed fine and after 2 winters they are all doing good. The rainbow shinners get huge outside. We don’t get much snow here maybe once a winter. Most of the winter is in the low 50’s and raining with a few cold days at below freezing.
@@2023byoml thanks.
@sonnysfishroom3241 Winters are surprisingly mild in the pacific NW - mostly due to it being our wet season. Most of our temps are just above freezing, with lots of rainfall. Snow does occur, but rarely above 4". We have had some bad winters that were pretty exceptional (winter of 2008/2009 was about 18" of snow and it stuck around for about a couple of weeks!)
My name is Tom from Northwest New Jersey....cherry shrimp and snail lover... and want to breed my white cloud mountain mino fish...♡♡♡ #want To LearnMore
Well, if you haven’t seen it, I just so happen to have a video on White Cloud Mountain minnows on my channel…
They look like tetra Fish
They are unrelated to tetras.
@@sonnysfishroom3241 oh, alright. Thank You
They’re nice fish, though.
They are really a more of a temperate climate fish and not a trully subtropical species. The diesease you have shown is a sign of weakened immune system and it can't be solved with medicine
The maine cause is keeping them at a constant tropical temperature. They need hot summers and freezing winters in order to be healthy. If you can't provide those variations your fish won't last very long in the aquarim. The best way is keep them outdoors in tubs or ponds or in a room with no climate control, where they get full sun in the summer and almost freezing temperature in winter. I suggest a low temperature of at least 10°C in winter time but they do survive freezing water outdoors.
I keep mine with shubunkin in a raised outdoor pond all year (UK).
I was a bit worried that the shubunkin would try and eat them, but they pay them zero attention.
It doesn't get below -5c here and that's only for a short period at night. They survive that just fine.
Any source for needing varying temperatures for these fish?
Wrong. Preferred ideal temperatures for medaka can vary but upper 60's to mid-70's is ideal for the long term. They don't need extremes. More likely it's a lack of sunlight, the tank is overstocked, the water is too soft, or they're not being fed well. They could also be inbred, not acclimated, a longfin variety, or a lot of other reasons. Some people are keeping Java rice fish mistaking them for Medaka. Medaka are commonly kept, bred and raised indoors.
They look like guppies