Unlikely Tank Mates
by Norm Ruebsamen

Without realizing it, I had 20 very small Biv. Funge fry growing up in a tank with some 5" Fp. Fallax Malende. This was a Fallax Malende breeding set-up. I had placed a pair of Biv. Funge in with them to grow out as show fish.The other day, while feeding daphnia, I noticed the 1/4" Funge fry. It grabbed a daphnia but it was way too large to eat. While he sat there hanging on to it a 5" Malende male swam out of the weeds and grabbed the daphnia (not the fry amazingly!). For a split second they were eye to eye until the Funge fry let go and raced for the weeds. I searched for more fry and found over 20 small Funge in the tank. If you have ever seen an adult Fallax Malende eat you would have to wonder how anything that resembles food could survive in the same tank. Especially when the Malende are 20 times their size. What I found most interesting is that I had two successful breeding set ups going simultaneously. The Biv Funge adults were not eating the Malende eggs that I collect from the gravel, and the Malende were not bothering newly hatched Funge fry.

I have also bred Epiplatys Lamottei and Biv Funge together in a planted tank with good success. I am curious to know if others have had success with breeding more than one species in a natural set up, and if so, what those species were.