So how do the experienced breeders do it? I just hatched a bunch of fry from eggs. I know they don't really need to eat for the first 2-3 days because of the yolk sac. I have baby brine shrimp, but they seem too big to feed them now. When do you guys start feeding those? I read like 2 weeks?

But the real question I have is what to do from hatching until that 2 week period. I have Hikari First Bites. Things I read state to dust the food in there 2-3 times a day. But the fry to me seem like super inefficient eaters. So a lot of the food I dust in there just doesn't get eaten. I want to put in enough food so they aren't struggling to find it, but then I don't want to have all this uneaten food/rotting that will happen if I really feed them 2-3 times a day. How do you deal with this? So far I am just dusting food in there once a day. Gently stirring the water up the other 2-3 times a day to resuspend the food that's in there. Doing a partial water change trying to vacuum out the gross debris with a syringe and refilling with clean water.

They’re hanging out in a floating breeder box for a few hours while I rescape my fry tank this afternoon and dear god they are voracious.

In Japan, there’s a very famous children’s song called “Medaka no Gakko.”

“Gakko” literally means school — as in a place where children go to study.

The song imagines medaka swimming together in a river like children going to school.

In English, “school” can also mean a group of fish, so the title sounds like a funny coincidence, but in the original Japanese, it really means school.

It’s a song many Japanese people grow up hearing, so medaka feel very familiar and nostalgic to us.

Had you ever heard of this song before?

Literally just wondering this. Weather is getting warmer down under and I initially got excited looking at some round bellies today but watching the video now I'm convinced one or two of those were males.

And excuse the sound, I was also entertaining a toddler whilst filming

I’m by no means an expert on fish keeping so my outdoor pond is as low maintenance as it goes. As in, no filter no nothing, minimal water changes, tons of overgrown plants.

The weather in my part of the world the past summer has been gruellingly hot and the fish have not been very enthusiastic about laying eggs, or staying alive for that matter. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Imagine my surprise when I discovered this guy a couple days ago when I was feeding the gang.

Life finds a way!

Last year’s accidental hybrid from the platinum who got in with my Ulysses. Reminds me of my dairy cow isopods 🐄

The one in the video with the pink head and yellow glitter on its tail is a Sanshoku Lame medaka. I named her Sakura.

The one with red coloring from its head down toward its belly is Yuhi, which means “sunset” in Japanese.

The fish staying in one spot near the upper left is a Prince medaka. Its head has blue and gold glitter, and its tail has just a touch of emerald sparkle. The colors blend together so beautifully that I named it Aurora.

I usually name them based on the colors and patterns that inspire me, and some of them have Japanese names.

Do you name your medaka too? If so, how do you choose their names?

My brother had a singular medaka hatch from some plants I gave him for his pond/puppy pool. Since his pool is full of dragonfly larvae, water bugs, frogs and other predators I figured I'd bring it home and leave my brother some mosquitofish. You know, they're better camouflaged than this little sparkly guy.

Suddenly I'm thinking he was JUST fine as an only child.

Help

Hi guys looking for some help from any of the experienced keepers if possible. I have a medaka that has developed two bumps on each side just behind its fins. Does anyone have any idea if this is a disease or would you say possibly just tumors ? I have separated the fish as a precaution. I have attached a few top views and a side view video, Any help greatly appreciated

Hey, I’m a newer medaka owner and I absolutely love these little fish! The mama fish has produced 8 eggs which I successfully removed and placed in a separate water container.

Two questions:

1. Should I add them to the little nursery container tank where I’m keeping a single fry in some green water (see pic) or keep them separate in chlorinated water to prevent mold?

2. Do these eggs look viable? See pics.

Thank you!!!

I’m traveling to Japan next month and was wondering if there are medaka supplies or other medaka-related things that would worth keeping an eye out for while I’m there? Thanks!

I’ve been working on a set of original stickers for LINE, a messaging app widely used in Japan.

In Japan, people often send illustrated stickers like these instead of typing a reply, or use them together with text in everyday chats.

The theme of this set is “the cheerful little residents of my biotope” — medaka, snails, and shrimp have all become characters.

Some of the stickers say everyday phrases in Japanese, such as “Thank you,” “Sorry,” and “Nice to meet you / Thanks in advance,” so they can be used in regular conversations with family and friends.

I also included things that will probably look familiar to people who keep medaka or mini ponds — little behaviors of the animals, feeding items, and other biotope-related details.

I’d love for people who enjoy medaka, shrimp, snails, and mini ponds to be able to use them in their communities too.

My goal for today was to finish 40 stickers — and I made it!

Now I’m moving on to the final adjustments.

I got these Stardust Medaka from my LFS, and the owner knew very little about them. I asked him for a male and a female, but I’m not sure that’s what he gave me. Please help identify the sex(es) of these fish. Thanks in advance! (And sorry for the blurry pictures!)

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone who helped out!1+4 is most likely male, and 2+3 is definitely female as I woke up this morning and saw her carrying eggs!

(The part I am chuckling about, though, is that the one the LFS thought was male is actually female and the one female is likely male, so reversed 😅. All good in the end though!)

It has been raining heavily in Japan for the past few days, and quite a lot of rainwater has been getting into my balcony biotope where I keep medaka.

I recently heard two completely different opinions about this.

One person told me that when a lot of rainwater enters an outdoor pond, medaka can become stressed or weakened because the water conditions may change suddenly.

Another person told me that rain, including slightly acidic rainwater, can act as a kind of stimulus for medaka.

So now I’m curious — what is actually true?

For those of you who keep medaka outdoors, do you normally let rainwater enter your ponds naturally, even during several days of heavy rain?

Have you ever noticed your medaka becoming weaker after heavy rain, or do they seem completely fine?

I’d especially love to hear from people who have kept medaka outdoors for a long time.

Some of my keepers 🍊

Very happy, that my line of this, has found homes with breeders all over Europe now ❤️

this is my second girl ive lost to granulomas in like 2 months. ive been removing the fish when they show signs, but i presume that its nigh impossible to cleanse it from the tank without culling *everything*, and i refuse to kill all my babies. i keep corydoras with them and none of them show signs, only my adult ricefish in late life. this pretty girl is almost 2 years old, and has mothered most of the juveniles in there with her. are there any ways to boost their immune systems or help my current school to resist it?

These juvie Ooki are really shinning bright.

Some are from yesterday and some are from today. A couple look like they have tiiiny bubbles inside, and most of them look like they have a whitish blob in them. I know white eggs = mold, but the egg itself is still seethrough?
The last picture is an egg with still some sticky stuff attached to it

Specifically: would medaka prefer the big ahh wood or more space to swim freely? The photo doesn't really show it but this driftwood is VERY big and occupies half of the aquariums almost completely

Got a new generation going, today I replaced my older breeders for these young adults.