Traumfahrer

I don't think that is true, I know of only one that has some info on breeding them successfully. Can you link the ones you have in mind?

Interesting topic, it's really hard to breed Chili Rasboras (in normal western aquaria conditions that is). Apparently in SE Asia, Indonesia it is a thing to just throw some buckets of leaves in a big container, filled with rainwater and adding some Chilis, leaving it outside in the sun and voilà, after a few weeks it is full of fry of all sizes. Only saw very few cases where people managed to get some fry in aquariums however. Supposedly that doesn't really happen above a pH of 6.5 and low hardness, although I know of one case. Chilis are egg scatterers and will prey on their offspring. They only drop a few eggs a day however, further complicating things. The fry is so small, it can only feed on infusoria for quite some time. I've read suggestions to add enough leaves to grow a good amount of biofilm and microorganisms on, they will feed on that. Check the Boraras subreddit on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Boraras/ Have a look at the about page, the "Miniature Jewels" something article has some breeding tips too. Should also be able to find 2 or 3 posts from people that managed to get fry, explaining it. Not exactly, Strawberries (Boraras naevus) are a clearwater species (from Malaysia) that live in 'harder' and less acidic waters than Chilis (Boraras brigittae) that are a blackwater species (from Borneo) that live in super softwater and acidic environments. (Also they inhabit slow flowing forestry peat swamp rivers with basically no vegetation, just leaves etc.) Obviously they share a lot of characteristics being in the same genus (Boraras) but it's a wrong assumption that they're equally easy to breed imo (or that they thrive in the same environments).

What's the main line here, besides applying antibiotics? I'm reading conflicting information on the net. - Some suggest to treat with Aquarium Salt, some with Epsom Salt. Two sources claim that Aquarium Salt instead of Epsom Salt might aggravate the disease without an explanation or source. I'm also interested in the salt concentrations to treat with and in bathing (in a hospital tank) vs. dipping. Needless to say that Dropsy should be treated with antibiotics alongside raising salt levels. Adding two very insightful discussion on reddit: Same Topic Discussion on r/Boraras Same Topic Discussion on r/Aquariums I posted this on General Discussion before and now realized I should've asked here.

Been wondering that aswell.

There definitely are and I read quite some literature about it, about the effects on elevated salt concentration for stressed/ill freshwater fish. For example commercial fish farms increase the salt levels when transporting and handling fish, as that causes less casualties. Check this discussion where I quoted part of a pubcliation about "Osmoregulation in Fish". I'm just trying to get something conclusive regarding especially dropsy. Basically all sources say that salt (low concentration) helps reduce the osmotic pressure and fluid excretion. Some do say to use Aquarium Salt, NaCl (or Sea Salt), others say to use Epsom Salt (MgSO₄) and advise against using Aquarium Salt for unkown reasons. That's what I try to understand and get information on.

Thanks but salt isn't even mentioned once there.

Hmm, I hoped for some more input, this article states: "Do not use aquarium salt or any other kind of salt to treat Dropsy, as it may make the fish’s condition worse." Unfortunately without giving any explanation as to why.

I meant why you copied photos of text. You just screenshotted the text of other source?

Thank you. I looked at the Link in your Signature, how comes you used images to list all those diseases (Dropsy is among them I saw) and what are the original sources for them?

I added two links of ongoing discussions on Reddit to the original post above.

Cheers, so did you specifically treat (successfully) Dropsy with Aquarium Salt or do you just use it in general to prevent disease?

What's the main line here? I'm reading conflicting information on the net. - Some suggest to treat with Aquarium Salt, some with Epsom Salt. Two sources claim that Aquarium Salt instead of Epsom Salt might aggravate the disease without an explanation or source. I'm also interested in the salt concentrations to treat with and in bathing (in a hospital tank) vs. dipping. Needless to say that Dropsy should be treated with antibiotics alongside raising salt levels. Edit: Adding two very insightful discussion on reddit: Same Topic Discussion on r/Boraras Same Topic Discussion on r/Aquariums Kinda hoped for more here.

Not at all, Chilis shouldn't be kept in below 10G tanks imo, Least Rasboras arguably not below 15G. How did you acclimatize them? Those miniature species are very sensitive to water chemistry changes and problems, and should be acclimatized slowly, via Drip Acclimation, especially if you acclimatize them to softer water. They're generally very sensitive to biologically immature tanks and while Chili Rasboras naturally inhabit slow flowing blackwaters (in Borneo), Least Rasboras live in still, densely vegetated waters (in Thailand). You wrote that you have two filters and do 50% water changes. Flow can tire them out and water changes that are that big might shock them (osmoregulatory stress & shock, as with acclimatization), leading to their demise. If acclimatized properly and kept in a stable environment, those species can get quite old and are rather hardy, living many years. I don't know why you would want to keep them in a bare bottom tank. A tank with substrate is biologically way more resistant and capable to process waste and house a healthy ecosystem. What are the water parameters you keep those two shoals in? Check the https://www.reddit.com/r/Boraras/ community, esp. the About page for a lot of background info on these species.