# Killies Import > Non-Killie Segment >  Indostomus paradoxus

## stormhawk

Hi all, just wanted to show some pictures of my new fishes - Indostomus paradoxus, the Burmese version of the stickleback.  :Very Happy:  Its a very thin little fish that's about 4-5cm in length and really small. Eats tiny live foods like copepods and daphnia. A really intriguing species. Had one before and that was a really neat little fish going about its business picking at the moss and driftwood searching for tiny animals. When I saw this again for sale I couldn't resist having another two in my tank again  :Very Happy: 

*Closeup*


*Hiding At The Driftwood*


*Meeting The Shrimp*  :Laughing:  .. Just look at how thin it is.

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## Slaigar

That is a cool fish, Jianyang. From a first look, it seemed like a mini-crocodile with its long, thin mouth! How do they do with their own kin?

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## stormhawk

They're somewhat quarrelsome as in one may try to prod the other one away but nothing too fierce in comparison with the apistos I used to keep. Yes they do look like mini crocs with a tiny mouth. In fact there's 3 species in the genus Indostomus and one is named Indostomus crocodilus. That's from southern Thailand I think. Mine comes from Lake Indawgyi in Myanmar I think. They're cave spawners. I believe the Germans have spawned this little fish before.

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## Nonn

I love Indostomus! For those who love miniature fish, I will have to show you guys my _Chaudhuria caudata_. They are very cute little eel.

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## RonWill

Nonn, I found a pic of the _Chaudhuria caudata_ here and although 'cute', don't most eels predate/hunt? I suspect the tiny _Indostomus_ will quickly become snacks if kept together!

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## stormhawk

Ron, that's a picture of a _Pillaia kachinica_. Related but not the tiny eel in question  :Smile:

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## RonWill

OOPs! wrong station... this should be it  :Opps:

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## stormhawk

Nonn, have you caught any of the _Indostomus_ species in Thailand or Myanmar before?

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## stormhawk

Nonn? Oh well, here's another picture of a FAT Indostomus in my tank.



Ronnie, now where's yours?  :Laughing:

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## hwchoy

JY, your indostomus is really fat! mine has taken permanent cover in the hairgrass, but here's some pics before they did.




*Hellooooo little worms, dun shy dun shy, come out and play*

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## RonWill

> Ronnie, now where's yours?


Sorry, they're so tiny... I still can't find them!  :Shocked:  

You sure that's the adult size already? If they're fry friendly, I might just transfer them to older fry tanks... just so I can see them  :Confused:

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## hwchoy

they're not so small, even bigger than _Boraras_ spp. just much less coloured that's all  :Smile: 

Ronnie, you should know they are predatorial :wink:

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## Nonn

I caught a few specimen in Boraphet swamp, in Nakornsawan Province, Northern part of Central Thailand. I'm not sure what was the species, though. They were in a very dense flooded grass plain. 

This place here! Great place for water bird watching as well.

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## stormhawk

Nonn, those from the Boraphet swamp are _Indostomus paradoxus_. They were caught from the Boraphet swamp on two occasions in 1986. Fits their distributional range.

_Bung Borapet, Nakornsawan, Thailand, Compatible with distributional range_  - Collected, 1986 (info from FishBase).

This species seems to be present even in north Narathiwat Province. The related species, crocodilus, hails from Nae Nam Tod Deng, about 6km north of Sungai Kolok. Spinosus however, comes from Laos.

Ron, I don't think they're fry safe. Like I've said, they're micro-predators. Mine has learnt to wolf down a whole tubifex worm with no problems. Good clean-up crew for excess tubifex hiding in the substrate.  :Laughing:  

Those that I have are of adult size but they do have some hidden weapons in their arsenal, and they sure pack quite of a suck.  :Laughing:

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