I really love the character of the flying fox (Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus), it is almost mischievous in the way in slinks around the tank at rocket speed.
Figure 1 – The flying fox, in my tank
I purchased mine from my usual fish shop. It was labelled as a ‘Siamese Flying Fox’. This is a common name for them in the trade, however it does add to the confusion as there are other varieties of fish that look very similar. The Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis / SAE) and the False Flying Fox (Garra cambodgiensis) are the fish most often confused with the Flying Fox.
I only have one of these due to their territorial nature. It quickly created a hideaway for itself, under one of the large rocks in my aquarium.
It should be noted, that mine spent most of it’s time hidden away until I increased the stock of fish in my tank to include similar sized fish. I suspect this is because it relies on ‘dither fish’ to tell it whether the environment is safe.
Martin
