Can i identify these as hengeli or espei rasboras?

[Tigger]

I recently purchased 10 rasboras, supposedly espei, but they're looking more like hengeli in my QT.

The first video clip - any experienced rasbora keepers care to take a look and offer an ID? You might catch a glimpse of 2 actual espei in there, the last survivors from a group I bought around 2 years ago.

The 2nd clip shows the espei displaying spawning behaviour, but still no eggs. Any thoughts on why this might be? My water parameters are within the expected range - temperature's between 23C to 25C, GH's no higher than 4, and pH's around 7.

I've noticed the smaller rasboras tend to struggle in quarantine, with a survival rate of only about 70%.

[angelica]

They do resemble hengeli to me, with that grey body coloration being quite distinct from the orange hue of espei.

[bereb]

I'm 100% with angelica, those are hengeli rasboras you've got there. I've had both species in my tank and I've had hengeli since September, so I'm pretty familiar with them by now. Never seen my hengeli spawn or show any spawning behavior, but my espei rasboras did that for the first time today. One easy way to tell them apart is the color pattern - hengeli have a silver body with two distinct stripes, one orange and one black, while espei have a more general orange-bronze glow with a single black stripe.

[Tigger]

I agree with angelica, they look like hengeli to me. I've had both species in my tank for a while now, and I've got to say, I'm quite familiar with the hengeli - I've had them since September. One thing I've noticed is that they don't seem to spar or spawn, but my espei rasboras do. Actually, I saw them doing both for the first time today.

The easiest way to tell the two apart is by looking at their coloring. Hengeli have a silver body with two distinct stripes, one orange and one black. On the other hand, espeis have a more orange-bronze glow with a single black stripe.

T. Hengeli​T. Espei ​

Thanks for the confirmation, I appreciate it. In this photo, I'd say the 2nd fish from the left is an espei, and the rest are hengeli. Typically, they should spawn after reaching maturity, which is around 1 year old. If you've had them for more than 6 months, they should be ready now. I'm really interested in hearing about your experience with spawning and raising the fry - I've had no luck so far.