Axel Eywill
Hello Francesco and thank you very much for allowing me to interview you for medakaproject.com. You are a holder and breeder of Japanese rice fish, the medaka. How did you come to this kind, and what fascinates you about them?

Francesco Cuccia
Hi Axel, thanks for the invitation, I started in September 2015, I took 5 gold coins because I had built a pond, asking to find the medaka the most suitable guests. I am fascinated by the rusticity of these animals, they tolerate both an acidic and alkaline pH of the water also brackish water, the countless colors, even more important their ability to live in really extreme temperature conditions.

Medaka „Red Tiger“

Axel Eywill
How then were your beginning in aquaristic? And which animals do you still keep at home?

Francesco Cuccia
I started in 2014, I went to find a friend who had three aquariums and I was fascinated by it after a few days I started my first aquarium. Today I have 30 aquariums, I breed shrimp

Axel Eywill
Medaka have a rather short history outside of Japan. You have been one of the first medaka owners & breeders outside of Japan. The fanbase is growing slowly but surely internationally. How do you see the development internationally and of course especially in Italy?

Francesco Cuccia

Yes, in 2015 there were very few to have medaka, I think among the first in 2016 to have a good number of strains, today it is growing a lot both in Italy and in the rest of Europe, many aquatic plant enthusiasts are interested in medaka replacing it with gambusie. Furthermore, many requests for medaka come from many parts of the world, but as we know, it is not possible to satisfy them

Medaka „Benten sansyoku lame“

Axel Eywill:

There are now several medaka strains in Europe. Mostly thanks to private initiatives. Commercial imports are scarce except for a few exemptions in Europe or German-speaking countries. How important is the trade to make the medaka more widely known to a wider public?

Francesco Cuccia

In my opinion it is very important to be able to import new or even old selections, as I said before, more and more people are approaching the medaka, there are good Japanese breeders willing to send medaka safely and legally, in my opinion we should carry out a project that will unite everyone in Europe to facilitate import

Medaka „White Tige lame MP“

Axel Eywill:
And my last question – what do you want as a medaka holder for the future of these fish? Is there anything else you want to say? Maybe something in terms of aquaristics?

Francesco Cuccia
For the future I would like a united international group, finding magazines with details of the various selections at least in English would help us a lot, we know very little about their genetics.

Medaka „bi color“

Grazie mille Francesco for the interview! I wish you a great season this year, and I hope to see you soon in Italy!