Sinogastromyzon wui

[LES..]

The curses of going in to a fish shop to ask about a custom hill stream aquarium and finding the assistant who actually has an interest in the fish you want to keep!

After going over my tank plans and rough cost estimates the conversation obviously shifted to stocking which in turn lead to Sinogastromyzon Wui being suggested as a show case specimen for a hill stream tank. It has to be said this looks like one beautiful hill stream loach and its size will definitely make it stand out. From the lol species index it looks like Jim Powers has kept these but there is very little information on temperament or how difficult they might be to keep. Is there anyone out there who can give me the benefit of their experience and answer a few questions i have?

• Would Wui be suitable for mixing with other hill stream loaches?
  Is their diet any different?
  Given the size they can reach is predation of young fry likely?

Thanks to all the information from this forum i believe i can set up an environment where hill stream loaches will be happy but i'm a little concerned that my fish keeping skills are still not up to the level where i should be keeping difficult species.

[Martin Thoene]

You're lucky to find a shop person who is actually interested in this type of fish. That may be extremely useful to you.

Would Wui be suitable for mixing with other hill stream loaches?

Yes, if you can find them.

Is their diet any different?

No.

Given the size they can reach is predation of young fry likely?

I very much doubt it. Pseudogastromyzon cheni do not eat their own babies and I doubt that other sucker-bodied Hillstreams do either. Homaloptera smithi might stalk and eat them though. They are rather like Geckos at stalking insects and others have watched them eye up small fish.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

Congratulations on finding Sinogastromyzon wui. They don't seem to show up much. The times I have seen them, they have been mixed in with Beaufortia.
As for temperment, they are very similar to beaufortia in many ways. They are shy and unfortunately hide much of the time. In fact, I would say they hide a bit more than beaufortia do. They will get in the same type of shoving matches with other hillstreams that beaufortia do, but nothing serious. They are more mellow than chenis.
As for diet, I have never seen my two eat anything but frozen bloodworms. I have never seen them graze like beaufortia or chenis, but they certainly have the mouth parts for that. I have one of mine trained to eat out of the end of a feeding tube. Every morning he slides into position on the glass and waits for me to put the tube with bloodworms in front of his mouth. Sometimes he shoots up the glass to meet the tube. Hmmm...maybe its me who is trained.
I don't think they would eat any baby chenis. I had two in with breeding chenis and L. disparis and never saw any predation.
They are an attractive, interesting hillstream that despite being a bit too reclusive , are a favorite of mine.
Good luck!