For Helen

[Emma Turner]

Hels,

Here's the good news: I thought you might like to see a few quick pics I took of your reserved B. almorhae.

And the (kind of) bad news: I caught Big Bad Bertha and Big Bad Bessie fighting like mad yesterday evening, so have had to separate them for now. I think it is just the fact they are so large and the stock tanks obviously aren't that big. So for now the biggest one (shown in the pics) is in the original tank (with the Blue Dempseys) and the slightly smaller one is now on the top row in with some Heros notatus. The barbels look quite red in the pics, don't know if this is natural, or from the altercation?

Here ya go.....

















This loach was constantly on the move and so not easy to photograph! The markings are beautiful, aren't they?

Emma

[ckk125]

wow..thats a really fat loach...

is it 4-5 inches long..?

[Martin Thoene]

Impressive looking beastie.

Martin.

[sophie]

Em,
is the really huge one gravid, or just huge??

[ckk125]

IMO, that is not a gravid yoyo...

Just plain huge..

a gravid one will be extra fat(side) and not as tall as that..

Here is one...sorry, dont mean to derail the thread..

[LoachOrgy]

ckk that pic is awesome! and that is one big mamma emma.

[chefkeith]

Great pics as usual Emma.

Chen- That's a very cool pic of the loaches in the pipes. I've never seen a pic like that before. Very well done.

[Mad Duff]

Stunning fish

Great pictures Emma

Helen you are a very lucky person to have bagged them, consider me green with envy

[shari2]

ckk, that is an amazing shot. how many loaches are in that tank???

[loachmom]

Great pictures, Emma! (as always....)

Glad they will be yours, Helen. They are lovely.

[Graeme Robson]

W W! An amazing specimen!!!

Your one luck gal, Helen!

[helen nightingale]

thanks Emma, and thanks everyone else for you kind comments

mark you should move closer so you can stay later - these can in after you had gone home. when i spied them they were still in a plastic bag being acclimatised.

as for them fighting, i dont know if thats good or bad news maybe if they fight between themselves, they will leave my little striatas alone? they arent yet big or brave enough to stick up for themselves. Fatty, my top striata will have a bit of a shock though.

i had thought of putting them in a q tank, as i wanted to get a rostrata and a garra at the same time, and let them find the hidy holes first, but if these berthas are fighting in Emma's stock tanks, then my q tanks wont be big enough either

i am waiting for an almighty bust up between these 2, an opinionated striata and 2 yoyos that think they harder than they really are. camera and melafix on standby, i think

[piggy4]

Cor blimey, stunners !
B t w surely these fish are worthy of inclusion on the species pages
Also Emma what was the Syno in the background ? S .Soloni ? NICE.

[Emma Turner]

Cheers Andy , I'll try and remember to add some of these pics in to the B. almorhae profile once I get a bit of free time (stock taking the fish at the moment ). Yep, that's a Syno soloni in the pic, one of the wild caught species we import from the Congo.

Emma

[piggy4]

Wild sp/s from the Congo , stop it your making me drool
Back to the Almorha , i've noticed the ones who's pattern breaks up into a random reticulate pattern seem less tolerant of their namesakes , than the ones which retain the Y and I pattern ? i say this because i have about 9 of the reticulate ones in my 8 foot tank , and they seem to all have their own hidey holes , b t w these fish are only about 2 to 3 inches and are already reticulated ! they also seem longer in the body ?
Years ago i remember having 2 Y and I Loahachata's ? and they were inseperable , like a pair of Siamese twins !
It would be interesting to hear from other keepers of these fish !
Also the reticulate ones seem to vary in colour more i.e some are like Helens fish , and some are a more coppery bronze in colour, these i suspect are males as they are usually slimmer ! wheras the ones which kept the Y and I pattern always seemed similar in colour whitish grey base with blackish markings !
Also i dont think the Y and I ones are as common as they were ! must be collected from different localtions ?