Brown Algae for my hillstream loaches?

[Jaynie]

Hi

Does Brown Algae contain the micro-organisms which Hillstream loach can feed on? I am going away for a week and have a friend who will be feeding them frozen cyclops every other day also I have got a nice covering of brown algae in my tank, should this be enough for them? I have been trying to grow algae in a container on my window ledge for weeks but nothing as of yet?

Many Thanks
Jayne

[bullisbm]

Mine will not touch brown algae. They do like the algae pellets so if you can get some of those.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Jayne,

This thread on algae culturing might be of interest (there is a 'special ingredient') :

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=922

On a separate note, I have found you another P. cheni. Steve will bring it up to Lincoln for you if you are interested. It's in good condition, and may actually have been bought in to us by Les (who writes on here) some time last year. Let me know if you're still interested.

Emma

[LES..]

Hi Jaynie,

It has been my observation that my P. Cheni don't go for the brown algae in my tank and i end up having to remove it manually at each water change. That said it mostly accumulates on the upper surface of the wood i have in there which is not the favoured grazing territory unlike the stones near the manifold outflow. That said it is possible that the stones are kept free of it due to the grazing.

If your fear is on there being a lack of food for the Cheni during your absence i would say that in a well established tank and provided you are not very overstocked there will be plenty to eat. A week without additional food will not cause them any problems.

Enjoy your week away (-:

[Jaynie]

This thread on algae culturing might be of interest (there is a 'special ingredient') :

Thanks for that Emma, must admit I'm a bit unsure whether I'm brave enough to do it but really should give it a go

On a separate note, I have found you another P. cheni. Steve will bring it up to Lincoln for you if you are interested. It's in good condition, and may actually have been bought in to us by Les (who writes on here) some time last year. Let me know if you're still interested.

Wish I'd read your message yesterday, today as been the first chance I've really had to check the forum since my holiday
Yesterday I managed to get a couple of P Cheni from the place I originally got mine from, I went for some other bits and when i saw them I just felt I needed to give a couple of them a good home. The place in mention have quite a few in and sadly they dont really seem to understand the importance of how this species should be kept. Some were in with the goldfish, I'm no expert but to me that doesn't seem right

Emma a few days before my holiday I had a drive down to Crowland as I felt the need to get a friend for my P Cheni before I went away, he was hiding alot and seemed really timid. I purchased a Gastromyzon ocellatus and its absolutely lovely Really made itself at home and 'Charlie' my P Cheni seemed to show his face alot more, though he does have a tendancy to chase the ocellatus 'Camilla' about a bit. I think it was Jim who mentioned in a previous post that this is common with P Cheni.

Eventually I would probably like a couple more Gastromyzon ocellatus and in time would possibly like 2 or 3 of another species. I have 6 minnows who will eventually be transfered to my Rio 180 when I fully stock my Hillstream tank, I'm leaving them there for now though to keep my bacteria numbers up while I decide. I'm really tempted by your P Cheni though I bet its lovely I'm not sure really what to do now as I could do with a little advice on how many my tank will eventually be able to hold. Just to confirm I currently have 4 hillstreams and 6 minnows in a 48Litre river tank. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Jaynie]

It has been my observation that my P. Cheni don't go for the brown algae

My hillstreams especially the ocellatus seem happy to nibble away at it, its funny really as you can see there little cresent moon shape mouth prints on the glass where they've been eating. Well you could before I cleaned it all off.

I hope that when I do eventually manage to grow some decent green algae they will leave the brown alone as I'm slightly worried its not good for them. I hope there not just eating it because there really hungry. I rarely observe them eating anything else as I turn the lights out before I feed them Cyclops as the Minnows go mad for it.

[Jaynie]

I rarely observe them eating anything else as I turn the lights out before I feed them Cyclops as the Minnows go mad for it.

Well I never! within seconds of writing that I've just turned round and a P Cheni is nibbling on some blanched courgette I put in earlier

[Emma Turner]

Hi Jane,

Not to worry, I'm just glad you managed to find some company for that first one.

If the store you got them from haven't got much of a clue how to keep them, then this poster may help: http://www.loaches.com/articles/Hillstream%20Flyer.pdf You could print it off and give it to the manager next time you are in there.

It's also good news that they seem to be feeding on the veggies. Would love to see some pics of the tank when you get a chance.

Emma

[Jaynie]

If the store you got them from haven't got much of a clue how to keep them, then this poster may help: http://www.loaches.com/articles/Hillstream%20Flyer.pdf You could print it off and give it to the manager next time you are in there.

Thanks Emma I think I'll do that but somehow I doubt it will help, I tried to subtley give a few hints as to the environment they should be kept in and was basically told that the are mostly farmed in china and wouldn't have experienced their natural environment! I didn't want to fall out with the guy but did leave feeling

It's also good news that they seem to be feeding on the veggies. Would love to see some pics of the tank when you get a chance.

I will have to get some more pics taken when I organise my tank a little better, its a little crouded at the moment with hiding places and rocks etc I added a cave with my new loaches and have been letting them settle in before I reorganise it again. Sadly my camera is a little rubbish so won't be able to take anything on the scale of the pics you and others on this site take.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Jayne,

It sounds as if the guy at the shop is talking complete rubbish. As far as I am aware, all Pseudogastromyzon in the trade are still all wild caught, and they would be sent out soon after capture to minimise the risks of losses by the supplier (thus they are unlikely to experience poor stagnant conditions for any real length of time). Also, you can point out to him that P. cheni is a Chinese species, so if he orders directly from China, they would not have been sent via on lots of different suppliers.

Looking forward to seeing pics, whatever the quality. We all had to start somewhere and you should see the amount I delete off of my camera!

Emma