I lost my baby sewellia!!!

[Jim Powers]

My sewellia lineolata breed fairly often but I have only had two young survive. The tank also houses various danios, chelas, white clouds, and lots of shrimp so survival of eggs is problematic. The first young I had just disappeared one day and never got very large. This last one has been around for around 6 months and was very active and feeding well. I noticed it did not come out today to eat so I was a bit concerned. I looked around this evening and could not find it. Then, I decided to look in the hang on the tank, Emperor Filter, and there it was...dead!! It must have gone up the "waterfall" type outlet and died in the filter. I would think it would have been able to survive the day or so it was in there, but I guess not. I am VERY bothered by this since I have been watching this guy for months now, confident he would grow into a nice adult sewellia. But I guess that won't happen now. I am also bothered that I did not find him sooner because he could not have been dead very long.
Hopefully, another egg or two will survive the dither fish and shrimp and I will again have a nice baby sewellia.

[starsplitter7]

Jim,

I am very sorry to hear about this experience. It is terrible having a fry grow up and then die to an accident. I don't think people realize how attached we get to our fish, and I can't help but feel a littl maternal towards fish born in my tanks.

I will cross my fingers for many future fry for you.

[Keith Wolcott]

So sorry to hear it Jim.

[Menu]

Sorry to hear that, Jim.
I have had similar experiences and display fittings now all filter elements with a foam pad.

[Jim Powers]

The problem with this is that there is really no way, other than a big air gap, to keep a hillstream from going up the waterfall type outlet of this filter. When I had Liniparhomaloptera disparis breeding regularly, I would often find young in this same filter. Usually, unless they got into the spray bar, I would get them out alive. Now I wonder how long I will have to wait to have another chance to raise a sewellia. I really can't move the other fish out, so I am stuck with the setup as is.

[Martin Thoene]

That's tough news Jim. All these hang-on filters to varying extents share the same attraction to current-loving fish. My Gold Nugget Plecs were all trying to get into the Aquaclear 300 on the end of the tank shortly after I got them. After a while they lost interest. Obviously, sucker-bodied hillies are more capable at slithering up ramps. Wierdly, I've always had HOBS on my River-Tanks, but never had any Balitorids seriously try to get up the waterfall.

Haven't others done blocking manouvers with panty-hose material or maybe that plastic tapestry mesh?

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

I would love to find out a way to prevent this from happening again if I get more young of this or any other hillstream species in that tank. Hopefully, someone will let me know of any methods. Meanwhile, I look on the plant leaves in hope of another baby.

[Iris76]

Oh noes!
Sorry to hear that, Jim. I can imagine your disappointment.
My logica tells me, after spawning the eggs go with the flow.
when they hatch and the fry gets bigger, maybe it's in their nature to swim upwards the waterfall and return to the original spawning grounds? I also saw my couple Gastromyzons do that. swim upstream the waterfall, to nozzle underneath the mosses that are growing at the surface and let themselves fall back again with the flow. they did that a couple of times a day. Hmm, which reminds me ... soon it's spring again and time to bring the heater back in the tank!
Last spring when i did that, 2 Gastromyzons coupled and got triggered by that.
The female became very gravid but unfortunately i never saw any fry. (I changed from a sand to gravel substrate, so there might be a small chance that a few eggs fall into the substrate, instead of laying on top of it and get eaten by some ditherfish like Schistura, Rhinogobius and Asian Fan Shrimps.) Since i read more stories of Hillstreams and/or fry that were found in some filters, i decided to lower my waterlevel in the tank. Set up HillstreamTank Iris
Hopefully the distance between the level and the filteroutlet is big enough and impossible for the loaches to swim into my filter. Maybe you might try to lower the waterlevel some more when you have fry?

Jim, i hope that your sewellia's get the-hang-of-it real soon again because we need more succes-stories of hillstreamloaches that were bred in aquaria!

[NancyD]

That's sad, Jim. I feel bad when shimp get into the filters, fish are much sadder. Maybe a strip of thin foam accross the filter return might help the "migration" upstream, like Rena foam media or polyester batting type thing.

[cider]

so sorry to hear this , it is a bummer , especially when your'e rooting for it and watching it so much ,, so to find him gone one day ,is devistating , many of us know,unfortunately.

I wonder about the sheets of plastic cutout, sold in craft stores , for yarn work , the holes are big enough for water but not for the animal, unless it's very , very teeny, not sure if ya know what I mean ,but it is white, usually used for crafters to make kleenex box covers but have also heard of some using it to cover large gaps in tank covers to control jumpers....just a thought... sorry again... G

[Jim Powers]

I know exactly what you're talking about, its called plastic canvas and its used in needle point and other crafts. I use it to cover the back areas of my tanks. That's one of a few options I have to keep this from happening again. Thanks!

[Graeme Robson]

So sorry Jim.

[Dunga]

Sorry about your fish Jim.

You can use a small piece of eggcrate and glue it with a double face tape or use a velcro in the outlet to keep it in place.

best

Dunga