One for Pseudogastromyzon cheni Breeders.

[Martin Thoene]

The picture quality is crappy due to blowing up a crop from a big picture.

This is a 1/2" SL baby cheni. Comments please.







Martin.

[shari2]

Why, what big eyes you have...

[Martin Thoene]

Who me?

All the better to.............

Martin.

[LUVaLOACH]

well well Martin,

sounds like you are feeling better, hehe! Great to hear it! Hi Shari!

[LES..]

Very nice, would that be about 3 months old Martin?
I know all too well just how infuriating they can be to capture on camera at that age, very active and very small. I think the first shot shows the most character. Looks nice and fat, I'm ashamed to admit that ours don't look as well fed.

LES..

[Emma Turner]

Lovely! I must say that for such a short TL, this little 'un looks remarkably stocky. It's amazing to see such large fins too, compared with Sewellia lineolata at a similar size.

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

Superb!! A lovely chubby specimen.

[Martin Thoene]

Ok......."chubby" was my point.....most of you seem to have recognized that.

Compare:




It's a "balloon" cheni. Look at the relative distances of anal fin to dorsal. The Pectorals and Pelvics overlap too.....something that you don't see in Pseudogastromyzon. It's altogether more Gastromyzon in shape.

Seems to be healthy though.....it's very lively.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

Is there any inbreeding going on in that tank?
The reason I ask is that when I was a kid, I had gerbils. Well, you know what gerbils do when housed together. I started out with a pair and they bred like....well...gerbils. It was often difficult to separate them before they became sexually mature and started breeding so there was some inbreeding. Occasionally, individuals would be born that were smaller, with rounded bodies and snouts and larger eyes. They were actually cuter than the regular gerbils. Unfortunately, they tended to die after a few months.
Just a thought.

[Martin Thoene]

Inbreeding? Oh yeah. You have to remember my fish have been breeding since 2001 here in Toronto with only one injection of new genes into the tank during that time.
Funnily enough yesterday, just after photographing this fish, I found a new baby that's much smaller. There seems to be a small increase in population. No major spawns. I figure that some eggs get eaten before they hatch.

Martin.