Annamia normani pictures

[LES..]

Hi all, i thought i would add this updated picture to the mix.

I hope the fences are visible here :-)

A shot of the same fish from a different angle.


The images are linked to the web album where you can download full size copies of the pictures.

LES..

p.s. I have an interesting video that i am in the process of uploading, if you take a look at some of the other pictures i have just uploaded you might be able to guess what the subject might be ;-)

[Emma Turner]

OOoooh! Love is in the air!

[Graeme Robson]

Now that would be cool!

Looking forward to the video!

[LES..]

As promised, a video clip (well actually 2)
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... 5&hl=en-GB
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?doc ... 2&hl=en-GB

For those who did not find the rest of the album some stills:

Whispering "i love you" in your ear.


You send chills down my spine...


Flexible friends.


Nose to nose.


What's all this then?


Did you see something?


Alas i don't think it is love as i had these two pegged as females. That said my track record on getting the gender of Cheni right means that judgement counts for very little.

At the end of it all this loach seemed to be the victor and spent a while posing on the upper stone by standing on its fins.


This one was a little more subdued after all the action and just settled down to recover.


Finally, the Cheni that had been hiding under this rock poked her nose out to see what all the fuss had been about :-)

[Jim Powers]

Whether its "love" or not, the video and the pics are very interesting. I sure hope it is "love" though.
This beautiful species seems to be much more outgoing than the similar looking, but reclusive, H. yunnanensis that I have.

[Graeme Robson]

Excellent video footage!! Love or no love, it was totally interesting to see the lower one flip over for 1/2 a second. I was thinking that was the exchange moment. Great pictures also Les.

[Emma Turner]

That's fabulous video footage LES..

Similar to what I managed to capture a while back at the shop: http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=6295

I see this sort of behaviour from time to time in my river tank, but it's never looked quite the same as the footage from the shop. What I mean by this is that the female tends to be showing a lot of aggression towards the male, rather than it appearing 'tender'. The females are also very feisty towards my Sewellia lineolata, which is an ongoing thing, as they all like the cobbles just in front of the intake sponges and want to claim them as their own.

I can't wait to get the new tank for them, although this may be slightly delayed due to a certain someone not ordering the tank this week like I asked! But it should be here within a couple of weeks, and I'm hoping it will give the hillies a lot more of a footprint so that squabbles lessen a little.

Emma

[mikev]

Fantastic video, LES.

I've seen Vannies here doing this type of dance a few times (Vannies I think are very close relatives of Annamia), but the intensity is MUCH higher with your fish.

With Vannies, I was not sure what this is about until the time I saw a Vannie trying to do exactly the same to Sewellia...

[LES..]

Thanks for all the comments :-)

This is the second time i have seen these Annamia acting like this, both times have been in the same spot and in the evening. I would estimate that the action lasted about 6-7 minutes. I have also seen other tussles going on that have not been prolonged, 10-30 second bouts over stones which seem to be linked to the fence nipping i have mentioned in the past.

[Martin Thoene]

Fascinating videos and excellent photos LES.

I've had my Vanmanenia do similar behaviour, but it's never as long in duration.

Martin.

[Keith Wolcott]

Great pictures LES.. We all like it when you post pictures. You have great fish, you take excellent pictures, and we really appreciate seeing them. Thanks.

[LES..]

A few nights ago after lights out one of the Annamia normani decided to try and sit on the glass at the front of the tank, it was quite active but i managed to get a few shots of its underside.



It's only when you take a picture like this you realise just how mucky the glass is...


Close cropped shot of the mouth:


I have only seen the Annimia on the glass a couple of times before and had never managed to get a picture as they don't stay there for long. This one hung around for a minute or two and seemed very active looking for food. The thing that struck me most was the size of the heart, quite a bit larger than Cheni of the same size.

As ever full sized copies are available by clicking on each picture :-)
LES..