Canister filter presents More Schistura cf. balteata Updated

[chris1932]

16 more to be exact. And three different sizes. Pics uploading now

[Martin Thoene]

C L

Martin.

[Mad Duff]

Excellent news Chris

[Emma Turner]

Well done that man! Looking forward to seeing the pics.

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

Superb!!!

[helen nightingale]

great news Chris. Congrats

[chris1932]

Hello everyone! What a cool morning, it seems like everywhere I looked in the river tank there were little fry moving around. I netted 5 out of the main tank, found 6 in the 405, and 5 in the 305. I have not checked the Rena xp4 yet. I also saved all of the debris from the filters in a five gallon bucket. Mabey darkness will bring some more out of the mulm. There are still more in the main tank but netting a 2.2mm fish in a six foot tank has just killed my nerves for the day.

Of really interisting note. There are three sizes of fry not counting the first one I found. Here are the pictures.


The first one found

after some more looking

A photo with the first fry for comparison.

[Graeme Robson]

All Hail the canister filter!! It's interesting on how many spawnings have took place and it's possible that more will be on the way.

Superb!

[lf11casey]

That's sooo coool. The fry look really cute. Congrats.

[Emma Turner]

Thanks for posting these Chris. Did you happen to get any pics of the proud parents yet? Is it just a pair of adults you have in the tank, or is there more than two?

Emma

[chris1932]

Emma, I will need an extra set of hands in order to get a picture. I know where they live, they have a den dug out under a flat stone. Once under they fill in the opening so they are pretty much trapped under there. They come out when they sense food or there is no light on the tank. I have waited after the lights go out and somehow they know about twenty to thirty minutes after the lights go out, they dig their way out. I think there are three in there but I only ever see the two.

As soon as thet stone is lifted up "WHOOSH" they are gone.

[chris1932]

Emma

This is one of the parents. I have been trying for days to get new pictures of the pair in their den. The female is very gravid again.

[janma]

Very nice! Can Schisturas be kept with Sewellias or Gastromyzons?

[chris1932]

Mine are in with 11 Sewellia lineolata, 9 Homaloptera Confuzona, 8 Gastros, 2 Sinogastromyzon wui, 2 Homaloptera zollingeri, 6 Homaloptera tweediei, 4 large weathereds, 9 Beufortia and 30some Danio choprae. All living happily in 150 gallons of fast moving water.

[Emma Turner]

Thanks very much for posting these Chris, they're in superb condition!

I am glad you resurrected this thread actually because I had be meaning to mention something re: them digging out their den, but had forgotten. Last year, just before I sadly lost one of my long term Schistura balteata (there was a pair that had been in my river tank for some years - originally I had 8, but they gradually whittled their numbers down till there were just two left - so I presumed one male and one female) they excavated a den underneath a pile of cobbles in an area of high flow. They had never shown any signs of digging activity prior to this - I think I may have a picture of it somewhere. This coincided with the first Sewellia fry findings, and initially (before we knew which species the fry were) I had wondered whether the S. balteata had created the dug-out as a kind of spawning pit or whatever. Sadly I never found out as a few days later, I lost one of the pair. The other one (fatty) is still going strong, and presumably, feasting on all the Sewellia lineolata/S. sp. 'spotted' eggs....

But I have to wonder if this is what most/all Schistura species do prior to spawning.

Emma