Loaches Online Forum

I have just checked out the original description of S. fasciolata and your fish matches the number of bars etc perfectly. The one on Fishbase has more bars than your fish and the original description but yours matches the type specimens. I think yours is a true S. fasciolata, although if S. hingi is valid, it will be hingi, because that was from Hong Kong.

It is a Formosania. I'll try and work out which one tonight (Av got brekfast t mek fo r lass!).

hahaha cheers steve

thas got to do, what thas got to do o'l lad.

cheers

Nice tash on your last picture, Mick!

So it's a Schistura hingi with a Schistura fasciolata presence. Most of our Loach profiles are going with the FishBase ref's. I suppose we could knock up a profile on the Schistura hingi as it's from Hong Kong.

it's looking that way graeme, i'd never argue with steve's id.
so that's one for the sp profile, it won't be long before the tash is sorted out knowing steve.
i'm going back to get another type on the morrow, they have a good shoal of them plus some gobies from hongkong, so i might pick some of them up as well.

i love this hobby/ job

mick

Lovely!!

I might give Andy a phone call and see if he can pick up some for me. How many are left? Around 20-30?

Cheers.

more than that graeme, they have a mottled/blotch pattern, they're the ones that look like the formosania.
i picked up these two as contaminants, there's different types of the gobies.
why phone andy i can pick some up for you?, but andy will have to take them where the pickup is.

regards
mick

I wouldn't mind some Formosania sp's. I have some fish in holding for Andy and he can meet me half-way from yours. Exchange and such, plus you dont drive.

Unless you can pick them up and pass them on to Andy for me? I'll PM you laters.

By, that brekfast tuk sum mekin!

Anyway, back to fish. If the specimen was caught in Hong Kong, but more likely the surrounding Guangdong Province, it narrows it down to three contenders:

F. stigmata, F. tinkhami, F. paucisquama.

It is difficult to tell for definite as I cant zoom in enough on the mouth, but out of these three it looks closer to F. stigmata to me, but I cannot be 100% sure as it also looks similar to F. davidi, and has the right number of pectoral fin rays for that species, but I think that species occurs a bit higher north in the Min Jiang River. Its a toss up between stigmata and davidi, but based on barbel size, pattern, and pectoral fin ray count, I would plumb for davidi (but I cant be certain).

you de man steve, thats reet gradely olt lad.
in english now thanks mate for spending the time to sort this out.

might have a few more fish for you to ID tomorrow, haha

regards
mick

Those would be a great addition to the species index.
Particularly, after you have had them for a bit and can give us info on their behaviour and the like.

no problem jim, as soon as they have been with me for awhile, theyve settled down already.
they just need to get some size on them now.

cheers
mick

mickthefish wrote:you de man steve, thats reet gradely olt lad.
in english now thanks mate for spending the time to sort this out.

might have a few more fish for you to ID tomorrow, haha

regards
mick

Thanks Mick. Just noticed in another publication (Kottelats Freshwater Fishes of Northern Vietnam) that a fish he identified as "Schistura cf. fasciolata" had 11 body bands in a specimen 24mm SL, and 14 in one that was 56mm SL (like you thought might be the case).

steve,
what exactly are you looking for at the mouth, maybe i can try to get a better shot for you, if i know what i'm looking for.

regards
mick

mickthefish wrote:steve,
what exactly are you looking for at the mouth, maybe i can try to get a better shot for you, if i know what i'm looking for.

regards
mick

Its just a close up really so I can see the exact placement and number of the barbels, and the shape and size of the mouth and lips etc.

ok steve will try to get a better shot of the mouth region.
btw in the papers or the discriptions does it mention the blotch on the body under the last 2 rays of the dorsal, as ive noticed they are reflective showing as a gold colour?.

cheers
mick