Loaches Online Forum

Great rescue Les! Looks like a bit of nipping was going on.

Congratulations!! I hope they do well.
This pic makes me lean more towards this being S. wui.
You will find this to be a very shy species so any pic you can get of one sitting still is an accomplishment.

Congratulations, LES..
Fingers crossed that they make it safely through quarantine.

Emma

Hi all,

I have some stunning shots taken after my morning post including some from the underside.

Jim Powers wrote:This pic makes me lean more towards this being S. wui.
You will find this to be a very shy species so any pic you can get of one sitting still is an accomplishment.

I think the fact i was able to capture such images of this loach were a clear indication something was wrong... The big one died early this afternoon.

I suspect a bacterial infection, i had noted that when sat on the glass the fish would slip down and from other posts on this forum i knew then it was a bad sign. I will try and post the images later right now i just don't have the heart to do so.

The remaining loach is being as reclusive as ever but is still quite active in the dark corners of the tank. I had already started treating the tank with Waterlife Myxazin and have contacted a local vet who is in the process of getting hold of Levamisole.

I'm feeling a bit gutted right now.
LES..

Aw, LES.., so sorry to hear that.

The photographs you've taken will still be a great document. Hopefully the little fella will fare better.

Emma

Bad luck, Les!

Keep us updated on the little one.

So sorry to hear that, Les.
I hope the other does well.

Very sorry, LES.

Never know what would happen: your last photo showed a seemingly happy hillstream and... Hopefully the other one makes it.

Some more images of my mystery loach, I would like to say it was a S. Wui and the underside shots seem to add weight to this but i'm unsure due to the lack of marking on the side.

First some shots of the loach alive.

Underside with close up of the mouth this is at an odd angle taken from the side of the tank.

The mouth doesn't quite match the the underside from the species index but the rest of the underside seems to. Could be a colour morph of Wui.


It was a beauty this loach :-(



Please click on the images to see them at full size.

Still no good shots of the other one but i have been avoiding stressing it out with lots of flash photography. The fish shop told me on Saturday that they had not had any losses in the shipment of hillies these came from. This probably means my eagerness to secure them may have contributed to the death, water quality in the Q tank has been OK but not perfect and i did get a nitrite reading of around 0.1ppm in the evening after the loach died. I was testing the water every 12 hours when off work last week, now every 24. Ammonia levels have not registered but i'm still getting a tint to my nitrite tests (meaning less than the minimum 0.1ppm the test kit provides a colour chart for). I think i may have starved the bacteria in the old sponge i used to get the Q tank set up, the tank was running empty for 48 hours before we added the fish. These are all lessons learnt but all the harder for the loss of what was a very nice fish.

LES..

Nice pics, Les. I hope the other one comes out for you, but knowing how mine are, it could be awhile. They are just about the hardest fish I know to photograph due to their shyness.
I still think this is S. wui. One of mine did not have any spots on the side at first, but developed them as it matured. It is now about five years old and is much more attractive than when I first got it. The other one is very dark. Like a black leopard, the spots can be seen in certain lighting conditions. Otherwise it appears a rich dark brown with tan orange highlights between the saddles along the dorsal surface. Its a very handsome fish.

Superb pictures, Les. Once we clarify the identification, can we use your pictures for the Loach Species Index?

Graeme Robson wrote:Once we clarify the identification, can we use your pictures for the Loach Species Index?

I would consider it an honour if these pictures were used in the species index, feel free to use them.

Good man! Thanks LES....these are fantastic pictures. Such a pity it perished.

Martin.