Loaches Online Forum

Great fish Mark , is it possible that when large groups of Rostratas are imported , as they are all small and all look similar , but not the same ! perhaps there are a few different species ? and only with significant growth does this become apparent ? lets face it most of these fish are small when bought ! and unless documented as they are on this site , then who knows what the adults turn into ? lets face it Corydoras cats are notorious for this !
Nice detective work Emma , this site really is pushing the boundries of our loach knowledge ! FANTASTIC.

it will definately be worth waiting for some to come in from India then. it will be interesting to see if any from this season's stock will look anything like those that Mark had when they grow too.

the more you find out about fish, the more interesting it gets, and the more there is to find out

MD

How big approx. are they in the shots when small, and shot as they are now? Is the 3rd ('normal') one one of the 3 in the picture of them as youngsters? Do you have an image of the 'normal' one as it is now?

Cheers
TDO

TDO

In the photo when I got them they are around 2" to 2 1/4", now they are around 3 1/4" to 3 1/2".

This is the 3rd more normal one and yes it is in that picture of when I got them

Hi Mark , this last fish is more typical of the fish we call Rostrata !
It could be worth some of the other people here photographing their Rostratas for comparison , to see if they are reminicent of yours at a similar size !

Thanks for the image MD

I would hazard a guess that the 1 'normal' one is the fish on the left in the picture of the three of them when younger?

This fish is variable but it could also be because aquarium 'rostrata' are caught for the trade in 2 separate (but hydrographically connected) places within a month or so of each other. It may be that they are then mixed and exported together. This may account for the differences in pattern??

these pictures make me what my rostrata back so I could photograph them also. They were similar to these. Man I miss the cute litte buggers. They unfortunately were the only ones to perish in my move about a month ago.