Loaches Online Forum

My goodness! What long barbels you have!

Emma Turner wrote:I took a few new pictures of these beauties in my photo tank this evening. Most are starting to get little bellies on them, and they've already had one round of Levamisole.

These two fish in particular are probably the largest of the bunch (but still teeny weeny) and I noticed that the v-shaped bars which were in between the full length bars are now lengthening and are becoming less v-shaped.















And two more, showing these Tigers doing what Tigers do.......





Emma

Look at the redness on the dorsal fin

Superb images Emma! These look in great condition.

Tiger cubs...cute!

Martin.

Stunning pics Emma, as per usual, after seeing your new pics i'm non the wiser ha ha, my Hymenophysa theory was based on the first bars [closest to the head] reaching foward , this is just a whim though , i must say though they are'nt as stroppy as the usual Syncrossus's, though i'll not hold my breath ha ha , the terrible teens are yet to be reached ?

If these grow into their whiskers like dogs grow into their paws these are going to be a good size

Great pics Emma

Thanks for the comments guys - much appreciated!

I have asked some questions of my supplier and the following is the main gist of what he has told me. He cannot divulge the actual location in Laos, only that it was previously unexplored:

He himself has not seen the adult fish, not has his chief collector. But....the fishermen who caught this species say they came across large adults at the time of collection, and their appearance, although obviously larger, did not differ much from the juveniles. They retained good pattern and colour.

Some specimens were given to the scientists Dr Tan Heok Hee and Dr Tan Heok Hui at NUS for them to investigate.

The season for this fish is now over, they cannot collect anymore at this time. It would seem that the loaches have migrated elsewhere. The season for this fish is short - only 1-2 months, then they disappear.

Emma

They could be young Syncrossus yunnanensis (and before you say this is a synonym of beauforti I do not agree!!! )

I have some images of similar sized Irrawaddy berdmorei and they are very similar in pattern (but not the same colours)

Are you able to scan and upload them here, One of Darkness?

Emma

Emma Turner wrote:Are you able to scan and upload them here, One of Darkness?

Emma

Hi Emma, unfortunately they are not my images and I only have permission to reproduce them in the article I am doing (which hopefully will be finished this month). They arent the same colour but the pattern is almost identical. You will see them in the article, which I think I will get drunk after finishing because it has been hard work and there are still lots of questions that are unanswered that need someone qualified and working on them full time to resolve. It should at least generate some debate (and I'm sure criticism!!) !!!

Darkness Prevails

Ah, well, never mind. Do the images show any kind of spotting on the flanks of the Irrawaddy S. berdmorei?

By the way, we are all looking forward to your article!

Emma

Emma Turner wrote:Ah, well, never mind. Do the images show any kind of spotting on the flanks of the Irrawaddy S. berdmorei?

By the way, we are all looking forward to your article!

Emma

As the specimens grow they start getting some spots. But some berdmorei forms hardly have any spots in smaller specimens. Based on the pattern and the dorsal fin ray count my opinion is that these are a form of berdmorei and until we get some specific locality data or proof that they are from Laos I think we need to proceed with caution on the issue of locality.

Thanks for the interest in the article. At the moment its about 40 or so pages of A4 text discounting the images!!! Some of it is based on scientific and specific reliable information but unfortunately some of it is hypothesis or educated (or uneducated!) guesses! It will at least provide some interesting information but is by no means the whole picture.

Cheers

I totally trust this supplier and what he has told me. I know that he has contacts in Laos as he has shown me 'preview photographs' of some other loach species coming from Laos in the next few months (and which I know are endemic to Laos) so I have no reason to doubt the country of origin of these. However, at this stage, they do not wish to release precise location details.

Emma

This thread is really interesting ! and in a way all the intigue that surrounds these fish is spellbinding !

Emma now you are taunting us! how long do we have to wait to see these new fish?

Dark One that paper sounds like it will be worth the wait. best wishes for completion, and enjoy the crinking afterwards