Not just us who use Garra for skin conditioning

[Doc]

I have just witnessed a very strange and new sight.
I was watching two Kribensis in the Grrrr Tank spawning and my eye caught one of my G.cambodgiensis "cleaning" the Alpha Y.modesta I watched this (silently cursing for not having my camera near me) for about 5 minutes until the Alpha moved off and another take its place. As I was watching this I noticed one of the other Garra doing the same to the smallest of the Modesta and the Modesta actually raising its spines to be cleaned. It really is an amazing sight to watch. The Modesta even chased the E.frenatus away before resuming its pampering session...

The Garra...


Waiting...


If I can I'll try an snap a shot of it in action and post it later on.. Although they now know I have a camera in hand...

[helen nightingale]

very interesting i shall have to see if i catch mine doing that now, i havent donoe so far. it must be fascinating to watch

[Bully]

As Helen says, very interesting. What a cool thing to observe

[Doc]

It is. There is obviously no malice on behalf of the Garra and it does appear that the Loaches enjoy it, they seem to congregate and wait their turn. Even the Garra have a pecking order of who gets to service which fish in turn.

[helen nightingale]

how many garra do you have, and how big is the tank? how well do yours get on? your garra's pecking order is very interesting too.

[Emma Turner]

That's really interesting, Doc. I was also wondering how many G. cambodgiensis you have and how they get on together (that particular species seems quite scrappy in the stock tanks and I have heard similar reports from various home aquaria). And I have to say, your Y. modesta are absolutely stunning!

Emma

[Doc]

I currently have 3 Garra. All are around the same size give or take 1cm at around 4". My original one is the smallest and the two largest I bought off someone else. They are a lot more peaceful than Epalzeorhynchus but still have the odd scrap over territory or as more recently discovered grooming rights.. The tank is a 60 gallon (IMP) tank. They get on well with all the other fish and are robust enough to go with the more aggressive Loaches. If recommending them I would say that if kept in very large aquaria you could probably keep a sizeable group far better than solitary or paired specimens, especially if provided with plenty of rock and wood decor and this may be the best way. I have read some reports that these tend to form seasonal shoals in the wild, most likely when breeding and split up for the rest of the year so maybe that is why they are often more scrappy at some times of the year and more docile at others.

I have tried these out in various setups ranging from Loach tanks (softies, hillstream and Grrrr), Planted Community tanks and mixed Cichlid tanks. I think they complement the Loach setups better. I took them out of the main tank as I introduced a small group of Crossocheilus species and wanted these for the Grrrrs.

When I originally had just the one he used to wind up my main pair of Pelvicachromis seemingly for fun but he is the bottom of the order now. The E.frenatus tends to push all three round even though he is only 3".
During the peaceful times in the tank all 3 will quite happily swim into the flow from a converted (ie broken output nozzle) Fluval 4 on its side.

[helen nightingale]

very interesting

my 2 will chase each other out of each other's territory. in my old tank, you could tell Eric and Ernie apart, by which end of the tank they were in. they are very comical fish.

[piggy4]

Doc, the colours on your Garra are superb ! I am currantly keeping eight of them in a 4ft long 18 inch wide tank , along with some loaches and a few barbs , mine are nowhere near the colour of yours , possibly due to the fact that the tank is very sparcely decorated , just a sand base with three sunken spawning mops , the reason for this is the tank is mainly to suit a group of Mesonemacheilus Triangularis , though they use the mops for shelter , it seems to stop the bickering , solid objects , pebbles, rocks , etc , seem to bring out the demon in these loaches
I must say the Garra's seem to be quite tolerant of each other most of the time
Thats interesting about your Garras cleaning the tusk area of your Modestas , there must be a language among fishes for your Garra's to have the confidence to venture into the area of what could be a leathal weapon very interesting observations Doc .

B t w Doc which Crossocheilus sp/s did you get

[Doc]

B t w Doc which Crossocheilus sp/s did you get Question

That is a really good question.. At first I thought they were C.siamensis, then C.langei, then C.atrilimes The back to siamensis.. Heck they could could even be C.oblongus I just don't know anymore. Knowing my luck they will be a man-made hybrid from an Eastern Greenland fish breeding program dedicated to making an Siamese Algae Eater that can cope with Ice in the tank.

Checked here and here
The more I tried to get a definitive ID the more confused I got.. But then life is a learning curve.

[piggy4]

There are a few S a e's about , though Siamensis or Atrilimes would be favorites ?