New Loaches!:) Some Help With ID

[soul-hugger]

Last night I took my daughter to the LFS to get some fish for her new aquarium, and since I now have the quarantine, I decided to browse for some myself. She brought her friend, and we spent about two hours in the store. In that time, we made several rounds, and she ended up choosing to bring home 6 Green Fire Rasboras. It wasn't until the last moment I saw these two little guys, well camouflaged in one of their two Loach Tanks. They were so pale I couldn't see much of any markings on them, but I thought they might be young Botia Rostrata. The store didn't have them posted, and didn't know what they were, but it was love at first sight, and I decided to bring them home.

After getting them home and settled in, I thought I might browse the loach book, and see if I could try at an ID, but looking only made me more confused, because they looked not at all to be what I had originally thought. There are so many species and some of them look so similar; some of the smaller botia species looking a lot like some schisturas. The fish it looked most like has a red tail, and these do not. With their colour still pale from travel, it was so hard to tell. But this morning they are looking much better, and my best guess at this point is that they are Schistua Scaturigina, or Schistura Mahnerti.

I don't have a camera, so I'll do my best at a description.
They are just under two inches, nose tip to tail tip. The body is slender, but not serpentine, and the dorsal fin is very high and triangular, having eight rays. There appears to be some sort of markings on the dorasl fin, but they are still qiute pale, so it's hard to tell what shape they are. The body is a light silvery colour, and the belly is white, and rather flat. The stripes it has are thicker behind the dorsal fin than in front, and they are vertical and undivided. One has five stripes behind the dosal fin, and the other has three. The stripes in front of the dorsal fin are thinner, and they are divided, forming an upside-down V. They have barbels, but at this time they look to be quite short, and well-spaced around their short noses. The caudal fin is forked, and looks to have a bit of pale brown colour, but as of yet, no markings. Perhaps another identifying feature may be the way it swims. It swims in short bursts, and almost looks like it's hopping along the bottom on its fairly large pectoral and ventral fins. They seemed quite lethargic last night, but today I'm noticing they're quite active, moving around quickly in their quick hops and venturing more into the mid-water column.

Any help on the ID would be great, as I can see that Botia and Schistura have different care requirements. I'm hoping with observation and time, an ID may be easier. They look to be quite young, and it's possible they will gain more colour as they grow, but either way, I'm looking forward to caring for them and learning about and from them.

Thank-you!
soul-hugger

[bslindgren]

Tough without a photo. The best thing to do, given that you have the loach book (an excellent investment, I might add) is to compare with the photos and descriptions on the species index provided at http://www.loaches.com/species-index with the fish you have.

[soul-hugger]

Thanks, I will definitely spend some more time on the index and see what I come up with.

I also have something more to add. They are VERY agressive feeders. I dropped a sinking pellet in, and within about 1/4 of a millisecond, they were on it and going crazy feeding on it. They are also VERY active today.

Thanks again..,
soul-hugger

[Mad Duff]

From your description I would probably say either Schistura mahnerti or Schistura vinciguerrae.

I have the Schistura mahnerti and mine took a few days to fully settle into their new tank and show their true colouration

[soul-hugger]

Thanks, Mad Duff..,

I do think they are probably one of those two species. The tails are also becoming red, particularly after they ate. I'm a little unsure of how I will house them now because of their degree of activity. My other loaches are very peaceful. How do you house your Mahnerti, and what species do you keep them with?

Thanks,
soul-hugger

[starsplitter7]

I was thinking Schistura mahnerti too, although I am far from an expert. I have one. He was so pale when I got him, that there was no real coloration. So he didn't look like the one in the pictures. He is in a tank with black gravel now and it is charcoal gray with black stripes. He is very small about 2" and fast, and has a favorite cave, which he shares.

I bet your new ones are ferociously eating because they haven't been fed well in a while.

[soul-hugger]

I'm glad to hear he shares his cave. Perhaps mine will, too, at least with eachother. They stick very close together right now. Who does he share his cave with, and is he ever aggressive towards other fish?

I fed them last night too, but they didn't show much interest in the food. They were very pale and obviously scared. But today they ate like they hadn't seen food in ages, which might be a good sign as far as their health. It's very possible they hadn't been fed in awhile, but I did test the water in the bag, and the quality of it was excellent. These two look very healthy, and though I may be wrong, I don't think I'll have a problem with disease.

Although I have now read the index, I would greatly appreciate if anyone who has kept these fish can give me some tips, especially on the compatibility level and behaviour of these fish, as well as how to set up a good habitat for them. I am obviously venturing into a whole new part of loaches with these little guys.

Thanks,
soul-hugger

[Mad Duff]

I have 3 Mahnerti in with my clowns, emperors, histrionicas etc and they are fine even with clowns as small as 1".

I did have them in with my striata for a while and there were plenty of hiding places and they were pretty peaceful.

[soul-hugger]

I was planning on housing them with Weather Loaches, Barbs, Larger Tetras, and possibly Kuhlis, in a 55 Gallon tank. My other tank is a 20 Gallon with very small tetras and kuhlies. What worries me is that my Weather Loaches have been stressed by overactive fish before; these were Giant Danios. It's good to know they are peaceful with small clowns, because that may say something about their type of aggressiveness.

If they are the kind of fish who just stake out a territory and defend it, or just feed vigourously, it might not be a problem. They will be in quarantine for awhile yet, and I will observe them closely. They do seem to rest quite a bit in between periods of activeness, where the danios just never stopped.

I can see another tank in the near future if it doesn't work out when the time comes to move them, because that will be a true test of their compatibility.

Thanks!
soul-hugger

[starsplitter7]

My guy stays in his cave. I have a loner, because I can't find any more. I think he'd be more aggressive to his own kind. I don't see any problems with his tank mates which include many Botias. I worry more about him because he's small, but he does well in the tank.

I can't imagine that these little guys would stress out your Dojos. I am amazed your Dojos get stressed. Mine live in a very busy tank, and they lounge in their plants and seem to not worry about anything. Mine seem like very relaxed Divas. I love them. They eat from my fingers, which has been known to startle me if I am not expecting it.

[soul-hugger]

Weather loaches are great, aren't they? Mine eat from my fingers too, and have even been known to investigate my arm when I'm doing maintenance. It can be a little alarming at first if you're not expecting it. When I brought the Danios, their demeanor changed immediately. They became very withdrawn, and then ended up with a bad case of ich. I ended up taking the danios back to the pet store. After getting rid of the ich, they are finally back to normal, and that was when I made the decision not to get any more fish until I got a quarantine, and to be more careful about who I decide to house with them. I have no idea why they got so stressed, and my best guess is it was the danios' overactivity in the upper levels of the tank that made them uneasy.

With my obsevations so far, the danios were far more active than my new schistras. They never stopped pacing back and forth in the tank in a frenetic racing style. These guys seem to be quick and active when they do move, but they also rest a lot. I guess what it comes down to is that I love my Weather loaches and wouldn't want to see them hurt.

So far I have found your advice reassuring. There will probably be no problems as long as both species have places to hide. My main concern is if they are aggressive towards other fish, because the two I have will have grown up together, so that shouldn't be a problem. It's too bad you can't find any more. It seems like when you see a rarer fish, you have to grab it while chances are good.

soul-hugger

[soul-hugger]

Just when I was certain of their ID as Schistura Mahnerti, I have seen another colour change. Now they don't look like any of the fish I have seen in books or on the index, because they have developed a very bright white ring around their reddish tails. I know they are definitely a very close relative of Schistura mahnerti, but they may be something different altogether. They are definitely great artists in colour change, becuse five minutes later, the white ring is gone. I have never seen fish change colour so quickly.

I tried this morning giving them freeze-dried tubifex worms, and it was very entertaining to watch them eat. They appeared to be jumping and catching a worm mid-jump. Fascinating.

soul-hugger