Dojo Loaches

[neonoah75]

How can you tell the difference between Misgurnus fossilis and Misgurnus anguillicaudatus? I think mine is fossilis, but I am not sure. I can post a pic, if someone can ID him. But if there is a distinct difference, I can tell myself. I know that fossilis is bigger in general, but that's the extent of my knowledge. Thanks for any help!

[Rocco]

I've just acquired what I -think- are Dojo loaches. They look like them for sure but I can't be 100% as the fish trade in this country has a habit of mis-labeling their tanks. I'm 100% sure they are loaches.

I'll post pics as soon as I can

[Martin Thoene]

Hi neonoah75 and welcome to LOL

It's almost certain that your fish is not Misgurnus fossilis. This is a European species and does not form part of the ornamental fish trade. Indeed,its import is banned into the UK as it is regarded as an alien species that could become established.

In the USA the fish will invariably be M. anguilicaudatus with a slight possibility of it being M. mizolepis. Dojos are bred primarily for the SE.Asian food industry and those that turn up in fish shops are probably sidelined from that production. Allegedly, there may be certain hybrids of the two species around too. Certainly you see vast differences in body proportions, color and markings.

Did you read?

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/we ... licaudatus

http://www.loaches.com/articles/weather-report

Martin.

[neonoah75]

Thank you very much , Martin. I'm not sure how Iarrived at the conclusion he's a fossilis. I was so proud of myself for figuring out that the Corydoras julii my lfs sold me were really C. trilineatus, I guess I thought all IDs would be that easy.

I had seen the first article but not the second. Thanks again for your reply.

Noah

[neonoah75]

Oh. and Rocco, I would like to see pics when you have them. I don't know where you live, but the USA fish trade has the same habit of mis-labeling. Although it's not any marketing strategy, at least I don't think so, but sheer ignorance. Although in the case of my Corys, perhaps they were trying to pull a fast one, saying that they are selling me the much rarer julii.

[Rocco]

Hey Neonoah, and welcome. I didn't notice you were new. I myself am quite new here and a newly assimilated loach.

It is possible that they did indeed try to pull a fast one on ya there.

I'm currently breeding my Corydoras Sterbai, or trying to. I have 2 hatchlings (was 3 but 1 died shortly after hatching) as of now. Eggs keep getting fungused before they can hatch and meth blue doesn't keep it at bay at all.

Got any useful advice before I do a waterchange on my cory tank and collect the new eggs? I'm looking to try to increase their yield. (we don't have bloodworms here, live, frozen, or dried... best we can get is live tubifex)

I got my Dojos from a fish store that isn't quite keen on keeping their fish healthy but they were the only ones carrying anything other than clown loaches and the only other loach they had were dojos. They're in quarantine now but seem to be doing allright. They don't look anything like the pics on the species index. They're more grey with some barely visible darker markings.

Will take pictures tomorrow.

[Felhad]

I have a few pics of my goldens, which are most certainly Dojos. They can be found in this thread:

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... highlight=

I can honestly say that these are by far my favorite fish. They're just so much fun to watch doing their crazy little antics, and they've gotten to the point now where they see me as a playmate of sorts. I can cup my hand in the tank and they'll come up and sit in it. The best way I can describe it is that they're like aquatic puppies.

I do have a question for the other Dojo keepers. I've had mine for around 2 months now, and i've noticed very little growth, maybe half an inch. Is this the normal growth rate for the species?

[Martin Thoene]

the USA fish trade has the same habit of mis-labeling. Although it's not any marketing strategy, at least I don't think so, but sheer ignorance. Although in the case of my Corys, perhaps they were trying to pull a fast one, saying that they are selling me the much rarer julii.

Quite possibly not purposeful deception. For years all over the world trilineatus have been mislabelled/misidentified as julii.



Martin.

[newbe007]

im sure they are gold dojos. 100% sure

that guy has a nice cory cat.

[newbe007]

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/People/h-Cory-julii.

[neonoah75]

As far as my loach goes, I have had him for about a month now, and I would say he's grown about a 1/4 inch. He has a little more girth also.

Thanks for the julii pic, Martin. They are very similar, but I think the difference should be obvious to someone who works at a LFS.