Sexing P. Cheni

[LES..]

Thanks for the assimilation (I think) :-)

Here is an update on day 5.

The fry can hide well when they want to, the cream colour lends its self to the surrounding gravel very well. Only one eye visible i'm afraid but comparing it with the day 3 image i think it is a little bigger, it's hard to tell as the varied colour of the background makes identifying what is there tricky.

Next image gives a nice contrast between the 5 day old fry and the 3 week old sibling.


I have another shot with the two loaches in frame on coppermine but i think this is the better of the two.

[LES..]

Hi all,

One of the young fry has decided it has had enough of lurking in the gravel today and has been out practising it's camouflage skills. So you are 7 days old and trapped in a sparsely covered net, where do you hide?


Right out in the open! The fry has quite a grey tint at the moment making the net a better match over the gravel, as can be seen.



I have tweaked the contrast and saturation on this shot to make the fry stand out that little bit more. Doing this shows markings starting to colour up on the body and definite features in line with its larger siblings like a distinct tail and fins.

I'll just finish off with a shot of this little guy on his own.


p.s. Graeme, you can have your glue back now ;-)

[Martin Thoene]

I must say Les, that your documentation of this development has been fascinating to see. It's looking like a proper little fish now.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

Its interesting to see how much they change with each batch of pics. Thanks for keeping us updated.

[LES..]

I must say Les, that your documentation of this development has been fascinating to see.

Thanks Martin :)
It is a lot of fun doing this and i'm glad i have been able share these observations with other inerested people. Now i'll be looking forward to seeing your updates on the Sewellia lineolata spawning and fry development ;-) you have one sweet set-up for them there.

[Graeme Robson]

Cheers LES. Superb captures!

Glad that my "super-glue" services where of help.

Keep the pictures coming!

[LES..]

Wow, the markings have just coloured in incredably over the last two days:

We have a proper little fish here now with nice clear marking (including the fake eye on the tail) I am starting to suspect we only have two survivors from the ten that were introduced into the net. At least I have see two fry of this size over the past few days although only one was visible tonight. That said i have managed to lose the other two larger fry for over a day in the past, they can hide stunningly well in such a small space.

The now obligatory shot contrasting the different stages of development:

Not such good composition today, they were being most uncooperative. ;-)

Finally a shot of the two older fry who are definitely starting to put on some bulk now and are showing classic p. cheni behaviour by facing off against each other.


I am starting to suspect there may be a fair number of days age difference between these two fish and that they might not have come from the same spawning as there is a noticable difference in bulk between them.

[Jim Powers]

Its amazing just how much color they have picked up in a couple of days.
I wouldn't be suprised if you have more than you think, as you know, they can dissappear easily.

[Martin Thoene]

I've noticed a disparity in fry sizes from the same batch. They tend to spawn around every two weeks and comparing the size of the little one and these others I would say that in a couple of weeks it will be around their size. I think the two larger ones would be further apart with a two week seperation. The other option is spawning spread over a few days. That could account for the slight difference.

As Jim says, an amazing change very quickly.

Martin.

[LES..]

Right you can blame Emma for this set of badly exposed and out of focus shots of my cheni fry. There is a range of different spawnings involved including some of the stars from earlier in the thread.

I think a caption contest could be in order for some of the shots, these fish just have so much personality ;-)


Psst! what can you see up there?




Maybe they won't notice us sneaking up this side...


Eeep! OK you have the food


hmmm tasty.

[Graeme Robson]

Cheers Les. Superb pictures!

[Emma Turner]

Excellent pics, and I love the captions!!! Heheheh!!!

Emma

[Jim Powers]

Cute little guys you have there, Les.

[Martin Thoene]

Cute pics LES. I've modified that big picture post on page 1 of this thread into an article, as everyone thought it was a 'keeper'. We could probably use some of these pics if you'd like because they're really good at showing the fry development.

Sexing and Breeding Pseudogastromyzon cheni

Martin.

[LES..]

Cute pics LES. I've modified that big picture post on page 1 of this thread into an article, as everyone thought it was a 'keeper'.

*Grin* Absolutely, one of the reasons i was able to dig this thread up from the past was because i have it bookmarked just for your post.

We could probably use some of these pics if you'd like because they're really good at showing the fry development.

All i can say is thank you for the honour :-) and feel free to use any of the images i upload to loachtank.org.