Loadsa Loaches

[Martin Thoene]

....around at the moment.

I just picked up this guy. Is it Traccatichthys pulcher Emma?











There were only two left and the other just didn't look good. They were cheap too!
In the same tank there was a cute Garra species, and a few more of the same mixed in with some other fish. The guy let me have 4 for $9.99!







They also had some really nice Schistura vinciguerrae, ( but these I resisted.)

Literally across a carp park from this particular Big Als is a Chinese-owned fish shop. I went in and checked it out because it has just moved from smaller premises and I hadn't seen the new shop. They had two tanks of Schisturas, and the species were mixed.

Found this beautifully marked specimen.







Got another couple from the same tank. S. kohchangensis ?





They are all in a 30 gallon Q-tank at present and have already been eating Bloodworm. I took the pictures not long after introduction, so expect better ones once they are more settled in.

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

Beautiful additions there Martin!
The first one does indeed look like T. pulcher to me, or else a close variation of one. I'd love to be able to get hold of some more of these, but they rarely seem to appear in the trade. The green colouration will intensify once the fish is more settled, they are really quite stunning. From what I've seen, the darker markings on the flanks and dorsal surface can be quite varied.
The Garras are very nice too. They look similar to the G. gotyla that I get from India.

Emma

[Jim Powers]

Cool fish, Martin!!
Yes, that is S. kohchangensis. I have a pair I have had for about 5 years now. They are not the most colorful schisturas, but you have to love that goofy, whiskery, catfish face. Yours really have some interesting markings. They are very active and outgoing when young, but tend to get more reclusive as they get older. I have found, however, that since moving mine to a different tank, I see them much more. And oh do they get excited at feeding time!
I have yet to see the pulchers, but they certainly look attractive. You seem to have gotten some very well marked fish. I bet they will color up nicely after getting a little Thoene tender loving care.
Those garras look very interesting too. I bet they will love the algae rocks . I think there were some pics of a species like that on petfrd a while back.

[Martin Thoene]

That fish is quite yellow at present, certainly not green. I've added a couple more pics since you read it Emma.

The Garra are quite funny. They will all sort of look at you at once, propped up on their pectoral fins. Great posers too......until you're ready to take a picture that is

Big Als also had a load of Yunnanilus brevis which I would really have liked, but they just looked too skinny and weak for me to chance it.....shame...nice fish. They were calling them "Hovering Loaches"
Still, I guess they do "hover" more than most Loaches.

Martin.

[notoo7]

So the striped eel like loach is a Garra? I bought two of them a couple months ago. They were advertised as Red-Tailed Banded Loaches. I couldn't find any thing on these fish.

[Mark in Vancouver]

The striped fish is a Schistura, and a nice photo sitter. Great finds, Mr. T!

We are keeping the same brook loach now, Micronemacheils, Traccadichthys, or otherwise.

Acquiring new loaches is such a pleasure!

[Martin Thoene]

Some fresh pics from this morning. Fish with a few meals inside them.

This is the larger Garra that came from the same tank as the T.pulcher. It is brighter coloured and fat. Possibly because it was chomping on a dead Tiger Barb in the shop tank...yuck!





The T.pulcher is looking nice. The dorsal redness is a real cherry clour in reality.



One of the Schistura.



The oddball one with the nice markings






Martin.

[Mike Ophir]

Martin that odd ball nicely colored specimen reminds me alot of members of the Aborichthys genus.

Just thoughts,

Mike

[Emma Turner]

That last photo of the oddball Schistura is just fabulous! What a gorgeous-looking loach.

Emma

[Mike Ophir]

Emma,

Just curious, are you sure thats a schistura? I cannot recall ever seeing a member of the Schistura genus with such elongated barbels and thin bodied appearance. I would place my bets that its an Aborichthys.

Mike

[Emma Turner]

I may be wrong, but Martin's oddball 'Schistura' does look very much like the type specimen for S. kohchangensis featured in Kottelat's book 'Indochinese Nemacheilines'. He describes S. kohchangensis as "A nemacheiline with a moderately elongate body, who's depth increases slowly to a point somewhat in advance of dorsal fin region." One of his pointers for identifying Aborichthys species is a pelvic fin origin in front of the origin of the dorsal fin, and in Martin's photographs, the pelvic fin origin appears (to me) to start underneath or slightly behind the origin of the dorsal fin.

Emma

[Jim Powers]

I would agree, Emma. There is quite a bit of variation in markings in that species.

[Martin Thoene]

I've got Aborichthys elongatus Mike, and there's no way they're the same.

Just took these pics......very cooperative fish
Yer bog-standard S. kohchangensis

The one with very different marking...colouring too....don't think it's the same species...deeper-bodied.

A male Aborichthys elongatus.....actually Mike the barbels are shorter.

Female........


The Aborichthys pics are older ones, but you can see, particularly in the male pic, that they're a more elongate fish. Caudal and dorsal are very differently shaped.

Martin.

[Jim Powers]

Martin;
Kohchangensis will become deep bodied if they feed well.
Just check out this pic of my big mama as she looked about 4 years ago.
She is still large, but has lost a little weight since this pic was taken.
http://www.bobd.lunarpages.com/loaches/jim052.html

[Graeme Robson]

Superb additions, Martin.