Loaches Online Forum

Hi
I'm new to the forum and only have a small tank. I am restocking after a few problems now sorted but I have 2 little grey/silver guys sold as "panda loaches" and 1 kuli left. can anyone tell me about the breeding habits of the pandas, I think they are lepidocephalus machrochir? Beekers? Anyway one looks incredibly fat and I am wondering if I might end up with more and if so how to best look after them? can anyone advise.

Never heard of a Panda loach. Do you mean Panda Garra? These are sometimes sold as loaches but they are not.


Mike

Hi Rainy, welcome to Loaches Online.

Are your loaches definitely L. macrochir? If they were labelled as Panda loaches, could they be 'panda kuhlis'?

Here is some info on both:

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/le ... -macrochir

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pangio-unknown-1

If they are panda kuhli loaches, I have seen the females get incredibly gravid (to the point where they look like they are going to burst).

Emma

thanks for the info. Definitely not panda garra. think it must be the panda khuli after emmas link. up to then nearest match was L machrochir but emmas description fits even better and fish is very gravid looking! glad to know and enjoying the little guys whatever they are called! Might end up with a tank full looking at this female!?

Hi Rainy,

Glad to be of help. Does your female look anything like this one?



As far as I am aware, there have been no reported successful spawnings of this species, but some other Pangio species have been bred by accident. This article on breeding Pangio oblonga might be of interest: http://www.loaches.com/articles/breedin ... io-oblonga

Emma

Wow, that Pangio sp. looks like quite a fat little worm! Really a nice looking fish. Hope you both get some fry from your females.

Mike

PS - I assume this khuli species is new to science yes?

Mike

We think so, although in the old "Sharks and Loaches" book by Braz Walker, he has a photo by Dr Axelrod on page 33 depicting this species, but.....it is labelled as Pangio javanicus (which is a junior synonym of P. oblonga, as you probably know).



Emma

Hmm, interesting. It reminds me of a Pangio species I have seen in a book somewhere but I can't remember where. An intriguing species. To me, it looks like a melanistic-ish form of P. oblonga....but not quite..can't describe it. I can clearly see where it gets its common name from though.

Mike

hi i started keeping panda loach fish recently.
a few have breed for me.
and now i have a lot of them if anyone is interested
they are very small fish 1-2" but ghe have amazing black and white coloration very unique rare fish.

There is a panda loach - Yaoshania pachychilus. http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/ya ... chychilus/
and http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/c ... p?sid=4979

The adults do not look anything like the young.

Might be what you have.