Nemacheilus platiceps

[Matthew]

Hello all!

In my 4 foot river tank I have had a small group of 6 Nemacheilus platiceps for around 10 months. The have done amazingly well and have grown significantly from the time of purchase. Now it seems I have a VERY gravid female, she is huge! So I was wondering if anyone here had any suggestions for inducing spawning? I have done cool water changes but haven't seen alot of activity. The tank setup as of now has a river tank manifold and is filtered with a Rena XP4 which results in an approximate total hourly water movement of 2300GPH. The tank has a substrate of sand and gravel with several larger rocks and many smaller smooth stones. As for other fish in the tank there are 6 Barilius barna and a few white clouds, there are also 6 Selwellia lineolata. I realize that having them in a species tank would be best and I will try and move some fish around over the next few days to accomplish this. Thanks for any input you have!

Matthew

PS. I will try and ge some pictures this afternoon if I have time.

[Thomas]

Hi Matthew,

I've a similar situation here: Nemacheilus ornatus. I've separated the pair from other fishes since the beginning of july, but till this evening I can't report any spawning or so, but the female has a nice round belly

Before a few days I started to change the water with RO-water. I try to simulate a rainy season. My plan is to do this many days and the hope is breeding them.

Here is a pic of the pair:


the colors fading when they have a "meeting", normally they looks so:


Good luck

Thomas

[Emma Turner]

Hi Matthew,

Spawning of Nemacheilid loaches is a bit of a mystery, although some aquarists have had success with certain species. I would say going for a species tank would be a very good move though. The Barilius are gorgeous fish, but defiitely would prey on any eggs. I would try increasing the current a little more at the same time as a cool partial water change, to try and mimic a swelling river when the rains come. It may also be worth trying with a set up similar to what Mick used when he spawned Acanthocobitis zonalternans: http://www.loaches.com/articles/breedin ... nalternans

Good luck (and to Thomas too),

Emma

[piggy4]

Nice fish Thomas , that colour fade does look like a good sign , good luck !