schistura mahnerti

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Brengun
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Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:42 pm
Location: Lowood, Queensland, Australia

schistura mahnerti

Post by Brengun » Sat Feb 21, 2009 10:10 pm

I am supposed to be getting a shistura mahnerti loach in a week or two but there doesn't seem to be a lot of information apart from the species profile loaches.com

I regards to the report of this fish being territorial, exactly territorial to what? He will be the only mahnerti in the tank but can he share with other fish like plecos, clown loaches, pictus or danios maybe?

Will he eat pond snails?

I doubt there are many fishkeepers in Australia with this species but if there are I would love to hear from you.
Internationally, who has kept this species before and how entertaining are they?

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Mad Duff
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Location: Middlesbrough, UK
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Post by Mad Duff » Sun Feb 22, 2009 4:33 am

They have their own little spots and will chase off any other manherti and to a lesser degree other schistura but they dont seem to bother anything else, one of mine actually shares a pipe with a king tiger plec :)
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Pardon my honesty - I am a Northerner

14 loach species bred, which will be next?

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soul-hugger
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Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 3:02 pm
Location: Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Post by soul-hugger » Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:54 am

Hi, Brengun..,

About a month ago, I bought a pair of small, pale Loaches with no label and no name at the pet store. At first I thought they might be very young Botia Rostrata or something similar. When I got them home, they seemed to be very happy in their new tank, and coloured up overnight. When I perused the Loach book and inquired here, I figured out they are Schistura Mahnerti.

They are still in Quarantine, are very healthy, and I plan on housing them in a 55 Gallon tank with Weather Loaches and other peaceful temperate fish, once I convert it to a River Tank. I had some concerns about putting them in with my Weathers, one of whom seems to be easily stressed. I had the same problem as you have had with finding information on them, and so far the best information, apart from what I found out here at LOL, has been what I have been able to observe during my time with them. The true test will come when I move them in with my other fish.

They have been very entertaining to watch. I have never seen fish so quick on the scene when food is offered. The food barely hits the water and at least one if not both of them is on it within milliseconds. Strangely enough for a Loach, they seem to enjoy good-quality flake or pellet food almost more than anything else, and they will feed at the water's surface as well as at the bottom. It is also entertaining to watch them eat blood or tubifex worms. They jump up and catch them in the water column, looking somewhat like a dog jumping up and catching a ball or a stick. So far they have not been aggressive to eachother. They were bought together, possibly caught together, and they seem to enjoy each other's company. They spend at least part of each day doing an intricate dance up and down the sides of the tank. One will be going up, while the other goes down. They also sometimes swim in circular patterns around eachother, but there has been no fighting. When they move, they are very fast and they move in a most endearing way, like a grashopper hopping from place to place. But they also spend a good deal of their time resting, often in a head-up position on rocks and wood. I have also seen them resting on the filter intake, enjoying the current. They seem to like water movement.

That is about all I have to offer for now, but from what I can see, and from the list of fish you have mentioned, I don't see there being a problem. Just watch that you don't house them with fish who like really warm water, as the Schistura tand to prefer it a little cooler. I would highly reccommend this fish.

Take Care,
soul-hugger
Success is measured by the amount of obstacles you have overcome.

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