Loaches Online Forum

Well, today I was working in a town that I seldom visit. Before I came home, I checked out the two nice local fish stores but found nothing. Then I checked out Walmart. I looked around the tanks, most of which seemed to be filled with Chinese algae eaters. Suddenly, I noticed a small fish, slightly over one inch in length, that was delicately grazing one of the tank walls. My hillstream radar immediately went off. It looked to be a small L. disparis or Vanmanenia. The lady who caught the fish for me had no idea what it was. I told her, but since there was no price for "Hong Kong Plecos" she marked it the same as an Otocinclus, $1.86.
I transferred the fish to a container I carry and used the battery operated air pump for the long trip home. I was acclimating the fish and stepped out for just a few minutes. When I came back the little devil had somehow found its way onto the floor despite the fact that the container was covered. Fortunately, it was still alive.
So far, it seems okay. The colors look good, but it is acting a bit nervous. Time will tell. I had the same thing happen with the first L. disparis I found and it lived for years and spawned. Hopefully, this fish will survive as well.
I'm still not sure what it is. The markings are darker than the L. disparis I have had. The tail fin seems larger in proportion to the body of any L. disparis I have seen. The white on the belly extends up the sides as in Vanmanenia, but the head shape is more like disparis. Of course, if it doesn't make it, all this will not matter.

Nice, pictures please!!

Sorry, my camera is down.

The fish is still alive after two full days. Today I saw it eat for the first time. It has been working on a shrimp pellet for a bit now. I was worried that he wasn't grazing on the rocks as you would expect for this kind of fish, but I saw a little of that today too. I still think the fish is acting a bit "twitchy" but I am more encouraged now about its survival.

Sounds encouraging, Jim. Maybe the little fellow had only been out of the container for a few seconds before you rescued him.

Emma

Sounds great.

I'm waiting impatiently for the moment you'll have it next to disparis... that may offer some answers.

It won't be going into the same tank as the disparis.
Right now, I am leaning toward it being a vanmanenia. The markings are darker than my disparis and there is more contrast between the markings and the background. The body is proportioned more like a vanmanenia also, being slender. However, if the fish survives and grows, I think the species will become more apparent.

Jim Powers wrote:Sorry, my camera is down.

down? have you tried cheering it up?

Mark Janssen wrote:

Jim Powers wrote:Sorry, my camera is down.

down? have you tried cheering it up?

Jim's camera is always down in the dumps

Literally!!

Yes, I need to remedy that. Anyone have any spare cash lying around?

Could it be a Glaniopsis sp Jim?

Graeme wrote:

Could it be a Glaniopsis sp Jim?

Yes, it could be, Graeme. If it survives and grows a bit, I hope that it will be easier to ID. We'll see. To make things more difficult, there were no other hillstreams in the tank. If there had been only gastros with this fish, I would lean toward Glaniopsis sp. If there were Chinese species, I would, of course, think of L. disparis or a Vanmanenia. At this point, the head shape is the only thing that doesn't make me think its a Vanmanenia.

Now this little guy is digging a little hideout under a flat cobble in the area of strongest flow. I have used red flint sand in this Q tank (a first for me) and it is very easy for him to move about. I have not seen this type of behavior in L. disparis before. I wonder if this is more typical of Vanmanenia or Glaniopsis sp.?

Interesting behavior Jim! I've seen my Glaniopsis multiradiata dig around in some sand next to some bogwood a couple of times before. If i recall correctly, they did this mainly after water changes.

Never saw Vannies do this....unless there is some buried food in the digging spot.