Loaches Online Forum

Hi all,

I thought i would post some updated pictures of my Annamia normani.

Enjoying the Tunze flow, this is a few stones back from the pump outflow, still quite fast. The Annamia normani don't sucker down onto the stones but seem to perform magic with their fins using the water flow its self to hold position.


Lovely toothy expression then have.



Now this is the interesting one, are these fences on the fins?
Emma have you seen anything like this on your Annamia normani?

The fences seem quite lose and i have worried myself a number of times when i have seen them flaking away from the fins. Given what i have seen of Annamia normani combat i think the fences are targeted which could cause this.

Not a great picture, i just wanted to show an out of focus Pseudogastromyzon Cheni fry to give a bit of a size comparison.


I have been using a new camera for these shots but am not entirely happy with the way i have it set up, beware you may be subjected to more poorly exposed shots as i play with the settings. With that in mind is our current Alpha Cheni

and a shrimp that happened wander round when i had the camera out.


Hope you enjoyed them,
LES..

Great selection of photos Les

Have you had any new cheni fry since the Annamia normani were added

I was seriously considering getting some Annamia normani but wasn't sure if they might predate on fry

Those are great photos, LES..

Since you first mentioned about the possibilty of the Annamia males having fences, I have been studying mine closely and looking at close-up pics etc, but haven't seen anything like that. I have 2 males and 2 females in the tank, and the females are really bossy and are always topping the males and are showing a bit too much aggression towards the Sewellia lineolata. I hopefully have a new tank arriving this week which is a foot longer, and once we've built a new manifold, I'm going to transfer all the contents (including the fish) over so that they have got a bit more room. This is not only because of the Annamia taking over such a large territory, but also to create space for when the juvenile Sewellia get bigger.

Keep the pics coming, you never post enough of them anyway, so we will look forward to it!

Emma

I may have to backtrack here. I've just looked again at a couple of close-ups of one of my male Annamia, and I think I am seeing the same thing (although maybe not as well lit as in your picture):





I had been so intent on looking for evidence of fences on the actual leading edges of the pectoral fins, and must have totally blanked out the centre section!

Emma

Great pictures Les. I've never thought of looking for fences on these chaps.

Love the way these guys have such streamlined heads. It's amazing the way good digital cameras are allowing us to learn so much about their physiology too. Fantastic!

Martin.

Thanks for all the comments, it has taken a lot of pictures to finally get one that shows the fences reasonably, even in this one they are not as pronounced as i have seen in the past.
The fences are most noticeable in the Annamia with darker body colour, it took me a while to be convinced that this is what i was seeing.

Emma, it is hard to tell in the pictures you have posted if there are fences visible, i think all of my Annamia show a similar pattern in the fins which forms their natural shape. That said you have definitely got the location where i have seen these fences right now, i will be very interested to know if you notice anything developing there.

Mark, i believe we are down to 2 remaining Cheni fry from a confirmed 4 (although i suspect there might have been at least 6 at one point) in the last spawning. Truth be told if i was to point a finger for the losses anywhere it would be at the Rasbora. I have seen them hunt the fry, although never successfully as the Cheni have always managed to hide in time. The two remaining now are of a size where i doubt they will be in any danger. With the new Alpha Cheni taking charge there has not been much spawning activity in the tank although i think i saw something last week. If there are more fry i'll let you know how they get on.

I have thinned out some of the vegetation in the tank in the hope of getting a less obstructed view, naturally the fish now no longer sit on the nice posing stones :-)

Great shots.
Ah, what are fences?

lf11casey wrote:Great shots.
Ah, what are fences?

Casey, "fences" is a term I coined to describe the raised areas on the front few rays of male Sewellia lineolata's pectoral fins.

Note the grayish, translucent areas in this picture:



Since discovering this sexual indicator we've seen it in some other Balitorid species too. If you look in Emma's second picture you'll note yellowish raised ares on that fish's first few rays too.

I'm leaning towards "Louvres/louvers" being possibly more descriptive. We don't know what function (if any) they perform.

Martin.

O.K, thought that's what they were, but was not sure. Thought I'ld ask anyway.
Any speculation going on as to what they may or may not be for?

I just keep learning here ,You can teach an old dog.......

This is a zoomed in section of a photo I took of one of the males last month:



If you look beyond the grains of sand, the fences are visible in the centre of the pectoral fin.

Will have a good look at the fish themselves once the tank lights come on later.

Emma

Emma Turner wrote:This is a zoomed in section of a photo I took of one of the males last month:

Definite thickening there :-) that looks just like the effect I am seeing. It's nice to know that this is visible on other fish, the first time i noticed them the fences were flaking away from the fin which freaked me out thinking it was a fungus infection.

LES..

Fascinating! Do these fences vary in size between individuals? Am just pondering whether they may be a factor involved in partner selection when spawning.

Interesting. Great photos!!!