Loaches Online Forum

Ok now we moved and so did the tank and got a face-lift toward better conditions for hillstream loaches. I was hoping for better result but the fish love it, that's more important. Didn't put almost any shrimp in the new setup, there where hundreds of them, the population had exploded. And usually my "good" luck, as there where a maybe 3-5cm left of water and all the fish were caught I see a Sewellia fry swim by, looked just like the photos Emma's shown. I caught it but don't know if it survived . Lots of small Pitbull pleco around though but sadly one adult died and it may be the female which is mother to all the small ones .
One other thing which was interesting was as the water level went down I turned the outlet of the canister filter down and hillies along with Crystal Red shrimp started to climb up the glass. But anyways here are some pictures.








The Great Escape I


The Great Escape II


I'm also considering getting some Schisturas to this tank. There are three available species but the LFS will get the list after next week so I'll which one they are, hopefully some small species. But would it be OK to get them, will they get along with the rest of the gang and most important, do they eat fry,egg or shrimps? Small shrimp would be ok, would keep the population under control.

Will post more pics later if I have the time to take any, just spent my whole 4 weeks of summer vacation to renovate the new place and lot to do still. Trying to get anything done with a 8 month old little monster who has learned to move from point A to point B to eat something unhealthy is not the easiest thing in the world .

Interesting looking set-up!

Basically, all Schistura's will be in for a treat with any fry or eggs that are produced in your tank. The Schistura's will get along with any sucker type Hillstream, they typically ignore them.

Not sure on Shrimps. I've never kept them with either but i imagine that a nibble will happen.

janma, if your previous mixture of species worked so wonderfully for you (I mean hey, did I EVER get the shrimp to breed????? NO!!!) then why add other species that potentially could really screw things up for you? Why not set up another tank for the experimental type crew you want to obtain and observe what they do? Martin did the same (dumb) thing after he moved. He added some nasties to his river tank and he wasn't getting any babies surviving anymore.

That's a really attractive setup, Janne. Congratulations on a happy move.

Ok, the Schistura is of the wishlist, think I'll add more Sewellias then. Or are there any other type of hillstream loach which would leave egg/fry/shrimp alone, which are not suckermouth. Some active species would be nice.

Nice unconventional setup. Looks really nice now, so it should look great as it matures.

Very nice, Janne. How deep is that substrate on the right hand side of the tank though? Is it all sand or are there rocks piled beneath it? If it is all sand, I think I'd be a little concerned about it's depth.

Anyway, fingers crossed that the little Sewellia lineolata fry made it. It is also interesting to hear that your Crystal Red Shrimps are breeding well in there. I added about 25 of those to my river tank a few weeks ago, they're really beautiful.

Have you considered any of the Homaloptera species? Schistura are definite egg/fry hunters.

Emma

Tnx all

The substrate is filled up with water-filled 1½-liter limonade bottles, and then I placed plexiglass on top of them to even out the weight alittle. On top of the sand I placed 3 huge fake rocks. I forgot to buy stockings to make small sand bags to stop sand from flowing out to the lower side but Ill apply them later.

Shrimps will definetly breed in your tank. It took about 4 months for my 5 to multiply to over 50.

Last night before the light's shut of I observed behavior that I've never seen with two Sewellias cirkling each-other touching noses and nibling on the frontal fins. Could it be love in the air? I'll post a clip of it as I get home from work. There are territorial disputes where one allways flees but this was diferent.

I'll consider Homaloptera if they are available, the available hillstream loach list is very short here.

Here the "Sewellia dance".

I like that spraybar.

Looks different to me than the 'topping' behaviors seen in what's been called dominance struggles.

angelfish also do what's called 'lip-locking' as part of their courtship. and often it's the female pushing the male around. (not that the two are remotely related...)

any of you assimilated ones care to venture a sex assessment? is this a male and female or can't you tell?

Great video, Janne. Did they continue this 'dance' away from the glass at all? From this clip, it looked like a territorial squabble to me. I have found that the male circles the female round and round on the glass, then away from the glass on a piece of bogwood or whatever and then nibbling of the dorsal surface begins before they rise up into the water and spawn.

On another note, I saw last night that one of my Crystal Red Shrimps is carrying a load of eggs already!

Emma

That time the dance was on the glass, but it has happened on rock's, under rock's and on sand. And there was some nibbling involved, so can it be I've been seeing some Sewellia-foreplay Well time will tell.

Excellent news on the shrimps, hate to say I told you so

Ok the LFS got a fishlist and the only hillstream in it was Beaufortia kweichowensis or it was named Beaufortia leveretti. Any thoughts about this fish? So if someone has experience with this one, please share.

And in other news, I saw a Sewellia fry in the tank a of couple nights ago . It was probably the one I found when moving, good at hide-n-seek. But I'm very happy about it, hope to get some more.

Sounds promising to me!