Loaches Online Forum

I'm coming to the conclusion that the only way to find Hillstreams around here is to just go out and do the leg work since most of the part time staff that answer the phone are clueless.
You folks that shop at Emma's store don't know how lucky you are.
Well any ways I found a couple more Hillstreams that were only a few miles from the house today,

Both of these look fairly sickly to me but then I'm just begining to learn about them and maybe these are just imature and normal looking for their age.



This first one was less than an inch long and doesn't look to good to me.



The only other Hillstream in the tank was a little better looking but stayed glued to the back glass where I couldn't get the best picture.



The label on the tank identifys them as Pseudogastromyzon myersi but at their current size it's probably anybodys guess.
I'm guessing, Sinogastromyzon wui.

Right now I'm just in the learning stage but once I finally get my River tank done it will be quite the challenge to find quality fish around here.

Nice finds....

The 2nd photo is H.Smithi, or H.Tweedie, probably former -- it looks like the fins overlap. It is very likely that the smaller fish is the same, it may not be sickly but merely mimicking the background. In fact, it is not obvious that either one is sickly...

Not clear if you got them: if you did, frozen bloodworms should help...if you did not, perhaps tell the lfs that this is what they must have.

Looks like your store has a nice-looking kuhli too...I like those messed-up patterns...

You folks that shop at Emma's store don't know how lucky you are.

Aint that the truth!!!

BTW a belated welcome to LOL - you are a credit to anyone at the 'learning' stage. I wish I had found LOL long before I set up my tank. I loved your intro story!

If I hadn't come here I don't know if I would have ever gotten my favorite guys, my Dojos!

Last picture is Gastromyzon farragus, so the "Borneo" part of the label is at least correct. G. farragus is seen less than the very similar G. occelatus.

Martin.

I would say that both the first and second pics show H. smithi.
They tend to be one of he easier hillstreams to get to eat aquarium foods.
In addition to the bloodworms mikev suggested, you might want to try frozen brine shrimp too.

Agreed! The Homaloptera smithi have amazing chameleon like ability's.

Nice find!

You guys are amazing.
I did a Google image search for Homaloptera smithi and found this photo that is a perfect match.

http://atlas.drpez.org/Homaloptera-smithi-fotos/aad

Although very tempted, I didn’t purchase these fish. My Daughters tank is still a week or two from completing its start up cycle and I couldn’t bring myself to dump them into a tank that might kill them. Funny thing is that the Danios don’t seem to know this and have started spawning behavior.
My river tank is still in the acquiring parts phase and will be another month or two before completion, budget willing. We’re a single income household with two kids in private school so I have to spread the purchase of filter, powerheads, ballasts and misc. other parts out over the next month or two, which by the way is killing me. I WANT IT NOW.
Actually it’s probably not a bad thing that I have to wait since the time until the tank is finished affords me the opportunity to continue my education at LOL University.
We’re going camping for five days up the Clackamas River this weekend so I’m bringing buckets and sifting screens and see if we can find some nice gravel for the new tank.
It won’t be all bright and fancy colored but personally I think the store bought gravel can be quite ugly.

The assimilation continues.

killforfood wrote:
Although very tempted, I didn’t purchase these fish. My Daughters tank is still a week or two from completing its start up cycle and I couldn’t bring myself to dump them into a tank that might kill them.

Ask the store to reserve them for you?

If they agree, and the fish lasts two weeks, they are also certified healthy...

The appearance of H.Smithi, btw, depends on the substrate more than the fish... You found a photo with the same substrate, so the fish matched too

MAN!!! You guys got this assimilation thing down pat.
I give a good solid reason why I shouldn’t purchase these fish and my resistance is futile.

Mikev says “Ask the store to reserve them for you?”

The creepy thing is I keep hearing a thousand Picard like voices, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, over and over again.

Yes I hear you, must buy the Hillstream, store is on the way home, ask to get off work early must have now, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstream, buy the Hillstr….

He-heh.

Given my current water problems, I made a solemn promise not to buy any fish until the situation is totally stable,...I even said this publicly on a forum. Last Friday I saw six of those things.... I resisted for a couple of hours, then tosses a coin: heads I buy, tails I don't. Had to toss the coin a few times until it was heads...

You guys are amazing.
I did a Google image search for Homaloptera smithi and found this photo that is a perfect match.

http://atlas.drpez.org/Homaloptera-smithi-fotos/aad

We're so amazing you didn't need to go elsewhere........

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/homaloptera-smithi

If you ever want to try and work out what something is, start here:

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pi ... e-pictures

Martin.

You can see with my homaloptera smithi on how they can blend into their chosen location.

Or at least try too!

Martin Thoene wrote: We're so amazing you didn't need to go elsewhere........

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/homaloptera-smithi

If you ever want to try and work out what something is, start here:

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/pi ... e-pictures

Martin.

Thanks for the link Martin, it cost me about 2 hours yesterday
LOL University continues to amaze me.
You guys should charge tuition and adopt some titles like Professor or Doctor of Ichthyology or something. Actually I did have a Dr. Powers that taught Ornithology. Loved that class, lots of field trips.

Graeme Robson wrote: You can see with my homaloptera smithi on how they can blend into their chosen location.

Or at least try too!

Graeme,
That reminds me of a picture I took while on a hunting trip last year.


Lizard Fish/Sage Lizard, must be both related to the Cameleon family

have fun gravel-fishing on your trip the shop stuff can be truly awful. i am trying not to imagine a hillstream tank with that luminous pink gravel, or those nastty quartz type chippings.

have strength in your resistance. good luck.