R.I.P. Lepidocephalichthys :(

[wasserscheu]

When I recently split a tank into 2 tanks, big loaches / small loches I got more space for the “small”. So, I was getting the pangios some more of “themselves”. At the lfs, I found some “micro-shadow” zooming by the net and asked the dealer to go after that – guess I´ve got a Lepidocephalichthys hasselti now, what do you think? It was containment in the kuhli shipment. Thanks to the pictorial sp.-index, otherwise I´d been busy for weeks two find out the name of my lovely new friend.

Occasionaly the black “centreline” shows much stronger, sometimes the spots below the centreline are pronounced as well…

It´s been out frequently, doing busy swimming, today I could not find him though…it´s not always showing. Eats bloodworms. A cool fellow. I guess, I had a very similar one, when I was a youngster and it was one of my favourites already then…

Size about 3cm, just a bit over 1”, I guess it´s been growing already a bit.

[clownloachfan]

Nice find. you are like me, always looking in the corners of the tank for that hiding loach I am surprised a little guy like that can fit bloodworms in his mouth.

[Emma Turner]

Nice find, Wolfram! They don't look like typical L. hasselti to me though. Now that they've had time to settle in a bit, would you say they look like these that Graeme found recently? http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=8282

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

Not sure on the identification on this chap. I personally wouldn't say they look identical to my little Lepidocephalichthys cf guntea and neither to a typical Lepidocephalichthys hasselti. If push comes to shove, then i would lean to a Lepidocephalichthys hasselti.

[wasserscheu]

Thanks for looking at my “treasure”. I did my best by comparing all pic´s the “search” spit out, prior to initial posting, including Graeme´s great looking friends and the ones Emma showed in a few posts… that´s the only Lepidocephalichthys I´ve ever seen. You have much more parameters to verify that fish. I´m happy to get advice, below just the way my eyes were seeing it. The solid centreline does not continue into the caudal on my little guy (perhaps it will when growing up) and the bright zones ong the centreline is not so clear like on Graemes, so I only go by those signs, I have no eye for proportions or similar, like you may have. I´m already glad I got the Lepidocephalichthys right…



I noticed a dot on the caudal base in the below pic mine shows that often too…perhaps all Lepidocephalichthys do (similar to the Aborichtys dot)…?





I´ll keep postimg grow-up pic´s, provided it cooperates...

[clownloachfan]

nice pics, it looks like he has really settled into his new home

[wasserscheu]

Nice find. you are like me, always looking in the corners of the tank for that hiding loach I am surprised a little guy like that can fit bloodworms in his mouth.

Thanks CLF, only the bottom one is mine, other´s are from Graeme and from the species index, to make comparison easier...

... yes, sometimes I feel akward, looking so intensively into some tanks...

There is a good portion of small and thin bloodworms in one portion, so she/he has to look around a little - but it´s doing quite well. Yesterday it tried hard on a piece of salad shrimp, which I cut as small as I can, but in the water the pieces look larger... I thinks it´s eating some algea too... saw it pulling around on stones a few times.

[clownloachfan]

I am glad it is still doing well. Your picture still looks great to me! Dont worry about looking weird when looking at fish tanks at the store. Only a true loachaholic will carefully inspect every possible place for a loach to hide.

[wasserscheu]

Thanks for accepting my loachaholic-"problem" and sticking with me

here another pic, showing an upside down glass, with riccia fl. in it. I capture the "gas" in that glass ...

some guys like pangio, stiphodon, and my new little friend are going into the moss. They either do it for fun (pangios go for the center) the others go between glass and moss, most likely for the algae that starts growing strong now in there...



Now, I´ve got to hide into my "coconut" ... got toooo late again...

[clownloachfan]

Nice close up picture. Is that Riccia? It looks really nice. At least you have a fish that will go down in there and clean the algae. Is that a houseplant next to the tank? Looks like an Echinodorus to me.

[wasserscheu]

HI, that Echi. is in the tank. but I have different kind also o/s the tank, in the filter tank. The confusing thing is, there was a large cocktail-glass in the tank. upside down, to keep the riccia from floating around. I put it on stones, so fish&shrimps can go underneath it. I took it out yesterday, as the algea-growth also developed cyanos...

[clownloachfan]

Nice, i didnt know that there were any echinodorus that could survive as a houseplant.

[wasserscheu]

Nice, i didnt know that there were any echinodorus that could survive as a houseplant.

well, kind of... check chefkeith´s thread,

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php ... c&start=15

I´ve some pic´s of my Echis on page 2. The blooming one has its roots in a small bio-filter-tank. Only a handfull of sand, gravel and some clay in there, but lots of flowing water around the roots... It´s the same plant looking different (various leave shapes) emers/submers (=german?).

[wasserscheu]

Amongst some more Kuhli, I also lost my Lepidocephalichthys. I was sad, as sad one is loosing a friend, I´m not sure why this little 1” (TL) guy meant so much to me… hmmm… he was cool… I really hope my epidemic situation stabilizes soon, Striatas seem to do well now, they gained weight…

I took a sample of his scales under the microscope, so please check this thread to see the pictures.

http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?p=92384#92384

one right here

[Graeme Robson]

R.I.P Lepidocephalichthys.