My Hillstreams are going nuts.

[Martin Thoene]

All species in my 65 River-Tank are chasing their own species around all over the tank, plus some of the oddballs are getting into it as well. Anybody else's doing this? Is the heat driving everyone crazy?

This is a male Pseudogastromyzon cheni.....note the enlarged tubercules on his nose area.




Gastromyzon ctenocephalus




Took these today while they were at least still for a short time.

Martin.

[Emma Turner]

Great pics as always, Martin. What's the temperature up to on this tank? Ours is still pretty warm, but the Sewellia seem quite happy with it.

Emma

[Graeme Robson]

Interesting. The only odd behavior in my tanks is of the Beaufortia kweichowensis. Very active and visible.

[Martin Thoene]

Right now the tank water temp is 80.9F

In the Sewellia tank they seem to be acting normally.

Martin.

[LES..]

I'd say so!

We are experiencing a population explosion in our tank, from our original 5 Cheni we are now in excess of 20 and they are still at it! The sound of gravel hitting the glass as they excavate a spawning pit has become very familiar in our house. Our efforts in keeping the tank temperature down mean we have been hovering around the 26 centigrade mark most of the time. I have my suspicions that this may be the ideal temperature if you want Cheni to spawn. Certainly they seem less active if the temperature edges up higher to the 30 degree mark which has happened on a couple of days. Thankfully D'lenn works within walking distance of home so she can nip back at mid-day to float a frozen bottle in the tank.

The break down of our cheni population is as follows:
5 adult fish (we suspect 3 males and two females)
2 youngsters at about 2.5cm (1")
~7 youngsters at about at about 2cm (it is starting to get tricky keeping track of these guys, there were 7 at one point!)
8-12 fry between 0.5-1.5cm in the breeding net (even in a net they keep moving, making it hard to count).
4+ (and counting) fry in the 0.5-1.5 range free in the main tank who we have yet to catch and place in the breeding net.

I don't think we have the space for all these fish so if there is anyone who is prepared to collect from Guildford (and we can catch them!) we would be happy to see some of the young ones go to a new home.

[Gary Herring]

I don't think we have the space for all these fish so if there is anyone who is prepared to collect from Guildford (and we can catch them!) we would be happy to see some of the young ones go to a new home.

I might just take you up on that offer LES, I'll PM you later today.

[LES..]

I might just take you up on that offer LES, I'll PM you later today.

It would be a pleasure to see them go to another hillstream fan :-) I think if we give them another month or so we will have a nice selection at just over an inch long. I would prefer to let them get to a sensible size before re-homing.

[The Kapenta Kid]

I noticed this as well during the recent heat. My G. kweichowensis and my G. ctenocephalus to a lesser extent went ape chasing one another round the tank.
Ambient temp was up to 39 but I kept the tank water well below 30 using a fan.

[chris1932]

Martin

Does Gastromyzon ctenocephalus have a wide mouth when viewed from the bottom? Just currious. I have three that look alot like the ones you have pictures of, but they have a wide big mouth. Also are vanishing experts. I have seen some posturing with my cheenis but attributed it to being new additions after hospital wait.

Thenks
Chris

[Wendie]

I've run into two problems... the kuhlis are doing their dance for no reason at all. Very active.

The Yo Yo's are chasing each other around a lot earlier than normal in the tank and it's to a point where they are so active that they are jumping and hitting the tank cover.

[Martin Thoene]

Martin

Does Gastromyzon ctenocephalus have a wide mouth when viewed from the bottom? Just currious. I have three that look alot like the ones you have pictures of, but they have a wide big mouth. Also are vanishing experts. I have seen some posturing with my cheenis but attributed it to being new additions after hospital wait.

Thenks
Chris

Yes, a big wide mouth Chris. It's a Gastromyzon characteristic.

Martin.