At the British LOL meet the subject of gravid hillstream loaches was raised and if they has been seen. As if on cue one of our females did a photo shoot demonstrating just this situation.
Time to meet our model:
This loach was one of the first pair we purchased, she was the bigger of the two loaches at that time and took a dominant position in the tank, that changed after a couple of months as the male asserted himself.
In the image above you see a nice fat loach, sat happily on a Java fern, there is little to give away her state but she does look round for a cheni. Of course under normal circumstances being sat in prime photographing position and the slightest hint of a camera in the location triggers the disappearing loach trick, the fact she stayed still shows something is amiss.
From the rear thing are a little different, there is a definite thickening as the tail joins the abdomen. normally cheni are quite streamlined.
On to the side view:
Woah! where did all that loach come from? You suddenly see all the height involved here, the whole back is arched up above the normal profile and there is a developed bulge next to the anus. I am not sure what this is but both of our breeding females develop this lump before spawning, even so this is far larger than we usually observe. We were getting quite concerned that she was getting egg bound but has now spawned and has lost this bulge. I am trying to get a post-spawning image but now that the eggs have gone the camera phobia is back in full force.
From the other side:
The angle of this shot just about shows the underside of the loach. If you look closely you can clearly see the swollen belly. Yes she is practically rocking on the top of that bogwood.
I have created an album on coppermine which has all these images at full resolution and a few others i wanted to share.
I'll be interested to hear what everyone makes of this.
The protruding area that is visible prior to spawning is very interesting. Does it disappear completely once the eggs have been released?
