Mystery loach

Wendie · Post by **Wendie** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:00 am

I think I've finally discovered that my little guy that came in with the Rosy Loaches is a small Checkerboard Sand Loach. He's still a slightly different color than the others, heavily marked, somewhat longer and slimmer. He reacts with the Rosy Loaches but yet remains apart from them. He swims differently and is not as heavily bodied as the little Rosy.

The first photo is of two of the Rosy Loaches.

The next photo shows two Rosy Loaches and the mystery guy. Notice the head.

Now the mystery guy alone

He's a bit more checked than he appears to be in this photo.

Mad Duff · Post by **Mad Duff** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 11:37 am

That actually looks very much like a juvenile Characidium Sp

shari2 · Post by **shari2** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:01 pm

these guys?

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_characidium.php

mikev · Post by **mikev** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 4:08 pm

A South American contaminant in an Asian shipment? Possible, but less likely.

Wendie, try to get a blow up of its face, and see if it has barbels. This will narrow it down.

Wendie · Post by **Wendie** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:01 pm

No luck with the photo as he's hard to get anyway but I'll keep trying.

He does have 4 barbels. Two short in front and two longer behind those.

mikev · Post by **mikev** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:30 pm

Wendie wrote:No luck with the photo as he's hard to get anyway but I'll keep trying.

He does have 4 barbels. Two short in front and two longer behind those.

Barbels are more common in loaches than in tetras

Compare the barbels with the other rosies. This may give you a clearer feeling if it is the same species or not (I think it is.)

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:21 pm

Looking at the the first photo on this post, is it just me or is the 'female' looking more and more like a young Yunnanilis brevis?

Mad Duff · Post by **Mad Duff** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:29 pm

The.Dark.One wrote:Looking at the the first photo on this post, is it just me or is the 'female' looking more and more like a young Yunnanilis brevis?

Both me and Graeme commented on how alike the Rosy Loaches and Yunnanilis brevis look when we were at Emma and Steves shop on Friday, they certainly look to be very closely related.

Emma Turner · Post by **Emma Turner** » Sun Dec 10, 2006 3:55 pm

Here's a couple of pics of Yunnanilus brevis for comparison with the Rosies:

Freshly imported juveniles.....

3 months on.....

Emma

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:12 am

Thanks Emma

Your first picture - the fish in it although juvenile, seem much bigger than the rosy loaches?

Also, the adult pics of brevis, some of the males are exhibiting a 'rosy' colour. (Look at the fish in the bottom left corner which is turning)Coincidence?

Graeme Robson · Post by **Graeme Robson** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:03 am

In Yunnanilus brevis both males and females have the rosy finage, Steve. The males are smaller with a solid stripe, while the females are larger and develop a mottled pattern.

Emma Turner · Post by **Emma Turner** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:09 am

On arrival, those Yunnanilus brevis were already twice the length of the Rosy loaches. Although the Rosies have filled out nicely, they've grown very little in length since arrival (and they've been with us for a while now), which makes me think they will not attain a very large adult size.

Emma

The.Dark.One · Post by **The.Dark.One** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:22 pm

Graeme Robson wrote:In Yunnanilus brevis both males and females have the rosy finage, Steve. The males are smaller with a solid stripe, while the females are larger and develop a mottled pattern.

Hi Graeme

I knew about the pattern differences in brevis, but not the red finnage. The pattern differences seem to be the same or vry similar on the rosy loaches.

Also, Emma, do we know if the rosy loaches are imported from the 'wild'? They look awfully small to be wild imports, are they tank bred? If so they could be hormone induced or crossed hybrids?

Graeme Robson · Post by **Graeme Robson** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:27 pm

Hi Steve. After i posted my reply, i realized that i was just repeating your words with the patterns. Sorry fragile state is i at the moment.

Emma Turner · Post by **Emma Turner** » Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:19 pm

Steve, I believe they are wild-caught, but I'll do some digging and let you know....

Emma

Loaches Online Forum

Mystery loach

Mystery loach

Who is online

Go to page

About us