Ituglanis metae - truly a parasitic fish?

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

I see a few active members are keeping Ituglanis metae. Are they a paracitic fish, or are they a carnivore? Of those keeping them, do you keep them with other fish, and what do you feed them? I have found a group of 6 which is a consideration, but would like to learn more from the ones keeping them.

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

Go for it!

They are an awesome litle fish, totally peaceful and eat anything

[The.Dark.One, posts: 1438]

Richard is correct (he got his off me). They are peaceful in the aquarium and will eat normal live food etc. They are not parasitic in the aquarium.

[Dave Rinaldo, posts: 1754]

Dittos

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

Would they do well with tetras and bristle noses?

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

they are completely harmless with tetra's, Ancistrus etc

with Trichomycterids it's fairly simple; the ones that look like loaches are not just harmless but very nice fish to keep; the parasitic ones are very nasty

the best way to separate them is; if a Trichomycterid has visible whiskers: it's a harmless fish

if it looks like a Homaloptera; a bald snout and very streamlined body, you're in trouble.

out of curiosity: where did you get them?
these are rare as hens teeth in the Netherlands, we have to go uite far into Germany to get them....

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

I do not have them but see them on a friends stock list. He brings in rare fish all the time (deals more in asian fish than SA). Whenever I see something unusual I want to research before moving forward.I will / should be ordering 6.

Here are the plans for them (if I am able still to obtain):

33 gallon XL (48"x12.5"x12.5") (my tank of choice )
Single powerhead (250 gph)
HOB filter (rated for 30-60 gallons with pre-filter attachement)
heater (set to 80 ?)
aquasoil (1" layer) 1" fine sand ontop

Small driftwood branches with some smaller amazon swords, cryps and vals. Might add some floating plants. (where do these guys like to hide? to they burrow into the substraight, would they like some small rocky outcrops, is the driftwood sufficient for hiding?)

Stock(?):
10 - Hyphessobrycon heliacus
10 - (either) Hyphessobrycon ecuadorensis or Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae (probably the later due to the possibility of hybrization in the Hyphessobrycons)
6 - Ituglanis metae
4 - Ancistrus sp.


Thanks everyone for your help and if you feel anything above looks off, let me know as I am still in the planning stages. Hopefully I can get him to hold them for a week as the tank is finalized.

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

I have a mass of fine beech twigs, covered in java moss which they live in.

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

i was thinking of using branches like seen in this link

http://simulationeight.net/fish2011/jan11inka/full.jpg

http://www.aquadesign.pl/img/44_SA/SA_001.jpg

then use some dried oak/beech somekind of leaves on the bottom with a few sparce plants

[Birger]

I like the look, those are not branches but the root system from a tree, one can often find something like this along the edges of a river.

Birger

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

Ordered 5. My friend sent me 6. All 6 doa on overnight shipping. Are these hard to ship? Franks aquarium has some too.

[The.Dark.One, posts: 1438]

I once got a bag of about 20 straight from Peru and didn't lose a single one

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

it's not a fragile fish.....


BUT it can and does die when the water turns bad and the oxygensupply runs out.

how did they package the fish?

I hope they didn't cram 6 halfgrown Ituglanis in a single bag......

[Phyllonemus, posts: 281]

if it looks like a Homaloptera; a bald snout and very streamlined body, you're in trouble.
..

Lex, is it possible to give an small explanation about this ?

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

simple;

I was referring to -for example- Ochmacanthus; a scale- and slime-eating parasite that looks like Homaloptera.

this catfish does turn up in the trade now and then because of its' nice coloration
Ochmacanthus orinoco

this is another sad example that turned up in the trade quite recently...it is completely unsuitable for captivity
Pseudostegophilus nemurus

these are however obligate parasites that need large fish to rasp.
unsuitable for the hobby
but exporters and importers alike view it just as a neat little catfish and hence; money

looks harmless.....but they're not

most parasitic Trichomycteridae are obvious; they're extremely elongated with tiny heads and/or translucent; they are colorless, like glass
Vandellia cirrhosa

Tridensimilis brevis

the easiest way to see if one is harmless: whiskers.
if it has visible whiskers, more than just 2, it is adapted to a digging sieving lifestyle and most likely harmless.

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

it's not a fragile fish.....


BUT it can and does die when the water turns bad and the oxygensupply runs out.

how did they package the fish?

I hope they didn't cram 6 halfgrown Ituglanis in a single bag......

There were 3 in each bag, about a half a gallon of water per bag, bags were kordon breather bags.

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

odd

then the only explanation I can give is that it took too long or they were cooled down at a point during the trip

[kruseman, posts: 275]

Ituglanis are great indeed!
I have got 8 of them ( one is another species but don't know which one) for about half a year now and they are fun.
I keep them with Guianacara, Tatia intermedia, Ancistrus, Parodon and the small(!) characin Hyphessobrycon loretoensis.
That works out just fine.
Keep in mind that Ituglanis are glutons and always very, very hungry.

Here a vid of mine:


this is the tank:
http://youtu.be/1OizNbKMfKQ

[nvcichlids, posts: 1559]

Old thread, new question, are all Ituglanis the same in behavior IE non-parasitic?

[Silurus]

Old thread, new question, are all Ituglanis the same in behavior IE non-parasitic?

Yes