Let`s talk Glyptothorax!!

[Belly-up]

I purchased three G. lampris last week and I was wondering if there were any fans of not just lampris but any glypto species around. I have kind of become obsessed with the whole hillstream thing and these little guys fit right in. Mine are in a 125 set up with a manifold system so they have plenty of current. Their room mates are a Barilius species, mascara barbs, clown barbs and some sumo loaches. They are feed frozen bloodworms an hour after lights out and while not showing ant weight gain they don`t seem to be loosing weight either. Any advise of comments you care to share are welcome.

I am new here but known by the same user name on MFK.

[Dave Rinaldo]

Welcome!

They love to hide! I like luring mine out with floating freeze dried blackworms!

I love Glyptothorax sp.! Would love to run into more spcies.

I have a group of four G. siamensis. Dug this guy out for a photo tonight.

6 cm SL

Yesterday, I added ten more G. lampris to my group of 7.

[Jools]

Very nice Dave!

Jools

[Richard B]

Nice Dave

I have a real interest in non-loricarid suckers

[Belly-up]

Thanks for posting the pics Dave. Do you have any trouble getting you lampris to eat? Mine are still very thin and I can`t swear they are eating. The one in the pic looks nice and plump. I am also on the look-out for another species but am waiting to see if these are going to eat first.

Richard, Have to looked at Panda Garra? Not a catfish but very sucker like.

[Shovelnose]

Their room mates are a Barilius species, mascara barbs, clown barbs and some sumo loaches. They are feed frozen bloodworms an hour after lights out and while not showing ant weight gain they don`t seem to be loosing weight either. Any advise of comments you care to share are welcome.

Firstly, excellent choice in fish.

All the barbs you have are quite boisterous and will leave very little food to drift down to the Glytptothorax,hence you may not really see them putting on too much weight. Additionally (depending on which species you have), they will also require cool, well filtered water and high DO; this also plays a major role in the fish retaining or losing weight.

A typical (high altitude) Glyptothorax habitat.

I love Glyptothorax sp.! Would love to run into more spcies.

Very nice Dave! I didn't know you were keeping Asian catfish as well!!

[Richard B]

While I do like panda garra - they aren't glyptos, exostoma or astroblebus etc

[Belly-up]

Boisterous, yep that`s the word for it. The Barilius and clown barbs feed in the dark! So the glyptos are having to compete even after lights out. I have gone to throwing some pellets to distract the other fish then dumping in the blood worms. It appears to have helped as my catfish have a fuller look about them this mourning.

As far as the tank goes, it turns over ten times an hour. The power heads are wide open as far as drawing air because the Barilius and sumo loaches are hillstream fish too and need the same DO. All of my tanks are in the basement and without heaters so the warmest they get is about 76f. Winter lows are around 58f. Being a six foot tank means there is strong current at one end and little at the other. The Glyptothorax spend their days sitting on top of the powerheads, which is also a low current spot. The lights are four feet long and not over that area, which (I think) is why they like to sit there.

[asian_bumblebeecat]

glyptothorax fun to say

[Belly-up]

Attention Dave, PM sent.

[Belly-up]

O.K., so I shared a couple PM`s with Dave who I think knows more about these fish than I do since he has 17 of them. He suggested I post regarding the fact mine are not doing well. I have decide to move mine to a 20l of their own because the barbs and barilius are just plain to crazy for them to deal with. I should have known the barbs would feed at night since I used to fish for carp after dark, and barbs are carp after all.

Dave reports his glypto`s eat prepared foods. Mine are`nt eating at all, that I can tell. By moving them they will be free of competition and I will be able to see if they have eaten.

If anyone has any other advise on keeping these awesome fish alive I would love to hear it!

[Silurus]

Did you try putting food directly in front of them with a dropper? It worked for me.

[racoll]

Assuming the barbs have been removed, have you tried turning off the pumps for feeding time?

Having food swirling around in the current and getting sucked into the filter is not ideal, and fishes can quickly be trained to associate the silence with the imminent arrival of food.

Just remember to turn them on a again! Perhaps leave an egg timer by the tank to put in your pocket while they feed and you are doing other things.

[Belly-up]

Silurus, That has not be doable in my 125. I will try it tonight and let you know how it goes.

Racall, I have been shutting off the filter but not my manifold. I plan to do that tonight as well.

Thank you both, and Dave for the input. I am not really sure what to try tonight since they have turned down all offerings up till now.

It is going to break my Sumo loaches little hearts to see these guys leave. Several of them have buddy-ed up with them durring the day.

[Shovelnose]

Did you try putting food directly in front of them with a dropper? It worked for me.

Worked perfectly well for me too, the most effective way I could feed them was to switch off all filters and drop food directly in front the fish.

and fishes can quickly be trained to associate the silence with the imminent arrival of food.

Indeed,every time the filters were switched off (or if there a power outage ), the fish used to come out and sit in the open.

[Belly-up]

It looks like spoon feed mysis shrimp is the way to go. How is that these guys will swim over food without eating it but will snatch it up when you drop in right in front of them? Seriously, how do they make it in the wild? No one is going to hand feed them there.

Thanks for the help everyone, seems like we`re over the hump now.

[Jools]

In the wild, water movement offers the food to broadly static fish.

Jools

[Silurus]

The fish would also probably find a live stonefly larva more appetizing than frozen mysis.

[Shovelnose]

You may find this thread interesting: http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =2&t=33186