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by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 17:18
Forum: Tank Talk
Topic: Weird looking grasshopper thingy
Replies: 18
Views: 6866

They are actually filter feeders, so it helps if your water has a certain amount of organic debris.
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 16:35
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: mystus wykii. possible tankmates?
Replies: 8
Views: 5847

Nope, definitely not.
<i>Hemibagrus wyckii</i> is probably the most aggressive catfish known to man. When I had one, I didn't even dare put my hand in the tank.
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 15:20
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Glyptothorax sp. ???
Replies: 26
Views: 7313

Dinyar, Hopefully, this doesn't digress too much into a discussion of technical terms. The term "sister groups" is just a fancy way of saying "most closely related to". So loricarioids and sisoroids are sister groups means that they are most closely related to each other (compare...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 14:53
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Glyptothorax sp. ???
Replies: 26
Views: 7313

Dinyar, Sisoroids fall in somewhere in the middle of siluriform phylogeny. According to de Pinna (1998), they are the sister group of loricarioids (however, this may change pending the reinterpretation of Diogo in an upcoming book, which is essentially his Ph.D. dissertation). The sister group of al...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 14:31
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Glyptothorax sp. ???
Replies: 26
Views: 7313

Many sisoroids (aspredinids, sisorids, akysids and erethistids in particular) shed their skin because they have so much more keratin (they have a lot of epidermal structures made of keratin) than the average catfish skin (actually, sisoroid skin is more like mammalian skin than fish skin). The way i...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 14:09
Forum: African Catfishes
Topic: Anyone for unusual west African cats?
Replies: 15
Views: 7492

Well, FWIW I kept my <i>Chiloglanis</i> in a very crowded 10-gallon tank, that had among other tank mates, relatively boisterous fish such as <i>Brachyrhamdia</i>, <i>Microglanis</i> and <i>Chaetostoma</i>, and they were doing splendidly well. I had to pamper them a bit to prevent greedy tankamtes f...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 13:30
Forum: Tank Talk
Topic: Bogwood vs driftwood
Replies: 7
Views: 7643

Actually, I think Ben is right. I looked up a dictionary (Oxford Paperback) and driftwood is "wood floating on the sea or washed ashore by it".
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 12:53
Forum: African Catfishes
Topic: Anyone for unusual west African cats?
Replies: 15
Views: 7492

Interesting. Sounds like the fish might actually make it with improved packaging. I've noticed that this makes a great deal of difference as to whether or not the fish arrive healthy. But then, it is difficult to carry out, plus it might not make economical sense to ship in fewer healthy catfish tha...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 10:01
Forum: Tank Talk
Topic: Weird looking grasshopper thingy
Replies: 18
Views: 6866

Err, they aren't that easy to catch over there. We found that the best way to catch them was to use electrofishing gear and even then, usually had to move a bunch of large rocks. They are always hiding under the large rocks and can never be seen. I don't think you'll be very successful using a dip n...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 09:40
Forum: Tank Talk
Topic: Weird looking grasshopper thingy
Replies: 18
Views: 6866

Scientifically they're known as <i>Atya moluccensis</i> and they occur only in fast-flowing streams, hence their name. Not really easy to maintain in the aquarium. Never could keep mine longer than a year. Not giving them enough calcium in the water, I guess. You can catch tons of 'em if you go to t...
by Silurus
24 Jan 2003, 00:09
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Perfect Asian Set-up
Replies: 22
Views: 7670

Shane, I hope this is the last off-topic post in this thread, but at least the LFSs in Bogota are selling South American fish. Asian fish are generally considered "inferior" in some way by most aquarists in Singapore, so despite dirt cheap prices for Asian cats, there isn't really much dem...
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 23:54
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: Please help me identify this catfish
Replies: 19
Views: 6113

Definitely not an akysid. First of all, I have yet to see akysids in the aquarium trade except as one-off imports (all of the <i>Akysis</i> and <i>Acrochordonichthys</i> I have ever kept were caught by myself and I have never encountered an akysid in a LFS in my travels on three continents). BTW tha...
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 14:21
Forum: African Catfishes
Topic: s. petricola: spot on forehead
Replies: 3
Views: 3080

The lightened spot you see is probably where the pineal gland is. Commonly referred to as a "third eye", this is a light sensitive organ (part of the midbrain) that is important in helping the animal regulate diurnal (day/night) cycles. I've often noted the lightened spot (pineal gland) sh...
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 13:49
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Perfect Asian Set-up
Replies: 22
Views: 7670

With that said, I'd be interested to know what Asian cats are regularly available in the UK. I've seen the the situation in Singapore (where Asian cats are relatively plentiful and at one stage you could get a black lancer for less than 3 USD) and in the US (where there's hardly anything).
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 04:31
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: Bagrid catfishes of Lake Tanganyika
Replies: 0
Views: 2131

Bagrid catfishes of Lake Tanganyika

I have several copies of Bailey & Stewart's paper on the bagrid catfishes of Lake Tanganyika. The full citation: Bailey, R. M. and D. J. Stewart, 1984. Bagrid catfishes from Lake Tanganyika, with a key and descriptions of new taxa. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Mich. No. 168: i-iv + 1-41. If you'...
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 04:18
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

Yeah, sandstone is kind of soft. Some are soft enough to be broken by your bare hands.
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 03:03
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

Yup, sounds like sandstone. May be a bit too soft. Not sure how well it would stand up to constant grazing by plecs.
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 01:58
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

This the one you picked up at the beach? May be sandstone.
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 01:51
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

Polkadot,

Did you mean granite (the gray ones)? Granite is OK.
by Silurus
23 Jan 2003, 01:15
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Perfect Asian Set-up
Replies: 22
Views: 7670

Dinyar, Here's my take on the situation. With the advent of cheap locally-bred "bread and butter" cafish, the demand for Asian wild-caughts has fallen. Asian cats generally get short schriift from aquarists because most of the species are dull shades of brown or gray (yes, they may be inte...
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 19:01
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Will x-rays sterilize plecos?
Replies: 21
Views: 5316

Keeping the fish chilled might be a way to lower their oxygen demand. This way, you don't have to make use of any more oxygen that is already in the water.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 18:58
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

<i>Panaqolus</i> (and maybe some <i>Panaque</i>) seem to utilize wood fairly heavily as part of their natural diet. Studies have shown that they have cellulolytic bacteria in their guts to digest the wood, so I think they get more than just vitamins from the wood.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 17:43
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Experiment
Replies: 15
Views: 11615

Sorry, I meant only large loricariids. I'm surprised that your redtail got along well with the rest of the fish (I suppose they are larger than it is). The ones I've kept will kill just about anything I would put in the tank.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 17:40
Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
Topic: Hoplo littorale
Replies: 4
Views: 1089

The reference you need is Roberto Reis' 1997 revision of <i>Hoplosternum</i>. Email or pm me and I may be able to get you a copy. Here's a brief overview: In <i>Hoplosternum</i>, you have <i>H. littorale and H. punctatum</i>. In <i>Megalechis</i>, <i>M. thoracata</i> and <i>M. personata</i>. In <i>L...
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 17:34
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

In my experience, algae doesn't grow as well on driftwood as it does on rocks, unless you're talking about the horrible black hair-like stuff that no fish ever touches.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 17:29
Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
Topic: Callichthys callichthys
Replies: 5
Views: 2215

Only two:
<i>Megalechis thoracata</i> and <i>M. personata</i>.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 17:27
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

Substrate for algae to grow on, so that the plecs can graze on them?
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 16:54
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Rocks : Are they necessary?
Replies: 25
Views: 10347

Depends on the plecs you keep. Some of them come from habitats with a predominantly rocky substrate.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 16:48
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Will x-rays sterilize plecos?
Replies: 21
Views: 5316

Chrysichthys,

Exposure to x-rays can lead to sterility, depending on the dosage. Not sure if those airport machines carry a high enough dosage to do that.
by Silurus
22 Jan 2003, 16:39
Forum: African Catfishes
Topic: Anyone for unusual west African cats?
Replies: 15
Views: 7492

Dinyar,
I saw another exporter offer <i>Leptoglanis</i> for sale once. Unfortunately, they were all sold out by the time I was made aware of it.
I tried getting him to order the cats again, but never got a reply from him.

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