Well, I am really enjoying my stay here so far. For the trip, I just had to skip lunch, leave work early and travel for an hour. I am used to travelling for hundreds of kilometres to collect Schistura semiarmatus but this is a rather pleasant experience I should say.
It was a holiday yesterday and I was able to do another short trip. Sadly, it was marred by a sudden dip in temperature and a bike breakdown. As luck would have it, the bike broke down near a dam, need I say more. A trip in search of obscure sisorids went in vain but I encountered a rather delightful catfish instead, my first encounter in the wild with this family. I am getting some 'real' work done presently, will post the pictures tomorrow.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Apparently it was a good thing the bike broke down as I had planned to enter Nepal (Mahakali River) but people were denied entry due to the upcoming elections there.
Another lovely Garra sp. , the body was a dark shade of grey when collected.
Acanthocobitis cf. botia
Mastacemblus sp.
Catch of the day for me, an Amblyceps sp. HH, is an id possible at this size???
Amblyceps sp. fry.
The habitat.
The Nanak Sagar Dam near the Nepal border.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.
Great pics again, look's like fast flowing water.
I like the garra and the Mastacemblus.
Had species of both when I had my Azië tank setup, unfortunately not the correct ones but close.
Thanks for the pics
Another trip to my usual haunt, Gola Nadhi, yielded some interesting results.
Schizothorax species with another cyprinid. I initially thought they were juvenile Raiamas but I now think they are juvenile Barilius. Other species collected were the usual Schistura, Garra mix.
The second spot was was around 30 kms uphill and fairly close to Nainital. Snowfall in Nainital caused the temperature to dip below 5 C but the fish collected did much to mask all the cold.
The largest Schistura I have ever seen.
Unknown loach, turned out to be a nightmare to shoot.
Freshly collected.
Stress colouration.
TAA.
This is definitely the roughest handling I have done with a sisorid but this specimen seems to be quite hardy when compared to the other sisorids I have collected. I am presently trying to keep it alive but with winter fast fading, I don't know how long it is going to last.
The collection locality.
The spot where the Glyptothorax was collected from.
A video of the collection locality.
Fresh snow, some distance away
I think collections will yield better results post March. Also, I think I ought to head for higher altitudes to bag the more obscure sisorids.
To part with, a few pictures of a fairly common sight in this region.
Balaji
Vicar: It's about this letter you sent me regarding my insurance claim.
Devious: Oh, yeah, well, you see, it's just that we're not, as yet, totally satisfied with the grounds of your claim.
Vicar: But it says something about filling my mouth in with cement.
Devious: Oh well, that's just insurance jargon, you know.