Nice dither

[sojapat]

Hi Joolz , as promissed earlyer
Thought it would be nice to share it .
The Maharaja Barb (Puntius sahyadriensis)
They go even better than this ..More maroon and more metallic.

Cheers

[MatsP]

Very nice.

--
Mats

[Martin S]

Very nice.

Agreed - barbs aren't really my thing, but these do look like they would be a stunning fish to keep.
Martin

[Richard B]

Beautiful fish

Neil any idea on max size?

[racoll]

Nice indeed Neil.

Richard, they get to 7cm according to FishBase.

Could really do with some specimens of these for my research.... I might have to see what can do.....

What Danio do you have at the moment Neil?

[Jools]

Rupert, do you need 'em alive? I could maybe post a dead one to you? They're in Q just now and not in a well lit tank but appear to be doing well. I might get more from Pier if for no other reason than it appears to amuse Neil when I buy not catfish.

Anyone for a new eel pic?



Jools

[Richard B]

Rupert, do you need 'em alive? I could maybe post a dead one to you? They're in Q just now and not in a well lit tank but appear to be doing well. I might get more from Pier if for no other reason than it appears to amuse Neil when I buy not catfish.

Anyone for a new eel pic?
Jools

Oh go on then!

[sojapat]

Planet Puntius
Yep 2.5" is correct 7cm ish.
You can have as many as you want as long as they are male with one eye
We can get most danios , The nice one we have at the moment is one we got in India
It is collected along with Botia striata and the above barb .
Like a giant danio but more slender with red fins .
I think shipping to NZ may present a problem
Another nice fish we have for a dither is Rasbora Wilpita a rasbora from Sri Lanka .
I think sometimes that its nice to see this stuff and it helps the cats show themselves

[racoll]

Rupert, do you need 'em alive?

Not at all. In an ideal world I would have a formalin fixed specimen and tissue sample, but that's obviously a bit too much to ask.

Just a tissue sample (i.e. fin clip) and decent photo would be good though. Not sure about the rules regarding sending vials of ethanol through the post. I'll look into it.

I think shipping to NZ may present a problem

Its a shame really, as I have quite large sums of money to spend on getting as many Danio, Devario and Puntius as possible for my dataset, and I know you get the rare species I need! Can't get anything I need here Got very excited the other day when I saw a pearl danio! Hopefully my trip to Singapore in May will pay dividends. If not...

Anyone for a new eel pic?

Yes! Speaking of eels, how is "Neil the spiny eel" doing Jools? A photo of him would be cool too.

[Jools]

Yeah, it's the shape of the barb that is most appealing, it's a high back and something of the mahseer about it. They are doing OK in quarantine, not as gregarious as some.

Rupert,

Neil the eel is doing well. As are all his compatriots. I will take some video of them today to show you all. The discus are being moved today into my show tank (actually I am moving my show tank from being a 48x30x18 to a 72x18x26 which, if you include the rather large sump, is well over a 600l tank. I've rigged up some halogens to it, so it has dark, dim and bloomin' bright cycles and that stretches the daily temperature range from 81F to 86F at lights out. They will exist in there with however many cardinals there are (around 45), 12 bentosi tetras, a colony of L264 and the colony of the world's most secretive Ancistrus from Barbie. I was thinking of adding a few dozen hatchet fish if I can find a reliable way to avoid them getting sucked out into the sump.

Suggestions for the worlds coolest sump monster accepted!

Jools

[Mike_Noren]

I think the prettiest barb I know is the Ruby Barb. Males have completely black bodies with saturated wine-red heads:
http://www.tjorvar.is/assets/images/bar ... tus_2.jpeg
Unfortunately it's almost as belligerent as Tiger Barbs, I wouldn't use it as a dither with small or delicate fish.

A gorgeous and more peaceful option for large tanks is the species sold as Puntius denisonii. The glossy red really makes it stand out.

An option for smaller aquaria is the very attractive and completely peaceful Sawbwa Barb, Sawbwa resplendens. The males get iridescent blue bodies, about the same hue and intensity as the blue on Neon Tetras, with dull reddish nose and caudal fin tips.

[Jools]

Pictures of "new eel" and "Neil the eel" will be forthcoming, I've taken a lot of pics recently and video too. Please remind after the weekend if I have not got them online! A little busy at this end of the wire...

Cheers,


Jools

[L number Banana]

Planet Puntius

...
And now for the common Cherry Barb. (gotta start somewhere eh?)


Racoll:

Got very excited the other day when I saw a pearl danio

Which ones do you mean? We have ones here that are sold under that name but surely you must mean something more special??
All my danios ("pearls", long-fins, zebras) are going on their 3rd or 4th year so they won't be around much longer, if there's a realistic way we could send them to you, just say the word.

[MatsP]

Rupert (racoll) lives in New Zealand - they have very strict import restrictions, so most species that we see as common are not so common there. I think that is what Rupert was referring to.

--
Mats

[racoll]

Rupert (racoll) lives in New Zealand - they have very strict import restrictions, so most species that we see as common are not so common there. I think that is what Rupert was referring to.

Which ones do you mean? We have ones here that are sold under that name but surely you must mean something more special??

Exactly. Not much choice here I'm afraid to report. The pearl danio is Danio albolineatus, and these ones were particularly nice.

Pictures of "new eel" and "Neil the eel" will be forthcoming,

Looking forward to it!

[L number Banana]

Thanks Racoll and MatsP,

I was curious about how restrictive the laws for shipping dead specimens to NZ, it is after all extremely heaven-like and is on my 'get to before I die' list. I'll keep my eyes open for any import changes that would allow my danios to serve a second purpose. Ya never know
I was surprised by the Pearls because I thought that since they breed like rabbits, they would already be available locally. I learn new things here every day!

Mike_Noren:

I think the prettiest barb I know is the Ruby Barb. Males have completely black bodies with saturated wine-red heads:
http://www.tjorvar.is/assets/images/bar ... tus_2.jpeg
Unfortunately it's almost as belligerent as Tiger Barbs, I wouldn't use it as a dither with small or delicate fish.

New issue of TFH has this as fish of the month. They say they're "A hardy and peaceful barb, good for beginners and community tanks"
Maybe there's hope yet? Perhaps like danios, you get a few grouches in the lot and the rest are peaceful?

I promise not to interrupt again and maybe Jools will show us Neil the Eel?

[MatsP]

I think it's legal to export DEAD fish to NZ [at least from this perspective, the post office may have thoughts on offensive smells and such if it's not packaged properly] - it's only live specimens that racoll would have difficulty finding - this is because the climate is fairly warm and tropical fish may turn to invasive species.

--
Mats

[L number Banana]

MatsP:

[at least from this perspective, the post office may have thoughts on offensive smells and such if it's not packaged properly]

What? you can't just slip them into a birthday card? Hahaha, I'm kidding Mats...

[Mike_Noren]

MatsP:

you can't just slip them into a birthday card? Hahaha, I'm kidding Mats...

Actually...
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... tid=406513

I tried to get my museum interested in collecting DNA on coated filter paper because a) no alcohol and b) no refrigeration was needed, and c) shelf-life of the sample is as good or better than that of refrigerated alcohol-preserved samples, but interest was modest and there are some issues wrt using these papers with small fish (the papers are really made for blood) - but a dozen samples could easily be sent with a birthday card.

[L number Banana]

Wow Mike, that's fabulous! They even have plant kits in FTA paper from Whatman.com, very useful, especially for heritage plants/seeds etc.

I tried to get my museum interested in collecting DNA on coated filter paper

Everyone else may already know but can I ask what type of museum you were referring to or is that sort of 'off-forum' info - no offense if you'd prefer to keep that to yourself but I'm a bit of a museum fanatic - especially the nerdy ones.

They could be used to collect and identify algae too...so many uses, my mind boggles.

Didn't I say I'd not interrupt again?..sorry, just too interesting.

[Mike_Noren]

Wow Mike, that's fabulous! They even have plant kits in FTA paper from Whatman.com, very useful, especially for heritage plants/seeds etc.

Yes. I seem to remember that the difference mainly is that plants have to be crushed to release DNA, but don't quote me on that.

Everyone else may already know but can I ask what type of museum you were referring to

Swedish Museum of Natural History. Used to work on a fish-sequencing project there. The thing is they already have facilities and routines for dealing with alcohol-preserved tissue, and museums are as a rule not quick to switch from proven techniques to new & largely unproven techniques. And quite rightly so.

[L number Banana]

Mike_Noren:

Yes. I seem to remember that the difference mainly is that plants have to be crushed to release DNA, but don't quote me on that.

I'm thinking it could replace glass slides etc. They're heavy and messy in the hands of an amateur like myself. Easy to get whole cells with all the bits inside but I don't know the DNA saving/extraction methods at all yet - someday I think it's safe to say my collection will never be needed by the vault

Swedish Museum of Natural History

Dream Job