Glyptothorax trilineatus Info

[Martin S]

I've just put in an order for three

Glyptothorax trilineatus

, hoping they will be here by the end of the week. They will need to go into the smaller tank first, but have enquired about a 5' tank which i plan to set up for them, along with other suitable fish.
What would be suitable companions for these lovely fish, and how strong a current would they need to be comfortable?
I understand they can fight amonst themselves - has anyone had experience with Glypto's fighting?
What I'd really like is to see some pictures of habitat - I'm guessing large pebbles, small gravel substrate (as sand would just get washed away) and very few plants - anything else?
Thanks
Martin

[Silurus]

What would be suitable companions for these lovely fish, and how strong a current would they need to be comfortable?

It depends on whether you are going biotope. If so, something like Barilius or larger Danio/Devario. The current a good-sized powerhead (something in the order of 1000-1500 l/h) can produce should be sufficient.

I understand they can fight amonst themselves - has anyone had experience with Glypto's fighting?

I am not aware that they are that territorial and have never encountered fighting among conspecifics.

[Martin S]

Thanks HH, appreciate your reply. Was told by the shop that they were prone to fighting, so will have to see how they get on.

Martin

[Martin S]

What would be suitable companions for these lovely fish, and how strong a current would they need to be comfortable?

It depends on whether you are going biotope. If so, something like Barilius or larger Danio/Devario. The current a good-sized powerhead (something in the order of 1000-1500 l/h) can produce should be sufficient.

I was hoping to go biotype if possible...though it doesn't have to be exact, I'd like them to have a good chance at survival as know that this is a species that will not fare well in tanks with a low O2 content and little flow.

Also, what about feeding habits?

Thanks again

Martin

[Shovelnose]

Although I haven't kept this particular species, I have kept a few other Indian

Glyptothorax

species.

I prefer feeding live food like blood worms,tubifex,FBS etc.I usually increase feeding as the tank temperature increases. I have never seen any aggression towards congeners or towards other fish.The most I see is frantic activity during feeding time.


Mine are currently only with other sisorid catfish and hence, feeding is relatively easier. When I kept them with cyprinids (Danio,Oreichthys,Garra etc) I used to resort to spot feeding. As the tankmates are from hill streams too, I up the circulation in the tank heavily.

[Martin S]

Thanks Balaji - much appreciated.
The current in their initial (temporary) tank is very high, so with a slow temperature reduction, should be able to settle it about 70-72F without any issues. I plan to move the

Centromochlus perugiae

to join my larger Tatia and Auchenipterus in the larger tank.
Will

Erethistes pusillus

and

Hara jerdoni

live in the same conditions, or are these too small to not become food?
Thanks again
Martin

[The.Dark.One]

I was in Pier Aquatics the other day and the larger specimens were fighting. They would grab hold of each others heads and twist and turn. One was surfing around on another's head by biting it! The smaller ones were OK.

My friend once had a lone Indian specimen (can't remember the species) and it was very nasty. It shredded the fins of a Burmese species he had.

[Shovelnose]

I was in Pier Aquatics the other day and the larger specimens were fighting. They would grab hold of each others heads and twist and turn. One was surfing around on another's head by biting it! The smaller ones were OK.

My friend once had a lone Indian specimen (can't remember the species) and it was very nasty. It shredded the fins of a Burmese species he had.

Wow!!! I have never seen anything like this!!! They always seem docile.

Will

Erethistes pusillus

and

Hara jerdoni

live in the same conditions, or are these too small to not become food? Martin

I did keep a couple of tiny (1 "TL)

Glyptothorax anamalaiensis

in the same tank as a 6"TL

Glyptothorax indicus

for a short while. Nothing happened but I moved the smaller fish to a tank of their own out of paranoia.


I don't think E.pussilus and H.jerdoni will appreciate too much current while the

Glyptothorax

I have seen and collected seem to require it. Fish such as Danio or Barilius will thrive on this current. Oreichthys is another favourite of mine as they are quite timid as well. If you do want to keep other catfish then, I would suggest

Gagata

or

Batasio

as these two would also not mind the extra current at all but both these tend to be a bit fragile IMO.

[The.Dark.One]

Neil has them with Pseudolaguvia ribeiroi and 'shawi' as they too like the current.

[Shovelnose]

Are the G.trilineatus specimens in Pier from Myanmar???

[The.Dark.One]

I believe they are from Thailand but not sure where (whether it's near the border). At first he had them as trilineatus but is now listing them as siamensis. But I think they are trilineatus. They are not the same as the siamensis I got from him some time ago. The colour is more like trilineatus and the thoracic adhesive apparatus does not match the siamensis I got from him before, so I am tentatively sticking with trilineatus:

Silurus, what do you think?:

siamensis I got from him before:

http://www.scotcat.com/thedarkone/sisor ... mensis.jpg
http://www.scotcat.com/thedarkone/sisor ... ensis2.jpg

'trilineatus'?:

[Martin S]

Will

Erethistes pusillus

and

Hara jerdoni

live in the same conditions, or are these too small to not become food? Martin

I did keep a couple of tiny (1 "TL)

Glyptothorax anamalaiensis

in the same tank as a 6"TL

Glyptothorax indicus

for a short while. Nothing happened but I moved the smaller fish to a tank of their own out of paranoia.

I don't think E.pussilus and H.jerdoni will appreciate too much current while the

Glyptothorax

I have seen and collected seem to require it. Fish such as Danio or Barilius will thrive on this current. Oreichthys is another favourite of mine as they are quite timid as well. If you do want to keep other catfish then, I would suggest

Gagata

or

Batasio

as these two would also not mind the extra current at all but both these tend to be a bit fragile IMO.

OK, that's a shame - I don't have room to run three tanks long term, so may have to find homes for the E.pussilus and H.jerdoni. The other Corydoras and Centromochlus can be moved over to my other tank without any problems.

What I'm after now is some ideas for how the tank shoud look if working to a 'rough' biotype.

Thanks again

Martin

[MatsP]

What I'm after now is some ideas for how the tank shoud look if working to a 'rough' biotype.

I'm sure Shovelnose has a better idea, but I would have thought something similar to a Chaetostoma biotope: fist-size or slightly larger smooth/rounded rocks, mixed with smaller (rounded) pebbles. The odd root or similar will probably not hurt as such.

--
Mats

[Martin S]

What I'm after now is some ideas for how the tank shoud look if working to a 'rough' biotype.

I'm sure Shovelnose has a better idea, but I would have thought something similar to a Chaetostoma biotope: fist-size or slightly larger smooth/rounded rocks, mixed with smaller (rounded) pebbles. The odd root or similar will probably not hurt as such.

--
Mats

Thanks Mats - that's what I'd guessed, was just unsure if any plants (and if so, which type?) would survive in those sort of environments.

Martin

[Shovelnose]

Mats is right. That sounds good enough. I also ensure the substrate is fine sand.







We collected

Glyptothorax annadalei

from this stream once although this is not the typical habitat.The most common plant here were a Lagenandra sp. Other plant species I have seen that could survive heavy flow and cold water are Utricularia graminifolia,Egeria densa, a Bacopa sp. and a Blyxa sp (aubertii maybe).


A different location had greater flow,no plants and tons of pebbles and rocks scattered all around. The fish were collected where there was most flow. They seem to prefer heavy current and not too much depth, from 3-4 inches to a foot or slightly more.





I would imagine this is also a good habitat for these fish.

[Martin S]

Thanks Balaji
What sort of temp would you recommend - they are in the shop at 72F, and I think that I'll keep them at this for the short term, but will reduce the temperature when setting up the 5', so maybe 68-70F. The tank has a large Eheim, but am undecided if i will just add another my eheim, or just use a Korali type pump to circulate the water.
I don't want to go plant-less if I can help it, but appreciate that not much will survive in that environment. I'll try some E.densa as that is easy to get hold of, but plan to use lots of pebbles of varying sizes and sand around. Will they need places to hide, or are they happy out in the open? What about roots trailing from the surface?
Thanks again
Martin

[Silurus]

Silurus, what do you think?

I think they are all siamensis.

[The.Dark.One]

Silurus, what do you think?

I think they are all siamensis.

OK, thanks. What is the difference then between siamensis and trilineatus? Are the pics in clog by Mark Smith trilineatus as they seem very similar to these fish.

[Martin S]

Silurus, what do you think?

I think they are all siamensis.

So, if they are indeed

Glyptothorax siamensis

they could all be pretty much fully grown then? OK, so that also means I didn't really need a 5' tank for them!
The fish at Pier (according to Steve) range from 8-12cm, and I've asked for three of the smallest.
Martin

[Shovelnose]

Hey Martin,

The temperature sounds good. I have had some larger specimens withstand higher temperatures too. I have been told the key to keeping these fish in the long term is retaining DO and this can be done without additional current, but I prefer adding a lot of current as they would then feel more comfortable.If you feel the Eheim is large enough for the tank, I would personally suggest the pump.

As for hiding spaces, a few species I have kept (G.indicus,G.malabarensis/anamalaiensis) are out all the time. The G.indicus preferred to swim around a lot. On the other hand, some undescribed/unknown specimens I got from the Bhutan border and north eastern India were hidden all the time. So a good mix of hiding spaces and open spaces should work well.



I make small caves with 3 pieces of rock. These are quite easy to make (not stuck,just placed) and are easily accepted. I use some branchy pieces of wood in the tank too.

[Martin S]

Excellent, thanks

[Silurus]

What is the difference then between siamensis and trilineatus?

They are quite difficult to tell apart, but G. trilineatus generally has a deeper body (this is not always true, though), as in the example below.