Hi,
I keep Rineloricaria lanceolata (temp. 26 C, pH 6,5, 60-80 ppm). I have a few specimens from a catch without a precise location. The dominant male very much resembles the specimen from the cover of the classic book “Catfish Atlas” by Mergus publishing house. The fish easily spawn, the young hatch, but I can't keep them alive (neither in the general container nor in a separate container). I know the Shane's World article "The mysterious Red Lizard Catfish" about rearing this species and I know that it is not easy in wild populations.
Unfortunately, from time to time I have to leave for 2-3 days for professional reasons and there is no possibility of daily cleaning of the tank. Generally, even while cleaning, when I was at home, I found 2-3 dead specimens practically every day and after two weeks the biggest ones out of dozens (which reached 14-15 mm with tail) were found dead. The problem with cleaning is also that young larvae are relatively easy to catch with a wide inlet pipette, but larger ones aren’t and, frankly speaking, I have no idea how to transfer them when washing the tank so as not to damage them.
Someone may have experience how to breed the young at the level of, say, 20-25% of the brood, without daily cleaning of the aquarium? It seems to me that the problem regardless of cleanliness can be poor food intake. Even when I kept the caught fry for a while during cleaning in smaller containers into which I threw saline larvae (desalinated) and the fish practically floated in the food, I did not see active feeding (it could be stress, of course).
Regards
Arek Gawroński
