Update on Batrochoglanis cf. villosus

[bekateen]

Hi All (and especially @yellowcat),

Here's an update on the three

Batrochoglanis cf_villosus

I imported in November. In December, after they finished QT, I surrendered them to a friend with a large tank while I set up and established a 75 gallon tank for them to inhabit.

In April, I was informed that my fish ATE their tankmates... some very rare large cichlids... in my friend's aquarium so I needed to take them back. Obvious question: Why would anyone house these bumblebees with rare fish? Answer: Because the cichlids were LARGER than the bumblebees and so the guy thought the cichlids were safe... Live and learn. (Needless to say, I owe my friend big time!)

Well, here they are, going into their new home, a 75 gallon tank in the school greenhouse.

Small male

Medium male

Large male

Same large female

Let's see what happens. If these are like big Microglanis, then I think I need to make a giant spawning mop!

Cheers, Eric

[Hyhy]

Cool fish!

[yellowcat]

Too bad for your friend's cichlids, invariably the rarest fish are the first to go, with lophiosilurus and batrochoglanis they will try to or eat fish half their own size I've found. Wishing you success in the spawning endeavor! I find it most interesting that you are able to keep a group in one tank without agression between conspecifics, perhaps due to their growing up together rather than introducing them to one another later on which could yield to territorial agression as some have found with these and similar species of pseudopimelodids. My lone female has a 40G tank all to herself and I have considered introducing something as a tank mate but can't think of anything suitable. My fish is rather sedentary, just staying in the darkest corner of the tank, only moving to the other end when I drop in a couple of nightcrawlers and only then after lights out. A few weeks ago I tried to hand feed her with a nightcrawler during the day and surprisingly she took it without reservation, nice. She was almost fully grown when I got her around 10", now a couple of years on, approaching 11" or so. She used to like shrimp and at times pellets but now ignores everything but the big worms. Naturally any version of live feeder fish would quickly disappear...

[bekateen]

Update: the tank has been so green with suspended algae that i haven't seen the fish since May. Yesterday I managed to see them all after several big water changes. Here's the largest fish:

They are so sedentary that snails crawl on them!

Cheers, Eric

[yellowcat]

Yes sedentary is an understatement with these fish! Were you to publish a scientific paper such based upon the nocturnal and diurnal behavioral characteristics of Batrochoglanis Villosus you could probably complete it during your lunch break! The most interesting thing is how their color/pattern changes from dull brownish during the day to high contrast markings late at night, otherwise not exactly fascinating as a species, being rarely imported could be a result of the lack of availability in the wild or little demand from catfish keepers, in any case expensive if found for sale, go figure...

[bekateen]

I caught one of the

Batrochoglanis cf_villosus

today and trapped it in a plastic tube so that I could make a video. This individual is now over 15cm SL.

Cheers, Eric

Direct link to video: Batrochoglanis cf. villosus

[bekateen]

Quick glance at my two remaining Batrochoglanis. I lost the medium sized fish, a presumed male, a couple of months ago for no apparent reason. I thought the female had eaten the smaller male too, but last week during a water change the smaller male fell out of a hiding pipe.

So two fish hanging on. Wish they would do something. The bigger problem I have is that I can't get rid of all the snails... and I need to clean the glass.

Cheers, Eric

Batrochoglanis cf. villosus update

[bekateen]

Sad news. A circuit breaker tripped in the greenhouse overnight, cutting off the heaters and water flow in the

Batrochoglanis cf_villosus

tank. In spite of a UPS battery backup, water temp fell to the low 40's Fahrenheit. Both of my adults were stiff today when I found them. I turned the heaters back on and left the fish in the tank for a few hours, hoping beyond hope that they'd warm up and still be alive, but of course not.

At least they aren't a total waste. Now they're in alcohol - their DNA will be barcoded for a student research project.

I'm done buying fish for a while.

Cheers,
Eric

[yellowcat]

Eric, I'm very saddened to read of your tragic loss. I for one have followed your experiences with those fish since you first collected some on your Peruvian expeditions and ever since, seeking knowledge about their species and sharing your findings with all of us who seek to know more from your scientific endeavors as well as your valuable personal observations. All of us here are painfully aware that our ability to keep and maintain these fascinating wild river creatures is totally dependent on a certain amount of basic technology and man-made machinations that we depend on and for the most part, taken for granted. In any case, science marches on, the rivers are flowing, fish are swimming and there are more discoveries waiting to be made...

[aquaholic]

Adding my sympathies and condolences as well. I have been through similar episodes several times. The more fish you keep, the more chances this will occur.

One episode was particularly traumatic for me. I had a 15,000L Intex above ground pool that was heavily stocked with large exotic fish. Most exotic fish are quite pricey in Australia. It got holed by a giant gourami and the pool drained out overnight so the fish room floor was flooded and pool bottom was completely obscured with large dead fish bodies when I walked in. Apart from the financial loss ($80,000+) a lot of the fish had grown up with me for many many years. It was too much so I simply turned around walked out. I wasn't able to return for a week. When I did return, you can imagine the smell and flies in the summer heat. I was digging and burying fish with a wheelbarrow for two days.

So...

- I encourage you to run several independent electrical circuits, solely separating filtration at least.
- I have a simple power outage alert using a free power outage app on an old unwanted cell phone plugged into a wall charger. I get text message when power goes off and another one when it returns.
- An Inkbird themometer that sends me alerts if maximum or minimum temperature limits occur (this needs power and a WiFi gateway). For this, I have a remote floating thermometer and a cable sensor themometer for redundancy and comparison.
- Petrol generator for lengthy power outages. (I also have deep cycle battery and solar recharging panels)
- I dislike automation and electronic gadgets so I have simple redundancy where possible.

All of these and possibly many others including water level alert etc you have probably heard of but when you consider the amount of time and effort already invested in your fish and that terrible sick feeling you are experiencing now, the cost and effort of implementing becomes apparent.

A grieving stage is healthy and expected but I do hope you feel better soon.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Sorry to hear, Eric. Hang in there, cheerful friend. Remember, we are all pulling for yah, we are all in this together, keep your stick on the ice, as Red Green would put it.