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Many thanks Eric!

Nice work! Think this is a first?

Jools

Thanks Jools!
First in the UK, I think. I think there are a couple of reports from Germany.
Regards,
Paul

I had one more sighting of a baby on Monday, and nothing since then. The tank has countless hiding places so hopefully the one I saw is OK and there are some others in there somewhere.
As well as repashy I have added some more branches with algae growth to provide additional grazing surfaces, plus some Catappa leaves.

Today I managed to see two fry at once, and get a photo of them. Unfortunately I couldn't get them both in focus at the same time, but this pair of photos clearly show there are at least two.

I put this fallen log in the tank a few days ago, it was covered in algae and lichen and I thought it would be good grazing ground for the youngsters. That idea seems to have worked.

Hopefully there are more hiding somewhere.

A few more photos of the youngsters, which are still enjoying grazing on my log, though it's been stripped of almost all the green stuff by now.

They like clinging to the underside of the log (which is still floating) - these photos are the right way up! I used a torch to illuminate them for the photos.

Tomorrow I'll go walking and collect some more green logs.

Again today I have seen two youngsters at once, but I haven't seen more than that together so far. When I do see them, they're usually actively grazing and they seem to enjoy spots in moderate to strong currents.

They look to be growing well, I'd say they're about 15mm SL now. They are showing a colour pattern developing.

So cool!

One of the fry came near the front of the tank so I managed a few more photos.
Being closer I struggled to get the right focal depth in the available light conditions, but there is some detail visible. Am I imagining it, or are the distinctive orange fin tips of this species starting to show?

Incidentally, is there a way to update the title of this thread to something like 'L244 Sexing, now with a spawn'?

Mol_PMB wrote: ↑06 Mar 2019, 17:58Incidentally, is there a way to update the title of this thread to something like 'L244 Sexing, now with a spawn'?

Hi Paul,

To update the name of the thread, go back to the first post (here: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=44831#p304166). Open it with the "Edit post" link and change the title in the first post. All subsequent new posts will possess the revised title (although all the previous posts will retain the old title).

Cheers, Eric

Thanks Eric!

I don't see the fry (or the adults) very often, but the fry certainly enjoy grazing on 'green' wood. I have gathered a load of fallen branches and twigs from local woods, which are covered in algae and lichen. Here's one of the little ones (now about 16mmSL) having a munch! I swap the branches for fresh ones every few days, being very careful that they don't have any fish clinging to them.

A few more photos of the fry this evening, all of the same fish which was being quite bold on a twig near the front of the tank. I did see another one on the powerhead casing at the same time, but it scarpered. I still haven't seen more than two at once!

Having been away from home for 4 weeks, I'm delighted to report that at least one of my baby L244 is still alive, as are my fry. They haven't grown a huge amount but are noticeably bigger and better patterned than before. My friend who looked after the feeding will get an expensive bottle of something in return!

Wow ... starting to look like mini Pseudolithoxus now!

Congratulations! And thanks for sharing, great pictures

Thanks Jac and Rupert! I'll keep updating this thread and the breeding report as they progress.
Sorry to have missed you at the CSG convention this year - looking forward to 2020.
Regards,
Paul

So far these two species seems to do very well together. Any suggestions on what else to add beside Tetras?

[I'm not sure of the relevance of the previous post on this thread>?]

Yesterday I made the decision to give the L244 tank a good clean and move the babies into a fry box so I could target-feed them better, as they seemed thin and slow-growing.

I had previously seen a maximum of 2 fry, and I only found 2 fry in the clean-out. They are now in the fry box within the main tank, and seem to be settling in. I am offering green twigs, chlorella/spirulina powder, and repashy.

Hi Paul,

I'm glad you still have two, but I also am a bit surprised you didn't find a third or fourth wandering around.

Cheers, Eric

I see my two juvenile L244s quite often as a rapidly disappearing yellow flash.
This evening I finally managed to creep up on one with the camera and get a few shots before it scarpered into a crevice.
So I thought I'd post the pics here as an update to the story.
They're growing rather slowly but look healthy.

Thanks for the update, Paul. Those yellow bands are gorgeous.

Cheers, Eric

Here’s a pic of one of the adults and a youngster together. Sorry about the quality, I didn’t have the proper camera to hand and the adult scarpered quickly!

I just did my regular weekly water change and substrate siphon on the L244 tank, and found these in a bucket of waste water. I’m not sure whether to be happy or annoyed with myself!
I have set up a nursery, at least 3 are still wriggling and 3 have not yet hatched.

Wow, glad you found them. I imagine you searched the tank for more?

Hopefully they survive Paul.

Good luck, Eric

Thanks Eric. I haven’t searched the tank - it’s a bit of a labyrinth and I’m not sure if tearing it all apart is the best thing to do at this stage.

It's been an age since I've been on - sorry!
Lots of other pressures in life and I've been trying to gradually reduce the numbers of fish and tanks. Needless to say the fish have other ideas, despite me not actually trying to breed anything!
In one of my tanks I have finally found the absolute favourite food for a gold nugget - Farlowella eggs! Intriguingly, 'Klondyke' waits patiently for an hour or more until a pair of twigs have finished spawning, and then shoulder-barges the male out of the way and gobbles the lot! At least the twig cats aren't multiplying any more.

Anyway, getting back on topic for this thread, I lost a couple of the larger L244s about a year back, I think they may have got wedged in a cave. But I'm pleased to report that two of the remaining group have now spawned (probably a different pair from before) and there are several 10mm fry around the tank. They have taken to the courgette slices enthusiastically.

This is great. Glad to see more spawns of Pseudolithoxus (on my list, for sure). Sorry to learn though that you're cutting back on the hobby.

Cheers, Eric

Great news. Congratulations

Many thanks Eric and Flatfish!
So far, the most I have seen at one time is 4 fry, there may be a few more.