andyman98 Posted February 21, 2004 Report Share Posted February 21, 2004 i brought a hoplo catfish today and think it is awesome i did a google search and it kind of looks like a spotted hoplo but the all the pics are different could some one post a picture of their hoplo catfish or spotted hoplo so i can identify mine sorry i can't post a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMack Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 He he...just bought a couple myself...and like you did a bit of research afterwards (probably should look into them first!!!!) Mine too are spotted, and it seems they could be Lethoplosternum pectorale, the Dwarf Hoplo! they grow to about 15cm The simplest way to tell is to look at the caudal fin (tail) which should be gently rounded if it is a dwarf, otherwise it could be a Port Hoplo - Truncated caudal fin. Sorry I cant post any pics either If you dont mind me asking.....how many $$ did your little guy/gal cost? ChrisMack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman98 Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 it cost me $15.00.and i know he isn't a port hoplo as i've seen them before they are awsome fish if it is a spotted which i'm pretty sure he is then i made a major score as they are a lot rarer than normal hoplos.i'm hoping to get some more and breed them. by the how much was yours? thats the second fish i've brought this weekend that was falsely named lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMack Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 I've been lead to believe that port Hoplo's can take on several different appearances though(markings, colours),...so it may not be out of the question... spotted hoplo's (dwarf hoplo's) rarer? I dont know too much about that, But I have read that they breed by forming a bubblenest at the waters surface, eggs are deposited into this nest, and guarded by the male....hatching takes 3-4 days. hmmm.....I managed to pick up my pair of Hoplo's for $7.95 each here in Christchurch....a real bargain if they are rarer than most hoplo's (although they are only about 2.5 cm long) ChrisMack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyman98 Posted February 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 if you manage to breed them i'd be more than happy to buy some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 ChrisMack said... > ... it seems they could be Lethoplosternum pectorale, the Dwarf Hoplo! I'd be very interested to hear if you have the dwarf Hoplo. I used to breed these as well as the more common species. These days I no longer have the dwarf one (although Rob Torrens has one or two females I think). I've grown up some of the regular ones and they're nearly ready to breed. I have photos of my ones and am working on getting them online. In the short term I can e-mail pics to anyone interested, contact me at [email protected] if you want pics before I get the HTML done... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris.L Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 ChrisMack said... > ... it seems they could be Lethoplosternum pectorale, the Dwarf Hoplo! I'd be very interested to hear if you have the dwarf Hoplo. I used to breed these as well as the more common species. These days I no longer have the dwarf one (although Rob Torrens has one or two females I think). I've grown up some of the regular ones and they're nearly ready to breed. I have photos of my ones and am working on getting them online. In the short term I can e-mail pics to anyone interested, contact me at [email protected] if you want pics before I get the HTML done... Andrew. Andrew, how easy are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 22, 2004 Report Share Posted February 22, 2004 Chris.L said... > Andrew, how easy are they? I found them about as difficult as any other bubblenest breeder (Bettas, Gouramis etc). Probably easier. The trick is to put a bit of polystyrene into the tank. The males seems to think this is a pre-made bubble nest and will just add a few bubbles around the edge and convince the female to spawn onto it. The polystyrene can then be yoicked from the tank and floated in another tank with an airstone. The fry are not too difficult to raise. You can get 100-200 from a spawning if you're not careful... Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 How big was this spotted hoplo that you've bought - the reason I ask is that (at least here) we only see small port hoplos and they all have spots - so I don't think the spots a necessarily an identifier for small/juvenile specimans. Having said that you guys down south do have a different range of importers so I'm not ruling out the possibility that you've got hold of something different (swines! ). I wouldn't really call the clay hoplos (Hoplosternum littorale) I've got dwarf - they've got a rated adult size of about 23cm which is larger than other hoplos - unfortunately it does look like I've got 2 females (I couldn't find out where they'd come from to try and track down a male). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisMack Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 just as a sidenote...how does one tell what sex their catfish are? I wouldn't really call the clay hoplos (Hoplosternum littorale) I've got dwarf - they've got a rated adult size of about 23cm which is larger than other hoplos Hoplosternum littorale was not mentioned as a Dwarf Hoplo, these are known as Cascudo Hoplos, and grow to about 22cm according to my reference - I think this was only mentioned as a way of determining what hoplo we were looking at (tailfin shape) The Dwarf hoplo is Lethoplosternum pectorale, which is the one that we are lead to believe we are talking about! You are right in the "markings" statement, I too have read that markings may change, or indeed there may be several different markings within the species (spots, stripes etc) ChrisMack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 23, 2004 Report Share Posted February 23, 2004 Hoplosternum littorale was not mentioned as a Dwarf Hoplo Andrew made the comment: >...days I no longer have the dwarf one (although Rob Torrens has one or two females I think). The two female hoplos I have are Clay/Cascudo hoplos not dwarf ones - that's the origin of my clarifying comment on that bit. As for sexing them - I doubt you'll be able to sex 2.5cm individuals but what you are looking for in adults specimens is thickening of the leading edge of the pectoral fins - males it will be quite thick, can become pinky-orange and also upturned at the end depending on the hoplo species in question. Another thing to look for is the chest plates associated with the pectoral fins - in males these will cover most of the chest region almost meeting in the middle, for females the chest plates are smaller and only cover the edges of the chest region. I know this chest plate thing is a definite for port hoplos but I'm not sure if the other species we've been talking about have it as well. Just a side comment - when I had port hoplos it took them less than a year to get from 2.5cm to adult size - it could have been less time - I was away in England at the time and my sister was looking after them. Cool guys though, would come up to the surface and suck blood worms from my fingers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajbroome Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 andyman98 said... > ... could some one post a picture of their hoplo catfish ... Go to the 'critters' page at http://www.oxalis.50megs.com and look at the 'Hoplo Catfish' link for mine. Andrew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis Posted February 24, 2004 Report Share Posted February 24, 2004 thats like the ones i had they were 15 cm long got rid of them they were a plan in my tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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