8ft Birchir Tank log. Updated 21/12/2010

[melrick1]

wow!

That is all lol

[trav]

amazing tank! :bounce: :bounce:

[Nymox]

Nana has taken quite a liking to a certain fish, shes never been interested in them at all really, other then to point out that the tanks are taking over the house. Here's the fish that that she took a shine too, Synodontis schoutedeni or Vermiculated Synodontis shes named Snappa, everything that goes past his cave gets bitten and chased, hes even had a go at me when Ive been messing with plants near his hole.

Hes about 14cm nose to tail, eats anything and everything.

[phoenix44]

Do you have a pic of its dorsal fin?

Looks like a syno euptera to me showing sub-adult patterns.

They go through 3 stages of colouration and patterns; 4 if you count the yellow cory like phase when they are 2cm long :lol:

[Nymox]

This is the best I could do, he doesnt keep still for very long unless its hiding inside a cave. You can see his yellows and blues a bit in this pic. Looks quite different to my featherfin but as you say it might be an age thing Im not to sure.

[phoenix44]

I'm stumped-ish :lol:

They are all cool fish though! very greedy and inquisitive.

[Nymox]

My Euptera is nearly big enough to go in with him, its going to be interesting to see how the act around each other. Even spotted hybrid one doesnt grow nearly as fast, no where near as active either. But your right they are all cool, love the syno's, they always seem to be up to no good, even their breeding is evil lol

[Nymox]

lil update pic I took this morning. Bala school is up to 6 now, and I have another 4 growing out to go in. Plants are doing ok but I might be putting a large cigar shark in so I guess that will be the end of that

I have a light and a dark side of the tank now, to reduce power used and to make the bichir more comfortable.

[livingart]

Looks like a syno euptera to me showing sub-adult patterns.

if it is the fish i think it is, it is 5 years old

[phoenix44]

lol well the second pic makes me certain that the fish is not 100% euptera. crossed with something but who knows what.

__

Tank looks good though; bit sad about this part -

but I might be putting a large cigar shark in so I guess that will be the end of that

[Nymox]

Looking at my Euptera, and looking at that schoutedeni I can't see many similarities other then the obvious, body shape, mouth, barbells and fins are all quite different. There are only maybe 2 pictures of schoutedeni that look the same, they are very varied in colour and patterning too.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=350 The vermiculated

My euptera is much younger though, maybe just under a year old.

I will watch that cigar and try and keep it well fed, I would imagine not all the plants in there are very tasty, especially when you have a mean diet of 2 telegraph cucumbers per week, and 2 zuchinni. If I loose the plants then I loose them, its hard work replanting everything once a week anyways.

Maybe I can get a muzzle for it, its getting close to 3 foot in length. :lol:

[Nymox]

I see what you mean p44, Eupterus with Juvenile network patterning is very similar.

[Nymox]

Heres the big cigar.

Took a battering while trying to catch it, they have one hell of a powerful tail.

[Nymox]

Bad pics but here he is. Makes the Bala look like tetra.

[Fruju]

Nice dude

[snookie]

nice is that Havana the cigar shark ?

[Nymox]

nice is that Havana the cigar shark ?

Red finned Cigar shark - Leptobarbus rubripinna. At least as far as I know.

[snookie]

i know that 8) , just there was one for sale on trade me and his name was havana

[Nymox]

i know that 8) , just there was one for sale on trade me and his name was havana

Oh lol it could well be, it was up on trademe. Its really cool, all the bala follow him around, hes like their gang leader.

[Nymox]

[snookie]

Nice Mate i always thought they were called Leptobarbus hoevenii

[Nymox]

Nice Mate i always thought they were called Leptobarbus hoevenii

I thought so too, but I found this.

For many years this fish was considered to be Leptobarbus hoevenii and will be seen labelled as such in most aquarium literature. However recent work by Tan and Kottelat (2009) has revealed a case of mistaken identity. The type locality of L. hoevenii is Bandjarmasin, a port town in the Indonesian province of South Kalimantan (Kalimantan Selatan), Borneo. It was described by several early authors, using specimens collected from the Greater Sunda Islands, as a plainly-coloured fish with a dark blotch behind the gill cover. Young fish (<3.9"/10cm SL) exhibit a faint lateral stripe. Tan and Kottelat examined material from Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia and found agreement with the above description, meaning the Sundaic fish should be considered L. hoevenii.

However the ones seen in the aquatic trade mostly originate from Thailand and juveniles possess a thick, dark lateral stripe with distinctive orange/red finnage. The authors noted these differences as well as a more rounded head shape, different eye position, shorter barbels and more rounded caudal fin lobes in the Thai fish, concluding that the Indochinese and Sundaic fish represent separate species. The name Leptobarbus rubripinna, first proposed by Fowler in 1937, therefore becomes valid for the former although it will probably take a while to catch on in aquarium circles.

As a result of the systematic changes described above there now exist five species in the genus two of which, L. hosii and L. melanopterus, are endemic to Borneo. While the former has probably never been seen in the aquatic hobby SF member Andy Rushworth kept a pair of L. melanopterus on one occasion. This species would appear to be a far more manageable aquarium subject than Leptobarbus rubripinna as not only is it more colourful but Andy's specimens stopped growing at around 14"/35cm. L. melanotaenia is found on Borneo too but also ranges through Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia as far north as Thailand. The status of these three, in particular the latter, may now be questionable following Tan and Kottelat's work.

But im not the brightest bulb on the xmas tree so I could be all confused. :lol:

[snookie]

I thought so too, but I found this.

But im not the brightest bulb on the xmas tree so I could be all confused. :lol:

well blow me down !

[Fruju]

how big is that shark?

[livingart]

filletable