h2o forest: June 2015

Saturday 6 June 2015

TORRENTFISH 1 : Psilorhynchus nudithoracicus THE FIRST EVER AQUARIUM PICTURE!

Torrentfish / Rainbow minnow

Scientific name :Psilorhynchus nudithoracicus (Psilorhynchus sucatio nudithoracicus - Tilak and Husein, 1980)

I TOOK THIS PARTICULAR PICTURE IN 2014 AND IT WAS THE FIRST ONE EVER CAPTURED OF A LIVE CAPTIVE SPECIMEN!

IUCN status : Not evaluated

Occurrence : India - West Bengal, Bangladesh

Aquarium type : Species. Extremely sensitive fish.
Water : Specimens were caught in fast flowing clear river water.
Temperature : max. 24 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Algae and aufwuch

Notes : Extremely sensitive species, does not survive long transport trips. Not viable as an aquarium trade specimen.

Wednesday 3 June 2015

INDIAN LOACHES : 8 - Balitora brucei HILLSTREAM LOACH!

Hillstream loach / Gray's stone loach
Scientific name : Balitora brucei (Gray 1830)

IUCN status : Near threatened

Occurrence : North-East India, also reported from Bangladesh, Nepal, Mayanmar (Burma), Bhutan

Aquarium type : Species/specialist hillstream loach setup
Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : 18-22 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Biofilm, aufwuchs, micro-crustaceans

Pictures from my personal tanks, this is a hardy species and a well acclimated fish should thrive in the aquarium

Underside shown in this shot of the fish on aquarium glass, a specimen with perfect finnage.

Notes : Very rarely available in the international aquarium trade. Increasingly threatened by habitat loss.

Related links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24498
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/166923/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 7 - Bhavania australis HILLSTREAM LOACH!

Hillstream loach
Scientific name : Bhavania australis (Jerdon 1849)

IUCN status : Least concern

Occurrence : Southern India, Western Ghats

Aquarium type : Species/specialist hillstream loach setup
Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : 20-24 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Biofilm, aufwuchs

Underside shown in this shot of the fish on aquarium glass, a freshly introduced beautiful specimen with perfect finnage.

Notes : Very rarely available in the international aquarium trade. Photos shown here depict juvenile fish, adults grow up to have more distinct spotted patterns and have red fins. An even more beautiful fish once full grown.

Related links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24510
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172390/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 6 - Schistura cf. devdevi

Firefly loach / Olive loach
Scientific name : Schistura cf. devdevi ( S. devdevi - Hora 1935)

IUCN status : Near Threatened

Occurrence : Eastern Himalayan foothills

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup. Pebbles and hiding spaces helpful.
Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : up to 22 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Small live feeds, active feeder

Notes : Only rarely available in the aquarium trade.

Related links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24549
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/166496/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 5 - Schistura beavani

Banded loach / Ring loach
Scientific name : Schistura beavani (Günther, 1868)

IUCN status : Least concern

Occurrence : Northern India, Nepal; a mountain river species

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup. Pebbles and hiding spaces helpful.
Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : up to 24 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Small live feeds, active feeder

Notes : Although widespread, certain ranges of its distribution are threatened by habitat loss

Related links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24539
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/166535/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 4 - Aborichthys species

Squirrel loach / Red tailed squirrel loach
Scientific name : Aborichthys species (elongatus? - Hora 1921)

IUCN status : Least concern

Occurrence : Himalayan foothills of north West Bengal

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup. Pebbles and hiding spaces helpful.
Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : up to 22 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Small live feeds, active feeder

Notes : Juvenile specimen pictured here, a rare species in the aquarium trade.

Related links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24516
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/166431/0

Tuesday 2 June 2015

INDIAN LOACHES : 3 - Mesonoemacheilus triangularis

Batik loach / Zodiac loach
Scientific name : Mesonoemacheilus triangularis (Sir Francis Day, 1865), reverted to Nemacheilus triangularis
IUCN status : Least concern

Occurrence : Kerala and tamil Nadu

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup also hillstream type tanks, pebble bottoms work well

Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : 24 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Unfussy eater

Notes : Picture taken shows a juvenile specimen

"NemacheilusTriangularisDay" by Sir Francis Day - The Fishes of Malabar. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NemacheilusTriangularisDay.jpg#/media/File:NemacheilusTriangularisDay.jpg

Relevant links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24647

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172434/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 2 - Schistura corica (Nemacheilus corica)

Polka dotted loach
Scientific name : Schistura corica (Hamilton, 1822), reverted to Nemachelius corica

IUCN status : Least concern

Occurrence : Himalayan foothills, a riverine species

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup. Will do well in a hillstream type tank, sandy bottoms work well

Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7
Temperature : 24 Degrees Celsius
Diet : Unfussy eater

Notes : Most popular of the Indian Schistura loaches

Relevant links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/24545

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/166617/0

INDIAN LOACHES : 1 - Mesonoemacheilus herrei

Scientific name : Mesonoemacheilus herrei (Nalbant & Bănărescu, 1982)

IUCN status : Critically endangered

Occurrence : Currently only known from a 5 sq. km. area in the Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, Anaimalai Hills, Valparai, Tamil Nadu

Aquarium type : Species/specialist loach setup. Will do well in a hillstream type tank.

Water : Needs pristine water conditions, high dissolved oxygen, pH neutral around 7

Temperature : 24 Degrees Celsius

Diet : Unfussy eater

Notes : Came in as contaminant with Mesonoemacheilus guentheri

Relevant links :
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/55555
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/172496/0