NEWS !
Update October 2007 :
Actually there are no big changes to be reported about my fishes .
I added a report about my Platydoras costatus "Dorni" who died in the age of 30 years by an unknown fish-pest.- Please click here for the german version (will be translatet to english soon ;-)
Platydoras costatus "Dorni"
The 2 new Arowanas were rumbling all the time , so that the smaller specimen didn´t eat any more. - Because lack of space in my other tanks , I´ve given the smaller Arowana to a friend . - The bigger specimen obviously feels very good in my tank and is grown up to 28 cm meanwhile.
June 2007 :
For the painful loss of my rare red Arowana because of the unknown epidemic, I´ve longed after a new Arowana very much , though I´m aware that it was virtually impossible to recover a so beautiful animal... Adolescent Osteoglossum ferreirai is furthermore very expencive (approximately 300 - 400 EUR). - So as compromise I purchased two 20 cm and 17 cm long Osteoglossum bicirrhosum ( Silver Arowana ) . - These fishes were imported from Colombia, and are somewhat more colored as species from Brazil or Peru. - The
" Columbians " have pink colored unpair-fins and a pink line-pattern between the big scales at the flanks. - Yet I didn´t succeed in making good photos of my new Arowanas . As soon as possible , I´ll publish new photos here. - The two are up to now quite peacefully swimming together.
With the Real Headstanders I have had big luck : The 6 animals from Guyana are not only in outstanding condition and size but also already preparing for breeding !- It is probably 2 males and 4 females. - The males are somewhat smaller and slimmer, and altogether more colored ( see my published picture of one of my males here )
The females are comparatively thickly as cigars , therefore fully with spawn, and clearly more pale in colors . - With arousal all animals colors turned almost black, i.e. the melanophores increase themselves so strongly that the gold-yellow stripes are hardly more visible . - The biggest females are dominant and territorial. - Whether they have already spawned , or everything was only "prelude" until now, I cannot judge. - Because of many potential spawn-predators in the tank , survival-chance would anyway hardly have existed for spawn and perhaps slipped larvae. - But this I want to alter : I´m planning a seperate tank only for the Headstanders. - To my knowledge until now Anostomus anostomus never has been successfully bred in an aquarium . Anyway there are no corresponding breeding-reports in the literature or in the Internet neither. - All Real Headstanders ( and Anostomus ternetzi??) that swim in our aquariums , are therefore wildcaught from Guyana or Brazil or Peru . - I don´t want to spread too much optimism: but it would already be a small sensation , if I´ll succeed in breeding Anostomus anostomus in the aquarium probably for the first time world-wide. - I think , that is a worthwhile aim anyway. - But I do´nt have any illusions whether I´ll be successfully with it ...
April 2007 :
My experience with the Jaguar Catfishes imported from Brazil was very frustrating because of a severe disease these fishes brought with them. - None of the cats is still alive , although I treated them with antibiotics and antiparasitics.
Now I´ve got some beautiful medium-sized Characins : 6 Anostomus anostomus (Real Headstanders ) from Guyana and 3 Semaprochilodus taeniurus from Brazil.
These herbivorous fishes are in very good condition though the import to Germany goes from Guyana over Florida/USA to Frankfurt/Germany , well quite a long time by air-cargo...In my quarantine-tank 2 of the ca. 15 cm Headstanders are defending a territory extremely aggressive against their cohabitants. - All newcomers eat spirulina-flakes , white gnat-larvae and Artemia as well as fresh spinach . - The Headstanders will become max. 20 cm , the Semaprochilodus up to 30 cm . - Now I´m curious about the living-together with my other herbivorous fishes , the Uarus and red Pacus , after time of quarantine ...
December 2006 :
About 9 years ago I had a couple of Jaguar-Catfishes , who where shortly before spawning. - The female´s belly was as thick as a tennisball... The smaller male was very aggressive during sexual activities and hurts the female severely , so she died just before spawning. - My actual information is that Liosomadoras oncinus has not been successfully reproduced under conditions of captivity. - Now I will have a second chance to get several ca. 10cm long Jaguar-Cats from Brazil :) I´ll report more about this adventure as soon as possible... :)
September 2006 :
Somehow the devil must have ridden me,when I made true one of my dreams and purchased a couple of "Red Pacus" ( Piaractus brachypomus = Pirapatinga ). These fishes are growing up to over 60 cm in their amazon-habitat !- My juvenile couple is still 12 - 15 cm yet. The two now swim together with my
Arowana , just as a group of Triangel-Wuaroo-Cichlids (Uaru amphiacanthoides), several Catfishes, and Black-Ghost-Knifefish in a
980 l - Tank, which will probably be far too small soon...
Pirapatingas are closely related to the Piranhas and - at the first glance - as juvenile fish they are looking very similarly to Red Piranhas ( Pygocentrus nattereri ). But by examining their teeth, you will see that they are herbivores that eat plenty of vegetables,lettuce, and even hard seeds or nuts dropping into the water.- In order to provide enough proteins I´m also feeding gammarus and freeze-dried shrimps soaked in Multivitamins. In this way the fishes have developed fascinating colors because of the carotines in their natural food, and their behavior is almost "wild".- So arises real adventure-mood in my Amazon-biotope-aquarium, and some of the non-experienced visitors are really horrified by my "dangerous piranhas" ;-))
Hypselecara temporalis
February 2006 :
Meanwhile 5 small wildcaught "emerald"- cichlids (Hypselecara temporalis) are swimming in one of my tanks.They have a size of only 5 to 8 cm, and are therefore approximately 3 months old. They were imported from the Peruvian jungle-metropole Iquitos. After short quarantine, they swim in an individual 180 liter tank in the meantime and eat above all gnat-larvae and Granules, which swim on the water-surface. In the nature, they nourish themselves above all from insects. This is why they always stand directed diagonally upward to the surface and lurk , in order to miss no " flight-insect ". Hypselecara temporalis become up to 30 cm length. One occasionally even finds them as food-fish on the fish-market of Iquitos. They live predominantly in the white-water of Amazon and are spread there far, so for example also in the Brazilian Rio Branco, the biggest white-water-influx to the Rio Negro. According to my opinion, they belong to the most colorful Cichlids in the amazon aerea. Fascinating is the combination of metallic gleaming " emerald-green " at the back and the flanks and of " Bordeaux-red " at the throat, the stomach and the unpair fins. According to mood, the fishes show a strikingly different color-pattern with more or less black-shares. The dark middle-stain and tail-stain are always visible. The eyes are intensively red. The young-fish are among each other quite aggressively and have fought a solid position-order. They begin also to defend small territories . With old male specimen , an imposing forehead-bulge will develop, the females remain somewhat smaller. - I believe that I will still experience some surprise with these beautiful fishes.
