Which Auchenipterids are being kept by PC members?

[Bijn]

yep, that's her. She was a bit skinny when she arrived here but she's a good eater

[Marc van Arc]

Glad she made it to a good home

Did you btw already have a look at those Tatia in H?

[Bijn]

Nope, I didn't. Won't happen also I guess, a lack off time.

[Marc van Arc]

Now this is annoying.
Went to Zajac yesterday, was late due to several traffic jams so had to rush a little. Had one good look in every tank and at the name/price tags. No auchenipterids, except for C. perugiae.
Specifically asked at the aquarium counter and both persons told me they had no auchenipterids (Trugdornwelse) in stock. Okay, no problem. Got my bucket of flakes, a heater and several other things.
Today I phoned Alex for he'd been to Bremen to collect some Madagascar cichlids last Thursday. He told me that prior to Bremen he'd visited Zajac and another shop nearby. When I told him I'd visited Zajac on Friday, the first thing he said was: did you see the Tatia?
I thought he was pulling my leg. No, I said, there weren't any. I specifically asked.
Oh yes, he said, there were. I don't know if you already had them or not, but there were Tatia at Zajac.
Not funny!
Combine that with the fact that the other shop had Markiana and Rhoadsia (rather rare characins) and you can imagine that I cursed after the phone conversation.
Wrong place, wrong info, wrong time (I don't need a car to cover 4 kms an hour; I could as well walk that distance). The thing that annoys me most however, is that my holidays are over and I have to start this Monday. And the agenda tells me the oncoming weekends are booked for all kinds of reasons. After 7 weeks of relative freedom it's quite irritating that just now I'll have to plan according to someone else's scheme again. No doubt it'll be on a Saturday.
But which one?

[The.Dark.One]

What's even more annoying Marc is that they were TRUE T. galaxias

[Marc van Arc]

What's even more annoying Marc is that they were TRUE T. galaxias

You're joking, right?

[wrasse]

Calm, Marc. Calm.

I think you are about to blow a fuse

Mind you, I would feel the same. I've yet to see a true tatia galaxias.

It seems like shop staff with poor knowledge is a global problem...

[Marc van Arc]

I've taken the time today to write a polite email to Zajac. Not to complain, but to explain the situation and to see if they're willing to have a look for me (which species, what price and if they're still there). Looking forward to their reaction.

Meanwhile there may be some luck involved, because the tank they would have gone into is causing problems since yesterday evening. So far no auchenipterids are involved, but the Barbus everetti are showing unwanted behaviour (like squeezing fins and dying).

And although this always seems to happen at the end of a holiday, I'm still perfectly calm

[The.Dark.One]

What's even more annoying Marc is that they were TRUE T. galaxias

You're joking, right?

Course I am Marc, hence the twisted evil smilie!

[Junttis]

Could any of the keepers of

Auchenipterus nigripinnis

confirm (or deny) that these are very slow growers?
Mine don't seem to grow anymore and are currently 8 cms TL.

Confirmed. I've had mine for over a year now and they have grown about 1-2cm max. A month ago i moved my nigripinnis to a bigger (550L) tank and i lost two of them. Luckily i still have eight left.

[Marc van Arc]

Thanks. How large are they atm? (TL)

[Junttis]

Thanks. How large are they atm? (TL)

Biggest one 8.5cm TL. Others 6-8cm.

[Marc van Arc]

Thanks again.
Sorry you lost those 2 specimens btw. What happened?

[Yann]

Hi!!

so basically the question is are these fish what they are supposed to be...or something new??

And if indeed they are the intended species, what cause them to stop growing??

Cheers
Yann

[Junttis]

Thanks again.
Sorry you lost those 2 specimens btw. What happened?

One jumped out from the bucket while acclimatizing and the other one died due stress i think.

[Marc van Arc]

At last a new addition to my tanks and this thread. Alex and I went to Germany today to find a Tatia species I overlooked about two weeks ago.
So here they are; it's a pair.
We believe they are

Tatia simplex

, but any other opinions are welcome. Although they look a lot like

Centromochlus romani

, it's certainly not that species.
Pictures taken on arrival.

[kruseman]

Very nice, Marc! Nice find.
Did you buy all fish or are there some left at Zoo Zajac?

[Marc van Arc]

There are 3 specimens left: two males and one female. They were too expensive to buy all 5, because I also wanted to buy a group of Markiana nigripinnis (8 specimens from Tillmann) and I'm rather deep into my other hobby atm (car and motorcycle brochures from the 50's, 60's & 70's).
They cost 21,50 per fish and sit in the "scalare" rack.

[nvcichlids]

those are pretty cool marc, how big are they?

[sidguppy]

about 2" give or take a few mm ;)

[Marc van Arc]

Here are some new pictures.
They have become lighter, are very fast and afaics bottom orientated. Although not 100% sure, Steve thinks they are

Centromochlus concolor

rather than

Tatia simplex

. I'll have a look into Mees' book shortly.

And a bunch of centromochlins

[The.Dark.One]

Steve thinks they are

Centromochlus concolor

rather than

Tatia simplex

. I'll have a look into Mees' book shortly.

Yes, I'm leaning towards C. concolor rather than simplex because of the more elongated dorsal fin, the colouration/pattern, and the dark patch in the dorsal fin being more distinct.
Some nice centromochlins there!

[Yann]

Hi!!

I had a quick look yesterday but didn't had the time to answer and I had the same feeling than Steven...

Like you I would have wished it would have been Tatia simplex!!!

Still Centromochlus concolor is a nice addition I wouldn't mind to have
Cheers
Yann

[Marc van Arc]

According to Mees the adipose of T. simplex is very small, so there's another reason to rule out that species.
I'm rather pleased with my new species, regardless what their name is(*), but I'm beginning to feel a little sorry for not buying a trio or even all 5.
Hopefully a PC member will pick them up; if they are still there on my next visit I'll surely take them home with me.

: I'll stick to Centromochlus concolor for the time being.

[MatsP]

Unless someone rejects that ID, I think we should add pictures of this fish into the Cat-eLog, there are only three views of a preserved specimen in the Cat-eLog.

--
Mats

[The.Dark.One]

According to Mees the adipose of T. simplex is very small, so there's another reason to rule out that species.


: I'll stick to Centromochlus concolor for the time being.

It could be that the adipose was small on just the type (there was only one), but yes I'd noticed that too but ruled it out as an issue, as the fish in the pic in the cat e log as simplex has the adipose not so small. Another fish I considered was T. boemia but the pattern seems wrong at the moment.

You should have bought them all Marc!

[Marc van Arc]

You should have bought them all Marc!

Concluded by hindsight that would have been better, I agree. But at the time I was facing several expenses and I can only spend my money once.
However, I may now try my luck at the Dutch LFS which is able to order several "Tatia" species in a few weeks.
I will have more room for new fishes in future as my true C. perugiae (the ones with the small spots) are dying one after another due to old age. I've had them for 7 years now and it's obvious by their swimming behaviour and shape that they are literally at the end of their life span. Afaict they've had a good life .
An unpleasant surprise popped up as well: my C. reticulatus male (a present from Jools) has apparently been stuck somewhere. The poor thing is now sort of V-shaped and hardly able to eat. So I think he's a goner as well. This one should have had a much better life though....

[Marc van Arc]

Today I was able to make some interesting pictures of a pair of

Tatia intermedia

(at least that is what I still call them).
I rescued a smaller male from an LFS recently and he's very keen on my two females. Today he attempted to mate with one of them; the only reason the mating failed was because the female was wedged between the sand and a piece of wood and thus the male couldn't position himself properly.
Thing is that - for the first time - I could see something that looked like a "penis" coming out of the genital papilla. Moreover, the male was perfectly capable of "steering" it into the right direction.
When taking into consideration that until recently scientists thought these fish had no internal fertilization, I think this is yet another proof that shows otherwise.

Here is the pair

Male

Pair agian, focus on genital area

[Marc van Arc]

Another picture of the presumed C. concolor

And this is what a 7+ year old C. perugiae looks like. It's literally at its end and will very likely die tonight

[Birger]

Thing is that - for the first time - I could see something that looked like a "penis" coming out of the genital papilla. Moreover, the male was perfectly capable of "steering" it into the right direction.
When taking into consideration that until recently scientists thought these fish had no internal fertilization, I think this is yet another proof that shows otherwise.

That is really interesting set of pics Marc...I can see why it would be rare to witness such a thing. How long did the attempt to mate go on?

Birger