Canthophrys gongota, Hamilton 1822

[Shovelnose]

First time I am keeping this species. Extremely interesting fish to keep. Eating Tubifex and FBS at the moment.




I think this is foraging behaviour and not burrowing. I startled them once by mistake and they were gone in a second

[The.Dark.One]

A lovely, rare, and interesting fish! I've only seen these in the UK once.

[sidguppy]

they assigned a new genus?

they used to be Somileptes gongota

you are aware that this is a cool/coldwater species?
when kept at tropical temperatures it doesn't last long

I had some in the nineties and back then we didn't know that; we lost em fairly quick

[Silurus]

they assigned a new genus?

Nope, it was reassigned to an older name back in 1998.

Kottelat, M., 1998. On the valid generic names for the Indian fishes usually referred to Salmostoma and Somileptes (Teleostei: Cyprinidae and Cobitidae). Journal of South Asian Natural History 3: 117–119.

[Shovelnose]

you are aware that this is a cool/coldwater species?

Yup. The tankmates are hill stream loaches so it is a cool tank only.

A lovely, rare, and interesting fish! I've only seen these in the UK once.

Indeed. I always assumed they would be more popular and available in the trade (abroad) due to their interesting appearance and behaviour.


I have been resorting to spot feeding as the other loaches (Mesonemacheilus,Schistura) are extremely quick and competitive for food. Working well so far. I haven't tried feeding pellets yet but they will eat without any fuss is what I hear.

[cybermeez]

they assigned a new genus?

Nope, it was reassigned to an older name back in 1998.

Kottelat, M., 1998. On the valid generic names for the Indian fishes usually referred to Salmostoma and Somileptes (Teleostei: Cyprinidae and Cobitidae). Journal of South Asian Natural History 3: 117–119.

When we (me and several other aquarists) wrote Loaches: Natural History and Aquarium Care in 2007 we researched the scientific names for species thoroughly. Somileptes gongota is the correct classification and used in the vast majority of current scientific literature. Check out Loaches Online's species index profile for details on caring for this fish. They are very specific in their needs and not a hillstream loach by any stretch of the imagination.

Robin

[Mike_Noren]

Somileptes is a junior synonym of Canthophrys, although it appears some indian authors either for some reason do not accept this, or are unaware of Kottelat (1998). Cf: Catalog of Fishes or Fishbase.

[Shovelnose]

They are very specific in their needs and not a hillstream loach by any stretch of the imagination.

Robin

I never said they were hill stream loaches. I only mentioned their tank mates were hill stream loaches.