where are they today, could be the most traveled suckers?

[mallemalle]

I just wondered where those Hypostomus robinii juveniles i collected in Trinidad in 2005 are, if they still are alive.

They were brought back to Norway, was supposed to go to Scotland but went back over the atlantic and ended in Mexico, after that the rumors say that they took a flight to Washington!

Just wondering if they are still alive and well, and if there are some new pics of them.

Kaare

[Shane]

Kaare,
Greetings from Uganda! They were last in Mexico with me in about 2006 (?). I left them with Andrew in Washington DC as I could not take them to South Africa with me.
-Shane

[apistomaster]

How many Hypostomus are endemic to the island of Trinidad?
When I was still a teenager and opened my own fish shop, the plecostomus we bought and sold were call Trinidad Plecostomus. This was between 1967 and 1971. During the latter 2 years Hypostomus became difficult to buy. I began receiving shipments of large broad plecos with massive growths of tentacles about their heads and they freaked customers out too much and they did not want those. They wanted "Plecostomus." I think I was receiving Medusa Bushy noses but I did not know much about Plecos other than Hypostomus I was familiar with and regret not keeping some for further observations.

[mallemalle]

Kaare,
Greetings from Uganda! They were last in Mexico with me in about 2006 (?). I left them with Andrew in Washington DC as I could not take them to South Africa with me.
-Shane

Hi Shane,
Long time no see!
how are things in Uganda?
Well, hopefully they are still alive, would be cool to see some pics of them, and i guess that Jools would like to have some newer pics for the Cat-eLog, would be nice to see the growthrate and to see if they get the same coloration in captivity as they get in the wild.

How many Hypostomus are endemic to the island of Trinidad?
When I was still a teenager and opened my own fish shop, the plecostomus we bought and sold were call Trinidad Plecostomus. This was between 1967 and 1971. During the latter 2 years Hypostomus became difficult to buy. I began receiving shipments of large broad plecos with massive growths of tentacles about their heads and they freaked customers out too much and they did not want those. They wanted "Plecostomus." I think I was receiving Medusa Bushy noses but I did not know much about plecos other than Hypostomus I was familiar with and regret not keeping some for further observations.

Hi apistomaster,

I belive the only endemic Hypostomus species in Trinidad is Hypostomus robinii
http://www.planetcatfish.com/scripts/cl ... us+robinii
and the other endemic sucker in the island would be Ancistrus maracasae
http://www.planetcatfish.com/scripts/cl ... +maracasae

Kaare

[apistomaster]

Hi Kaare,

Thank you for sharing that info. I could only find that H. robinii was native. None of the Hypostomus were actually robinii. Most were closer to being real Hypostomus plecostomus.
I received fish from many sources back then which have long been out of business. I used to buy Cardinals and Discus from Fred Cochu, Paramount Aquarium, William Freise, Aquatic Fisheries, Ross Socolof, Gulf Tropical Fish (pre-TFH takeover), Aquarium Imports, Pelham, N.Y. (They brought in a lot of African fish from Pierre Brichard), Long Beach Fisheries and Global Tropical Imports, L.A. Zinn's, Miami, used to send a lot of fish from Guyana, maybe still when it was British Guyana.
Global had a collection export base in Iquitos but he had Royal Blue, Heckel Discus also some pretty plain "Peruvian Greens"(Like Rupert's Discus) and he sent me the big broad body Ancistrus sp with massive tentacle growth. Some were over 5 inches and their box water would be filthy. They were pretty freshly caught sometimes.

[Shane]

Kaare,
It should not be hard to contact Andrew and see if he knows where they are. He is a PC member.
-Shane

[mallemalle]

Thanks Shane!

[Shane]

BTW Kaare, Uganda is great. Check out the African Catfishes section for some of my most recent collecting trips here.

-Shane

[bronzefry]

Nicely done, Shane!
Amanda

[Jools]

I saw Andrew last year and he didn't mention them

Jools

[mallemalle]

Might have to go back to Trinidad and collect some more then