Both bought a Akysis prashadi. Are they the same species?

[bekateen]

Hi All,

At the CSG convention, with the help of @Catfish-ologist, I got 10

Akysis prashadi

from Aqualife Leyland.

I'm seeing subtle differences among individuals in caudal fin shape and the patterns of white colored spots along the flanks of the body . Also, some have a pale mottled head and predorsal area, whereas others have a black head and pale mottled predorsal area.

Are these the same species? Or do I have a mix?

Cheers, Eric

[Shane]

You and your cryptic catfishes!
-Shane

[bekateen]

You and your cryptic catfishes!
-Shane

Lol. I guess I'm too untrusting of exporter/importer IDs.

I imagine the tail pattern differences might be normal variation but might also be exaggerated by how widespread the fish hold their tails when I photograph them.

Having said that, I just perused all the species in the genus and there are few that resemble prashadi and that are also caught anywhere close to prashadi. So barring some shipper mixing fish from different sources, these are probably the same species.

Cheers,
Sherlock Holmes

[bekateen]

You and your cryptic catfishes!
-Shane

P.S., when you buy a group of fish, don't you also spend hours staring at them, noticing every little detail and variation?

Cheers, Eric

[fishguy1978]

I have three prashadi. Be careful moving them by hand. I've been stung twice

[bekateen]

I have three prashadi. Be careful moving them by hand. I've been stung twice

Thanks for the warning. Yeah, other people have told me the same. When I was loading these for transport, I dropped two on the floor and had to pick them up to get them back into bottles. Rather than grabbing them with my hands (which I'd do with corys any day of the week), I used their empty plastic bags as shovels, like a pan and broom system, to scoop them off the floor and get them into the bottles. It was a tricky procedure. Thankfully, they're all okay.

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

Here's their tank setup. I settled on this after meeting Achim at the CSG meeting last week and he told me how he spawned

Akysis vespa

in the early 2000's.

Cheers, Eric

[fishguy1978]

So, is the idea that the eggs will fall into the glass dish?

[bekateen]

So, is the idea that the eggs will fall into the glass dish?

Yes, there's a plastic "knitting canvas" mesh over the glass dish, with some fake plant stems and the spawning mop. Hopefully, if the fish are in the mood, they release eggs over the bowl and I catch them in the dish. Achim said that a false floor is needed or else the fish will eat their eggs almost as soon as they're laid.

Realistically, these fish are not yet in breeding condition. I think it will be a while before I can expect any eggs. But I need to get the egg catcher in place or else I won't know if they start spawning.

That said, I'm also counting on them laying at least some eggs here, as opposed to in the back of the tank where I don't have a guard.

Cheers,
Eric

[Catfish-ologist]

I'm so glad these are doing well for you Eric!
Happy that I could help you find what you were looking for.
Very interesting to see the variation amongst your group.

All the fish and snails I brought back made it. In fact, the ramshorns spawned last night.

Did all of your whiptails make it as well? I hope so, I will definitely need some for myself eventually!

Cheers,
-- Sean

[bekateen]

Hi Sean,

Glad your animals did well. Yes, all 14 of the baby whiptails I got survived and are doing well in my tank.

Cheers, Eric