glasscat contaminant

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 05 Nov 2004, 09:08

I've had this little guy for about a month now & it's growing & doin great by itself in my cory tank.. Even after reading old posts about them, I'm having trouble telling the difference between Neotropius & Pseudeutropius. Since I can see the "Mystus-style" patterning on the sides I'm assuming it's Pseudeutropius acutirostris.

So what I'm asking really, is which species is more likely to show up in a shipment of Kryptopterus minor?

Also it has an irridescent green patch on top of it's head if this helps...thanks.

Tyler

Post by **Silurus** » 05 Nov 2004, 10:40

Kryptopterus are Southeast Asian, so it is more likely to be Pseudeutropius (probably P. brachypopterus).

However, the contamination probably occurred at the transshiper [if only because many Pseudeutropius come from Sumatra or Borneo, where to my experience. K. minor is either never (Sumatra] or very seldom (Borneo)] exported], so there is a very small chance that a mixture from an Indian shipment occurred.

The best way to tell would be to look at the maxillary barbels. They should reach at least the pelvic fins in N. atherinoides, and only to the level of the dorsal origin for P. brachypopterus. The number of anal-fin rays should also help if it is P. moolenburghae, as this species has more (42-49) than any other you are likely to encounter.

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 06 Nov 2004, 02:01

Thanks for the info, I had a feeling there was a possibility of it getting tossed w/ the glasscats by humans somehwere along the line. The maxillary barbels are well past the dorsal when laid back so I'm sure it's P.brachypopterus like you say. The shoulder spot/lined pattern must fade w/ age I assume, but that species was actually my original guess before I was aware any Bagrids besides Horabagrus had a Schilbeid-like form.

So are these the most commonly imported anyhow? I'm sure you don't get a ton of time to make rounds of local shops, but have you seen or heard of these coming in much lately? I'd love to find it a few buddies being a shoaling fish, but this is the 1st Asian Schilbeid I've ever come across..

Thanks again!
Tyler

Post by **Silurus** » 06 Nov 2004, 02:11

Pseudeutropius brachypopterus is a lot more commonly encountered than P. moolenburghae (although the two species form mixed schools in the wild). These are jittery fish, more so than glass cats, and they need a heavily planted tank to feel comfortable.

In the wild, they are usually associated with brown water habitats. Ideal tankmates would include small barbs (e.g. Puntius hexazona) or rasborines (e.g. Boraras).

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 06 Nov 2004, 03:47

Well unfortunately my only Asian "biotope" is the 100g stream tank, populated by Schistura, Nemacheilus, Garra, Epalzeorhynchos, Barillius, Danio & the Batasio among others..

Right now the Pseudeutropius has been doing absolutely great & growing already after only a month by itself in my 60g cory/tetra tank. For the moment it does have my 2 thinner Botia striata & 2 "glass eels" to keep it company of sorts..heh

It spends alot of time in the shade but is very active & eats like a {insert farm animal here} anyway.

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 08 Nov 2004, 19:46

Looking a bit closer at my fish & the cat e-log, I'm starting to doubt if it's a P.brachypopterus or even a Psudeutropius at all.. The pattern on the sides is still a dead-on match for Neotropius acutirostris (similar to Mystus carcio), this fish appears to have the irridescent green patch on top of the head and it's anal fin looks longer. The anal fin is what got me most of all, it's as long or longer than the SVL...and it's clearly shorter in Pseudeutropius. I can't tell from the e-log pics if N.acutirostris has long barbels like my fish tho..

So is it still a possibility that this fish could've been tossed into the same exports to the US? Also if I got lucky & found any other species of Neotropius or Pseudeutropius...would they do well in a mixed shoal like P.brachypopterus & moolenburghae form in the wild?

Sorry for dragging this out but it's intriqued me quite a bit by now...

Post by **Silurus** » 08 Nov 2004, 20:12

If you put Pseudeutropius and Neotropius together, they might school, but chances are equally likely they might not, since they come from very geographically disparate areas.

Bear in mind that Pseudeutropius, especially P. moolenburghae also has a body pattern very similar to that of Neotropius, as this picture of P. moolenburghae shows:

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 07 Dec 2004, 10:46

I may very well have P.moolenbughae in that case.. Definately more likely as far as distribution goes.

You'll surely find me trying to get a good shot of a live one for everybody!

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 07 Dec 2004, 22:16

I'll admit I haven't exactly covered myself with glory on these.....

bought 6 (they didn't have more); lost 2, and the remaining 4 aren't doing fine at all.
they're in a planted tank with Corydoras, Rasbora, several other small cats and 2 gentle cichlids that ignore them.
But these are like Hassar; afraid of ANYTHING.

they don't feed well (I tried live artemia-larvae, cyclops, daphnia, black mosquitolarvae, flake, powederfood etc); the water is nice and yellow due to peat-granules; the temp is about 24-25'C.....

Post by **Dinyar** » 07 Dec 2004, 23:05

We have Neotropius atherinoides and Pseudeutropius brachypopterus in the same tank. They do NOT school together.

No problem feeding them. They all eat freeze dried bloodworms, even earthworm flakes, not to mention frozen and live foods. In our experience, both species are best kept in heavily planted tanks, with enough cover that you rarely get to see them.

The coloration and markings on both species we have varies with tank background and fish mood.

Dinyar

Post by **Silurus** » 08 Dec 2004, 19:00

IME, P. moolenburghae are more delicate than P. brachypopterus.

DeepFriedIctalurus · Post by **DeepFriedIctalurus** » 15 Mar 2006, 04:47

After keeping this fish for over a year now, I just had to mention that the fish looks even more like at it's current size of only 6cmSL. I can't offer up an exact number, but I did my best to count the anal fin rays (several times, my eyes hurt!) and with certainty I can at least say there's only 38-40. Also the fish still possesses the irridescent patch on top of it's head, and the stripe placement is a perfect match for N.acutirostris.

Sorry for the lack of pics after all this time, but the new species of Pseudeutropius added to the E-log reminded me of this thread and to look it all over again. I wouldn've taken a few just now, but the charging cord for our ancient digicam has been missing for the last month now!

So what's the likelihood of N.acutirostris making it into the hobby? I see from the E-log that Ian had or seen at least one anyway..

Post by **Silurus** » 15 Mar 2006, 10:25

So what's the likelihood of N.acutirostris making it into the hobby?

Well, it is exported as an aquarium fish (though less commonly available than Pseudeutropius).