bought as amblydoras hancockii

clunkster · Post by **clunkster** » 01 May 2006, 19:50

hi was wondering if any one could give a positive id on these i bought them listed as amblydoras hancockii but i dont think they are they are about 2" in size at the moment

sorry its not a good picture but i only have a camra phone

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 01 May 2006, 20:36

This is a tricky one. It was known as Doras punctatus (Catfishes in the aquarium, Carl Ferraris, page 115), but this name is no longer valid. I can't tell you if it already has a valid name. What I do know is that it no longer sits in Doras. Jools knows more about this matter; perhaps he can clear it for you.
BTW: indeed it's not Amblydoras hancockii !

clunkster · Post by **clunkster** » 02 May 2006, 00:54

did'nt think they were hancockii when i bought them but hope someone can give a positive id

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 02 May 2006, 10:05

Apparently they don't have a valid name (yet). There are pictures of it in the Cat-eLog; genus: Doradidae; species:
Doradidae sp.(2).

I've had 5 of these for some time and found them very lively.
Due to the fact that my tank got overstocked I gave them to a relative where they live with Hoplos, BN's, C. sterbais and small characins and they've acted extremely shy since.
Oddly enough exactly the same goes for Trachydoras steindachneri, which went into a smaller tank too and can hardly be seen.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 02 May 2006, 16:56

that's odd. I remember them being quite visible at your place.

I assume it's Remco's tank where they went?
mine were very shy too for a long time since I bought them, but now they're almost "tame" and visible all day, even when not feeding the fish.

I think this is a fish wich takes a loooooong time to get settled.
the longer they sit in one tank, the better they'll show themselves, but disturb them (or transfer them) and they switch back immedeately to being very shy, and it takes months again to get their visibility back.

Clunckster, the easiest way to separate fish like these from Doradids like Hancocki is by looking at their longest whiskers!
"common Doradids" like Amblydoras, Platydoras, Acanthodoras and Oxydoras have the usual kind of whiskers.
these critters and fish like them (Opsodoras, Hassar, Hemidoras, "doras" etc) have whiskers like feathers; the longest whiskers (the maxillary whiskers) have little "branches" on the underside making them look a lot like a comb or a feather. this is very visible.

Post by **Marc van Arc** » 02 May 2006, 17:07

sidguppy wrote:that's odd. I remember them being quite visible at your place.

You're correct, but I confirm that in the first line below the "determination" part.
And yes, they're at Remko's at the moment.

clunkster · Post by **clunkster** » 02 May 2006, 18:46

they have settled in very well was quite suprised at how active they are

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 03 May 2006, 18:12

Marc van Arc wrote:This is a tricky one. It was known as Doras punctatus (Catfishes in the aquarium, Carl Ferraris, page 115), but this name is no longer valid. I can't tell you if it already has a valid name. What I do know is that it no longer sits in Doras. Jools knows more about this matter; perhaps he can clear it for you.
BTW: indeed it's not Amblydoras hancockii !

When I asked him some time ago, Mark Sabaj wasn't convinced they are even Doras. It's not that D. punctatus is invalid, just that that name is misapplied to this import. They're just good old undescribed Doradids hence their placement in the cat-elog.

That reminds me, I really to need to change Amblydoras hancockii over to its correct determination of A. nautilus...

Jools

PS caol_ila is another user to ask about this fish.

clunkster · Post by **clunkster** » 03 May 2006, 18:36

cheers jools now am even more determined to find as much as i can about these fish

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 03 May 2006, 20:21

clunkster wrote:cheers jools now am even more determined to find as much as i can about these fish

Well, they should live for decades, so hang on to them!

Jools

clunkster · Post by **clunkster** » 04 May 2006, 10:47

Jools wrote: PS caol_ila is another user to ask about this fish.

have been in touch with caol_ila who has given me some more information and has also mentioned asking mark sabaj

Well, they should live for decades, so hang on to them!

i intend too