Simp sp. aff. stellatus 'Urucuia'

[RonWill]

Erik,
The following are pics of young Simp sp. aff. stellatus 'Urucuia' trios that I mentioned in my post on "How we prepare our eggs".

Both sexes are about 1.5cm and I did see some eggs, but whether viable fertile eggs or not, is another matter. These young fishes in plastic breeding tanks (hatched Aug 19th 2004) are afterall, only about 10 weeks old.

Although the colors are not quite as intense, probably due to fright, it's easy to see their potential beauty.




Clickable images as usual. Enjoy

[stormhawk]

Fish smiling, net waiting, raiding time.

[brett]

Nice fishes Ron .

[RonWill]

Bernard, these are my first attempt with Simp stellatus and yes, they're growing/coloring up quite nicely.

Glad you're still with us but I recall you saying, "You lead I follow". My fish-order closed last Saturday... where were you?

[stormhawk]

Ron, I hope I did your "Urucuia" justice. Here's a picture combination I took last night over at your place. By the way, this picture lacks the species and type locality. I did not add them because their status as a species is still vague (well.. to me that is.)

Anyway, enjoy the picture. :wink:

[CM Media]

Wow nice try Jianyang.

I think I'll better spend more time to shoot more photos of my fishes before I lost them.

[stormhawk]

Au, thanks for the kind comments.

You've got a great camera there. Spend some time to shoot some pictures of your fish. Even if you lose them to some unforseen circumstances you'll always have pictures of them to remind you of how they looked.

I regretted not taking better pictures of some of my earlier Corydoras and now all I have is a record telling me of the species I have previously and still keep. Luckily I have the majority of them in pictures. :wink:

Oh yes, always back up your images on CD. You'll never know when your computer decides to give it up and crash on you.

Before I forget, if you need help photographing give me a call. I don't have fancy equipment but I'll do my best to make it a decent shot.

[nonamethefish]

Just curious if I'm the only one that noticed this-but doesn't the pattern remind you of either Ctenopoma or otherwise a nanochromis?

[stormhawk]

A Ctenopoma perhaps but not a Nanochromis. You could however identify the tail patterns with some Pelvicachromis.

This particular Simp. is really one of the most beautiful species I've seen coming out from South America. You should see it in real life. I did and I was stunned by the beauty of the males. Even the females have patterns.

[nonamethefish]

Not as close as the ctenopoma(acust....something)

But it still reminds me of this fish.

http://www.cichlidae.be/Nan_transvestitus_burns.jpg

Those are beautiful fish nevertheless-SA annuals sound like a whole new can of worms as far as killies go .

[stormhawk]

Yes not as close as C. acutirostre aka Leopard Ctenopoma but its pattern is rather unique. The species of SAA (South American Annuals) that has a similar pattern to the Nanochromis you posted up is Simpsonichthys alternatus. It has an almost identical pattern in the fins.

SAAs are indeed a whole can of worms. Thats why I'm hooked. :wink:

[RonWill]

Folks,
I have a bunch of belly-sliding stellatus that will be euthanized in the freezer unless someone wants to experiment with them.





IIRC, someone mentioned that belly-sliding syndrome might not be genetical, rather environmental. I see viable eggs on the bottom of their grow-out tank which may or may not yield normal fry.

I for one, find it very difficult to flush killies down the loo so those who wish to adopt them please let me know before they go into a deep sleep.

[RonWill]

Folks,
The sole male and his harem found a new home. Let's hope to receive favorable updates from our volunteer.

[Raf]

Hi folks,

Yesterday I hatched 8 healthy fry of this species. Any suggestions to raise them well?

regards,

Raf

[stormhawk]

Raf, I guess the reply is a tad bit late but yup, I suppose they will do well on daphnia for starters. I wasn't around for the first few days of their lives since they were on fry care at a friend's place.

Here's a picture of two young sparring males - pardon the quality, buggers weren't staying in one place - fighting over a nook at a piece of driftwood.

They behave very much like bettas and are very nice to start with.

[moss_fanatic]

I am having problem with this one. The male is very shy and he will onli show his colours when he doesn't notice anyone around.

Any idea how to make it not so shy?

[TyroneGenade]

Put some dither fish in with him. Perhaps some tiny Rasboras or pygmy gouramies. Lampeyes would work too.

Hope this helps.

[stormhawk]

Hello Garrett, they are very shy by nature and will not come out into the open often. The only time you'll see it out and about (if the tank is not heavily planted) is only during feeding time and that is provided the fish do not somehow detect any sudden movements.

Even with dither fishes, they are very skittish and will run for cover most of the time. I find that they do get more 'courageous' when they are kept in larger numbers.

The males and females are territorial and will not hesitate to flare and attack any conspecific species that are marked similarly.

Apart from the earlier suggestion by Tyrone to add in dither fish like Boraras and the like, it would be better for you to add in extra plant cover in the form of mosses or java ferns. Arrange the plants in such a way that you create shady but clearly visible areas. They will hang out more in those places.

[whuntley]

I haven't kept this species, but a trick I used with my very shy A. celiae celiae might be worth a try.

It seems counterintuitive, but worked a charm. I moved them to a very high traffic area, so they saw someone moving by many times a day. I did have good plant and mop cover, but they soon were out front and not in their former panic condition. Might be worth a try if they don't have a heart attack.

Wright

[stormhawk]

Wright, I had the same effect with some of my other Simps. They get used to seeing people around when housed in a tank situated in a high traffic area.

Oddly enough, these sp. "Urucuia" aren't very outgoing. They are very stunning for a Simpsonichthys and are worth keeping.