new Aplocheilus specie SRP/03,

**ruyle** · 7th Jun 2004, 08:07

Hi folks,
Are any of you keeping the above specie of Aplocheilus? It is a dimuitive
specie that is less than 2 inches length, full grown. Would love to see a
pic of this because I hope to get some eggs through Aquabid. Thanks for
any info,

Bill
farang9

**stormhawk** · 7th Jun 2004, 08:45

Hi Bill,

I've never heard of this species before so I can't quite help you on that bit.
Anyway, I do believe that Choy has a picture of Aplocheilus parvus. That should be the closest Aplocheilus sp. to it or perhaps Aplo. kirchmayeri might be another candidate.

**hwchoy** · 7th Jun 2004, 09:39

Hi, this is a picture of what I believe to be Aplocheilus parvus. Kwek Leong has specimens of a similar but somewhat longer fish which is supposedly an undescribed Aplocheilus native to India and brought over by Madan.

**ruyle** · 7th Jun 2004, 10:05

Thanks, Jianyang and Choy,
The 2 species you mentioned are about the same size as the SRP/03? The
seller didn't have pics because he only has the one breeding pair and didn't
want to stress them by taking pictures. I've done searches, looked at different galleries, nada. I assume this is a discovery last year ('03) so it
is not too widely distributed. Eggs hatch in 10-12 days according to the
breeder, which makes him reluctant to ship anywhere but the states.
Breather bags would be a possibility, though

Thanks again, striking photos! Hope they are as pretty as the parvus.

Bill
farang9

**hwchoy** · 7th Jun 2004, 10:44

Bill, the parvus I had is about 3 cm while Kwek Leong's undescribed specimens are longer, probably 4-4.5 cm. You can see the vegetation in the picture which is actually Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balanse.

Awaiting your breeding success so you can ship some eggs over to Kwek Leong

**Nonn** · 7th Jun 2004, 13:09

Breather bag is miracle! Last year, I send Aplocheilus panchax's eggs to my friend in the US in the breather bags which I add some javamoss into it. All the eggs arrived in good shape some fry even hatched out on the way and were alive and well. About a month later my very same friend send me back some eggs in the same box I sent him the panchax eggs. Once again all the eggs arrived well in breather bags. Upon emptying the box, in the deeper part was another breather bag in the corner, unlabeled with some fry in it. I mailed to him asking what it was and he didn't know about it. I then relized it was one of the bag of panchax eggs that I send to him but he failed to find. All in all the fry travel back and forth from Thailand to the US and Back again to Thailand. Travel time maybe about 20 days plus another 1 month or so sitting somewhere in my friend's fishroom. That was amazing.

**hwchoy** · 7th Jun 2004, 16:10

That must've been a VERY big box

**ruyle** · 7th Jun 2004, 20:12

Nonn,
I agree with Choy, must've been a very big box. I always make sure the
box is bare down to the 4 lower corners....the panchax are a hardy specie!

Choy, I first have to win the auction, but if I'm successful, I hope it continues to where I have eggs to send KL and Ronnie! I'd first send them
a pic to see if they would want them. At less than 2 inches in length, they
will be a candidate for smaller tanks.

Regards,

Bill
farang9

**hwchoy** · 7th Jun 2004, 20:41

Originally Posted by farang9

Choy, I first have to win the auction, but if I'm successful, I hope it continues to where I have eggs to send KL and Ronnie! I'd first send them
a pic to see if they would want them. At less than 2 inches in length, they
will be a candidate for smaller tanks.

Regards,

Bill
farang9

Bill, I am a very poor fish keeper, but I am undertaking to document what these guys look like (i.e. take their pictures

) so for the sake of getting a really sharp profile (better if you could offer pictures instead of eggs) I would be prepared to take a stab at raising these guys

**ruyle** · 8th Jun 2004, 00:58

Hi Choy,
At 10-12 days' gestation, the eggs I've bid on will soon be fry after their
arrival (if I win the auction). I will grow them out and if I have multiple
pairs, will send you 2 pair to raise to adults and serve as breeding stock.
They would be sexed-out teenagers sent in breather bags by FedEx. This
would be some months off, probably late August-September timeframe.

I will take pictures of eggs and at different stages of their developement

This would be helpful in ensuring Ronnie and KL would receive eggs, if
they are interested in keeping this specie. I hope to be sending some
A. amoenum Sakbeyeme eggs to them in the fall.

Bill
farang9

**Madan** · 8th Jun 2004, 09:31

Well, the Aplochelius sp. SRP/03 was collected by me along with a couple of other aquarists in the wild and as of now is still undetermined as a separate species. ( SRP stands for our surnames Subramanian/Raj/Pinto)

I have a trio breeding with me but this fish is in my densely planted tank.
I have not seen any fry yet in my tank.

Tony pinto is breeding these fish. You can see a pic here.

http://indianaquariumhobbyist.com/co...aplo_male3.jpg

**ruyle** · 8th Jun 2004, 10:36

Madan:

Well, the Aplochelius sp. SRP/03 was collected by me along with a couple of other aquarists in the wild and as of now is still undetermined as a separate species. ( SRP stands for our surnames Subramanian/Raj/Pinto)

Thanks for the pic and info, Madan! Beautiful fish!

Hope I win the auction on Aquabid!
Bill
farang9

**hwchoy** · 8th Jun 2004, 11:18

Originally Posted by Madan

Well, the Aplochelius sp. SRP/03 was collected by me along with a couple of other aquarists in the wild and as of now is still undetermined as a separate species. ( SRP stands for our surnames Subramanian/Raj/Pinto)

Hi Madan, so this is the fish you gave to Kwek Leong right? I saw it in his tank, which means I should go and hound him for some photo models

just wait till he comes home from Bangkok. :wink:

Is it also from the Cauvery River?

**Nonn** · 8th Jun 2004, 11:22

Hi Madan, so this is the fish you gave to Kwek Leong right? I saw it in his tank, which means I should go and hound him for some photo models just wait till he comes home from Bangkok.

Kwek Leong is in Bangkok?????????????!!!!!!!!

**hwchoy** · 8th Jun 2004, 11:48

I thought he said he is going to Bangkok. His wife probably forbid him to see you because there is no more room in the luggage to bring back any fishes

Don't rely on my memory, it is going away even though I am not even old yet

**RonWill** · 8th Jun 2004, 13:13

Originally Posted by Madan

Well, the Aplochelius sp. SRP/03 was collected by me along with a couple of other aquarists in the wild and as of now is still undetermined as a separate species. ( SRP stands for our surnames Subramanian/Raj/Pinto)

Hi Madan, glad you're back on shore now :wink:

Been wanting to ask if the Aplo kirchmayeri was also caught by you guys and if so, where from?

I now have about 20+ 2cm juvenile of these Goa Killies and they closely resemble the Aplochelius sp. SRP/03 being discussed, except for the lack of red pigmentation at the anal and caudal fin (when comparing to the pic).

Bill, you might like to go through this page on the trio of Goa Killies received from Madan himself;
http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/fi...irchmayeri.htm

Here are some of my pics (hope the hotlinking work, if not, open a new window with the URL beneath the image)

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/fi...lie040429s.JPG

http://www.angelfire.com/journal2/fi.../GoaKillie.JPG
Larger image here.

BTW, the fry are very much smaller than AUS and must rely on microscopic foods to ensure better survival. Growth rate is also pretty slow but I suspect this being my fault for not having larger quarters for them in the beginning.

**Madan** · 8th Jun 2004, 19:53

Hello Ronnie,

I did not collect the Aplochelius kirchmayeri, they were collected by Tony Pinto from a stream in Goa after a long search. I'll ask him for the location and get back here with the info.

I too have a trio of the Aplo. Kirchmayeri and my observations are the same as yours. They do have very striking coloration when natural light hits their sides and the red is missing as you say.

In fact the Aplo. SRP/03 have a resemblance to Aplochelius blockii too, at least that's what the people who tried to identify this fish came up with, but the differences were too many, and they were not able to confirm anything for sure. Tony is arranging for a DNA study on the SRP/03 specimens in August this year. I'll be back with any updates as soon as it is available.

**RonWill** · 8th Jun 2004, 22:39

Originally Posted by Madan

Tony is arranging for a DNA study on the SRP/03 specimens in August this year. I'll be back with any updates as soon as it is available.

Dear Madan, thanks for checking back with Tony. It's always good to know the origin and if available, additional information on their natural habitat would be most appreciated. Curious cat here also want to know what is involved in these 'DNA studies'.

Happy to read you have a trio of Aplo. Kirchmayeri and if you have spawned them, I'd like to compare breeding/fry-raising notes and opinions on their growth rate. These are beautiful fishes when bathing in sunlight and will spawn them again... when my other tanks are 'ready' (hah! that's an understatement!

)

Back to the SRP/03. Are these the 'undescribed Aplo. species' that Kwek Leong has in his tanks? The last time I saw them, they looked awfully close to the Kirchmayeri (just as Simp magnificus is to the Simp picturatus). I didn't detect any red pigmentation then but it's possible that the specimens were still very young.

If the SRP/03 and the un-ID'ed Aplo., is one and the same (and if Bill is still keen with them), I'll 'T-loan' a trio from Kwek Leong.

Right now, I'm gearing up to spawn the Aphy. exigoideum 'Ngoudoufola' and Plataplochilus ngaensis from Rashid. Both are very nice lookers and I'd want a tankful of them! :wink:

Anyone has insights/experience to share?

**Madan** · 9th Jun 2004, 09:50

Ron, I did not bring any of the SRP/03 along with me if I remember correctly. KL has another trio of Aplo. kirchmayeri and Java medaka I think.

I too am foxed with this DNA thing. I have no idea what this study is all about. Tony e-mailed me about this about 10 days ago and I haven't got around to asking him what exactly it entails. He has a pair of SRP/03 pickled in formalin that I sent him for the study so I guess they'll compare the DNA of all the species that it resembles and come out with an answer is my best guess.

I'll e-mail Tony Pinto and ask him to get on to this forum.

I have not spawned the kirchmayeri, as I received them a few weeks before I left to join ship, they are still in my densely planted community tank and netting them is

.