Corydoras sp. "Aripuana" CW68 and Corydoras carlae!

In 2012 I met with fellow Cory-nut Erik Schiller in Berlin to trade some fish. Among others, I recieved a group of juvenile CW68, a species very similar in appearance to Corydoras zygatus. CW68 is different to zygatus though, only growing to half the size of it's Peruvian cousin and it comes from a river over a thousand kilometres away from where zygatus are caught.

CW68 comes from Rio Aripuana and was caught by Jens Gottwald, a friend of Erik Schiller who I believe was the first to breed this species. I got some of his F1s and quite quicly they started reproducing themselves without much more effort from me than waterchanges and frozen bloodworms.

Sadly I lost the adults during a few months where I did not have much fish-time, so I was very happy to get the offer to borrow back a group I sold two years ago to make myself some new fish!

First waterchange and feeding with frozen bloodworms carried out today. Fingers crossed!

One of the original adult F1s from Erik Schiller.

It could be these I borrowed back!

Another species that has been in the breeding tank this winther is Corydoras carlae, another very rare fish in the hobby. It practically unknown in the hobby until Hans Georg Evers went to catch some in Argentians Missiones-province in 2010. The very interesting article about that trip can be found on PlanetCatfish. Well worth a read!

The area around Rio Iguazu is very interesting. It also holds the green Hisonotus aky and many other rare fish.

I got some of Hans' F1s and as I have a soft spot for boring brown fish like Corydoras diphyes etc., the small carlae quicly became a favourite of mine.

It is pretty straightforward to breed, liking cooler water. I plant to try them in the garden this year!

Very pretty brown fish!

Egg!

Youngster eating newly hatched Artemia.

Caridina trifasciata!

After reading the Breeders'n'Keepers Wildshrimp China-edition I really wanted to get some of the beauties shown in there. Especially Caridina trifasciata which is found in a few streams in New Territories, Hong Kong on the Sai Kung Peninsula and Kai Sau Chai Island. 

For reference; the species description: CARIDINA TRIFASCIATA, A NEW SPECIES OF FRESHWATER SHRIMP (DECAPODA: ATYIDAE) FROM HONG KONG.

Being close to impossible to find in Denmark where fancy-coloured Neocaridina davidi and Taiwan bees dominate the hobby, I got some Caridina trifasciata from Garnelen-Guemmer in Germany mid-february and further 11 from a German breeder. All are still alive and well. Even a couple carrying eggs are spotted. 

On arrival all looked similar; transparent body with a few black markings across. After settling in, the colours I was after are showing; blue, white, black, transparent and all in between!

Keeping wild-type shrimp is definately something I will give more focus. I don't think any selection for colour can be made with these chameleons, but that is not my goal. I just like to watch the diversity in a group like this.

10 random animals, big diversity!

Dark blue...

 Paler specimen...

Female carrying eggs. White patches on the back.

Big difference!

Freshly arrived yesterday from a German breeder! Good looking animals:

Aphyosemion aff. pascheni!

Until now I haven't updated any killifish to my blog, but recently I took some pictures of my Aphyosemion aff. pascheni "Mougue ABL 08/200". It's a really nice type from the Calliurum-group and found not too far from Kribi, Cameroon. They are by some breeder reported to be difficult, but I breed them quite easily. A 50/50 mix of rain-and tapwater and around 23C. seems to suit them fine, along with plenty of live foods.

The eggs are  laid in mops and can be prone to fungus, but quite a few does hatch and I also find a lot of fry in with the parents when I do everything properly.

The winther has been busy so they have mostly been fed dry foods, so production is close to non-existent. The do get some Artemia nauplii, and as these pictures show they like it a lot!

I keep a pair in a 16 litre tanks with black gravel substrate, some Oak/Beech leaves and a clump of Java Moss and a mop in one of the corners. Eggs are often placed where the mop is touching the substrate.

The male is a stunning fish with red markings and white edges in the fins!

The females is also a nice fish; yellow fins and red spots.

One of the prettiest? Emerald Green/Blue Neon!

To me, one of the prettiest Poecilia wingei is this; Poecilia wingei "Blue Neon", also known as "Emerald Green". Collected from Laguna de los Patos in 2006 by Armando Pou and linebred by  fellow wingei enthusiast Shimpei Taniguchi. I am really happy to have these in my collection!

The green is different from the classic and well known "Lime Green". It is darker and deeper and depending on light it can be blueish too! Another thing that makes this strain so remarkable is that the females have almost solid black dorsals, something that is not common in Laguna de los Patos fish. Most males have white dorsals, but a few of mine actually have black dorsals. Perhaps a trait to line breed?

Typical male; black bar, deep green body with a bit of red. White dorsal.

Females have black dorsals.

Male with black dorsal and less black bar.

 A bit of red in the dorsal too!

Danio margaritatus - already a classic! And more new fish...

This weeks is busy with family birthdays and so on, so not much to report apart from a few new purchases. At the semi-localBonnie Dyrecenter Viborg, one of Denmarks best shops, I found some Nannochromis that are either pariulus or nudiceps. I need to have a closer look. I also found some nice Pelviachromis taeniatus. These are the first African cichlids I have kept since the classic Kribensis when I was around 10! So definately something new for me.

I also spent a day at Denmarks biggest auction in Viborg where 799 lots went past. I only went home with some Tanichthys micagemmae and Corydoras CW21 but there were loads of different fish and prices going up and down with Corydoras CW9 going for up to 10 euros each!

Pictures of all the new fish will come at some point, but not this week. I have made a short description of my breeding of Danio margaritatus in the hope it can be helpful to someone:

After it's discovery in 2006 and exposion to the world by Kamphol Udonritthiruj on the, at that time, fantastic website www.petfrd.com, this little fish soon became very hyped and the locality where it was found was almost ruined completely. 

Luckily it was also found elsewhere and proved quite easy to breed. I myself got hold of some of the first specimens to enter Denmark and soon had them breeding. I've been breeding the species on and off ever since.

The breeding is done quite easily; a group of fish of both sexes is placed in a bare-bottom 16 litre tank with a sponge filter and a mix (50/50) of rain-and tapwater around 20C. Food is mostly live bananaworms and Artemia nauplia. In summertime also Cyplops and small Daphnia. Live foods make less of a mess in the tank according to my observations.

Every day (or every other day) the moss is shaken gently and the eggs can be seen as little glass pearls on the tank bottom. The eggs are removed with a length of air-tube and the eggs incubated in a small box with water from the tank and a small piece of Cattappa-leaf. After a couple of thays the fry hangs all around the box and a further couple of days sees them free-swimming. I few them dried egg-yolk and JBL Nobilfluid until they are large enough to feed on bananaworm and Artemia-nauplii.

Adults feeding on Artemia nauplii.

Eggs...if you look close!

Newly freeswimming fry.

Foods.

Quintana and Scolichthys!

Two small fish I really enjoy are Quintana atrizona and Scolichtys iota. The Quintana I had for a brief period in 2014 but lost them. It the fair in Vejle I was lucky to get some new ones from Peter Iversen, a fellow member of Poecilia Scandinavia, a club specializing in natural form of livebearers, collaboration with universities etc., like Aqualab in Morelia, Mexico.

This time I hope to be able to maintain this species and breed them. They are a but unusual in bodyshape and even though they don't exhibit a lot of colours they are very nice-looking in their own way.

Female of Quintana atrizona, Guanimar, Cuba 1987.

Males...

I am maintaining them in tapwater around 23C. In summer they will be warmer. The temperature in my fishroom depends on the amount of sunlight throught he window and the outside temperature.

No fry yet, but I have only had them for 2 weeks.

Another little fish I have had for some months and am quite successful with is Scolichthys iota. I got them from Jacob Niss last year and now I have a lot of fish in all sizes. I keep them in a tank at floor-level to keep the temperature down. Currently they are kept around 19-20C.

they don't eat the fry and seem pretty happy whatever I feed them. As most of my fish they are offered newly hatched Artemia once or twice a week and sometimes bananaworms. Almost every day also flake or granules.

I hope to try them outside in the garden this year!

Male of Scolichtys iota, Rio Chaijmaic, Guatemala.

Females and fry.

The tank. They don't need much!

This will be this weeks only update due to illness and preparing for the biggest Danish auction of the year, in Viborg.

Poecilia reticulata "Carupano" and updates!

At the Aquarium fair in Vejle (pics here ) I met Claus Osche who brought me a bag of nice Poecilia reticulata from Phillip Voisin & Co.'s travels to Venezuela. They are from the town of Carúpano, northeast of Campoma by the coast. Collection year should be 2008.

There is quite some variation between the males. Small and brighter and big and paler:

Small fish and well defined pattern.

Difference in colour intesity and some with a black spot midbody. Others without.

No black spot below the dorsal.

I have updated the Cumana-phenotypes and Campoma-phenotypes along with the San José.

A page with my other livebearers is also under construction.