My latest addition...

[MatsP]

On Saturday I traded some of my Sturisoma and Bristlenoses for food and filter pads at Maidenhead Aquatics in Bourne End.

Whilst walking round the shop with the "local guide", I saw this guy:

I asked the price, and I just couldn't say no - I had to promise to not tell HOW good the price was, but it was a better deal than any of the other three I had bought so far.

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Mats

[andywoolloo]

wow, cool! Is he a decora? he is handsome!!

[MatsP]

wow, cool! Is he a decora? he is handsome!!

Yes, "he" is a decora - I can't really tell the sex on them. Aside from a bit skinny (at least compared to the ones I've kept for a bit longer), it looks to be doing great. But that makes the whole group of 4 of them.

I probably should remove some of my bristlenoses to make some bio-load reduction in the tank...

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Mats

[andywoolloo]

yes, sorry, he or she.

beautiful! 4 of them, nice!!

Last week or the week before I sold another 20 BN fry , sure does make a difference on filter performance in that tank of mine!

[L number Banana]

Yes, "he" is a decora - I can't really tell the sex on them. Aside from a bit skinny (at least compared to the ones I've kept for a bit longer), it looks to be doing great. But that makes the whole group of 4 of them.

Wow, that's a beauty! Good timing with the store Mats
Babies someday hopefully?

[MatsP]

Wow, that's a beauty! Good timing with the store Mats
Babies someday hopefully?

Well, the timing was probably not an issue - he'd apparently been in the store since before that shop assistant started there about a year ago.

Babies, yeah, right - there isn't even a spawning report in the Cat-eLog - of the Synos, some of the rift-lake species have been spawned, and a few of the most common riverine species (S. euptera, S. nigriventris), but other than that, Syno spawning involves needles and hormones in the commercial sector, and an awful amount of luck in the hobby. I'm not saying it can't happen (and most people tend to keep these fish singly, which affects the likelyhood of spawning quite dramatically).

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Mats

[Chrysichthys]

I asked the price, and I just couldn't say no - I had to promise to not tell HOW good the price was, but it was a better deal than any of the other three I had bought so far.

Coincidentally I bought three juvenile decora that same day at Maidenhead, Wheatley. They're about 5 inches long and cost £21 for the three. I'm growing them up for a new tank we're getting at work.

[MatsP]

I asked the price, and I just couldn't say no - I had to promise to not tell HOW good the price was, but it was a better deal than any of the other three I had bought so far.

Coincidentally I bought three juvenile decora that same day at Maidenhead, Wheatley. They're about 5 inches long and cost £21 for the three. I'm growing them up for a new tank we're getting at work.

That's a good price - I wonder if they are the remnants of the the ones that I bought two of late last year or early this year (can't remember - it may have been at Christmas/New Year, but I may be wrong). I can't remember how much I paid when I bought two of them - 8 quid each? The larger of these two "Stripey" is now battling for the "largest fish in the tank" with the first one I got ("big spot") (at £36 for a 7" long fish - I think that's the most I've paid for a single fish, and my first ever syno).

Having a group of them definitely has changed the behaviour of them, and when I rearranged the decor in the tank, they appear to be more visible - "Stripey" is coming up to the front of the tank at feeding time, and definitely the most forward in general.

They do chase around a bit, and "new spotty" (the latest addition) is probably being picked on a little bit, but nothing bad - I expect they are just sorting out the pecking order.

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Mats

[Chrysichthys]

I think they're the same ones, but they've grown a lot since I was last there and the bigger ones now have the dorsal filaments. I'll let you know how I get on with them and try to post some pics. They were out feeding yesterday, for the first time (that I saw, at least).

[Richard B]

I think they're the same ones, but they've grown a lot since I was last there and the bigger ones now have the dorsal filaments. I'll let you know how I get on with them and try to post some pics. They were out feeding yesterday, for the first time (that I saw, at least).

In the decora tank at Wheately do they still have some hybrids mixed with the little decora? There were only a few last time i looked...

[Chrysichthys]

They all looked genuine to me, definitely not the Valentine hybrids, at least. I waited until they were big enough that I could be reasonably sure. There's one oddball hybrid in the tank, but it's not a decora hybrid.

Incidentally, they have a beautiful big jaguar cat (L. oncinus) for £65. I seem to remember threads were you and/or Martin S. were looking for this species, is that right?

They also have

Heteropneustes fossilis

, which I personally had never seen before.

[Mod edit: Use clog tags --Mats]

[Richard B]

Maybe all the decora hybrids are now gone - (hooray, at least in part)

Martin is the Jag-man now, as he has mine.

[Chrysichthys]

Is he still looking to get more? This is, to my mind, an exceptionally nice one, and very big.
The Maidenhead staff want it to go to a good home. It's the best catfish they have in the shop
right now.

[Carp37]

Great fish Mats- also good that you've found an outlet for some of your bristlenose too (i'm guessing you'll never struggle to get rid of the Sturisoma).

[Martin S]

Is he still looking to get more? This is, to my mind, an exceptionally nice one, and very big.
The Maidenhead staff want it to go to a good home. It's the best catfish they have in the shop
right now.

Sounds lovely, but sadly way out of my price range at the moment
I hope they find it a good home. Out of interest, do you know the sex?
Thanks for thinking of me though - much appreciated.
Martin
ps Sorry Mats - a bit off topic

[Chrysichthys]

Sounds lovely, but sadly way out of my price range at the moment

Me too, unfortunately. No, I don't know the sex, I'll ask next time I'm there.
And yes Mats, sorry about hijacking your thread.

[MatsP]

Sounds lovely, but sadly way out of my price range at the moment

Me too, unfortunately. No, I don't know the sex, I'll ask next time I'm there.
And yes Mats, sorry about hijacking your thread.

No worries - it's all discussion about fish, and I'm a moderator, so if I really felt it necessary, I would have split the topic.

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Mats