Named for the rare Jaguar Cat, Panthera onca, of the South American Rain forests and just as elusive and beautiful, Liosomodoras oncinus is a rarely seen catfish from Peru. Easily one of the most beautiful of all catfish, it has appeared, although infrequently, as a contaminant in shipments from Peru. Juvenile specimens are even more striking than adults, their patterns being a … [Read more...] about The Elusive Jaguar (Liosomodoras oncinus)
Spawning Corydoras sterbai
Corydoras sterbai is a very attractive catfish which comes from the Upper Rio Guapore River in Brazil. It is often confused with Corydoras haraldschultzi which is an equally attractive fish from the same region. The experts tell us that the C. haraldschultzi has a light body and head with dark spots and lines. C. sterbai has a dark head and body with light spots and lines. It … [Read more...] about Spawning Corydoras sterbai
Breeding The Panda Cat
Last October I was at my favorite pet shop and happened upon four young Corydoras panda. To my mind these cats are really pretty. They are a shade of pink-orange with black markings on the dorsal fin, eyes, and caudal peduncle. The markings are what led to the name Panda Cory. They get to be 4.5 cm (1 3/4”) standard length. They originate from the Ucayali river system of Peru. … [Read more...] about Breeding The Panda Cat
Accidental Spawning of Corydoras paleatus
Corydoras paleatus (Peppered Cory) has been available to the aquarist for a long time. It was one of the first corydoras species to spawn in the aquarium. I have never attempted to spawn any of the catfish but have been successful with a number of other families. I recently purchased eight C. paleatus at a Diamond State Aquarium Society auction. I took them home and placed … [Read more...] about Accidental Spawning of Corydoras paleatus
Corydoras oiapoquensis
This small Corydoras is named for the river it is native to, the Oyapock in French Guiana. Unfortunately, it's not a common find in pet shops, but may be more so in the future if more hobbyists take the time to breed them. Corydoras oiapoquensis is very similar in size and coloration to Corydoras panda, but lacks the caudal peduncle spot, and makes up for it with a series of … [Read more...] about Corydoras oiapoquensis
Spawning Aspidoras goia
On a recent trip to Calgary, Hans, Gabriel and I stopped at Birgit McKinnon’s place to visit her fishroom. It was a real treat for us. It is a small room but has quite a few tanks in it. Most of the tanks are 5 to 15 gallons. She keeps mostly catfishes, killifish, and of course plants. She is the only person in Alberta that I know that can get the Madagascar lace plant to … [Read more...] about Spawning Aspidoras goia
Breeding Bristlenose catfish
It’s funny really, but when we start keeping tropical fish we tend to finish up with certain favorites that we like to keep and breed, and for me one of those favourites is the Bristlenose Catfish (Ancistrus sp.), which I have been breeding for quite some time now. We often give our fish names, but I just call my main pair "Mum ‘n’ Dad", and they first spawned for me around … [Read more...] about Breeding Bristlenose catfish
Jumbo Catfishes
There are a lot of catfishes in the hobby, many of which grow to sizes that are not very manageable for most hobbyists. When the topic of jumbo catfishes comes up, it seems that most hobbyists think of the red-tailed cat, shovelnoses and other predatory catfish. Predatory catfish are occasionally available at small sizes. In fact the tiger shovelnose is bred in commercial … [Read more...] about Jumbo Catfishes
Swimbladder Disease
The swimbladder is the organ responsible for buoyancy and when there is a problem with it, a fish can have difficulty rising to the surface ("sinker"), difficulty swimming to the bottom ("floater"), swims on its’ side or swims in the nose down vertical position. The following is a list of the causes of swimbladder disease (SBD) and what if anything can be done about them. … [Read more...] about Swimbladder Disease
Setting Up a Hospital and Quarantine Tank
Regardless of how good of a fish keeper we become, sooner or later, despite all of our efforts, all of us will eventually experience a sick fish. If this sick fish is sharing the tank with other fish, the first thing that needs to be done, is to isolate this sick fish from his healthy tank mates, except in the case of some external parasitic infections like Ich or Velvet, in … [Read more...] about Setting Up a Hospital and Quarantine Tank