Sewellia marmorata

[torso]

HI all

Some first pics of the arrival yesterday. 10 specimen, 5-6 cm TL, easy to sex at this age.

 

 

female

 

a male

 

a female

 

males

 

 

 

 

 golden markings form an interesting pattern, communication in the dark?

 

 

 males

 

 

 

 another male

 females

 

 

 

 Cheers Charles

[mikev]

Lucky you.– I got babies, under 2.5cm. Sexing is impossible, but the fish pattern seems to be the same as yours.

[olly]

Charles

Mike

Congratulations with new interesting sewellia species. Hope you will breed them.

Thanks for sharing.

[mikev]

Thanks, Olly,

Obviously I’m not going to see any breeding for a long time…..

Is this the fish that you mentioned before?

[Plaamoo]

Beauties Charles. Wish I had some room for them. They’re selling them here as “fireworks” sewellia.

[torso]

I’ve seen that, Jim. They look really nice. No disappointment as with S. diardi this time.

Wet spot labeled it as Sewellia cf. marmorata. May be due to the small size or the different pattern. The only existing pic of a living specimen so far, a male of “about” 60 mm SL – first time published by Freyhof in DATZ 2000/5 – shows a more broken up-blotched specimen. This specimen must be from the 1999 campaign, not preserved. The preserved male shown in the description – 58.7 mm SL – shows a regular marbled pattern as mine do. The description based 1996 on small specimen found 1991, the mentioned one is from 1999. The description fits and I’m pretty shure that we have Sewellia marmorata  in the hobby.

Cheers Charles

[mikev]

Wet spot labeled it as Sewellia cf. marmorata.

two reasons: firstly I suggested this (I told them about the id that came from you, initially they had simply “Sewellia sp.”). secondly they claim that they were told the fish came from Laos…. it probably did not and my paranoia keeps telling me that perhaps the country is deliberately misidentified, perhaps because of the little red book?

[olly]

@torso said:
  golden markings form an interesting pattern, communication in the dark?

Golden markings intrigued. Surprisingly, why do sewellias communicate in the dark (at night?)? What do you think? Do they mark the territory? Are markings needed for night spawning? Probably, caviar, leaved in the dark, is better preserved from eating by other fishes?

[torso]

hi Olly

Dancing in the moonlight? They like to frolic all day anyway.

I’m thinking of the special conditions during spawning season: turbid water, a lot of sediments, muddy water, spawning in the calmer pools/spots of the river.

S. lineolata

 S. marmorata shows a “richer” structure

All specimen show the same type of structure. But not perfectly identic.

Just coincidence? Do they see the markings at all? Is it just for our fun?

Pics converted to “mooonlight”, then darkened.

Conclusions?

Cheers Charles

[torso]

@mikev said:

Wet spot labeled it as Sewellia cf. marmorata.

two reasons: firstly I suggested this (I told them about the id that came from you, initially they had simply “Sewellia sp.”). secondly they claim that they were told the fish came from Laos…. it probably did not and my paranoia keeps telling me that perhaps the country is deliberately misidentified, perhaps because of the little red book?

Ok. Nice they do changes. They came in from Vietnam. Why a part of the stock should have gone another way, I ignore. But it’s possible, given, that sizes are different. And labelling is another story. First, you must identify the species, then you should know the red list and at last you write deliberately a sp. on the list. I doubt, they even heard about S. marmorata.

Cheers Charles

[mikev]

Size may be simply that they divided their loot in bags by different size for ease of shipment. No conspiracy here. Only some unhappiness; the fish was listed as 1.5″ (4cm) and they shipped me 2-2.5cm… and now there is no chance of a fair competition with Charles Koenig

Laos: alternatively they may be protecting their catch location. But they might have known the species… there are some ichthyologists in Vietnam they could have asked (for example, those who took part in the original Serov’s expedition.)…. and did the fish came direct from Vietnam or via Singapore (where there are people who can check). Donno really….it is just that I’m paranoid.

As for the gold spots… interesting. Remember that such appear in Sew01 and Sew04 in some cases too.

[olly]

@torso said:
I’m thinking of the special conditions during spawning season: turbid water, a lot of sediments, muddy water, spawning in the calmer pools/spots of the river.

Interestingly. As a fog light.

Are these golden markings present in both sexes? In equal extent?

@mikev said:
As for the gold spots… interesting. Remember that such appear in Sew01 and Sew04 in some cases too.

I see gold spots and lines in Sew04. However, in some fishes. Initially believed that females are without such spots. I may be mistaken. My group is small and it is difficult to imagine how in others.  It turns out, that these spots may be also for their communication.

[mikev]

With Sew04 it is the particular spot at the root of the side fin that seems to indicate males.

[torso]

I don’t think, that it’s only restrected to males, Mike. I will have a look at my pics later.

Here some recent of S. marmorata. I noticed, that the glass quality is lousy. Couldn’t get a sharp close up.

 

 

 

 Cheers Charles

[mikev]

I don’t think, that it’s only restrected to males, Mike. I will have a look at my pics later.

It was pretty definite in the first group I had… and not in the current group. Actually the fish is a bit different so I suspect there is Sew04a and Sew04b.

Off topic, but we need to talk about Sew02/03 again soon. I now concur that there are two types for sure, but it is not quite your 02/03 division, … perhaps there are three types.

PS. Great photos, thanks. Very envious.

[Author]

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