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Hi Olly

He had a group aof 5,5. You want the article (German)?

I remember a remark in “Borneo-Suckers” about the counting of follicles in a Gastromyzon-female (Slechtova ?) with some thousends.

I think, it’s just a question of fertilizing/surviving.

About spreading: if you were right, “adhesive” species should be wider spread. Doesn’t match with S. marmorata (found in Vinh-Than-River only) and is contradictory to the widespread S. lineolata.

A guess: S. lineolata is found in trubid and calmer water. May be it developped a less “sticking” method for different conditions. S. marmorat was found in turbid water only.

Cheers Charles

S

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@olly said:
 The Sewellia’s eggs are very adhesive and they were glued to the substrate.

It is likely the egg productivity of a one sewellia is pretty

That’s interesting Olly. S. lineolata-eggs are at first adhesive too – not very strong – and loose it within some hours. (Frank Strozyk in AMAZONAS 2010)

Only numbers for the quantity of eggs for S. lineolata date from 2010 (Frank Strozyk in AMAZONAS): 1459 within a month.

Cheers Charles

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Hi Olly

That’s great to see. How do you breed them? Coconut-style?

Seems, they do spawn greater quantities?

Mine seem to do well, but actually I’m moving household, atelier, storage places and soon breeding room. So there’s not much time to watch.

Cheers Charles

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Hi

Just noted first fry of S. marmorate, about 11 mm long.

 

 

 

 

 

 Pattern is different to other Sewellia fry at this age (about 4 weeks)

Cheers Charles

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Hi

Females darken for breeding, that’s all I can tell you.

Take the water parameters for further guesses.

One general guess: all these genetic variations (“forced hybridization”) are not hardy. Someone may have a different opinion on that (see net), but I would like to see proves. It`s interesting to see that notes on websites date back to late 2013/spring 2014. Where are news since? Trade doesn’ like them either, too many complaints.

Cheers Charles

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Hi Olly

No, they don’t. I can’t imagine, that a second species would have escaped Freyhof’s attention. A mix must come from exporter’s place.

By the way: electric fishing is not awful, but necessary. You won’t catch one specimen with net or hand. And depending on month you won’t stand upright in the rapid waters either.  It’s baffling anyway how they can catch at a low voltage.

Even Freyhof/Sverov had to do electric fishing (DEKA 3000). Collecting was done from late February to July when rainfall is occasional and water is still powerful.

Cheers Charles

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Hi Olly

Beautiful pattern indeed.

I think, the different patterns are due to the different localities. The mix is done at the exporters place.

As the catching is done with electric fishing (car battery) they may stop, when the number required is reached. Next time they move to the next river(s), as this way of fishing is very effective and can empty a river completely.

What you call “intermediate” patttern could this way be just the pattern characteristic for a certain river. As Freyhof collected 99 specimen and shows two very different types of pattern, he certainly knew about these variations but didn’t mention it.

It would be interesting to see how the different patterns look like in bred specimen over the years.

Cheers Charles

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Hi Olly

Interesting question.

Type 2 is present in the northern distribution aerea – south of Hue. Provinces going north: Bin Dinh, Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, Thua thien Hue. Other finds are not documented (“some rivers in between”)

As the shipments come from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) the aerea of collection of “type” 2 is far in the North. That may be the reason, that this “type” is rare in the hobby. Another point: the collected specimen are a mixed in large cement tubs. So you are lucky to find a batch with only “type” 2. I wasn’t yet and I have seen some thousends the last eight years.

I can’t answer the question if there are females of “type” 2 with that clearly “reduced” pattern.

Freyhof/Sverov (2000) show a male of “type” 2 with striking pattern. The specimen is not preserved, pic obviously taken in a tank.

 Same pic in DATZ 2005 by Freyhof

I have some hundreds of pics of my wild caught and bred S. lineolata with largely different patterns, some coming close to “type” 2.

If you have a chance to get fry from a “type” 2 pair: go for it

Cheers Charles

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Hi

One pair of 7 cm, one male of 6 cm. I’m not shure about the smaller specimen in the LFS-tank.

We would know more as soon as you have bred them. All young Sewellias show diferent patterns.

Try to calm them down with a lot of hiding places/different water-flow direction to bring them to the front glass. So you could get better pics. Or try this: put a glass with algae in an angle of 50 degrees into the tank to get dorsal and ventral pics.

Cheers Charles

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Hi

I can’t see pattern variations within Sewellia sp. SEW 01 and I’ve seen some hundreds in the import. Adult specimen look definitivly different from S. albisurea – based on the pic in the description.Of course J. Freyhof knows Sewellia SEW 01 ver well, but never referred to S. albisurea. Which brings us back to the fact, that the description was made with just a small batch of specimen with only one adult. Looking at Sewellia lineolata with stunning different patterns I would say: it’s possibly one species but scientific input is needed.

What I can see is a change from dashed/patchy to spotted pattern on body in S. 01 with some reticulated parts on the head and dorsal from dorsal fin to caudal fin.

Pattern in adult S. albisurea is reticulated to coarsely netted.

Here some pics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Cheers Charles

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 This one could become a male

Cheers Charles

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@Kajsa12 said:
Thanks, Charles
So if I understand correctly, using a gap between pelvics and anal fin origin as characteristic can be a bit tricky especially when juvenile fish are involved.
Probably this is also the case in other gastromyzontids?

Hi

That’s right.

S. albisurea are rare in the hobby: highly polluted stream (makes them highly endangered), very turbid water. They are occasionally bycatch of S. lineolata from the same location.

I don’t know other species, where this differentiation is used.

Cheers Charles

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Hi

Easy to answer in gerenal: it starts with half size – 6 cm – under condition, that it’s a good strain/wild caught. Bred strains from Asia can be badly miss-shaped/show stunted growth.

How much time is needed to get that size depends on conditions they are brought up.

Why don’t you show some pics?

Cheers Charles

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Hi

Freyhof reported in 2005, that the cachting of S. albisurea was very difficult because of the very turbid water, even with electric fishing. Only five specimen resulting. The holotype is not the largest specimen (64 mm SL) but a smaller one (43 mm) with pectoral fins not  reaching the anal fin.

The onlyp pics he estimated to show “possibly S. albisurea” so far, were those of B. Newcomer. Large adult specimen which show pectorals reaching anal fin, in accord with the description. The pics of M. Hanselbauer show smaller specimen with the “gap”  as seen in the description too.

I would say that the description is right, pics with a “gap” show either younger specimen or a different species.

J. Freyhof wrote me in 2009 during a discussion about S. elongata, that he had remarked in his catch 2000 a specimen with longer pectoral fins, which would mean, that this feature wouldn’t be good for a difference to S. breviventralis as thought before. Different species but the same problem?

A revision should clear all these questions and make an end to the confusion created by Nguyen & Nguyen in 2005 where S. albisurea is Parasewellia monoloba (?),  S. spotted SEW 01 is Parasewellia polyloba or P. tetraloba (two specimen make two new species).

Two things are clear: S. spotted SEW 01 is not S. albisurea and both have pectorals reaching the anal fin.

Cheers Charles

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Hi Olly

Some older pics from 2009. Adult specimen measuring SL 55 mm/TL 63 mm, sometimes with small reticulated pattern. I made some inverted pics then, because I was not quite shure if stellatus/zebrinus

 

 

 

 

 To show the difference

 

 

 Tan shows a drawing – G. stellatus at 19.7 mm – with small vertical blotches. Pattern in G. zebrinus can vary with vertical wormlike/straight stripes/oblong blotches.

Cheers Charles

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