I saw this fish...

[BatRay]

Dear lord those are ugly fish!

My pleco started out very small, but it's growing steadily. A local pet shop understands the issue, so they allow people to come in and sell their large plecos in exchange for store credit. Apparently there's enough demand for large ones that this is worth their while. Even so, I'll get a different algae eater when this one outgrows the tank.

 

[wet]

Dear lord those are ugly fish!

My pleco started out very small, but it's growing steadily. A local pet shop understands the issue, so they allow people to come in and sell their large plecos in exchange for store credit. Apparently there's enough demand for large ones that this is worth their while. Even so, I'll get a different algae eater when this one outgrows the tank.

How big is too big? 6" or 12" or 24"? I had little goldfish and once a northern pike (in a bathtub), how big does a pleco get?

The other night I read a book "Frogmen" about WWII, then went to sleep. Woke up in the middle of a nightmare, one of those big toothed monster fish trying to chomp off my kneecap. Funny, I've never dreamed about Jaws at all, just huge man-gobbling squid and those dang flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz and now that fish. Makes life interesting, I guess.

DDeden

 

[BatRay]

Plecos can get quite large. "Too big" also depends on the size of tank you have, I guess.

 

[Freediver81]

Talking of ugly fish...

http://www.frivannsliv.no/images/2006_0405SteinbitApril060004.JPG

http://www.bhf.no/bilder/km04_jonsteinbit.jpg

http://home.no.net/kjelgil/images/steinbit1.jpg

That is indeed a very ugly fish! Wonder how it tastes?

Said

 

[naiad]

Maybe change the name from pleco to velcro fish? Can you get the fish by using the soft side of velcro to attach? Maybe hard to get it off though.

I was surprised to find out about the underwater backfloaters, I wondered if any fish did that, unusual since the air bladder is upside down then (I think). Backfloating (or backwimming) seems to be very rare in nature.

It is hard to get them off things if the spines get caught. They sometimes lock their spines together when fighting.

Some Ancistrus plecos fighting. I like the way one of them flips over and lands back on the wood.


I don't think plecos have an air bladder, they sink if they stop swimming. They can swim any way round, and rest on their front or back, but it is unusual for them to rest on their back. Most of the time they stick to things with their mouth and move around by 'lip-walking'.

The upside-down catfish (Synodontis) does swim upside down most of the time, and it may have a different air bladder. It also has a darker coloured underside.

Lucia

 

[wet]

It is hard to get them off things if the spines get caught. They sometimes lock their spines together when fighting.

Some Ancistrus plecos fighting. I like the way one of them flips over and lands back on the wood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvSglOrObq4

I don't think plecos have an air bladder, they sink if they stop swimming. They can swim any way round, and rest on their front or back, but it is unusual for them to rest on their back. Most of the time they stick to things with their mouth and move around by 'lip-walking'.

The upside-down catfish (Synodontis) does swim upside down most of the time, and it may have a different air bladder. It also has a darker coloured underside.

Lucia

Underwater backstroking and lip-walking, these fish sure are "extreme sport" athletes, I want to see that in the olympics!

That's a interesting point about the darker ventral surface, I'll have to check to see if sea otters tummies are darker than river otters and stoats.

DDeden

 

[naiad]

Some pictures of the Upside-down Catfish...
http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/s_nigriventris.htm
It also says that the air bladder is normal, but it is the nervous circuitry between the brain and the balancing organ of the ear that is different. Some types of fish, such as most of the plecos, will swim the 'right way up' relative to the surface they are swimming over, so if they are under a floating leaf they will swim upside down, and on a vertical surface, such as the side of the tank, they will swim vertically.

I will try and get a video of the lip-walking and post a link! rofl

They have certainly invented some new ways of getting around. I can't think of any other animal that 'walks' using its mouth.

 

[wet]

I wanna get a screen saver, with plecos that lip-walk over my computer screen to keep it clean! Somebody with a video cam could record a couple plecos through the aquarium glass in slow motion, then replay in fast motion and record as screen savers. Cool!

That's neat about the circuitry, I'll check if sea otters and people have that too. Even just a little bit of rewiring might be significant.

DDeden

 

[naiad]

Next time I see some plecos I will try and get some videos. They also lip-walk backwards, I have seen them come out from under a piece of wood, decide that there is nothing worth looking at, and go back under the wood. Some of the Ancistrus will wedge themselves tightly head-first into something like a crack in the wood, and the only way they can get out is by lip-walking backwards.

They are not particularly agile swimmers, because their pectoral and pelvic fins are rigid and stick out to the sides like those of a shark. Other kinds of fish use these fins for delicate movements, like moving towards a small piece of food or getting out of a corner. They are also very negatively buoyant, so they can't hover in one place, and swimming in mid-water is an effort. The only way a pleco can move backwards or make small and accurate movements is by lip-walking.

 

[gravo]

That is indeed a very ugly fish! Wonder how it tastes?

Said

It's actually delicious. My favourite.

http://www.seafoodfromnorway.com/page?id=103&key=2504

 

[SanderP]

Imho, it looks cool, like a spaceship .

 

[naiad]

That's neat about the circuitry, I'll check if sea otters and people have that too. Even just a little bit of rewiring might be significant.

Maybe they do. Many animals, including some mammals, birds and fish, go into a hypnotic state if they are held upside down. I have seen my pet birds do this - if I put one on my hand, lying on its back, it will close its eyes and go limp. It recovers immediately if turned the right way up. This obviously doesn't happen to plecos, sea otters and humans, so maybe there is a difference in brain circuitry.

 

[wet]

I found these links while looking for info about the stranded Brydes whale in Borneo. Sticky frogs, glass catfish and a saber-toothed catfish with belly suction cups! rofl

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061219/ap_on_sc/new_species_borneo_5

Other creatures discovered between July 2005 and September 2006 were six Siamese fighting fish, whose unique colors and markings distinguish them from close relatives, and a tree frog with bright green eyes.

The catfish, which can be identified by its pretty color pattern, is named glyptothorax exodon, a reference to the teeth that can be seen even when the its mouth is closed. The suction cups on its belly enable it to stick to smooth stones while facing the current of Indonesia's turbulent Kapuas River system.

On the Malaysian part of the island, slow-flowing blackwater streams and peat swamps are home to the paedocypris micromegethes, which is 0.35 inch long.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061219/sc_afp/indonesiaenvironmentconservation_061219114501

"Between 1994 and 2004, at least 361 new species have been discovered in Borneo," WWF Indonesia director Mubariq Ahmad told AFP.

"In the past 10 years, there is discovery of new species every month. We had found 260 new insects, 50 plants, seven frogs, snakes, six lizards, 30 fresh water fish, five crabs, two snakes and a toad," he added Tuesday.

Recent exotic discoveries include poisonous "sticky frogs," "forest walking catfish" able to travel short distances out of water and the transparent "glass catfish".

DDeden

 

[naiad]

Amazing! I thought I knew something about fish, but there are always new ones appearing. I found out that there are 450 species of suckermouth catfish. More reasons to protect the natural environment - we haven't even discovered all of it yet. There are probably hundreds of undiscovered animals and plants in rainforests and in the deep sea.

Siamese fighting fish are another interesting group - there are some incredible domesticated varieties. They also breathe air, as do many other tropical fish, including gouramis, loaches and most catfish. They all have their own style - gouramis will delicately take a mouthful of air, but Corydoras catfish will race up to the surface and back down as fast as possible. Natural freedivers!

 

[wet]

Amazing! I thought I knew something about fish, but there are always new ones appearing. I found out that there are 450 species of suckermouth catfish. More reasons to protect the natural environment - we haven't even discovered all of it yet. There are probably hundreds of undiscovered animals and plants in rainforests and in the deep sea.

Siamese fighting fish are another interesting group - there are some incredible domesticated varieties. They also breathe air, as do many other tropical fish, including gouramis, loaches and most catfish. They all have their own style - gouramis will delicately take a mouthful of air, but Corydoras catfish will race up to the surface and back down as fast as possible. Natural freedivers!

Are there any fish that leap out of the water like a dolphin to get a gulp of air? I'd guess probably not, since it would take extra energy, and I think these kinds of air-breathing fish live in shallow poorly oxygenated waters.
I remember some sort of mudpuppy fish that lived on the mangrove beaches of Penang, Malaysia that liked to leap out of the water, maybe it was taking gulps of air.

In Borneo, they seem to be in a big hurry to cut & burn the forests so they can plant rubber and oil palm plantations. Absurdly short-term thinking, really, since proper management allows for forest product harvesting sustainably and keeping the bio-diversity intact, rather than big hillside clearcuts that result in mudslides, and silted reefs. Definitely in need of environmental preservation.

DDeden

 

[BatRay]

Unfortunately, people don't realize that the majority of nutrients in tropical forests are in the trees themselves. Once the trees are cut and the slash is removed, the soil is found to be very poor, the climate in the area changes, and it's all a big mess. It's a sad thing to see.

 

[naiad]

Are there any fish that leap out of the water like a dolphin to get a gulp of air? I'd guess probably not, since it would take extra energy, and I think these kinds of air-breathing fish live in shallow poorly oxygenated waters.

Some of the Corydoras catfish will leap partly out of the water to get a gulp of air, particularly the faster moving ones such as Bronze Corydoras. Other fish will leap out of the water to get food.

I wish there were something I could do to help the environment. Even here in the UK, over the last 15-20 years there has been a huge decline in wildlife. When I was a kid, there were many different kinds of butterflies and moths, other insects, and garden birds. Every pond had frogs and newts. Now it is even hard to find the common garden insects and birds.

One thing I have become aware of is the import of wild-caught tropical fish. Unless these are sustainably harvested and do well in captivity, I don't advise anyone to buy them. This can have an impact on their population in the wild, and some of them are not suitable as pets. One example is Clown Loaches - these are from Borneo and they are popular aquarium fish. Most of those available are wild-caught. They grow to about 40cm long - far too big for the average home aquarium. Many of them stay small because they don't have enough space. Catfish and loaches get a particularly bad deal in the pet trade. Often I have seen one in a waiting-room fish tank, with no others of its own kind and no sand to dig in, just moving up and down the side of the tank. I think it is not ethical to import a wild animal for that. :vangry

The most shockingly inappropriate fish import I have seen recently is remoras, trying to stick to the side of the tank and looking distressed. These are the fish that stick to sharks and turtles. Not a good pet, unless you already have a pet shark.

 

[foxfish]

Naiad, unfortunately the fish keeping industry revolves around making profit not the well being of fish! Having been involved in this industry I can assure you there is not much money to be made by simply selling individual fish. Trying to convince the average fish keeper that certain fish will not suit thier small community tank rarely works as the customer always knows what is best & will simply go to the next shop down the road.
I now only deal in specialist tanks & ponds for the more experienced fish keeper. This may make me feel better but would be impossible to make a living from. :head The supply of dry goods is where the retailer can make money, it would appear the well being of fish is low on priority for most retailers. Hopefully when you finish you training you will be in a position to educate less knowable people on the best way to enjoy thier fish without killing them or buying unsuitable species. As long as retailers stock ridiculously unsuitable fish in thier outlets people will buy them!

 

[naiad]

Hopefully when you finish you training you will be in a position to educate less knowable people on the best way to enjoy thier fish without killing them or buying unsuitable species.

I hope so. I certainly won't ever sell anyone an unsuitable fish, even if I don't make much money.

 

[wet]

Unfortunately, people don't realize that the majority of nutrients in tropical forests are in the trees themselves. Once the trees are cut and the slash is removed, the soil is found to be very poor, the climate in the area changes, and it's all a big mess. It's a sad thing to see.

Yeah, but at least there is a bit more attention to it, it isn't simply ignored as it had been for so long. There's still hope!

Reeforest!!

DDeden