New hillstream loach

On my way back from work today, I thought I would pop into one of the LFS in my area. One that I don't frequent that much mostly because it is completely over priced.

So I went in and had a nose in the tank and there, to my surprise was a different species of hillstream loach!!! bingo! So I took two and to my surprise they where very reasonable in terms of price.

The name of the fish is Pseudogastromyzon cheni. I already have a duo of Beaufortia kweichowensis. I have read that hillstream loaches should be kept together in large numbers. This was evident even after a short period of the new fish being in the tank as I have never seen my existing loaches being so active and social.

Enjoy the pics.

Pseudogastromyzon cheni



They change their sink pigment very quickly to blend in with their background. I didnt know they did this till this evening!!!







My existing Beaufortia kweichowensis









And finally a nice pic of both species together, above and below the rock!!



Also if anyone knows where I can get my hands on other species of hillstream loach can they please let me know, as I am seriously thinking of developing a stream setup!!

Many tanks

ps. One LFS that I asked if they stocked hillstream loaches said that they where illegal to keep in Ireland. Is this true or is it just a nasty rumour?

Looks good! Gotta love the loaches. I personally have three and they are very comical, especially the Dojo's.

Looks good! Gotta love the loaches. I personally have three and they are very comical, especially the Dojo's.

yeah, those crazy dojo's and their disappearing antics. Seriously I have not been able to find them for days on end, for a sizeable fish it quite the magic trick. Sometimes you just see the head sticking out of the gravel!!!

One LFS that I asked if they stocked hillstream loaches said that they where illegal to keep in Ireland

If they were they would not have them IMO. (Are they coldwater :?: if so there maybe some restrictions to importation.

Best Regards..................Tony

If they were they would not have them IMO. (Are they cold water :?: if so there maybe some restrictions to importation.

Best Regards..................Tony

They are semi tropical but they can tolerate unheated tanks. This is where the importation restrictions might come into play as I was told from the person that sold me the fish that they where supplied from Northern Ireland. Because northern Ireland has a different illegal species list than the republic, it might be very easy for the supplier and the buyer to be unaware that the fish they are selling is illegal.

Now next question, does anyone know or have a link for illegal aquarium fish in Ireland? I have spent many an hour looking and not turned up a thing!

Heres the illegal list for Britain according to CEEFAS

> Abramis ballerus, Blue bream
> Acipenser sp., Huso sp., Scaphirhynchus sp., Pseudoscaphirhynchus sp. and hybrids (sterlets and sturgeons)
> Alburnoides bipunctatus, Schneider
> Ambloplites rupestris, Rock bass
> Ameiurus sp. (coldwater ameiurid catfishes, including the bullhead, Ameirus nebulosus)
> Aspius aspius, Asp
> Chalcaburnus chalcoides,
Danubian bleak
> Chrondrostoma nasus, Nase
> Chrondrostoma toxostoma, Toxostome or French nase
> Ctenopharyngodon idella, Grass carp
> Hypophthalmichthys molitrix,
Silver carp
> Ictalurus sp. (coldwater ictalurid catfishes, including the Channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus)
> Leuciscus souffia, Blageon
> Lota lota, Burbot
> Micropterus salmoides, Large mouthed bass
> Mylopharyngodon piceus, Black
or Snail-eating carp
> Oncorhynchus mykiss (Rainbow
trout or Steelhead)
> Oncorhynchus sp. (Pacific trout)
> Polyodon spathula and Psephurus gladius (paddlefishes)
> Pseudorasbora parva, Clicker barb
or Topmouth gudgeon
> Rhodeus sericeus, Bitterling
> Salmo salar (Non-anadromous, landlocked Salmon)
> Silurus sp. (coldwater silurid catfishes including the Wels,
Silurus glanis)
> Stizostedion sp., Zander
> Vimba vimba, Vimba


You might be ok bu a guy England did have a loach destroyed by CEEFAS
even though he had it five years. Don`t know which spscies though.

Thanks for that Anthony,

This is a similar story that was published in PFK magazine about a guy who had his Chinese sucker fish destroyed after he sought a licence to keep them. Dam the Man!!!!!

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=934

Hi,

I investigated to a small degree about the legality of importing discus. One of the ways they look at it is if the species will live in our local water should it escape. If it does it may cause problems for our native specie which is why it will appear on a banned list. IMO........It is harder to import coldwater fish into this country than tropical.

Best Regards...............Tony

Just thought I would post another couple of pictures of these unusual fish and their recent behaviour. The interaction between the two species doesn't usually last long enough for me to grab my camera, but this time it did, so here are the results.

I don't know what the behaviour is? could it be a dominance thing or could it be something a little bit more reproduction based?

Any comments or suggestions are welcome as to what it is.

Great pics there, keep em coming

Hi i seen this, and thought maybe someone might be interested
cgi.ebay.co.uk/Live-Tropical-Aquarium-Fi...Z1QQcmdZViewItem#top