Friday, February 24, 2012
People keep looking for cool and rare fish, and then they want it for a cheap price. So this is my take on the problem, its called supply and demand and there is always a breaking point. If diamonds were found in every backyard, I'm sure they wouldn't be adorned on your loved ones finger. Same with fish, if I sold a few thousand cichla kelberi at $15.00 each, all the high end collector would get out of keeping them, and move on to the next rare thing. There is a reason why they call some fish rare, and some command the price. With that said, internet has made information on fish spread much fast, and so is finding a new or rare fish, and made a lot of rare fish not as rare.
If all the so called fad fish, rare fish, desirable fish were available at your local petsmart, petco, at less than $12.99 each, monsterfishkeepers.com board would just be called basicfishkeepers.com and I would probably just jump off a building over and over until my bones poke through my heart, whild poking my eye balls out listening to the screech of nails scraping against a chalkboard
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
This is our night collecting trip with my friend Stan.
We found at least 15 different species of cyprinids, gobies, loaches and catfish. The locals usually dry them over open fire and use it as part of their protein source. I had to try one, to say that I caught one, ate one, and keep some. There were two different species of rhinogobius found alongside each other, unfortunately I was only able to get a few back, and didn't include enough of the other specie.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Looking for something rare?
I'm always on the hunt for the next rare fish, something that I haven't kept or seen in person or in print. With the advancement of internet the rare are few and far between. Just like with digital cameras, everyone is a photographer, instant gratification! I do realize though, even with all the technology, we no longer need the Thomas guide, no longer need quarters for pay phones. We can find anyone with a push of a button, and find out that they're ignoring you. Time is not more available., constantly people are running late and short on time!
Also on another note...chew on this. If western medicine is so great, and in the US we have almost the best of it for the past 50 years or more, how come we only rank 23 on the world longevity pole after many asian dog eating countries?
So I found another rare fish of the year, mastacembelus brichardi, only 4 pieces obtained, 4-6" No eyes, no pigment. Well, one had many black spots
What I've noticed with these hypogean fish is that some have no pigment, further recession. Some have some pigment, and some have partial eye and pigment. If someone can remember that article about this sink hole on Hawaii, that had only been around for maybe 100 years, and there are eyeless carps, mullets, shrimps, and livebearers. It does not take millions of years of isolation and speciation to take take place.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
New photos today
after a water change the fish come out to play, couldn't resist the photo opportunity!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Spinibarbus denticulatus
The Chinese Phoenix barb, the auspicious name very fittingly given to this colorful endemic barb from China. While looking very plain the first year, looking similar to any other Cyprinids, by second year, their colors come in and begin to have a red patch on the face, and red line running down the length of the body with bright red paired fins. The undertone of the body will turn green during breeding season. The males have an obviously larger anal fin compared to the females and stronger coloration.
Peaceful towards other fish, can be predacious towards smaller fish.
Max size: 30 inches
Diet: omnivorous, opportunistic, insects, vegetable matter, algae, small fish and shrimp
Water requirements: 40-90 F are tolerated, neutral ph to slightly over 7.
Availability: US-next to none
Kachek River near Kachek, Hainan Island, China
Kottelat 2001:41 [ref. 25482]). •Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926) -- (Jin in Kuang et al. 1986:110 [ref. 26639] dated 1962 [sic], Chu & Cui in Chu & Chen 1989:153 [ref. 13584], Yang 1991:195 [ref. 13585], Chen et al. in Pan et al. 1991:141 [ref. 23876], Yang & Chen 1995:68, 150 [ref. 23555], Zhu 1995:51 [ref. 25213], Kottelat 2001:81 [ref. 25780]). •Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926), subspecies denticulatus (Oshima 1926) -- (Zheng et al. 1989:167 [ref. 21202], Shan et al. in Yue 2000:42 [ref. 25272], Tang et al. 2005:77 [ref. 28199]). Current status: Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926). Cyprinidae. Distribution: Asia. Habitat: freshwater.
Peaceful towards other fish, can be predacious towards smaller fish.
Max size: 30 inches
Diet: omnivorous, opportunistic, insects, vegetable matter, algae, small fish and shrimp
Water requirements: 40-90 F are tolerated, neutral ph to slightly over 7.
Availability: US-next to none
Kachek River near Kachek, Hainan Island, China
Kottelat 2001:41 [ref. 25482]). •Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926) -- (Jin in Kuang et al. 1986:110 [ref. 26639] dated 1962 [sic], Chu & Cui in Chu & Chen 1989:153 [ref. 13584], Yang 1991:195 [ref. 13585], Chen et al. in Pan et al. 1991:141 [ref. 23876], Yang & Chen 1995:68, 150 [ref. 23555], Zhu 1995:51 [ref. 25213], Kottelat 2001:81 [ref. 25780]). •Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926), subspecies denticulatus (Oshima 1926) -- (Zheng et al. 1989:167 [ref. 21202], Shan et al. in Yue 2000:42 [ref. 25272], Tang et al. 2005:77 [ref. 28199]). Current status: Valid as Spinibarbus denticulatus (Oshima 1926). Cyprinidae. Distribution: Asia. Habitat: freshwater.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Rare fish pet peeves
People always ask for fish that I don't have, and when I get them in they want something else.
People always want rare fish, but when you bring in something rare, they don't even know what it is, because its "rare"
People see rare fish and go "ooh and ahh" and then wait, what the hell are they waiting for? Then when they're gone, they start asking if the fish are available.
People tell you I want this and I want that, save this and save that for me, for sure, I don't flake., then some lame excuse...oh I had to take my cat to the vet. At least have the guts to say I jumped the gun, not sure if I can follow through.
People always ask for pictures, have you heard of google?
Even worse, people would ask me if these fish are compatible, what they eat, what size tank they need. Do a little homework before you buy something, and take a little chance in life.
Bagarius yarelli "India"
This giant man eater, is currently 30" including the tail, born without eyes, but still can hunt with extreme precision! Its like a cave fish that the eyes have regressed due to the lack of use and developed "enhanced" capabilities to detect prey by smell, and feel!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Bangana behri
Pictures from the net for comparison what it may turn into, the true dolphin barb, here is mine at 35 cm the last picture.
Toxotes blythii
Dream fish come true, another holy grail of fish to cross off my list! Better pictures to come after they get out of the quarantine tank!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
So am I a psychic? I've predicted this to happen a while ago already, and have been talking about it a lot recently. Go back and read or you've heard me talk about how the vegetarian diet is superior over any animal products.
I do have a problem with the contents on this video, it sounds like another Toyota runaway model to me here. And look at this world longevity chart, topping the charts are Asian countries., with the US trailing at 38th. So remember, Japan and Hong Kong are the world's largest seafood consuming nations, and if only 16% o the US seafood are testing to be tainted and the Asians have been consuming the same for years why is the life expectancy not correlating to the study? Ironic isn't it? So Meredith whatever says, its better to buy American products at the end., haha....made me laugh. Just like why you should buy GM cars instead of Toyotas.
I do have a problem with the contents on this video, it sounds like another Toyota runaway model to me here. And look at this world longevity chart, topping the charts are Asian countries., with the US trailing at 38th. So remember, Japan and Hong Kong are the world's largest seafood consuming nations, and if only 16% o the US seafood are testing to be tainted and the Asians have been consuming the same for years why is the life expectancy not correlating to the study? Ironic isn't it? So Meredith whatever says, its better to buy American products at the end., haha....made me laugh. Just like why you should buy GM cars instead of Toyotas.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Leptobotia elongata, "The Holy Grail Loach"
I'll start this thread with some information and pictures. If the mods can combine the other threads into this one, and people can contribute pictures and info. they find online as well.
I've first read about this fish many years ago from Chinese books, black and white pictures. The fish originally comes from the Yangtze River, which is the 3rd longest after the Amazon River. Never seen or heard of this fish in the hobby.I've heard of people saying that over 10 years ago they were once available. However there are none around from then to show for. These fish once in captivity are very hardy and would live for many years. My theory is that the fish were actually larger specimens of pelligrini, as that fish is easily confused with elongata as hydrocynus vittatus and goliaths are confused, or hydrolycus armatus and tatauaia, or small cichla sp., just like anything else. Especially when they're hiding, and emaciated, the 2 are easily confused.
To further support my theory: Leptobotia pelligrini is found in Southern China, and I've seen it exported on several occasions, and also labeled as the "royal clown loach" Southern China is a major fish export HUB, where all the Chinese fish tank products are exported.
Where the elongatas are found, there are no infrastructures set up for any kind of ornamental fish exports. There are very few "pet stores" and only carried a few red ear sliders, some gold fish, betta, and basic equipments. Most of the people there have not heard of let alone care about this fish as we found out after asking around.
2004 I was told they had imported some Royal Clown loaches, which people considered as the L. elongata. I was very excited, ordered and bought all of them. They were thin, 3" long, with red tails, soon to find out that they were infact Leptobotia pelligrini and not elongata.
2006 There were a few transported directly from China to Singapore. Unfortunately they all died before I had a chance to obtain them. These were imported from Central China where they come from alongside some other rare beauties.
2009, we were contacted by the local government township that they have been granted funds to breed and reintroduce this fish into the wild, and they've had 2 successful spawns. We immediately booked out tickets, flew there and met with the people. We donated a lumpsum of money to buy some of the off springs. The "breeder" also took us down to the river where they're found. We combed through fisherman's nets and found nothing. Most fisherman said that they have seen this fish in years, since the 3 gorge dams have been built, blocking the migratory path of these fish to find suitable spawning habitats. The following days we went to another city lower in the river and met with some fisherman that helped us in finding a few specimens from the wild, but most were in poor condition from their collection methods, only a few survived for photography and they then took them back for food or market.
Even though we obtained permission from the local government to obtain some specimens, when we tried to clear customs at the local city airport we faced many obstacles. They simply did not allow the export, we drove around town explaining to them our intentions and talked to many inspectors, missed our flight, they finally gave the stamp of approval to ship them into Beijing for further inspection before export. We arrived in Beijing near mid night, after spending another $2000 on last minute plane tickets, hours waiting in line at the cargo, and finding the inspector's office hidden in the completely dark streets of Beijing, we couldn't give up as we would have come back empty handed, and moving forward at that point seemed bleek and expensive. We had no choice but to get it on! Finally around 2 am we were able to claim our fish and bring them back to the hotel in Beijing. The following day we had to find stores, oxygen, and ice to cool them in the searing summer heat and that is another story and whole day ordeal again. Once we got on the plane bound for the US we felt like we've accomplished the impossible. Never have I experienced such difficulty in find a fish, but with the great help Stan Sung, with his mental support, and extensive travel/collecting experience that made this all happen. This the our story of the Holy Grail of all Loaches.
The fate of this fish is unclear, as wild ones are not reproducing since the habitats are destroyed, over fishing, and pollution. Most practice electric fishing in many areas, larger fish get stunned, but most smaller fish like loaches end up dying. There is not a big market for this fish as food, as they're not high on the table fare. If the interest is not there, the government will stop funding the breeding and reintroduction of this fish.
Fish that are also endangered but met enough commercial interest to breed are like the Chinese highfin shark, maxocyprinus asiaticus, they breed millions for food as well as the aquarium trade. In the wild that fish is practically extinct.
We've also encountered dozens of other incredibly interesting fish while collecting along the Yangtze tributary, from small barbs with rainbow like colors to fish with a elephant seal like face, and even heard of a fish that inhabits deep waters with teeth and grows over 20 pounds. There is a specie for ever niche of the hobby and scientific community.
Husbandary requirements of this fish:
Max length: 36" I've seen pictures of 2 specimens., and 10 pounds
Growth: birth to 8" in one year can be achieved
Water temp: in the wild 40 F-75 F. Scientists have shown they can tolerate up to 90 F for some time with no noticeable effects.
Ph: between 7-8 The fish come from murky water, large rivers, muddy pebble bottoms, with a lot of dissolved minerals making the water hard.
There is scarce vegetation growing alongside the riverbanks in the silt/sand
Sexual dimorphism: they sexes are not visually discernable
Diet: in the wild specimens that were cut open for the study contained small loaches, small catfish Trachysurus sp., and other small river shrimps of caridina sp. In the home aquaria they will easily take prepared food, from dried to frozen and even inhale feeders. If you hold your hand infront of them with food they will even gladely greet you by taking the food from your hand!
I've first read about this fish many years ago from Chinese books, black and white pictures. The fish originally comes from the Yangtze River, which is the 3rd longest after the Amazon River. Never seen or heard of this fish in the hobby.I've heard of people saying that over 10 years ago they were once available. However there are none around from then to show for. These fish once in captivity are very hardy and would live for many years. My theory is that the fish were actually larger specimens of pelligrini, as that fish is easily confused with elongata as hydrocynus vittatus and goliaths are confused, or hydrolycus armatus and tatauaia, or small cichla sp., just like anything else. Especially when they're hiding, and emaciated, the 2 are easily confused.
To further support my theory: Leptobotia pelligrini is found in Southern China, and I've seen it exported on several occasions, and also labeled as the "royal clown loach" Southern China is a major fish export HUB, where all the Chinese fish tank products are exported.
Where the elongatas are found, there are no infrastructures set up for any kind of ornamental fish exports. There are very few "pet stores" and only carried a few red ear sliders, some gold fish, betta, and basic equipments. Most of the people there have not heard of let alone care about this fish as we found out after asking around.
2004 I was told they had imported some Royal Clown loaches, which people considered as the L. elongata. I was very excited, ordered and bought all of them. They were thin, 3" long, with red tails, soon to find out that they were infact Leptobotia pelligrini and not elongata.
2006 There were a few transported directly from China to Singapore. Unfortunately they all died before I had a chance to obtain them. These were imported from Central China where they come from alongside some other rare beauties.
2009, we were contacted by the local government township that they have been granted funds to breed and reintroduce this fish into the wild, and they've had 2 successful spawns. We immediately booked out tickets, flew there and met with the people. We donated a lumpsum of money to buy some of the off springs. The "breeder" also took us down to the river where they're found. We combed through fisherman's nets and found nothing. Most fisherman said that they have seen this fish in years, since the 3 gorge dams have been built, blocking the migratory path of these fish to find suitable spawning habitats. The following days we went to another city lower in the river and met with some fisherman that helped us in finding a few specimens from the wild, but most were in poor condition from their collection methods, only a few survived for photography and they then took them back for food or market.
Even though we obtained permission from the local government to obtain some specimens, when we tried to clear customs at the local city airport we faced many obstacles. They simply did not allow the export, we drove around town explaining to them our intentions and talked to many inspectors, missed our flight, they finally gave the stamp of approval to ship them into Beijing for further inspection before export. We arrived in Beijing near mid night, after spending another $2000 on last minute plane tickets, hours waiting in line at the cargo, and finding the inspector's office hidden in the completely dark streets of Beijing, we couldn't give up as we would have come back empty handed, and moving forward at that point seemed bleek and expensive. We had no choice but to get it on! Finally around 2 am we were able to claim our fish and bring them back to the hotel in Beijing. The following day we had to find stores, oxygen, and ice to cool them in the searing summer heat and that is another story and whole day ordeal again. Once we got on the plane bound for the US we felt like we've accomplished the impossible. Never have I experienced such difficulty in find a fish, but with the great help Stan Sung, with his mental support, and extensive travel/collecting experience that made this all happen. This the our story of the Holy Grail of all Loaches.
The fate of this fish is unclear, as wild ones are not reproducing since the habitats are destroyed, over fishing, and pollution. Most practice electric fishing in many areas, larger fish get stunned, but most smaller fish like loaches end up dying. There is not a big market for this fish as food, as they're not high on the table fare. If the interest is not there, the government will stop funding the breeding and reintroduction of this fish.
Fish that are also endangered but met enough commercial interest to breed are like the Chinese highfin shark, maxocyprinus asiaticus, they breed millions for food as well as the aquarium trade. In the wild that fish is practically extinct.
We've also encountered dozens of other incredibly interesting fish while collecting along the Yangtze tributary, from small barbs with rainbow like colors to fish with a elephant seal like face, and even heard of a fish that inhabits deep waters with teeth and grows over 20 pounds. There is a specie for ever niche of the hobby and scientific community.
Husbandary requirements of this fish:
Max length: 36" I've seen pictures of 2 specimens., and 10 pounds
Growth: birth to 8" in one year can be achieved
Water temp: in the wild 40 F-75 F. Scientists have shown they can tolerate up to 90 F for some time with no noticeable effects.
Ph: between 7-8 The fish come from murky water, large rivers, muddy pebble bottoms, with a lot of dissolved minerals making the water hard.
There is scarce vegetation growing alongside the riverbanks in the silt/sand
Sexual dimorphism: they sexes are not visually discernable
Diet: in the wild specimens that were cut open for the study contained small loaches, small catfish Trachysurus sp., and other small river shrimps of caridina sp. In the home aquaria they will easily take prepared food, from dried to frozen and even inhale feeders. If you hold your hand infront of them with food they will even gladely greet you by taking the food from your hand!
Friday, October 15, 2010
This is an excerpt from MFK - It was not written by me or my opinion. I'll post my opinion in the reply.
I notice this on every party boat I go on. They clean, gut, and fillet the fish alive, then toss the carcass aside, which sometimes is STILL breathing. I don't get why it's so hard to keep a little hammer by the fillet tables, and use it to "put out" the fish before they fillet it. It's like an extra 3 seconds added to the process. My friend carries a PVC pipe with an 8oz lead weight jammed in the end for such a purpose, to instantly "put out" fish he catches. Supposedly it tastes better, since when fish struggle to death, they build up lactic acid fermentation in their body.
But I just think that gutting and filleting a fish that is still obviously alive is just downright cruel.
Opinions?
(Note: Keep if civil. It did not stay civil when I posted it on the local fishing forum. There is no reason to turn this into a flamefest. I think this has potential to be a great discussion. Unfortunetaly, it also has potential to be a great flamewar, but let's not.)
I notice this on every party boat I go on. They clean, gut, and fillet the fish alive, then toss the carcass aside, which sometimes is STILL breathing. I don't get why it's so hard to keep a little hammer by the fillet tables, and use it to "put out" the fish before they fillet it. It's like an extra 3 seconds added to the process. My friend carries a PVC pipe with an 8oz lead weight jammed in the end for such a purpose, to instantly "put out" fish he catches. Supposedly it tastes better, since when fish struggle to death, they build up lactic acid fermentation in their body.
But I just think that gutting and filleting a fish that is still obviously alive is just downright cruel.
Opinions?
(Note: Keep if civil. It did not stay civil when I posted it on the local fishing forum. There is no reason to turn this into a flamefest. I think this has potential to be a great discussion. Unfortunetaly, it also has potential to be a great flamewar, but let's not.)
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