Trifasciata Anomaly

[MacZ]

Ok, I knew it was going somewhere like this. I'll better leave you to yourself and would appreciate this to be mutual.

Have a pleasant evening anyway.

 

[anewbie]

You appear to have been triggered by a close-up photo of aquarium substrate.If I need to relax and find a moment of tranquility I find looking at one of the many aquariums in my home extremely calming,it soothes my soul.

You clearly lack experience and @MacZ is correct that your substrate is non-optimal. Most (all?) species of apistogramma are eartheater. What this means is that they like to shift through the substrate looking for food. This doesn't mean they poke at it - it means they will eat some of it and allow it to filter through their gills. Larger stones can damage the gills. Of course they will try to avoid doing this with larger stones but accidents do happen. This doesn't mean you can't keep them on the larger stones it just isn't optimal or perhaps a step further not ideal. I often wonder if locked jaw (a fatal condition these fishes can achieve) is partially related to the larger stones but that is pure speculation on my part as the jaws are tiny bones and issues can arise for other reasons.

As for the cory on larger substrate - that one seems more open to debate. The argument are similar but they don't actually shift in the same fashion but some claim the larger stones can damage their barbell. sharp stones are definitely a no-no and i saw this with eco-complete which is quite sharp in addition to being larger. of course small sharp stones are not great either. It is a can of worms to discuss cory on larger stones and i'm not sure if there have been any control studied just imperical data that sometime miss some key ingrediants. My sterbai bred after weekend after a water change but the conditions i kept them was hardly ideal and I won't claim they were - just because they are breeding doesn't mean they are being kept in an optimal fashion. Some might even claim a fish will breed to extend the life of the species if conditions are harsh (though i've not seen any proof of those claims either).

I use pool fitler sand which i believe is around 0.5mm it is not optimal but it is a step in the right direction.

 

[Jimmymud]

The photo is an extreme close up of one section of a large tank,and one fish..The majority of the substrate is sand but as in their natural habitat their are variations in the hard and soft scape.I really am enjoying all this triggering though.Fish are quite hardy,it’s how they survive in the big bad wilderness Oh Wise and Experienced One.

 

[Jimmymud]

Clearly 5 years on this forum has not taught you any manners.You clearly lack any semblance of social decorum old bean.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all

Clearly 5 years on this forum has not taught you any manners.You clearly lack any semblance of social decorum old bean.

@Jimmymud, I will also do you the courtesy of not posting on any of your threads again.

Cheers Darrel

 

[KenL]

That was not clear going by the pictures.


The patterns and how dark the fish can turn them. It goes almost black, N. anomala markings turn dark reddish-brown at most. Also the headshape is much more pointed.

Interesting, I thought anomala as there are no stripes below the lateral line.
But, happy to accept your assessment.

 

[Hanzle]

Pas op met een mannetje nannacara toevoegen. Zijn onderling vechtersbazen en zeker je trifasciatas gaan er veel last van krijgen, als ze het al overleven. Ik zou kiezen voor 1 v beide soorten, zeker niet beide.

 

[Chromedome]

First, the ID of the Nannacara. N. taenia has 3-4 horizontal lines below the lateral band; this fish shows absolutely NO sign of such markings. N. aureocephalus is much lighter, and often confused with N. anomala, which is what this specimen looks to be. I have had female anomala that went almost completely black while brooding fry. There have been discussions on this forum about the Genus, but apparently some people have poor memories and are too stubborn to do a search.

As for the catfish without barbels: I thought that myth about substrate doing the damage had died years ago. Barbels are gone because they've been kept in a dirty tank. Often this happens while still young, as keeping a tank full of fry clean can be quite a lot of work. Once the barbels are gone, they rarely grow back. The substrate in the photos is certainly not sharp. However, the size allows detritus to lodge between the stones, and this can also negatively affect water quality even if not visible. Even if it's only a small portion of the bottom, it can harbor a fair amount of detritus. Fine sand tends to keep detritus on the top, where it can be moved around and eaten by the fish or picked up by filtration systems.

 

[anewbie]

First, the ID of the Nannacara. N. taenia has 3-4 horizontal lines below the lateral band; this fish shows absolutely NO sign of such markings. N. aureocephalus is much lighter, and often confused with N. anomala, which is what this specimen looks to be. I have had female anomala that went almost completely black while brooding fry. There have been discussions on this forum about the Genus, but apparently some people have poor memories and are too stubborn to do a search.

As for the catfish without barbels: I thought that myth about substrate doing the damage had died years ago. Barbels are gone because they've been kept in a dirty tank. Often this happens while still young, as keeping a tank full of fry clean can be quite a lot of work. Once the barbels are gone, they rarely grow back. The substrate in the photos is certainly not sharp. However, the size allows detritus to lodge between the stones, and this can also negatively affect water quality even if not visible. Even if it's only a small portion of the bottom, it can harbor a fair amount of detritus. Fine sand tends to keep detritus on the top, where it can be moved around and eaten by the fish or picked up by filtration systems.

I'm not sure if barbels grow back but i will say that I suspect they do - when i moved 3 years ago i setup a 500 gallon aquarium and moved all my various sterbai into this aquarium along with a few others so it has around 25 - naturally it is hard to see them all at one time as they scatter into small groups of 2 to 4 around the aquarium during the day but all the ones who will remain still and let me examine them seem fine. Of course a lot of time has passed with the oldest being owned over 7 years. I do know that the group i kept on eco complete had smaller or shortened barbel whether it was from sharp stones or dirt in the stones i can't say and I think my largest females were in that group but i never really paid a lot of attention since the they mostly like to avoid the humans and this remains the case in the 500 with my walking around and they always moving away.