Crenicichla sp atabapo red - will this work?
- Thread starter illumnae
- Start date
So I had the honour of hosting Heiko Bleher for dinner last Friday night, as he was in town for the Aquarama exhibition held in Singapore every 2 years. He came by my place to see my tanks, and when he saw the C. "Atabapo II" in my tanks, he frowned and said that they were from the Rio Inirida instead and not the Rio Atabapo. He also said that the pikes came from whitewater conditions and not blackwater.
Anyone able to chip in on this startling comment from Heiko? Given his expertise in all things aquatic, I don't think it's very likely he's made a mis-id? If so, that means that all along we've been id-ing this pike wrong!
Anyone able to chip in on this startling comment from Heiko? Given his expertise in all things aquatic, I don't think it's very likely he's made a mis-id? If so, that means that all along we've been id-ing this pike wrong!
Did you happen to ask him what physical traits or characteristics he saw that led him to this stunning conclusion? Besides, if I am not mistaken, Rio Inridia meets Rio Atabapo. . .
I'm afraid I didn't 
The focus was really on my Alenquer discus, as he noticed that one was showing signs of HITH and was advising me to observe and immediately treat the whole tank if HITH broke out. His comment on the pike arose actually after dinner as we were driving to my place, as I mentioned that most of the fish I had except the discus. So when I mentioned the Crenicichla was one of them he went "Oh! The red one, yeah?" to which I said it was the not so red one, aka atabapo II. He looked a little confused (what seemed to go through his mind was, "there's another atabapo undescribed species??") but kept silent. Thereafter, when he saw the fish, he just affirmatively said it was from the Rio Inirida, and was a fish that lived in whitewater and not in the blackwater Rio Atabapo.
The focus was really on my Alenquer discus, as he noticed that one was showing signs of HITH and was advising me to observe and immediately treat the whole tank if HITH broke out. His comment on the pike arose actually after dinner as we were driving to my place, as I mentioned that most of the fish I had except the discus. So when I mentioned the Crenicichla was one of them he went "Oh! The red one, yeah?" to which I said it was the not so red one, aka atabapo II. He looked a little confused (what seemed to go through his mind was, "there's another atabapo undescribed species??") but kept silent. Thereafter, when he saw the fish, he just affirmatively said it was from the Rio Inirida, and was a fish that lived in whitewater and not in the blackwater Rio Atabapo.This thread doesn't seem to attract many responses...must be the lack of pics!
Anyhow, I've traded my 3 C. atabapo IIs for a pair of juvenile C. johannas - they're about 5" and really cute in their juvenile colouration now. Easier on the mind too as I see a white seam on one, hopefully meaning I have a pair.
My ray has unfortunately passed on to unknown reasons (it was happily swimming one day and playing with my wife, the next day it died to death curl while i was out - even though it was still eating before we left the house). I think I'm gonna lay off the rays for awhile, which leaves me with another problem - I have no bottom dwellers!
While the earth eaters do sift some of the sand, I find that they're not really doing a good job in "throwing up" debris to be sucked into the filter. The ray used to do that, and in my other tank the cories do that.
So my question is: Will cories be ok with the johannas? I've read some other threads where it's been mentioned that pikes generally leave cories alone due to their spines or something. Is this the case? Will the cories be safe from harm even when the johannas have grown to full size?
I really need a sand cleanup crew, as the black fish poop on fine sand (hence I can't use a wavemaker to do the sweeping) is really unsightly!
Anyhow, I've traded my 3 C. atabapo IIs for a pair of juvenile C. johannas - they're about 5" and really cute in their juvenile colouration now. Easier on the mind too as I see a white seam on one, hopefully meaning I have a pair.
My ray has unfortunately passed on to unknown reasons (it was happily swimming one day and playing with my wife, the next day it died to death curl while i was out - even though it was still eating before we left the house). I think I'm gonna lay off the rays for awhile, which leaves me with another problem - I have no bottom dwellers!
While the earth eaters do sift some of the sand, I find that they're not really doing a good job in "throwing up" debris to be sucked into the filter. The ray used to do that, and in my other tank the cories do that.
So my question is: Will cories be ok with the johannas? I've read some other threads where it's been mentioned that pikes generally leave cories alone due to their spines or something. Is this the case? Will the cories be safe from harm even when the johannas have grown to full size?
I really need a sand cleanup crew, as the black fish poop on fine sand (hence I can't use a wavemaker to do the sweeping) is really unsightly!
