Cirrhinus microlepis aka small scale mud carp at Fish Story

[thebiggerthebetter]

Bought this one from Rapps in Jan 2019 at 5". Today after 5 months it is about 7". Rather unremarkable appearance so far, the tail is a bit reddish.

So you know what fish to look for in the video, haha:

Google images:

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The mudder was moved to the 25k (along with some of the other carp).

It blossomed in there, not so much growing quickly, albeit still growing but slowly, but developing pretty green hue on the body and bright red colors in the fins. Jeff Rapps was here some months back and saw it and was impressed. I have to make it a point to film it later.

For now just the move:

 

[celebrist]

What about that small scale?

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

What about that small scale?

I am not sure I follow. The small scale mud carp aka Cirrhinus microlepis has been moved to the 25k (as reflected in the video along with some other cyprinids) and been doing great in there.

 

[celebrist]

I am not sure I follow. The small scale mud carp aka Cirrhinus microlepis has been moved to the 25k (as reflected in the video along with some other cyprinids) and been doing great in there.

I must have misheard you or not remember correctly. I thought you were keeping a specimen in the 240 for a while longer

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I must have misheard you or not remember correctly. I thought you were keeping a specimen in the 240 for a while longer

I had been hesitant but went for it right then and there. The esoks couldn't stay in the 25k in the first attempt and I caught them out and put them back into their 240 gal but succeeded on the 2nd attempt when I started to feed the mahseer much better.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

The mudder turned out to be a rather nasty tank mate, a slime eater... its doing it to other carp had been tolerable but it started doing it to the beluga sturgeon, earning itself a one way ticket immediately into a 240 gal for now.

It also behaves as if a filter feeder or something else I have never seen before. During feedings, it swims around in the water column doing very quick lip movements instead of going for the feed on the bottom as everyone else. It's not like our other filter feeders behave, the giant siamese carp and Catla catla as these open their mouths wide gulping as much water as possible with each move. The mudder opens its mouth little if at all, mostly working its lips, the same way when it skims its tank mates sucking their slime off. So IDK what to make of this observation. IDK if it grazes on algae, perhaps it does but I never caught it doing so.

This also may explain its slow growth. I can't imagine it fills itself with such feeding habits in the water column or off tank mates. The tank mates (excluding sturgeon) wouldn't let it suck their slime off for longer than a split second.

It has lost a lot of its attractive coloration in the 240 gal going pale but here are the pictures anyway. It's about a foot long now.

It's peculiar how its tail fin shape resembles that of ATF.

 

[celebrist]

Weird, now I may need to do some surfing. Thanks!

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Some footage in the second half of the vid, currently housed in a 240 gal with a yellowcheek. For some reason has lots of excess slime on it, on the eyes too, has had it for weeks, still feeds, IDK what's up. Ever since I took it out of the 25K pond where it had been happily feeding on tank mates' slime for a year, it has not looked good and hasn't been itself. Slowly learning or rather relearning to take normal feed like pellets and thawed glass minnows.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Over 1.5 year update. The mudder we bought at 5" in Jan 2019. Today, Feb 2022, 3 years later it is around 14". Seems to be a specialized feeder and doesn't fill up aptly on pellets and cut herring and glass minnows, although it takes both. Stays quite fit / thin too.

Good footage here of it munching on the fortified glass minnows: