Pindu shimmy?

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LS2012

LS2012

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Feb 24, 2013
782
3
33
Northern NJ
My young group of Stomatepia pindu from dogofwar have acclimated well to their new home. They're very active, not shy at all, eat constantly and have darkened a bit as well. I've noticed they hover near the inflow of water from the spraybar. Not all the time, just occasionally. It appears they enjoying swimming against a current. As they do this, they shimmy their bodies, not at each other. Anyone else notice this behavior?

Just moved them to a 1 yr established planted 40g, black sand pH 7.4, GH/kh 6/7, nitrates 10, filtration is eheim 2217 and a 40g sponge. Temp 79. Weekly WC of 50%. Same parameters that were in their qt. Same shimmy occurred in the qt. They're now with my Pty. Tarantsy grow outs, who are usually very shy, but now swim peacefully with the Pindu. The pindu are similar in appearance to the tarantsy, albeit smaller.

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I keep pindu with Saratherodon linnelli, and they all tend to face into the force of flow of the tank, probably 70% of the time. Flow in the tank enters 1 end and has an overflow at the other end.

 
Thanks Duane. Its a pretty interesting behavior to observe. With the exception of clown loaches (in another tank) I've never noticed this occurring in unison.

That's an incredible picture, really good shot. And wow, they're VERY black. Mine are younger, about 5 or 6 mos according to Matt. How old were yours when they fully darkened? And have you observed ongoing color changes with pindu adults, similar to that of a paratilapia?

You've probably seen this video filmed by Adrian Indermaur, but just in case - here's a quick underwater clip of pindu in Lake Barombi Mbo. Its a nice peek at them in their natural habitat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QEZr1rNd8Y&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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When I first got pindu from Matt, they were grey for a while,

within a month or 2 they had darkened considerably

But they do seem to change according to mood.



I had never seen the video, thanks for posting it, I find natural setting shots fascinating.
The newest fry from the box swap, just a week or 2 ago, are fairly dark already.
 
They're all looking great! The coloration changes with mood, even when adults. When the males want to spawn, they get this weird mottled color in my experience. I've not experienced the shimmy :)

I do weekly water changes on their tanks but they look best when I really get all of the gunk out (clean filters, siphon waste, rinse sponge filter, etc.). They don't like nitrate.

I need to breed more of the Saratherodon linnelli - cool fish as well...

Matt
 
Thanks for the info Matt & Duane. Very helpful. When they're larger, I'll put them in with my Saratheradon Knauerae. For now, they're too small. The tarantsy are more peaceful for them at this size. And they're not competing for food. The Knauerae are tend to chase each other alot and are with my Menarambo growouts for now. Here's another pindu video, about 17 minutes long, from Sergei Kochetov. He provides a narrative in Russian. Too bad I can't understand this language!! It follow their behavior over a 20 day period, including a spawn. Their mating dance has an exaggerated shimmy, but its not nearly as graceful as I've seen with Malagasies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czQx8T2AjFo&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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Absolutely! That's fantastic Matt. Let's hope your conservation efforts continue to raise greater awareness of C.A.R.E.S. species. Well done :)

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Or at least get enough folks breeding these fish so that they remain in the hobby. It would be great if more folks would make the connection between CARES and supporting actual conservation of Lake Barombi-Mbo or Madagascar (or both)...but baby steps!

Matt

LS2012 said:
Absolutely! That's fantastic Matt. Let's hope your conservation efforts continue to raise greater awareness of C.A.R.E.S. species. Well done :)

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