Progression of melanurus

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nutty

nutty

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Jan 4, 2007
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The adult melanurus (formely "synspilus") featured in the photos are a population from Rio Sarstun (Guatemala). These are the most colourful population I've had the pleasure keeping. The best feature of these fish is the beautiful blue iridesence displayed on the unpaired fins. This trait is certainly displayed more on the male fish. This population looks very similar to fish from "Freshwater Creek" (Belize).

The later photos, i have tried to include some younger melanurus in the same frame for comparison. These are the Lago de Peten (Guatemala) orange form, the original type locality variation.

The Lago de Peten melanurus are developing nicely, where a pecking order is starting to be observed. I have a small group of 5 in this display tank.

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And a short video i made. ;)

[video=youtube;yoo3EB3YUSs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoo3EB3YUSs[/video]

Cheers guys,

Lee.
 
My face us still on the floor!!!
 
amazing photos and tank! the variety of patterns/colors of syns/melanurus really sets these fish apart.does your group fight much? i see small mark on the females head,do you think the group can exist long term?
 
virgil2090 said:
amazing photos and tank! the variety of patterns/colors of syns/melanurus really sets these fish apart.does your group fight much? i see small mark on the females head,do you think the group can exist long term?
Click to expand...

The small mark is due to the fish pair bonding, the male can sometimes be a little rough. The orange melanurus population have their own seperate group from the large Rio Sarstun pair. Inevitably the group will need to be thinned down in time once a pair has formed.

Cheers,

Lee.
 
Love these guy! Awesome pair.
 
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