Chinese hi fin banded loaches at Fish Story
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
IDK what SeriouslyFish suggests. This guy has been on large (2-3mm) New Life Spectrum general-nutrition pellets all this time. The only other thing I offer in this tank is Peruvian smelt / glass minnow / anchovy sp. but the sucker does not seem to show any interest in that. It seems to want only tiny feed particles or at least something it can fit in its small mouth and quickly file/chew on for a long, long time. A teaspoon of pellets takes it several hours to half a day to polish off.
I was referring to the vegetable matter. New Life Spectrum definitely has that, so it seems they fulfill the suggestion.
One new rescue 5" hi fin from Matthew joins its kin in 240 gal. Seems to have been taking to the NLS pellets well too, so there is good hope. Water temp still holds at 82F / 28C with the high speed fan blowing at the 60ftx2ft sump filter to drop the temp about 4F.
In a rarest occasion, for the first time in 15 years, I have just stumbled upon someone selling two adult 2ft hi fins on Craigslist. Unfortunately, the owner is selling them as a package with 14x 2'-3' butterfly koi for $8000, won't separate.
"Due to medical reasons, I am parting with my giant butterfly koi. I have 14 of them. They are almost 20 years old. The tank they are in is 22 feet long x 8 feet wide (for reference) I have had professional koi breeders say these are stunning in person. If you want a jaw dropping pond, you need to at least come see these! Pictures don't come close to doing them justice. Their tails are 8" long!! All 14 for $8000. If you want all 14, I'll throw in 2 24" Chinese hi- fin algae eater sharks. You can come see them by appointment. They are much bigger in person. Photos don't come close to doing them justice. They are beautiful with long flowing fins. I will not ship. Must pick up. I will help prepare them for transporting. "
The reason I am sharing this here though, is that all 16 fish have been kept in central Florida near Orlando and it gets mighty hot there, as hot as here in SW FL. The owner just told me on the phone that the hot-season water temps have been around 85F. He wasn't doing anything special to keep the water cool, not pumping in cool well water. In fact, he said he did WC only once in 4 months. (IDK, don't ask me, don't roll your eyes
) His filtration he says is quite elaborate though. Maybe he got denitrification going too, IDK.
He says there was a rather tight cover on the pond with only some holes to let the sun light through.
The hi fins fed on algae and pellets.
But anyhow, here is some evidence that adult hi fins can handle the heat, at least for some years apparently.
(The other extreme: IDK if I had mentioned above but I met a peer on YT in Massachusetts or Connecticut, I forgot, who have several adult hi fins in their pond as well, surviving winters under ice just fine. But this is the norm or closer to the norm for the fish. It's the highs that can kill them.)
14- two to three foot butterfly koi - pets
Due to medical reasons, I am parting with my giant butterfly koi. I have 14 of them. They are almost 20 years old. The tank they are in is 22 feet long x 8 feet wide (for reference) I have had...
lakeland.craigslist.org
"Due to medical reasons, I am parting with my giant butterfly koi. I have 14 of them. They are almost 20 years old. The tank they are in is 22 feet long x 8 feet wide (for reference) I have had professional koi breeders say these are stunning in person. If you want a jaw dropping pond, you need to at least come see these! Pictures don't come close to doing them justice. Their tails are 8" long!! All 14 for $8000. If you want all 14, I'll throw in 2 24" Chinese hi- fin algae eater sharks. You can come see them by appointment. They are much bigger in person. Photos don't come close to doing them justice. They are beautiful with long flowing fins. I will not ship. Must pick up. I will help prepare them for transporting. "
The reason I am sharing this here though, is that all 16 fish have been kept in central Florida near Orlando and it gets mighty hot there, as hot as here in SW FL. The owner just told me on the phone that the hot-season water temps have been around 85F. He wasn't doing anything special to keep the water cool, not pumping in cool well water. In fact, he said he did WC only once in 4 months. (IDK, don't ask me, don't roll your eyes
) His filtration he says is quite elaborate though. Maybe he got denitrification going too, IDK.He says there was a rather tight cover on the pond with only some holes to let the sun light through.
The hi fins fed on algae and pellets.
But anyhow, here is some evidence that adult hi fins can handle the heat, at least for some years apparently.
(The other extreme: IDK if I had mentioned above but I met a peer on YT in Massachusetts or Connecticut, I forgot, who have several adult hi fins in their pond as well, surviving winters under ice just fine. But this is the norm or closer to the norm for the fish. It's the highs that can kill them.)
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Maybe it’s just me but I think Myxocyprinus asiaticus look striking as adults. I think I may just try some of these myself. This pond setup looks interesting as well.
Thanks for sharing the fact they attained this size in the brutal Florida heat.
Thanks for sharing the fact they attained this size in the brutal Florida heat.
I was surprised they looked so good. I've read that they look drab as adults except for a short time when in the breeding mood and courtship, especially males get intense red color, pretty striking. I wonder if this pair is in the mood and their coloration is transient.
See this page - first photo of the normal coloration, then below is of the specimen in heat: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...eal-with-chinese-highfin-sharks.709535/page-3
I will attach two more - norm and heat:
See this page - first photo of the normal coloration, then below is of the specimen in heat: https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/...eal-with-chinese-highfin-sharks.709535/page-3
I will attach two more - norm and heat:
I wonder if keeping them outdoors will help trigger the colors with the weather and sun duration triggering a breeding season type response. This is of course assuming they are sexually mature. Does anyone know if they’ll surface feed on pellets? They look like they need a lot of forage if only depending on algae in a pond system.
I am sure they'd get triggered. If not (only) by the weather, then possibly by the hormones your cichlids release in the water when they begin spawning right and left - this triggers many other fish species to spawn.
I'd be very surprised if they could learn to feed off surface. Feeding them is another huge hurdle to overcome next to the hot climate. IME, for them to consume an amount that e.g. a carp consumes in 5 minutes and a catfish in 5 seconds, takes 5 hours, no exaggeration! They mouth and chew food forever before swallowing. If there is competition, they are doomed to starvation sooner or later, unless competition is equally slow / clueless, like a lungfish But even a lung would beat them. Some peers are able to spot feed them or feed through pipe to get some more to them but it sounds weak and inefficient anyway. The efficient way is for them to have little to no competition for what's on their menu. If you have plenty of algae, that might just do it?
I'd be very surprised if they could learn to feed off surface. Feeding them is another huge hurdle to overcome next to the hot climate. IME, for them to consume an amount that e.g. a carp consumes in 5 minutes and a catfish in 5 seconds, takes 5 hours, no exaggeration! They mouth and chew food forever before swallowing. If there is competition, they are doomed to starvation sooner or later, unless competition is equally slow / clueless, like a lungfish
But even a lung would beat them. Some peers are able to spot feed them or feed through pipe to get some more to them but it sounds weak and inefficient anyway. The efficient way is for them to have little to no competition for what's on their menu. If you have plenty of algae, that might just do it?
