Scleromystax barbatus, Corydoras paleatus & Black C. Schultzei breeding tank ///

[bsmith]

So this is what happens when you browse planet catfish in the evenings and people post up about the cool catfish they just got. After I saw their pics of this unique fish I set out on getting them in one of my tank. Through the help of a member here I was put in contact with a breeder and within a few weeks had them at my home.

This is nothing special. Actually it was a tank that was setup to grow out my L183 fry but after watching them flourish in the tank they were born in I saw no need to transfer then anywhere else. This left that tank un used and in the Barbatus went. Here is the PC species profile on Scleromystax barbatus for some back ground info.

As of right now there are 8 in the tank ranging from about .5" to 1.5" and unless all of the larger ones I got are all females, aren't showing the sexual dimorphism that shows the males as a stunningly marked specimen and the females as a peppered beauty that looks like the pics that will follow.

[mscichlid]

Nice fish. I have a wild pair that I'm working with. I bred them back in 2000. Once they got going they wouldn't stop.

Hopefully you'll get them going. Other aquarist would certainly appreciate it for sure.

[OverStocked]

a;sldkgoblidigook.


See, I can make up words too! I kid, I kid. Those are great looking fish!

[bsmith]

I have kept all kinds of cats but never knew about these guys till I came across that post on PC. It seems though the tolerate and actually prefer cooler temps which is different for me since my 183's are kept at 82. From what I have found there really is no trick to these guys spawning just patience Abd a good feeding routine.

Do you have any idea at about what size/age the males start to show their coloration and what the max size is? I have read up to two years and from 3"-4".

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by OverStocked

a;sldkgoblidigook.


See, I can make up words too! I kid, I kid. Those are great looking fish!

You aren't kidding. I thought ancistrus dolichopterous was a mouthful!

[mscichlid]

They should start around 3". At first glance the sex of the fish doesn't seem to easy, but the males patterns are more pronounced.

Yes, these fish breed and should be kept around 70-72. Feed a variety of foods and constant, good water changes.

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by mscichlid

They should start around 3". At first glance the sex of the fish doesn't seem to easy, but the males patterns are more pronounced.

Yes, these fish breed and should be kept around 70-72. Feed a variety of foods and constant, good water changes.

Looks like I have a while. Thanks.

[Da Plant Man]

Very cool! (My LFS owner is Barbie...a mod on PlanetCatfish, so I am lucky )

Good luck!

[bsmith]

That's a great LFS owner to have access to. She helped answer some questions I had when I was starting my L183 breeding.

[chad320]

How big is your tank? Looks like a 20L but its hard to say from a pic. Did your water clear? Everyone settle in OK? It going to be a long wait but all of those long waits are worth it

[hydrophyte]

Nice! Just last week I was over at a friend's fishroom and he had some Scleromystax of some kind. They are pretty cool fish.

[bsmith]

Originally Posted by chad320

How big is your tank? Looks like a 20L but its hard to say from a pic. Did your water clear? Everyone settle in OK? It going to be a long wait but all of those long waits are worth it

I believe it's a 20L or a 30L. It was given to me so I'm not really sure. Everyone is settled in great. They are really active just like most cories but are maybe even a bit more so. They also shoal like crazy deffinantly mores than any Cory I have kept. I think the cloudy water is related to the fact that I have never cleaned the 2217 that's on this tank (the one I have that says it's from west Germany) and it's been a year or more. This 2217 doesn't have the disconnects so that's the deterrent that's been causing me to not clean it.

Originally Posted by hydrophyte

Nice! Just last week I was over at a friend's fishroom and he had some Scleromystax of some kind. They are pretty cool fish.

They are, I would recommend then to anyone with a fairly large tank so you could get 6 or more and because I have read that they can get up to 4".

[hydrophyte]

They would be awesome in a riparium setup in a big tank with some Gymnogeophagus.

[bsmith]

Yep, they would a quite a bit of activity to the tank. The one thing I noticed is that they don't run up to the surface to gulp air like cories do.

[AndiH]

So you know, S barbatus run contrary to most Cory species. The males are bigger than the females. You should start to see some odontodes on the males at around 3 inches or so I think and the markings seem to get sharper as well.