Mystery Hoplo! ID needed, please! <3

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Some videos:

Can see male hoplo defending his nest here and he had an egg stuck to his fins and the emperor tetras were trying to eat it.

Then they're trying to spawn, and all these bright, beady emperor tetra eyes are staring at them the whole time! Ahem. Some privacy, if you please!

You just know the tetra will willing them to drop some eggs!

And this one, the hoplos were fighting over a loose leaf the male wanted to use for building his nest and the female was trying to get him to breed so they were bickering about it.

I knew seeing some from yours would reassure me! Thank you. Utterly charming when interacting with each other, and the other fish aren't the least bit concerned! Love that, thank you! Can't wait to get some more now!

Are yours the same species as mine?

 

[CassCats]

Are yours the same species as mine?

No, mine are hoplosternum punctatum, yours is megalechis thoracata, a close relative. Behavior is similar, yours get around the same size, perhaps a touch larger.

They're just big clumsy corydoras to me. Very goofy fish, very sturdy and hardy. Very personable too. Mine will take food from my hands too.

Freeze dried cube treat here, this video is 2 years old now though

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The danger there is the store is a bit of a distance from me, so to make it worth the trip, might also get the planned otocinclus, and pseudomugil... we shall see!

They ship really well, so a wee bit of a car ride isn't gonna affect them much. Hoplos are sturdy fish. Helps that they're air breathers.

I wasn't worrying yet about getting them home safely, since it really isn't that far (especially compared to a Canadian frame of reference for distance...! It's embarrassingly close by, compared to how far you guys have to go to get fish! I can't quite wrap my brain around how massive North America is, and what's considered a good distance, compared to when we complain about distance, while on our tiny island. It boggles my mind when I think of how huge Canada is! Boggles.

BTW, "Boggles" is a really fun word to say out loud - try it! We need to bring it back into more common use, it's a wonderful word.

Although, now you mention it, having that hillstream loach be DOA last month does make me more paranoid about packing fish safely. Good reminder to look into getting a polystyrene box from a supermarket or something and bringing plastic containers in case I get smaller & more delicate fish. TY!

No, the dangerous part of it being a bit of a distance/hassle for me to get to and from there, is that I might blow my budget buying fish and fish stuff "since I can't come here often"...!

The guy I spoke to today was great, very friendly and chatty as I asked about the spotted hoplos, told me their otos are doing well and taking commercial foods and once I asked about psuedomugils and prices/availability for luminatus. He told me the day they usually put the fish they've received and QT out for sale (they always QT, it's a good store and I always see healthy, beautiful fish and tanks there when I go!), and said I could call ahead on that day of the week to see availability and prices, so I don't have a wasted trip.

He mentioned that the spotted hoplos they had at the moment were in the same tank with some nice p.luminatus too.

So at first I was only planning on getting spotty Not Hoplo boy some friends... but since I'm going to be there anyway, will be getting these fish eventually anyway, I might end up coming back with some hoplos, a lot of otos, and some pseudomugils...! That could be a good thing, can QT them all at once. But might mean blowing the budget for a while in one trip

 

[CassCats]

Okay me taking frogs on a 5 hour train ride is totally not normal fish store distance for most Canadians

I bus around my city, but if I were to actually drive, it'd be less than 30min trips for sure. But I don't drive so it is what it is. My trips normally can take 1-2 hours depending where I'm going.

BUT some tips that have helped me:

--A cooler bag. Good insulation so these are great for longer trips, especially for temperature sensitive fish.

--sock/hand warmers. You know those ones you just shake or crack to activate the heat? You can use those wrapped in some towels inside the cooler bag for winter time. I keep these on hand just in case.

--you are also a walking heater. If you do not have a cooler bag or warmers at the time, stuff the fish bag inside your shirt and keep em warm. I get funny looks on the bus, but I don't really care. Keeps the fish very warm in the winter especially.

Hillstream loaches are more oxygen dependent, so they may struggle in bags for a decent amount of time.