Ok Got Them--sterbai?

[jollysue]

I went back to my lps. They still had several dozen of the "juliis". They are about an inch, very lively, with a reddish brown tint. They are too small to tell if the spots are dotted lines or spots or if the spots are brown or black. They have a much more reddish brown tint to them and not a black and white tint like the picture in the nearby thread. They cost a fortune! $18 for 2. I bought 9.

If they breed, that is about as high as my lps sells cories for. I would get $3 a piece for them.

Now my dilema is exactly where to put them. They have had them for some time in the lps, so they have been quarantined, in essence. But should I put them with the pandas, et al. I am preparing to set up a tank for my Badis badis, which would leave the Eclipse 12 vacant. That would do for now. It would be a big job to get done today.

I think I may do that.

Let me know if you have any suggestions. Comparitive pics of julii and trilineatus would be helpful

 

[§tudz]

well gets some photos and we'll be able to tell you what they are

I'd go with putting them with the pandas

 

[jollysue]

Oops!!!
They were marked as sterbai My camera soft ware on my desk top is compromised. I can't down load. It will take a bit to fix that. So you wouldn't put them in their own until I know what they are--if I ever know? haha

It would certainly be easier to just put them inh the small cory tank. So what do we know about sterbai?

Ok they have a spotted dorsal--no solid places--definately not trilineatus.

Ok where do I put Sterbai?

Ok! they look like this guysterbai

It says they get 2.6. They are very active. But I guess I will put them with the pandas, et al until I hear different.

 

[§tudz]

yeah planetcatfish is the holy graile of catfish knowledge basis

 

[jollysue]

So where am I going to put them

 

[Inchworm]

Hi jollysue

If they look like that fish, with bright orange fins, they are either C. sterbai or C. haraldschultzi. If they are sterbai, which are the more common of the two, they will have rounded noses. Their colors are also reversed. Here's the link to haraldschultzi:

http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/speci...?species_id=292

If you don't set up a single species tank, you will probably want to put them in a tank with peaceful fish that like warmer water. C. pandas prefer the water to be a bit cooler.

 

[jollysue]

I can't tell dark on light/light on dark even on the pictures side by side.

The nose looks a little longer to me. Frankly I would just as soon have the smaller sterbai, but.. They are really small, about an inch or less. It's hard to see the head markings.

Yes the panda tank is below 75 degrees. The albino/ brochis splendens tank is 75+. So I will put them there, until I can move them to a species only to grow out. I will have the Eclipse 12 free soon. Then I can choose between a regular ten usg and the 12 usg. Then I can move them. Are either the haraldschultzii or the sterbai breeders? I am inclined to go with what the lps labeled them as they also get cories that they label haraldschultzi, but I guess I'll know when they grow up. I have never thought to buy either of them before, as they are always so expensive. $9 a fish! more for less than three. they better breed!

Thanks for the response, Inchworm. I thank you and my cories thank you!

 

[Inchworm]

Hi jollysue

If they said they are sterbai, they probably are. They are the more frequently found of the two species, and if they're small, they might have been tank raised locally. That's a good thing, but you will have to wait a while until they are old enough to breed.

The price on them varies greatly. I think I paid $11 a fish for them when I got my first ones, but since then I've paid $5.99 each for full grown wild caught ones. They're the ones that finally spawned after I had them over a year. Well, the female did anyway. I'm thinking about moving the gossei out in case she wants to do it again.

I don't think the C. haraldschultzi are known to breed in captivity.

 

[Teelie]

I was reading about the tank-raised sterbai not breeding well earlier though supposedly it could be helped by adding tank water with breeding cories of another species to the sterbai's tank. The hormones in the water are meant to help induce them.

 

[jollysue]

Sounds like my aeneus tank, Teelie! haha

Well they are with the albino longfin peppers. I like how they look. The sand is black. So the albinos are kind of flesh colored and that shows up the orange fins on the sterbai. They are about the same size. It is all very cute.

Yes, Inchworm, my exact thought was,"I could buy lots of wild caught cories from Brian for this $90 even with the shipping." And I think I remember that the lps sells the haraldschulzti for even more.

But I am satisfied with them. They were rather an impulsive buy. I'm fortunate to have Inchworm!

If the albino peppers spawn like their cousins in the community tank, they will be a good match for another reason for the sterbai.

 

[Silverlady]

My three Sterbai cost £3.95 each in the UK. I thought at the time they seemed cheap.

 

[jollysue]

I believe that is cheaper than $9. And these are babies! Every year this lps has a big sale with funny dollars and everything like 2/3rds off or something. They get in a bucket load of everything--including hard to get fish. I wasn't able to make the sale this year. But they always have some nice fish left. This year they have this tank of several dozen sterbai among other things. (They have about three tanks of baby frontosas. Have no idea what they will do with them. haha) But the price always seems a little higher after the sale.

 

[The-Wolf]

just thought I'd add some UK prices I've seen for c.sterbai

at work, we currently have some for sale at £6.95 each but I have seen them as much as £14.95 each in other lfs'.
also we have some albino for sale at £5.95 each

 

[jollysue]

Thanks, Wolf, good to see you so to speak. I don't feel so bad. 14.95 lbs each!

 

[§tudz]

lbs? thats a heavey cory hehe!!

you mean £ or pounds sterling