Boesemani Sparring? Are these two males?

[Akysten]

The one that has more yellow looks more subdued when this "sparring" is not taking place. If he didn't color up when they spar/whatever, I would swear he was a she.
The video doesn't not catch the sparring well well. They'll sit there with their fins flared.... one will push the other, or attempt two, and the other will turn to stop the "charge". Are these two males? What's going on?

Thanks!


Video: (3mb)
http://barlow.santoonie.com/fish/boesemani.wmv

Photo:
http://barlow.santoonie.com/fish/boesemani.JPG

[Roan Art]

Yes, they are both males and yes, they are sparring.

Many LFS bought bows have washed out colors from inbreeding on fish farms. This is why neither of them are very bright, even while sparring.

Roan

[twig]

i still think they are very pretty.

[Akysten]

Actually, the one is quite bright... .. the camera doesn't do them justice... and considering that they're less than 2 inches long, I think the color on the one is excellent. I'm sure it will intensify as they get older.

I picked the "faded" one because i thought it was a female. I have since added a female. I don't know if that's the reason, but the Sparring is less frequent.

I have to give this one LFS credit.

The guy drives up somewhere to some regrional sale in the mid atlantic.. I don't know where, but it's usually on tuesdays. He hand picks what fish he wants to put in his store. This explains why his shop has some great looking fish compared to others that "order" and get pot lock selections.

One other question.. you mentioned Tanner.. he only seems to sell 6 at a time. Would you say that the quality of his fish are "outstanding?". I'm hesitant... I feel if I actually see the fish, I know what I'm getting.

So far I feel I've found 1 each excellent male Bosemani, Turquoise and Red... they really stand out, even for their small size. I'm either going to add to this with a Tanner order(and split the 3 Boesemani with a friend.. I already have 3), or wait until I see a very good speciman.

[Roan Art]

Actually, the one is quite bright... .. the camera doesn't do them justice... and considering that they're less than 2 inches long, I think the color on the one is excellent. I'm sure it will intensify as they get older.

I picked the "faded" one because i thought it was a female. I have since added a female. I don't know if that's the reason, but the Sparring is less frequent.I wasn't trying to bash your Boes, really, wasn't my intent. I came across the wrong way and I apologize for that. Been a long day and I wasn't thinking.

I was trying to explain why a the majority of the LFS Boes have washed out colors.


I have to give this one LFS credit.

The guy drives up somewhere to some regrional sale in the mid atlantic.. I don't know where, but it's usually on tuesdays. He hand picks what fish he wants to put in his store. This explains why his shop has some great looking fish compared to others that "order" and get pot lock selections.That does sound like a decent LFS. Where are you located?


One other question.. you mentioned Tanner.. he only seems to sell 6 at a time. Would you say that the quality of his fish are "outstanding?". I'm hesitant... I feel if I actually see the fish, I know what I'm getting.Hrm, "outstanding" would be an understatement ;)

Tanner West gets his fish from a gentleman by the name of Kent Webster. Kent breeds only "pure" strains of bows, in fact he's the man responsible for bringing back several new species from Irian Jaya in 2002. Meaning he flew to Irian Jaya (in New Guinea) got several natives lead a safari with him out to a previously unknown lake, caught the fish himself, and flew them back to the United States.

You can read about his sojourn to Irian Jaya and his bringing back of the Goo obo Gudgeon in the January and February issues of Tropical Fish Hobbyist.

Anyhow, this is what Kent does: he breeds rainbowfish and all his fish are from prime "domestic" stock or directly from the wild fish he has brought back. He's careful and selective about his breeding practices, how the bows are raised, what they are feed, and so on and so forth. He doesn't breed massive amounts of bows, he breeds quality bows.

The first Boesemani I ever bought were LFS bows. I still have them and they are beautiful. I wouldn't trade them for the world. I do have five that I bought from Tanner as well. I *can* see a difference between the two types. The lateral striping on the two males I have is much darker about the eye -- an extreme dark blue, the head is far more pronounced, and the colors are deeper. They almost look "wicked" when they are sparring.


So far I feel I've found 1 each excellent male Bosemani, Turquoise and Red... they really stand out, even for their small size. I'm either going to add to this with a Tanner order(and split the 3 Boesemani with a friend.. I already have 3), or wait until I see a very good speciman.You most likely won't get six Boes from Tanner. Rainbowfish don't ship very well and Tanner usually sends 8-9 with every auction. Most people end up with all of the bows, but occasionally one or two will not make it through shipping. You will get at least six, though.

You also have to remember that unless the LFS person you were referring to knows rainbowfish extremely well, he will not know a hybrid from a true strain. That's okay if you don't care or if you don't intend to breed them, but I just want to point that out. Hybrid bows are all over the place and I have a local LFS who *used* to carry quality bows but now has a lot of crossed stuff in his tanks. It's kinda sad to me because the true rainbowfish are gorgeous enough and it's unnecessary to try to make "new" ones.

Roan

[Akysten]

I'll give you that this guy isn't an expert on Rainbowfish.
They are some of the better looking local fish that I've seen at reasonable prices.

But from what you're telling me, I'll be buying my next fish from Tanner.

I missed his last Boesemani auction. I don't know what I would do with 11 Boesemani. Oh, I'd love to keep them all together, but I would have to divide them between tanks. As I said before, I THINK i can interest a friend in splitting the order with me.

I'm also torn as I feel the Turquoise rivals the Boesemani as my favorites(that I've seen). My lone Turquoise is my most stunning fish.. I just don't have space for all of them. If I had to get ONE, I'd choose one of these two over my third Rainbow... Praecox. Beautiful fish, but I'm willing to bet the more pure strains are more noticable with the Turquoise and Boesemani.

[Roan Art]

I'll give you that this guy isn't an expert on Rainbowfish.
They are some of the better looking local fish that I've seen at reasonable prices.

But from what you're telling me, I'll be buying my next fish from Tanner.

I missed his last Boesemani auction. I don't know what I would do with 11 Boesemani. Oh, I'd love to keep them all together, but I would have to divide them between tanks. As I said before, I THINK i can interest a friend in splitting the order with me. He has Boesemani for sale most of the time. Keep an eye on his auctions.


I'm also torn as I feel the Turquoise rivals the Boesemani as my favorites(that I've seen). My lone Turquoise is my most stunning fish.. I just don't have space for all of them. If I had to get ONE, I'd choose one of these two over my third Rainbow... Praecox. Beautiful fish, but I'm willing to bet the more pure strains are more noticable with the Turquoise and Boesemani.Tanner's Turquoise are *turquoise* in color from what I understand. One of the very few that are a true blue-green. I was torn between getting those and getting my M. affinis.

Here's a beautiful fish: the Glossolepis pseudoincisus. It maxes out at 3" and is rather slender compare to others. I've attached a video of one of mine spawning with two females:

http://aquafacts.net/stuff/millennium.mpg

Pardon the camera knocking about, but one of my collies was being a bit of a pain. That male is much redder in real life. The camera does not do him justice.

Roan