From time to time cichlids kept in aquaria suffer from one of the two diseases: HITH (hole in the head) and bloat (swelling). If their symptoms are noticed in time, there’s a big chance of recovery. (...) The holes in the head are often filled with yellowish pus. The disease is usually found in American cichlids such as discus fish, scalars, Geophagus, Satanoperca, Cichlasoma, Uaru, Acarichthys, Astronotus, Mesonauta and Heros, sometimes it affects Africans tilapia and species from Lake Malawi and Lake Tanganyika as well as popular cichlids from Pelvicachromis genus.
Wetland at home – the background - dr inż. Aleksandra Kwaśniak;
After completing all elements of the decoration, technical equipment and the tank itself we are ready to start arranging the paludarium.
"Biologia Raf Koralowych" (biology of coral reefs) conference in Warsaw that took place on October, 13th – 14th, 2007. Part I - dr Grzegorz Soszka;
On May, 22nd, 1999 I have organised I Sympozjum „Biologiczne Podstawy Akwarystyki Morskiej” (Ist symposium on biological fundamentals of marine aquarium hobby) in Warsaw and on October, 13th – 14th, 2007 – the "Biologia Raf Koralowych" (biology of coral reefs) conference that took place in the capitol as well.
Algae. What should we know about them? Part I – the meaning of the term „algae” - Bartosz Bojarski, Anna Domańska;
The name „algae” is not a taxonomic term. The Polish name “glony” was borrowed by a botanist J. Rostafiński from the Polish highlanders’ dialect. In botanical systematic it is used to denote the simplest, non-vascular, autotrophic plants producing spores that live mainly in water environment or in humid conditions.
Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos – mysterious and beautiful mbuna cichlid - Wojciech Sierakowski;
When I considered what kind of fish should I put in my 450 L Malawi aquarium I have thought up a new species of the mouthbrooder every evening. (...) I missed one species because I already had: Pseudotropheus saulosi, Pseudotropheus socolofi, Labidochromis caeruleus and Aulonocara sp. Rubin Red. The choice was difficult because I just wanted to have beautiful fish and as it comes to Malawi cichlids, most of them – and that means a lot – are beautiful. I followed more specific criteria. Besides the fact that the new species should fill my aesthetic needs it had to be omnivorous, docile or medium-aggressive mbuna cichlid.
Iguanas – tiny dragons - Witold Borkowski;
In the previous article I have tried to present the representatives of „typical” iguanas (systematically classified in Iguanidae family). In this part of my discourse on those interesting lizards I will focus on acquainting the readers with those families, genera and species of the lizards that are still commonly regarded as iguanas and are called this way, contrary to the systematic organisation of the reptile realm. (...) I’ll start with the most numerous ones. Anoles (Polychrotidae) and genera covered by this family (Anolis, Norops etc.) are small lizards of a slender body not longer than 20 cm.
Many-striped skink (Mabuya multifasciata) – a skink for everyone - dr Hubert Zientek;
Skinks from Mabuya genus are rare in terrariums owned by Polish lizard hobbyists. According to different estimates the genus covers more than 100 species. (...) The many-striped skink is also known as many-lined sun skink, multi-striped skink, Indonesian skink, shiny multi-striped skink, East Indian brown mabuya and common sun skink.
Noisy fish - Zbigniew Strzelecki;
There’s a saying in Polish that kids and fish have no voice (meaning both comprehensive sound as the right to express their opinion). Apparently it should already be regarded false. (...) Fish, being typically water animals, have been once regarded to be creatures unable to make any sound – well, maybe with a few exceptions. It was a result both of purely technical limitations (lack of appropriate equipment with which to examine the phenomenon) and the belief that fish, contrary to the terrestrial animals, simply have no organs that could generate sound. As more and more species of the fish were discovered and an appropriate research and registering equipment was applied, the opinion mentioned above has no raison d’être any more. Only croakers (Sciaenidae) were once known to be able to generate loud sounds – ones that were audible for the human ear and heard above the water surface even if the fish making the sound remained at considerable depth.
Like a fish in water – movement - Aleksandra Kwaśniak;
When you observe an aquarium first and foremost you pay attention to its aesthetic aspect. You admire the beauty of the plants, fish coloration, behaviour and the way in which fish move. The fish’s speed, deftness and ability to manoeuvre between the obstacles grabs your attention. Have you ever wondered how complicated the fish’s ability to move is and how their wonderful bodies have adapted to move in water?
Insectivorous plants - Magdalena Ryba;
Insectivorous plants – many people heard of these strange plants but most of us don’t know too much about them.
ZOO-Festiwal – Kraków 2008 - Andrzej Sieniawski;
International Discus Championship and Drugie Polskie Mistrzostwa Dyskowców (second Polish discus fish championship) will take place during the ZOO-festiwal organised every two years in Kraków by Polski Klub Miłośników Dyskowców (Polish discus club).
AQUA Terr – Toruń 2008 – Report on Forum Akwarystyki i Terrarystyki Polskiej (a Polish aquarium / terrarium forum);
Probably Toruń will always remind me of aquarium hobby. For me Toruń means the forum.
Trends in aquarium hobby - Przemysław Jarocki;
When browsing Internet resources I pay my utmost attention to the web sites dedicated to aquarium hobby. After more than a decade of reading them and looking at them I have made some observations.
Trends in aquarium hobby – a polemic. A reply to the letter written by Mr. Przemysław Jarocki - dr Ryszard Kamiński, Paweł Szewczak;
On April, 19th – 20th I traditionally took part in Forum Akwarystyki i Terrarystyki Polskiej (a Polish aquarium / terrarium forum) „Aqua Terr – Toruń 2008”. An issue of aquarium (or rather its content) being regarded as a work of art was one of the aspects we debated on