(...) Fish included in Neolamprologus genus belong to the substrate spawning lineage of cichlids. After the period of confusion resulting from consecutive changes in systematic the current taxonomy has been established. The whole process took few decades and the dispute was fuelled by such esteemed and knowledgeable researchers as: Poll, Burgess and Konings. Current state of the group taxonomy encompasses the following species:
• Neolamprologus brichardi (Poll, 1974)
• Neolamprologus crassus (Brichard, 1989)
• Neolamprologus falcicula (Brichard, 1989)
• Neolamprologus gracilis (Brichard, 1989)
• Neolamprologus pulcher (Trewavas & Poll, 1952)
• Neolamprologus savoryi (Poll, 1949)
• Neolamprologus splendens (Brichard, 1989);
Luminous disease in freshwater shrimps - Anita Kaliszewicz;
(...) Bioluminescence in bacteria is a side effect, connected with metabolic process chemical reactions. Unfortunately bioluminescent bacteria are pathogenic for shrimps and their infestation leads to animal’s death. Luminous disease in shrimps is caused by bioluminescent bacteria from Vibrio genus. (...) Luminescence has been observed in the following species: Xiphocaridina compressa, Palaemon nipponensis, Atyaephira compressa and Leander paucidens. All animals observed to have visible bioluminescence died in less than 5 hours. The disease has also been observed in shrimps from Macrobrachium genus found in Tahiti as well as in shrimp farms in Thailand. The infection is independent of the animal’s age and sex.
It’s time for miniature crenicichla - Radosław Bednarczuk;
Cichlids found in South American waters are usually associated with popular discus fish, scalars, dwarf cichlids or eartheaters. (...) Currently Crenicichla genus encompasses more than hundred of species and the number is steadily rising. Due to that the genus had to be divided into subgroups. Miniature crenicichla group covers species classified as wallacii subgroup; those fish are usually not bigger than 12-14 cm. The group includes scientifically described: Crenicichla urosema Kullander, 1990, C. virgatula Ploeg, 1991, C. heckeli Ploeg, 1989, C. wallacii Regan, 1905 and the most popular ones: C. compressiceps Ploeg, 1986, C. notophthalmus Regan, 1913 and C. regani Ploeg, 1989.;
Fascinating and outstanding loricariids - dr inż. Aleksandra Kwaśniak;
(...) From the point of view of popular aesthetic canons loricariids are unquestionably not attractive fish. First and foremost, due to the fact that they are bottom-dwellers and like to hide in shelters they are poorly visible in aquarium. (...) Despite the fact that loricariids are not shockingly brightly coloured they can be fascinating and interesting. (...) Their interesting habits are the aspect that should be most important for an aquarium hobbyist. It can’t be said that loricariids are boring fish, especially when kept in a larger group. (...) Loricariids can be divided into smaller groups with respect to their nutritional requirements – one group encompasses herbivorous fish, appropriately commonly named algae-eaters, another consists of fish feeding on wood and yet another – of omnivorous fish.
Poecilia reticulata in my aquarium - Ryszard Patryas;
As early as in my childhood I got interested in livebearers, especially in guppies – in 1949 my parents presented me with my fist aquarium. (...) I remained a hobbyist for all that time, despite a few longer and shorter breaks in the meantime. Currently I’m a passionate guppy breeder and I deal with selective breeding of my dream shiny red guppies. My guppies represent the triangle tail type although I’d rather breed spear tails or round tails. So far when I used to buy fish representing this tail type I got curved spine guppies.
Phasmatodea – uncut diamond - Michał Gniewkiewicz;
Phasmatodea are insects that amaze with their appearance, defensive strategies and originality. We are talking about stick-bugs, nymphs and leaf insects here. (...) They have been brought to Europe by the end of XIXth century. The first species kept in captivity was Carausius morosus, an Indian stick insect, which became very popular among beginners in the hobby. Nowadays you can find at least dozen of species of those outstandingly beautiful arthropods in terrarium markets.
Dangerous list of dangerous animals - Witold Borkowski;
For more than a year the Polish terrarium hobby environment is perplexed by the so called „list of animals dangerous to human health and life” issued by the Polish Ministerstwo Środowiska (ministry for environment). The 73th article of Ustawa o Ochronie Przyrody (environmental protection act) of April 16th, 2004 demands that such a directive is to be issued by the minister. (...) Yet, on the very first day of Poland’s membership in European Union it appeared that many of the regulations became meaningless. Others distorted the point of EU directives.
Maylandia lombardoi - Grzegorz Piór;
Regular aquarium magazine readers may already be tired of fish descriptions usually containing similar information such as: size of the tank, water temperature, pH and so on. Boring. Although the text below may also seem boring, the subject of the hereby issued scribble is not boring at all. We are talking about Maylandia lombardoi here. At the very beginning of my text I’d like to underline that the fish is not recommended for beginners or amateur hobbyists. Keeping the fish demands some knowledge, at best supported by the experience in keeping mouthbrooders from Lake Malawi.
Insecdtivorous plants - Part 2 - Magdalena Ryba;
Utricularia genus covers about 300 plant species characterized by the lack of root system and marvellous flowers. Bladderworts feed on small animals, which get caught into traps located in the lower part of the plant. The trap has a spherical shape and “mouth” that open exclusively to the inside. Triggering this part of the plant leads to deforming its surface and sucking the incest inside the trap, where it gets digested.
AQUA FESTIVAL 2008 - Konkurs Dyskowców i Skalara (discus and scalar championship) in Česká Lípa;
A Czech discus and scalar championship took place on August, 28th – September 3rd in cultural centre Crystal in Česká Lípa. Aquarium hobbyists from abroad took part in the contest.
VII Targi Zoologiczno-Botaniczne (7th zoological-botanical fairs);
VII zoological-botanical fairs in Centennial Hall in Wrocław went on for three days – the event started on Friday, September 12th and ended on Sunday September 14th;