Yungas part II- Heiko Bleher
My luck was, in a small creek coming up from the mountain here I saw some beautiful blue – neon-like – luminescent fishes. Tiny. With my hand net I chased a small group into a corner of this hardly 30 cm (1 foot) deep crystal clear creek. Ones in the net, I realised that it must be a Tittocharax
species. When I was back in Italy, I did send some to Stan Weitzman and he kindly identified them as similar to T. tambonpatensis. This tiny tetra, hardly 12 mm TL (half of an inch) spawned like crazy at my friends place in Germany (Peter Frech), after my return. Thousands and thousands of large eggs from such a small fish. But after the 2nd generation only very few eggs came out, and after the 3rd generation nothing more… this is a still unresolved mystery.
At the International Zierfisch & Aquarium exhibit in 2003 in Duisburg, Germany, with the correct light on it (from below) 55,000 people stud in line to see this tiny jewel. It was the sensation of my authentic biotope exhibition. No aquarist had seen such tiny beauties before. But back to Bolivia.
We invite you for the second part of the Heiko Bleher story...
A Layout Method with Long Term Maintenance in Mind - Takashi Amano
I discussed a basic layout method for Nature Aquarium in the last article. In this article, I would like to go a step further and introduce a layout method with consideration for long term maintenance. In Nature Aquarium, a layout consists of the foreground, the middle ground, and the background; and aquatic plants are selected so that the height of the plants becomes progressively taller from the foreground to the background as a general rule. Most plants become larger eventually even if they are very small when planted initially because they grow. Therefore some care becomes necessary repeatedly such as trimming or cutting off large leaves depending on the type of plants. If a layout is to be maintained for a long time like 3 years or even 5 years, it becomes important to consider the method to provide care efficiently and maintain the layout in a beautiful condition. Some plants such as stem plants grow fast and require frequent trimming, and they tend to decline when maintained this way for awhile. On the other hand, plants like ferns grow very slowly and take a long time to become dense, but they can be enjoyed for a long time. It is important to understand the biological characteristics of various aquatic plants that are different from plant to plant and use the plants in an arrangement appropriately in order to maintain a layout for a long period of time.
Nutritional requirements of fish in the spawning period - Wojciech Górecki
From the scientific point of view, the issues of feeding fish are relatively poorly recognized. Practical methods of fish keeping being a result of dozes of years of experience are a basis of every aquaculture. Proper conditioning of fish before spawning and achieving desired results is in case of some species a breeder’s genuine success. It raises the breeder’s prestige and results in measurable material benefits. Proper feeding is one of the basic factors that determine proliferation.
Melanochromis dialeptos – tiny fighter from Lake Malawi - Wojciech Sierakowski
I have never concealed that fish from Melanochromis genus are my favourites of mbuna group. I have always had affection for these fish despite the fact that they are not easy to keep. On the contrary, if you decide to keep fish from these species, you have to be prepared for troubles, more or less serious ones. The larger and stronger Melanochromis, the more serious problems are. These fish are no angels and their unusual vivacity often makes them able to defeat much larger rivals and bully smaller fish. Problems they cause are compensated by their very interesting behaviour and females’ beauty. Females are often equally attractive as males are and sometimes it happens the female is a pride of the species. Many aquarium hobbyists claim there are some relatively docile species among these rogues. Most often Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos and Melanochromis dialeptos are regarded to be ones. In this article I would like to present the latter species as it is a poorly known and, for a reason that remains unclear for me, unpopular mouthbrooder. Melanochromis dialeptos lives in the area between Nkhungu and Masinie peninsulas on the eastern coast of Lake Malawi. It inhabits transition areas and lives in the depth of 2 – 20 metres.
The next generation - Panda, King Kong and Red Ruby - Chris Lukhaup
The first freshwater shrimp appeared in tanks around the world some years ago, triggering a new, very dynamic trend. Freshwater invertebrates like crayfish, snails, crabs and, first and foremost,
shrimp have taken tankkeepers' hearts by storm. (...)New color morphs originating from Taiwan are causing a lot of excitement at the moment. Their breeders call them Panda Bees, King Kong, Blue Bolt or Red Ruby. When the first shrimp came to Japan and Europe, there was an uproar in the respective forums and among breeders, comparable to the hype around Sulawesi shrimp not too long ago.
Keeping discus fish - Andrzej Sieniawski
Discussing selected issues of discus keeping, thanks to which proper preparation of water can become easier for a less experienced aquarium hobbyist, is the main goal of this study. As a matter of fact, many fancy discus varieties are less demanding than their wild ancestors as it comes to water parameters. However, that doesn’t mean that fish would develop properly in alkaline water. Improperly prepared water is a frequent cause of numerous failures in keeping discus fish and this has been confirmed in practice. Creating aquarium conditions similar to the conditions found in fish’s natural habitat is the aquarium hobbyist’s duty.
Interview with Andrzejem Sieniawskim
A turtle that travelled by train. Transporting terrarium animals. - Witold Borkowski
Due to the present terrarium hobby development more and more reptiles and amphibians reach the increasing group of exotic herpetofauna fanciers. Terrarium animals are bought in pet shops, on the markets or directly from the breeders and importers. They cover the distance that divides them from us by different means of transport. Such a situation poses a threat to their health and lives and that is due to an improper temperature, vibrations, lack of oxygen, stress etc. You face a similar situation when you have to get your pet to a veterinary clinic, other breeder or decide to sell it to someone else.
You always have to realise that terrarium animals are no objects but leaving creatures and their fate is in your hands. By transporting a turtle or a snake in a proper way you avoid many health problems and financial loss. (...) In this article I will try to describe basic methods of transporting terrarium animals in a safe way, I will quote several rules that will hopefully decrease the number of sad incidents occurring when a pet travels to its new home.
Problems in estimating the turtle’s age - Wojciech Urynowicz
Turtle’s age can be estimated on the basis of number of scutes in the lower shell – plastron. Nevertheless, this method is not a simple one and is not always accurate. (...) It is most accurate when estimating age of young turtles, especially of the semi-aquatic species. (...) Other methods base on growth rate of carapace (dorsal part of the shell) or growth rate in claws and bones. (...) Some researchers try to estimate the animal’s age on the basis of changes in its appearance: darkening of the plastron and carapace, pattern fading or scute abrasion. Eyes in older turtles get dimmer and sometimes even markings and coloration of the head characteristic for a given species start to vanish. All these changes may be an evidence of old age.
African dwarf frogs - Hubert Zientek
African dwarf frogs (Hymenochirus curtipes, Hymenochirus boettgeri) are tiny creatures – their body reaches the length of 3.5-4 cm. They inhabit the western part of Africa, are easy to keep, inexpensive and live long (their live span may be as long as 15 years). They may be kept together with docile, small aquarium fish species. Thanks to their small size they don’t need large tanks. They are active both during the day and the night and they are strictly aquatic animals. Breeding them in vivaria does not cause any bigger problems but keeping the tadpoles may be troublesome.
Four-eyed fish – a fish with two pairs of eyes - Zbigniew Strzelecki
An amazing four-eyed fish (Anableps) is a perfect subject of speculation about an evolutionary progress in creating unique “technical” solutions. Anableps genus belongs to the Anablepinae subfamily, Anablepidae family and Cyprinodontiformes order. In general, one can claim that species of this genus inhabit area spreading from Mexico to Amazon River. They are characterised, among others, by vivipary but are famous for a yet different reason. Undoubtedly their eyes are such a reason. Eyes of Anableps are an utter exception among all vertebrates. (...) The fish has two eyes that serve a function of four eyes.
Visiting the neighbours... - Aleksandra Kwaśniak-Płacheta
A small town Rychnov nad Kněžnou in Czech Republic is a place worth visiting. Every year in autumn a very interesting aquarium exhibition takes place there. A great number of fish is to be admired there. (...) Although the city is relatively small an active group of aquarium hobbyists operates there. This year they organised already 33rd Wystawa Ryb Akwariowych (aquarium fish exhibition) – AkvaEXPO 2009 that took place on September 12th – 16th and was held in Dom Hodowców (breeders’ house) in Rychnov. The organiser announced 180 species of fish were presented in 160 tanks. To be honest, I didn’t count them but it was decidedly not a marketing gimmick.
Symposium and aquaristig Exhibition in Drozdowa - Andrzej Sieniawski
Molinezja - Antoni Kujawa
25-years of Aquael - Wielka Warszawska Wystawa Akwarystyczna
By accident or by reason: loaches - Marcin Szmel
Loaches get to our tanks for several different reasons – because they are pretty, „different”, a bit mysterious and slightly more exotic than other species. Loaches are also bought because as any other bottom-dwelling fish they are pigeonholed in a following way: „catfish-like looking fish and a non-demanding sanitary service”. They are classified this way especially by traders and it often happens that a loach is packed in a bag together with a colourful multi-species assembly. Moreover, these fish have a reputation (and quite justified) of snail killers. This fact itself makes loaches aquarium hobbyist’s allies. It’s worth knowing some more about these fish, especially that they form a significantly diversified group and individual species definitely surpass what the notion of standard decorative fish denotes. The following fish species are discussed in the article: Botia almorhae, Botia dario, Botia striata, Chromobotia macracanthus, Syncrossus helodes, Yasuhikotakia modesta and Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki. The issues of keeping these fish in a home tank were discussed in the article as well.