modern aquarium

modernAQUARIUM Series III Vol. VI, No. 6 June, 1999

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Printing By Postal Press

F E A T U R E S

Editor's Babblenest 2

President's Message 3

To the GCAS Membership -

A Special Thank You! 4

Author Award Program Report 4

The Madagascar Rainbowfish 5

In Memoriam: Bill Jacobs 6

The Power of Clean 7

Amusing Aquarium (Cartoon) 9

The Solitary Starfish 10

Oddball One - The Banded Loach . . . . . . 0 . 11

The Aquarist's Sketchpad - 13

Surfing The Pubs (Exchanges) 14

Wet Leaves (Book Review Column) 15

The Case of the Tetra Egg . . . . 17

G.C.A.S. Happenings . 19

Fin Fun (Puzzle Page) 20

Articles submitted for consideration in MODERN AQUARIUM must be received no later than the 10th day of the month, three months priorto the month of publication. Copyright 1999 by the Greater City Aquarium Society Inc., a not-for-profit New York State corporation. Allrights reserved. Not-for-profit aquarium societies are hereby granted permission to reproduce articles and illustrations from this publication,unless the article indicates that the copyrights have been retained by the author, and provided reprints indicate source and two copies of thepublication are sent to the Exchange Editor of this magazine. Any other reproduction or commercial use of the material in this publicationis prohibited without express written prior permission.

The Greater City Aquarium Society meets every month, except during July and August. Meetings are the first Wednesday of the monthand begin at 8:00 P.M. Meetings are held at the Queens Botanical Gardens. For more information, contact Vincent Sileo (718) 846-6984.You can also leave us a message at our Internet Home Page at: http: //ourworld. CompuServe. com/homepages/greatercity

President'sMessage

by VINCENT SILEO

C hanges. The Society has been through alot of changes recently. Some forbetter, and some for worse. But change

is necessary if we want to progress. There is asaying: "Stagnate and you'll die." If the Societybecomes "stagnant," never changing, never tryingnew things, its members will become bored withit and leave — causing the Society to die.

This is why we will continue to makechanges. To keep the Society fresh and fun forthe membership. Some of these changes are inthe works already, such as creating a writtenbudget based upon last year's income andexpenditures. This is just the beginning, theground work necessary for more exciting changesyet to come.

The best part is that every member canhelp determine what changes will be made.Some have indicated that we should strive tobring in big name speakers from all over. Othershave suggested putting together a tour of localpet stores and trips to local aquariums. I'm surethat some of our members have other ideas forchanges that will benefit the Society. But wewon't be able to investigate them if we don'tknow what they are.

We could hand out a survey asking forideas, but I know that if you are like me, yourmind will go blank when staring at the form. Ithink it would be better for you to write it downwhen the thought comes to you. Then try todetermine what things would be required to makeit happen.

Let's say that you want to have aSociety Picnic. What would be required to makethat happen? The list could include: a location,activities (such as volley ball and a barbecue),equipment for the activities (a volley ball, a net,charcoal, hamburgers, hot dogs, buns, etc.),transportation (car pool or bus), invitations,stamps, etcetera. I think you get the idea.

Once you've gotten as far as you can,bring it to a Board member and ask if you canpresent it at a Board meeting or have one of theBoard members do it for you. Of course, itwould be best if you do it. It's your idea, and aBoard member won't be as enthusiastic orknowledgeable about the idea as you will be.That enthusiasm can be infectious. Many times

it is that enthusiasm that convinces the Board totake a chance.

Another change that will have to takeplace in order for us to make all of those fun andinteresting changes will be a change in fundraising. The past year has taught us that we arejust holding on with the income from our usualfund raising activities. The main reason forholding the Fish Frolic was to raise funds so thatwe could put on a show. As of this writing(which is before our May Board meeting), thedate and location of our next show are undecided.But at least the funds will be there when we areready to do it.

We haven't tried many new ways ofincreasing our funds. The Super 50/50 neverreally took off, and many of the new items whichwe have offered for sale to the membership arecollecting dust. We need new ideas on how wecan generate the funds needed to do the thingswe would like. Again, if you have an idea, jot itdown. Try to figure out how it would work andright that down too. Present it to the Board and,who knows, maybe everyone will be thankingyou for making it possible for the Society to stayfresh and fun and alive!

ITEMS FOR SALE AT EVERY MEETING:

Brine Shrimp Eggs ......... $25.00 / canT-Shirts ............... . $10.00Sweatshirts „ ...... . ...... $18.00Patches ................. $5.00Pins ................... $5.00Mugs .................. $5.00(4/$15)Commercial Hobby Magazines . 25 centsBack Issues of

Modern Aquarium ---- $2.00

Please take note that after receivingour May and June issues this month, the nextexchange mailings of Modern Aquarium willbe in October, when we send out ourSeptember and October issues.

Greater City does not meet in July orAugust, and no issues of Modern Aquariumare printed for those months.

Our website will continue to bemaintained and we will post information onyour events, if you e-mail them to us.

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY) June 1999

To the GCAS Membership ~ A Special Thank You!by CLAUDIA DICKINSON

As the aquarium society meeting seasonadjourns for the summer, I reflect backon the past year at Greater City. My

aquatic life and tanks have hopefully benefitedfrom the knowledge gained by the words ofwisdom on catfish from Ginny Eckstein and LeeFinley; on cichlids from Mike Sheridan andCharlie Murphy; on plants from Don and DougCurtin; on livebearers from Tom Neal; and onwater quality and overall fishkeeping from CraigMorfltt and Patrick Donston.

I feel fortunate to have traveled toConnecticut on behalf of the GCAS to share andexchange ideas and information at the NortheastCouncil meetings. This opportunity hasbroadened my horizon on clubs and societies aswell as enabled me to bring home news to passalong to you.

Most of all it has been you ~ themembership of GCAS, who have added animmeasurable dimension to my life. The firstWednesday of each month is looked forward towith great anticipation. There is not a meetingthat, amongst all the whirl of excitement andactivity, I don't pause and take in each and everyone of you and appreciate how fortunate I am forhaving you as a part of my life. For this ~ Ithank you!

Have a wonderful summer and I lookforward to seeing you on September 1st!

Take Care!

CliwcwiA Status Report from January to June 1999

Author

Donald Curtin

Douglas Curtin

Chuck Davis

Claudia Dickinson

Joseph Ferdenzi

Warren Feuer

Jeff George

Jason Kerner

Alexander Priest3

Susan Priest

Vincent Sileo3

Greg Wuest

Undergravel Reporter

Art Work

Picture/Drawing/

Puzzle

1

1

2

1

Articles

500wordsor less

2

1

2

1

over500

words

1

2

1

5

7

2

4

6

5

1

2

6

Points Awarded

Bonus1

Points

I1

1

Total to date(1/99 - 3/99)

10

20

15

60

75

20

60

10

70

55

10

20

60

Prize

Raffle2

Chances

2

4

3

12

N/A2

N/A2

12

N/A2

N/A2

N/A2

2

4

12

!For NEC and FAAS awards presented this year. To date, only NEC awards have been announced.2Editorial Board members are ineligible for the Raffle3Editorials and President's Messages excluded

June 1999 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

3htBill Jacobs1903-1999

It is with deep regret that we note the passing of Bill Jacobs on May 6, 1999, one day after hehad achieved his 96th birthday. He was an aquarist whose love for the hobby spanned ourcentury. More importantly, however, he was a true gentleman who was loved by everyone

who knew him.Much of his background and accomplishments are highlighted in the article entitled "The

Bill Jacobs Chronicles," which was published in the February 1996 edition of Modern Aquarium.Nevertheless, let us note here a few of his achievements and honors. In 1928 (!!), Bill wasPresident of the Newark Aquarium Society, one of the largest in the United States at the time. Aphoto of him at their 1928 show became enshrined in the March 1931 issue of NationalGeographic Magazine. Ever active in the organized hobby, Bill was made a Life Member of boththe North Jersey Aquarium Society and the Long Island Killifish Association (the only person toachieve this honor to date). In 1992, at age 89, Bill served as a Judge Emeritus at the Greater CityTropical Fish Show. Bill, up until the last year of his life, was a world-class breeder of exoticaquarium fish. No one ever walked out of his fish room in any state other than one of admiration.

Perhaps, though, the greatest achievement of Bill's aquaristic life was the creation of theaffection and goodwill that every hobbyist who ever met him came to feel towards Bill. Hisgenerous and happy nature made him a delight to be around. He never spoke unkindly of others,and was unfailingly polite and kind in his deeds as well.

Bill is survived by his son, Bill Jr. and his family, along with his sisters Helen and Grace,and their families. Those who knew him will always cherish their memories of Bill, the gentlemanaquarist.

Send all mail, including exchange publications, for ModernAquarium, or for the Greater City Aquarium Society to:

Alexander A. Priest% Greater City A.S.1558 McDonald StreetBronx, NY 10461-2208

To contact us via e-mail, send your message or inquiries [email protected]

Or, leave us a message on our website athttp://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/greaterciry

If you are sending an electronic file (including any article), please save thefile as either: (1) .RTF (Rich Text Format); or (2) ASCII (or text); or(3) WordPerfect 5.1 for MS-DOS. Please use an "8 plus 3" file name (thatis, no more than 8 letters or numbers, no spaces, and with an (optional) fileextension of no more than three letters or numbers). You can send 3.5"(Amiga, Macintosh, MS-DOS/Windows) or 5.25" (CBM, MS-DOS) size disks, either high or lowdensity. If you mail a disk, keep a copy of the file on your hard drive or on another floppy (the PostOffice has been known to "cancel" programs on a disk), and include a printed copy, along withinformation indicating what program you used to create the file.


The Power of Cleanby JEFF GEORGE

G o to your fish room right now. Stickyour hand in the longest-establishedtankin there. Feel the glass. Go. Do it.

I'll wait till you get back.You're back? Good.How did the glass feel? Was it squeaky

clean, or was it all slick and slimy? If it feltclean, congratulations. You're keeping yourtanks thoroughly clean, and your fish are mostlikely strong and disease-free. If the glass feltslimy, though, roll up your sleeves. You—likeme—have some work to do.

Pretty clean isn't clean enoughFor most of the time I've been breeding

show-quality guppies, I've been pretty faithfulabout changing 30 to 60% of the water in everytank at least once a week. I regularly siphon outthe detritus, and replace the old water with freshwater which has been aged under aeration for atleast 24 hours. Some of the older tanks have alittle green algae, but they look clean otherwise,and I was always confident that they were.

Then I had a 10-gallon tank that startedhaving problems. The tank held eight male delta-tail guppies I was growing out for the Springguppy-show season, along with a couple offemales to give them someone to chase. The fishwere hovering just below the surface, their finsclamped. Ah, I thought, they've got thatclamping disease that affects show guppies. StanShubel says Formalite II will clear it right up.

Well, Mr. Shubel—a founding memberof the International Fancy Guppy Association—was right, basically. After a five-day treatmentwith Formalite II, the clamping would clear up,and the fish would start acting right again. Andthen, a few days later, they'd be right up thereat the top again, fins clamped and hovering. I'dtreat again, it would clear up, and then comeback a few days later. The cycle repeated a fewtimes and, along the way, these increasinglystressed-out fish started to show a form of fin-rotwe guppy breeders call "red-line disease." Thisis a bacterial infection visible as a red line alongthe trailing edge of the males' caudal (tail) fins.Now I was getting stressed out too, watching mySpring Show fish fading away.

Fortunately, Gene Baudier of the EastCoast Guppy Association was at my house oneday. I showed him the problem tank, askingwhat treatment he'd recommend for red-line.

He stuck a finger in the tank, felt the glass, andthen tactfully commented, "You've got a lot oforganic build-up in there."

What Gene was politely telling me wasthat, over time, a huge population of near-invisible bacteria and other micro-organisms hadgrown on every surface inside the aquarium. Ofcourse, many of these little beasties arepathogens, waiting for stressed fish to leapupon—something I was providing in abundance!

Gene told me that before I tried anantibiotic, I should thoroughly clean the tank,eliminating the bacteria population. Chanceswere, once the fish were in a more healthyenvironment, the disease problems would clearthemselves up.

Cleaning houseUpon Gene's recommendation, I saved

about half the water from the problem tank,siphoning it through a brine shrimp net to keepout any detritus. I moved the fish to the bucketholding the water I planned to save, and went towork on the tank itself.

I started by draining the tank the rest ofthe way, siphoning out any debris, and discardingthe remaining water. Because show guppies areusually raised in bare-bottom tanks, I didn'thave to deal with any gravel or other decorations.The tank was then pulled from the rack and setaside for sterilization. I put a clean, sterilized,tank in its place, and poured the water I'd savedinto it, gently moving the fish into the newaquarium when it was a few inches full.

Most of my aquariums are filtered withcommon box filters, in which I use a layer ofdolomite and a layer of filter floss. I saved thefilter from the troubled tank, wiping the slimefrom the outside of the box. I replaced the floss,and stirred and rinsed the dolomite under room-temperature tap water to clear any detritus lodgedwithin it. I did not replace or sterilize thedolomite, so that there would be at least a bit ofthe good-guy, nitrifying bacteria in the tank. Thecleaned filter was put back into service in thenew tank.

I then filled the tank back up by addinga gallon of freshly-aged water each day until itwas full again. The new water was addedgradually so as not to compound the stress fromthe handling of the fish, and their "relocation" tothe fresh aquarium.

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY) June 1999 7

Almost immediately, the fish seemedhappier and more active. Within a week, the red-line had cleared up. The damage to the caudalfins was not too severe, and it healed nicely—thefish were still showable when the time came, andplaced reasonably well in the Novice division atthe ECGA show later that year. And theclamping disease, which started this wholedownward spiral, never troubled that tank again.

Lessons to be learnedThis near-disaster taught me several

things, and reminded me of a few more that I"knew," but hadn't been thinking about.

First, the most important factor tokeeping fish healthy, or to returning them to goodhealth when they've become ill, is a cleanenvironment. I knew that the water in theproblem tank was testing well—pH about 7.5, nomeasurable ammonia or nitrite—but there's moreto water than chemistry. The tank, which hadbeen running continuously for several months,had accumulated a thriving population ofmicroorganisms, including a variety of pathogens.

Second, medicines are often notnecessary to save sick fish, especially if theillness is caught early enough. In this case,simply removing the fish to a more sterileenvironment gave their immune systems enoughof an advantage to fight off the infection withoutchemical intervention. This is especiallyimportant when dealing with bacterial diseases, asthese organisms can quickly become resistant toantibiotics when they are used carelessly.

Third, and most important, if I'd donea better job of keeping the tank clean in the firstplace, the problems might never have occurred atall. In the Q&A session at the 1997 IFGAAnnual Convention, Stan Shubel and Paul Gorskirecommended wiping down the glass beforeevery water change, to prevent just the sort ofbacterial accumulation that seems to have causedmy problem. When they said this, I noddedsolemnly, then came home and disregarded whatI now know was crucial advice.

The new regimeObviously, an experience like this can

significantly impact one's tank-maintenanceprocedures. I have made the followingadjustments to my practices to prevent the build-up of these dangerous bacteria in my tanks.

With every water change, I wipe downthe interior of each tank with an scrubbing padmade for use in aquariums. I use a yellowsponge pad that has a scrubbing surface on oneside that looks something like sandpaper, thoughof course, it is nowhere near as harsh. In my

guppy tanks, in which I don't care to have greenalgae build up, I use the scrubbing side againstthe glass. In tanks which contain algae-eatingcatfish, I scrub with the sponge side, whichknocks the bacteria loose without removing all ofthe green algae. Between aquariums, I wring thesponge out in a net-dip solution, to reduce thechance of spreading disease in the sponge.

Note that I use a sponge purchased in apet store, and labeled for aquarium use. Thesedays, with so much concern about Salmonellapoisoning, the sponges sold for kitchen use allcontain chemicals intended to kill bacteria. Theintroduction of these chemicals to your tank canhave devastating effects on the good bacteria inyour filter, not to mention on your fishthemselves. A few pennies more to purchase anaquarium-grade sponge is a worthwhileinvestment.

After wiping the insides down, I let thetanks settle for half an hour or so beforesiphoning out the water to be changed. Thisallows the now-loose bacteria to settle on thebottom of the tank, where they will be removedalong with the other detritus. When you havecompleted your water change and refilled thetanks, the inside of the glass should be squeakyclean, not slick or slippery.

And, wherever applicable, I've alsoinstituted a policy of swapping old tanks forsterilized ones at least every three months,whether they are having a problem or not. To dothis, I follow the procedure outlined above—savehalf the water, replace the old tank with asterilized one, change the floss but not thedolomite in the filter, and top the tank off withfresh water over a period of two or three days.The tank which broke down on me had been incontinuous operation for almost six months whenmy problems began. If I had been swappingtanks every three months, I believe the wholeepisode would never have occurred.

Tank-swapping is easily accomplishedwith non-territorial fish kept in bare-bottomtanks. As I mentioned above, most guppybreeders raise their show fish under theseconditions, and many other non-territorialfish—including livebearers, barbs, danios, tetras,and Corydoras, to name a few—are mostefficiently bred in bare tanks as well. Sometanks, on the other hand, should not or cannot beso easily disturbed. Substrate-spawning cichlids,for example, may not take kindly to this kind ofhandling, and planted tanks obviously can't bechanged out so easily. Yet, even in these tanks,I wipe them down as best as I can with eachwater change, and if the fish turn up sick, I


remove them to a sterile, bare-bottomed hospitaltank for their treatment and recovery.

Sterilizing tanksKey to this system is the ready

availability of properly sterilized tanks to replacethe old ones. Most of my aquariums are between2.5 and 15 gallons in capacity. I have found ithandy to keep two or three tanks of each sizesterilized and ready to go at all times. That way,when the time comes to do a tank swap, yousimply drain the old tank, pull it off the shelf,slap a clean spare in its place, fill it up andyou're ready to go. Ten minutes, tops.

If you have no extra tanks, you mustfind some place to hold the fish while yousterilize their home, a process which takes atleast several hours. Plus, you never know whena tank is going to crack or spring a leak.Keeping an extra tank on hand is cheap insurancefor these disasters as well.

To clean a tank, once you've pulled itoff the rack, follow this procedure. First, scrubit out thoroughly, removing all slime, algae, driedfood, feces, etc. Then fill it with warm—nothot—water, and add common household bleach.A quarter-cup of Clorox is adequate to sterilize a5-gallon tank, though I seldom measure it. Iusually just pour in what looks about right—erron the side of too much bleach here, rather thantoo little.

Let the tank sit full of bleach-waterovernight. Then drain it and rinse it severaltimes with running water—a hose and a work-sink make this much easier. Finally, fill it withfresh water and allow it to sit at least two hours.Then drain it again and allow it to air drycompletely before putting it back into service.

Try to develop the discipline to sterilizeyour tanks as soon as you pull them off the rack,so that you store them clean and ready to go,rather than dirty with dried-out slime and algae.Save space by storing aquariums one insideanother, like Russian dolls, with a 2.5-gallon tankinside a 5, inside a 10, inside a 15 or 20.

Now go feel your glassWhen we started, I told you to go feel

the glass in your tanks. You didn't do it. Iknow, because I wouldn't have done it either.Trust me when I tell you how important it is tokeep that bacterial slime from building up in yourguppy tanks. It took almost losing a tank-full oftremendously important fish, and the timelyadmonishment by a much more experiencedguppy man, for me to learn this. Don't you beso foolish.

So go to your fish room now, and feelthat glass. If it's slimy—and I bet it is—get towork cleaning it up, before those bacteria start inon your show fish!

Dueling Banjo Catfish"Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY) June 1999

Submitted by Susan Priest

A small boy lived by the ocean.

He loved the creatures of the sea, especially the starfish,and he spent much of his time exploring the seashore.

One day he learned there would be an extremely low tidethat ^ would leave the starfish stranded on the ^~ shore.

The day of the tideand began picking

and tossing them

An elderly man whodown to the beach to

Tm saving the

went down to the beachup stranded starfish

back into the sea.

lived next door camesee what he was doing.

proudly declared.

When the neighbor saw all of %"$S the stranded starfish, he shookhis head and said, "I'm sorry \^» to disappoint you, young man,

but if you look down the y&ff beach one way, there arestranded starfish as far as the eye can see.

And if you look down the beach the other way, it's the same.

One little boy isn't going to make much of a difference."

The boy thought about this for a moment.

Then he reached his small hand down, picked up a starfish,tossed it out into the ocean and said,

"I sure made a difference for that one.11

Author unknown


ODDBALL ONE -THE BANDED LOACH

by CHUCK DAVIS

An oddball tropical fish is one thatdoesn't fit into most of the commoncategories of fishes that aquarists keep,

like cichlids, killies, livebearers, or catfish.Although there are plenty of oddballs in thosecategories, to my way of thinking. Think of whatyou consider an oddball. I would bet most ofyou gave consideration to fish like snakeheads,arowanas, clown knives, or stingrays (whichhappen to be livebearers). Most of the oddballsthat immediately come to mind are notcommunity tank fish. This time I would like tolook at one that is — Botia hymenophysa.

B. hymenophysa is commonly called thebanded or striped loach. Sometimes they aretagged with more exotic names (tiger loach orbanded Thai loach), but for our purposes we willstick with the banded or striped moniker. Theseloaches come from a variety of habitats inThailand, none of which will resemble yourcommunity tank. So since most loaches are wildcaught, they need a reasonable time to adjust tocommunity captivity. A few years back, whileresearching an article on community tank set-ups,I questioned some retailers about the bandedloaches and other loaches. Most shop ownerslabeled loaches in general as slow sellers,specialty fish, and not very popular. Of courseyou will find that the fish they were selling arewild caught specimens, who were understandablynervous and looking for a place to hide - behindfilters and lift tubes, under ornaments, insidethick plants, or any other dark spot they couldfind. It is hard to sell fish you can't see - thecustomer often thinks that is how the fish will actin his or her community tank. Given time,

B. hymenophysa will more freely move about thetank for you to enjoy, particularly at feedingtime.

Banded loaches are easy to keep,specially in established aquariums that tend to runthemselves over to the alkaline side of the pHmeter. These loaches prefer a slightly alkalinewater (pH 7.2 - 7.4), but neutral (7.0) isacceptable. They are not finicky eaters, but sincethey are bottom feeders be sure they get theirshare of the food, meaning, that all the food isnot eaten by the surface and mid-water feeders.They have a good appetite and really like livefoods. Some of their favorites are black worms,tubifex worms, daphnia and a variety of larvascommonly fed to tropical fish. Be cautioned onover feeding, as well as under feeding,particularly when it comes to dry or preparedfoods. Over feeding can quickly effect anegative water quality. Regular water changesare highly touted to keep water quality fromdeteriorating.

Experience - not a good one - will tellthat these Botias are excellent jumpers. They canfind any open space in a tank cover that they canfit through. And you would be amazed at howsmall that space can be. As a retailer, I once lost9 out of 12 of these mini-rockets in one night.The cover was left open by negligence, and outthey came, one after another. The larger ones(these loaches can reach 8 inches under goodconditions) can blast off out of a tank like flyingfish and travel five or six feet in the air.

While they are rarely aggressive, theycan be territorial. So they need their space, notonly for growth, but for their natural contentment

Botia hymenophysa - The Banded Loach


and boundaries. I prefer PVC pipe - 2 inchdiameter stuff cut about 8 to 10 inches in length.Then I coat the outside of the PVC with siliconesealer and roll the pipe in aquarium gravel. Thismakes great houses for a lot of species,particularly Botias, and it is aestheticallyrewarding. Caves and other hollows that arecommercially manufactured also work well andcan be found in most any pet shop. Be sure thatany store-bought hideout has an opening largeenough to allow easy passage for your fish. Ilike to keep B. hymenophysa in small groups offour to eight fish in a tank no smaller than athirty gallon long. I like to cause competition forfood and living quarters (hideouts), and that isenhanced by maintaining multiple specimens. Ihave found that with most fish, if there is healthycompetition for the food, the fish eat more andare much less picky about dietary habits.

Like most loaches, these banded loacheswill root through the gravel for food. Be sureany plants, decorations or other aquascaping is

not vulnerable to their gravel rooting habits.These loaches will feed with the lights on andswim about in the daytime, if they feel secure intheir surroundings. They are sometimes seenchasing each other around. Rarely will theychase other fish in the tank when kept in groups— they are too busy watching each other. Ifthere is chasing going on, then the aquarist mustobserve this behavior closely to be sure that noreal or serious damage is being done or that theloaches are so persistent as to cause stress in anyindividual tankmate.

Loaches in general, particularly thelarger ones, often make excellent show fish.Once again the hobbyist/exhibitor must make surethat the display tank is clean and the waterquality is very good. A conditioned, active andhealthy eight inch Botia hymenophysa is a greatexhibit and a beautiful specimen to own — evenif you don't exhibit it!

NEC Sister SocietySummer EventsJune 13 — Maine State Aquarist SocietyAuctionUniversity of New Englandcall: John Krol (207)857-9118; Bob LeBlanc (207)773-6661; Bob Piper (207)779-5156

June 20 — Elm City Aquarium SocietyAuctionFoxon Volunteer Fire Department\Foxon Road (Rte. 80), East Haven, CTCall" Dave Schoen (203)265-9338E-mail [email protected]

June 26-27 — Tropical Fish Club of Burlington"1999 Whole Tank Show" and Annual AuctionBurlington Square MallBurlington, VTCall Janine and David Banks at (802)372-8716or e-mail Janine and David Banks at [email protected]

August 13-15 — Black River Aquarium Society"FinFest 99, Weekend in Vermont"Tropical Fish Show and AuctionHoliday Inn - Rte. 7 South, Rutland, VTCall Jack or Diane Adinolfi (802)228-3862E-mail [email protected]

12 June 1999 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

Bernard Harrigan, Artist; Warren Feuer, Research

Scientific Name: Neolamprologus sp. "Daffodil"

Common Name: Daffodil

Adult Size: 23/4"

Native Habitat: Lake Tanganyika, Africa

Water Conditions: pH 8.2+; temperature 72°F-81°F

Degree of difficulty to keep: 2 (easy)

Degree of difficulty to breed: 3 (moderately easy)

GCAS Breeders1 Point Value: 15

Last Bred in GCAS: 1998

Articles about this fish in Modern Aquarium:

"Lake Tanganyika Tango" by Warren Feuer - 12/96

"Breeding Rift Lake African Cichlids by aComplete Divider Method" by Joseph Ferdenzi - 2/97

"Best Laid Plans" by Warren Feuer - 6/98

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S.(NY)

WET LEAVES

A Series On Books For The Hobbyist

by SUSAN PRIEST

There are two reasons why I have chosenJune to review this book. The first isthat I think it will make for some great

summer reading. The second is that it has beenlong enough since Lee Finley reviewed it in AFM,that his comments are no longer fresh in yourminds.

The author describes the book this way:"Practical and entertaining, this is a compre-hensive, easy-to-follow guide to setting up andmaintaining an aquarium full of healthy, thrivingfreshwater fish." This would be my description:It breaks the fishkeepinghobby down to its mostb a s i c e l e m e n t s ;one-liners, if you will.It is as if you took fiveyears worth of your favorite aquarium magazinesand highlighted only the most important detailsand fine points, and then put them altogetherunder one cover. The emphasis is not on the fishthemselves, but on the methods, techniques, andthe dos-and-donts of keeping them.

This is a very reader-friendly book whichgoes down as smoothly as a cool drink.Sometimes you want to sip it slowly, andsometimes you want a big gulp. This book letsyou do either. It is an excellent book forbeginners. More seasoned aquarists will enjoy itas well, but in a different way. When you comeacross something you don't agree with, you willexplain to yourself why. You can add a newdimension to your knowledge of a topic bylooking at it from the "flip side."

Scattered throughout the text are a varietyof shaded boxes. I will describe each of the fourdifferent "themes," along with an example of each.

Fish Tales - Miscellaneous FactsExample: "Never release unwanted fish into thewild. Exotic species can decimate native speciesby exposing them to new diseases, or eating themand outbreeding them."

Fish and Tips - Helpful HintsExample: "The lid of most outside power filterscan be used as a tray to carry the used filter mediato the sink or trash without dripping."

Something Fishy - Warnings and Safety TipsExample: "Crayfish are best left out of your

aquarium. Although crayfish are interesting andquite hardy, they eat anything. That includes yourfish and your plants. Also, they dig burrows,disturbing your decorating scheme."

Fish School - DefinitionsExample: "Dither fish are peaceful, activemid-water schoolers that help to keep shy fishfrom hiding. They are an 'all clear' sign, signalingthat no predators are around, and that it is safe tocome out."

At the end of each of the 25 chapters isa section called "The least you need to know."This reduces the already compact information toits bare essentials. Appendix A has sampleshopping lists for 2.5, 10, and 29 gallon tanks.Appendix B puts an end to myths andmisinformation. Appendix C tells you where tolearn more, and lists books (some of which havebeen reviewed in this column), magazines, and

even online sources forinformation. These arefollowed by a glossaryand an index.

Mr. Wickhamis a bit of a punster, and uses subheadings such as:"Five Easy Pisces," "Change for a 20," and"What's it All About, Algae?," etc. Once in awhile I let out a groan, but for the most part Ithink this contributed to the "friendliness" of thetext.

My main criticism of this book is theoccasional shaded box which should be called "notto be taken seriously." For an experienced aquar-ist, this is fine, but beginners might not alwaysrealize what is going on. The author hopes thateven a "newbie" will know they are supposed tolaugh at such suggestions as "you know your tankis too crowded when . . . you can't do a 25%water change without the fish on top getting dry."

Another area where this book is weak isthe photos and drawings. The photos are usuallydark and underexposed, and most of the drawingsdo not offer enough detail. I know this soundslike a major drawback, but don't let it discourageyou from giving this book a try. As I alluded toearlier, this book is not intended to be an "atlas,"as we aquarists understand this term.

For those of you who put reading at thebottom of your list of things to do on a lazy, hazyday, this book will fit right in. Just leave it lyingaround on the sailboat, the hammock (or maybe inthe bathroom) and pick it up for a few minutesnow and then. It is the kind of book that lendsitself to browsing. Enjoy your summer,everyone!


The Case ofthe Tetra EggA series by "The Undergravel Reporter"

"All things are possible until they are provedimpossible — and even the impossible may only beso, as of now." - Pearl S. Buck, A Bridge forPassing

"When you have eliminated the impossible,whatever remains, however improbable, must bethe truth "Sherlock Holmes (The Sign of Fourby Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Last month, in an article titled "Is ThereAn 'Annual' Tetra," Joe Ferdenzidescribed his experiences with a pair of

South American annual killifish, Cynolebiasmagnificus. These fish were bred over a glasscontainer that contained about three inches ofclean peat moss. Approximately 8V£ monthslater, this batch of peat was placed into a smalltank to see if any killies would hatch — nonedid, at that time. The peat was syphoned backinto a fine-mesh net, and re-dried. Over 13months later, that same peat was reused withthese same fish, and resulted in fry, one of whichseemed to be a little larger than the others.Weeks later, a close inspection of that larger fryrevealed that it wasn't even a killifish. Rather,it was a South American tetra of a type Joe hadin his fish room, Hyphessobrycon ecuadoriensis.

Joe reasoned that "Only one plausibleexplanation presented itself: it had to be thefine-mesh net." He surmised that the net intowhich he drained the peat after the first attemptto hatch the killies had also been used in the tetratank just before, and that a tetra egg remained inthe fold of the net that was then absorbed by thepeat moss. Joe concludes his article with achallenge, of sorts: "If anyone can suggest adifferent explanation for the contamination of thepeat or the appearance of the tetra in the portableaquarium, I'd love to hear it."

In the movie Star Trek VI: TheUndiscovered Country, Mr. Spock (actually,Captain Spock by then, and remember he ishalf-human), declares: "An ancestor of minemaintained that if you eliminate the impossible,whatever remains - however improbable - mustbe the truth." Unlike Mr. (Captain) Spock, I donot claim to be related to the great consultingdetective, Sherlock Holmes, however, Joe, I canpostulate some other possibilities:

o All fish are "leapers" to some extent,given the chance. I've seen your fishroom, Joe, and the tanks are fairly closetogether. With those two facts in mind,my first theory is that a femaleHyphessobrycon ecuadoriensis simplyjumped from your tetra tank to yourkillie tank (tetras being one of the"jumpier" species) and then eitherjumped back or wound up as a "crispycritter" on your floor, but only afterdepositing several eggs in your killietank, all but one of which were eaten bythe killies. That one egg is the one thatfinally hatched out in the peat.

o In nature, some creatures' eggs arespread by other creatures. Joe, you havea dog. True, it is a very tiny dog, but itdoes like to jump. Is it not possible thatyou, after cleaning your tetra tank,might have splashed some egg-ladenwater on yourself or on the floor, someof which found itself on your dog (or onone of your children, who then hadcontact with your dog)? And, is it notthen also possible that later, just prior toyour harvesting or rehydrating the mossfrom the killie tank, you again came intocontact with your dog, some of whosenow tetra egg laden fur found its wayback onto your person, and from thereinto the peat?

"Alice laughed: 'There's no use trying,' she said;'one can't believe impossible things.' 7 daresay

you haven't had much practice,' said the Queen.When I was younger, I always did it for half anhour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed asmany as six impossible things before breakfast.'"

- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Have a great summer, folks, and don't forget,tropical fish is a hobby, so have some fun withit!


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Visit "LUCILLE",Our Pond& FallsIn Our Backyard!

You Can Build A Pond Too.ASK US HOW!


G.C.A.S. HAPPENINGSLast Month's Bowl Show winners:

1) Tom Miglio - Nothobranchius guentheri 2) Tom Miglio -

The standings to date are:Sept '98 — June '99 Bowl Show Standings to date:

1) Tom Miglio - 30 points2) Bob Wranovics - 11 points3) Howard Berdach - 9 points,, ,:;i::::;:::: '^^m-:.:-,..,,4) Leonard Ramroop -...SxpoJhts x: %:x..5) (tie) Pat pegiSrie and Jqjf Georgejj3 p<Jtis m m .,,,, '::%;,,6) Tsu Yo'ng Ko - Ixfioirtlij w'm '::>*x|:: ;|;:: || .:;||| .^:. x

l/2 Red Guppy

,,:y:: New members: William Seitz and,:Alp ;:feiO!ti : .. il;,,,, 1.. 1

f The Wifaibj: of the Atlas of Livebearers of thg.j ^ ;;:|!PQ€l|ftlisher) was! i

Leonard Raitiifttop i

iiHere are meeting times and locatipjSof aquarium so(ej||i0| |i the Metropolitan New

GREATER CITY

: September 1and Program

TS^fe^Announced .^8PM ;;::Queens BotanicalCdiitaet:Telephoneij|71:8)e-mail . com

' e e t s :

Association

.. - l i j jursday of each

(5)345-6399

Long Island Aquarium

Meets: 8:00 P.M|||::,::;3rd Friday of elilmonth at Ho^tsviiil^^^Buckley Rd. Holtsville, NYContact: Mr. Vinny KreylingTelephone: (516) 938-4066

North Jersey Aquarium Society

Meets: 8PM - 3rd Thursday of the month atthe American Legion Hall, Nutley, NJ (exit151 Garden State Pkwy., near Rt. 3)Contact: NJAS Hotline at (201) 332-4415or e-mail: [email protected]

Society

' ^ ' " "(LIKA President) |F|

: Kaleidoscope of ColorsHall, N.Y. Aquaruirri-i;

:iiil|p|-::;ii|jh St., Brooklyn, NY;^:_wX

"I3c?iiict: l liplgnts Hotline....,,,,. ""***If:':'

Big Apple

Nassay rity Aquarium Society

8:00 P.M. -J^TuQsday of each. Grouse Post 3211month at .tb

xl§|ipl|liii i-P!:::Hicksville, NYftntact: Mr. Ken SmithTelephone: (516) 589-0913

Norwalk Aquarium Society

Meets: 8:00 P.M. - 3rd Thursday of eachmonth at the Nature Center forEnvironmental Activities, Westport, CTContact: Mrs. Anne Stone BroadmeyerTelephone: (203) 834-2253


Fin Funl/acatjon Travel

Summer vacation is travel time for many of us. Match the places we humans travel with those fishmost likely to be found there.

Mount Fuji

Disney World

Great Barrier Reef

Rio De Janiero

Aztec Ruins

Ganges River

Andes Mountains

Lake Victoria

New Orleans

Great Wall of China

Goldfish

Haplochromis sp. "Flameback"

Least Killifish

Bleeding Heart Tetra

Koi

Montezuma Swordtail

Otocinclus catfish

American Flagfish

Australian Blue Eye

Dwarf Gourami

Solution to Last Month's Puzzle: Fisn Bearing Fisn

Colisa lalia

Anableps anableps

Hippocampus zoster ae

Phallichthys amates

Altolamprologus calvus

Heterandria formosa

Cynolebias magnificus

Cyphotilapia frontosa

Poecilia velifera

Hyphessobrycon ecuadoriensis

Pantodon buchholzi

Xenotoca eiseni

Osteoglossum bicirrhosum

Xiphophcrus montezumae

Poecilia reticulata

Livebearer

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

NOT Livebearer

X

X

X

X

X

X

X


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