Couey RY Make them your next , low pH project y : THE BEST - AAPOR x FROM 2018 INTERZOO! . Me sh S : ye td esl Cees Be a hetter ——_ The graceful Flowerhorns, Gia ee MIEN ORSNO (oe nS CI e213) Our top tips for RETIN and more! TOON ON Vell aye ORe fishkeeper.co.uk EXCLUSIVE RANGE y Super att Stpervatt Supar-Matt aw bonctee Royal Oak Natural Tobacco “anthracite Croam Gry Grey Natural Halitax Oak Halifax OakEVOLUTION AQUA INNOVATION IN WATER All models include tank, cabinet and twin LED lighting eaFreshwater600 AQUARIUM OIIENSIONS 60) x501W «700m CABINET DIMENSIONS 6050 (0) <€8 (4) em NETT SYSTEM VOLUME: O O tes. @dFreshwater “== Contemporary aquariums edFreshwater600Cube AQUARIUM DIMENSIONS, 604) 60107) «70 em CABINET DIMENSIONS 604) 160 (1) £90 09 em NETT SYSTEM VOLUME: 202 ites {LED LIGHTING SUPPLIED 2x 10 Wet Sun £579.00 eaFreshwater900 AGUARIUM DIMENSIONS 90(L)€50 0) 70 oH) em CABINET DIMENSIONS, 90 (450 () «88 (4) em NETT SYSTEM VOLUME: 249 ives LED LIGHTING SUPPLIED: 2x16 Walt Sun £679.00 eaFreshwater1200 Slimline removable hood ¢ LED lighting included AQUARIUM DIMENSIONS: 120 (0 x50 (4) 70 (i}em CABINET DIMENSIONS. > 120 (Ux 50 (W) x83 (H) cm : mea a ee 2x 20 Wat Sun Uttra.Giess tia Goes Ua-Gloss Uita-Gloss Utira-Gloss| Black ‘white Plum Japaneso Pear Metallic Anthracito £999.00 eco Visit www.fishkeeper.co.uk for more detailsOptiMax 300 - 5000 Oadse’ DEEZ POWERFUL PUMPS ABOVE AND BELOW WATER the OASE OptiMax range are powerful, compact aquarium pumps suitable for both fresh water and salt water aquariums. The pumps offer 300 to 5000 litres per hour and have a tough outer iousing designed for long term use. They are perfect for efficient water circulation or for sperating an aquarium filter. © 300 & 500 models are designed for underwater use ® 800 - 5000 models are designed for both underwater and dry installation © Water flow rate can be easily adjusted © Low power consumption © Includes up to 4 suction cups for secure fastening fo find out more on the all the other products available from the Indoor Aquatics range, please sit www.oase-livingwater.com.rm THE EXPERTS ‘Sine has bee busy otng at pike cichlids this month bat bs ale Been basy discon tsp and aay symbaes Leah nore en peg 5) Wemanaged te entice Aattlatine att his busy shel to write fru asin, and this tine es ganda unig feeder for lca. seo page a L Ingrid tas ten ering the ube ice een eseving te bright cd obvin in fava of the rere (hoch ou he faves on page 12 BOE es 3 tot sereting we coud er wat te Ao aos! fh ts, andl camebark wth aspactaclat ‘nnven oui tind page 2. GABOR HORVA Ganoc taste navigating his way cud nae 2018 but also managed tote enugh time utp ogee thee fot respon page 70. Janes ts been Dartgtgetverene last ew-aery an fer us bere he ebracesthe hghenemy aguascape ‘ne Check uta page HAI iit! got some writing back in to my ow magazine Sanur garani again, Is ane eeing but tons aan cover recent months {ve had so Rhee Ee ‘much superb content coming in Covignen, Nam, from great authors tae ve Po] Key 1's Ra ‘ovr scribbiings. ‘Where to start this month? If you faney getting your hnands dirty and giving your fish areal treat, check out the three awesome recipes for home-made fish food on page 70 ~ Gabor Horvath went above and beyond with ‘Michelin Star-worthy efforts, Ever fancied pike cichlids? Some of them are bruises, ‘sure, but Steve Beker flags some very tankworthy altematives on page 14 — [learnt a lt from that pioce Bur then Ieamt even more from his shrimp and goby symbiosis feature on page 50. Go check it cut and tell ‘me you don't want to buy a duo afterwards. laws in tof nae bibs te sips m buying or keeping Nathan Hill, Associate alitor Find out on page 20 VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 5Covtenty, 5 * PDE Vee) OS DARK Samurai by name, peceet by 32 nature, this gorgeous gourer wil a colourful spies of rod and teal to your tank 12 SUBTLE BEAU’ Not al ieaboarers scream fo attention. Some wid-caught malls, tice tne sivary Due Lberty moly, have ther onn not nconsiderabe char 14. PERFECTLY PIKE ‘We look at 2 tamiy of oredatory chide, their bahaviou in the wid and hon best to keep them ina home aquarium, TELLING TALL 22 Thatta ons email Dicover how feh mae thor way hough the meter 38 INC seraorcinay ferns offimage. Ranga MAKE MINE A Sate aie SMALLONE ri Eiitr Naan tesa ch\ "ng Tt sh species mest side fo SHARPEN UP ON PENCILS Lit lanostomus oe pert peacetl andes ety 2s ay ttt, Why not get the case of breeding pencils A PASSION FOR BOTANICALS! We vsit reat Mike Calnun ‘ha found his niche with oat itter and stained nater. i ‘ear bling pistol shrimp who Share a extraordinary. mutually beneficial rlatonship THE GREAT FISHES BAKE-OFF home-made fshfocds. HOW LOW CAN YOt Fla aquascapes toes “tbe waintenance, Here’ how ficent SPECIAL MENU Lean about the edracrdinary ass sucking cichlid of Lake Malaw and its super sod foding hTite | 2 i TD WUECTEANT tL “iis geile Ta Sects onn county, Yorkshire FrKso ess Fishkeeping your quest rede show and delivered to Fousing a Remratucteord weds your digital zara ise, ming onteichhewinghoran device DW decor snd mo An auto-clesning pond fier, sarc dons of aquatics sop ~ and enter cur ree prize draw wih Fluval gear up tor grabs. sh, reshwatertankmetes, ste anatural community three months of Practical '33ys Nathan Hil, $0 3 to harvest the bounty ight on your doorsten ping fr ju 6 VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,0O.UK 7= Ss FASCINATING FISH rue ice ctu Reserved and colourful, and only a little bit needy, you'll wonder how you ever coped without the gorgeous Samurai gourami in your tank... oO ana Ta Cer eke ton Coe Org: West Flmantan prince. Bea renee og no eee eer eee a Preece] re ead ee ee ee ec eproosrac ratty and cast Farming es mace then sity rice Berrien earner et naar Cecio!Fe SOUR MMU ue ec ta et ee eke CCM erica | oe ee eee rer tt ror ty are the manufactured shout fromits graceful, poutingbody. they have an air breathing accessory ee tee Te eet ee ee ae ars ee CM oy occa oe he ee er er et ee es ‘ruffians ~ the Pearl and Three-spots. Before you reach for your purse. —_patches will form with potentially of the Tichopadus genus stalwarts know thet these small stunners have toxic gases being created bythe cree eer te ae ere etic) the gianss~known tanibascers and rot endure abusing community, of lea ter depth sample, avoidedby allbut the reckless few. they prefera peacefulhome with _Asthey'reso peace you can keep rennet ee mrt re ter Ce armen rd Pott ae eo en cert Mean err sn a a ee ee er ory Dwarf gourami.Take,forone,the the pH plummet andthe woter tan, like Chil esboras. Justbe careful high-maintenance,igh-strunghhoties In the wild theirhomes arermarked not to ad anything that eats more Cee OT ec on ed Lea tee eS ong rT me ee tes qed taste The common species some tangles of wood, but dontgo So polite in fact, they probably Psener enn) Rien ceueg i Coe ts Penrerid tint ReneS Pete ead en ee oan be eke Sh: 7 DPD 524 verry “annie Earl Cr orl eal ir Gad Pacers anya)Aquatic News Latest news and events from the world of aquatics [bao science | CYANIDE TESTING [ComPENsarion | POWER CUT WIPES OUT DOESN’T WORK, TODDLERS’ TANKS Topic sh ta nus shlin ket were led STI JDY FINDS aftr power ascut of ea wesend without warning. Staff at Scallywags Pre-schoc in Rainham ete to ech of al 60 fh ese in ther Scientists go head to head as latest findings cast doubt (aii est GanGeR aL Grae nae on earlier research into cyanide detection, {oh bebe eden aries te pvt futher sees, but the ebsence vas note bythe children UKPewer Networks apologised forthe disruption to tte poe supp andctt-ed 100 cemperston to ‘Salyrags tele teh, wel so sped in ides and exes. Wile may sh ensure terperatues tan we amaly cep he a st pei, sof firatan ond oxtenatins ho caus cath in tutions ike ths Debate continues over - [Fish oversoaro] PUFFERFISH WASHED UP ESEARCH FROM 2012 into _Ittums out that in order to cyanide detection maybe excrete the amount of thiocyanate Twelve dead puiferfsh found washed up at two locations fatally awed, accordingto _testediin earlier research, a fish in Kent are unlikely to have swum to their demise. new research, The initial research, would have to absorb a dose of The dozen deceased fish were found floating in the ‘conducted by a team led by Ricardo 53.6 micrograms of cyanide per flotsem at Broadstairs and Sandwich Bay tyy Thanet CCalaco of Universidade de Aveiro kilogram of weight considerably Coast: NE Kent Marine Protected Area officers. Video in Avoiro, Portugal, reportedly higher than an acute lethal dose. footage taken atthe scone appears to show a species of found away to measure low levels. The revelation lsoheaps doubt Porcupine pufferfsh, Diadonticae, which are highly of assimilated cyanide associated on data presented by the group ‘For unlikely to have made their way to the Kent coast by ‘with fish that had been exposed toit the Fishes’ in whichit was cleimed {themselves as they're largely restricted to tropical seas. before capture that the original methodology Itis suspocted that the unforturto Biowrsh wore In 2014, Andrew Rhyneof Roger detected cyanide exposure in fish already dead ~ died fish imported forthe tourist trace Willams University in Rhode Island, imported tothe American industry. | that had been washed off ship. Sedly many seaside USA, along with chemist Neney _Calado has responded that i sift shops sil sell these grim ‘Breen tied to replicate the Rhyne did not use the original souvenirs, usually complete methodology of the earlier research, methodology. nor fish species, ‘What Rhyne and Breen found wes though the fish in question (Clark's that the amount of eyanide required _clownfish and Common clownfih, to produce the levels of the tested respectively) are closely related ‘with plastic ‘googly eyes? ina feeble attempt to > bring some life back to P= the dessicated fish — chemical thiocyanate) would be ‘Both sides stress that follow-up a pitiful end for these s0 concentrated as to belethal to papers are in the pipeline as each == intelligent, charismatic nearly all organisms on Earth, looks to fight their comer. creatures. 10. PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGPtH aa TTS DRUGS DROP FAILS TO FOOL POLICE Acrug dealer who attempted te hide £10,000 of heroin in a garden pond hasbeen jad fr fe years, Non police calle at the house, Cello Duncan dropped a cate bee filed wih druzs into the pond but oficers spotted his attampted ‘aquatic suberuge.Thantully the fish were fine! Cd Use eye signals to Pree gs Lara Aggressive guppies go eye to eye Scientists from the Univers Exeter have uncovered a fescinating way in which the Common guppy, Poecitia reticuleta, sorts out dominance ‘when it comes to food — and it has nothing to do wth their ferously colourful tail. Through obsenztions of captive fish, researchers noticed that dominant fish were able to rapidly change the colour oftheir iris to black in a display of aggression to warn smaller, submissive sh to ‘move along from a favoured food source. The smaller fish were able to read this eye change and back down without the larger fish hhaving to resort to violence ~8 rere occasion where a pair of black yes were the sign of a peaceful outcome! To test their observations the team constructed realistic robotic fish with differing eye colours and watched to see how live guppies. ‘would react towards them when they were stationed near a good tyof food resource. By making small black-eyed robot guppies hold their gound and cheat’ the system by net backing down, they noted they attracted disproportionate ‘competition from larger real guppies, in particular those that displayed blacker eyes. The researchers interpreted this ‘evidence that guppies are “honest and only show how angyy they ar= if they really are dominant to their rivals there's no shortcut to {dominance by simply showing your rivals a dark eye if you're ‘smaller then them. The whole study was made far easier thanks to davelapments in digital printing techniques which remove the need for researchers to laboriously make and paint realistic model guppies, as used 40 be the case in similar research, For moe info read ‘Dynamic eye colour 2s an honest signal of ression’ by Heathcote, Robert LP. otal, Current Biology, Yol 28, Issue 11: tinyurl.comyav2na58 PETA REQUESTS FISH-FRIENDLY SIGN Amal rights gp PETA used Wa Oceans Day on Jn Bt to ask the Mayor of Stock te change 4 sieet name into something mor fshfendy. The name? Fistagaran’ which tansales as Fisherman's Stet. PETAS suggestion is Fish Are Frends Stree’ The Nay as ye o respond [evowution | % LIFE IN THE FAST LANE © , CHANGES METROPOLITAN FISH Sciantsts studying stream-duelling ‘ity slicker’ fish have discovered that they are evolving to cope with the rigours of metropolitan life when compared to their ‘county counterparts. “The study focusad on populations of Western biack-nose dece (Rhinichihys obtusus) and Creek chub (Semotius ‘atromeculatus) ‘ound in 25 different steams. The urben Chub were found to be more streamlined than their rural relatives, while the doantowm Dace sported lager tals for faster swimming. The team also compared modern-day th vuth these in museum collections going back 0 yoars. ‘The main difference for city dwellers és the herd terrain, with menmade surfaces delivering higher volumes of water than the porous surroundings of open countryside. @MORE INFO DTC SOO UIC NOE ICRU) stream fish’ by Elizabeth M.AKemn & R Brian Eee ersten cite) [news WITH A twist] SHARK ‘BITES’ CORNISH FISHERMAN ‘ACuris sherman ta tbe iit to spit wth lececation to his ater was ‘biter’ by a shark Max Boryman wes wring onbvrd the boat ‘Goverok of Ladram, 120 nes cf Lards Ered when the 2.4 long Prteagle was brought up in theta nes. Inia ents sugested the shat him as the crew ‘td to return tt the soa, bat when th boat uma toarbour is creates tela cferent ae, wth the already dead fis coping roma wirch, ot the deck and tearing te tishemnan lg wth ts tah fl Portage stars, Lama rasus, are amember ofthe Mackerel sha fei, wich includes the eat white shart, Prdeales geverllyeat small, bony fh and ‘cephalopods and reach el about ha these tthe Famous cousins lite may sats, Paeagle population ae detnngwodide anit is sed as ‘Viera’ cn the UGH Rod ist of endorgaed species, VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,0O.UK 11SPECIES SHOWCASE ance) hes Not every livebearer needs to ASerrsy- UTM Ol mee] CCHIIA(O| MNS) LTCC) e401 2 Ur esas RT Lier SOMO Pe ee Ueto’ Cea eee aa pera acd Riera estas piesa’ Der eee acne tase) reese a Preriretan eats Sree ene Ro ee eee) Peet cy peer ect) Pee ed OR there just starting 1o be discovered Peete hat Pa oro rcsan sy Rue Recently I've noticed a slow but Se livebearers not far removed from Pcs Euan ated re? ‘way, but six months ago, while Seen) eee a at Poca Black-chinned livebearers, Giardinus pare ee eect Tl they not only bred in my planted eet ny Dbeige-coloured females grew to be iene aac Jong 2.5em) male, ‘These fish might not be a Preece — Pe a pepo ae tiny jewel above the eye, and very Pea Pc rer seed to sock outa few more ofthese Coan eee See ue eee eee Breet toe Peete ena Eres a te) eee tt Sees ae tng DOr icy Breet treet eetCLA) RE GS $44 64 bd ha ee OP tte ee Ceo ead after decades of obscurity, Oe renounce Ce ena geen) Bereta) eee eer Penaap eres Dee ence Peace Pee eee Pee ese uom ag Peete te! ele ented Ee egerem rca ect Rie esteem ered Peet etn sg Cerne ea a aay Pr eat _guppies are always popular, but not as much as fish that come in six Cree ces Sess ‘eling points too: they are hardier than some of their eaptive-bred Ce een Pence egr ieee Pxteuer etsy Pease ear Sgt eran eet ba eet Pome tee tray eae ita Pee en bnetea s Ea ees a) Oech Cea Denes oer rea Coa Caos ‘Ameca splendens 66 We often call livebearers the ‘bread and butter’ of the industry. Make mine a spelt loaf with olive oil spread, if you don’t mind 92 Cats Ta Scene ame: Aci alas eee eee eer eens Re es ce urea Ce era rien ene Ct nan Ce eon eee rei Drei cte erie head poo unten Pee rene) Pr arene ance aE}aN oicar 9 =1000 545) SNe oe mcrae en rs ” y . Nye ro C-& Ss = ss V7 ali egying PIKE Pike cichlids are modeffi successful predators who've taken a leaf out of the book of the old master they're named after — and swum with it. Raa Pe ore oaener en er) eee ey eens devouring prey fish sae on hasbeen around for ate some time, though is hard to determine Seen mara een eee teat Seer a Ca ees Seo ery tart Ty eee se rome Uy ‘The genus Crenicichlais a group of orem ast RUE Rua og aC cee eae 4 oe 3 See arse! ec ees Deena eer noe Renesas pert perenne a ‘are concentrated towards the rear of the body, which allows for sudden, ‘bursts of speed, enabling them to Poa og SEU Lctay ed Peten eet eee Cet Targe and sited well forwards on the head so the cichlid can focus om the Porton Ge oe naa strong enough to hold struggling poner wiag Pete neta eee eeu ere uae Percent eee eto De ata Pee te aonet ay alive fish. 've seen C.norophrhaimus Pare er eh ee het they do this to disorientate larger, Sr eed ee eu aed oreo Cem ee eattae Preece ara ee Necrs looking collection of teeth in the Deters cite alter feeding have shown a whole, Praeger are pene eee ae Preteens eee enter for crushing shells of molluscs and Sree ay Who are dedicated insectivores, BR re) Parente cance ayee ... SPECIES SHOWCASE Pike cichlids vegetation alongside insects and snails, Others eat insects, moluses and crustaceans. Differing balances of these ingredients in the diet means that a variety of Crenfcicha species can ive in close proximity without ‘competing against each other for food. “There are currently 93 valid spacies Inthe genus, mostly inthe Amazon region, with representatives in all pars of South America east of the Andes, apart from Chile. Their temitory is often formed around a feature of hardscape, such as fallen branches or roclawork, offering both cover for hunting and shelter for ceges and fry. Leaf litter also often features, Not only do young pike Cichlids use i for cover, but it also harbours ots of microfauna that fry can pick off for their frst solid meals ‘Male Crenicichla are the larger of & pair, but the females are generally shower, particulary inthe dwarf species. Check out the striking dorsal spots and red stomachs displayed by C-notophthalmus and C. regan when dressed in their breeding finery Which fish? When it comes to keeping pike cichlids at home, the first consideration is size. Within the genus there's a huge range of adult sizes, from 4.8em to 40cm, and with Inherent issues of aggression, you'll need a larger tank compared (0 peaceful fish of similar sizes. The term dwarf pike cichlids given to 16 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING LEFT: Homes ate made out of fellen wood and environment lke other South American cichlids, so plants are safe Strong filtration is recommended. Pike cichlids aren't particularly Shier messy eaters but, a8 with most BELOW: predators, the biological load is Female substantial and there’sno way you Creniciohla can keep helpful cleans crew ike regan showing sinrimps and snails with these Folie fellows. A suitable external fiteris a ‘minimum requirement — ideally you'd have one over-powered extemal fiter or two smaller externals. INSET: A typical stream in the ‘Amazonas area Fishy friends Choose tankmates with care; remember these fish are predators ‘who will ery to eat fish smaller than themselves ~ deeper-bocied fish are less likely 0 become a meal (On the other hand, ike cichlids can members of the genus whose adult sizes no larger than 15cm. These are ideal tank fish; perfectly scaled-down versions of their bigger relatives and much easier to house The smaller species tend to be less forgiving of water conditions however, eequiring pH and hardness ‘values similar to their natual habitat. Aim for sof, acidic water Dbut nothing too excreme ~@ pH of 60-70 and a hardness of 3-10°H will keep dwaf pikes happy. ‘To my mind its nice to recreete a river bed with 2 chunky piece of applewood or similar to mimic fallen branch, ora collection of rocks forming a hollow among sandy substrate. Leaf liter and small twigs finish off abiotope perfectly, and there's always scope for some planting using Cabomba, Fieterophitia 5 Zostefola or Staurogyne repens, 3 CCrenicictla don't tend to dig or rearrange3e shy ~ if kept with very active or asl. This was when the pikes wrong time of year (as I did) and more dominant fish they may shrink were up tof size and it only ever you'll have to.wait up to six month happened at feeding time, butt meant | had to split them up. uth Amer sony seen with regularity in specialist hat are cbviously different stores like Pier, Wildwood and. ‘can make good tankmmates Wharf Aquatics. Tankmates for them ould be of a similar ito those ‘mentioned above, but larger. like Acquitens metae, Severums (Heres sp) and Geophagus, are big and peaceful and woula fr the bill nicely meter 3 no N Mets If Battle of the sexes on with the catfish z in keeping Dwarf pikes, When it comes to breeding these igside them ‘ 7 vear in mind heyre predators, the main hurdle you" ir availabilty, face is aggression, Put a couple of nd the maleis likely xe the aquarium, chasing fas and too deep for collect ana biting the female, even if they've feasible. Set up your tank at the already paired up in a separate tank.PepRcinS SGHOWCAGE" SPECIES SHOWCASE Pike cichlids The bond formed between pair is strong ~ and needs to be to override predatory instincts ~ but it’s also fragile and is easly broken by a tank ‘move or even a major clean, Breeding tanks should be large and offer lots of little hiding places for the female to avoid the aggressive behaviour of the male Dither fish can realy help them take their minds off ‘each other and encourage them to focus on a different issue, but you reed to look out forthe welfare of the dither fish, Fast, high level ‘swimmers are the best bet ~ think Glass blocdfin tetra, Prionabrama ligera, and giant danios, Devario ‘aequipinnatus~ and when you see the male accepting the female, catch Up the dither fish If they/te sul there when the male defends a brood of eggs they willbe in real danger. “The tank should have one or two larger caves or PVC tubes for the ‘male to defend and for the pair to spawn in, For the dwarf species youlll nced to provide soft. acidic ‘water conditions, For the larger species there isnt so much concern; neutral conditions are fine and C. scoatiis will spawn in alkaline waters as long as the water quality is high Feed plenty of frozen shrimp and fish, andlive river shrimp to help to condition the pair. If your breeding pair form a bond but dont produce eggs, you can encourage them by ‘mimicking the change of seasons. First, feed much less than normal for ‘2 week or so fellow this up with heavy water changing and the introduction of cooler, very soft ‘water (RO or rainwater) and then Dring the food back in, The theory is that the fish think the dry season has tumed into the wet season soit bounty time for fry production, Doing this is particularly important 66 X-rays of pike cichlids after feeding have shown a whole, intact prey fish in the stomach 99 with dwarfs, but works forthe lager (Crenicichia species too. ‘Once the eggs have boon lid in the cave, the female will attend them, waving water over them to keep them aerated while the male patrols the pairs teritory. As the young {grow on, the ssue of aggression rears its head again, with sittings chasing and very possibly damaging those further down the hierarchy. Ityou'rea fan of keeping aquatic predators, then you'llhave to deal with issues of aggression, but {reckon you should try keeping pike Cichlids, especially the small ones! FACTFILE Sef name: Drench ais Pronunclaton Ken e-clasais-h-Aliss Sze 2hr ig: Nother South mesa Frerch ula to Veal nt Tniae Hatta ek thats of tgs and et ter sath se: Didnt Mato requrenos: 65-78 pH, 0-19 “Water volume anon 2.28 emornert egesie SOO 1+ Fond Pica pls fran tots rettng tree f) fish >. katy and cast tet common pces start wound £50 FACTFILE scrtcnane enc his Promega sue ten cre Stns uo ao el lar et iter eco Matera SS60H 015 ir tre onprtie 27 Tempeneniepesie 1000 [+ Footing: Piscicee; poles, a Goana and Bar bates ‘sand pave sabi and cast Fron soca ies 0+FACTFILE ‘sim tem Stig noe eatin Sta Carats Starke cose ‘Water recent S066 pH 08H separ ae some Serpent 95 I+ common ofthe genus, aroun 25 fora Tomfsh FACTFILE ‘sPrnunetoe:Ker-se-se-l -tt-thabmuss Sie: Hem high: Braz Laver i Mega sia ‘abt: rorg fan tances, et ter ane sandy substate Tanksin:12085:35em ‘ter roqienerts: 55-75 0-15°H Temperature: 21 ‘Temperament aegrssie ‘Feecig: scr gran pelts, en fds inci dis of fish ‘hala ad cost: Seana May toDecenbe et cemmae£20-625 FACTFILE REGAN'S DV ICHLID Seietiic rame: Creel regan’ Proruncation: Sin: Zon ‘rig Ban widespread in he azn basin 168 ‘Habit Riv hoes among branches ard eal ter stark sie 120351350n 0-72 310% Feeding: Pcie rans ples, fam feos cluding ttsoh ish ‘frailty ane ext Seen Mey Deets, not oman, £20.42 a ¥; ¥ . ood Mec cance a aNATHAN HILL & STEVE BAKER hy do some people want to keep fish that are unsuited to tank life? Is there any. justification for retailers selling species that reach over 100em? And, more mportantly, how do we decide who should and shouldn't be keeping fish? (NH: Bigfish are defintely appealing ‘They have character and presence that you simply dont find in a guppy. But regarding the ‘changing situations thing, surely that cuts both ways, right? We might hit ‘a major recession next week, making it ‘impossible for anyone to afford the upkeep of their 90cm community tanks. Should those people also not buy fish on the proviso that nobody can really predict (and therefore guarantee) what might happen tomorrow? NH: The Animal Welfare Act avoids detail to that degree allt states is that an animal's needs include its need fora suitable environment ~ and beyond that itis vague ‘and wide open to interpretation. As long as the fish can express normal behaviour, and is free from suffering, the Act cannot be Drought to hear. But also, plenty of people do have ‘edequately sized tanks for large fish, and plenty of those started with much smaller tanks before moving up. Are we really going totar everyone with the same brush on this? ‘That's an awfully sippery slope. 66 From my angle, I'd like to see personal accountability, on both sides of the industry 99 ‘NH: So would you want to see some kind of ‘enforcement on big fish keeping? Realising ‘your limits is one thing, but very few people ‘can or will o that, and they'll continue to buy ‘tankbusters. Would you like see the trade in these fish regulated somehow?Sere ier etre cetrne dis Silver sharks and Clown loach so fippantly, ‘hich in turn would stop inexperienced ee ee es aa Ct ete ea Peer oy rt Dero ee ies Remsen Rretse eaten us ota eevee te Preteens acy eit peo acme ec) CUR snr) poesia NH: I'm tervified about the idea of a licence for any agpect of the hobby, and I don't know ‘what it willring tothe table above and beyond the existing legislation. The Animal Welfare Act is already worded in such a way thatif you're keeping fish in conditions that affect thelr welfare, you have committed an offence. A licence isnt going to make it any ‘more illegal, itl just hinder those ‘who want to keep big fish and, have the facilities to do so When you say regulation, we need to be clear on who itis were regulating. Youmentioned inexperienced fishikeepers buying fish they can’t op in the long run -but whose fault is that? Is the ‘onus on the retailer to cross-examine every customer they have, or does the faut st firmly in the ‘customer's camp? Se een Sees ey Senn ewe ee Renner enact knowledge and should have the responsbilty to steer inexperienced hobbyists clear of poor Eroeen eemreneaans Pee ones Ores ets og toga pe eg ee a ea) ee er eke Coenen a eit Cenc Ice) Sere Maybe Pet Shop Licensing could do Poe ene Ta act See ae ete EE aeons ene ot Sorrentino ‘hich is where licensing funds could come in. (NH: Hypothetically. even if such a thing could ‘be enforced (notwithstanding the fact thatthe two bodies are distinct entities), ae you not then pushing the big fish industry underground and only punishing honest keepers with a licence fee? People are stil going to find ways to purchase tankbusters, from private spawnings or shady imports. ‘Also, what happens toa licence holder who then loses their job through, say, disability? “They've followed the rules, anc now they have fish that they can no longer afford to keep —should they be penalised for thet Ff and ned? This seems to only be punishing Soon coe rca oi rey Recent feererelettt ag Ces ‘majority of drivers have a eeresenr en tiers Pours What would you like to see? NH: From my angle, Ti like to see personal ‘accountability, on both sides of the industry. alike retailers to vet, insofar asis possible, potential buyers of big fish if they're going to sell them. But the customer also needs to be accountable and understand what they are ‘buying | also know that no legal case is going to be brought against anyone housing a big, fish ine small tank, at least notin my lifetime. ‘While its a lovely idea that we might find a ‘way to regulate or control tankbusters, the INSET: Siner fact is that enforcement will never happen, shark — bigger ‘The only way big fish will ever vanish is if isn'talways: ‘customers boycott each and every store that Petter. sells them. But, as you've already pointed out, that would leave very few shops to buy from, Peer cen en Ce eCeg cs) Cn Mee Re LUE ol eee in ustEver wondered why fish have the tails they do? For speed, endurance, display &. or show, every tail tells a story... - f.) BOB MEHEN @ 22. PRACTICAL FISHKEEPK ie ”AILS. LONG Jones, short ones, forked, rounded or crazily extended ~ What would fish be without them? Behind every fish isa tail, and behind that is @ tale of evolution; of form fllowing function, forged on the anwl of natural selection over millennia. These often fragile looking appendages may exist to offer propulsion through their owner's watery worl, but they fulfl other ‘purposes too, and their shape and size can tell us much ‘about the environment the fish comes from, as well as. Something of their needs when kept in an aquarium, Atale of three tails ‘The vast majority of modern fish sport a homocereal tall here the upper and lower lobes are more or less symmetrical, anc the spine ends approximately in the ‘middle of the caudal peduncle. ‘Hoterocercal tals are afar more primitive form, here the upper lobe is larger than the lower lobe and the spine, and extends to the tip of this. Today the heterocercal tail is only seen in sharks, pacilefish and sturgeon, ‘The final tai type in extant fish species is diphycercal ~ another ‘ancient form where the upper and lower lobes of the tal taper symmetrically toa point, with the spinal column ending atthis tip Examples of this tail type include lungfish end ccoclacanths,"MORPHOLOGY Tails and swimming ‘While most fish sport homocereal tails, these vary hugely in share and size ‘The hot rods of speed in the fish ‘world —whether that’s the mighty Malin, sleek Sailfish or breakrieck Eluefin tuna ~all sport the same tall shape, known as a lunate tail. This deep. rigid, crescent moon-sheped appendage gives enormous power ‘with minimum drag, and not justin Bolt running {00m pace over a ‘marathon distance! However, iunate als are not without their drawbacks ort bursts; these fish are lke Usain and a considerable chunk of the fish’s manoeuvrability is sacrificed for sheer straight-line speed. To ‘compensate for this, species such as the Sailfish have similarly impressive pectorals to help with steering - vi in their hunting behaviour In the dynamic. more changeable world of freshwater, where the drag, racing track of the ocean is replaced by riverbanks and shallow water lunate tails aren't really seen, although some fish evolved for life in Just behind lur point to a | Nc ery forked tal for een’ psi (CTICAL FISHKEEPING @ spen Digger lakes and rivers, such as the Goliath tigerish, Hycrocymus goa, do sport almost lunate-tke ta As you can probably guess, fish ‘with such prodigious swimming poner are rarely suited to life in a slass-sided box, and even those that slip through the ethical nets and into the wade are usually destined fora short, bruised lf, bashing themsoives sonsoless with a lick of their powerful tals. You have been warned Just behind lunate in the speed stakes are forked tals, which often point to alife spent sivimming hard ‘against the current, especially in freshwater environments. The more sharply forked the tail, the less drag, Dbut while this reduction in drag ases speed, it reduces ‘manoeuvrability This tall shape is favoured by ‘rover' predators or ‘grazers ish that are constantly on the move in search oftheir next ‘meal, with the more predatory species typically having a deeper fork to give the power needed for sudden bursts of 5 te in the speed sta ee d tails, wi st tne current elt) coc 9 ofterUUnevenly roundes Fast-swimming forked tiled fish typically have long, stender bodies with many barbs danios and rasboras being prime examples = think of aquarium classics such as Scissortails (Rashoratrilineat), Silver sharks (Balanticcheilos melanopter Red-line torpedo barb (Sahyacria rappy medium thar suits many fish, allowing them to both produce both short burs of speed, and _> Non- VAWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 25aaa MORPHOLOGY ee alaet Moan their dorsal and anal fins far f this type of tails the 1, Anguilla anguilla, bot en in other species s tailed catfish, Tandarus tandanus. In these fish, movement (both Forwards and backwards) is produced by the whole body shape. This is ideal for slow, considered motion, such as wshen searching for food in crevices ‘and so on, but offers lite inthe peed. ‘OF course, the natural world isn’t a reir as simple or as easily categorised as this, and there are a wealth of Steg tal shapes that don't fi by selective a cd sh (exocoet Male Congo than the upper. Tis allows pests cing thrust while they RINE ig Ps lobe of the tail the last part in ntact with the waters surf ils? Who needs one? With such a plethora of environmental niches in the natural world, is no surprise some fish have decided tails really aren't that useful for their chosen life ‘One example of this are the Instantly recognisable members of re family. These fish areSWIMMING STYLES Fish exhibit many different swimming styles, with some more energetic end frenetic then cthers. Hore are some of the more common ones you might encounter... "ANGUILLIFORM wen ‘SUBCARANGIFORM SS Eol-shaped fish use this swimming style, using most of Using about two thirds ofthe body for propulsion, the fish still produces the body to move along in wide, acing ‘S’ shape. 2 pronounced wave. Salmon and trout use this form of locomation. CARANGIFORM Using around a third ofthe becy for propulsion, thare's much less side-tosice ANIIFORN, “wriggle as with a sub-carangiform. When not going forwards, these fish Seen in fish like the bowtin, here the dorsal fin does belance by making small movements wth their pectoral fins instead ofthe tail. the majority ofthe work by undulating while the body remains rig THUNNIFORM, ~ TETRAQDONTIFORM OSTRACIFORM. Used by putes, the drsl and anal fins ‘The clase snimming she of bortsh, are flapped together or in oppesition. which lack any kind of streamlining or The pectoral ins ee atten also used for fydrodmamics The pectoral nsundulate Fevcured by tue and sharks, oniy fine movements, todoall tre vock, wie theta acts only tho gion ercty infant ofthe 2 arvccer. tall mos, delvering 2 ponet formas thst. fs LABRIFORM Used by wrasses, the Cee oy) epecoarens — beaten in tancem to create abobbing. fornerds movement. evwnonirorM nies use that erg, undulating anal in to create waves elon their undside. This llows ther to keep Py, The bods igi fiche ewantl oho oer Bea navigaton stems. BALISTIFORW. In triggerish, the RAJIFORM ‘movernent generated by Stingrays use their wide Unduletions in the pectoral fin “wings’ to dorsal and ant fins is Create undulations and Used to propel the fish propel themselves. The ‘and the til is simply a tail only acts os a rudder mechanism primitive rudder at best. > \VAWLPRACTICALFISHEEPING.CO.UK 27InmAnpo alan MORPHOLOGY Tails and swimming Paes use the Perry co move around with the ripping rates ‘motion of their dorsal fin. They {groups of four interlocking Ls plates that surround each vertebra, and allovr them to grio onto obje inmuca the same way as the prehensile tis of monkey chameleons, ‘When it comes to bony fish, the Mola mola, isthe biggest with specimens over 4m long and weighing in at 100 However, these majestic, jellyfish guzzling ocean wanderers don! Mota Mola arean ancient group of instead their body ends in an cortilaginous fish related to shar ddlooking ‘clavus' or ‘ail fel and have pared down their fin formed from extensions of the requirements so they are far dorsal and anal fn. To swim, removed from ‘normal’ fish they fap thet large, wing like Jecomotion, Bottom dwelling dorsal ne anal fins in the species tend to undulate same direction atthe their entire body ‘is same time —a method while more mobi known as median or pelagic species ike Manta paired fin ys flap their pectoral fins by their relat g (which join to theirhead) in a and Pulferfsh ‘manner similar to the wings of birds. Rays, both marine and freshwater, ‘Almost all of them have more oF 66 With such a plethora of environmental ~ niches in the natural world, it's no surprise some fish have decided tails really aren't that useful for their chosen lifestyle 99 ‘swimming instead using them for fence (stinging) or stabilisation ‘More lkely to be avalable at your Jocal aquatic store than Mola mola are the Knifefsh, Species such as the regularly seen Black ghost knifefish, Apteronotusebifions, do possess a ‘small tail fin, but is not used for winning, with movement being ‘generated by a rhythmic rippling y elongated anal fin, (Other species have lost their fin completly. eee) Cert eanNew Insect Meal Formula Pea » Real mie ; r eR oad altars eruitans——erehFood cat feed sh Livestock @Pumps & Filters _@Dog Food @ ctivatr8 rosea tr Tres @ et yon @Pond Supplies: ‘@ Aquatic Plants ‘@Bird Feed ero Natt @reptleconds? erat Toy WIDE RANGE OF EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES. COME AND SEE US IN THE GREENHOUSE 5 Nie & The Future Of CUED MUM aS mgr (y ESCO ct Mat) to ensure the food: Toler UTC LOU ela SL would eat in the wild Environmentally friendly and sustainable Easily digested for low waste Plus Naturally enhances the colour of the fish using Spirulina algae, paprika and krill ‘ we eiCtiett hori LY Waters; Or te “ waterlife.co.uk WWW.FISHSCIENCE.CO.UKFISHSCIENCE AQUARIUM FOOD The write of ou ett of the moth wil win 250 pot of tet choc on th qty age ih Sens, ich ts ( eG i S salle etalon ee Your letters, your thoughts and your experiences shared. SUPER- and least messy way of transfering ORGANISED everything into the new tank? Is it A few wooks 2g0, | better to run the new fier in the ld tank for a while? And wnat co 1 do about disturbing the litle nest ry Kribs have made inside/under ‘my coconut shal?” ‘Any help would be much appreciated, Chris Scott, email was having trouble with algae growing betnen the glass ang the sand in ‘ny tropical tank. Not only di it cok horrible, but it was spreading onto the surface of the send Remembering that algae needs light to grow, | stuck strips of black NATHAN REPLIES: You almost paper, cm wide, along the sand answered your own question, Chris! line onthe cutside f the tank with ‘Simpy transtor ary ousting tts blu-tac, so the light couldn't get in. AS fora juniar section inthe mag, ABOVE: ‘across with the fish you have, as it Now the algae in the sand is greatly that’s something I'l seriously have female vil alreaxy be matured. Just reduced, I'm just vacuuming up the to look into. We've run a few Kribensis in remember to move everything over algae onthe surface and the paper sections i the past foryounger__SPawning quite quicty, as th lorger hiters are cisguises any craters that my Fishkeeper, and they aivays went itn eft iumed off, the more bacteria Bristlenose mekes. | keep it on down well but somehow they keep BELOW, you's. thore perranentiy, but it does look managing to dit of the racer. Noel's Congo ‘garding te Kribensis,thore’s quite neat Watch this space! puffer is nice, alnays a gamble winen disturbing "ve also started being mere not nesty. any nest. You could try transfering organised with my fshkeening, Ive the nest and eggs into a clean drawn cut charts in an exercise book TANK TRANSFERS ‘margarine tub undenvater and liting so that can write down my water —_'m pretty new to fshkeeping and it across that way, but is most likely test results and note down ary itt wasn't for PFK I don't think that withthe stress ofthe move, the changes. ve got achatttorecerd I would be halt as addicted as | am. parents are going to crop the ball when | change iter foams anda Even for anovice, the magazine Is. ‘and abandon the young t happens, chart for showing what routine ‘0 ful f information ar ideas is ‘unfertunately maintenance | do each week. "ve enough to insite the least Iso made a meru plan ever two imaginative people in the mora weeks for my feeding, so that my curently have a 84 | Tetra set-up FRIENDLY FREDDY fish have a regular, balanced dit. hich has been great for geting into In the July issue you ren an article | was wondoring i these ideas might tho hobby. on nasty Putfrtish which, while help other readers. My stock includes guppies, tetra, mostly cemect, does have an Also, what do you think about 2 Germarvbred rams (male and female exception, namely inthe case of my section in PFK for junior equarists who don't leave each others side), a like myself, who might not Dwarf gourami and Krioersis (male Understand the technical side and female, wino recently spanned). of fishkeeping? As you can see, things ae getting Esther Clark (age 12), email 2 litle busy in there ard | would like to ty breading the Rams as well as NATHAN REPLIES: Excellent work te Kribs but | need mere space. clearing uo that algae, Esther! | am upgrading soon to @ 105/ Hopefully a few aquarsts will read 1101 setup (either a Jewe! this simple solution of yours and Primo 110 or Aquael Leddy) give ite whirl~1 know that ‘blackout So, my questions er. x Sstrins' have helped me with issues Because only be running one 5 fn the past tank, war's the easiest, quickest § 30 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING“White tous at Practical Fistkeepine, Baver Media, Media House, Lynclnaced Business Park, Peterborcugh, Cambridgeshire PE2 6EA WE ASKED... mal us at eaeorao Follom us at won facebock Which of the African lakes has & comPkmag the better fish? LAKE MALAWI ™ LAKE TANGANYIKA ‘own Congo puffer, Tetraodon miurus. "have kept my Congo puffer KEEP THE ETHICS CoMiNG! fg) YOU SAID. (called Gentle Freddy) for two years | am a long-time reader of the Row and he has been nothing but a magazina, and just wented to say pat to me. Instead of biting me that I'm enjoying the changes I've vahen I do. water chenge, he makes seen cver the course of this year. In his presence known by coming up _ particular I'ma bg fan of the cut of the sand and moving ware “Ethical dabata’ and especially the I can see him. ‘one about how to euthanase a fish. ‘Though | used to drop food in for have wondered for years if there him at the star, I've been hand- was aright and wrong way to kill a feeding him for abcut a year now fish that has been suffering and was and he really enjoys it~ in fact, if| shocked to see that you said you drop focd in now he looks at it ike shouldn't freeze a fish. A few years he expects me to pick it back up ago, | asked a local store how they and offer it to him properly! dealt with any fish they had to ill, Whether he's just used to my and they told me freezing wos presence, or whether | have an painless and the best nay of doing unusually tame pet, I don’t know, it. Because ofthat, Ive frozen a few time I have to put a fish down, butt’ nice to know that even fish old and sick fish, thinking it was the | know you must get emails like ccan break the rules and not behave right thing todo, but now I know not this al the time, but | wanted you how they're ‘supposed’ te trom to-do that again. toknow you have definitely changed time to time! Instezd I've now bought a bottle of my fishkeeping forthe better Keep up the great work clove oil and | am keeping it safe in Thank you! 'Nocl Talbot, emait the fish tank cabinet for the next Graham Phillips, email ‘SHADOW PLAY T thought you might ike to see my letest project. [A shoal of eons. and cardinals, a few leftover male emperors, four young Khuli loaches and atrio of Apistograrnna trifesciat. ‘Thomas Prakash, email NATHAN REPLIES: Very nice, Thomas! Loaty, shadowy and moody, just the way ike it? STARTING WITH CLUE 5, GUESS THE FISH USING AS FEW CLUES AS POSSIBLE and ete Farntis gous ereicelty — ebiyhmenaicbuexd Taf cls din aga] Braet pwn say arecataretined pace’, | tctworchattearctwetn | Spoyciunte, wh detretgrer Qutecteyazpiiteanne: lL soagetbiacosn con ‘acheometontelatnwdte > Saihfowen Tas Seigatinr” > Inesooataln Netaingte > ansprenivhen Gig ci, > dng hh ents, at ndopiestesced. | ipeckayemeston ncissan towevangetp ec adog toa pytetie to Famer aretha hunetartar pds, eb’ Me wieeseaa Ca hepsi Resp Hees aimee haat hase jada ee ah te tone ‘heme ow sibel erepomang academe ey nel VAWAPRACTICALFI KEEPING.0O.UK 31MARINE DES ee ‘needs Sinalt fi Pe easesHE'TERM ‘nano’ sprang up organically in aquaties a few decades back, and we've SJeetelimelelsy | ==. UNIAN TN om Sm eee Oe 1c tupdahtaning at COVE ITITM IT UAT LL eA M)Feare which will stay small. We look at SOMO MUTEM UTTER) AIS being small. Today we have nano tanks, nano fi nano lights nano tanks are obvious. They're the ‘ups available, nd often come in a marine nano is trickier themselves as marine lance, considerably larger valents. There are exceptions, is usally something of 40 ely speaking - a branded marine ight have double that capacky. Sill. the thing to remember is that nano tanks are emaller than standard tanks, And because they are smell they come with a handful of challenges. The greatest of thse inti Smal tanks ar. by ‘ff atthe same time and see which cools firs ‘Temperature fluctuations are an issue in small bodies of water, especially for marine fish that aren’ rapid changes in temperature in the wild. Ai ean to change even a couple of degrees ave been heating the planet 10 years or $0, and all we've ter the issue of water quality Take those seme two tanks ~ 500 land 25 ]~and adda single fish to each. Turn off the filters and monitor ‘which tank builds up a toxic level of armmonia frst —it sure won't be the larger one. Big volumes of water have a lifesaving bulfer in that they can dilute things down ‘Andif things go wrong ina big tank, you'll be grateful for the extra time that buffering ean bring, Fower failures, broken fikers and even an accidental averted ‘ill be disastrous in @ nano long before you notice the first symptoms of fishy illness in a larger one But that’ not to write off the marine nano, Many people can and do keep them successfully, It helps if you're vigilant, obsessive-compulsive type of person ‘who tests water quality frequently and panic anomaly, though. TURN OVER FOR 16 GREAT NANO FISH TO TRY AT HOME WW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 33MARINE Nano fish Veen bbne gely 'A cheeky little character that tends to be captive bred and is as hardy as itis discrete. Once settled ill come out and perch itself on afew choice pieces of rockwork, but initially itl be shy. When kept ‘with larger ish, and on is native reefs, it also acts as a cleaner ‘Scfette namo: aati oars Sie ir. “sinew ark S20 530202m/45 tes ‘Temperament Cant wasps wih ec televise peace ‘Ree compat: God, wid singing corals ed anemones “9Prcg and avait: Canin, and £30 a ao Blocsteipe popoink get plenty of small ivefoods, especialy @ good supply of copepods. Adding Caulerpa seaweed will help provide shelter and security ‘eScete name: Deyrhanptus ecsus S207 inn ark ize: 8030802m/72 ites ‘STomperament Pesta ‘¢Roe compat Easr stings sings and enenane ‘ePriez naval Relate common; tating aan Howse with atin, ” 34 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING Curt jeate ¢ Ensure you've lots of hidey holes and crevices for these fish, ‘and ALWAYS check inskde your pumps before turing thern back on, after tank maintenance ~ these guys have a habit of sneaking into holes they shouldn't go, and can get killed by impellers. “6 Stenttio name: Kouvenst ant ze 75m dninuntark size SO:000n 45 es ‘Temperament Peaceful, sy ‘Fee compat: Gu awit singing cls an aneroes “Price and avai Rctv2y comin, sun 250830 Tiger ge by ‘real rockwell, these litle guys wil make the most of al the fissures aed ravines in your rockwork, and rarely seem to stop They mainly use the bottom of the tank, helping fil out this often neglected region, so make sure they have eaves down there Scene name: Tigi macoden Sae:5en ‘nium ark ize 5:30 7 ites jprament eaet, ut en tetatral ‘Fee compat Got, isa cals and anerones Price avalabiiy- Rt partly como ces stat ara 818ere A Mya Cea Coa eS Cran Coe Attentive as a puppy, this fish has been known to spawn in home ‘anks, laying is eggs inside an oli shel ora small crevice. Don't house muliple Red head gobies as they're tenitorial and will, squaable with others of their own kind, unless in sexed pais clonic namo: acinus punts Sze. neu ark 8. (58002m /45 tes Temperament Pea: tut err vt sewn Ree compat: God, vo singing cased anemones rican avait: nee fo sh around fer one of ase, Yom rund E19 (One ofthe prettiest nano fish you can buy, but oh so nervous and sly. Keep singly or in a breeding pair to avoid territoriality iss and make sure you have some suitably tiny foods to feed them on. Inretailers’ tanks they are often hidden away, so look carefully Sclrte name Tigigebvs muitos Ske 35m Menu ark sie 451300 5 tes Temperamest Tt but bensce pasta Ree compat: Got. awit sign cals ae aernes Pree and avait Uroneren,wualy rane te 25 t0 £35 mark to be captive bred and is as hardy as it is discreet 99 Quite a bruiser fora small tank at over 10cm adult length the Scooter blenny is atleast slow moving and doesn't require vast swimming space. Its notoriously har to feed on dried foods, and known to jump out of an cpen-topped tank, so sealed aquaria only Scientc ame: Sirens oes Sa er Ninn ark ize 803002m/72 tes Temperament: Peace Roo arpa fret aks rice and avaablity:Pectivel cmos, geal aruné £2 £30 ‘An iconic marine fish, wild juvenile Banggal famously hide within the sherp spines of sea urchins to keep safe, and mouthbrood their ‘young. There's a degree of aggression from them, so avcid housing ‘with anything timid or much smaller than they are. Keepin shoals. Scere name Pirzpogn aude Sze 753n wr tak size 80:93 72s Temperament: Sei capes, andy tarkrtes Reel compattiy Weal frre tanks Price al avait: ey common: rand £28 ech > VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 35MARINE Nano fish ‘A really good starter marine fish, the fiefish will need a bolt hole to treat to when it fees threatened. A few strategically placed caves, will facilitate ths. Avoid housing multiples in a small tank as they ‘can turn on each cther~ especilly males against other males, Selette name: Herts Sze hr ink ark se 8o30aOem/72 ites Temperament: Peaceful ep ith itsom scies Ree compat ea fret erks Pres nd avatar conmon oun £20025 each megnta ‘rare firefsh with unique markings, and while subter then the other types here itis considerably more expensive. Keep a tight id fish wall launch given the chance. The fish he rarer‘yelow headed’ variant but most are pink. Solent name Nentelotrshetch Size Sen inmumtark size 8.3000 72 es Temperament Peaceful cept withits oun species ef compat: el ret taks Price nd avalabiry Rare ant pricy tom around £75 6€ Panda goby: Do be careful as they're not averse to What looks Ike a colour morph of the standard fiefish isa separate species that enjoys life over a bed of rubble — get some broken up ive rock to use on the tank base. Ensure quality food rch in vitamins and beta carotene, or the clours wil face from this fish Siete name: Heats aa Sze kr Ninn tank ize 803002 /72 ites amperamen eat cep wis onnspecies oe compat ea fret rks Prien avai Cana, bt et buna; om aoued £26 (CTICAL FISHKEEPING ‘What a comedy face! Ths is fish that should only be added to a mature tank where algae hes had time to coet the rocks ~ that will provide grazing for this vegetable-loving blenny. I's very shy though, so don't house it with boisterous fish, and offer caves Seientio name: Espns siematura Se. Sen Nino tark size 5:30 Temperament: Peace tut sy Feef compat Kel eet tanks Price an avalabiyCitecomat saConsider keeping your own eee eget Tee) supplementary feed (oar fish. Utterly adorable, but you'r planning on keeping one then you'll Opt for alarger size of nano tank and keep a shoal of these for benefit from a tank with Poctlopora corals, which the Panda goby est effect. They tend to hang in the mile ofthe water column, usually lives on in the wild. Do be careful though, as they're not plucking food as it passes by, but arent particularly active averse to nipping the polyps of other corals from time to time. swimmers. Though there's a hierarchy, they're not aggressive lente name: Paragbiesoenicalus Soler name Sphacamia renatptee Sze rt Sie Sen Niner nk Sze 5:3030:m /45 tes Menu ark ie: 80:30on/ 72 es Temperamert-Peaseul Teperamet: Peas Ree compat i cau, can et compat: ea fret tanks Presa araataty: ncamron, fom and S18 ric and avait Carr starting at rund £16039 nipping the polyps of corals from time to time 9: ‘Ss a A fish that can change the one ofits colour depending on howit Ensure you have a ely good substrate maintenance regime for a feels atthe time; youll see light yellow and dark brown specimens _Twinspot, and use live sand where possible ~ the goby will sit on offer It feeds on polyps of certain hard corals, 0 av through it, picking out serps of food. Offer plenty of enriched itwith Acropora. WH spawn quite readily inthe Home tank frozen ane high quality ve foods ~ regular copepods are ames Seta rant Gobi cts Sclert ane: Sigs bras Sas en Sie 7Sem nis rk ize: S045 es nnn teks 3:37 Hes Tonpararet Fels Tamparaert ea cen scan spt Reet arpa Nest incon ni garticuercs Reet ama Hel fre aks ree ant ali Qteconeon fom aun Pree ant ara: Osteo fan cand 25 @ VAWWIPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,00.UK 37fe criclOA A Ney (ec) ee RASMONC NN Se IAL STUN LCcaee) cscs Fem (se mie) a any aquarist can embrace at home: <: en oats Euros!OTUs era en ae)TROPICAL Pencilfish breeding MALL, AGILE and colourful - these three ‘words best sum up this genus of ccharacins. They resemble a pe shepe, hence rrame, with their slender and elongated bodies. As for the origin of the name Narnostomus, its a combination of the Latin word ‘nanus’, meaning small, and the Greek ‘stoma’, mouth, ‘At present, according to Fishbase, there are 20 scientifically described species of peneilish, possible o breed all of them in artificial conditions, so some can ‘command a considerable price. However, their unique contrasting colouration and small size (making them ideal for nano tanks) are the reasons why these fish are in constant demand, Read on to find out how to prepare pencilfish for breeding, inerease the numer of offspring. and what to feed them on. ‘lin asnit been ‘The best course isto pure up of at least six specimens of the same species, preferably from different sources, in order to mix the genetic material. The aquarium should be heevily planted; floating plants ~ such as Water ferns, loeting plants ‘and discourage Salvia sp.~are also recommended. 20 eee jumping ¥ In time, pairs will naturally and 5 spontaneously form among this © group in the community tank (the fish can live for a few years). S 5 natural pairs rather than arbitrarily ‘chosen ones, are bes for breeding ‘Some people breed peneilfish in ‘very small tanks, no more than 01: others prefer aqueria tha ‘are two or three times bigger. Remember to clean the breeding ‘ank thoroughly beforehand. I's best to use RO or distilled water, with zero nitrates, and to acidity it naturally. for instance with peat extractor peat itself (Editor's note: A selection Of botanicals or laf liter will also do this for you) Itis advisable to let the water 66 Abundant floating plants on the surface are a must, and will help reduce jumping incidents 99 stand for afew days to allow the chemical parameters to stabilise then use a hose to siphon out ti ‘upper layers only (there may be some sediment on the lowest level) Itmight be worthwhile using a UV filter to storise the tank, too. These measures reduce the riskof the eggs Boing bed, and so increase the number of offspring. The outcome of allthis should be soft water with a lighily acidic pH (around 65), which should be kept at a temperature suitable for the species we want ro breed ~ that is, from 24-29°C To protect the eggs from being ‘eaten by the breeders themselves, a spawning grate (available from aquarium shops) or a substitute like ‘a mash of some sort, should beplaced on the bottom of the tank. You could also use glass marbles or stones (scalded with boiling water before use). It's also advisable to put some dense tangles of plants on the bottom, such as Java moss, but ‘make sure you check it carefully for snail ist, as they can cet the fishes’ eggs. ‘The water in che breeding tank should be aged. The aquarium should be equipped with an eficient biclogical filter, this could be an alrdziven sponge flter or the external hang-on kind (which doesn't take up valuable space in the aquarium itsel). However, in the later ease there are two vital points to remember: the filter intake should be covered with fine sponge to prevent the young from being sucked in; and the current from the iter should net be too strong, to avoid tring them out. Perea ee ea RAL Cas FACTFILE RAL RED PENCILFISH nite name: Narostanus ert (bie Pes io enay basin nko Desartner, i Te ‘ste further nast ‘Haditat Sow ring sears smal ives and swamp as, with ese cui ent rw nutintlacknalercnians (829: em yt sie: 200m fate equrements: 40.709, 28H (emperature:25.27°C (emerament Shy it ces spies Males are otal ith cache ‘Fooding Nii fs, fake, tasn Cpls Dapiniand back osu lavae (stat nth regent 12 each 701+ eae Coe Plant growth a Importantly the tank should also be darkened, because the eggs are sensitive to light It's advisable to ‘cover it tightly too, as these fish like to jump, and it would be most ‘unfortunate to lose a mated pair, ‘Abundant floating plants on the surface are @ must, and will help reduce jumping incidents, Some people find it helpful to separate the female from the male a week before the planned spawning. ‘When she becomes visibly rounder, she can be released fst into the tank ‘where the spawning is to take place the male should follow in one to two days (although some breeders do ‘put them in the tank together). Once they are reunited, spawning will ‘generally occur the following day, usually in the morning. Whether you decide to separate the sexes prior to spawning or not, TEA Docs Poi Stas VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,00.UK 41Troopicar ? TROPICAL Pencilfish breeding both male and female should be released in the evening in order to ‘minimise stress. Before the planned spawning they should be fed generously. preferably with wi black mosquito larvae or lassworms, which stimulate them to breed. Inthe breeding tank itself, however, no food should be given to avoid polluting the water. Depending on which pencilish species you have. the eggs might adhere to the plants, but most will fall to the bottom of the tank the grate will prot being eaten by the hungry parents, During the spawning itself, you them from We aay ee ee is heavily plant Sais eo right wish to ensure that any eggs Jaid on the plants fll to the bottom carefully push them off with a disinfected glass rod or similar Depending on the species, the female lays from a dozen to afew Inundred eggs; on average, you can expect a faw dozen. ‘Once the spawning is over, the parents should be removed as, Quickly as possible for they are quite voracious egg esters. As ‘mentioned, the tank shouldbe darkened for instance with pleces of paper, taped to the walls, After a day or so (though it can be as soon as 12 hows: ater laying) the tiny larvae batch from the eggs, looking rather lice commas. It will tke a few days for them to become free-swimming hovrever, and until then they will stick tothe glass, marginatus bottom or plants. 2 goad one to try ‘When they begin to swim freely. ing frst. you should give ther the smallest foods, such as infusoria and rotifers, {gradually moving on to freshly hatched Artemia naupli. You could also use commercial micro foods fang liquid foods for egg-layor fry. (One of the foods that's usefl in the first few days of thei life is ABOVE: ‘Nannostom.hardbole epgyoksome people tlt by he fy: Remember sndrating lage nimber ot Ins hye that ou ely neste ge tem oir Bren dees on ‘should mash up the yolk with your _fewr drops of such food, a few. the species in question, the quality fngesorianceina gaol ties aden ae yo tefomemerat ce rater, and feed the resulting miicure Cleanliness is the bass of| and condition of the fish tothe fy, preferably with adropper success in breeding, so twice themselves and of course ora long glass pipette. Another a day the bottom of the CEB uC TSA the breeder's luck. helpful tool is a suction bulb or a tank should be cleaned of Dee re ay ‘To begin with, it's regular hypodermic syringe food remains, ard the tank OU” acvisable to try your ‘The food should be injected topped off with water of the UU Ae) hand at breeding the more precisely into the cloud of fry; they _ same physical and chemical OTE popular species, such as the should swim in it, not forage forit. parameters. Pencilfsh fry grow Golden pencilfish, Dwarf Although the cooked egg yok slowly soit’ important io feed ther pencilfsh, or Three-lined penciish, contains all the necessary life ‘varied dit. It wl take a good few only then moving on tothe more sustaining nutrients, unfortunately weeks forthe new generation to difficult ones that have been bree in itabbo pollates the water toa take on thelr parents” colouration. aquaria only rarely, oF not al considerable exten, leading to ‘There's no single common recipe : ying though, so protozoan outbreaks, which aremot for breeding these lovely litle ish 00d ick with your ite pencils! Da ST Ca Coral red pencils pers — \ 4 ~ FACTFILE DWARF PENCILFISH ‘inte estos rhs td fofuee fret bon fa ore be sits Sener cea nl eve oe ye son stro aa papa la beac — bs ‘ofank sae: 4520600 = temperature: 73.27°C mperaent Pst (Feeding Nic fats eke. fama ls 9 Dapiniad ack sq a \ ‘act inthe regent £380 each ‘cer romirenents:4.07.008.3:0 | 40 Le VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 43eres | SUV WUT Menem exe A PASSION/FOR BOTANICALS! RCM emer] UIM IS CUCM ISLC TM MILE TC TORS CHSC elim cm aileecle Ue LITe) shows us that biotopes need not bedargerTeRAnER TANK - READER TANK Interview / Mike Calnun HIS HOBBY tends to grab hold of people and play with them ike litle fshkeeping puppets, always pushing for jst one moce tank, or seeding ideas lice ‘OH WOW... oun have that fish, you've never seen it forsale before!” “The numberof times I've heard “thave avery understanding wife/ husband!” fiom thase who have been taken over by the hobby docant bear thinkang about. Those words came straight out of Mike Cainun's ‘mouth while we were chatting about his tanks. 1 know whore he’ coming from: ve been strung up by the hobby fo nigh on 30 years since I first started, but Mike managed to exercise restraint of himself the first couple of times the hobby entered his lie However, it seems to have caught up with him and taken ceamplete control now as eat ea See Eagle-eyed readers may recognise that Mike was in our ‘Me & my tank ‘pages at the beginning of the year ‘when he had plenty of lovely ish to show. Sox months on and the ‘evidence of losing contol is obvious to see such as squeezing seven tanks into an under.stars cupboard ‘We speak to the man about the hobby, the fish and life- changing careers... Mike, fishkeeping has featured 1 few times in your life. What ‘were those experiences and why is it such a big thing now? ‘My Mum always kept tropical fish ‘when I was a kid and | always loved it. spent hours in front of the family ft community tank and loved visiting our local breeder an the fish shows atthe old Belle Vue Zoo. ‘Asa teenager lost interest after a while, but in my early twenties [bought my frst tank, Since then I've had a varity of aquariums — always single-planted community setups. These satisfied my’ interes: until around three years ago. How did you get into the blackwater side of things? fd grown tired of seeing pristine aquascapes, and trying (and failing) to create something similar. craved something diferent and started looking at various aquatic habitats and was particularly interested inthe blackwater rivers of South ‘America. This was around the time that Tannin Aquatics vere bringing various exotic leaves and botanicals ABOVE: Mike's Bleeding heart tetras ere mature and striking. 66 We have very good tapwater here. Zero hardness anda pH of 6.9 99to market and I justhad touy them, After that Iwas hooked and started ooking into specific biotopes ‘and how to recteate them. [soon realised that I’ need more tanks tomake my plans a reality and { haven't looked back since. To me there's something mystical but very real about a blackwater habitat find myself staring into my tanks for hours and really enjoy the vivid colouration and natural behaviour of my fish in realistic surroundings. How much of your decor is shop bought and how much is scavenged locally? rd say half of the leaves and botanicals in my tanks are locally collected and the rast is sourced from Blackwater UK. im lucky tohave a public botanical gardens nearby, and the excellent chaps down there allow me to collect leaves that have fallen off various plants and trees. Using collacted materials can be a tricky business as most test kits cant test for toxins T tend to use them very carefully and not until 'm certain they will not harm the fish. How are your breeding projects coming along? “My breeding projects are going very well. currently have fry from Apistogramma tifsciata and several {enerations of Fundulopanchax a is ubtata Sie ems Origin ester Pate Dean Tank size 450351352. 58| j emperature: 226°C Temperament Peel Araby an cost Common: 424) — Being a scavenger, the shrimp will pick up left-over food and search around the cave entrance for morsels of biofilm and detritus The shrimp is best fd litle and often es they would naturally be finding food Jor most of the day, so aim to feed two or three times a day. FACTFILE Scientific name: Staoebirs osha Pronnclaer Sin--o-bs-ps yesh-ah Sie.Sem ig Vester Contra Pacte Tank se 685135256 ennperate:22-25°0, emperamen Peco rai anda Not cone £45 ary ort os ScrRandal Boies Pb FACTFILE RANDALL'S SHRIMP GoBy 6 Scientiic name: Anelirsrandl ‘Pronmnciation:f-teeelbe.tstis randall ‘Temperament Most eacefl ‘hala ane cost Rave Okm Shop your way to affordable car insurance with cash rewards from mustard jar SF a Ei Es > BB | eet ered t | Sea esiag Pez) k 102262 .75w- 192264 102266. 156u-192268 To shop online for click & collect into your nearest Aquael stockist or for home delivery please go to: www.alfitd.co.uk/brand/aquaelFishkeeping Answers" @ aes | Got a fishkeeping question? PFK's crack team of aquatics experts Wieser are on hand to answer whatever you need to know. [email protected] THE EXPERTS ne Erra| kd aera AIT Rion seen ey Mapa cammanity questions and discusses ming cans page 6 eee eer E ‘nd ld wate en page 2 rest rir ha ely wt ngneerh-pone mmm pae Pe eet reed GEORGE porintra 2 FARMER SHAN is srsuning at yur s = ___ plntingqusstons ane ks at pans for latwetr sap on pae ae — ver el eee lm BAKER eireemnnnadionie and sts eto male yorum ocr url on peg 63 JEREMY Gran S De 8 GAY i ak Isarsnesng a eur Se has . SEAM geetbes sad a e ree scutes the reeds ats Fouetom . : Peres eee ih on page ae figting it NEALE fe ing at your fester gsr and cots a what might be geowing i ‘reser subtate on page $8 DAVID WOLFENDEN eed igouramis can be ets preree nave we spose page 62 EXPERT AQUARIUM CARE WITH OUR DIGITAL Tet ia Oo SNe Se Uae fey qestin ve spt yo ot © expt node as ruc ination ss yeu ‘can abcut your set-up. Photos are useful, too. 57Fishkeeping Answers ‘Andy wins @ box of Tetra goodies: 100m! TetraMin ara TetraPro Colour foods, Holiday Food, Pleco Algee Wafers, FunTips Tablets, 100m! SafeStart, EasyBalance and AquaSafe water treatments ‘and Tetra Test 6 in 1 a) me letiaO Gren keeps coming back. ANDY SAGGERSON, EMAIL The algae vibe between the sand and the glass is more cyanobacteia, also knonn as oue-green alpoe. These are otognthetis bacteria that tend to thrive best in spas situations, including pleces where the: oor. Some varies do well undor uit ow gt eves too, trving in Can someone please fell me what ths is (see piture, inset below) in my sand? | keop it egulrly cleaned but just er is slon-moving and onygen- tanks without lights provided they get a fer nours of sunlight each day. 8y contest, tru groen alga tend to prefer Disk curerts, clean water, and high ligting eels, Inde, true groan ‘algae re ct common in ‘xcinay community tans, being rather more typical of brightit aquaria ‘optimised for plant z gonth, For al ofthese reasons, my guess Would be that you're dealing with ‘oranobacteria rather than green alga. The goed news is tha these cyanobacteria pose litle treat to ycur aquarium. Cyancbacteria hve a hard time growing in srong water curents, soa long as theres 2 ‘Send yeur questions to: ishhesping Answers, 2) ree are esas on, etoa= es enna eae ie black and more nice flow of water across the sutsteate, ABOVE you swouldn' fino the cyanobacter2 Cyanobacteria making much progress. Tiss 's common especially true if the aquariam is in areas of otherwise wel-maintainad, with iow ile water nitrate and phosohate levels, plenty of movement. Dnygen, an ideally has a fe fast ‘growing plants included in the syst. ‘The bad news i thet algae growing, between the glass and the substrat is pretty much impeesible to eliminato without some sort of bilogica con ‘Burowing sais such 8 Ietanoioes can help by pulling omgen a ite deeper into the substrate, but the real trek st introduce fast growing plats that have extensive ret ystems, These wil rot only cary oxygen deep inthe suoetrate but will alo compete so strongly fr nutrients that the cyanobacteria won't be able to grew neatly 0 fast. Yoiisnena, Hygrophila and so on woukd all be goed choices TROPICAL Please could you tell me what | would require to keep a Flonerhorn, sch as the best sizeof tank, water chemistry and decor? How big do thoes fen grow and can | keep anything with ther? What’ the best food to give them to ensure good health and colour? KATIE ASPINALL, EW Flowerhomns vary in size depending on whether they have been bred to rave a short body (lke that ofa fancy goctish 0” Ballon mally) or a standare bod. ve seen many adults at arcund 30cm (124), and they are thicket, Socky fish, with a lange body ‘mass. If wanted to provide a spacious environment fr a 30cm adult Floweshora, | would opt for @ 180x60x60cm (72124324) tank “The short bodied fh, with an adult size of 20cm (Bin), could be bused in a 120360360em (48:24%24in) aquarium. Ive actualy seen so-called ‘bonsai’ Flowerhorns advertised with advice that 2 ‘6Ocm-leng tank wil be fine fr ther, But evan a ‘bonsai’ Fewerhern is sil large, unlike its moniker, soa 2 tank ust wert do, In Ching, Floerhom cichlic tanks are often completely bare, end ‘eveis of any cecer or substrate. I you want to give yours the cervironmental enrichment it deserves (especially when livin alone) then provide a gravel substrate with les, cas, caves and maybe some tough plastic pants. Live pants wil be uprooted and eaten In terms of temperament they are akin to adult male Midas cichlids highly agressive to any fsh seen asa threat and titel. So, in ‘alr all eases, Floworhems are best hept alone. You could ty to par them, but you would need egg crate o act as a physical barier to keep them apart while pain, ard constat vigiance before and after, sparing to ensure tho fora decent gt beaten te dat. Smal fish will be exten, Flonernomns are unfussy regarding pH and hardness. im fo 6.080 pl, and a temperature of 24-30°C, Specialist Flowerhorn dey food cies are availble that clam to enhance colour, making the rec tones redder, anc increase the 26 ofthe Kok- the nuchal Road hump that they're famous fr - but any diet aimed at large South enc Central American cichlids wil do, Gere Ce v irda ara a ATT f MisFishkeeping Answers TROPICAL {have three Peppered coys, about five years od in my 90cm community tank and I like to acd a different species. I've been locking atthe Skunk cory and would quite lke to get a group of five or si Will thay ve togethorandisthore any danger of cross-breeding between the tno? ‘SAM RADFORD, EMAIL Concaras ave social fish and aed tobe kept in gyoups of ive atthe vary least, iseally mere While they wil mix with cther cons they generally seem very anare of ‘wh they ae, and most species wil stick wth cts oftheir oxn kin, given the opportunity atnough tey may mix together in a ‘sper shoal, especialy when fod is avaliable, The Peppeted cory, Condoras paeatus, is hardy, adapleble and eas) to breed. However, ter do pref Sligntly cooker cencitons (rather than full topical) tr aaa at least part ofthe yea, and many people keep them in aia ‘coldwater’ as they are fine downto arcunc 16°C. Bore Regatcless of adding move cons of a aitferent species, would recommend boosting their numbers to st last fie at the same time. Skunk cory, Contras arcvatus ae voy tsh but ar ite less hardy as they'e usualy wild-caught, so need careful handle, especially when netdy ative. Tare should be no issues with keeping the tro species together if you set the temperature ata hacey rmeciu for both round 23°C). Unies you lve in an specially cole area, you wll probably got summer temperatures in excess ofthis, which should help simulate the changing seasons the fisn woule experence inthe wil. Although some cons can and co hybridise. | don't foresee this happening inthis cas, PONDS 1 am looking at buying 2 smal The best iis wife eds, aed preformed pond with the intention of the cries which attract and save the setting it up asa wiklife pond (ne fish). most wildlife, are these which are What sort of ceptn should I be looking "antec exclusively with native spaces, at? Please could you also tell me what Buying netve pond plans is Plants would be best in and around it to suaightfonrrd these days as many are atvact the best selection of wildife? sold with a Unien Jack on te labal MICHELLE YOUNG, EMAIL ‘tuck inthe pot. Common native plant ‘pevies include Purple loses, Ifyou ae having 2 Uythrum saicara (picture 1), Vator willfe pond with nofish they can crowioc, Ranunculus equetils (2), ‘be muh shallower than you might Boghean, Menyanthes iioiate (3), think, Argthig over 302m (127) Fagin, Iris pseudscorus(), and 2 depth is fine Marsh merild, Caltha palustris Sen your questions to: Fshesping Answers, Practical Fishkening Mogazine, Neda House, Lynchwood,Pterbocugh, PED SEA. Emails at questens@ pratcalshieeping ca Uk MeN me letiaO rena[TRoPicat | How do I reduce this ammonia level? {nave a 180 | (40ga0 tank with 30 fish, namely Neon tetras, guppies, Plates and gobie. It has a Flual 208 filter I went anay fora few days anc when | returned two fish had died, one of which I never found, ‘Sine than Fve let tuo mere and despite numerous 10% water changes, {just can’t get the ammonia level down, to zero. A lot ofthe fish lok happy and healty but occasionally one starts behaving strangely, hiding a nat ‘moving for hous. Can you advise please? JEAN LLOYD, EMAIL NEALE SAYS: ‘Amenia doesn't come out of nowhere; either something inside the tank is decaying. or somehow ammonia is setting into the tank from an Dutsie source, Both are Possibilities re IF the ammeria is being oroduced too ‘uichly forthe nitrifying bacteria to turn itinto nitrite and nate fat ercugh, then there will bee backlog of ammonia Siting about in the water. Tis is bad ewe because ammonia is acutaly toxic; levels as low as 0.5: are suffcient © stross and even kill aquarium fis within relatively short period of time. That being the case, if ammonia is accumulating in this way, then you neec te find whatever is Gecaying inthe tank and allowing ammoniticaion to tke place too quickly for your fiter bacteria todea with, Often, i's 2 dear fish somewhere, or overfeading, but it meht cls be that the filter isnt working efficiently. So, as well 26 lcoking for things tat mignt be decaying in the tank, yeu also reed to ‘check the fier. Is the flow rate appropriate tothe numberof fish being kept? Has the filter media been Dvercteaned recently in a way tat ‘might have killed tho nitnfying bacteria ~for example, under very hot water ot tapwater” Its woth mentioning thet the Fhal 206 isn't eally big enough for a 1801 ‘stom, being rated 2t 760 lites per hour; other words, a turnover rate cf 4.3 times the volume ofthe tank per hour. Even fora ligty stocked system, your filter wes rcbebly opeeting at full capacity, and the recommended tumove rate for modorataly stocked communities of srall-to medium-sized eee nc An Ar fish is around sito eign times par hour. Your ammonia problem coule easly be explained by @ combination of ‘tho ish getting Digger, ovrteoding, harsh filter cleaning, ard over replacement of mative media wth new media, “The second commen reason people ‘etact non-zero armenia levels is ‘where ammonia is getting into the tank va water changes. Fora slat, ‘some tap water supplies vl have detectable levels of ‘anmenia, and many water ‘conditioners include cchemicas thet neutralise this chemicel chiramine, \nbich is used to make drinking water safe. While rorriorc tous, dechiorinators can break down chiramine into Chlorine end ammonia, an¢ although thay neutralise the chine, the ‘ammenia islet behind! Obviously, this is bad news. so in general you wart to use a water Concitioner thet nat onl neutralizes chlorine enc heavy metas, but also ‘weats chloramine and armenia, producing something safe to use in fist tanks. Find cut if your water ‘company has suntched to using chloramine ~ rot all supolirs use it in all areas — and replace your water Concitioner accorcingly, ‘ABOVE: Permanent tests ‘can give you an early warning of rouble. BELOW: Regular testing gives 2 ‘eo0d picture ‘of wrat’s ping on PURE a mn LON Gaye MERE COL as 6Fishkeeping Answers [manne | Will my coral recover? My war coral hes developed some white patches. Its ina TMC Microhabitat 60 ‘ank and had been doing vory well er ‘about five months. Due tothe tank having to be stripped and moved when ‘wo were redecorating, the coal ended up about 7-1Gcr higher inthe water column for about a week. I've since rmored beth tank and coal beck to its ‘tzinl position, but | wonder if the lighting might nave been too stg? That was two weeks ago. Nothing is ‘lose tothe coral. The paiches are ‘catered across the main body and rene ‘are mae than Jem in size. They don't ‘seem to be spreading, but they'e not improving either. Everything else (a mix ‘of LPS, polyps and mushrooms, a ‘couple of hermits and a Peppermint hrm) is doing fin. Any ideas? PAUL COUZENS, EMAIL, DAVE SAYS: War corals, Favitespeniagara, canbe ‘quite sanstve to changes in water chemist and lighting, ‘and the appearance of white patches isa clasic sign of something upsetting ‘change in lighting could be the ‘auto, and i's not uncommon fr these corals to show white patches when ‘exposed to race intense ignting than [Tropicat | anew tank wth brighter lighting, antes only require moderate letting, and its Gefritey possible ti ‘ne closer toa focused, high-intensity spot of LED light could stress it First though, check thatthe tissue islet damage’ and ‘the skeleton int exposed, athe same time keeping an eye out for any predators that coule be attacking the coral. If te tissue s damaged, this could require the coal being ‘moved to an isolation tark and some ipping taking place to prevent infection sproadng te other corals. IT there i no damage to the tissue and you've already moved the eral to ts original postion with the patches not creasing in Siz, then lave it inthis position ad allow it to recover. Rather than subjectit to further stess by moving fs best to let it recover whore i, foodng it regularly at right. However, ifthe patches do ge arg Cconsicer moving ito an even shacer soot It may take soveral weeks before your coral stats to show improvement Maintain moderate water movement. It's so worth checking the parameters, elucing salinity, emperatre, ‘amirenia, nite and nto, alkalinity calcium, magnesium and strontium, Have these changed from before? Aim tomartan stable cencitione wile the coral covers, as fluctuations in key parameters can cause further propiems. Why won't this cloudy water clear? I setup anew aquarium about six weeks ago, washing all the gravel, wood and plastic plants before placing them into the tank. My problem is that the water in {this new set up just won't clear. “The ony thing that’s been added apart ‘rom the decer isthe tapwater plus some dochlrinator, «0 | can't understand why tHe water is stil cloudy aftr al this time, ve testes the pH and its spet on. Could you advise me as to why the tank is stil cloudy, and have you any idea how ean gett to cles, please? GEORGE SIM, EMAIL BOB MEMEN SAYS: Unlass the Cloudiness has a geen tint (which points to alge) or a brow one (which 's sobably due to tannins fom the wer), the most common causa of cloudy water, ceopeciallyn newiy set-up tanks, is bacterial bloom, Ths is basically a population of bacteria ving in tne wator Colum instead of on the sold surfaces of {the tank rin the fir. You don't rention whet or not there ae fish in the tank ‘and, if there are whethe or not you Caried out ashes cycle’ bafre adcing them. Bacterial blooms er usually the result of sh waste arnmonia end so cr) not being processes efficiently By your tank’ filter asthe fite isnt mature enough biccgcally to co this. Yau say youve tasted the pH ofthe ‘aquarium water, but dant say whether er nt youve tested the ther important parameters ~ anmonia, nite and nitwte = which af al ital in showing you the health af you tank. Ary ammonia 0: nitrite is @ sign that things are right and ‘can load tothe kind of dicom you appear tobe experiencing, aswell as causing itness and petentially Gea in ary fish hows in the ten IF the equerium contains any fish then recommend stopping al feeding fora few days and carying out a 50% water Change using dechlorinated tapwater as well a8 gating atest kit to eheck onthe ther parameters Ive mentioned. Mest bacterial blooms cler quite suddenly as the tank bacterial opulzton finds its om balance but this can take longer with an uneycied filter ‘Send yeur questions to: ishhesping Answers, Practical Fishkening Mogazine, Neda House, Lynchwood,Pterbocugh, y PED SEA. Emails at questens@ pratcalshieeping ca UkDECORE Can I make my own tunnel? [recently changed the ok of my tank and hhave been locking for tunnels and caves for my ..0up of five mature Yoyo loach, but just can't find what I'm after in my local shops. The fake ‘ornaments don't suit my new, natua-toking setp and even the plain one I tried stuck out ike 3 cove thumb, Ie ted strategically placing pieces of wood on top ofeach othe, but my loaches are quit larg and they tend to ‘move itover afew cays, Any suggestions? JULIA WORE, ESSEX YOU WILL NEED: Plastic pipe fttngs, aquarium sealant, loves, various stones, grave! or twigs of your choice on ea B \When you have te size and shape of pipewrk you ike, cover it in sealant (scone). Remember tocover te iner edges ofthe pine to (inset you use the same gravel or sand that you've used in the tank your home-made tunel wil blend in perfcty with its surouncings. Cover the rest of the tunnel with smaller-sized gravel anc leave to cry. Mst sealants wl take 12 ours to dry flly but check the instructions IH you're up fora bit of DIY, you cen make the ideal tunnel for yeur laches eee eae os eee and tums, junctions and all sors, plus there'sa selection of diameters to cheese trom. ust cover with your chosen gravel or wood >) WATC Cn Go Dipping the ends ina bag of your chosen gravel ‘oc sand wil help to hide the pipe material, wich vill make a hig ditference tothe finished article Ive used larger gravel othe bottom part ofthe tunnel This gives a natural ook and also weighs itdown soit’ less likly tobe pushed around Tunnels can be covered wit sand, eravel, tgs, bar, pretty much whatevers safe to use that you like fo se in your tank Fish wil ove using them, PLANTS: | would Ike to setup an ‘Amazen community aquarium which wil Include Cardinal tetas, rams and Corydoras As for as possible, | want to set this up as a blackwater ‘aquarium with tani stained water and Id the to know which plants aro found in these areas ofthe Amazon so can ty to get as clse to the natural habitat as possible. ALAN, EMAIL. There ere usually few, ary, plants found in those areas because the very ow ‘minal ang ution content, combined with oor lighting, make plant ‘rewth almost impossible. you really went to have plants in your tank, you oul go fora ‘loose! biotope and use floating plants such as amazon frog, Limnobiurm leevigatir. Fcating pants are great because they reduce oxen and remove harmful waste at @ factrate, The fregbit will aso add some shade as well as ennance the ‘murky’ atmosphere of the set-up. Wan it comes to biotopes, ess soften more with planting ~ use the hatdecape and oer ‘materials, suchas laf Iter, to provide 2esthetie impact in your setup, JOIN US ON FACEBOOK & PINTE CN anesCATFISH: DOS & DON'TS Catfish are generally very hardy and adaptable, but there are some things many keepers get wrong. Here’s how to bring out the best in them and give them a long and happy life. WORDS: STEVE BAKER bo For al their heavy, armoursike bony plates and tough as old boots facade, catfish have a tender spot. Their sensitive easily become dameged on rough ist comes come physical damage, tent damage can mean the rmanently lost. ‘even suckermouth cats ~ can harp gravel. Your best bet is a sandy or rolled soil substrate, Well-ounced gravel such as pea shingle can be acceptable, but the fish won’t be able to root around naturally for food the way they can in send or soil DON'T GET STUNG hore are many catfish venomous glands. Some 2 known and named because of it~ the Asian bumblebee catfish, Pseudomystus siamonsis, for one — but there are others fishkeepers may be unaware of, Like Akysis. Many Corydoras species sting tco; one of the worst (and | know from experience...) being Corydoras sterbai. The stinging gland is located in the first spine of the dorsal fin so predators got a nasty injection in the roof of their mouth if they attempt to eat @ venomous cat Steer cl of that dorsal spine if you need to ish and you should be fine. In any sno worse than a bee sting.mt) To give you and your fish a bit more interast at feeding time, buy an extra-long pipette or similar and inject \ defrosted frozen foods (bloodworm is perfect) under the surface of a sandy substrate. Most catfish will dig for food; some have Adaptations to sense food under substrate ike the sensitive pits under the mouth of Syredentis species, but it's generally smell = detected by the barbels - that gives the ‘game away. DON'T can cause a real issue if they get caught up in a net for any reason, Pictus catfish are well known for getting enmeshed like this, and it's not uncommon to see a Pictus swimming arcund a shop tank with a piece of netting attached to one ofits fins. Other spiky cats like mature common Ancistrus can also easily get caught up in netting. The best way to get around it? Catch them in 2 tupperware-style tub or straight into a fish bag. Its tricky, but it's much less tricky than trying to untangle their spiny fins. Do Spiny fins are also piercing transt don't want to get halfway to your destination and find your catfish struggling for water The easiest solution is to bag the fish conventianally, then pull another fsh bag over the top and seal it. That way you avoid comers, Which is where the holes genoraly ccur. Alternatively, you could transport your cat in @ solid tub, o straight into a watertight polystyrene box DON'T USE STRONG LIGHTING Catfish have sensitive eyes, whether they/te the tiny, under-developed eyes, of an Eel cet, Channallabes acus, or the large, nocturnal eyes of a Pimlodolia There are very bright tank, so either ft slightly subdued lighting, have an unlit or dull end of the tank, oF use floating plants to deflect some light his way there's more chance you'll ee and enjoy your catfish during the daytime. > VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 6500 Here's abit of reverse psychology for you. In a sparsa tank most catfish will comer in @ corner. Give them a cave and thoy'll hide relentlessly (bar at feeding time). But offer a catfish 15 caves around the tank and you're likely to see much more of them! Knowing they have mare options of places to hide gives them the confidence to break cover. Smaller cattish and burrowing ‘species will also use leaf litter and seed pods for cover, DON'T BUY ON A WHIM. ‘Some catfish grow into monsters pretty quickiy! Make sure you know the size potential of your prospective fish (and how predatory they become) tefore purchasing ‘and have a suitable tank from the off. Too many people buy a small soecimen, intending ‘to upgrade the siza of tank when it grons, only {o struggle to find the space or the funds wien the time comes. Many catfish also tend to grow far faster than you expect. Part of the Animal Welfare Act is that your fish must be able to exhibit normal behaviour, which it won't if it can’t snim properly. bo One defining point of being 2 catfish Is to be devoid of scales. Some have scutes (armourtike panels) but not traditional scales. Like loaches, morimids and other scaleless fish, catfish are delicate when it comes to medications. Read the instructions cn the packaging carofully; many will advise that a reduced dose of medication is given to scaleless fish. DON'T KEEP SHOALING SPECIES ON THEIR OWN Always do your research thoroughly before buying any fish to see if they are loners or shoal fish. Corydoras ae the most common shoaling cattish and its best to have a minimum of six of the same variety to keep ‘them active and confident. The same is true for Glass cats, Kryptopterus bicirthis, and Debauwi cats, Pareutropius buff, but there are some surprisingly gregarious cats like the Two spot mystus, Mystus bimeculetus, who also prefer to keep company with their own kind, 66 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGaE Noe eA eet lu mt) ‘Smaller cats for the community tank (such as Corydoras and Otocincius) are quite tidy fish, but rger cats and wood-rasping suckermouths can be particularly messy. When buying a filter make sure it's capeble of keeping a big tank clean, If you have a 250 I tank, the fitration should be cepable o filtering 350-400 Alternatively, use two filters capaole ct 200 | each and use plenty of mechanical and biological media DPR nee We eta Bere io oe ee aad ig do Many catfish are nocturnal; although we might see them occasionally during the day, most cats are far more active when the lights are out. To view their night- time behaviour you can use a small red light. Red light doesn't spcok catfisn, so an hour or ;wo of red light only in the evenings will allow you to watch your eats more. Just don't replace the daylight cycle with a rad light VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,00.UK 8Looking for a pond filler that’s a breakaway from the basics? We offer a handful of alternatives for the great outdoors. WORDS: STEVE BAKER AY THE words ‘pond fish’ without context, and most people will picture Koi or goldfish - this is true of seasoned pond Keepers as Well as newcomers. Those two get attention through bright colours, but ether fish can bring ther own character and enjoyment to a pond, Here, we take a lock at some less well-known alternatives for your stocking consideration. Water requirements are all very similar, a ‘neutral to slighty alkaline pH (7.0-7.5) and madium-hard conditions of 10-15°H are ideal SUITABILTY: SUITABILITY: MeDIUM Scientific name: Leveiscus dus LARGE «Scientific name: Scavinius entincctthaimus POND. Pronunciation: Loo-s-huseye-dus POND | *Penuncistion: Scardineeaisertctshalus Sie: Poertaly 85cm, rarely more than 4Sem Swimming level: Mid-wate to top Habitat: Lowland rvars and nutrant-ch lakes Pond sie: 6750 | pus, preferably ng, Sie: Potentially to 60>, rarely more than 20-28em Swimming level Top Habitat: Well vegnatod,nutrentvich lowland rivers, steams and ihos Pond sie: 4000 | pus Feeding: Floating or slowsinkirg Sichs and pales frozen insect larvae ‘and shrimp Avcilabilty and cost Very common; rom £3.50 ‘The natural strain is known as the Ie [ts body isslver with red fins all around, s0 it looks like a stretched rudd. Young orfe shoal, becoming coitary as they mature. Peaceful to thei ov Kind and ‘other species. Can be found wild in Ireland bur rarely in the UK, 68 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING Feeding: Fakes, floating ticks and pelts, frozen insect lane and shame Arailbilty and cost Quite common: fom £2.50 “The Rudd naturally hes a gold shine to the body and red fins; the Goldens are bred for the ornamental trade and can be anything from arusty colour to vibrant orange. A native fi, its widespread aeross UK and Europe but less cammon in the north of the UK.SUITABILITY: Scientific name: Tin LARGE Pronunciation. Tr POND Size: Petotialy 70cm, rarely more than 30cm Swimming level: Bottom Habitat Typeal found in sty, wel-vegetate tives, backwaters ‘nd lakes Pon size: 6750 | plus, in of 00cm depth Foeding: Sinkng polls, fozen insect lange, shrimp and molluses Aaiabilty and cost: Common; rom £7.50 ‘The natural distribution of Tench is widespread across Europe, but dient include Ireland. However, is since been introduced there and is now found wild across al of the UK. The inferior ‘mouth is ideal for bottom feeding where it rummages through debris and may even bury itself during cold winters. Likes heavy planting, The natural dark green strain can be hard to seein ponds SUITABILITY: Scientific name: Carassius carassis SMALL Pronunciation: Cafes 00 uss ea ase 20 uss POND Size: Potentaly Der, rarely wore than 15-20em Swimming level thi Habitat: Lakes and ponds rich in vogetation, occasionally slow-moving Pond size: 500 1 pas Feeding: Floating and sinking pond food, fozen inst larae and simp. Some vegetation sould be included Availability and cost: Quta rare shops rom £5 CCrucian carp are far more sustainable in ponds than common or ‘mirror carp. The body i a lovely bronze colour, with orange to red lower fins This hardy native can withstand high/low temperatures, low oxygen and organic waste levels that may harm others. In the ‘wild its easily out-competed and only thrives where others dont. SUITABILITY: ‘SMALL POND: Scientific name: Gobio gobio renunciation: Gobea.ch gnbee-oh Siz: Potential 2Lem, rarely more then 12om Swimming level: Betiom to mic Habitat: Mostly ning sans and ears wi 3 sandy oF ‘gravel substrate Pond size: £00 | plus Feeding: Small sinking polls, fezon insect lange and shvimp Avalaility and cost: You may need to phone around: from £4,50 ‘Gudgeon make a great bottom-dwelling fish for smaller (and larger) ponds. They like cooler, woll-oxygenated waters so either a strong flow from the filter or afew altstones ate needed from ‘May to October. A shady position or some surface cover is preferred. Capable of emitting a squeaking noise to communicate ‘with each other and naturally congregate to form shoals. SUITABILITY: Scientific name: Gesieroseus acueatus ‘SMALL Prenuneation: Gae tro ccs t00 us ack you oe y tus POND Sie: Poentelly Bes, but rarely mee tian 5.5m Swimming level A over Habitat: Slonor-moving tears, etches, ponds or lakes Pond size: 250 | tus Feeding: Vosty zen and Ine foods Avaiiablty and cost Not ccm available but should be easy to order; around £2:3 each ‘An interesting native fish and colourful during spawning season, Dutt can be quite difficult to appreciate them from above. In a ‘small pond they will be out-competed easily if mixed with other fish and are best kept in a mature pond to offer some natural foods. Supplementary frozen foods may well be needed. For e ‘comprehensive article see the July 2018 issue of PEK. VAWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 69Aan NUTRITION Home cgaking for fish 4 ry vy. 4 a > > 4 Pryyi% THE GREAT FISHES’ BAKE-OFF There's no greater satisfaction than watching your prized fish avidly devour one of your home-cooked recipes. Here’s how to get started as a fish food masterchef... rarely cover all of the nuttional needs of your stock My advice would be to se a variety of eiferent home-made foods asa special treat a ccuple of times 2 week, elongside «2 staple diet of gooc-qualty manufactured foods. This way ‘your recipes will contribute toa wel-balanced and varied ‘ie, as wel as easing the pressure on your wallet. ‘Obviously the money-saving aspect will appeal :o everybody, but there's ls a sense of achievement tobe Ira from nurturing end providing for your pets via your ‘own hands - even betorif some of the green ingredients ‘are home-grown and the fish s caught by your own rod. GABOR HOVARTH Again auarstton ine inte Uk, Gabor isapeltcfen treed, poet dealer ‘dwn 70 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING Varied diet Just word of caution: one type of homemade food wil ‘VERY AQUARIST wants to provide the best possible diet for their ish, but premium ‘manufactured foods often carry a hefty price tag. Preparing your own food at home ‘can be done for a fraction of the cost, and ‘while it might be time consuming, making your own means you can ring the changes ‘and tailor your recipes to your fishes’ needs. aa», “+r if “t AyABOVE: The raw ingredients fr the fish food : RIGHT: The three finished foods. BELOW: Gabor feeding the food to his shrimps. Do your research! e stet, ensure you know what but feeding too much animel protein in your carivers’ home-made fre oaAon Heme cgoking for fish nary < wy ¥ NWTRITION 4 INGREDIENTS (6 200g stinging nettles ‘6 200g dandelion leaves 4 Gelatine ‘Thisis one ofthe simplest recipes, which you can feed alone or use as a base mixture for other recipes. It's perfect for vegetarian fish ike Malawis and plecs, but also well taken by Corydoras, livebearers and many others. Stinging netles (Uitica dioica) ere abundant in soils rich in organic matter. Always collect the freshest leaves from the top of the buds and use within a day or freeze ‘tem for later Pick ffesh dandelion leaves (Taraxacum) away fiom the beaten track if possible. If you cantt find them (or out of season), then @ head of Romain lettuce ‘mixed with 2 bag of spinach works well co, ‘Wash the dandelion and if nettle leaves and place in large pan with only a small “i amount of water The eaves will as fil the pan but ater blanching kL ! them fora couple of miauteson ghd ‘medium heat, they wil collapse Dont overcookthem, a this \ vill reduce the vitamin content. Once the leaves are softened, pour off the cooking water, reserving it fr later: Blitz the leaves briefly using a blender or food processor. You don't need a creamy purée, just a nice homogenous mix. ‘To prepare che gelatin, eissoive one sachet of powder in a pint of the warm cooking wate ard sti: Adé enough ofthe Oren or ar jel-water tothe vegetable mitre to Cire eTocs a ee ee ce ee te kay x = aa mixup the gelatine and water waterif needed Bnd cts Spread the mixture in thin layer (385m) feeestd on one or more beking trays. Once ety cooled place the trays in the quick- freeze compartment ofthe freezer Wen the Blocks are ftoze, break chem into small pieces end store them ina plastic bag ot container inthe freezerYOU WILL NEED 100g chicken breast 4 eggs 200g stinging nettles (or dancelions, spinach etc) 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder Gelatine This recipe may sound controversial, as it uses chicken and whole eggs. Although its well tried and tested, if you prefer you can replace the chicken with beef or turkey hear, fsh (ean salmon, cod or pollack) or raw prawns. DID You ea Remove any fat or blood vessels from stp the chicken breast and poach it in a little water until cooked, Hard boil the eggs. Remove the shells, ‘when cooled and cut the eggs into ‘quarcers. Prepare the nettle mixrure as before and set aside, Slice the cooked chicken into thin, {-2mmn pieces, ‘making sure you cut acress the muscle fibres. |Add the eggs to the chicken, along with the paprika, and mix well with a hand-held blender or food processor ‘When the chicken and egg paste is homogenous and has a thick consistency, add to the puréed leaves and mix together. Make up the gelatine as before and add as much as needed to the chicken, egg and veg, ‘mixture to give a smooth consistency. Spread the mixture on trays. Allow to I coo, then freeze, and break into small pieces. Store in a plastic bag or container in the freezer ae Pe aan (as VAWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 73Anon NWTRITION 4 Hore cggking for fish 1.2 Grow range as these plants are grown ine nutrientdensegelin Sealed tubs —ane they have along shelf ie. As they're usualy smal, they do take longer to get going. expecially in lowrenergy tanks, but are very much worth considering i you can‘ find heathy ported plants. Maintenance ‘The fortnightly clean takes very little time and effort; with a tank volume of 571, 25% water change could easity 66 The plants chosen for this set- up are all beginner level plants — those that require the least in terms of light, CO2 and nutrients 99 ‘Aer being cleaned, sand is sloped so that the highest point are the back comers. This isthe best approach or iangle-shape layouts. The second tallest pant is C.usterna. Mine were quite smal atthe time of planting but ther height potential needed fo be taken nto account a y Tino pats of Cyptocorme crispulataare divided up and planted atthe rear let. Being te tals pant, it needs to goat the highest point ofthe tangle The triangle shape is continued tothe right and in ‘ront ofthe previous plants with C. undulata “baad leaf’. One pt split in halt was ample Mees RR pe . wendtiree’ is added, again in ront and to ined plants. ne pot was ample when divide ito tree portions. the right ofthe previously ps Mysmaliest Crypt, C beceti‘petchi s divided ‘up rom two pts into fou lalts. Ones used ‘toform the lowest part cf the triangle, back ight Sagitiiasubulatas placed spratcally oad vanety.Thaygh most growth shoul be shat, the ‘ccasiral tal et inton ightngis' red cut Lon-growing Anubias ‘petit’ and Bucephalancra ‘wavy err’ are added a the tank’ nti. ts important not to buy the rhizomes of these plants, > VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 79Toreu ny cTEp | STEY-BY-STEP Low-energy aquascape bbe carried out with a standard 15 1 bucket. The old water is siphoned fiom the tank into the empty bucket. then use a one-ltre plastic cup to scoop the new de-chlorinated tap ‘water from the bucket and pour it Into the tank. This is safer than pouring straight from the bucket and less fuss than placing the bucket high enough to siphon from. ‘The only other cleaning tasks are ‘to wipe the inside of the aquarium lass with an algae pad and change the wool in the filter. | use an Incerper IPF1 internal filter that has fan open top design and sits with a small portion ofits height above the ‘water level, This means you can slide out the wool cartridge without needing to remove the whole filter Success story Given the minimal input this aguarium receives I'm very happy ‘with the results. The plants grew slowly and steady and at 16 weeks ld, when the main photo was taken, the aquaseape had filled in col. “The Bucephalandra did nes tke aqite aswell as Thad hoped but the Anabias grew 0 wellit formed a carpet perhaps it doesn't mind being planted inthe substrate after all. I did experience alittle bt of green spot algae occasionally and some BBA but nothing that ruined the appearance ofthe scape However, the thing feel mest pleased about with this st-upis that it ony takes about 10 minutes every other week to keep a tankful of heathy plats, We Recisswivendl Preparing and planting Take extra care wh handling the plants prior to planting to aveid damaging thom. Plants that don't need to waste energy on tissue repairs will got growing sooner. The following guide shows my preferred method for Cryptocoryne. Ease the mineral ool from the pot, ‘avoiding pulling the piant by the leaves or siems — slide your fingers into the pot ‘and grip the wo. Carefully peel the Woo from the rats, taking cae nto break any. Dont ty to pick of al ofthe woo atthis point, nly the worst of it Grasping the plant by the stoms, bol the rosin atu of water Run oozes between the ons to remove the remaining woo vrnen planting Cryptocoryne into a substrate, grip the roots ‘only with a pair of aquerium tweezers. Hold the tweezers at an angle while the plant remains upright, then push the roots into the substrate, straight downwards. Once the roots are covered, retax your grip on the tweezers and remove them, back along the angle they're facing, This way, you'll avoid dragging the plant ut of the substrate Tim back the longest roots with sharp sesso. Now divide the pantinto sali pation — lok or natural separations ‘and dvidealorg them, Tankmates to consider To keep the energy requirements of the tank as law as possible, we can go with a relatively cool water temperature. A heater is siill needed, but Five banded berbs can be kept comfortably at 22°C, as can the three peaceful and active tankmate possibilities below, which will fill the tank with vibrancy. co coe 80 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGTIME TO STEP off THAT TREADMILL PRESS PAUSE ENIOY A MAGAZINE MONENT To find out more about Press Pause, visit: pauseyourday.co.ukGET THE NEXT 3 ISSUES OF acop SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND BENEFIT FROM: Never missing an issue Save on shop prices 3 issues for just £3 Free UK delivery or instant download to your digital device Subscribe every month and discover \ how Practical Fishkeeping remains the : definitive one-stop shop for inspiration, species information, problem-solving and great-looking aquariums.OPTION 1 PRINT = warp 3 issues for £3 then pay £21 every 6 months by recurring direct debit od 13 issues for £42 when you make a one- off payment by credit’ debit card/paypal OPTION 2 PRINT & DIGITAL peer ee im 3 issues for £3 . then pay £23.50 every 6 months by recurring direct debit > or « 13 issues for £47 when you make a one- off payment by credit/ debit card/paypal OPTION 3 TERMS & CONDITIONS: Subscriptions wil tart with DIGITAL the next avaible issue, Minimum term is 13 issues. 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For ful terms and conditions please visit debit card/paypal vin geatmaazines co.uNoferterms-and-conitionsSPECIES SHOWCASE Ss Remco in areal —A TR Meee ON re to enjoy massive variations in feeding strategies, but few are more specialised than the extraordinary BYERS a MOL Ca PIE LT a ous DT foetus Creuse a en ad H A Hy iee ... SPECIES SHOWCASE ° Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus eee (TH THEIR ability to adapt rapidly to new cavironments, cichlids are among the fish y best designed tolvena tuopical lake lke Lake Malawi. Ia these waters haplochromine cichlids have not only adapted themselves to living in particular environments, but have also evolved an extensive range of specialised feeding behaviours. In Lake Malawi most cichlid species feed on a particular food source ~ there are plankton feeders, piscivores, snail crushers, scale eaters, sand sifters and many more Surprisingly, though, all of these specialised feeders are extremely resourceful and wil readily eat any ‘other suitable food source available. During plankton blooms, species with the most diverse feeding specialisations all congregate in the water column to feed, while algae feeding cichlids will react eagerly to pounded fish-flesh bait. (One possible explanation of the ‘apparent discrepancy berween these specialist feeding adaptations on the cone hand, and the seemingly random food intake of different species on the other, is that these particular specialisations developed ata time when a severe paucity of food threatened the cichlids’ survival. Alternatively, they could have evolved wien there was a surfeit of FACTFILE © Selene name Henan ayrtyachs ign Lake alo ica ize Mes 0 20em, mks Sen Tank sz: inst 120060 Water eqeerments Neu hae wal, 75-82 pK 12H Temperature: 2-26°0 rally ad cost: Rare, speci impart eos to pay anand S36 to fora Sam specimen ee | Wier vine 430 |+ 86 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING fo0¢, so novel ways of gathering the surplus went relatively unchallenged by other members of the community in other words, a species could experiment with an altemative food source without competition. Although the development of a new feeding specialisation may be in progress somewhere in the lake at present it’ likely that most of the specialisations we see occurred following a major change in the environment and/or because food suddenly became abundant. Examining bottom cores, scientist Rober: Lyons and colleagues found the water level uctuations of Lake Malawi have been dramatic and frequent drops of more than 400m below the lake’ current level have occurred 15 times during the last 1.3 million years. At various times, the lake has also shrunk to less than 5% ofits current size and instead of crystal clear water, the water in the residual lake Guring a low stand was turbid and would have prevented eer peer) ocr cPanel any light from penetrating deeper than a few metres from the surface Tt wouldn't have been a good place foran algae-eaterto lve unless it could harvest tiny planktonic algae ‘When the water levels rose again, light penetration increased end algae were once again able to grow fn the substrate at deeper levels, Almost all known cichlids are bottom or substrate-oriented fish that need a place to deposit eggs — ‘also mouth-brooding cichlids are substrate spawners ~ and, of course, all fish need to have their food source close by. So i's far to say ‘hat most specialised algae-eaters in Lake Malavri have evolved since the last extreme lour water stand approximately 100,000 years ago ae on the menu Many fishkeepers wil be familiar with mbuna ~ the small, rock- dwelling, algae-cating cichlids of Malawi — but quite afew of the larger haplochromines found in the eect! rey Pei Tre eoDP dy "KNOW? De Ae Ce na Ber Uh ad ana eres 66 H. axyrhynchus is often found in or near beds of Vallisneria or other higher plants. Its specialisation is scraping algae from Vallisneria leaves 99 lake also have algae as the number ‘one item on their menu, While the rajrity harvest their sh from the eufvrachs on rocks, afew Cichlid species in the lake are ogrhy referred ‘name means “sharp bealé due to its ppointed snout. It occurs throughout Malawi and in some places is, asimbwie’~ the name ple use for both and for Vallsneria, the pla it’s usually associat: Inthe hobby it Giant hap, species only r ‘German hobbyi feeding babi 1 oxyrhynchusis often found in or nearbeds of Vallsneria or other higher plants. ing algae from Va Dut its also s characte ke to top, tuming fn its side before grasping the base of a leaf It then lies the leaf de observed slowly nibbling the leaf The teeth are situated deep side the mouth, particulatly along the sides. Asthe leaves are scraped lean, the aufwodhs accumulate in e between the teeth and lips The fch often tur: ALFISHEEEPIN=... SPECIES SHOWCASE Hemitilapia oxyrhynchus ' before it strips ales. When seen in this position fom above, its silvery body reflects the light and so little H.oxyrkynchus can be vulnerable to predation by birds It'sa rather shy Cichlid, and when approached usually diseppears from the plant bad to deeper water ‘Almost al ofthe algae eaters in the lake feed ‘mainly on the sovcalled blue-green algee. These aren't true algae (plants) buteyanobacteria ~in other words bacteria that ean photosynthesise and ‘therefore produce their own food using ight. Blue-green algae have nothing in common with green algae, apart from the fact that the chloroplasts in plant cells are derived from cyanobacteria. (Cyanobacteria are quite small anc usually unicellular bur they often ‘grow in colonies large enough to 800 ~ Spirulina is perhaps the best-4nown blue-green algae. Some of the cyanobacteria in the lake grovr in strings up to 2mm long long encugh for cichlids to grasp with their jaws, or comb off a matrix of aufiwuchs with their be or tricuspid teeth, Because these herbivorous cichlids have high concentrations of acids in their stomachs, with a very low pH, they can digest cyanobacteria. They ‘would have dificlry digesting green algae, and no cichiidis known that can digest the cellulose cell walls of higher plan, So walle sometimes it may look as if H. oxyrhynchusis, feeding on plants, in reality i's only the cyanobacteria growing on the plants thar’s being digested. The rest Is lke the flbre we consume in our ‘own diets ~ it passes straight through. Spawning takes place in the male's bower, which is constructed of sand, usually ina Valisnera bed at a spot Cleared by the male. The bower contains a slanted spawning platform, and the actual spawning 88 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING takes place atthe platiorm’s lower The researchers argued thatthe BELOW: end. Males in breeding dress are most competitive males wouk’ hold juvenile in frequently seen among the females the more central bowers. For safety the safety of the foraging inthe plant beds. reasons, females preferto spawn 55 Dod 12008 Dr MartinGennerand with the malesin the centre of alek, yer, colleagues studied the reproductive sosuch males automatically have A mature male suceess of H oxgrynchus males on greater spavming success sucks on the ‘Aleka colony of breeding males Female H.oxyrnynchus are easly 0 gass. in their territories ~ and found this was positively correlated recognised by three dark blotches on asilvery body. At the frst step of, with bower height and the spawning sequence — the male having a central courting a fernale - the female position on thee canfims the mls identity before ‘Thequestion —_she follows him to his bower. they wanted A female usually spawns with oanswer several males and when all eggs are was, inside her mouth she retreats into ‘whether the the plant beds. After an incubation shape and size of the bower was the result of female selection, or just aside effect of the male-on-male competition that takes place ‘when species breed in leks. The period of about three weeks she will release her offspring nto the plans. Once released, the fry are abandoned by the female and start their first meal of cyanobacteria by nibbling them from the plants of scientists experimented by their direct ‘manipulating the bowers to environment resemble those of a different Only when species, bt this had no effect on they reach either female choice or male alength spawning success. They found that of about females were notnecessarily drawn 8-10cm do to bigger bowers, but they did react they start to the courting displays of those ‘sucking’ the ‘males in the centre of the lek. cel grass. eras ‘Males create an opening in the Vallisneria beds betore ‘excavating the sand into 2 Pu Cr eh eer eee Pore PeeryNEXT FishhGepnnig MONTH @|= Ea a cg TD Adorable Angels AGN M URRY COUN N MICAH, Nell) SysIb ata EL UNS COMPATIBILITY GUIDE! Find out who lives with who P race cae . i 2 rents ¢ Do tacky tanks matter? eer ¢ Pond airpumps on test ‘éFishkeeping Answers OMe Sim cissuacy etn) Deer col community with our step-by-step guideFractical ishikeepinig ROADTRIP Yorkshire ‘tis US travel to Yorkshire where Same Uae LET Col etal at=e-[e] =< Aquatics @ York Pikes Water Ty BSS OC eT LeadVISIT 1 Sea Store Aquatics 6th June 1 R: A comfortably Civils starting time saw us leaving Peterborcugh at 9am and heading straight up the Al (MD. After one pit stop we got to our first visit after ‘a couple of hours and met Peter and his staff at Sea Store Aquatics in Rotherher, The name's abit ofa giveanay, but ‘Sea Store Aquatics is 2 marine Specialist shop. Is situated no more than 21 minutes from a major road and its worth a trip out for ‘any marine fan. The overall impression I walked out with is how well balanced the offerings of this shop were. Most independent specialists have en even further specialism —such as a ‘marine outlet that mostly deals in reef-friendly species — but this shop seems to cover the winole ‘marine hobby with a selection of corals, Inverts, reet-safe fish, onsreef safe fish, oddballs and dy goods Peter has ovmed the business for four years and is an example of someone doing what they love and doing it well, He's been @ marine hobbyist for roughly 10 years and INSET: The guys at Soa Store was growing corals and selling frags before buying the shop. 1 know these niche Businesses can be ssnall, but if anything, the size of ‘Sea Store surpassed my ‘expectations — not the building itself, but the number of tanks, anc the fact that dry goods did't suffer sa consequence. High-quality brand names adorn the shelves and perch above the coral tables, and working sumps are Visible under the coral tables ta show how things work ‘One nice touch was the date of arrival ‘on all livestock price labels. It's important for me to know marine fish are settled and feeding before purchase, so this is holpful - plus, on request, the staff are more than happy to show a fish feeding. ‘hice bits of livestock that stood out were Blue velvet slugs (Chetidonura variars), several Feminus vresse (Anampses fomirus) and some Saowtiake Moray eos (Echicina nebutosi. HILL: Heading north up the Al is rerly troublesome, ang ah Tw) Se Crs Berd eee oe eee arg er N iets oe Seo e oer) Pee ee eaten ee 15 small invertebrate tanks ‘Areas of specialisation: Marine Oe Cuma et en eta Connie ean eed VAWWAPRACTICALFISHKEEPING,00.UK 91Se Ua ROADTRIP Yorkshire Sea Store is @ eteiler perty, Don't let the si ve yous Sea Store is a big hitter with ue goods ins tang caught my eye of the punch vor seen, The light little passive" for me, but the inverts... I'd set up reef ater from ths place if only it was alt Closer to home. Awesome sale truly inspiring. Se eared ating fish - Feminus wrasse See ee Origin: South Pacific, from Australia to Easter Island Secreta Coen ei egos Ree Seana Water: Needs excellent noter quality; 8.0-8.2 pH, 8-12 dkH Sear mete ie eeu eee fer a erm ened eae eee na fer ay po