neste) 1D G: 5 oh (=) eee eee Ram cichlids: marine set-up small on stature, "=. big on presence z TY How to pronounce = What are they, how —_—A personal account allthose tricky are they formed, and —_ of caring fora sounding scientific how do you keep (very) hard to find fish names yours under control? ~~ TanganyikanFLUVAL@ SHAKER COLLECTION | ar) SN} “i With a modern take on traditional Shaker design, the new Fluval Shaker Collection will create a stunning focal point in any home. Behind the beautiful exterior lies cutting edge technology, including ‘Smart app controlled lighting and the latest Fluval External filter. Blending traditional design with the latest tech, the Shaker Collection will satisfy the needs of any fishkeeper! ET esr)le ete) ishkee SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND START SAVING www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/june21 01778 392 498 Quote: PRFKJUNE214 he Ram has been @ ‘community favour for decades, yet most re kept ineorecty because of fundamental er ‘We usualy 2s Here's a species that kes things cooler and more alkaline ‘When given withthe chance to keep a rare cichig, lot Ba coulent pass it up. Here he recounts stunning PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING Scientific names can be a real mouthful, Palazoriciogis and new contributor Donald Henderson oles 0 Freshwater fish the wodd over are faci le to survive but the aquarium hobby can help. ngeish and then there ae gorgeous Red-back angetisn. Daniel Korn: Vetterein explains th 41.99 Solitary, sturdy, and surprisingly personable, snakeheads have a sia but devotonal folowing in the UK. Here's a look at some of the species you might (and one you shouldnt) meet on your traves While the most attra tend to come with ttt issues, nt makes the case forthe feisty dart angelfish as 2 focal point for your tankSummer tubs, red throated Cichlids, a Siamese fighter that just cant a eggs, using ve lant ina trickle ite ; 30 r betmie Tm Smiths atthe trublesome nature of Water, water, everywhere, but which type is suitable for my fst? High-end LEDs promise to Celver te rig ight to the ight pace, But how much of i'makes tothe bottom ofa ank after water ges inthe way? Gator Horvath investigates Exolcing a Vieamese habia, native marine tanks, Mantis strimps, the curious eyes of catfish and mere! The last year has truly exhausted us al but ve been surprise at how mach t also dry fishkeeping majo to. Ten | gottoa stow and EVER GET stuck with a scientific name? | certainly do, and those are just the ones that 'm aware of getting ‘wrong, Possibly the area of the hobby I get corrected most often is where I mispronounce, especially with something that | eamnt some thirty years ago and have been repeating erroneously ever since. A chance email from a new Contributor started a journey to fixing that. Donald Henderson, a palaeontologist over in Canada, messaged. ‘me to let me knaw I'd messed something up, so | invited. him not only to teach me, but to write something on the subject to help any of my readers who may also be grey inthis area, Such are the delights of correspondence — my emails and letterbox are always open to feedback (on anything. If I've made an error, always tell me. IF it turns out to be something you know a lot about, Il invite you to write on it as well. ll even pay you to do it. rele Nathan Hill, Edtor a fi > (ay U [ mall us at ectialpractical Follow us at facebook com PFKag/ g coping co.uk ON THE COVER Ramil, iagephagy amie 2 Phtoraph by Chistian Pedi \WWMEPRACTICALFISHKEEPING CO.UK 5Tenwrraeeciirnaae a cry @ SPECIES SHOWCASE Rams RAMS The Ram has been a community favourite for decades, yet most are kept incorrectly because of one fundamental error. Are yours housed with the right substrate? MAX PEDLEY axis creo Camera aust AGB Worst, aa an aninat management instructor vith ast fn house JHE RAM cichlid — at various times called the Blue ram, the Ramirez, Ramirez's dwarf Cichlid, the Butterfly Cichlid or the Dwarf butterfly cichlid—is arguably the most colourful ofthe readily available aquarium fishes. But itis shrouded with misconceptions, folk wisdom and halftruths, out of which has emerged much incorrect care advice from hobbyists and retailers alike, As such, and despite its popularity and enduring presence in the trade, how to correctly care for itstill remains a mystery to many, Right off the bat, one point of confusion isthe correct scientific name to use, Look back through old aquatic publications and you'll find ppages dedicated to the fish under the name Apistogramma or Papiliochromis/Papilochromis ramirez. In some circles these synonyms still seem alive and well, despite taxonomic updates placing 6 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING the fish inthe genus Mikrogeophagus many years ago. Note the ‘kin the middle of that, as some literature might still have one last synonym to ‘offer —Microgeophagus Early origins Rams, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, were frst imported inthe mid-1900s from Venezuela and fora while they were considered the hoy gral of the aquarium trade. These early fish were all wild caught, and all were widely coveted Once captive breeding was cracked by pioneering cichlidphiles new struins began to appear, often farfetched fom their wld equivalents. Amongst these, German bes made their debut —a very specifi line that was bred by aquarsts in Germany, inthis tne, bes dominated fish which already displayed all the colours of the rainbow, but these ae no the same a the Electric blue ams, ‘which appeared much later ‘Another notable tat of the German blues was the size — they were large, and significantly so, wating most other Rams. Unfortunately this strain no longer seems tobe extant andi it no longer graces the British trade (Editors note: The last time I saw a German blue forsale, marketed a5 a ‘German mega ram’ was in 2004). Nowadays, anything labelled or sold asa German blue should be ‘approached with an air of caution its likely that these are Blue rams, the standard form as far as the industry is concerned, More recently, Gold, Electric blue, Black and Dark knight rams have begun to swamp the trade, a huge array of intrinsic hues emphasised by the hands of breeders. Some of these fish are indeed beautiful, but the cost ofthis is that they are so far removed from their wild ancestors that much of their parental instincts have been lost, Without direct Intervention, they can be dificult at best to breed. What's more, many of these are dificult to sex, as we have changed the species’ phenotype so heavily. (On top of colours, there are shapes —Balloon rams with their squat bodies, and long-finned variants with draping appendages. Both of these present a ‘marmite form’; love them or hate them, they are here to stay. Some like it hot ‘Ask the internet how to keep Rams and youl find yourself in a bog of contradictions, Alas, while many keepers have only dabbled with Rams in community tanks, they still feel obliged to share their opinions ‘and one-dimensional experiences.Tenure CHAWCACT » SPECIES SHOWCASE Rams Ala! ‘Meanwhile, T've found that captive ecient ay) bred Rams from the Far East Seu struggle in such conditions and i’ require an even lower pH to thrive. For farmed fish, anything above 6 5 runs the risk of inviting bacterial infections. Regardless of the source of the fish, it's worth aiming for a low KH, under 5° for the optimum results and longevity of fish. “Mikrogeophagus translates as ‘small cath eater’ and any prospective keeper would be wise to remember that. Kept on anything other than the finest substrates, Rams will struggle and often fail, despite otherwise impeceable water conditions. Sand is passed over the gills as a feeding mechanism, filtering out any small morsels, much like a Baleen ‘whale filtering rill and baitfish from the sea. This sifting process also helps to clean the gills and being Hailing from equatorial South more forgiving with regards to denied the opportunity to do so may America, warmth is necessary for _parameters once quarantined result in specific bacterial infections, successful Ram keeping, and | and settled, which ig unusual localised around the gills and cannot stress this enough. Many when contrasting wild and ‘opercular region. This can tropical fish are chronically kept too captive bred fish. Anywhere ‘manifest itself as some ‘warm in aquaria, bt for Rams the between 4.5 and 7.0pH will mysterious yet lethal disease, reverse is true, Somewhere between suffice for quality stock with the aquarist looking forall 27-32°C should be considered a From working in the trade, potential causes while ignoring prerequisite. Keeping them in cool Ihave found that after only @ the obvious. On the back of that, ‘water leads to lethargy and general few weeks in captivity, wild- f all manner of theories are born, poor condition, inviting bacterial caught specimens ean display ‘each less accurate than the lst and other infections in their full colours and go through the Interestingly, wild caught spawning motions even at a pH of specimens seem to be alittle bit 7.2 —albeitin soft water. FACTFILE Scientific name: Miognphagus amis Pronunciation eo co ga-o-a-gus rane 0 ize To eh casierab are than this maybe Geman ue rams iin: South American inn he Oroce region of Veena ‘and Clamba Habitat Siow moving streams and stati bodes of wale such bars Fak a Ne ermens ot re ome 457094 1S drut i renprane 2730 angry th her Mtoe rate antenpateeurenes male star ate tobe comm Feige, OA et ean nn na nn rity ade esha ota meats prs sie Sern bathe oe ed ‘pes Do is L_# | ICAL FISHKEEPINGIS (OMAR SBS Cee) are much harder Sree (oes rn Cee) Sica ainy ety Ce rarely show any more than Oe eRe! ts er ey erry a ear renenine eee roe Peereraneias Pre peered eee al Parente Pg CNS Inthe male, these are often ‘more pointed and elongate, Coens Poe ed rar KEEPING CO.UKSPECIES SHOW Rams In aquaria with outstanding conditions but incorrect substrates, Saprolegnia and fungal-lke growth: may be witnessed In som: (HITH), with emaciatic patches of skin over the face, and ig Often recognised and acted upon, out? Ma ok The best substrat is undeniably a fi Feeding Rams grade the m straightforward aspect of ‘with flake, frozen, pellet and liv food taken by virtually all specimens, Keep your fish on a staple of well forma ods, but don't be afraid to offer frozen ed prepared tracods gro around the substrate as a bonus. Distribution ‘The distribution of Rams they are found virtually throug They are inth enuela, mmonplac of Colombia and al grassland comprised the spa oft incredibl Lan ahuge tr f savannah and shrubland, not overiy dissimilar to those of Central and Eastern Alfica Here, Rams can be found in warm, shallow water, often living over a BELO Wild Rams are attenti parents66 Wild caught specimens seem to be a little bit more forgiving with regards to parameters once quarantined and settled 99 bstrate of silt and sand, from which they ind subsistence in the -ms of micro-organisms and insect larvae. Under ideal conditions, a ripe pair of Rams should spawn. Selecting both sexes should in theory be simple, but given the convoluted history of their domestication, i's worth getting the opinion of an expert on any prospective pair. Being substrate spawners, pairs typically deposit eggs on a flat, hard surface. This might be a pot, apiece of flat slate or even the glass sides of the tank. Sometimes a lage leaf such as those of Anubias or Echinodorus may be used In theory, the eggs larvae and fry should be cared for by both parents, Dut neglect runs rife amongst the species, and especialy with fish fiom farms, Eggs will hatch after 36-48 hours, but don't become mobile for another five days or so You might find that once they've hatched, the fry need to be siphoned into a smaller vessel, where water quality and feeding may be monitored closely. Start the youngsters on small foods ‘as infusoria and Paramecium, (Once they’re large enough to take newly hatched Brineshrimp, the fry grow quickly. Electric blue balloon ram German blue ram Golden ram Electric blue ram LLongfin golden ram Golden balloon ram Longfin ram Longfin balloon ramWe usually associate Corydoras with soft and acidic, tropical waters. Cory expert lan Fuller introduces and breeds a eciessthat likes things coolernd Gores eons oRYDORAS MICRACANTHUS is a relatively small species growing to between 36mm and 38mm (standard Jength/SL) for adult females, with males litle less at 32 to 34mm, The species comes from the Salta and Jujuy provinces of north western Argentina, The original type specimens were collected from the Rio Mojotoro basin, but the catfish is ‘known to have a wider distribution, hich extends to the Rio Grande, Rio Colorado, Rio Blanco and Rio Pescada and its tributaries, all part of the upper Rio Bermejo drainage ‘Across these it inhabits clear and shallow, slowflowing and algae covered rocky streams, with abundant marginal vegetation — Watercress and Lugwigia being especially prominent. Corydoras micracanthus has been found at elevations up to 1463, meters, possibly the highest known elevation of any Corydoradinae species, The natural temperature range is wide, shifting over the course of a year with extremes going from as ow as 10°C to as high as 30°C, and possibly even higher: At peak the air temperature in the region can reach 40°C. Only Corydoras paleatus, Corydoras undulatus, and Corydoras longipinnis are found to inhabit cooler waters in the lower Rio Parand basin Like so many fish, in many ofits locations the habitat of this species is under serious threat, and we could lose it altogether I's important that those we have in the hobby are distributed amongst dedicated hobbyists that will keep and breed it to ensure its survival Sourcing and raising My original group came fom fellow CCorydorainaeendsiast Hans- Georg Evers rom Hamburg His group was spawning during as 1 was sing and s0 I retumed home with a dozen fre egps “The eggs travelled well and once | arived home. quickly set them up cone of my smal hatching containers, ting wate fom my Coneoras ‘vemaeusbreedng tank — this had Jong been stable at 20°C and 7p. ‘The eggs were placed inthe container along with a coupe of ‘Alder cones, for protection against fungal attack. An ir stone was added to ep the water moving ‘maximising oxygen levels and helping to stop any parce rom setting on them the eggs and causing potential contamination In alte over three days ten ry emerged, and afer after two days allten were fee swimming At this point they were offered their first food in the form of a small amount of Micro worm. At five weeks the fry ‘were al growing well and were ‘moved fom the hatchery container toa small shallow 1 lire. mat. fered grow out tan In just over five months they were not only showing signs of maturity. but were also clearly sexable — the youngsters were around 26mm SL ‘wth two females being a ite large “The group was moved tot own oie tank which was lofted ‘ith uli, mature mat iter across the back and two airdriven ‘pliso create a watertow that was tore in ine with the natural habitat “The takchad a thin layer of fine sand, as well asa scattering of some larger 304mm pebbles, and a few pieces of bog wood with Java fers crAnubiasgrovingon them. WWAW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 13nie: CATFISH Corydoras micracanthus “There was also alarge clump of Java moss, and the surface was almost completely covered with Indian fern. One floating and one sunken polyester spawning mop were also added, “Ten or tweive weeks later, I spotted what I thought were a couple of tiny fry scurrying around under a small piece of bogwood. After moving ‘some of the tank decoration I discovered nine in total, that looked to be from at east three different spawns — the smallest appeared to only be a few days old ata litle over ‘Tm long total length, “The largest judging by their size of 12mm SL, and with colours resembling those ofthe adults looked ‘to be at least four weeks old, which by then were then approaching just nine months of age, making them less than a year old when they first spawned. Settling the new arrivals I setup another small 15.tre growing on tank, ited out with 2 mature mat ites, thin layer of fine sand, afew beach twigs some flat pebbles anda clump of Java moss. “The ank was filed with 50/50 mix of water from the parens'tank and HMA filtered water, and this was sven a couple of days to settle before the nine fry were transferred. “The original adult group became secretive for awhile but ater a couple of weeks they were observed more frequently, especialy after the tank lights went of and only the fsh ‘house main light was on, leaving, them in semi darkness for 30 minutes or so before complete lights out Teas during this 30-minute evening window thatthe group was 14 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING eo ce ‘often seen going through courtship activity, with two or three males pursuing one ofthe females ‘Spawning activity was not observed at this time, but afew weeks later as. they became increasingly settled, brief mating clinches were observed. Most ofthe mating activity seemed to take place in or around the base of the floating spawning mop or deep in the fronds of the large sunken mop. ‘The eggs, fairly large at 1.7mm diameter, were almost always ‘deposited inthe sunken mop, though ‘one or two were seen in the floating ‘mop or the fronds of the Java moss. | found that after laying them, the adults did not realy bother with the ‘eggs, or with the emerging ry, 801 tended to leave them alone and let nature take its course. However, on two occasions and just for my records, after Ihad determined the spawning activity was over, I did harvest the eggs and counted 12 and 10 respectively. Future spawning activity was recorded, (water ‘parameters and conditions), but the ‘eggs and fry were left to their own deviees. Every three or four months, or ‘when I could see that there were lots ‘of young in the tank, I would remove the furnishings and collect al the youngsters except forthe very tiny ‘ones — these were lft with the adults. The collected fry were acclimated to the growing on tank and then released, The adults took a few days to settle back down but seemed none the worse fori ‘The feeding regime was alittle different for the breeding tank Most of the time there were quite afew varying sized fry in the breeding tank, so I tended to offer crushed Fish Science Corydoras tablets, small size Vitals Catfish granules and quite a Jot of Micro worm, Grindal worm, newly hatched Artemia and finely chopped earthworm. 30% to 40% water changes were ‘made at least three times a week. ‘As stated earlier, in its natural sub-tropical habitat this species is happiest in water that is cooler than ‘would usually be considered normal fora tropical aquarium. { have found the ideal aquarium temperature for breeding this species is around 182°C 0 20°C. However, the species can tolerate 26°C to 28°C for short periods of time. Unlike most Corydoradinae it prefers a pH value slightly above neutral (7.0), with a pH of 7.4 being. ideal. Ifthe water i allowed to go below 7.0pH the fish will show signs of distress, will close their fins and will become lethargic and even stop feeding, My mains waters not the ‘best quality, so ether HMA or RO ‘water s used filtered and as necessary itis buffered to maintain the required parameters. ABOVE: The natural habitat.iw’ NOTES FROM, THE FIRST RECORDED SPANNING Tak: 4512820 on Water pH 7.4, Conductity 176 pom, 2°44 Temperature: 25% Fags: 30 Sa: 17 diameter Adhesion: ano Feet 10% Hatch rate: 10% Fist foot, Micro wor, ney hatched Ata, crushed Fish Science Conoras tablets Standard length and Total length \When it comes to fish, we measure them in ‘one of a few ways. The first is Standard length (or SL), which measures from the tip ofthe snout to either the posterior end of the lat vertebra, or the midlateral portion of the hypural plate. in layman's terms, i's the length of the fish minus the tail fn ‘The second is Total length (or TL) which 08s from the tip ofthe snout tothe end of the longest lobe of the caudal fin. Because some fish have elongated tail find (think ‘swordtails) they might have an incredible TL but only a short SL. ‘Athird method is Fork length (or FL) Which measures from the tip ofthe snout to the end ofthe middle (short) caudal fin rays. Fork length is only really used in cases where it’s hard to tell where the vertebrae end. \WWAW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 15CICHLIDS Ueno _GICHLIDS BUG ys ae EAST SIDE When presented with LURE eom CO Cc))) ETM Come cichlid, Elliott Ball ON Ce Maree a Here he recounts his» experiences with an SU Ae ENACTCICHLIDS Tropheus moorii y HEN BROWSING the Rift Lake cichlid section at some aquatic stores, itsnot ‘uncommon to u happen upon the ever charming, black and white spotted juveniles of Tropheus dubois, ‘Whilst this is one of the more common Tropheus to see, its certainly not the only one. Here, 1 ‘would lke to introduce another Tropheus species, equally as beautiful, ut most likely unseen by ‘most aquarsts... for a good reason! ‘Tropheus moori Murago ‘Tanzania’ is aherbivorous, rock dwelling cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika in East Aftca, and specifically tothe ‘Tanzanian shore on the eastern edge of the lake. Unfortunately they're also part of a dwindling population. Although only recently discovered ‘back in 2008 by the Karlsson brothers, the population of the fishin its natural habitat is diminishing at a disheartening rate, and its future in the wild is uncertain. For now, we can nly hope that ongoing conservation ‘work will help put the brakes on any further damage. ‘Spend just afew minutes on any decent search engine and you'll soon ‘understand why this species is so sought after; dominant fish boast a ‘gorgeous brown-bronze colour across the body, with a generous sprinkling of glittery silver/blue speckling on the head, The Tanzania Marago Tropheusis almost unique in its markings, with one exception — close relative that's found on the ‘western shore of the lake, known as Tropheus moori Murago ‘green’. AS for what to expect from that fish, the clues in the name. ‘The Tanzania Murago is found in relatively shallow water, ranging from just 3.8 meters in depth, and here it dwells amongst the bounteous rocks that line the shores. Where ‘vegetation exists at allt is scarce, and the landscape is dominated by boulders over fine gravel and sand, {As with all of Lake Tanganyika, the ‘water is extremely hard and alkaline, ‘with a pH of between 8.5 and 90. Like other Tropheus, this fish is primarily a herbivore, relying on a 18 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING diet made up mostly of algae and periphyton. The rocks and boulders that typify its home are exposed toa tropical sun for the majority of the ‘day, and in tum the rocks flourish ‘with algae. To exploit this, the Tropheushas evolved a specialised feeding behaviour — the primary jaw is downward facing referred to asa ‘subterminal’ mouth, allowing the fish to Mae ed replicate their natural range, ‘The ultimate aim, as tis for many aquarists who have the chance to keep rare and unusual fish, was to get them in such a contented place that they would start breeding. The setup I had planned to use for these fish was a roughly ‘600sitre aquarium with powerful external filter —a large iter is essential for any ela "Tganyan 0 relationship withthe cichlid saan erecting .WWWLPRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 19,"CICHLIDS Tropheus mooril For the layout my options weren't plentiful, as I would only be using rocks to replicate their habitat. The problem was that due to the size of the tank, both in width and height, ‘most rocks that I put nto the tank ended up looking like a collection of pebbles rather than the ‘boulders that I needed. Inthe event, alocal garden centre's aggregate section saved me, from ‘which I managed to select some larger pieces of rock. Egg crate was place at the bottom of the tank and covered back over with sand — this helps to prevent damage to the base of the aquarium ifthe hardscape shifts or slips (and potentially falls) when the fish move the sand about ‘After the layout was assembled, added an air supply to the tank as these fish like well oxygenated water. An airstone was placed strategically behind the rocks (large collections of rocks can be notorious dead spots that lack a flow of water through them) and I also slightly tted the outlets of the fiter towards the surface of the water to disturb the surface. I set the heater to 25°C and Tanganyika buffer and lake salts were added to ensure that the pH, KH and GH were ‘where they needed to be Once the fish had arrived and settled, the first quarantine procedure involved dosing with Vetark Flukesolve followed after by treatments for external parasites and bacteria. With wild caught fish from any part of the world, itis important to ensure that they are quarantined Most off ofthe shelf treatments for parasites and bacteria work well, and these should be applied to the fish in 1 quarantine or hospital tank that’s herbivore, relying phyt rat typify tropical sun for t turn the rocks ICAL FISHKEEPING ieus, this fish i zon a diet made up mos home are € majority of the day with your existing stock, Alter a couple of days in their new home, the Tropheus started tobecome adventurous in their new surroundings Sinking pellets with a mostly vegetable matter content ‘were offered, but initially not well received, which, to be fa, was to be ‘expected. It took a further few days forthe food to be accepted, and once they leamt of their new feeding routine, eding was never an issue. ‘After a couple of weeks, green and brown algae had started to cover the rocks, finally allowing me to witness the unique grazing behaviour first-hand, It was indeed fascinating primarily a The rock th al; Although the fish were always rasping from the rocks, they would swim at all and any angles to get at any particularly eempting bts of luscious algae growth ‘Through observing ther feeding habits overtime, it occurred to me that they/d almost learnt to let the algae grow and then harvest it. ‘A week or two would pass and the ‘algae would build up, only frit tobe ‘mowed back over the course ofa few days. Ths is something l have not seen with other fish that simply demolish any food source as and ‘when it presents itselt (Observing the Tropheus utilise the surroundings, not just for food but for territories, was another reward. “The most dominant male seemed toinhabit large recess in the rocks, ‘here the other two or three sub-dominant males would patrol ouside. It was around seven months from the time that the group was introduced tothe tank that the dominant male of the group started to throw his weight around more than usual,Pea displays are Cone [My intial thought was that he had gone rogue, ater a seemingly well behaved period spent the tank. However, it was almost a relief to see this wasnt a hidden vicious streak, but instead a dance of courtship. The fernale would wait by his prepared rock, just outside ofthe recess that he resides in, and watch him zoom around, twisting and contorting his body to show himself off. Other males were swifly and sternly wamed to stay away and he resumed his choreographed fring Once they had started to spawn the female would almost lay on her side and shake, whilst the male closely observed. Eggs, around two or three ata time were deposited and immediately collected up into her mouth, The ‘male would then dash infront of her and use his anal fin, which is decorated with markings that closely resemble eggs, to get the fernale to pick at the eggs ashe fertilised them, ‘After the spawning was completed, she withdrew with her mouthful of eggs to a more secluded area of the tank After about three weeks with yy face pressed against the glass Jooking for youngsters, I could see that she seemed to be struggling to hold the babies in As luck would have it, she eventually came tothe top of the tank in one of the corners and Twas able to carefully catch her and ‘encourage her to safely deposit the young into the net I retrieved around 20 fry, each roughly 6mm long, which I was then able to raise in a separate aquarium Feeding of these small first- ‘generation fish was surprisingly easy as they seemed happy and eager to cat just about anything. Of course, being so small Thad to offer tiny ‘morsels, so ground-up spirulina fakes were fed initially and once they had started to grow, spirulina and herbivore pellets were also ground up to feed them. Tm delighted to say thatthe young ‘grew well and were eventually placed back nto their parent tank All are now happily coexisting as a larger ‘group than I started with! WWYWPRACTICALFISHKEEPING CO.UK 21a Oe ait er to name names, but... Scientific names can be a I (CMON UME Oh a ETT Tel ae NN Cola DNL Henderson offers some. insight into how to get your pronunciations on point. Pace)Cd Baa eet say that? 7 Cress ena) aaFrees WA ne FISH NAMES Pronunciation (QUARISTS MIGHT well ask Why do we have these dificult Latin-sounding seientific names for the fishes and other organisms that we Tike to keep? “The reason is straightforward, enough — Latin was the language of scholarship for most ofthe past two thousand years, We are inheritors of a scientific tradition of formally naming plants and animals in Latin and Greek that goes back tothe time of Swedish botanist Linneaus in the eighteenth century. That tradition now carries over into fishkeeping “These ancient languages are used for naming as they have stable and predictable vocabularies and ‘grammars. Their words are not subject to continual evolution in their meanings as are the words of modern, ving languages. What makes a scientific name? Scientific names are in some ways Just minature descriptions. A scientific name for a plant or animal comes in two parts: a genus name followed by a species name. Generally, no single Latin or Greek ‘word can fully represent this information, so the genus and species 24 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING ‘words. These component words are aswel system of indicating how to modify used and refine ts mearing, In addition to preies theresa range of diferent sues that also need watching to as they cary imporeant information. ‘The formation of a scenic name foran animalisa process governed bya strict se of rales lid down in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. tis considered very poor form to is expressly forbidden by the Code ABOVE: The This can be related tothe fact that man to blame, scientists are supposed to be Carl Linne@us. objective, and you never use any BELOW: The ‘Mf the irst person singular, foots of many ‘me’, my’) in a scientific paper. As ames are found well as reeking of vanity, naming an inGreek and animal ater yourself is of no help in Latin, bringing a dstinetive and identiying feature of the animal to attention. However, naming something after someone else can be of value. More ‘on this later names are built up from two or more ‘not just nouns, but include modifiers Latin has very efficient (and terse) the original noun to indicate how itis, ‘name an organism after yourself, and Painful pronunciation Although writen Latin or Greeks clear, unambiguous and perfect for formal, written communication, ‘when it comes pronouncing the scientific names in conversation, things get messy Diflerent modern languages have different ways of uttering vowel and consonant sounds, and may place a diferent emphasis on the syllables that form the ‘words ‘Amgjorproblem forus readers of modem English is that English spelingis an awful ress, with ll sorts of complicating historical baggage going back several centuries, and the sounds that we have come to associate with sets of eters are often unique to English and can difer significantly from what other European language speakers would usually say. ‘To get started pronouncing scientife names it wl be useful to now where to break a word int its syllables, We can think of sylables as ‘sound chunks’ that cannot be spit apart. Syllables almost abways tat with single consonant, oF a smal ‘group of consonants, followed by either a single o double vowel a Cea n i / aTABLE 1. VOWEL SOUNDS Insome cases, there will be "Note how we have put a syllable Short Long terminating consonant. boundary between the component a uhm “abot “a in “palatable Here is our frst example, using the words of Polyprerus, There is no e hh” in “ebony an “cake Barred bichir Its technical name (in syllable spanning the two i sini ee ineagy” Greek inthis case) is Polyperus ‘components. ° an into" 0 n“open” dethez, andi illustrates several o “uh in “bak “oon “ood” features typically seen in scientific Origins of a sound. Yr in ini “ee names. The first ishow the name is Sadly, there are no living speakers of “comes from Grek words built up from simpler parts, ancient Latin to tell us the correct ‘The generic epithet, Polypterus is pronunciation, but there are three composed of two words, the noun possibilities that we can draw from: pterus (meaning ‘wing’ butin this _ the ecclesiastical (church) TABLE 2. IPHTHONG SOUNDS case refering othe fsh’sfins) anda pronunciation, our current 2 inte” modifier poly (meaning ‘many’) ‘understanding of how the romans a ‘ow in "now" ‘Together, they refer tothe sequence themselves would have spoken, and ai “afin “say” of many small finlts (each ‘modern English pronunciation ry shart atin’ and‘, but said quickly supported by a stiff leading fn ray) Unique among the European o “into that run along the back toforma languages, English experienced the Ww long atin‘ and, but said quickly nearly continuous dorsal fin, then Great Vowel Shift over a period from join up to form the fully webbed the middle ofthe 1Sth century until caudal fn the end of the 16th. This has given ‘The specific epithet, deez, refers spoken English an expanded range TABLE 3. CONSONANT SOUNDS THAT DIFFER FROM ENGLISH tothe person who frst collected the of sounds, or different sounds, for the ¢ ‘alas hard a n'a’ neers sin “cease?” fish, a certain Monsieur Dethez ‘vowels that the ancient romans did f ‘aayshat as in‘game’ never sftas ingen” Given the above rule for syllable not use. Additionally the consonants (begining a woré) same as English Yasin youth” boundaries, we would decompose _of English also have an expanded ' similar to English, but led asin scatsh this name as Fo-ly_pteus delhe-zi, range of sounds. iseable" 3 2sin-sa retrain ‘ wens 66 Their words are not subject to continual evolution in their meanings as are the words of modern, living languages 99 I, ae, and ensis at a glance Where a fish has been named after a male, the specific epithet (the second part ofthe name) will end in‘, as in Corydoras grant eed named after Steven Grant. area Where a fish has been named after a rend female, tie specific epithet will end in ‘ae as in Lebeotropheus trewavasae, named after Ethehwynn Trewavas. ‘Where a fish has been named after ‘multiple people with the same name (such as a married couple), the specific epithet will end in ‘orum’ or ‘arum’ as in Panaque suttonorum, named after Dr Frederick Sutton and his wife. ‘Where a fish has been named after a particular place, the specitic epithet will end in ‘ensis', as in Corydoras pantanalensis, Cee > CTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 25inicu wee FISH NAMES Pronunciation 26 We will us roman forms, A vowel on its own has ly two sounds — long or short. vel pais, kno ch, though there table difference displayed a table on the previo Convenient, there is only o per Latin consonant. Returning to our working example of the Barred bichir we can now pronounce its scientific name as Paw’ ‘Tee ‘puh’ ‘tae’ ‘us’ (space) ‘dale ‘hay’ zee’ Prefixes and suffixes mentioned earlier, there are usually modifier words at either end of a generic or sp PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING epithet to elaborate the There are a great many prefix here are some ofthe sorts modifications that can be app for example micro for example or ‘close to (cifferent to so already known), for example pseu meaning ‘false + Quantities, for example mono, bi, ‘ri—‘one’, two, and ‘th pectively green rasbora, Mierodevario kubotiis considered related to but much smaller than the fish of the Devario genus. The popular Neon, Green and Cardinal tetras all belong tothe tng their dose sparate generic epithet, jotted biue-eye rainbor genus Mugi such asthe Flathead grey mallet ‘There isthe popular doras catfish species with three dark stripes along its ‘appears on the end of many ‘names is common one, and s used indicate p nor toacknowledge a person. Inthe case of the Neon tetra, Parackeiroconinnesit acknowledges the contribution of William T Innes, who introduced a popular fish tothe scientific and aquarist world The fullname translates as ‘Innes's (tetra) near to genus Cheiradon William T Innes started of one of the earliest, American aquarium ‘magazines, ‘The Aquarium’ in 1932 Coincidentally, the Cardinal tetra has the technical name P axelradi for Herbert R, Axelrod who also started another American aquarium, periodical, “Tropical Fish Hobbyist back in 1952, Importanty, the possessive suffix has to agree in number and gender with the noun that they associated with, eg “I (masculine OR neuter singular); rum’ (masculine OR neuter plural); ae’ (feminine singular; “arum (feminine plural), A further level of detail (or complication depending on your view) is introduced withthe various ‘noun dectensions (first, second, third, etc). The examples given here are only those for the third declension To sum up a scientific name provides a unique label for an organism using a politically neutral language: It indicates, in a very compact way, distinguishing features of organisms that can aid in remembering the name and applying itin practice. The rules for generating ‘aname forms a universal standard that can be used by anyone, and it provides anice historical ink to the past and reliable path into the Future. cot cr The notable name of the White Cloud minnow Fishkeeping is packed with names that re surprisingly explanatory when broken down, One classic example is for the White Cloud Mountain Minnow, Tanichthysalbonubes, wihich both comments on the person who discovered the fish and is location. Broken down, Tan’ is the name of the Chinese scoutmastr who found the fh in 1932 — Tank Kam Fel ‘chthy’, simply means fish (the Christian symbol, or Jesus fish fs known as an ichthys). ‘Albus’ means wiite, while ‘nubes’ means cloud. Quite literally, the scientific name translates as “a's fish from the white clouds Start breaking scientific names down into their constituent parts and stick them into a search engine to see what other delights you can discover \WWhW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING, rey a UK 2LTT ee | CONSERVATION Reecom Ses OVERLOOKED & UNDERAPPRECIATED: Whe World’; Freshwater fish the world over are facing a desperate struggle to survive LoPN ma aTcme-LOTUE-TATOT UUM UL0)0)0) Ker T TM)NLATE February, Shoal, WWF and 15 other leading conservation organisations released an urgent report outlining the critical extent of the threats and challenges facing freshwater species around the world. ‘The World's Forgotten Fishes’ went into great detail about the ‘dazzling diversity’ of freshwater fish, about how they prop up the livelihoods of millions of people globally, and support multi-billion dollar recreation industries — by which ‘we mean the aquarium hobby and angling — and yet many species are faced with the very real threat of imminent extinction, ‘Mike Baltzer, Executive Director of freshwater conservation initiative Shoal, sid: “The report isa call to action by many of the leading freshwater conservation organisations. It reveals the beauty and diversity of freshwater fishes, Which have been overlooked by so many for solong. Anditis a call to arms for decision-makers to take a deeper interest in feshwater fish, and to sive urgent attention to the freshwater crisis” ‘There was a multilateral media push from the organisations involved, but nobody predicted the pick-up ‘would be quite as ineredible as it was, According to WWF's figures, there ‘were more than 400 publications that covered the report across more than 45 countries, with a projected reach of an uteriy unimaginable two billion people worldwide! So, it obviously piqued the media's interest, But what did the report contain that grabbed people's attention? When was the last time you really thought about the conservation status of freshwater fish? Iam going tobe presumptuous and expect most readers of Practical Fishkeeping are passionate hobbyists and therefore likely to be more engaged with fish ‘conservation than the average Joe or Jil ‘But what if even you donot know that ‘much about the issues facing fish? Can we really expect many other people to know? Probably not. ‘The realty i, most people simply do not know about freshwater ‘conservation challenges. Fish from rivers, lakes and wetlands do not get the same airtime as their charismatic ‘mammalian neighbours, or their colourful cousins from tropical reefs or the epic big blue sea Freshwaters are murkier, the remarkable species that live in them. are more hidden, and somehow considered less glamorous. Itmay come asa shock for people to eam that, even though only 1% of the planet's surface i feshvate, there are actually more fish species that lve in freshwaters than in the ‘ocean, and that, according to the IUCN Red List, a ogling one in three ofthese species is threatened with extinction, (One in three. Let that sinkin fora ‘moment, Of the 18,075 freshwater fish species known to exist, around 6,000 are threatened with being lost forever, ue in main to human activity. Ths includes plenty of species beloved by the aquarium hobby, including numerous bettas, kalfsh, barbs, and many, many more, \WWAW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 29FaAenoUArieahs © CONSERVATION Forgotten fishes 66 Even though only 1% of the planet's surface is freshwater, there are actually more fish species that live in freshwaters than in the ocean 99 ‘The reasons for decline "The Worlds Forgotten Fishes report highlights nine key reasons: ‘Habitat destruction ‘¢Unnatural river flows “Barriers, uch as dams and weirs ‘Pollution ‘6Water abstraction {40verfshing ‘Wildlife crime “Invasive species ‘¢Climate change As Mike adds: “Another reason is. negligence Fish are often overlooked and considered simply as a resource for recreation or food. Each ofthese points alone would damage species populations, but many species face a ‘number of these threats concurrent, soiitis easy to understand why {Freshwater ish face these mammoth challenges. Freshwaters are the sharp ‘end ofthe biodiversity crisis” Ultimately, rivers lakes and ‘wetlands have for centuries been considered somewhere to dump ‘waste, a convenience to ease ‘transportation, a place to exploit, Dbutnota delicate finely balanced ecosystem worthy of protection. 30. PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING ABOVE: Pollution can wipe out whole RIGHT TOP: ‘Once a common ‘aquarium staple, Silver sharks are vulnerable in the wild RIGHT BOTTOM: Palm «il plantations ravage habitats The role of the hobby Fortunately, all is not lost, Indeed, there are plenty of reasons to be positive, and the aquarium hobby ‘can be a major ally in the fight to halt ‘extinctions and recover populations of freshwater fish. Itmay not come as a shock to readers of Practical Fishkeeping to ‘hear that fish are far and away the ‘world's most popular pet, at least ‘numerically. According to the US National Pet Owners Survey, in the US alone there are 142 million freshwater fish kept as pets, ‘compared with 88.3 million cats and 748 million dogs. The Omamental ‘Aquatic Trade Association predicts that around 4 million UK households ‘own fish — around 14% of the population — and combined they ‘spend between £400 — 500 million ‘each year on their hobby. Globally, ‘some 5,300 species are traded annually in 125 countries at a value of $15-30 billion. Abobby with this level of Investment from passionate individuals and organisations, which ‘generates this much money, has a hhuge amount to offer in terms of knowledge, expertise, willingness, and of course finance. Many aquarists breed species at home which are threatened in the wild, effectively propping up populations of the species. Take the utterly spltin, Amecasplendens for ‘example — an aquarium species that listed as Critically Endangered con the IUCN Read List, but preserved. by aquarium hobbyists, ‘The Denison barb, Sahyadia denisonitis common throughout the hobby, yetis classified as Endangered Inthe wild. These species are all, buoyed by ex situ breeders, bolstering the number of individuals. If ex situ conservation efforts were well coordinated, with the aquarsts offering their expert knowledge and experience to help the scientist,{ust imagine what could be achieved! With a combined effort, species could be bred to have the greatest ‘sitive impacts on ecosystems upon their release back nto the wild ‘The conservationists have huge amounts to learn from the aquarium hobby, asthe hobbyists are The palm oilindustryhas 2 Aaa omnia understanding cg bceding See behaviours Collaboration ‘between the two camps ‘would be a powerful tol in siving species the best possible chance of survival “Mike Baltzer again: “The trth is that fishes are going extinct due in part due to our negligence. But a true hhome forthe love and care of fishes ‘and their habitats canbe found ‘within the home aquaria hobby. JOIN SHOAL ak ing servation nisation that work the best scientists globally to identity key prioritisation areas, and info@shoalconservation ‘org or get in touch on “The hobby represents avast potential that, if engaged and rected with the help of Shoal, can save many species and freshwater habitats from being lost forever.” Funding s another way the hobby ‘can help with conservation. If only atiny percentage of the money ‘generated by the hobby each year ‘was reinvested back towards ‘conservation, then conservation ‘organisations would be able accelerate the essential ations that are so desperately needed to bring vulnerable and declining species populations back from the brink What else can be done? ‘To go back to the Forgotten Fishes report, a six-point Emerger Recovery Plan is put forward, showing what steps will be needed ‘ona policy evel to give fish a fighting chance in their natural habitats: 41. Allow rivers to low more naturally 2, Reduce pollution, 3. Protect critical wetland habitats 44. End overfishing and unsustainable sand mining, ‘5. Control invasive species, 6, Safeguard and restore connectivity. ‘As mentioned above, freshwater conservation receives oly a fraction ofthe interest that marine and terrestrial equivalents enjoy. This needs to change. At Shoal, we often uss the necessity of freshwater Wl PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.Chaving that Jacques ‘moment’ where the publi there there, 66 Of the 18,075 freshwater ath th ce with the = fish species known to exist, ! Seana round 6,000 are threatened rum hobbyists can with being lost forever, due in main to human activity 99 32. PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGLEFT: Many kilifish ae vulnerable, RIGHT: Dams block migratory fish routes. endangered, 1m 2020 we lost 0 species of sh global to extinction or extinction in the wil, Hee are some of thir names: Psephurs pads China Chala opis indonsia Alors aki, Turkey Anabriis macoeps Cina 6 Barbodes amar, Phipines Barbs cular, Philippines Barts clomensi Philipines Barbas cise Piliines| ¢ Barbdesfaitscus, Philipines 6 Barbs here Philppines 6 Barbodes kato Philippines Barbs lananenis, Philipines 6 Barboes mana Pippnes Barbodes paclyheis, Philipines 4 Barbdespalemophagus, Prins «+ Bardes pala, Philipines Barbs resinus Philippines Barbs tras, Philipines Novops amcae, Nain ¢ Oncorynchustawamurae Japan Aletaca goin, Meco Barboes truncatus, Philipines, ¢ Barbus microbarbs Rwanda 6 Chasmistes muri USA 6 Chancostomascodens, Montenegro pris ylogensis China ara eigenmann Mexico 6 Evara bustamarte Wexica 6 Gils casscauds, USA Labeoworthingto. Naa, Noambiqu, Zambia Lepidomeda ates, USA Migr hues sae Moxstomalacerum USA etops aun, Meco etapa, Mein, USA tops salads, Meso Pagonichtys cscs, USA Pseucophacinus hands Ture ypninadon ave Meco (ppiadon lonidbrsalis Waco jpiaden vernicae, Masco Shia rancesae, Weicn iphphors coochanus Mexico © Nphophors meer Meco Riichtys deacon, USA -Romanogbi antinin, Romani, Using _Schithorax stan, Karaktén Spode signif ei Telestes uv, Croatia, Noturs trauma USA Patton siamensis Taland Coregonus apense, Canada, USA Coregonus benue, France Coregonus fra Switztand CGoegonas eutusus Aust, Germany Switzetand oregon hiemalisSitzeand 6 Coregonus jobennse, Canada, USA WP. PRACT Coregnus nips, Canada, Us Coregonus oprinchus Begum, France, Germany, Netelnds, UK Prototnetes ayynetus, New aland Salmo pala Moroxo Sahetinasagassi USA Sthetinsreacomenss, Sita Sahel profndus Aus Germany Staind ¢ Poetoctromis nay Madagascar 6 Tistramel interned, aol ¢ Tistramela magdelanae Sy Tistamela sacra, ael ‘Aberinela calid, Meio pind arcuats, USA Orinda ceciae, Mexico ‘Oprinaaninmemariam, Neco Empey meriamy, USA Funds aboieatus, USA ‘Gambusia amistadenss USA 6 Gambusia george USA ¢ Megopsion aps, Mesa 6 Pantanodon madagascarnss Madagascar 6 Etheastamasllore USA (asterosteus erenobontus, Romania Cotas echinatus, USA CALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 33Fishkeeping Answers Fishkee NSWETS Got a fishkeeping question? PFK's crack team of aquatics experts. are on hand to answer whatever you need to know. questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk THE EXPERTS DR PETER BURGESS Peters ur disease ‘ape. Send questins his way iyo have pattogen problems BOB MEHEN Bobis a master at ishheping genta -owlege and commun aks ad JEREMY GAY sean sae than et when comes to Cichlids, gl and mar species, cs) NATHAN ) ea HILL DG tenis te oso FEC connie MAX PEDLEY ‘and aquatic ethical cmuniruns, I Maxis he vig, breathing seach engine. iis are is pei, NEALE MONKS Neale theman or urea ques. Heloes brackish t,o. DAVE HULSE Deis a constant the Tetras Beard and a earch ello tele nny. a NUT COLDWATER {Ym looking for advice on keeping Bristol shubunkins. 'm experienced in keeping marines. and tropical freshwater of various types over the ‘years but have never kept goldfish, apart from fish ina bowl as a child before | knew any bette. What would you recommend in order to keep these ish successfully in terms of tank size and filtration for 3-4 fish? SIMON CERVERA, VIA EMAIL Bristol shubunkins are beautiful fish and a crect to the British goldfish keepers who have selectively bred and perfected then ‘over the decades. Very popular in the UK pplafish societies, how kept varies from aquariums to ponds, but when kept in aquaria the tanks are usually 120em in length to allow for growth, lots of swimming activity, and the development ofthat gorgeous tall The Bristol shubunkin has a ees ping on of the th gets a Tetra Pere Me Biistol shubunkins are bed to a standard — very much like pedigree dogs — and the only place you can usually obtain them is via ‘members of the British gosh societies. They tend to sell of that don't have a perfect body shape, tall shape or colour, but they are still really high-quality fish, and when you purchase them, you will be buying inte perhaps ‘decades thatthe breeder has invested in that bloodline, The breeders ae also the best people to advise on their care and reproduction ‘An internal filter wil be fine, but back it up with los of patil water changes and an air pump. Arm yourself with a fluke treatment (all golish get flukes) and in order to achieve their best colour and to get them in the mood for spawning, place the tank where it wll receive sunshine in the meming. Send your questions to Fishheeping Answers, Practical Fishkeepng Magazine, Warners Publishing, The Maltngs, West tree, Bourne, PELO SP Email us at questons@practicafishleeping co.uk ‘TetiaO Ferrets PyTROPICAL "have an Aqua One 580 aquarium, holding 75 | of water thas gravel onthe base and 20 assorted plants. | have an Eheim 400 air pump, and a Shark 80OIph internal filter with three sponges: coarse, medium and fine, plus carbon in the bottom half of the Fier carvicge and 4g of biormetia in the top. I doa 30% water change every week and also add plant food woekly. My ammonia and nitrate are 0, the pH is 6.8 with 8°GH and temperature 23°C. The tank contains five Harlequins, ‘three Guppies and three Leopard danias. "have ha it up and running for three years. Can I ade more fish or some shrimps to my tank? Please could you also advise on whether iy fier set-up i okay? ANTHONY BEVAN, VIA EMAIL Some! fa te Your filter set up sounds fine, but personally I'é remove the carbon and replace it with TROPICAL {raised my Kri fry after 1 gota new male Kribon the advice of your expert Max Pedley. They bred ater three weeks. | tok the fy out ofthe tank at a month ol, and two of them reached 2.5m within a couple of months. The fry are 16 weeks old now and the massive male shown in this photo has a red throat. s there something wrong with him oe is he just cifferenty coloured to his much smaller siblings? CHLOE ALLSWORTH, VIA EMAIL Congratulations on the Kribensis fy! Dont worry about the male Krib — he looks in excellent condition. He appears to be the ‘super red’ form which are bred for their intense red colouration, which isin no doubt emphasised due to hormonal changes that accu with breeding and raising fry. It may be that some of your younger fish will show these colour tats too as they grow. ‘more bio-media or foam if possible. While carbon is excellent at ‘polishing’ water to make it look crystal clear, it doesn't have much benefit biologically. It can also remove plant foods and medications and in my ‘opinion is best used as an ‘emergency’ media to clean up discolouration of water or remove ‘medication atthe end ofa treatmer (Otherwise, yout water change regime and water chemistry seem fine. ‘You have a very sensible stocking level at the moment, so there should be room for a few more fish or some shrimps, It might be worth considering adding a couple more danies to boost your curent group, which isa litle small in number, but otherwise your water chemistry should be suitable for a range of community fish such a tetas. For instance, 2 group of 5-6 Neon tetra, Paracheiradon innesi, should fit in well and add 2 real spark of colour to your tank a the Cardinal i neaFishkeeping Answers iden White meh te aes TEMPERATE Po ers I would love tohave ago at summer of naturally coloured male White ‘tubbing this year, but am not too sure Clouds in sunlight is stunning to ich fish I could Keepin atub or patio behold — there is good reason for ond that might possibly breed and their ‘poor man’s Neon tetra! moniker. ‘survive our weather and temperatures Rosy barbs are fantastic fish but 1m looking a getting a tub inthe region probably a litle large fora tub ofthat ‘6f 60-100 I, and atthe moment I Size, Sticklebacks are an excellent considering Rosy barbs, SticKlebacks or native choice, and if you can prevent ‘White cloud Mountain minnows. Which the tub frm freezing solid in winter c fish would you recommend? then there is no reason why they E JOSHUA, VIA EMAIL couldn't stay outside all year round. i To witness their fascinating breeding Keeping ‘indoor fish behaviour, a relatively shallow tub is species outside forthe summer can be best 2s they can be hard to see in Cad very rewarding if done well and wll taller, deeper contain Vomeray often allow you to witness more ‘Another possibility isthe Paradise am natural behaviours than you might see fish, Macropodus operculars. They ina typical aquarium. Of the ish you have a reputation for being a bit mention, the White Cloud is the belligerent in the aquarium, but a pair ‘obvious choice due to size, hardiness of these ouside will add rel interest ‘and breeding potential. ve kept ‘and may well breed for you if we get @ ‘White Clouds outside myself and its hot summer. These are bubble fascinating to watch them turn into nesters, so adding some floating tiny predators, hunting down Daphnia plants to your tub may help encourage ‘and mosquito larvae in a surprisingly this. Just remember that you wll need Shariclike way! '¢ recommend trying suitable indoor winter quarters for any the golden form as they ae easier to fish you try outside, as well as for any ‘observe, although the breeding colours potential young produce. TAM es) Pee letiaO Feats Send your questions to Fishheeping Answers, Practical ishkeepng Magazine, Warners Publishing, The Maltngs, West Stree, Bourne, PELO SP Email us at questons@practicaishkeeping co.ukTROPICAL [have 180 | planted tank, which has ‘been running for about 18 years. At the ‘moment it contains a small group of Black mollies, a Siamese fying fx, and ‘Clown loach that is 18m long and ‘over 15 years old | have not introduced ‘any stock for many years, but | would ‘ow like to add a small shoal of fsh — is there a danger thatthe Clown loach wil eat them? I wonder if you could oer any suggestions, please? ‘CAROL SWAIN, VIA EMAIL Clown loaches can ‘occasionally take small fish, although this i also true of mast species: if they can fit anather fishin their mouth then sooner or later, they will ry! But with careful choice of the species of new fish, | wouldn't be unduly worie, especially if the loach is well fe. I's worth mentioning that Clown loaches ‘are sociable fish that do best in groups of five or more. That said, your tank is too small for those kinds of numbers, ven that they can have an adult size of around 30¢m. What you do need to be careful about is into pathogens into your established tank vith any new fish you add. As you haven't added anything to this tank for so long, take care to carefully examine new fish before purchase and ask about what quarantine procedures and treatments the store has in place for new stock. I'd advise you to set up a {quarantine tank yourself at home to moniter the new fish fora few weeks and administer any treatments necessary without the risk of harming your exstng stock With regards a oalng choices to lve alongside your current fish, then | would recommend deeper bodied, hardy tetra species such asthe Lemon tetra, Hyphessobrycon pulehvipinis, Cea) rt fish. Diamond tetra, Moenkhausa pitter or Rec-eyed tetra, Moenhausia sanctaefilomenae. These all grow into bulkier fsh than other popular tetras such as Neons, so shouldn't be as tempting if your loach does decide to take an interest ‘Barbs might aso be worth looking at, again du to their deeper bodies and robust natute 'd ster clear of Tiger barbs, but the less belligerent Black ruby barb, Pethia nigrotasciata, would be a good fit, with the males showing striking colouration ee) ee) eed “ey F Newcomer hazards ‘A tank that has been basically a sealed community for a number of years is at risk {rom diseases that might not affect a tank with more dynamic stocking — much the same way that an isolated tribe can wiped out by a common cold that wouldn't be an issue to people from a large city. So, ifs worth taking extra precautions when buying new fish. aFishkeeping Answers Cee eae es MARINE ‘Can I mix moe than one tang in my ee tank? Ihave a Yellow tang a the moment. Which species would you recommend | ‘add? The tank is approximately 150x60x60em in its dimensions. TOM WILKES, VIA EMAIL | am wondering it | can put house wool is used commercially in Yes, you can mix different species of plants in the trickle fite of an hydroponics asa rooting medium for tangs in the same aquarium, and your tank size is about the ‘AquaSiyle 980 aquarium. Iso, what everything from aquatic plants to minimum | would recommend for doing sa. Keep the would be the best media to use, and lettuces. The beauty with both is that shape, pattern and behaviour different so avoid other ‘would you plant al of them or just they are inert so you feed the plants _Zebrasoma species like Scopas and Purple some? Which plants would you with a go0d, complete liquid fertiliser anc instead go for a Bristletooth tang ora recommend? Faso have an Aqua 750 just ike you would with plants under Regal tang. Avoid Powder blues as ‘external fiter running wit this tank. the water in the tank below. ‘they always get whitespot, Sohals ALISON KING, VIAEMAIL Forte best gowth and nutient | asthey ae asad agessve, gO ag expat ty eth merean We owing sd Lips ons a le oy tip {would either use of nitate and phosphate levels) use a these are peaceful, they iycoleca (available rom garden clip-on gow ight wth either ed or wil rw to lage for Tee centres and reptile shops,)or rock magenta LEDS above the tops ofthe your tank Mme et woo! ofthe tye use for patted houseplants space, why not consider aquatic plants. ‘There are many species of Hydroleca is a baked clay ball that _houseplant you could use to plant your CoE lubles up asa biological media twice fir, from Dracaena to ferns alternative? (good for nitrification) and the rock and Fittania te Pethos. Dracaena Species of toni are often sold by aquatic stores for use inside the aquarium. While they wil look great fora shot time, these are not aquatic plants and will drown and eventualycisintegrate when placed underwater. The golden rule of buying plants forthe aquarium is that if something looks ikea houseplant, then i usually fs one! EVERYTHING YOU NEED letiaO Bahia Send your questions to Fishkeeping Answers, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, ¢ » Warners Publishing, The Maltngs, West Street, Bourne, PE1O SP Email us at questons@practicalishheeping co.ukRaa Why are my baby shrimp different sizes? {sit unusual to have two diferent batches of yellow Neocardina david shrimplets which ae different sizes? The fist batch are ‘norma’ sized while another batch from the same female contains shrimplets much smaller in comparison to their siblings. What could have caused this? VIVIANE REBELO-REIS, VIA EMAIL In theory, each batch of shrimps should be mote or less similar to the ones before an aftr, but you'e right, a certain degree of variation is sometimes seen, ‘Neacaridina devil is sexually imoephic — females are substantially larger and more intensely coloured than the males, and if fr some reason ‘ane batch of shrimplets were mostly males, and the second batch mostly females, you might well get the impression that one group was a different size to Stugies have shown that there seems to bea strong relationship betwe temperature and sex rato with Neocaridina devidi — when the Is relatively cool, at around 20 about 80% of the offspring are female; this reduces to about 50% at 23°C, and is jst 18% at 26°C So, if your tank fs unheated and is cooler in Winter and warmer in summer, you could very easly have mostly fem shrimplets produced in winter, anc ‘mostly males in surnme Ina study that reared Neacar avid ata range of stocking densities across 90 days, it was found that at 2.5 shrimps per litre the shrimps were about one-half bigger than the shrimps ‘groan at 10 shrimps perlite, so Stocking density also has an impact. This sort of experimental work is obviously important to commercial Shrimp producers who need to balance ing density against how quickly the shrimp reach a saleable size, but it might also explain what's happening in your tank. Ifyou started off with a few shrimps, they might have Produced offspring that grew up quite quickly, but asthe population increased, and presumably there was less food and oxygen available, ater batches of juveniles grew more slow is can also play a pat. While the shrimps we see for sale are nominally assigned tothe species 1 david in truth we realy kaw haw much hybridisation Is ‘going on with other Neacariaina species. Adult size is almost certainly a polygenic characteristic that there are multiple genes responsible for the potential sizeof a given shrimp under ideal circumstances, Ifthe parents are heterozygous (meaning they have various ‘bi’ and ‘small genes in thei ‘genome it fs perfectly possible for big’ adults to produce some offspring that develop into ‘smal’ shrimps. In the absence of a selection pressure, such as predation or the need to compete for females that would favour the larger adults, each subsequent generation might wel include a Fandom mixture of bigger and smaller ‘adults. You see this sort f thing with domesticated tropical fish all the time, with molles and Angelfish being two jobuious examples of fish that rarely {r0W into adults as bg as those see nthe wild, partly because theyre ienetic ‘mutts rene from large and smalier species, and partly because fish breeders are not selecting for adult size, but rather tats like colouration o fin lent Quality of dit and the use (or otherwise) of mineral supplements such as iodine and calcium can also affect the growth rate, so while possible to hypothesise what's eon fm in your tan, i's hard fo be sure exactly why you have this size issue. ABOVE: Density can affect shrimp growth, BELOW: Not all shrimps grow at the same rate. baa ec Time y a ons 4Fishkeeping Answers HEALTH Inthe past tree months, Ive lost three female crowntall Betta due to retained ‘eggs. In all thre instances, the breeding pair didn't complete the proces. In the fist, the pair got about halfway through it and suddeniy seemed to lose interes, despite the fact that initially the fermale was till ropping eggs at random. Despite efforts to re-engage the pair or stimulate her to release, she retained ‘them and the bulge around her ‘ovipostor was quite pronounced. She sickened and died within 72 hous The other two females had to be removed from particularly aggressive males after having already released at least a portion oftheir eggs. Both {females succumbed to infection within 72 hours. Al tvee of them, at some Point in their decline, discharged clumps of pus and bloody eggs. Until January, 4 never experienced anything other than what you'd expect while spawning tis notoriously _aggressive species: tom fins, bite ‘wounds, exhausted fish, They were al ‘treated and fed back up in recovery tanks and none of them die, In the cases of the females t'm writing about, I've teed aquarium salt, almond leaf extract, Epsom salt and methylene biue baths, Hydroples, anaplex, Metronidazole. | even tried Melafic and Pimafix. lam a responsible breeder witha very small operation, and I only supply 2 select, small ist of independent client. | need to beable to fx the aforementioned isve with my females should I encounter it again. Male Betta ‘can be unpredictable, and these losses ‘are all related to their behaviour, so its 2 given that an incomplete spawn will ‘cur again at some point. "'m holding off introducing my next pairs because I'm not only discouraged but alsa lite afraid — I don’t know how to handle this issue should i arise again Can anyone shed some light on this and possibly advise how to treat it? ELLIE, VIA EMAIL Dystocia(egg-binding’) Is reported in a range of fish species, including Koi, zebrafsh, and salmonids. The term has also been applied to livebearng fishes such as some sharks and rays that are experiencing problems giving bith in captivity In some cases, as you have found, it can be fata. You are obviously an experienced et co TALS) For veauriv es fishkeeper, so no doubt will be aware other incorrect environmental that, generally fa female fish fails to conditions. We might expect to see a spawn, het retained eggs will higher risk of dystocia in species that eventually become reabsorbed, ‘are reluctant to breed in captivity, and bling this valuable material to be the Kuhl laches (Pangio spp.) come efficiently recycled, and this is to1mind here: rarely do these perfectly normal. But sometimes this worrikeloaches breed inthe home does not happen and the unshed ‘over. aquarium and clearly some ‘spawning ripe’ eggs may begin to decay trigger is lacking, even if both sexes unnaturally, risking pathological ‘ate present and sexually mature damage tothe reproductive tissues, Dystociais widely reported in captive internal infections and possibly death. Zebra danios and we know that old In cases of dystocia, the afected age is risk factor for dystocia in this female may develop an abnormally species, hence zebrafish research enlarged abdomen — much larger laboratories void using old fish for than that ofa healthy female breeding purposes. with gs. You mention that your male Betta ‘Several reasons have been put are very aggressive towards the forward to explain why female fish females, 0 some of the deaths could develop dystocia, These risk factors be due, at least in pat, to physical include stress; excess bodyfat damage caused by the male. In the affecting the reproductive system _wild the females can decide when they (Ce. obesity, perhaps due to fatty want to enter the male's bubble-nest diets); small size of the female: territory in order to spawn. And they presence of heavy metals inthe can flee beyond his tettory boundary water; internal infections, such as whenever they wish. But given the mycobacterial infections that affect natural territory range of a wild Betta the tissues and organs of reproduction. i cited at around Lm, then the To this list we can add factors that average aquarium is far too small ‘may inhibit eggrelease by otherwise for the female to retreat to a safe healthy females, such as absence of distance. I's similar problem ‘sexually mature males; incorrect water withthe captive breeding of other temperature; incorect photoperiod; aggressive teritoral fishes such Cee Email us at questons@practicaishkeeping co.uk 7s. JOIN THE CLUB ining 2 sheping clubs a great way improve your rowed and make new rents, 3s wth an terest tas cut the Anabantod cation of Btain at vwownaaghorg Send your questions to Fishheeping Answers, Practical Fishkeepng Magazine, « » Warners Publishing, The Maltngs, West tree, Bourne, PELO SPas cichlids. So, you could try experimenting with a much larger or longer breeding tank, offering plenty of hiding spaces, and see if that helps. (Or maybe the fish have an internal IMycobacteria infection that’s affecting their reproductive tissues, causing problems with egg development andor egg release? I'm really guessing here, but we know that Betta seem prone to mycobacterial diseases — and ! hasten to add that this isnt necessarily due to poor husbandry ‘0 its perhaps worth considering and mignt possibly explain the expulsion of pus and blondy eggs that you describe. ‘As for treatment, this is challenging particularly as we can't be sure what's causing the problem. Hormone injections (such as carp pituitary extract) have been used to stimulate egg-release but this practice is largely confined to food-ish aquaculture. And of course ifthe eggs are deteriorating or the eg-tube is blocked, as may happen with dystocia, then hormones won't have the desired effect. A nique knawn as ‘hand stripping where the female fish is gently ‘massaged inthe bely region in @ repeated head-to-tail direction the eg, is practiced on large brood stock fish such as carp, but performing hand stripping on a relatively tiny female Betta is likely to 2 suffering, and possibly death, no matter how gently performed, so I'd strongly advise against trying it — we ‘must remind ourselves that fish can feel pain, Maybe your fst action might be to try spanning the fis ina very large tank, as suggested above. | know this isa far ey from the smaller tanks Dropsy An enlarged abe asa large intemal tur leading to abdomi a syndrome female fish, eM CMa eee TSS GeO ass ee ead released, used to commercially propagate ta, but it could be a good starting point along the road to solving he problem. don't think w + eliin he risk of dystocia in fish, Dut hopefully this might provide a few pointers in resolving the issue. men on fish may be due to a problem such if, an enlarg ‘organ; or a disease affecting the ther intemalFishkeeping Know-how _ Understanding TERRITORIES 7Living in a confined space means that fish are in each other's faces all the time. Tim Smith looks at the troublesome nature of territories. rae are famous ere HE TERRITORIAL, nature of some fish species can be the bane of the uninformed fishkeeper. "The wrong mix of fish can escalate into all-out war, leaving the losers huddled in a corner or worse yet, dead. While this behaviour is ‘woven into the inner workings of many species, itis challenge that is possible to overcome once one ‘understands the concepts behind territoriality, and why itis so {important to accommodate this behaviour propery. ‘We don't have to stretch our mines too far to think ke a fish. Humans understand teritary too well — its ‘generally frowned upon to hop a fence or eross a border without express permission, People value ‘what's on their side of the wall, ‘and will goto great lengths to keep others out “Many fis are wired a similar way. Much ike as ‘When viewed by the opposite sex, a territory is more than space. Tttakes a keen eye to find anice Tocation, and a robust and healthy body to chase off competitors. Anice territory is therefore a proxy for the fitness of the teritory holder. ‘Any fish that is unable to protects a clear boundary and keep out the undesirables wil ikely make a poor choice of mate. Ina good many cases, territories are highly visual in nature. The extremities ofthe space need to be seen, and quite importantly, be identified and remembered, ‘The area of a territory may be defined by proximity to food, shelter, (or mates, but a fish cannot be too greedy since larger territories become increasingly dificult to defend, The limits therefore are often defined by objects and underwater topography. These landmarks help the fish identify ‘and remember what to guard, and the extent to which their territory les. food supplies and Most arimals dont breeding partner, wart to expend eee renee yay shi te erties are energy justone of POEM nnccessay many resources QE 1s imporant ‘vallable toa fish ey to conserve innature. Within the bounds of a territory are salty from predation, a hhome for a mate a substrate to make a nestor ay and guard eges, and an environment conducive to the survival and reating of ‘vulnerable young, ‘The aggression associated with territoriality often shapes our perceptions about the overall ‘behaviour of a species. tis our lack of understanding ofthe nature of territories that leads to rather unfortunate incidents between our ‘pets - and this is largely avoidable. What is a territory? ‘Teritores ae a physical space, ‘usually defined by an area near the substrate but can extend upward ‘well into the water column — we are ‘working ina three-dimensional environment, ater all. Same terttoies are held year-round, while ‘others are set up seasonally to accommodate breeding activity fo resources, especially if youre spending your whole day defending a territory rather than going out and foraging, The other important aspect of being conservative is that fighting s costly, and not justin terms of energy: When it comes to blows either party becomes, vulnerable to incuring injury, Which puts them at rsk of disease, ‘weakens them against future competitor, and may make them less attractive to would-be partners. ‘To avoid a clash, most territorial species have a laundry list of actions to take before pouncing upon an intruder. Visual measures, such as dancing, lashing, or extending their gil plates and fins, can usually be perceived from a fair distance and ‘most weaker ish can determine from this point that they‘ likely lose a fight ‘Many species of fish are quite vocal about their spot and may utilize sound to announce their.) \WWAW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 43presence in a particular area without bringing themselves out into the ‘open, and without expending enengy chasing potential rivals. How often these cals are heard depends on the species. Some will only vocalize ‘when confronted witha foe while ‘others will ‘sing’ periodically to announce occupation Closer encounters follow for braver bachelors. Contending fishes will size each other up, display more enthusiastically, and even waft water at each other. Although seemingly non-threatening these are indirect ‘ways for fishes to determine just how strong their opponent may be without finding out first-hand, ‘Should al else fil, physicality ensues, Clashes don't have to last Jong to determine the victor, and are usually resolved after a brief sparring session, Real damage occurs when neither party i wiling to yield. In nature, fights usually resolve without mortal outcomes. Things may differ in aquaria, as we will soon find out Ue Who's allowed in? rere Socal sructres vary between cee fhes and not everyone and eid everything willbe cased from a boundaries. terior Part of is socal selection ~ is dependent on what is being = defended and wha the intrcer - may offeror threaten to take. For ; the most part members ofthe same 66 Contending fi species are viewed as transgressors, he: Males will readily defend against. © How do We accommodate incoming males, but may also chase them? off transgressing females that are not Researching your territorial species inseason,orif the male himself is is half the bale, the other half being not ready. This makes sense, as your practice and observation. As with ‘own species will demand the same any aquarium pet, plenty of research kinds of food, or the same sexual _should be conducted before going partners In other species the ahead with @ purchase. In this way, territorial instincts lot stronger. _ behaviours can be expected Anything wandering into the predicted, and hopefully, managed. defended zones fair game, from _Itis important to realise that you will fish to invertebrates tothe aquarists never realy ‘ame’ a territorial tending hand. species, bt rather that the situation "These rules aren't universal, For can be best manipulated to ensure ‘example, the cichlids the diverse lot minimal destruction and chaos. that they are, may have territories It canbe dificult to mimic the and family duties that can be shared__kinds of space that some species are inter-generationally asin some used to manning in nature, Some Lamprologus, orn some such as _lake-dwelling cichlids can have elvicachromis, females pick out the homesteads a few metres across best spots and lure the males in for if they play their cards right spawning playing an important role Fortunately, many aquarium species in teritory formation, ‘wil settle for fr less. 44 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGed Ee) coon ind even waft water at each other 99 Crowd Control?Fishkeeping Know-how In many cases it is best to plan a ‘minimally stocked tank from the outset. This enables the few individuals to maximize the space available to them, rather than having strong overlap and constant bates. ‘There are exceptions to this, as with Rif Valley cichlids that can not only benefit from being crowded, but become more hostile once they have ‘managed to define a territory of their own, In species where territories are established and ‘maintained in the presence of females or while in breeding season, WEEE playing around with i the sex ratio of that ‘ particular species usually yields good results. \ In such cases, a single male or indeed a single-sex often female) group may result lot less violence 45. PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING [dentiying the sex of your fish early on can help prevent unnecessary bloodshed, although some fish may start developing tenvtorial behaviours at surprisingly young age. Ths in itself can be a way in which you can sex an individual — see who is trying to dominate other fish early on, and ‘youre likely ooking ata male For other species, territory is strongly defined by space and borders regardless of ‘whether there’ someone to show off to, For these fish, youll need to ‘manipulate the environment. Out of sight, 7 _outof mind Within a given space, the effective area can be increased by increasing the complexity of the habitat. Plants, rocks, and branches help define ‘ABOVE: A typically densely stocked Afr cichlid tank. LEFT: Bonded pairs will work together against threats, RIGHT: Betta splendens uses Visual displays, before turning violent boundaries, for sure, but more ‘importantly they also break lines of sight. Mis is an incredibly useful tool in maintaining territorial species, because a fish won't take umbrage ‘with another fish that it cannot see. As explained above, many animals don't want to expend more energy than necessary chasing out undesirables. Should a chase occur, the offender being able to disappear into the environment effectively ends the bout. As far as the defending fish is concerned, the troublemaker s out of sight and out of mind, and he can retum to his post. On the contrary, an open-planned tank with crystal-clear water offers ‘no reprieve for non-dominant fish, ‘The defending individual will nearly always have visual contact with a potential intruder, and unfortunately, might never stop harassing the ‘outsider because the competitorhas few ways to bow out territory gracefully the warnings and dispa ner fish cannot leave, short of leaping from aquarium itselt Particular objects are hot property ome species. Cave spawners will demand ‘example, so be sure to provide more and crevices, for be popular be the less dominant ones will orders bet isan extra step that can help calm tensions further, g new specimens in your aquarium, now a part of an established territory, carries risks n turn out deadly. The h wil heartily defend nestead, while the new, confused fsh will be fa too panicked and lost to realize that ithas trespassed where it shouldn't furniture (and 1 of the boundary - defined the territory are either no longer te unfamiliar locations. A fish presented with this situa on creating a new territory with these new parameters, but no the same playing field as the new 0 are also ‘new’ to the area, important to avo similar-looking species with territorial types tis unlikely that a individual will tolerate this alike competitor, and may display threatening behaviours and signals thatthe other species may not understand, This can have injurious conseque on will start workin ISHKEEPING.CO UKUnderstanding the Chemistry of your coePos HARDNESS ed tg subjects to try penn Peery ced Cee ge subject seem endless and confusing inequal measure, Ree carted Ce tad chemistry and has a big effeet on Petes et! Sree ed Pee cess tend ets Putatits simplest, hardness isa ‘measure of how much dissolved rock there isin your water, Pena ete eet] fees oe ee ee ec ae lee Once ot Get mee ey softer rock that is washed away into the water, The two main rocks Ce eee es Cee ee er Beene eter cet attay ‘There isa general Southeast/ Ree ees Cee eee ee ween eters eg tse Se eer eg prensa and Cambridgeshire have extremely hard water. Assumptions should ee cd quality, ut take alook at your local See eos Ce nacce een ees peer tt or Ce een et ig a adding drops ofthe festliquid to @ jsample of watey/and counting the ynumber of drops until theres & fstinct colour change a technique ce eed eae Cece ae) eee ctr See ee eer Pees erred their muscles, and to keep their enero taney eo eae er Peeeee sett ny Pete ens Loo) a or fe a W Fl ard REL) aD A co a cr a 7 Pe erste ccalootae TyKHis a measure of the carbonates, and bicarbonates, These minerals are a crucial presence because they act a buffers and maintain a stable and healthy environment forthe ish. ‘Think of KH lke litle sponges, soaking up the acids produced in ‘your tank. Most of these acids come from different stages ofthe nitrogen cycle. As ammonia becomes nitrite it releases a hydrogen (H+) ion which, if not soaked up, will lower the pH. Nitrates atthe end of the cycle can form nitric acid and, again, need to be soaked up by the KH bulfers. For those aquarsts who use carbon dioxide (such as plant-growing aquascapers), KH buffers the tank as the carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid. That is why its crucial to ‘monitor your carbon dioxide and hhardness. The softer the water, the more careful you need to be when injecting carbon dioxide Yes, it does, Hardness and pH are linked, which usualy means thatthe pH is more acidic in soft waters and ‘more alkaline in hard waters Fish that have evolved in soft acidic water and those that have evolved in hard alkaline environments have totally different mechanisms for y ea Sag 50 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING maintaining healthy levels of minerals, such as sodium and calcium, When a hard water fish is placed into soft water it is unable to absorb sufficient minerals, and these cannot often be ingested through diet alone. Thisis why some species of Molly in soft water will develop shimmies, twitching and muscle spasms, often shortly before death. Conversely, placing a soft water fish into hard water may result in them taking up too much of one ‘mineral atthe expense of others, ‘This can lead to deficiencies and organ problems. The effects of this will show gradually over time. “There's a wide range of sh from the Amazon basin wich are idea for sot viater environments, incuding species such ¢ astetras, pecs, dwarf cichids and Conrdoras. Theiss with sof wateris that ifthe tancis WG overstocked, or the wateris not regularly changed, all the buffers will be used up. Thelittle sponges will become saturated, ‘gradually lowering the pH Eventually it drops too low for the fier bacteria to cope with and they die off Nothing will appear tobe wrong, ‘immediately because the ammonia that could kil the fish is locked ‘away as ammonium. Whilst this isnot as imminently hazardous, itis a ticking ‘bomb waiting to go off If the water is changed, there willbe an increase in the pH and, almost instantly, this causes the ammonium to retum tots state as toxic ‘ammonia, This is why some people believe that water changes are bad forthe tank. Soft water requires smaller, but ‘more frequent water changes, and the addition of buffers should be ‘considered in order to slightly raise the hardness66 Fish that have evolved in soft acidic water and those that have evolved in hard alkaline environments have totally different mechanisms for maintaining realthy levels of minerals 99 Hard Water Unless you have water so hard that it’s akin to “quid rock’ coming out of your tap, hardwater fish are almost as plentifl Fish from the Rift Lakes in Afica thrive in mineral-tich conditions. From Mbuna to shell- dwellers, and some species of ‘Synodontis, they will all benefit from the calcium levels and stable waters of a hardwater tank. ‘The aquarium staples of Guppies, Plates, Swordtails, and Molles need harder water than most fish to survive, and will often suffer in soft water Rainbows, and many of the gourami species, will do well in moderately hard to hard water. For a temperate tank, consider Rainbow shiners, Paradise fish, and if there is enough, flow Hilstream loaches. Choosing the right fish for the right ‘water simply takes some research and consideration, but there are plenty of options available ‘The only danger heres that as water evaporates only pure water leaves the tank. When you top up you add more GH and KH, and over time this makes your water harder. I youhave to top up use pure water (such as RO water) to offset the evaporation. Lowering KH and GH Reducing ftom very hard water to soft waters a more dificult task. ‘Whilst adding leaves and bog wood can slightly lower the KH and reduce the pH, this is not highly effective, especially as each water change dlutes the effect. Instead, consider using reverse osmosis water as this s stripped of all minerals and carbonates. Adding ‘buffers back into mineralise the water to the desired hardness is also Molles struggle in soft water Changing Hardness Py ‘Sometimes there is the desire to flourish in keep fish which are unsuitable for medium-hard your water Itcan be tempting to add [aaa them and wish for the best, bu its ‘unfair to have fish suffer as a result, Avoid just use pH altering products, The fish have adapted to their environment and itis necessary to consider their conditions as a whole, not just the addition of extra ons, Increasing KH and GH Increasing the hardiness is relatively easy and there are numerous products and buffers available which ‘mimic natural limestone, ‘an idea and itis also possible to mix ABOVE: Fish tap water into rebalance the skeletons rely necessary levels, on calcium Hardness may notbe the most =vailability. interesting of topics, but itis a crucial element of fish health, and for keeping your tank in good condition. tis certainly alot more satisfying to keep fish without any {issues and, by choosing the right fish and synchronising it with your water and tank conditions, things area lot less difficult, LFISHKEEPING. CO.UK 51BREEDING THE RED-BACK ANGELFISH There are angelfish and then there are gorgeous ee ee SLA te attend LOCUS the breeding and raising of a desirable cichlid. Paro a iRUE TO its name, Peerophyllum scalare “Rio Manacapuru! originates from Rio ‘Manacapuru, a confluent to Rio Amazonas in north- ‘western Brazil, about {80kan upstream from the city of ‘Manaus. While all angelfish have their fan, this particular regional variants especially desired by hobbyists — of all the scalare, its likely the most beautiful ofall, ‘Young specimens are mostly grey and not that attractive, which is. ‘unfortunate for what eventually ‘becomes an impressive fish. When offered in shops, the juveniles even look decidedly boring in comparison toall the domestic, fancy forms of, angels that are bred aeross the ‘world in huge numbers. Red:-back angels stat to grow out oftheir ‘uply duckling’ stage somewhere around six months of age, when the body becomes cobservably taller and the firs teling red blotches stat to appear on their flanks, At six months they measure around 10cm in height, and already present a more impressive shape than domesticated forms of angels, with their shorter fins and less elegant body shapes. Settling in I purchased a group of twelve, -second-generation (F2) specimens froma fiend who was breeding them at the time Wid caught fishes tend to be slightly more expensive, but since angelish reproduce vilingly hobbyists can save some ‘money by tracking down tank-bred offspring from a trusted source. “The fish were moved into a 200-itre tan (100x40xS0em), initially on their own, but later joined ‘by a pair of Sturisomatichthys festivus catfish. During the fist weeks they appeared lostin the tank, with a body height of only 3-4 cm, but they grew qucly ‘Within just one year they had attained a height of some 20cm, and with hat size came spectactlar blueish, elongated pelvic ns ‘Apairbonded and soon took over the enti lef side ofthe aquaria, Once a pirhas bonded like this the ‘other specimens shouldbe removed ffom the tan, leaving the mating pair ons own and giving them the ‘et they need "To achieve a pair its recommended tit you obtain a large group of javeries andthe young sort themselves into a compatible pair as they grow. Once a pairhas bonded the dynamic ofthe LEFT: The red back on full show. ABOVE LEFT: The Rio Manacapuru is tall fish when adut. ABOVE RIGHT: Young fish don't display much red, entire group will shift, and you'll observe that aggression soon rises. ‘Once a pair harmonises, both the ‘male and female will begin to look fora potential spawning place. This ccan be anything from the bare glass panes of the tank, a large rock, a plant, even an internal filter. ‘Inmy case spawning took place on «plant, an impressive Fchinodorus _grisebachi with leaves of almost ‘40m tall, Clean and spawn Each day the pair cleaned the leaves ever more fequenty an finally decided to spavm ater a water change of 30% with sigh cooler water The fist time they spawned Tounted a total of 120 eggs —not baal forthe frst time ofa pair of sh barely one yer old All eggs were left withthe parents and as expected they started to eat them on the second day. Young pairs rust ge wed othe caring process and get nervous very quickly — tankmates swimming oo close or too fast, or even the lights being tumed off in the evening can spook them. is recommended totum on a small light during the night, This way the shes are ntl in total darkness wen the main ights tun off and do not get nervous, > WWYW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 83wit eggs the pair became more attuned to each other, did not allow themselves to get disturbed by other th, took tums in feeding, cared for the eggs more extensively and finally both successfully led the young through the tank. ‘You can assist this learning process smewhat by covering the tank at the beginning, putting a smal light near the aquarium atnight’s and, course, by not disturbing the breeding pai The second time they spawned counted almost 300 eggs, spread over leaves, Almost all were fertilized ch successive clutch of : F \ OVE: ‘own raised fish. 54 PRACTICALF KEEPING Stages of development and both parents took particularly good care of them. I removed about two dozen to put them in a separate much smaller tank which [installed within the parents’ breeding tank to ensure consistency of water parameters, ‘The aim was to take detail pictures of the larval development and to see how morphology changes during the fist weeks Pictures were taken every second day and even if angelishes are common inthe by they still show something special66 Once a pair has bonded, the dynamic of the entire group will shift, and aggression soon rises 99 FACTFILE RED-BACK ANGELFISH ‘Scientific name: Pmpum scale Re Manocapun! (Pronunciation eri ske-leee Sie: Up Ze tal rig Rin Manacapu, Baa (atta River ith exteme} dense and usual tl under vegetation Tank sie: 10401500n ‘Water requirements: Sot nd aii shy abaine wate, 6074p 1-H emperature: 240°C (Temperament Fitch wil eat smal fish rd bee aggressive when sawing ‘Feeding: Onis, sfe plenty of ‘rsh and fraen Dap, Cos anno 2 elas aes and pelts, inclaing same with vegetable content ‘vai and cost Ted ob found in specail tres we goer los, ices stating fom £1250, Right from the beginning the larvae and later also the juvenile specimens ‘were fed with a mixture of protein Fich food; Anabaena bacteria and (Chforelia algae. The food was crushed as efficiently as possible into a fine powder, small enough for larvae that were only a few nillimetres long. Inthe first three to four weeks ‘young Angelfish change daily and appear different every time you look at them, it is great to observe them and every time I was fascinated by the growth rate ofthese cichlids, ‘how fat the fins grow and how the overall build changes. At the beginning of the fourth ‘week, you get an idea of what the {juvenile fish will become. The dorsal fin begins to markedly grovr in height and the whole appearance changes from elongated to roundish Shortly aterwards, around the 30th day aftr hatching, the frst dark colour pigments can be seen on the sides of the young fish, and a yellowish basic colouration spreads aver the whole body, The eye size continues to decrease in relation to the bod. ‘total of thre ry were found to have melted ventral isin this lute, which didnot seem to cause them any problems, but it remove them from further breeding Tes during the fst six wets thatthe ‘most interesting developments can be observed for then the fry have reached their almost final typical body shape and only change in terms of colouration and markings. @QY HPRACI CALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 85A VISUAL GUIDE TO THE SNAKEHEADS SOCAN IO ATOMS ESTA MARS LLM IEL CEA CSM IN ERNIE) but devotional following in the UK. Here's a look at some of the species SOMME RONEN URSIN MOM UMN OMe ENS ey i 56 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPINGDe en Reet ee ee rs predatory fish. They tick all the right boxes for Sere ea eye ee prowling hunting style, the shiny teeth, the gaping eemaeer tence at see eneey eee Suede er ees reckless aquarist’s fingers (highly ‘unrecommended) and they'll even launch clean es ‘They're easy fish to keep badly, but not really that ee te a ne a isto forget one of the age-old constants of tropical ON eee ae cd temperature, Plenty of snakeheads are subject to seasonal change, something that should be recreated at oe eee eee ee en ean ti Snakehead keepers will quickly attest tothe benefits of, eer ae eed Se ke some of the notable keepers adhere to infrequent water ‘changes, just a few times a year, and only then to een ete ne ee ere tanks (the heavier the better) will work wonders at Pee ee eee See ete es er ce snakeheads, then by and large you'r only keeping eS een tc eters a seasonal sift in temperature and neglect of water changing For another, snakeheads have a tendency to eat anything that fits in their mouths, and attempt the eS tay doing soit’ highly likely that they'l settle and spawn, CT tee ‘more than a few visits to snakehead keepers, they've Pee ate ett tae there's something about the ancient, hardwired parental instincts ofthe adults that can make it all worthwhile, (Oh, and you won' necessarily need a giant tank. Pee eee ety See ee re eed snakehead, Channa bleher, While a 120cm tank isn't Cee ete Cee nc fit this smaller species. But atthe other end of the scale there are those you might want to avoid altogether, Pee een sere et een name. Reaching over a metre long as adults, these are fish for the public aquarium. Shop carefully. Patt can ont ad 7TROPICAL Channa Wrtlare yrebeend ‘Scietic name: Chana args Pronunciation: Cha-nahar-us (Siz: To arn B5em ‘igi Natural oz in Chia, othe Russa, and parts of Kaa, bt ‘asia being ited ute ae ts coming quite 8 ‘sane in Nath Ame ait: Pety much ning but ning ries and steams. Prefs sow ‘and state water Tank sie: Hoge ‘Mate requirements: oats ost ain fam acid akai 60-829H hardness 4-307H Temperature 0:29°C, oss hgher ‘Temperament ravers and vet predator that tacks anything, incuting waterow ‘Feeding thing eas sh, cratacear, ids, reps, mammals ‘oAvalaity and cost: NA — tga oom inthe UX wit a pei ence Emperor swabehend “ Scienic name: Chama mares ‘Pronunciation Cha-ah mao ee oes ‘Sie: To sound 65cm hig Indo, Matas and Thalnd ‘taba Usual aes, bt ala slow maving and large rivers Tank size: il. 2cl.2m ‘Mater requirement: Vy wide trans; 60-759 hanes 2-12 Temperature: 228°C ‘Temperament Aggressive pets, best housed alr or wth ther sant ish Feeding: Lage meaty ods hoe sh ccasonal prams slhwom pe, arthwes, wars ches lst, sets may eq ‘utc fist ith vegetable or cereal “svalablty and os: Tns oboe fr specialist stores, pris stat ‘atund 4050 212m jus 58 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING Eurgh, the Northern snakehead. If mankind ever wipes itself out with ‘a nuclear holocaust, this'll be the organism that takes over the plane. ‘This fish is bulletproof, even amongst the most hardcore of fish. Itcan also survive in water just a touch above freezing, which means it could be ‘a potential invader in the UK — hence it illegal to import. ‘There was a newspaper report in the UK around a decade ago of one of these being caught by an angler in Lincolnshire. The whole thing tured out tobea hoax, and the fish a different species, bt it’s a snakehead that’s taken seriously by UK authorities. In anutshel if you ever see one on sale (and thats extremely unlikely) then callit in to DEFRA as it shouldn't be here, Just make sure that what yyou'e looking at isa Norther snakehead, and not the similar looking Blotched snakehead, Channa maculata, frst. Count the fin rays of the dorsal fin — if ithas 45 or under, it's C. maculata. 47 or more, and with these ‘markings — could well be a C. argus, ‘This one’s a bit of an oddity as snakeheads go, spending time out and about swimming around rather than lurking in the foliage. In tur, that makes it ‘one of the likelier species to investigate the top ofits tank, and if it spots a gap. itl be out. While all snakeheads require atight-fting hood on their aquariums, this one would benefit from it being weighed down, too, ‘This species is right on the cusp of being an untankable inthe home setting. A huge system will be needed, atleast six times as long as the fish itself, and twice as wide. Franky, we're into indoor pond territory with that. ‘Wherever itis, keep the water flow minimal, as the Emperor snakehead halls from slow moving rivers at best, and ponds or lakes out of preference. ‘The Emperor snakehead comes in a few colour patterns, pending where it has been collected, and can be confused with the related Great snakehead, Channa marullus — the name marullodes literally means ‘ike marilius House this fish very much alone, as is impatient of almost any tankmate, Lots of overhead cover will help to keep it little calmer too.Channa andtac ‘Ateue dwarf snakehead, and one of the more peaceful members of the fer, but til po goon a cormmurty tan. Anthng smaller than out “Scena: Gama anon 2/2rd the snakehead’s length may be at risk, bu go for some larger, active ‘een Cosa on ridter swimmers an you might getaway wih iS ‘Channa andrao comes from a region where the temperature varies greatly ‘rg On fay rom om a vamp in nates, but io Mere eee : with the seasons, dropping a low as 14°C inthe cooler winter months, and “ato Forest swap. with fs spends muchos tien buenas Upto 28°C in summer. While you dont need to replicate that to these eee et esas ‘extremes, a pronounced seasonal shift will be needed forthe sake of the ‘ansie €50000em fish fespan. Any tankmates won ike that “Mater reqirenntsSt an ac sity ale wees 6075, Either get some low output lights on the tank, or packit outwith heaps of 2 plants (and especially floating plants), Sometimes it gets sold under different emer °° names ike C sp ‘Assn of C sp Be bch. Be care not conse 3s pal ol Chama and may be i Srerer ete eon Get ea ardweyPEORY ih te real Channa lee, which is also a dwarf Feeding: Smal eat chunks cartworm, odwom, lanes, ras, russes and isin shvalaity an cost: uncommon nd nesting a psi reall, Pines fom abu £35 upwards, PI Fe Te AAT RASS Baron jrabehend “Selene nane: Gann aca Say ‘Channa bare’ toa snakehead aficionado and watch their eyes ‘Prana: C-ah bcka ‘loss over with distant, unsatiated longing, This is the fish fr the commited “Sue-Feaps ts ten Channa collector. ‘ig nase bess andapled pists Tre iy rarein the industry and its rare inthe wd ence the sean se leet py stupendous price attached to it But, emblazoned with electric blues and ‘Sine 518.20 looking ike ifs been painstakingly fringed in gold leaf, you can understand ‘Mater reirenets: Stace sity alan wat, 60-789, the appeal 2208 Given that thisis another species that will thrive when given seasonal Temperature 12-2870 temperature changes, and given the cost and scarcity, this is a ish that, Temperament Kes oly as pat ey aggressive intrudes, ven when should be left to the experienced keepers. There's a risk with keeping more ho ana single par of Barca snakehea will turn on " Feeting are meaty ots lef oxasional rans sikwarm than a single par of Haves i Sa ee en once pupae, earthworms, wanvoms, crits, lusts Insects may require got They thrive on familiarity, and apparently even moving their tank’s lating frst wth vette cel ‘decoration around can lead to toddler levels of sulking and tantrums. “oval an ces Oitragsus a, we seentem nrecertines For those with a more realistic budget, you can acquire the similar looking wth tas etna £500 and £250 ‘and more readily available Golden cobra snakehead, Channa awrantimaculat, for around £100 each > \WWYWPRACTICALFISHKEEPING CO.UK 59