——Eeeett—E FRESHWATER - eae aa Sse IZ ron oe: aa N THE WORLD'S AQUARIUM MAGAZINE SINCL Ne www.tfhmagazine.com INVERTS a PAST Se Nee TSO , econ (Cons 39302! oll gee50 Years of Oe AQUA-PLANT” inert era es rg ceri RBI Tell Bidge Water ty ite aL naaiyfeng ass Keeps Plants Down . a 4 v i DOUBT Eka z Peau INTRODUCING, THE REPTILIAN Unique Torrie Propucrs RENAISSANCE HAS BEGUN! ~ 7 Turtle Topper* VIVARIUMS & TERRARIUMS - DESIGNED FOR THE SERIOUS HERPER yen ith Youre ~ From the Editor Contributors Letters to the Estitor ter Saltwater Qa ‘Aquatic Ptant of the Month Marine Invert of the Month Fish of the Month Meeting Place Index to AdvertisersFrom the Editor Controversy ‘once had an interesting—if futile—debate with someone who claimed that my point ‘of view on a topic was controversial, while his wasnt. The majority sees the majority ‘opinion as noncontroversial, even though controversy can only exist as a dichotomy. As, journalists and scientists, we at TFH feel itis important to bring you both (or all) sides of controversy; much more often than peaple care to admit, the best solutions to problems are ‘compromises, and time spent trying t convince your opponents can often be better invested in listening to them. In fact, sometimes the difference between contradiction and agreement maga ‘* equally true in the aquarium hobby ‘Aquarists tend to be conservation minded, and they are rightfully concerned about damage aiady icra tec ecu tad asa Herne "Aguern won poi ers pis one Sool same people are in favor of captive breeding in atlantic Cty, New ae programs for marine ornamentals, and they are often proponents of bans ‘on wild collecting. So, where's the controversy in that? Well, this month we hhave a theme—or at least a subtheme—of controversy and bucking tradition that is made most explicit in an article by Michael Goumas (p. 84). He makes a case in favor of captive propagation but against a ban on wild collection. This controversial idea—opposed by the controversial idea that stopping all the NJ Roofers Clb, September 35-21 TFH will be there, so be sure to stop 6) ur Booth and see what's going on with your favorite aquarium magazine—and if you are reading this isu at MACNA XXI, having received a free copy in your wild collection will save the reef—argues that the salvation of the reef lies in creating a sufficient market for sustainably harvested livestock so that the people who own coral reefs will conserve them as a valuable resource. Many aquarium hobby controversies involve long-established ideas that are challenged by modern thinking. Currently the reef hobby is ina transition phase concerning balancing feeding and dissolved nutrients. Ten or fifteen years ago, ‘many reefers bragged that they never or almost never fed their systems; the ‘opposing view that corals need heavy feeding has slowly gained proponents, and we have an article by Mike Maddox explaining why Its a very good Idea (p. 108). A mini controversy is also raised by Colin Dunlop's article this month— while some aquarists believe only fish and perhaps invertebrates are suitable specimens for their tanks, many enjoy all types of aquatic animals. He comes clown firmly on the Yes! side of any debate over including other vertebrates with registration bag, we hape you anjoy it MACNA ana TPH share mony ge and commitments, especialy In he area of bringing the Bost, mett rable, and latost. inflermationto hobbyists, MACNA Is alvaye 1 great show wth the newest technology, ‘expert speakers, and plenty of like minded People with 8” postion for marine fish lind invertebrates H you're reading ths in-Atlantie Cy at MACNA Xx, youre Undoubtedly going to be quite busy ths weekend, £0 f you don’ get 2 chance to Tad the aie agate kerr a Srjay i with our compliments. We thin eT ana utes tea ‘quarim aficionede? his overview of the fully aquatic clawed frogs in the genus Silurana (p. 80). And fon the topic of non-fish in the aquarium, though few people will take issue with what Ja es Fatherree says in is feature article this month, the topic itself presents a contradiction: invertebrates for the fish-only marine aquarium (p. 96) Kicking off our lineup as usual is an article on the Nature Aquarium planted-tank layout method by Mr. Takashi Amano (p. 62) that shouldn't be very controversial, but he does tackle a difficult topic: how to maintain those lawn-like foreground plantings that are so easily destroyed by the plants’ normal growth. And of course the rest of our lineup this month is as varied as the aquarium hobby itself, including Bill Rosser’ look at the hardy, beautiful, but notoriously invertchungry harlequin tuskfish and the types of aquaria itis suitable for (p. 90), veteran reefer Bob Goemans's exposé on innocent-looking damsels that will wreak havoc on the peaceful marine aquarium (p. 102) the intrepid Heiko Blcher's account of his fish-collecting adventures in a remote area of the Amazon where no outsiders dared tread before (p. 68), and much, rauch more! You can always count on TEH to bring you new ideas as well as venerable advice, and we rely on controversial topics to provide a forum for both. This issue of the magazine raises a lot of questions and provides some very reasonable answers, and wwe hope it promotes much thought and discussion. Enjoy! oud) David Boruchowitz Editor in-Chiet Tropical Fish Hobbyist NL 6 vwwwfhmagazine.com October 2009aaOyA aN IaKN Olt 1a vaye | Le Ce Dane a Watercress <— FRESHWATER community Freshwater Frenzy™ CEM For all freshwater community fish Ce Sams CC MISMO CRee} Freshwater Frenzy ™ is a Natural Formulated Diet™ that contains whole brine shrimp, ‘bloodworms, cyclops & daphnia. Available in 30 ct & 36 ct mini-Cubes. Replaces Cichlid DMM oa ae oa Ben Ua ae SR LyContributors. Every month Troplcal Fish Hobbyist draws upon an International talent pool of fshkeeping experts In order reliable, up-to-date, and interesting articles and advice for their own aquarium suecess. Heres look at some of this month’ experts. This Month's Feature Authors ‘Takashi: Amano sox toni 1954 in ign ur eas expe hee gs Seth Aras Aes lpn a re ate ses ding ae 2108 ‘ocd nas pses nee edt he OS Wary Lire Wong Sean ft lat Tol Hs saad pl ‘shy ands pa uo is via he agape anced Nae arash ‘nbs His xsi ceri he er ase a sng rc ofhenay vert rhe won ray aed a ‘san ioc sahed maBoks ad D eaee “aes Am nL no sens rena C1, Heiko Bleher ws be 8 ber 888 Shears fg Fer alr inaoinkimale rates expen tng Heo ons pad eke, ‘pedo atthe ur When he was ve ‘Sel hin mn hi sings onan mason shone th sed Ing wah press ‘rh nib ert ee Hoo keds soa ik nd hv expron sncicion ‘ehcp thn ian lel ne ramet Tate Soc be sb bed i my eect he sued realty wal en in aco ‘speak llt He ori inarik an ns he Inbar an ay he abou ara cy Colin Dunlop avr sss fbi 2 nu gr So! a won PE) vine eats sears Cpe pce ‘ge kiana bert be slemlhtnin haber ‘Seti ae aac eel grtsdnatnendictra ietinentecser ‘eye ney ci poppin eamahlygrantbarbde James Fathertee snl tat Swe nore Hike Cammy Cg Tap ri He fbn ¢ mo ‘xm intineranot 2 es sag fear denon pe ot APE secre mais vl seme ine Mee iy hes bx wee red fs nse 0 tp isco isle of a agen, cri 1 yan an eke phn art cb tei and nee Yor mie rm ou 88 posal weet raheem ‘Bob Goer ahi ty rere 30 yore ered siyorgdiiadial isn eieraprts 1550 An ely ena mee he in gusto wr ebm he i es ‘he ated Strom and ee ured Dug as os Bb es ee pcs ‘ri aaa Gor th Sah Ch 0 Cotta Ant iilathreartagurats ha ‘on nde ar genet hn gpenig ek Sapopains. iceos am sic MS PSK, “len nl ceo TV Cre eg Tas, Men oes Dn mons Mange and era vicar crabing eres Michad Goumas te: ts apr lyfe ysis wal nde pty ‘ae oyeay wan et tue Fee innaghgpeaisunaiegirhesiarldy a deri ele dota nde ong sd til ahah Upn ing om m ess a ‘Shari Horowitz gastos aye {Rag Sar Uy ew ou ‘creda Shr by he ni Re R Stow: Wie ge can wba tmewthendebdetrlotiabegeis i beEat Gentle Utes tiebarpogt ace apis Sea nmlalastah stele ‘long eGeatuner Rae (Quad tlh rst lt Rigs Sen ‘lathe ing asda enn teppei, Ere neff eye Shanti ‘rete nesiptasintern Levine (soe Poke forest Cae ey Hehe mart foro years sci mt el the rg ed depen rte ony fulichame uranineasiciernnes a gaan dps ‘sengeces inti esearch Aen cee Aen ALA ome ‘sarin genial aration aa gare soy cing. Ry cia emer th ALA an sr ‘se wii eo apa Lice Av bbe oe edd aso atl mint he of gon Sal ld of can il an Ue deo ica fin be His we Xs Ovi ‘ods cpa isan we begin (ecibeginesandahaeed yas Mike: Madd i iy so ante us as ne np neta sara ce ae coos Cpe Me Sais ornare sem the ‘lec apevtns pve wt que Weak pet ste Ov fist 5 em Mie tatep ony ate pecsin yet yes ag, seks wo i He a vied atk sso al ly deg aa ad lig, ‘edged ck a hy be il ae xr ga xis tng popes pie ‘cmc ope ar en ato sha Inlet Be Cape gue gt ‘ap agusscomandh combi aco ‘semi Bill Rosser sd nthe spi lndesry 15 yrs pt the bctpmen soca ase, ton Ra unaog se tha po eal pet) ‘eins Otley ebb Hees Fegan tpl ie lessngoncosrork ghee yma flare peas Rg Sou Cotas ed saa spain ga ed yl ng sae lire ses st, ‘Spica wel = agar mance br held comely aed dys a esate Yo, (cuomad Matereentangesiacie ‘woenetfhmagasine.com to bring our readers the most Columns & Departments uso ‘Genidophies| oR si Nestea (October 2009Letters to the Editor Do Fish Get Bored? Ik is very relaxing for us to watch our fish as they peacefully swim in their tank, and it can be a great stress reliever. But lately 1 have been wondering what life would be like on the other side of the glass, Do fish ever get bored? In our home tanks they have no predators 10 avoid, th tankmates might be outside what is found in nature, and the decor is nothing like what they might find in their native waters. Although fish as pets cannot be compared to dogs or cats, I have been surprised a few times by their intelligence. AAre there different ways to engage fish in activity or play? I would be eager to hear any thoughts on. this subject, oF any ideas about fish “games,” What could ‘a person do to liven up their lives? Erin M. Lees ia TFH Forum What you ask about is termed “enrichment,” and itis a very important part of animal husbandry. It is not the same thing as recreating as natural an environment as possible, ‘though that can certainly be one approach. Of paramount {importance is realizing that, from an animals point of view, things can look very differen fiom what we see. The topic of decor can illustrate this well. We sce driftwood and plants as natural, and PVC pipe sections and nylon mops as artificial Fish, however, appear to see these things In terms of size shape, texture, and potential use. How do we know? Well, they behave toward, in, and around these objects without discrimination or hesitation. Plant spawners spawn just as readily on a nylon map, and cave dwellers take to PVC pipe ‘with no apparent trepidation. In fact, fsh in mature often tale up residence in concrete blacks, soa cans, old tres, and other junk, thus demonstrating their lack of preference for “natural” objects Fish inelligence? There are many stories about this. 1 once hal 100-gallon Tanganyikan cichlid anke horribly overgrown with black beard algae. 1 introduced two Oreochromis ‘mossambleus 10 clean it up. When they hadl done thelr job, 1 Jed the tanks and scooped one of them up with a net. After tha ‘the other tilapia would run and hide among the racks as soon as It saw me Ufc the top. T waited a week and tried again. No luck. The fish simply would not come out ifT as standing at the tank. Psychologists call this one-triat learning, but I had «few other names for it. Not to be outsmarted by a cichlid, 1 drained the tank all the way down and scooped the fish out of « puddle behind a rock, ‘As for fish boredom, i¢ is clear that many fish, iypically drut not exclusively large predatory species, demonstrate the types of imtelligent behaviors that are associated with minds that can become bored. Fish can recognize their keepers, learn tricks, hold grudges, master complex mazes, adopt a feeder ‘goldfish as a “pet,” and play with toys, Large clchlids are especialy likely o play, particulary if kept alone. (Fish kept with ther fish interrelate with thei tankemates on a constant basis, presumably lavgely keeping boredom at bay that way.) In addition to che rocks, gravel, driftwood, plants, heaters, and filter tubes you place in an aquarium, such specimens will gladly accept items like plastic plants, golf or ping-pong bulls, plastic pipe fiuings, and any other abjects they can ‘manipulate, ches; toss, or otherwise interact with. You are quite righ that the lack of predation in an aquarium is a significant factor. In the wild, play among adulé animals is ‘mast often seen in species that have leisure time: rabbits don, skunks do. Small schooling fish spend most of their frantic, short lives avoiding if not actually escaping from predators. In captivity, however, even these animals can afford to let down their guard and play. But i is a very rare wild animal that is never a target of some predator, so even those species that reside high up the food chain will find capeivty to be wwelcomely serene in comparison. Aquatisis who wish to envich the live oftheir pets can take either approach—providing as natural a biotope as possible so the fish can exercise all the behaviors they demonstrate in the wild, or providing novel challenges and opportunities so thatthe fish can apply their natural behaviors in new—and hopefully inceresting—ways Erratum ‘Our resident cichlbophile Wayne Lebel pointed out an ero of Mr Rui July 2009 TPH als “Cree Eichds shown t he fly see not csr, Bat rater Cotes a reat ih rom anode specs complex. The Obsereatons fie advee forthe Iuabadry ofthe Gah depicted Io ue ace retain val albu fr : pas ater than for. sip Tish 10 ‘Wayne and the obsrant readers who cole sto pont he mseifeton. the identifetion of Jose Mara Ci ue ih tha were he subject ma An hpnosiaaton of ks Waikenser and epredions Te tors Tioplcal Fish Hobbyist EMAIL by email 4 secoun mes ar bc rah Probably the be cnabhe if you're wing for ome purpose other thay submiting 2 que ticle, for example, fel fee to tap on the glass and wowwafhmagazine.comFreshwater GOTA QUESTION? Send your questions concerning. the Jreshwdter side of the aguartum hobby to "QGA” We cant promise to personally achwowledge or answerevery question, but each ‘month thos inguris covering topes of general Interest oF unusual subjects willbe answered in {is column, Adress your questions 10 “QE, EH, Publications, PO. Bax 427, Neptne, NJ 07754, or submit via e-mail 10 edtotf.com. 10 Grocery vs. Pet Store Shrimp Thave a 110-gallon tank with ight piranhas that 1 have had for a year. The piranhas are given both live and frozen food to eat. They have a steady supply of faney guppies that live and breed in the tank. 1 was Feeding them krill, but it got to be very messy and the krill was too small. Everything 1 have read says to feed them shrimp, but they dont say what kind, so I started to feed them shrimp from the grocery store. Then the ammonia level stared going up. [ran into this problem a few years ago when 1 had eleven pitankas for eight years and was able o breed them in the tank. But when I fed them shrimp from the grocery, the ammonia soared alter a while, even afer doing weekly water changes, and they all died T have always been very careful with the chemistry of my tanks, especially after that episode. | have since stopped ‘with the grocery-bought shrimp and have begun feeding pet-store shrimp every other day. I did a couple of water changes, and the water is getting better. Is there a difference between the grocery-store and pet-store shrimp? T cant think of any reason that ‘shrimp purchased from a grocery store would be any more likely fo cause an ammonia spike in ‘your aquarium than shrimp purchased from 4 pet store would—unless, for some reason, the piranhas prefer the taste of the pet-store swwsegfhimagazine.com simp (he grocery shvimp isnt cooked, is 12) and are inclined to leave pieces of the grocery shrimp lying around and decomposing inthe tank, Whatever te origin ofthe shrimp, ‘you shouldnt experience an ammonia spike provided you're not overjeeding (Le, you observe the piranhas consuming all of the Pieces within a few minutes) and bits of shrimp arent drifting into hidden nooks and decomposing. However, ifthe ammonia problem scems t0 abate when you switch to pet-store shrimp, Td recommend sticking with ‘what works. ‘Tm wondering, though, if the problem is stemming more from your stocking level than {from the source of shrimp you've been feeding. You didnt mention which specles of plramha you have in the tank, but assuming they are red-bellied piranhas Pygocentrus.nattereri {probably the mast commonly sold piranha species), your tank is just abit smal for cight ‘adult specimens and a breeding. population ‘of guppies. This species needs at least 20 gallons of water per specimen, which means eight specimens would need a minimum of 160 gallons. Wigh such a Large population of fish it could very wel be that your bifilter is hare keeping pace wih their waste products and, from time t0 time, gets overwhelmed by move ammonia than it can convert, You ‘might consider cuting back the population of piranhas in your tank to five or six to give your bioiter a greater margin of err Increasing the amount and feguency of your ‘water changes will also help African Knifefish and Needlefish Hil Lama 13-year-old hobbyist, and I'm getting a 55-gallon tank (October 2009from my friend, | would like to stock it with, few fish in addition to the ones he already has in the tank, including a foo-long pleco (Gpecies unknown), a giant danio, a neon tea, and about 30 moles. I was thinking ‘of getting something to eat the juvenile mollies so the molly population would rot grow any more, The fish 1 want are aan African knifefish and a needlefish. Any guidance on whether or not T can keep these two fish in my 55-gallon is hugely appreciated. Avery Dart via email Assuming the African FW Fiffish youre considering is A Xcnomystus nigri, you could L safely house one specimen in a 5S-gallon tank. Ifthe needles you have in mind is, as I suspect, Xenentodon cancila T would discourage trying to keep an adult ‘of this species in anything smaller than a 100-gallon cank (ie cam reach 16 inches tn the wild) or with any fish small enough to be ‘eaten—in other words, all he fish y ‘gave you with the exception ofthe pleco. Not to mention, this species has @ reputation for being rather delicate, jumpy, and nippy (ves, it will use those impressive tecth to bite the hhand that feeds 0. The Affican leifefish X. nigel, which tops ‘out at about « foot in lengeh, will eat very small fish, so juvenile mollis and that one neon tetra would definitely be on the menu, but tts nacural diet consists predominately of rien worms, crustaceans, insects, and snails, so this species will usually coexist with peaceful fishes too large to be swallowed. It generally ‘wont tolerate others ofits own kind once it reaches adulthood, however Live foods are ‘often needed t0 initiate a feeding response from this species, but it should learn to accept non-living (fresh or frozen) meaty foods in time But before you add any more fish, you should consider which, if any, of the existing fish you want to keep. I mention this because the Stocking scheme you inherited isnot ideal Both neon tetras and giant danios really need tobe kept in schools of at least five or sis, not singly. So, you decide to keep one or both of these fishes, you really should consider increasing their numbers, Of course, if you do decide to add a knifefish, those litle neons would probably just become lunch. On the ‘other hand, a small school of adult-sized ‘slant danios, which can reach 6 inches, should get along fine with a knifefish Tiopleal Fish Hobbyist Also ep in mind that molles are best with special water conditions that are not ‘appropriate for your danio, tetra, or pleco nor for an African knifefish, for that matter So, if you really want ¢o keep the mollies, you should create conditions that are suitabl for them and either Ieave out the other specimens ‘or set up another tank just forthe mollics ij and FMD i. tim a year ota boy I. oo Mickey: Mouse places tm wonder female because tm hoping to breed them, I went online, but I really di find any how 10 tell a male from a vwowwafhmagazine.com Information. By the way, I love TFH. It always gives me good information. Omid Hessaraki Carmel, Indiana | 185 great to see that so many young. people are getting imo the aquarium hobby these days! telling male and female plates apart is really quite easy—at Teast once they're mature enough to breed Just look at each specimen’ anal fin, which is located on the wnderside of the fish’ bod, Fortunately just in front of the caudal peduncle (the base of the tail fin). On females, the anal fin Is somewhat rounded. But on mates, the anal fin inSe Cre ce rye-Lt-ag Beth Bruen * Article discussions Set Crit Bae Oa et ete ei eR ER fs modified into a special tube-shaped organ called « gonopodium, This organ is used to fertilize the female internally. You can look for this same feature if you want to identify males and femaies of other popular livebearers, such as guppies, swordails, and moles, Tm setting up my first freshwater aquarium after keeping saltwater tanks for about 10 years Whenes x Ive set up a saltwater tank, Tye always relied on live rock 10 cycle the tank, but fm at a loss for exactly how to cycle a freshwater tank since there is nothing analogous to live rock in the freshwater side of the hobby fof mine recommended that I add some feeder goldfish to the tank until it cycles A friend and then remove them when Tm ready to add tropicals. Is that the most common practice? Caroline Milsap via email Fm not a fan of using goldfish to yee freshivater tanks— just as Tm not fond of usi damselfish (0 cycle marine tanks. In addtion to subjecting the goldfish ro unhealthy levels of ammonia and nitrite, the sh themselves may very well introduce woewafhmagazine.com which could plague your future livestock Besides, you're then stuck having (0 figure out what to do with the goldfish Tye always found that feeding a freshwater tank—i.e,, adding small amounts of fish food and allowing it to decompose, thereby ig the ood way to go. Adding several na and ick-stari releasing amy eyelets a scoops of gravel or some filter media from a mature (and disease-free) aquarium will also help che process along. Testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in a freshwater tank should progress just as 1. And, of course, once le is tentatively established, is vital :0 proceed » ig very gradually, adding ‘ane or two fish ata time and allowing a week iu does with saliwa stock or soto pass between additions Thave pair of Jack Dempseys, and I'm wondering if it okay to feed them crickets. My wife thinks this i a bad idea because crickets are terrestrial insects, but I've heard that a lot of cichlid keepers regularly feed crickets to th fish. 1 keep a variety of reptiles and always. have a supply. of store-hought crickets fon hand, so there should be no problem with introducing any pesticides or other chemicals with the crickets. Jerry Nye North Miami Beach, Florida October 2009‘mynen heavy rains wash nse pet-supplies store and dump the crickets into as they are low in nutritional nt. First, et or vegetables, aswell as som nl Altermatvely, you e ax that p into the water, cichlids such as the Jack Demps Rocio oetofascata wll gobble them up in the wilt In mind that heavy rains terrestrial in bodies of wate re they are feasted w in’ treat them food, mind you, but they can certainly as eens Tiopleal Fish Hobbyist Gary Taylor St. Joseph, Mi A a regular practic lng ther nutri reptile guild your crickets b mention what dh Joads b rms look like and whether u're seeing mn the fish, d when feeding Doni come right home fm the in the subst ‘ghmagazine.comthe aquariums, so its difficult to provide a specific recommendation However, since the most common worm problem freshwater aquarists ‘encounter is an outbreak of planaria, or flatworms (uiny white or Drown hair-like worms crawling all over the place) 11 assume thats what you're dealing with and answer accordingly Planaria are commonly present in aquariums in small numbers ‘and are not harmful to fish in any way, but their appearance in large numbers indicates that you've either overfeeding your fish or not vacuuming your substrate fequently enough, asthe population of these worms can really explode when there Isa lot of wneaten food or other ‘organic matter lying. around for the worms to feast on. The solution to the problem is not found in a chemical. Rather, you need to deprive the planaria of a food source by thoroughty vacuuming the substrate in cach tank to eliminate any pockets of decomposing food and other debris, You may need to vacuum the gravel every day over the course of several days in order to bring the population under contr Also, you may nced to cut hack on the amount you're feeding the fish Offer no more than what they can consume in a few minutes, and be stre o net or siphon out any uncaten food promptly ab ) First, ler me say thank you for putting out such an J svesome magazine! Can you tell me how to take care A. of 4 freshwater crab called the red-clawed mangrove ‘erab? IF It helps, I asked my dealer what the crab scientific name is, and he told me its Perisesarma biden. Alexa DeBrow Charlotte, North Carolina Stop ease Growth ena er Poni in erat See aera ean) Nee ET) 4 wormafhmagazinecom Thanks 50 much for the compliment. Yes, it 18 very MA i:vint trae you's provided te crabs scientific name BBB :rsesxrmabidens, one of various species sold asthe red BB. cievcd mangrove crab i no ruly a freshwater species, though i is often sold as such. This cra is found in brackish water so inorder to keep i in good health in capi, it will he necessary to adda quality synthetic sea salt mix to your tap water to achieve a specific gravity of approximately 1.05. In all ielihood, your dealer Iecps these crabs in fresh water, which means i wil be necessary (0 acclimate the specimen very gradually to brackish conditions. P. bidens is an excellent candidate for « paludarium because, in addition to brackish water, it neds acces toa dry tand area Creating a separate sandy area is ideal, but other options include building a rock pile that extends above the water surface or positioning a large piece of driftwood or bogwood so that one eis submerged and the other protrudes out ofthe water: Virtually any solid structure that allows che {rab co limb out ofthe water and ino the open air should work fn. A good water temperature range for this species ts 75° to 85°F and the pit should fall somevshere between the mid 7s and mid 8 Frequent water changes will be necessary because these crabs are lite mess makers P. biden i omnivorous and will accep a wide variety of foo items, such as mysid shrimp, bloodworms, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, ‘varios fresh veggtes, and probably just about any other aquart fare {YU might want 0 experimen with Oh, and one more vital piece of information: P, bidens is an airline tubing to lamer out of a an, 50a ight fing tank cove isa necessity if you plan co keep this species. accomplished escape artist that can even uti Changes? \ Too Many Water Can fish become stressed if you do water changes too MF cequently? 1 do weekly water changes in my 29-gallon B freshwarer community tank, and during each change the fish seem to get very agitated and go into hiding. T want to keep ‘my tank looking beautiful and to provide the best possible water duality for my fish, but I dont want to stress them to the point of getting sick in the process. Bernadine Holly Y each water change you do involves «lot of disruptive ‘activities, such as vacuuming the substrate, scraping the A class, rearranging tank decor and plants, and changing A ow a large volume of water, then I would say itis possible to stress your fish with overly frequent water changes. Space out ‘maintenance activities so you're not doing them all on the same day and driving your fish to distraction. The other way in which water changes can stress fish is if conditions in the tanke cause the water chemistry to change considerably between changes. This is because the replacement water is considerably different from what the fish are used to, Of course, 1 assume you are treating the water to remove ‘any chlorine or chloramines. You should make sure your replacement water is identical to your aquarium water in terms of temperature, pH, and other parametcrs so you dont shock the fish with each influx of clean water. If your tap water difers considerably, make several small changes a few days apart, then large changes on a regular basis to Ieep the tank conditions from degrading between changes. Remember, «stable aquarium is a healthy aquarium! \ y = (October 2009BERT BED UENE HAMMOCK + Anatural leaf halnmack for your Betta to rest on, * Allows your Betta to rest near the surtace : “+ A natural looking flaating log for your pet ae ts ey So in eotare, P Betta to sleep, play breed, feed or blow a ‘Train your Betta to go onto the leat at small mierar suspended with floating ball, bbubblenest in feeding time! then your Betta sees his reflection he will + Comes with top “feeding hole” a ee ‘+ Make your Betta happy! Helps relieve ‘ Watch your Betta perform natural behaviors. boredom from captivity. + Patent pending-exctusive Zoo Med item, ‘Patent pending-exclusive Zoo Med item. =loves bubble-eye goldfish, and I would like to give him one at his "upeoming birthday party: What is the best way to do this? Pi thinking of stopping by the pet store on my way to his party to buy the fish and a small aquarium and filter for it, The goldfish wont be in the bag much longer than an hour before its time to open presents, Will that be too long? Do you have any other suggestions? Tara Novinsky White Plains, New York j I would not recommend giving a live goldfish to your nephew Bon his birthday, especially in WR smait tank. Fancy goldfish should have between 10 and 20 gallons to live in per fish. In addition, before an ‘aquarium can support any fish, iemust have «a chance to cyele—that is, the beneficial bacteria that break down deadly ammonia arenas sts SR Leoe eats Bieetee tls jarden Ponds Sn 410-761-1113 Housed’ Peon ene CS 16 gore UB ole least Ty * (from the fish's waste, decomposing food, ec) imo less harmyal compounds must be given time and the proper conditions to get established. Simply filling a new aquarium with water and plopping ina goldfish Is @ recipe for disaster (Le, the almost certain death ofthe goldfish. ‘Also, every pei, even a humble golsh, brings with i¢-a lot of responsibilities. In this cas, that means daily feeding frequent partial water changes, regular’ monitoring of water parameters, and so on. 18 a long term commitment that should not be entered int lighly, and a pet goldfish sn Tike other birthday gifs tha can be set aside and ignored ‘once the reeiplent gets bored with them Thats not 0 say tht you shouldnt nurture your nephews interes in bubble-eye golfish {or that you shouldnt ultimately Duy one or him, But rather than give him « ive godish ‘on his birthday; why’ not give him a book on goldfish care and, perhaps, the aquarium, fier, and other equipment (assuming his parents are on hoard with the idea), along with a gift certificate for the fish so that he arin, TPR avd Rs rreyreet tes successfull ey at reasonable prices! wwrmafhimagazinecom Iknows he will eventually receive the fish once hhe has prepared a proper home for it. As a nice bonding experience, the wo of you could work side by side to get the tank established Then, once the system is cycled, maybe you ‘ould go together to the pet store to pick out «a goldfish SF | 2 preparing to move my SSBB. three comet goldfish from a 20-gallon tank to a 55-gallon tank so they hhave more room to thrive. Is there a way to make the transfer without losing my biological filter inthe process, or will | have to bite the bullet and wait out the cycling process in the new tank? If possible, | would prefer t@ move the goldfish right away since the new tank has to go in the ‘same location as the old one Jude Brandewie via email BBA vou should be able 10 move bc significant population of BAMA itrifving bacteria from one BB ess io the other and then add the goldfish right away. To do so, you'l need to quickly transfer the gravel from your old ‘aquarium as well as the mechanical filter ‘and media you've been using, and even 44 good amount of the water. Since you're raving the fish to a much larger tank, youl no doubt need much more gravel than what 1s currently contained in your 20-gallon, 1 ‘would therefore add a layer of new gravel first and then top it off with the old stuff Youre also going 0 need 10 upgrade your {filecation system, so 1 would plan to run the old and new filters in tandem for a while until the cycle gets fully established. Also, remember to only partially fill the new tank with water at first soit can accommodate the water from your old ean, Keep in mind that you will lose a certain percentage of your nitrifying bacterta during the transfer, even if i is carried out swiftly ‘and efficiently. So, you'll want to test for ‘ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate diligently uid ‘youre confident that the new tank is fully eyeled. Have replacement water prepared ‘ahead of me in case you detect ammonia or nitrite and need to perform water changes to bring these compounds down to safe levels. T would also avoid feeding the goldfish for several days after the transfer so the biofilter doesnt get overtaxed before Wt has a chance to rebound. October 2009