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    © All Rights Reserved
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    82 views132 pages

    English - Tropical Fish Hobbyist.05.2009

    Uploaded by

    laeucigasul
    English.tropical Fish Hobbyist.05.2009

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    SR SEINE ase PLANTS - PONDS - PAN MM eys TS Td | LSIAGEOH 4m Le L THE rrniist ) CT MAGAZINE SINCE oy yy ete com SEADRAGON.. . ata mn rss ae ruc! Angé ding ONE Dear) ee) OMEGA ONE RODUCES A NEW LINE OF JPER FISH FOODS! ine consists of Omega One's best fish foods, made even better! Each Super Food is made with more color enhancing ingredients so_ that your fish may thrive brilliantly. In addition, these super sinking pellets are made _ with generous portions of fresh Alaskan seafood and kelp for the unsurpassed nutrition and palatability that we have become famous for. he World” (EGE THE INGREDIENTS Made in the USA American Owned PB Semre) ee cally et Lh haat a 18 8) Cet a feg Lhe ek P.O. Box 1265 Sitka, AK 99835 — www.omegasea.net Top 3 reasons Purigen should be in your filter BT (-vol LN Ce Ue tion resin on the market. No other products can ee ee ge ey Sree ae ie a eat Pee es ee Ce eee eee ne ene Ce ee ae ‘other contaminants, Purigen™ has barely begun ee ee Met Mare ca ety simple elemental compounds, having an extreme Sa ec a Re aa ee Te um is waste. Fish, corals, even plants produce ni- Ree a eo) eee eee nee ee Capacity een ee ee ‘market are purely spherical extruded beads. These beads remain smooth even under a micro- scope. Purigen" is both spherical and macroretic: Gee nea) Pee ue a et Cee Regeneration ee cry Ree eee nen ee co) PS eee (Once it is exhausted, it can be regenerated with a Rte ee ee etm ee) Cee ecg ee ea) to be regenerable with a brine solution. That is the eee eee ec Cee ae ues Re Mee eC ae Pee ee ce cine! only replaces removed ionic compounds. It does Cee eat ne Ce ee a age Ud Perera et Purigen| Polish water to unparalleled clarity eee Esmee eet) Cie cucu ence aM elie BOR er Mone meee Ulery Re Eu aoe Dey Bemclesec Gee ace eee so} Rear let) ome uC) 3 @ marine and freshwater Deny Cee ee ee eee eR ey for framing, et, s reproduced in fa . , PAW Our 57th Year ¢ Volume LVII ¢ Number 9 ¢ #638 62' Biiwoed and colette pants inthe Nature Aquarium i Takashi Amano Gs xiunish ofthe Se Nothobranchius: ‘An Introduction Brian R. Watters 74 Back to Ghana: Searching for Pronothobranchius kiyawensis Tany Pinto SO Killifish in Trees? Mike Hellweg ‘8&6 Breeding Killifish in a Permanent Setup David Suffia 90 Dreaming of Dragons Bob Goemans 4 All Herbivores Are Not Created Equal: Ret Talbot 400 Angels for the Marine Aquarium Bichard F. Stratton 108 Pond Foods and Feeding ‘Maddy Hargrove 112 Alternatives for the Home or Garden: ‘The Centrarchidls of North America, Part 2 ‘Stan Sung From the Editor In the Spotlight ‘want to spotlight four different programs this month. The first is truly near and dear— this month we are unveiling our new and improved digital version of the magazine, TFH Digital 2.0, which is one of the mast useful web applications I have come across. Tropical Fish Hobbyist is now completely accessible and searchable with just a mouse click oF two, now, but this new inearnation takes We have had TFH available online for quite some tim full advantage of the utility of digital media to maximize your enjoyment and ease of use While you may still prefer to curl up on the couch with your hardcopy TFH, when you want to research something, find something you remember reading about, or investigate something, you see advertised in these pages, the digital magazine puts everything literally at your Fingertips. And, for those of our global readership for whom a mailed copy means delays and ‘ther problems, having online access to the magazine before the issue is even mailed unites us all around the world in real time. Asa jaded, long-time Internet user, Lam not easily impressed by websites, and I hold our own website to especially high standards, but believe me, 1 was truly excited when I first used TFH Digital 2.0! Check it out at the TFH Digital section on our ‘website, fhmagazine.com, The next program is the AKA (American Killifish Association) 2009 Convention, of which we are the official publication, We want to welcome ll readers who are attending AKA 2009 in Portland, Oregon. Whether you can make ito the convention or not, you will find a wealth of information on the beautiful and unusual fishes that AKA members work with in this issue, beginning ‘with an introduction to nothos by Brian Watters (p, 68). Our glebe-trosting correspondent Tony Pinto takes us along on his follow-up visit wo Ghana to find the elusive Pronothobranchius kiyawensis(p. 74). Next the versatile Mike Hellweg tells us about truly bizarre fish that lives just about everywhere other than in the water—even in trees (p. 80)! This section ends with David Sullias thoughts on breeding certain killies in permanent setups—which he considers easier than breeding guppies (p. 86) This issue is also going to all attendees of MAX (the Marine Aquarium Expo, marineaquariumexpo.com) in Orange County, California, Welcome, all, to this spectacular saltwater fish event! We at TFH take great care to cover the marine and reef aspects of the aquarium hobby in every issue, and in addition to our regular marine content—the ever-popular “Q&&A Saltwater” (p. 18); “The Reefer.” where this month James Fatherree reports on his investigation into the effeet of painted and plastic tank backgrounds on light levels within the aquarium, with some surprising results (p. 52); and "Marine Invertebrate of the Month, which highlights Tridacna maxima (p. 58)—we also have Ret Talbots detailed and illuminating look at herbivory on the reef and in the reef tank, which Is not a all the same (p. 94), and the venerable Dick Stratton gives us an overview of marine angels that instructs on which species are and are not suitable for the home aquarium (p. 100). And of course we have our cover story by Bob Goemans about the magnificent sea dragons, which, while not for home aquaria, are certainly fascinating to aquarists and non-aquarists alike (p. 90). The fourth program is not covered in this issue but is close to our heart, and we have told you about it in the past: the CARES (Conservation, Awareness, Recognition, Encouragement, and Support) Preservation Program. This group continues to work for the pre really taking off is CARES for Education, a program to provide schools with aquaria and to simultancously educate students and nurture young aquarists by providing hands-on learning in a variety of subjects ranging from ecology to geography, from cooperation to responsibility. We also recognize their sister organization ACA CARES (at cichlid.org) for their research and mn efor for the world’s cichlids and HCCC CARES (hilleountrycichlidelub.com) for all they do! Ifyou are interested {in helping with the education program or in donating equipment or fish for classroom tanks, al of these groups will be very happy to hear from you. For more information sce carespreservation.com. Is that all? Hardly! Our feature articles start off, as always, with Mr. Takashi Amano and the Nature Aquarium, this month discussing the use of driftwood and epiphytic plants to ereate lush aquascapes (P. 62). This issue also has a couple of pond ervation of at-risk lishes and to support research, but it does much, much more. One of their projects that is artieles, one by Maddy Hargrove on the practical—and recreational—aspects of feeding your outdoor aquati pets (p. 108), and for ponders who want to go beyond goldfish and koi or summer-vacationing tropicals, Stan Sung finishes up his two-part article fon native North American centrarchids as pond specimens (p. 112). And our coverage of the hobby in all its facets is rounded ‘out as usual with the rest of our regular columns and features. Another exciting month! ad David Boruchowitz Faitorin-Chiet Tropical Fish Hobbyist worwgfimagazine.com May 2009 Simple for you, perfect for them. Tetra's WaterCare System™ features color-coded products for the most common situations, making it easier than ever to create and maintain healthy aquarium water. + Start-up with a break-through first step, SafeStart® ‘* Maintenance regimen th: nakes it easy to maintain healthy conditions ‘* Solutions that quickly correct common situations * Testing ts to show you wnat your aquarium needs [Every month Topical Fisk Hobbyist draws upon an international talent pool of fishkeeping experts tn ord bring our readers the most relable, uptodate, and interesting arcs and advice for hero aquaria sucta Here a ook at me ofthis months expert, This Month's Feature Authors ashi Amano on 14 Weare shes aie ‘heaumbe cae ss ye ee ‘dai we aed be he me a he Fp Fle Raw Fino Crs 1 a te Gan Piva fe scr anes 18 SS har peaigeetnteny tees Te aha Grate ee ares fo aaar archer tive eel pelea Sune miecnept coerce ieee iy boise tes See ene ‘spree and Bob Goemans tu inthe sun teiy fr oer) ye Bon ad Gre Rov iat ean wit Seti oo ping dal a ad bo bs ‘hearst BGAN ane ap hes {neni bejanir gums {kaa bes pro Cad Ss rng anne i aga Sse Wage SRG Sioeceien tptieaci {iti in man aunts Bb ved own | Sie ‘Sint arpa de yrs spent cpr, Ghee cea Soy heh genes one Gem and out or TY Gedy cake fuss Aor bhseDatnc nines Manganen one ‘itn gana hen an Seomcelcnaighes LZ sian Sung pg bem Serene sol yong noma foe ill oa Hees Elyse cfm ise fe ants Coa pe bres Mat Meoen, Morena, Pe "av Tae key Ung at Suh wads ctf Ue sl dn tay of tse xt esc TAL Arg hs ess ee le fo Fe ee yt Kh ist esl Bs ens br he Ant Zag fest pe ‘Tony Pinto tes box a aguitt sine feet Don tld rad ak Sei apr Rn bt ah ‘Goal Bay we hig ee ee Es. SAMIR i circ age asad clin of pe Pry stceneaer ees ee cee ane aa rank, conde er hehe hae 8 kd {ran ‘a aa go grin 3s ca ap nec ces eh hes Kg: mahi as He poe heey aa Natya ath Se Nines Evora) fan eestor iphone deevtaeenpenoiin ere dnt cand ag anny ‘SMlousimdlivodrapaicqsed Mike Helleg tas hse an aqua ad Terr me tn 35 ear wong alt chs wih ahs he re at # chs or lens 75 on, ih aly 20 cs, fon 2 Gs, be the pene Gnd Mor Br of al tine is bod ch Me cme the Pre ofthe Misa ‘Aura Soe, Vice Chm ofthe Anion Lebo Asoc, an isin rth ua Carers Asin Helix rien Mais Grav ype Ne mesons eal ih anes. Bas Ret Talbot tine nee wie, pebll ersten pit al ne wh $anganng pen br thn agai fats wade le seme and neepytd aqui evirmetson the pune ts wih an ew nc ‘manera eka degre wring fer the Une of Arden Sod an has set meth ded san cdteacr nb ter car andthe cme crt wll Tn the ter apy, el ses Un chicona mesaneng xpedins to ANA ot Si thes ncune aad ct ae 9m fal oe of the mex ee chy Nh Kener When ring hear hs, dha ca pod fr demi sate Me, gt er Une eee Laguna Beach, Caos and Mer, Wyoming Brian Watters les, he pa yes qed in Ml of he gras Nuh fa, Rehasakbitanda memes suing het solgg iddrghbex cedars dix ba the onml hee dio. Ts pst ters fs lacy sige cos the emge he gms eng nie ney of mamas pes nd may nw pin He ag tine mb ie Ameo Kish Nea eo theo sts nd a Newer Aeris sein AKA Maddy! saGrake oma bree mre ped hh rot 0 ‘ania oor is eng cera ee David Suffinssri!Sonejumatanto Deve Sone epee ae ea fone imesh ‘Sonsini tres renee woewafhmagazine.com Columns & Departments LETT P| “Rae May 2009 Letters to the Editor Shredded in Barnegat This series of photos reveals a sad story of a boy, his dog Raven, and his favorite magazine in the world, Tropical Fish ly set up my 10-year-old son, Nichols, with a subscription to your magazine that started this past November. Out of a potential seven days in the week, 1 would say, conservatively, he asks me about four of them if his new TFH arrived in the mail. Being an excellent student, [asked him if he understood what “monthly” meant. He reassured me he did, and now he just sifts through the mail himself im hopes of finding that polybag with his name and that colorful copy of the magazine that completes him a a person obsessed with his aquarium, a modest 75-gallon Hobbyist. rece Upon returning home last night, we discovered Raven, a é-year-old black lab, had chewed his November through January copies to shreds. If there fs any way you could help us replace these issues, it would be greatly appreciated, Thank you, Dave DeGennaro Barnegat, New Jersey Dear Dave. The entire TFH Magazine team was touched by this story! We are glad to sce that Nichola ts interested inthe fisheeeping hobby and lo each month. (We've even noticed he wrote in with a question 10 kes forward to receiving his Tropical Fish Hobbyist ‘our Saltwater QA; it appeared in the April 2009 issue.) The November 2008, December 2008, and January 2009 Issues were all im tock and able to be replaced, 30 we have put her a package for Nicholas containing these three issues, some bookmarks, a folder that Nicholas can use for school, Who could possibly say no to a face ike that? and a Nylabone denial chew for Raven (Nylabone is our sister company here in Neptune, NJ), all compliments of TPH for ‘our #1 fan in Barnegat. The envelope will e sent out today to Nicholas and should arrive within the next few days day here!), and m Thanks forthe note (it made {0 Nick for his continued support of TFH! EMAIL, . Tropical Fish Hobbyist wormgfimagazine.com 9 GOTA QUESTION? Send your questions concerning the freshwater side of the aquarium hobby 10 "QGA”" We cant promise to personally ‘acknowledge or ansiver tery question, bu each month those ings covering tples of general Inerest or unusual subjects wil be answered in ths column, Adress your questions 0 “QE, TTEH, Publications, PO. Box 427, Nepune, NJ 07754, or submit va email 0 edtor4fa.com. 10 Pregnant ‘Swordtail T have a 20-galon freshwater tank to which I recently added three rather large (approximately 4 inches) red velvet sworduils, one male and wo females, in hopes of geting babies How ean {he sure when a female is pregnant? What should 1 do if one does become pregnant? Should | transfer her toa breeding box oF a separate tank to have the babies? Dennis MeFadden via email As long as you provide excellent care for your swordiails and maintain good water quality in your ‘aquarium, it’s virtwally a given that a female (or both females) will be pregnant soon—if not already. You can usually cell when swordtails and other livebearers are pregnant when the female's belly becomes ‘more pronouncedly swollen, With more robust-bodied specimens, i's sometimes necessary to view the specimen from a head-on viewpoint to see the swelling With light-colored varieties, you will also see a dark spot, called a gravid spot, just in front of the anal vent. With darker Pigmented varieties, however, such as your red velvet swordtails, it may be difficult or impossible to discern the gravid spot When a female does become pregnant, ‘you have a couple options to choose from If you aren’t concerned about saving all the babies, you could leave her in the main cank ‘and allow her to give birth there, Adding some clumps of floating plants, either real ‘wormhmagazine.com y Freshwater ‘or artificial, 19 the tank will give the fry 4 place to hide from the hungry parents, which will cannibalize their young if given the opportunity. With this arrangement, some fry will get eaten, but some will probably survive, too. If you want {0 save as many fry as possible, your best bet is to transfer the pregnant female to a separate tank to give birth, and then move her back afterward. 1 wouldnt recommend transferring a 4-inch swordtail 10. a breeding box, though, as confining a large specimen in such close ‘quarters could stress her to the point of giving birth prematurely. Mystery Snail Eggs Won't Hatch Tve been trying to breed ‘mystery sails in my 20-gallon tank. They frequently lay their eggs above the waterline, but 'm not having any tuck. getting the eggs to hatch, They always seem to dry up before the babies emerge. ‘What am I doing wrong? Faith Casselman Lubbock, Texas The fact that the egg clusters appear tobe drying ot suggests tha che airspace above your tank is not adequately humid for the developing mystery sail eggs Assuming you're not doing so already, you mighty towering he water level in your tan y a east 3 inches and ‘covering the tank with ashet of lass or acrylic {0 create a pocket of warm, humid air right above the waters surface. That should provide a more concive hatching environment. ‘May 2009 First, 1 want to thank you for your excellent publication, 1 recently subscribed to TFH, and 1 find it very informative and educational, T have noticed that there are articles about saltwater clams, but there arent any on their freshwater counterparts. He ‘many live freshwater clams for sale in the Asian mark Ta n tempted to purchase and drop one 125-gallon discus tank, Will those clams survive in my 6.5 pHl ‘water? What can I give them for food? Will it cause any problems, such as introducing parasites or diseases? Thank you, Edduardo Santiano Via email 1 would strongly discourage ling_ freshwater your discus tank than not freshwater clams in aquariums result in a More often attempts. t0 keep ‘dead clam and a pollwed aquarium. The first challenge is determining whether the ‘lam species in question will even tolerate the very warm femperatures at which discus are typically maintained. Many species hail from cooler waters, so they are doomed from the startin a discus aquarium, The next big challenge 1s providing suitable food Jor these clams. Whereas the colorful ‘Tridaena clams. pop hobbyists get much of their nutrition from the phocosynuhetic algae residing in their martes (and hence can be successfully kept und ‘appropriate reef lighting), freshwater clams ively fiter-feeders. And contrary to popular misconception, they cannot survive on the amo lar among. saltwater nt of algae ana bits of food that might be floaing around in the average aquarium You could try meeting thelr needs with liquid invertebrate food, but if you dont get the proportions just right, youll likely compromise Your water quality to the detriment discus. And to be perfectly honest, even when such foods are offered, the long-term survival rate jor freshwater clams isnt exactly stellar Furthermore, freshwater clams have the tendency to bury themselves in the substrate 0 assuming you do manage to keep one alive and fea, youl see very litle of it. Worse, in the likely seenari uld starve to death and perish in the substrate, you hat a clam sh ‘might not figure out that it has died’ uncit ic decomposes and wreaks havoc with your water quality. Tropical Fish Hobbyist Tvebeen feeding resh zucchini slices to my Otocinclus catfish bout recently, | read somewhere fr other fresh vegetables before offering them to fish. What exactly is blanching and why is it recommended when feeding veggies to fish? Jim Cisek ‘Oklahoma City, Oklahoma wovmgfimagazine.com Blanching involves simply chin or ible in ry brief period matter of seconds will usualy sufic), which breaks down cellulose and softens the plant tissues, making them easier for the fish 10 other ve boiling water fora cat and digest. You can also bianch veggies in the microwave by placing hem in a cup with 4 small amount of water in it and running the microwave on high for 30 seconds or so Blanching vegetables can also cause them n TOPCALFISH ORUM JOIN FELLOW TFH READERS AUTHORS! forums.tihmagazi ine.com I Aitnough its commonly sold as fresh {i found in brackish to marine environments, sink rather than float, which makes it easier to feed them to bottom-dvelling fishes, such 4s your Otocinetus cats Freshwater ‘Stonefish Can you give me any information about the freshwater stonefish? 1 had no idea that freshwater stonefish existed, but 1 saw ‘one at my local fish store and it did look somewhat like the pictures Ive seen of marine stonefish, Is the freshwater version as dangerous as the marine version? Roy Sturgis via email The freshwater stonefish you saw was likely Batrachomoeus Irispinosus, which is not really a freshwater species at all—though itis commonly sold as one B. wispinosus, also commonly. known as the freshwater lionfsh or the three-spined toadfish, actualy belongs tothe toadfish amily Batrachoididae. The members of this family ‘are so-named for their squatty appearance and their ability to produce croaking sounds, Contrary to its common name, this Indo- West Pacific species is found in brackish to fully marine environments. It can reach about 12 inches im tonal length and feeds on live fish and crustaceans. B, trispinosus has a ‘capacious mouth and will eat any tankmate small enough tobe swallowed, so care must be taken inthis regard This species is often reported to be non venomous, though some sources disagree. Also, ‘other species are sounder the same common ‘name, and they might be more venomous Care should definitely still be exerised when ‘transferring a specimen or placing your hands ins tank wwrnifhmagazine.com Power Outage Life Support T bought 12 neon tetras and one catfish for my sons 5-gallon aquarium, which is equipped with only a filter and a light. The fish had been doing well until the last week of December when we had an ice storm that cause four power t0 go out for about 24 hours. Without power, the temperature in the house dropped to about 50°F or les, so all the fish ended up dead. My opinion is that the cold temperature Killed them, so went to two diferent stores looking fora battery-powered heater | could use in case the power goes out again. At the first store, the lady working there said she only had battery-powered air pumps, and tha the fish were killed by lack of airflow. The second store (which is where T purchased the fish) didn't have battery powered heaters ether. The lady there told ‘me that both the cold temperature and lack of air flow killed the fishes, and that { would need a generator if wanted to make never happens again. | dont want to buy one, though, beeause our power does not go out oft, 1 would like to have a heater that runs on batteries in case an emengency like that happens again in the future, Do you know of any places that sell battery-powered heaters? Or can you recommend a different way to prevent a Salon fish tank from getting cold during a power outage? Thanks! Tiffany Kay via email sure the same thi here are any bawery-powered

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