SLIMY ASSASSINS: SNAILS THAT KILL SNAILS

SEPTEMBER 2022 £5.25

>
09

9 770262 580329
HOW TO AVOID
A TRIP
TO LIAM aquarium
ROBERTS’
FISH HOUSE overheats

Lemon
twist
The fiery tetra
that’s turning heads
The colourful world of

TILEFISH
STEP-BY-STEP
SALT-LOVING BUILD A SOUTH
CICHLIDS AMERICAN TANK
AquariumActiv Range
THE OASE 360 APPROACH TO AQUARIUM CARE

AquariumActiv algae control combats Use our innovative water purifiers to

blue and green algae, whilst providing gently treat tap water and make it
long lasting effects. suitable for aquarium inhabitants.
CONTROL ALGAE IMPROVE WATER QUALITY

OASE fertilizers promote healthy We supply beneficial bacteria

from our own breeding pro-
growth of aquatic plants.
gramme. This bacteria promotes
MAINTAIN AQUATIC PLANTS self-cleaning and water balance.
ADD BACTERIA

SUPPLEMENT VITAMINS &

BIND NUTRIENTS
TRACE ELEMENTS
Vitamins, trace elements OASE supplies clever solutions that
and minerals help you sup- prevent outbreaks of algae, avoids
port the health of aquarium the over saturation of nutrients
inhabitants and plants. and stabilises the water quality.

LessStress Water WaterBalance Boost FilterAction Nitrate AquaElements PlantGrow Iron Fer-
Conditioner Bacteria Remover Vitamins and trace tilizer
elements
AquaStable Water KickBoost Clearwater QuickfilterAction PlantGrow Weekly
Optimizer Bacteria Phosphate Remover Fertilizer

BoostMix Clearwater PlantGrow Daily

Bacteria Fertilizer

BoostMix Clearwater SOS Grow Quick Fer-

Bacteria tilizer Tablet

www.oase.com
 JUST
99P!

FIRST ISSUE + FREE

Then pay just £9.99 every 3 issues thereafter
GIFT (anytime cancellation)

Free
bookazine
WORTH
£9.99
This class will take you through
all of the core but essential areas
Subscribe to Britain's best-selling fishkeeping of the hobby. Over the following
publication and receive monthly inspiration pages, we’ll be looking at water
and advice from the industry experts. quality and chemistry, filtering and
the nitrogen cycle, fish physiology
Every issue also includes in-depth species and habitat, disease management,
showcases, incredible features on habitats and aquarium husbandry.
from around the world and reviews of the
latest available products.

IT’S EASY TO BECOME A SUBSCRIBER!

www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/99p
01778 392498 & Quote PRFK/PRINT
T&C’s: This offer is available on direct debit only, go to www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/subscribe to view the full range of credit/debit card offers.
Contents
INSPIRATION
A HIDDEN GEM FROM
06 CONGO-BRAZZAVILLE
Cichlid expert Michel Keijman
reports on an exciting discovery
fresh from the heart of Africa.
08 THE ENIGMA CODE
Enigmatochromis is an
uncommon find that’s well
worth the search. Set up right,
and you can even spawn it,
writes Liam Roberts.
THE SALTY (AND NOT
12 SO SALTY) CICHLIDS
If you were asked to name a
brackish water cichlid, what
would it be? An orange or silver
chromide? You’d be right, but
there are actually more brackish
cichlid species than you’d think.
4 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
18 LIAM’S SECOND HOME
At the foot of Liam Roberts’
garden is a fish breeder’s
paradise. We went to meet
the man and his fish in their
custom accommodation.
WHAT LIVES IN THE
26 RIO HUMADEA?
Uwe Werner was blessed to be
able to snorkel in some pristine
South American waters. Here
he reports on what he found,
and how to keep it.
BARE BOTTOMS?
50
Gravel, sand or nothing? What
we choose to use on the
bottom of our tanks can have
consequences for our livestock,
writes Heather Walford.
SEPTEMBER
62
54 RECREATING THE OPARA
Setting up biotopes is one of the
most rewarding things an aquarist
can do, and few people know
more about the subject that Tai
Strietman. Here he dips into South
America for a step-by-step guide
to the Sao Francisco river.
LEMONS WITH A TWIST
62 A curious new take on the lemon
tetra has been making waves for
a little while now, and while it’s
not easy to breed, it does seem
possible, writes Gabor Horvath.
SUBSCRIBE!
SEE OUR SUBS
WE’RE NOT GOBIES
OFFER FOR THE
BEST DEALS.
70 Tilefish aren’t without their
Check page 3 for details.
challenges, but for the right
aquarist, with the right mindset,
they could be the marine project
you’ve been craving. Nathan Hill
explains.
5
THINGS 1pondHow to look after
your waterfall and
in summer.
YOU WILL
LEARN IN
THIS ISSUE
REGULARS
KNOW-HOW:
34 JUST CHILLIN’
Most of us are interested in
keeping our tanks warm, but
what about when the mercury
rises and things get too hot?
Gabor Horvath investigates.
FISHKEEPING ANSWERS
38 This month our panel of experts
look at marine community-safe
trigger fish, safety concerns with
fish medication, pond volumes
for goldfish care, identifying
shubunkins, getting on top
of aquarium nitrates, pond
waterfall temperature concerns,
a goldfish with a lopsided lump,
peaceful headstander options,
blue-eye forktail care, aquarium
grasses, and more.
3 Why getting a
assassin snail to
‘take care’ of your other
snails could be the
2 How to keep your
answer to your prayers.
5 Why you might
want to keep
tank cool in the
rising temperatures.
4 How to make a São
Francisco set-up
the colourful
Tilefish.
Welcome I WAS halfway through this
issue when we experienced the
hottest recorded day in the UK.
I know a lot of aquarists were
26 panicking, and given that we
have more hot days to come,
the feature from Gabor Horvath
in this issue about keeping an
aquarium cool may have arrived just in time.
Also exciting to report this month is a completely new
fish, fresh from the Congo. Michel Keijman has been
keeping it under his hat for a while know, getting to
know it intimately, and tells us what he knows of this
gorgeous species on page 6.
Biotope expert Tai Strietman guides us through
creating a charming South American set-up on page 54,
while former PFK editor Jeremy Gay dusted off his
keyboard to give us the lowdown on cichlids that live in
12 salt on page 12. Meanwhile, if you’re a marine fan, I’ve
written my own homage to tilefish, which you can find
on page 54. It’s a mixed bag of an issue!
KNOW-HOW:
46 MOLLUSC MURDERER
When all else fails and you need
to call in a pro to handle your
snails, who you can you turn to?
Tim Smith suggests you need
Stay in touch
yet another gastropod... Email us at
editorial@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
GEAR GUIDE:
76 CLOVERLEAF FOODS Watch us on
Gabor Horvath takes a taste test
of the Cloverleaf Absolute foods.
youtube.com/user/practicalfishkeeping
Follow us at
NEXT MONTH
79 Predatory cyprinids from Africa,
www.facebook.com/PFKmag/
aquascaper FAQs, and more!
TAILPIECE
82 Instead of living on baked
beans, there might be another
way to fit our hobbies in with
impending price fuel cost
ON THE COVER
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis.
increases.
Photo by Gabor Horvath
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 5
DISCOVERIES
New Congo cichlid

A hidden Gem from

Congo-Brazzaville
Cichlid expert Michel Keijman reports on an
exciting discovery fresh from the heart of Africa.
ORLDWIDE Likouala river (a direct tributary of rivers which lay near to the coast.

W
THERE are the Congo River), and in a small The Likouala river, where this new
constantly new stream called Alima (but it is also species has been discovered, is far
fish discoveries, present in Mambili) where he found inland, even on the equatorial level.
but those made the magnificent new species you see One German ichthyologist even
in West or on the opposite page. thinks that this species belongs to a
MICHEL Central Africa Roland initially mentioned that he new genus; perhaps a transition
KEIJMAN are rare. In did not know what genus this between Parananochromis and
2015, German aquarist Roland species belongs to. It has similarities Thysochromis. Everything will
A Dutch aquarist
Numrich travelled through the with Parananochromis but also to depend on the research on
and author with
over 40 years Congo (Brazzaville) where he was Thysochromis — both genera are preserved specimens that are
keeping experience, looking for new Alestopertersius tetra distributed in the Congo, although already with a scientist.
R. NUMRICH

mainly with species. During that trip he was so far, the two described More about their naming will
cichlids. fishing in the catchment of the Thysochromis species only appear in hopefully follow in the future.

6 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
What we know…
The specimens Roland caught had a
maximum length of about 11cm
(adult male) and the female was
slightly smaller. They are deep
bodied, and the sex differences are
easily to distinguish. Males become
larger than females, with a red
border at the edge of the caudal fin
and have a pattern of small dots in
their caudal fin. The males are olive
green/brown with two horizontal
dark bands (the lower band starts at
the tip of the snout and goes along
the mid-lateral line, and the second
band sits above the mid lateral
band), and the anal and caudal fins
show a bright blue. The dorsal fin is
light grey and the outer end there is
a light blueish zone. Pelvic fins are
greenish blue, with a dark stripe on
the first hard spine beginning on the
fin base and ending where the spine
ends. The dorsal, caudal, and anal
fins show a pattern of dark blotches,
which forms lines.
Females do not show all these
specific characteristics. With a light
grey/brown body colour, from their
mid lateral line up a pattern of
vertically aligned rows of maculae,
often coalesced and forming a series
of vertical bands. The first three
hard spines of the dorsal fin are
pitch black, though this comes and
goes pending their mood.
When the fish reach maturity, the
females develop ochre/yellow
LEFT: Female in across the head, especially on the
breeding dress.
gill plates which almost turn gold.
BELOW: Male When females become sexually
and female active, they are especially easily to
pair (female in distinguish. They transform into real
foreground). gems, with a pink belly and an
irregular pattern of small iridescent
pink spots on the caudal, anal and
dorsal fins. On the outer edge of the
dorsal fin, they exhibit an iridescent
blue and pink coloured zone, which
starts at the first hard spines and
MICHEL KEIJMAN
ends at the last soft spine. And at the
fin base of the pectoral fins, they
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK
now also develop a small, bright
blue zone. This beauty of the fish
really shines when they’re in
breeding livery.
6 Water parameters: What we
know of the water parameters in the
fish’s natural biotope are as
following: 4.5pH, Conductivity
35ppm, Temperature 25°C
6 Feeding: In the time I’ve kept this
species, I’ve fed them with different
kind of foods, of which small
granules and freshly hatched
Artemia nauplii were the preferred.
6 Behaviour in the aquarium:
My six obtained specimens behaved
quite normally and were not
aggressive towards tankmates. They
also leave plants alone, neither
destroying or eating them
6 Reproduction: So far, my fish
have only shown their spawning
colours, but haven’t bred yet — I
have no information as to whether
MICHEL KEIJMAN
they’re open substrate brooders or
even cave spawners.
7
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Enigmatochromis

THE ENIGMA CODE

Enigmatochromis is an uncommon find that’s well worth the search,
Set up right, and you can even spawn it, writes Liam Roberts.
ORMERLY KNOWN as Pelvicachromis. Secondly, the female and Epiplatys spilargyreius. The

F
Pelvicachromis sp. ‘blue
fin', Enigmatochromis
lucanusi was placed into
its own genus in 2009
after a great deal of
work by Anton Lamboj.
To the untrained eye,
LIAM it’s easily mistaken for a
ROBERTS Pelvicachromis species, especially
given its similarities with P. roloffi,
When not tending
to his breeding but there are distinguishing features.
projects, Liam can Firstly, female Enigmatochromis
NEIL HEPWORTH
also possesses a blue dorsal fin
which P. roloffi lack (hence the
former name of sp. ‘blue fin'). Lasty,
the females have pointed dorsal and
anal fins and lack the rounded fins
of Pelvicachromis females. For males,
there’s a clear difference in the
overall pattern.
To find E, lucanusi in the wild,
you’ll need to venture into Guinea
and find the Foto or Fotou river,
depending on the map used and the
waters they call home are clear with
a sandy, shingle substrate, with
clusters of rounded peddles and
scatterings of leaves and twigs.
Explorers mention a large amount
of overhanging vegetation,
providing shaded areas, while the
main aquatic plants are mostly
Vallisneria, but also Anubias, Crinum
and Bolbitis. The Crinum and
Vallisneria provide a large share
of their submerged cover.

be found working at become purple over most of the language in question. They reside After a brief conversation with
Finest Aquatics in body in comparison to the localised alongside the likes of Bryconalestes Oliver Lucanus, the man behind the
Widnes.
purple seen in the bellies of female longipinnis, Wallaceochromis humilis fish, I’m informed that the small

8 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

river that Enigmatochromis occupy
is seriously under threat from large,
local mines excavating aluminium.
He writes: "The stream is maybe
four to five meters wide, and so it’s
quite vulnerable because the trucks
at the mine are the giant BelAZ
models (they are fourteen meters
high, the tire is bigger than a normal
car), so a mine that size can easily
destroy a small stream with runoff,
or by stealing the ground water, or
even just the infrastructure and
workers coming to and fro. I think
many of these places will be gone in
the next fifteen to twenty years."
Keeping the enigma alive
When it comes to the home
aquarium, I personally furnish
the tank with soft, sandy substrate,
terracotta pots containing plants,
smooth pebbles, slate, wood with
plants attached and floating plants
to diffuse some light. Arrange the
decor so it breaks the line of sight
for the fish and allows them to
create their own smaller territories.
For water parameters you want
to aim for soft water with a pH south
of 7.0. This can be achieved by
adding some bogwood, but also leaf
litter such as almond or beech
(though these are likely to tan the
water — that’s not a problem). If the
PH is above 7.0 you’ll have trouble
keeping E. lucanusi happy and it can
be a challenge to hatch eggs.
Unusually for a cichlid species, they
like it fairly cool so aim for
something below 25°C.
Food is an important factor — they
prefer a well-rounded diet with a lot
of green matter. My own fish are fed
frozen brine shrimp, Daphnia, baby
brine shrimp, shredded spinach,
squashed peas and the occasional
string of hair algae that grows on
any plants in the aquarium.
If you are planning on keeping this
species in a community tank then it
would be best to try and get a
proven, bonded pair to avoid any
aggression. Once bonded, they are
extremely peaceful fish and mind
their own business. Even during
PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM
ANTON LAMBOJ
spawning and parental care, I find ABOVE: The
them to be no more aggressive than male has a
other dwarf cichlids and I’ve distinctive look.
successful kept jelly bean tetras,
Ladigesia roloffi, alongside my pair. TOP: Females
have an all over
purple.
Making babies
Spawning is not impossible, but the LEFT: Young E.
run up can be a challenge. Unlike lucanusi as seen
some cichlids, you can't just take a in stores.
random male and female and lump
them together — unfortunately this
will not end well.
The initial build up to spawning
is more crucial than the actual
spawning event. To start with, I
cannot stress enough how important
it is to start with a group and not a
pair. You will find it very difficult, if
not impossible, to make a random
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 9
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Enigmatochromis
pair live harmoniously and it will
result in excessive aggression and
eventual death for one of the fish.
The best method for this
monogamous, pair-bonding fish is to
buy a group of five or six and place
them in a heavily decorated
aquarium of roughly 100 litres. This
may sound like a small tank but they
are one of the smallest dwarf
cichlids in west Africa, usually only
growing to a miniature 5-7.5cm.
Once a pair is formed you will
need to remove the surplus fish and
allow the pair to live in peace, and at
this point they will happily live in a
smaller tank of around 50 litres. As
the two become comfortable, they
will start doing a lot of grubbing and
clearing areas within the aquarium.
This involves sifting through the
substrate and excavating their own
pits and mounds. Eventually, they
will pick a spawning site, spending
much of their time in and around it
— in my case they opted for two
pebbles with slate on top.
The female will try to tempt the
male into the cave by displaying her
purple belly, combined with fin
10 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
flaring. Once ready, the female will
lead the male into the cave and
begin laying her bright red eggs on
the ceiling of the cave. Both parents
will look after the eggs until the fry
eventually hatch. I've found it
important to try and make the cave
nice and secluded but also
necessary to provide a clear
entrance and exit for the pair to go
back and forth in the laying process.
Now starts the most exciting part
of spawning any fish — fry! After
laying her eggs (mine did so on April
4th), my female spent the next few
days constantly around the cave, or
caring for the eggs alongside the
male. She would fan them with her
pelvic fins and use her mouth to
gently clean them.
On the morning of April 11th I
noticed there was no sign of eggs
and no sign of the parents. I feared
the worst but resisted the temptation
to rummage around in their tank —
I remembered my experience with
Wallaceochromis rubrolabiatus and
how they loved to hide themselves
and their fry. That afternoon, I got a
glimpse of the male and female at
CREATIVE COMMONS
the back of the aquarium protecting ABOVE: BelAZ
a small seed pod I’d added as a trucks are huge.
potential spawning site. My
suspicion was confirmed, they were BELOW: A
hiding the fry. From the 11th to the known site of
E. lucanusi.
17th, the fry remained within the
pod feeding from their yolk sack and
a day later I saw them swimming
about as fully formed mini adults.
It has been noted by other
aquarists that this species is a
seasonal spawner in home aquaria,
however I did not find this to be
true. I suspect the aquarists in
question may be keeping wild fish
that would spawn seasonally in their
natural habitat. My group were F1
ANTON LAMBOJ
(first generation from wild) and
spawned whenever they felt like it.
From here on it's fairly straight
forward. The fry were large enough
to take baby brine shrimp for a week
then I moved them onto frozen
Daphnia and spirulina flake. They
were confident, exploring the whole
aquarium as a loose group while the
ANTON LAMBOJ

male and female watched over

them. After a couple of months,
I removed the fry and raised them
on separately.
As a side note, the most unusual
part of this spawning was when the
female decided to lay a second
batch of eggs two weeks after the
first, whilst still tending to her fry.
Being unsure of what could happen
and fearing a change in behaviour,
I removed the eggs into a small
were ravaged by fungus but the
other half did great, though I
noticed the fry did not seem as
strong and active in the yolk stage as
the ones raised with parents. Still,
once they were free swimming, they
were no different to the parental fry.
It has been noted that these fish will
Alas, the availability is few and far ABOVE: Males
between, but a determined aquarist are attractive
will be able to source them. Look for fish.
specialist stores that stock a good
variety of West African fish. When BELOW: You’ll
need to shop
find them, expect to pay around £20
around to find
a fish. I acquired my group of one specimens in
male and four females through a the UK.

NEIL HEPWORTH
one-litre tub of tank water with a lay multiple batches of eggs whilst good friend, Elliot Ball of The Fish
gentle air stone and a couple of raising fry and tend to all the Barn. Call your local fish shop and
drops of meth blue. Half the eggs batches equally. ask the question, you won’t regret it.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 11
BRACKISH
Cichlids

THE SALTY
(and not so salty) cichlids
If you were asked to name a brackish water cichlid, what
would it be? An orange chromide maybe, or a silver chromide?
You’d be right, but there are actually more brackish cichlid
species than you’d think. Here are your options.
JEREMY GAY
Former PFK editor Jeremy
is a freelance aquatic
journalist and author of
several aquarium books.

The natural
orange chrimde
— note the
ALAMY

black spot.

12 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
The true salties!
Orange chromide,
Pseudetroplus maculatus
Orange chromides are wonderful
dwarf cichlids from coastal India and
Sri Lanka, where they inhabit
brackish lagoons and estuaries. They
reach a maximum of 7.5cm in length
and can be bred, pairing off before
laying eggs on the substrate. In
nature, they eat anything from algae
and detritus to fish eggs, but in
captivity they are easy to feed on a
mix of dry and frozen foods.
There are two forms of the orange
chromide — the natural version with
a prominent black spot which gives it
its ‘maculatus’ species name, and a
solid orange with tiny red spots
aquarium variant. This can make
importing them slightly tricky as
exporters will then refer to the two
types as green for the natural variant
and orange for the aquarium variant.
The true green chromide is its larger
cousin however, with which it shares
its habitat, so check the scientific
name to make sure you get the right,
dwarf species.
Orange chromides do occasionally
inhabit freshwaters, so tank mates
could range from freshwater barbs,
danios, rasboras and loaches (for
freshwater), to gobies and mollies in
brackish tanks. A tank size of around
100cm is necessary, decorated with
sand, gravel, stones, and wood. Live
Mayan cichlids
are festival of
colours.
plants won’t survive in brackish
conditions so leave them out or
opt for plastic plants. For a more
authentic looking brackish
estuary, botanicals like leaves
(well soaked, to remove
most of the acids) could
also be added. Note that
the fish may still be
referred to in stores under the
older Etroplus genus name.
Green chromide,
PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM
Etroplus suratensis
The green chromide, or silver
chromide, is a large but peaceful
cichlid coming from brackish
For fish like Mayan cichlids, estuaries and lagoons in
offer foods rich in beta-carotene India and Sri Lanka, where
or vitamin A to help its distribution overlaps with
its smaller cousin and other
maintain the red
well-known brackish fish like
colours. Scatophagus and Monodactylus. The
green chromide gets to 30cm in
length (with some sources claiming
as large as 40cm), making it a
popular and important food fish
across its native range.
Although rarely offered in aquatic
shops it is available on import lists
and would suit very large brackish
displays with scats, monos, archerfish
and shark catfish (Ariopsis, not the
gigantic and freshwater Pangasius).
It can be bred, forming pairs before
spawning on the substrate. Both
parents tend the brood. Apart from
when it’s spawning it’s a shoaling fish,
feeding on algae and detritus in the
wild. It could be kept in a biotope
tank with its smaller cousin although
the large size of the green chromide
and the need to be kept in groups
Green chromides would dictate at least a 180cm tank
ALAMY
can grow large. in the long term.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 13
BRACKISH
Cichlids

Cuban cichlids
look similar to
jaguar cichlids.

SHUTTERSTOCK
Mayan cichlid, Cuban cichlid, of a jaguar cichlid (Parachromis
Mayaheros uropthalmus Nandopsis tetracanthus managuense), and is similarly
The Mayan is often listed as the Few people are aware that the Cuban aggressive and predatory of small
rarer and more sought-after red cichlid is also very much a brackish fish and inverts.
terror on import lists, although they water fish in nature, inhabiting salty It stays smaller than the jaguar at
can be told apart by the size and marshes, estuaries, and lagoons. around 20cm, and its colours become
position of the ocellus (eye spot) on It looks like a monochrome version more striking with maturity, and
the caudal peduncle, the metallic
green face and vivid orange
spawning colours of the true red The aquarium
terror. It comes from Mexico but is variant of
now prolific in Florida, where the orange
although popular with fishermen, it's chromide.
an invasive species.
The Mayan cichlid can hit a
maximum length of 39cm. Its easily
kept long term in freshwater
although part of its success in native
and non-native tropical waters is its
ability to thrive in brackish lagoons
and estuaries, lime-rich cenotes and
even full-strength seawater.
Like many Central American
cichlids, it's large, omnivorous and
PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM

easy to breed, although the fry will

be of low value to local fish shops.
It's a different cichlid for a large
brackish community, and should be
relatively easy to come by.

14 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
when breeding.
Salt aids the wellbeing of this
cichlid and it can develop whitespot
disease when kept solely in fresh,
acidic waters. Popular with Central
American cichlid collectors this could
represent a striking addition to a
large brackish tank.
Black chin tilapia,
Saratherodon melanotheron
Rare in the hobby, the black chin
tilapia is occasionally available from
specialist wholesalers in
Germany. Typically
tilapiine in looks, this
swamps and is also considerably
more prone to whitespot in aquarium
water that doesn’t contain salt. It also
grows large at 30cm but is a shoaling
species and a quite peaceful paternal
mouthbrooder. In the wild it feeds on
algae, detritus and molluscs, fulfilling
a similar role to green chromides in
Asia. If you can get them a group
would make a lovely display in a
large brackish aquarium, and you
won’t get the aggression that you
would from the Mayan or Cuban
cichlids from Central America.
Note that all of these
cichlids, where for sale,

PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM
West African may be offered in
brackish cichlid entirely freshwater Green chromides
comes from Though not a good aquarium fish, tanks, and will may also be
the Mozambique tilapia, sold as silver
estuaries and need acclimation chromides.
mangrove Oreochromis mossambicus, is a to salt.
cichlid that can tolerate a
higher salinity than
Black chin seawater.
tilapia are a
rare treat.

PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 15
BRACKISH
Cichlids

Despite the extreme

demands, Alcolapia
is a rewarding fish to
ALAMY

keep.

The not so salties…

Canara pearlspot cichlid,
Etroplus canarensis
Another Etroplus species, Etroplus canarensis, is becoming
increasingly available from specialist outlets (and a few

PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS.COM
mainstream ones) and is a wonderful fish.
Unlike its cousins, however, E. canarensis only inhabits
freshwater rivers in India and won’t appreciate the Soda cichlids
addition of salt. A gorgeous fish in its own right, it’s are niche but
beautiful.
essential that you don’t confuse its preferences with its
fellow Etroplus!

Soda cichlids,
Alcolapia alcalica
Soda cichlids are probably some of the world’s most
extreme cichlids, living in the highly caustic, hot waters of
Lake Natron, in Tanzania, Africa. There the pH can be as
high as 10 (the pH of milk of magnesia and some
detergents!) and temperatures as high as 38°C, conditions
deadly to any other fish.
Lake Natron is fed by hot springs and although a specific
gravity is readable, it’s sodium carbonate and not sodium
chloride that makes up its unique chemistry, so a brackish
tank alone wouldn’t really cut it for these small cichlids
and sodium bicarbonate should be added to the water
instead (or even kalkwasser, as used for marine tanks,) Etroplus
to make the water extremely hard and alkaline. canarensis
MAX PEDLEY

is wholly
freshwater.

16 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Brackish FAQs
WHICH SALT SHOULD I USE?
Seawater contains sodium
chloride but also dozens of
other elements, so synthetic
salt tailored for marine
aquariums should be used in
preference to tonic salt (right),
to create brackish conditions.
HOW SALTY IS BRACKISH
WATER?
Freshwater has a specific
gravity of 1.000 s.g, and
seawater has a specific gravity
of 1.025 s.g. For brackish
water, use a hydrometer and add salt until
the specific gravity is 1.005-1.010 s.g.
The beauty of brackish fish species is their
tolerance of salt levels, some of which
change on a daily basis in the wild (or even
as the fish swim from one area to another).
DO I NEED A MARINE TANK OR A
FRESHWATER TANK FOR BRACKISH
FISH SPECIES?
A freshwater tank and filtration is all you
need for brackish water fish. All the same
media can be used and the tank can be
fishless cycled in the normal way, with
freshwater bacteria.
Just start the tank at the specific gravity
you want to maintain and keep it there — if
you raise the salt content from 1.000 s.g to
1.010 s.g the bacterial strains may die off
and change to other strains instead. Cycling
is essential, too. Although salt can null the
harmful effects of nitrite, the associated
high pH levels of a brackish tank make
ammonia more toxic and it wouldn’t be
good for the fish.
DO I NEED A PROTEIN SKIMMER?
Both freshwater and marine protein
skimmers are available but no skimmer
works as well as one used on full-strength
seawater. This is because seawater is
denser. Leave out the protein skimmer and
just use large external filters with plenty of
bio media, and large partial water changes
instead.
HOW DO I MAKE BRACKISH WATER?
Take a bucket of tapwater, some marine
salt, a powerhead and a heater. Fill the
bucket with tapwater and dechlorinate it in
your normal way. Plug in the heater to heat
the water. Add marine salt at the rate of 10
grams per litre of tapwater.
Plug in the powerhead to
dissolve the salt and circulate
the water. Check the salt level
with a hydrometer and it's
ready to add as soon as it's
dissolved.
HOW DO I DO A WATER
CHANGE ON A BRACKISH KISH
TANK?
Use a bucket and gravel
vacuum to syphonon water in
the normal way. Clean the
a in the old water
filter media
you’re removing and discard. Don’t use
brackish water you’ve drained to water
your plants as the salt will kill them.
Make up new brackish water as
directed above and pour it into the
tank. Check the tank specific gravity
with a hydrometer and aim to keep
it between 1.005 and 1.010 s.g.
If it's too low, add some more salt.
If the specific gravity is too high,
remove some brackish water from
the main tank and replace it with
freshwater. Remember that when
saltwater evaporates the salt is left
behind in the tank, so only top up
evaporation with freshwater, and again
periodically check the specific gravity in the
tank to ensure it is where it should be.
ARE THERE ANY BRACKISH SH AQUARIUM
PLANTS?
ales of
Not conventional ones. There are tales
using Java fern, Anubias and Vallisneria i but
they are all freshwater species. It's more a
case of how long it takes them to die when
kept in salt. Mangroves are available from
marine stores but they need to stick out of
River shrimp
Mangrove tree
SHUTTERSTOCK
the tank and, if successful, will grow into
trees one day. A brackish terrarium with
mangroves, mud skippers and fiddler crabs
is possible, and incredibly rewarding.
SHOULD I USE MARINE DECOR OR
FRESHWATER DECOR?
The joy of brackish is that you can use
both. You can use calcium-rich marine
substrates like aragonite sand, marco
rock and ocean rock. But look closely
at estuarine habitats and they are
mostly sand, mud and sediment, as
rive slow down and drop
that’s where rivers
Us bogwood to imitate
their load. Use
mangroves or mangrove replicas are
mangroves,
available if you don’t want to use the
thing
real thing.
ARE THERE ANY BRACKISH
IN
INVERTEBRATES?
Yes, brackish habitats are some of the most
invert rich waters in terms of biomass, with
many being full of shrimp. Amano shrimp
are brackish, river shrimp are brackish, as
well as nerite snails and fiddler crabs.
Beware though as many of the large
cichlids mentioned above dine on
invertebrates. Best left out.
ALAMY
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 17
READER TANK
Interview / Liam Roberts

LIAM’S SECOND HOME

At the foot of Liam Roberts’ garden is a fish breeder’s paradise.
We went to meet the man and his fish in their custom accommodation.

MEET THE AQUASCAPER

Name: Liam Roberts
Age: 25
Location: Liverpool
Time keeping fish: Since childhood,
but more seriously for eight years
Occupation: Aquatic retail
Favourite ever fish: Enigmatochromis lucanusi
Favourite ever plant: Probably Vallisneria, nice and simple
Dream Aquarium: 15x4x4ft with Wallaceochrmois rubrolabiatus,
Brycinus and whatever other little bits I could imagine up, plus
loads of Anubias and vallis.

18 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Compact and
bijou, Liam’s
escape from the
world.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 19
READER TANK
Interview / Liam Roberts
PFK: Let’s start with the obvious.
Why did you want a fish house?
LIAM: Short answer, I like fish.
Longer answer — ever since
childhood I’ve been fascinated
with the underwater world and
its separation from every other
life form. The whole concept of
something living within liquid is
just mesmerising.
Now add the fact you can display
this underwater world within your
home and play around with it as you
see fit and you’re into a new realm of
possibilities. A lot of it stems back to
20 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
my impulsive personality, diving into
things I want to do and snowballing
through until I eventually land
somewhere a bit more stable than
the beginning.
What are the dimensions of the
fish house and how long did it
take to build?
It’s roughly 8ft wide by 15ft long by 8
to 9ft tall with a sloping roof (external
sizes). The build time was just under
three months with a few days here
and some hours there so it could
have been done much quicker.
What obstacles did you have to
overcome during construction?
Time. Kids and general work/family
life was always a constant battle so
a lot of it was chipping away until it
was eventually finished. My grandad
and I are fairly handy so built the
structure with relative ease and we
had a good plan to start with. Like we
always say, “fail to plan, plan to fail.”
90% of the build was done by
ourselves from plumbing to joinery
and even the basic electrical works.
The frame was built more like a
flat pack kit then screwed together
to form a main structure. We dug
through the kitchen floor, under the
house to a trench that went through
the back garden and into the fish
room. All the electrics and water
and waste pipes were put into this
trench. Kinzey, my partner, is very
understanding.
How many tanks does the house
hold and what size ranges are
the tanks?
I have two main sets of tanks. There
are 26 at 50-litres (60×30×30cm) and
nine at 170-ish litres (60×60×40cm.)
Nannacara
anomala.
Since childhood I’ve
been fascinated with the
underwater world and its
separation from every
other life form
Apistogramma
D10.
Then I have some grow out/
quarantine tanks: two at 70-litres and
three at 40-litres. Then I have around
15 smaller tanks that range from
2-20-litres.
How do you filter, heat and light
the tanks?
I have a large air blower that feeds
into a centralised air system made
of 50mm solvent weld pipe which
goes around the whole fish room that
I then take feeds off to manifolds
which then have airline to individual
tanks which I use large sponge
filters in. For heating I use a simple
thermostatic heat blower from Argos
set to around 26°C and an extractor
fan which takes out excess moisture
from the air. Lighting is just simple
60watt LED battens that span the
racks.
What water source do you use?
I live in a soft water area so my
tap water is pretty good. I filter it
through a four stage HMA system
with various sediment filters, carbon
blocks and resins to try and make the
water as clean as possible. It’s then
straight into the tanks usually at 25%
every week or so. I will occasionally
add a few litres of RO water to a tank
if it needs to be softer.
Do you try to keep your tanks at
any specific parameters?
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 21
I try to keep with soft to neutral
fish species. If there’s a fish that
requires super soft water, I will add
homemade blackwater extract or
if there’s a fish in need of slightly
harder water, I will add a scoop of
coral sand until the water is at the
desired parameters.
How long does maintenance
take?
I will spend an hour or so each
evening doing fiddly bits like
cleaning, feeding, and planning the
removal of certain fry to grow on,
but there will be some days where
I can go in to the fish house at 9am
and stay in there until 6pm doing
water changes and deep cleans along
with actually moving fry and setting
up spawning tanks.
Usually, an hour a night is enough
to see me through until a set free day
in the week where I can get all the
bigger jobs completed.
How do you factor in holidays?
I haven’t really been away on any
long breaks. I’ve been away for
several long weekends and when
doing so I’ll do a large water change
the week before, then have a large
box of live food sent from a reputable
supplier like Yorkshire Brineshrimp. I
feed heavily with live foods and then
leave them be for the several days
I’m away.
READER TANK
Interview / Liam Roberts

How many species of fish are

you breeding at this time?
A fair answer would be 15, I can’t
say a set amount as something
may decide to spawn as we speak.
Sometimes I can go a few weeks with
just one spawning pair of fish and
sometimes seven species drop eggs
within two days.

How do you condition your fish

to spawn? Do you have to do any
special preparations?
Great water quality, a well decorated
tank, and plenty of good food.
Healthy fish are happy fish, and
happy fish will spawn with basic
steps like water changes and
plenty of live food. If I’m trying a
more difficult species I will try and
rearrange the tank, perhaps move
a male out or add extra fish of the
same species to create competition.
Sometimes the addition of dither
fish helps the fish feel secure — I use
various pencil fish, endlers and dwarf
rainbows such as Pseudomugil. A lot
of fishkeeping is trial and error, and
learning along the way
Do you think that the weather
ever plays a role as a spawning
trigger?
Absolutely, especially with many
pleco and Corydoras species. I can
almost guarantee a spawning from
my Ancistrus sp. ‘wabenmuster’ when
there’s a pressure drop. I will do a
water change during or just after the
pressure drops. I have a barometer in
my fish room for this reason alone —
if I see any changes on it, I will begin
to take notes and start water changes.
What happens with the fry that
you raise? Are they sold? Does
it offset the running costs of the
fish house?
It depends on the fish that I have
available. The likes of emperor tetras
Benitochromis
nigrodorsalis.
or Apistogramma agassizii I could take
into work (Finest Aquatics) as I know
they’re a consistent seller and people
will want them. But for something
a bit more niche like Benitochromis
nigrodorsalis I would speak to a
wholesaler, such as Ornamental
Aquatic Wholesale, and see if they
would be interested in taking them at
a lesser price but in greater numbers.
Failing that I would reach out to more
specialist shops such as the Fish Barn
and see if a deal could be done.
If I can, I will always try and speak
with fellow hobbyists and do trades

Peacock
gudgeon proved
a spawning
challenge.

22 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 What’s in the tank ?
APISTOGRAMMA:
Yucatan
6rositae
swordtails.
6cinilabra
6borellii
6ex sp. ortegai
and keep away from any monetary
6agassizii
exchange. This way I can get
6pantalone
something different and they also get
6D10
something different and you build
6Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis
great relationships. As for the running
costs, it does offset it to some degree
PELVICACHROMIS:
but I end up spending the money
6kribensis ‘Moliwi’
I make on food or more fish, so 6subocellatus ‘Matadi’
realistically it doesn’t make a huge 6taeniatus ‘Nigeria red’
difference. I’m fortunate that my fish
room only costs me roughly £50 a ASSORTED CICHLIDS:
month to run. 6Enigmatochromis lucanusi
6Nannacara anomala
What’s the easiest breeding 6Biotoecus opercularis
project you’ve had, and how 6Benitochromis nigrodorsalis
would a beginner do it? 6Amatitlania altoflavus
Technically it’s the various endlers 6Hypsophrys nicaraguensis
I have and it’s just a case of adding 6Geophagus turiacu
water. Something a bit more practical 6Guinacara sp ‘orinoco’
would be Pelvicachromis kribensis, 6Hemichromis sp.
often it’s a case of forming a pair and
CATFISH:
feeding them well and doing regular
6Corydoras duplicareus
water changes.
6Corydoras agassizii
It becomes a bit more advanced as
6Aspidoras pauciradiatus
they begin courting and eventually
6Scleromystax barbatus
laying because the female may be a
6Duringlanis purugiae
great mother, or she may take several
6Scobinancistrus aureatus
attempts at laying and raising. The
6Leporacanthicus L240
best thing about Pelvicachromis (and
6Ancistrus sp. ‘wabenmuster’
most West African cichlids) is they’re
bi-parental and raise the fry together PAROSPHROMENUS:
as a pair. With many Apistogramma 6linkei
the males or fry may need to be 6bintan
removed to get the best results.
BETTA:
6ocellata
6brownorum
CHARACINS:
6Hyphessobrycon sp. ‘red cherry’
6Hyphessobrycon sp. ‘blue ribbon’
6Nematobrycon palmeri
6Hemmigrammus filamentosus
6Pyrrhulina cf brevis
6Moenkhausia costae
6Bryconalestes longipinnis
6Phenacogrammus interruptus
6Nannostomus nitidus
BARBS:
6Entermius fasciolatus
6Puntius titteya
6Barbodes everetti
6Pethia padamya
6Haludaria fasciata
6Desmopuntius rhomboocellatus
6Neolabias unitaeniatus
6Procatopus cf abberans
6Oreichthys crenuchoides
LIVEBEARERS:
6Tiger endlers
6Cardinal endlers
6Xiphophorus pygmaeus
6Xiphophorus montezumae
6Xiphophorus helleri ‘Yucatan’
6Xenophallus umbratilis
OTHERS:
6Tateurndina ocellicauda
6Mastercembelus cryptacanthus
6Melanotaenia praecox
6Rocket panchax
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 23
READER TANK
Interview / Liam Roberts
It’s best to remember a lot of
breeding is failed attempts and
learning from the past spawning until
the method is a success — I keep a
log for this reason.
A 50ltr tank with sand, plants,
wood and a few caves and a pair of
kribensis is a good introduction to
breeding, in my opinion.
What’s the most challenging
breeding project you’ve had,
and what did you learn from the
experience?
There have been three main ones.
One species was Apistogramma D21.
I’ve spawned them accidentally in
the past, then left them be to focus
on other things. When I came to
spawn them again, I couldn’t get
any consistency. The female would
lay and eat the eggs, or she would
allow them to hatch then eat the fry,
or she would lay and they would
fungus straight away. I tried removing
the eggs to hatch separately, even
setting up several different tanks,
adding black water, and diluting the
tank with RO but nothing worked.
Jewel cichlid,
Hemichromis.
24 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
An air manifold
feeds into gang
I eventually I moved them onto a valves.
fellow breeder who is trying some
different methods. The issue may be
that they’re wild fish and their true
age is unknown — perhaps they’re
too old now. Maybe the male wasn’t
fertile? Perhaps the female wasn’t
happy in her settings? It’s one of the
many mysteries of fish keeping.
A second species was the peacock
gudgeon. They lay their eggs in small
caves (such as pvc pipes), where the
male traps the female until she lays
her eggs then he fans the eggs until
they eventually hatch. The biggest
issue I had was timing the hatch
as the male would always eat the
fry the moment they became free
swimming. I got the timings right
to the final day and have moderate
success removing the cave to a
container with an airstone. The
fry are tiny and need the likes of
paramecia/infusoria to begin life.
A third species was Wallaceochromis
rubrolabiatus. This was complex in
regards to its social structure rather
than the actual spawning. They’re
not a fish you can take a male and
female from and stick them together
and breed, because one will die.
I found success raising a group,
allowing a pair to form naturally, and
then giving them their own tank.
Once I overcame this hurdle it was
straightforward. They’re still fish that
require very soft water and a densely
decorated tank but they’re fantastic
parents. The last hurdle was the fry
— once removed to a separate tank
they took on their own personality
and became just as aggressive as
the parents. Even in a 50ltr tank with
plenty of hiding places I eventually
ended up with none. A hard lesson I
learnt quickly.
What I’ve learnt from all of the
more complex spawnings would be
notes. There’s no such thing as too
many notes or information, and it’s
the exact reason I created a small
Facebook group (called The Fish
Room) with likeminded people to
document my spawnings with a
series of videos and information.
I still keep a pen and paper in the
Betta ocellata.
fish room but the social media side
of things opens the door to other
schools of thoughts.
What would be your advice to
someone wanting to set up a fish
house of their own?
Think long and hard about why you
want it. Draw it out and brainstorm
ideas. Research materials and visit
other fish rooms. Ask others about
the pros and cons of their fish room
and what they would do different.
Don’t be afraid to ask questions,
there’s no such thing as a stupid
question.
Having a fish room is great but it
can become intense very quickly
and you will benefit from having a
regimented mindset. If one job is put
off it adds up overtime and can be
overwhelming — before you know
it you’ll have ten little jobs and only
half a day to do them. If you can
do it in the moment then do it. I’ve
learnt the hard way in the past. Fail
to plan, plan to fail.
What’s the most practical piece ABOVE: Stages
of equipment you own? of development
Sounds unusual, but probably the for the
actual structure itself. No expense construction.
was spared and we used as much
insulation as humanly possible. We
used water proof boarding and added
bitumen to the whole base and all the
joints. We then covered the whole
structure in a damp proof membrane
then cladded it all with plastic. Inside
was also damp proofed and cladded.
We then used the most efficient lights
and blower possible. Do it cheap and
you’ll end up doing it twice.
Floating plants
feature heavily.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 25
HABITAT
Rio Humadea

What lives in the

Rio Humadea?
Uwe Werner was blessed to be able to snorkel
in some pristine South American waters.
Here he reports on what he found.

N FEBRUARY 2019, a year before travel

I
lockdowns, I was travelling with friends in
Colombia, searching for rare or even unknown
UWE aquarium fish, and here I found a fish hunter’s
WERNER
Uwe is a prolific
treat. Of the several different biotopes here, one of
author and writer
who boasts over 40
the nicest I fished in was Río Humadea, southeast
fish seeking trips
to West Africa and
of the city of Villavicencio. It was a stony and
the Americas. fast-flowing river with particularly clear water.

26 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 The clear waters
of the Humadea.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 27
HABITAT
Rio Humadea

At the time I visited, I recorded

a pH of 5.5, 0°GH, 2°KH and a
temperature of 27°C. The river’s
banks were populated with ibises and
overgrown with jungle trees, from
which small monkeys watched
proceedings with curious glances.
We snorkelled and fished there for
three days, fascinated by the
abundance of fish that populate this
biotope. This is a worthwhile
destination to visit.

Astyanax bimaculatus
No sooner had our faces touched the
water than we recognised two-spot
astyanax, Astyanax bimaculatus
(Linné, 1758), swimming around in
shoals, approaching us seemingly
unafraid and full of curiosity. They
seem aware that people swimming
stir up fine particles among which
they gleefully sift for morsels to eat.
Even though these hefty, 10cm
characins feed predominantly on
zooplankton like copepods,
ostracods, mosquito larvae and fly
larvae, they will not turn their noses
up at detritus and some plant matter.
They are even said to be occasionally
lepidophagous, eating the scales of
other fish, so it’s advisable to use a
species-only set-up for them.
Larger groups have more visual
appeal because all the fins aside the
pectorals are yellowish-orange or,
especially in males, even red, which
contrasts nicely against the silver
body, the scales of which have
narrow dark edges. The refers to the humeral spot and a
‘two-spot’ name longitudinal blotch on the caudal
peduncle which extends to the end
of the central caudal fin rays.

Behold the black lines

Another schooling fish found here is
the black line tetra, Moenkhausia
costae (Steindachner, 1907). It grows
to about 7-8 cm and is difficult to sex,
ripe females being only a bit fatter
than males. Formal sources tell us
that it lives in north-eastern Brazil
(Bahia, Alagoas, Pernambuco), but
we found it in an Orinoco-affluent,
which means that the species is more
widespread to the north.
These characins are robust and
adaptable, which is especially true if
we talk about water parameters (they
The sharp
teeth of thrive within 6-7,5; 5-20°GH) and
Spatuloricaria. temperature (tolerant from 22-27 °C).

They are peaceful but should also be
kept in shoals of at least ten in a
spacious tank of about 250 l with
abundant plants in the background
and at the sides. There, they will
bustle about in the middle water
layers and feed on any general
aquarium fish food. Spawning takes
place amidst the foliage. At 25°C,
their fry hatch after 48 hours and six
days later will be free swimming.
Broken lines?
Another species we encountered
looks a lot like the broken line tetra,
Hemigrammus ulreyi (Boulenger,
1895), from Central Brazil and the
Paraguay basin, but that’s a
considerable distance away from
where we found ‘our’ broken lines.
The fish we observed is a bit more
high-bodied than H. ulreyi, carries a
FACTFILE
BARRED SPATULORICARIA
6Scientific name: Spatuloricaria terracanticum
6Pronunciation: Spat-yoo-lorry-car-ee-ah terr-a can-tik-um
6Size: To 28.5cm
6Origin: Colombia
6Habitat: Calmer areas of rivers over sand and stones
6Tank size: 150x45x45cm
6Water requirements: Soft and acidic to slightly alkaline
water; 5.0-7.5pH, 2-12°H 300 l+
6Temperature: 22-28°C
6Temperament: Shy species best suited to species only tanks
6Feeding: Specialist feeder that requires live and frozen
meaty foods like Daphnia and bloodworm. Will not eat algae
6Availability and cost: Very rare find in stores, expect to pay
at least £80 assuming you can source one
conspicuous spot on the caudal
peduncle, and the black and yellow
pattern in the anterior part of the
dorsal is missing. Its size of 5cm is
similar to H. ulreyi, which is also true
for the yellow and black stripe along
the body. But with little else to go on,
we can’t even be sure that it’s a
Hemigrammus at all…
Adorable Paradon
Wherever we snorkelled in the
Humadea, the water was fast flowing,
especially where bigger stones
formed chicanes and ridges. The
water flew over them and down on
the other side, quite often into deeper
pools which people used for bathing.
Where the current was particularly
strong, we observed an unusual Chaetostoma
characin — Parodon apolinari. Its formosa and
generic name Parodon refers to the L446.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 29
HABITAT
Rio Humadea
fact that the species of this genus
have eight to ten multicuspidated
teeth (odon=tooth) of which two
(par=two) are always geminated
(where two teeth have developed
from one). They belong to the
Parodontidae that use their unique
teeth to rasp on algae and aufwuchs
that grow on stones in rapid waters.
They are adapted to a rheophilic life
with an inferior (downward facing)
mouth and their flat chest, as well as
remarkably strong pectorals which
press them to the substrate and
enable them to ‘walk’ over rocks.
They even use their teeth to help
climb up on vertical surfaces.
Parodon apolinari grows to about
12cm, has a prolonged dorsal, and
tiny tubercles on the mouth, the sides
of the head and the throat, details
that make it different to other
The river’s banks were populated with ibises and
overgrown with jungle trees, from which small monkeys
watched proceedings with curious glances
30 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Parodon. Tubercles like that are not
known from other characins, but
rather from cyprinids (including
goldfish), that develop them in the
spawning season. Unfortunately,
nothing is known about the
reproduction of this species.
Delightful darters
Both in fast flowing and calm waters
we found a small Characidium
species, measuring about 6cm, one
of many of these bottom-dwelling
‘torpedoes’. The fish had a slender
body, a straight abdominal line, a
reduced swimbladder and relatively
strong pectoral and ventral fins; all
adaptations for fish that live on the
river bottom. They moved forward in
jerky leaps, pausing repeatedly, using
ventral fins as props and lifting the
head to scrutinize the surroundings.
FACTFILE
TWO-SPOT ASTYANAX
6Scientific name: Astyanax bimaculatus
6Pronunciation: Ass-tee-an-ax by-mak-yoo-lat-uss
6Size: To around 15cm
6Origin: Recorded in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French
Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,
and Venezuela
6
Habitat: Seems to prefer flowing rivers over stones and wood, but
also found in still waters
6Tank size: 120x45x45cm
6Water requirements: Soft and acidic to slightly alkaline water;
5.2-7.5pH, 2-15°H
6Temperature: 20-28°C
6
Temperament: Peaceful, but its active
nature may intimidate shy fish. Boisterous
community species 240 l+
6
Feeding: Wholly unfussy, offer flakes,
pellets, live and frozen Daphnia,
bloodworm
6Availability and cost: Very rarely found in
UK stores, expect to pay over £7.50 per
fish

The Humadea
They have a small mouth and feed
heads towards on small particles, are completely
sundown. unaggressive and would be up there
with the most desirable aquarium
fishes if only they were a bit more
colourful. With a pattern of dark
bands on their greyish body they
are quite inconspicuous, and well
camouflaged in their natural habitats.
Meeting the suckermouths
The high-speed waters and the stony
bottom of the Humadea, the pebbles
of which are covered with a layer of
algae (at least in the shallower zones),
also offer perfect living conditions for
loricariids. One we encountered was
Ancistrus triradiatus, described by
Eigenmann in 1907 from the
Quebrada Cramalote (southeast of
Villavicencio). Catching some 4cm
youngsters demanded all our skill
because they between bigger stones,
but the white tips on the edges of
their caudal fins shone so attractively
that we only stopped after we had
caught a considerable number. Two
days later we found them also in a
small brook near El Merey among
sunken wood, where catching them
was a piece of cake.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 31
Astyanax
bimaculatus.
On to the rubbernoses
Close to the natural barriers that the
Paradon enjoyed, where the water
was at its fastest, we found two
species of Chaetostoma — bulldog
or rubbernose plecs.
The first one was rather yellowish,
which we recognised as the ‘blond
rubber pleco’ or ‘striped rubbernose
pleco’, and was described in 2011
as C. formosae by the ichthyologist
Gustavo Ballen. The specific epithet
(second part of the formal name) is a
dedication to Ballen’s sister, meaning
something like ‘shapely’ or ‘beautiful’.
It grows to about 15cm and is
considered to be rather compatible in
aquaria, because the males claim
only small territories. It can be easily
identified and distinguished from all
its known congeners by its prolonged
and unbranched second ray of the
anal fin in mature males, which may
even reach up to the caudal. This fish
is distributed in Colombia in western
affluents to the upper Río Meta and
Río Guaviare.
In the same biotopes lives a
coarsely spotted and, as far as I
know, still undescribed species which
has been given the L-number L446.
HABITAT
Rio Humadea

It seems to be more delicate and

demanding, at least as far as the
cleanliness and the aeration of the
water is concerned.
It’s quite a shy and retiring fish, so
other loricariids might intimidate it,
potentially causing it to starve and
wither away. This is a fish better kept
in company of conspecifics, if
possible in a larger group. Both
of these cats feed on algae and
aufwuchs in the wild, but can be
alternatively fed with (green) food
tabs, granules and frozen food like
Artemia and Cyclops.

Time for twigs

Where the water is a bit calmer,
somewhere closer to the riverbanks
and among detritus, pebbles, and
sand, we found a twig catfish
Farlowella vittata, the scientific name
a tip of the hat to its striped body. It
can be found in Venezuela and
Colombia in the Orinoco-basin and is
regularly imported from Columbia.
Males of these very slender,
elongated fish can be recognised by
the broader rostrum, covered with
short odontodes (bristles), whereas in
females it is thinner and smooth. The
abdominal area of ripe females, when
ready to spawn, becomes
significantly fuller.
Twig catfish are peaceful, restrained
and sometimes even shy fish that
aren’t especially agile. In the
domestic setting, they’re ideal
company for small and calm
characins — decorate their aquarium
with high-growing plants, driftwood,
and smooth stones and they’ll be
happy. The tank needn’t be big, but
the water should be warm (26-28°C)
and clean, which means it needs
frequent waterchanges. In nature,
Farlowella feed on algae, aufwuchs
and soft parts of plants, but accept
readily food-flakes and frozen food
without problem. They are, however,
slow feeders that never seem to
develop pronounced bellies, so it’s ABOVE: Parodon
best to feed them several times a day. apolinari.
As for water-hardness and the pH,
BELOW LEFT:
these appear quite irrelevant for their
The ‘not’ H.
health and well-being, but if you want ulreyi, probably
to breed them, the water should be H. barrigonae.
soft and slightly acidic.
The male guards the eggs, the
clutch counting between 40 and 70,
and may spawn at the same site with
another female! The first fry,
measuring about 1cm, may hatch
after eight days, the last ones three
days later.

32 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Raising them is not easy. It seems
to be best if the aquarium is full of
algae, but you can also try algae
products like Repashy Soilent Green
or crushed bush beans and peas.
Hiding in plain sight
When you snorkel, there are many
things you will see at the first glance,
while others, even in gin-clear water,
can be overlooked repeatedly. This is
also true for fish. In the Humadea,
this was our experience with
Spatuloricaria terracanticum — the
name being a direct reference to the
spatula-shaped heads of these fish.
This ‘shovel-nose loricariid’ was the
first species of its genus that was
described from the Orinoco-basin,
namely in 2018, by Londoño-
Burbano et al. Its type-locality is
situated at the foot of the Andes in
the Upia-River (Departmento
Casanare), which empties into the
upper Río Meta, just like our Río
Humadea.
Characteristics are the alternating
dark brown and bright (nearly white)
crossbands and four to five long and
curved teeth in the upper jaw, the tips
of which differ in males and females.
Perhaps an easier way to sex them is
that the males have a certain number
of small odontodes on the sides of
the head and on the first pectoral
spine. The upper tip of their caudal
fin possesses a thin filament reported
reach a length of up to 80% of the
body, but apparently it can get longer.
When we eventually worked out
how to spot them (this was mainly
because they darted away when they
noticed our approach), we finally
managed to catch some.
They all measured around 20cm,
whereas the biggest specimen
formally recorded measured
285.5mm standard length (excluding
the tail) To my knowledge, nothing is
known about the breeding behaviour
of this species and the other species
of its genus.
ABOVE: A twig FACTFILE
catfish blends in
perfectly. TWIG CATFISH
6Scientific name: Farlowella vittata
6
Pronunciation: Far-low-ell-ah
vit-ah-ta
6Size: To 15cm
6Origin: Venezuela and Colombia
6Habitat: Slow flowing rivers and
streams with wood and sunken
branches
6Tank size: 90x30x30cm
6
Water requirements: Soft and acidic
to neutral; 6.0-7.0pH, 2-10°H
6Temperature: 24-27°C
6
Temperament: Peaceful, but usually
too shy to feed in a community tank
6Feeding: Aufwuchs and vegetable
feeder, offer specialist green diets
with occasional treats of Daphnia or
bloodowrm
6Availability and cost: Quite easy to
find if you look about, prices from
around £8
81 l+
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 33
ADVICE Know-how

Just chillin’ Most of us are interested in keeping our tanks warm, but
what about when the mercury rises and things get too hot?
Gabor Horvath investigates.
BELOW: LMOST EVERYONE even tropical freshwater species aquarium temperature could actually

A
Gasping can has a solution of can survive at surprisingly low result in some unexpected fry.
be a sign over their own to deal temperatures. Temperatures above In heavily stocked aquariums —
overheating.
with aquariums the optimum can cause more think about Malawi tanks —
RIGHT: Coral overheating in troubles. The metabolism becomes problems are encountered sooner
bleaching summer, ranging faster, meaning more waste and as even a few degrees increase could
occurs as ocean from icing the water, increased pollutants. Add to this the collapse the balance. In aquariums
temperatures through installing PC reduced oxygen content (warmer with moderate livestock, you have
rise. coolers, to employing specialist water can hold less dissolved oxygen more wiggle room before things get
chilling equipment. There is a time than cool) and you have a to critical levels.
and place when you can use these catastrophe in waiting. The question Where many aquarists go wrong is
methods but in many cases the is, when should you intervene? finding the ‘pre-critical’ point —
intervention is way too late. The once rooms warm up to 28°C they
animals we keep in our aquariums The hot cut-off switch to panic mode. For many
have an optimal temperature range. Warm water isn’t necessarily bad. It’s freshwater tropical fish 30°C isn’t too
Below their recommended minimal usually towards the top-end of the hot in short spells. Even native
temperatures, metabolisms slow optimal range where many fish British species like carp, pike, or
down, and fish will move and eat species go into breeding mode, so a tench would easily survive those
less. They won’t necessarily die, as small summer increase in the temperatures with enough oxygen.

GABOR
HORVATH
A Hungarian
aquarist now living
in the UK, Gabor is a
SHUTTERSTOCK

prolific fish breeder,

project undertaker
and writer.

34 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 SHUTTERSTOCK
As we’ve already seen generating devices. I have a will suddenly overchill a small tank
record heatwaves this thermostat on my while a half litre bottle will have
year, my advice is to lighting, so if the almost no effect in a 500-litre tank.
have an airpump temperature in the In any circumstances keep an eye
on standby, so if
As well as directly burning fish, fish house exceeds on the temperature. What you don’t
the temperature 27°C it want is a big temperature
direct sunlight on a tank can heat
increases again automatically fluctuation. (Editor’s note: Be
you could add an
gravel and rocks, which then turns off most of extremely cautious when using frozen
airstone to provide
retain the warmth long after the lights. If, despite bottles in warm tanks — I’ve heard of
extra oxygen, and the sun has passed. all of your aquarists cracking their glass this way)
often this is all that’s preventive measures, Another option is to use the chilling
needed to keep you still need to deal with effect of evaporating water. Creating
everything in control. high temperatures, there are air movement isn’t difficult and there
If you keep marines then the ways to do so. are numerous videos on the net
picture is very different. While many The simplest and quickest is to showing DIY solutions incorporating
tropical freshwater fish can cope well put something cold into the tank. several PC cooler fans.
with high temperatures marine You could do frequent (daily) If you’re not a DIY person or
creatures are not so forgiving — waterchanges using cooler (but not prefer not to risk an electric shock
think about the coral reefs dying due cold) water. In freshwater tanks a (most of these home-made units
to the rising ocean temperature of 25% change using water up to 5°C aren’t even splash proof and won’t
just a few degrees. This is why below the tank temperature can pass the safety checks) there are
marine aquarists frequently use solve the overheating problem. Even commercial aquarium coolers
some method to maintain stable in marine tanks a difference of 2-3°C like the JBL ProTemp Cooler X
temperatures during heatwaves. The won’t hurt your creatures. duo- available — a cross-flow
best way is prevention. An often-recommended way to fan which you can easily
quickly cool an aquarium is to use mount on the side of the fish
Practical measures ice. Dropping ice-cubes to a tank. The special vent blows
If you can keep your room relatively freshwater tank may work, but it’s a air across the surface through
cool you won’t need to worry about definitely no-go for marine setups, as an adjustable angle grill and
the temperatures. Keep the blinds they would dilute the water. A better cools down the water. Its
down and the blackout curtains way to use ice is to simply freeze effect is based on the same
drawn, only open the windows plastic bottles filled with water and principle as blowing on your
during cooler periods (at night or float those in the tank. Just make hot drink: the evaporation
early morning). If you own a sure that your actions are reduces the temperature of the
fish-house minimise the use of heat proportionate — a 2-litre ice bottle water. Don’t expect dramatic
ADVICE Know-how
cooling, but the 2-4°C drop you can
achieve (pending aquarium volume
and external temperature) can make Bugatti — if you can afford
a real difference.
By agitating the surface, the fans
also improve the gas exchange,
increasing the oxygen content. The
JBL ProTemp Cooler X is available
in two sizes: the X200 for up to
200-litre tanks and the X300 for up
to 300-litre aquariums. Used
together with a JBL ProTemp Cool
Control thermostat it’s a great safety
net for the occasional hot days.
Unlike some of the online
DIY ‘hacks’ JBL’s fan is
powered by a 12V
power supply,
significantly Whatever you do, when
reducing the things get hot, do not turn your
risk of electric aquarium heaters off. The
shock. thermostats will keep
them inactive.
Cooling with style
If you want a bulletproof
solution to overheating then
you’ll need a proper aquarium
chiller. For freshwater tanks these
may be a bit overkill, but there are
still times when you really need to
lower your water temperature.
For marine keepers however, a
chiller is a must. Yes, they’re pricey,
but if your tank contains
temperature-sensitive stock worth
thousands (or tens of thousands) of
pounds, then it’s a worthwhile
expense. I’ve seen many DIY
solutions incorporating beer chillers,
36 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
a pump, and a lengthy pipe, but this
is like putting a budget tyre on a
expensive corals and fish, you
should also have money for proper
equipment to keep them alive.
To demonstrate the operation of a
chiller I asked the help of Mark form
TradeMark Aquatics
(trademarkaquatics.co.uk) and he
provided me with an excellent Teco
TK500 model. I opened it up for
those who aren’t familiar with the
operation of an aquarium
chiller, to offer an inside look.
You shouldn’t do this at
home, as it may
invalidate the
warranty and
you don’t want
to damage any
of the inner
workings, especially
the coolant gas pipes.
The heart of the system is
a compressor, which squeezes
a refrigerant gas and increases its
temperature. The coolant then goes
through the condenser coils at the
front of the chiller, and cooler ABOVE: chamber, where it turns back to gas
outside air is sucked through a filter Monitor your and its temperature drops. The cold
grill. In the case of the TECO chiller temperature on gas then passes through a titanium
the grill is magnetically attached hot days. heat exchanger which absorbs the
making it particularly easy to BELOW: JBL’s heat from the aquarium water
remove and clean. ProTemp Cooler pumped through it. Then the gas
The gas passes the heat to the X in action. returns to the compressor and the
surrounding air and condenses to cycle continues.
liquid as it cools down. The liquid When installing a chiller you need
then passes through an expansion to consider a couple of things.
Firstly, you’ll need to place it in a
well-ventilated area. In a closed
cabinet the warm air expelled by the
chiller will be trapped around it, and
this will significantly reduce the
cooling performance. This means
that you may need to cut an
appropriately sized vent or direct the
flow towards the (usually) open back
of the cabinet. Most of the Teco TK
chillers have a rotatable top, so you
can guide the airflow in the most
convenient direction.
Also consider the routing of the
cooled water (outflow) pipe. It’s no
use to cool the water down and then
run it across the warm air flow or
next to a hot light. You may also
consider insulating the pipework to
improve performance. You mustn’t
forget that to operate a chiller you
will also need an appropriately sized
 SHUTTERSTOCK

water pump to work with it. For

example, the TK500 works with
500-800lph flow rates. Too much or
too little flow will negatively affect
the chilling performance.
Before buying a chiller think about
the size of your tank and the
environment it’s set up in. You must
use the total volume of your
aquarium, including the sump tank.
This may differ from your working
water volume, as in the case of
chillers you mustn’t deduct the water
displacement of rocks, substrate and
décor as you would for stocking or much-improved performance (COP coldwater setup you will need ABOVE: The
medication dosage reasons. It’s – coefficient of performance), saving oversized or multiple chillers. TECO TK500
always better to go slightly over than 30%-50% energy as compared to I’ve tested the TK500 in the water chiller, inside
undersize with a chiller. Think hard regular chillers. reservoir in my fish-house and it kept and out!
about the external environment, The tested TECO TK500 uses a set temperature of 20°C (5°C
as you will need a higher max. 240W energy and can below the room temperature) with
performing chiller in a maintain 25°C in up to only minimal (within +/-0.5°C)
warm flat than in a cool 500-litre aquariums. It fluctuation. These chillers work with
cellar. has an operational a TECOnnect Wi-Fi module
Considering the temperature range (optional extra), so I could easily
recent and Most fish cannot survive of 5°C -30°C, but as check the temperature from the
forthcoming energy when oxygen levels in the you go lower with comfort of my sofa.
price hikes it’s good to water drop below 5mg/l the temperature, so I have some future plans for this
know that the modern too does the chiller’s TK500, as I’m about to set up a
TECO chillers are quite overall capacity Welsh rockpool themed aquarium,
energy efficient. Using a decrease — set to 8°C and so watch this space for updates. It
new R290 environmentally friendly it can serve tanks only up to 100 will be a real test for the chiller, but
refrigerant they can achieve a litres, so if you are planning to run a I’m sure it will be up for the job.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 37
ADVICE Answers

Answers
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
Win
The Question of the
Month gets a Tetra
goodie box!

THE EXPERTS
DR PETER MARINE
BURGESS
Peter is our disease
expert. Send questions How reef-safe are these fish?
his way if you have pathogen problems.
I’ve been told that blue-chin triggers are reef-safe, and I’ve been considering adding one to my
BOB 5ft reef tank but I want to make sure this is correct. Will they be safe with chromis and a small
royal gramma — and what about snails? I presume hermits and shrimp are out with these fish.
MEHEN Any advice would be welcome.
Bob is a master of JOHN KING
fishkeeping general
knowledge and community tanks. JEREMY ADVISES: Blue-chin triggers, Xanthichthys auromarginatus, are reef-safe to a point.
Like all triggers, they have small mouths, but they have less menacing dentition than others,
JEREMY and as a genus they spend more time swimming and eating small floating
foods than searching out large critters. They will be fine with green
GAY chromis and a royal gramma. They are safe with hermit crabs and
Jeremy is more than snails too, but larger specimens may eat smaller-sized cleaner
adept when it comes to shrimp. One or more females can be kept alongside a single male
cichlids, goldfish and marine species.
blue-chin trigger. With an adult size in the region of 25cm, a
1.5m tank would be the minimum size I’d recommend for these Xanthichthys is one of the most
JORDAN fish. While there is always a tiny risk with any trigger, these reef-safe genera of triggerfish and
STIRRAT make a much better choice in any large tank than niger
triggerfish, Odonus niger, which almost always become worse
includes the Sargassum trigger,
Aquascaping prodigy
behaved with age. X. ringens and the expensive
Jordan is the man to Crosshatch trigger, X.
go to for all your planting issues.
mento.

MAX
PEDLEY
Max is like a living,
breathing search
engine. Cichlids are his speciality.

NEALE
MONKS
Neale is the man for
your technical queries.
He loves brackish fish, too.

DAVE
HULSE
Dave is a consultant for
SHUTTERSTOCK

the Tetra Advisory Board

and a research fellow at Keele University.
Blue-chin trigger

EVERYTHING YOU NEED Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine,
Warners Publishing, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH.
38 FOR HEALTHY FISH Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
 TROPICAL
How risky are these medications?
My aquarium contains tropical fish
such as swordtails, Corydoras and
harlequins. I suspected whitespot in
the swordtail and purchased a
treatment to deal with it. I used the
product but was somewhat concerned
when I read on the packaging that it
can cause cancer in humans. I carry
out partial water changes regularly, and
I’m very careful now not to have skin
contact with the tank water. But how
much risk is there really from using
these types of treatment?
GRANT DAVIES
NEALE REPLIES: Some whitespot
medications use active ingredients
such as formalin and malachite green.
Now, the problem with labelling things
as carcinogenic (known to cause
cancer) is that the context is often left
out. Malachite green can cause
mutations in cells under laboratory
conditions, with some researchers
identifying tumours and damage to the
organs of fish as well as developmental
problems in fish fry. But concerns
about malachite green affecting
humans are based around
consumption of farmed fish, with
malachite green being used to treat
external parasites and infections in
much the same way as we use it in
fish tanks. Unless you plan on eating
your swordtail, there’s no reason to be
concerned. Exposure via the skin at
normal concentrations isn’t likely to do
you any harm, but if you have
concerns, speak to your GP.
On the other hand, formalin is a
solution of formaldehyde in water, and
formaldehyde is pretty nasty. It’s
highly volatile, and when inhaled can
cause a range of problems including
nausea and watery eyes. On the skin,
formaldehyde can cause irritation.
Oddly enough, some people are more
sensitive than others. Long term
POND
How much space do goldfish need?
Please can you tell me the volume of
pond required to keep goldfish, and how
much space each goldfish needs?
ANGELA AWAN
JEREMY SAYS: Any goldfish needs a
minimum pond volume of 500 l, ideally
with a 60cm water depth. This is to
ensure the water temperature doesn't
SHUTTERSTOCK
Whitespot requires
moderately harsh
medicines.
exposure has been linked to an
increased risk of cancer, so while the
chemical has many industrial uses, it Tests
has been gradually phased out of use. Some people like to wear protective gloves or
That said, it is still used in all sorts of
rubber washing up-gloves when using test kits,
ways, from the manufacture of plastics
and plywood through to preserving
treatments, or just generally working on their fish
biological specimens. tank, which is good not just for avoiding chemicals
As the Swiss physician Paracelsus in the water, but also reducing the risk of exposure
put it some 500 years ago, it’s the to pathogenic bacteria. While it might sound like
dosage that makes the poison. At the overkill to some, it’s a sensible way to manage risk
concentrations present in fish and gain peace of mind. For similar reasons, you
medications, the amount of should never start a syphon by sucking on it when
formaldehyde you’ll be exposed to is carrying out water changes.
extremely low. To meaningfully
increase the risk of cancer, you’d need
to be exposed to higher levels across a
much longer period of time. Again, if
you are concerned, talk to your GP.
So, while neither chemical should
cause undue alarm, it’s good that
manufacturers list the active
ingredients in this way so that
aquarists can make informed
decisions. Fish medicines are
generally very safe, which is why we
can use them without veterinarian
advice, but we should treat them with
respect, and store them safely away
from children when not in use.
fluctuate too much and they can survive
a typical British winter outdoors. So, in
terms of size, you’d be looking at a
pond of roughly 150x60x60cm, ideally
SHUTTERSTOCK
with a small pump and biological filter,
and a UV clarifier to clear green water.
Aim for four or five common goldfish,
sarasa comets or shubunkins in a pond Goldies need
with a volume of that size. room.
SCAN ME FOR EXPERT
39
AQUARIUM CARE AND ADVICE
ADVICE Answers
TROPICAL
ABOVE: Texas
cichlid. How do I reduce my nitrate?
RIGHT: I have been running a Juwel 350 l
Severum. aquarium, housing three severums and
a Texas cichlid. I filter with a Fluval
FX4, with all the usual foams and bio
media, plus nitrate pads and resin
pouches to reduce my nitrate levels.
I do weekly water changes of 25%
using RO water, but I still cannot get
TETRA PRIZE
Heather wins a box of Tetra goodies: 100ml
TetraMin and TetraPro Colour foods, Holiday
Food, Pleco Algae Wafers, FunTips Tablets,
100ml SafeStart, EasyBalance and
AquaSafe water treatments and Tetra Test 6
in 1.
AWARD WINNING
40 PRODUCTS
either my nitrite or nitrate at zero. My
normal readings using a JBL Proscan
with the app are 0.25mg/l for nitrite
and 75mg/l for nitrate. I feed my fish
with a diet of pellets and bloodworm.
What’s the answer and what is the
best way to recharge resin? Or am I
just wasting my money with all these
products?
RAY ABBOTT
BOB SAYS: Elevated nitrate levels can
be problematic and cause health
issues to fish long term, so it’s
understandable that you are
concerned. However, a nitrate level of
0mg/l is very unusual (apart from in
heavily planted tanks) and not really
necessary: something under 25mg/l is
usually fine for all but the most
delicate species. I’ve not used the test
kit you mention but my understanding
is it is a ‘dip strip’ type test, the
results of which are read via a phone
app. Dip strips in general are not
especially accurate and give a
‘ballpark’ figure rather than a specific
level. Reading them can depend on
light levels which might possibly be
confusing the phone app camera
software, so worth checking.
The fact that you have an elevated
nitrate reading suggests the tank is
Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine,
Warners Publishing, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH.
Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
Question of
the Month
SHUTTERSTOCK
SHUTTERSTOCK
biologically active, especially if you
are using RO for your water changes
(which should not contain nitrate).
Just a quick check: are you buffering
the RO water before use? Pure RO is
not suitable for use in aquariums as it
is chemically unstable, so many
people mix it with tapwater or use
buffering minerals to prevent pH
crashes which can harm fish and
damage bacterial populations in the
tank. Extreme pH levels may affect
your test kit results as well.
Your fish are all chunky species
which will produce plenty of waste,
but your FX4 should be sufficient if
maintained well. I would suggest
stopping feeding for a week and
carrying out large, 50% water changes
with buffered RO every couple of days
to get the nitrate level down before
bringing back a reduced feeding
regime for the next month and then
seeing where your nitrate levels are.
You don’t mention which type of
resin you are using but many can be
recharged with a bath of hot, salty
water. Be aware that some can ‘dump’
captured nitrates if left too long
without recharging.
 COLDWATER

Which Shubunkin do I have?

How do I tell whether the Shubunkin
I have bought is a London or Bristol
variety?
DAVE MASON
JEREMY SAYS: Speak to a member of
a goldfish society who avidly shows
shubunkins and they will tell you that
the fish on sale in the shops are
neither. They are, in fact, calico
comets: spotty versions of goldfish
with long, pointy fins.
A true Bristol shubunkin has
beautiful, rounded lobes to its
extended tail fin and the British bred,
true Bristol shubunkins are the best in
the world.
A London shubunkin, by contrast, is
a stocky, short-finned fish like a calico
version of a Common goldfish. You
may find some fish in the shops with
short fins, so they would be the most
similar to London shubunkins, but as
with Bristols, it’s all about the
bloodlines. All shubunkins can be BELOW
wonderful fish, but if you want true LEFT: Bristol
London or Bristol shubunkins it’s best shubunkin.
to contact one of the UK goldfish
societies, such as the Goldfish Society BELOW
of Great Britain (GSGB) at www. RIGHT: London
goldfishsociety.co.uk or Bristol shubunkin.
Aquarists’ Society at www.bristol-
aquarists.org.uk/ — which,
incidentally, is the society where the
Bristol shubunkin strain was
developed.

NEIL HEPWORTH

NEIL HEPWORTH
POND

Can it be too hot to run

a waterfall?
Should I run my pond waterfall in excessive hot weather like we had in
July? The filter is submerged in the pond and the outlet drives the
waterfall for oxygenation.
Although the waterfall provides oxygenation, which I know is important
SHUTTERSTOCK

in hot weather, the pond temperature decreases a few degrees at the

bottom of the pond and provides a cooler refuge for the fish. Running the Waterfalls
submerged filter and waterfall mixes the cold water at the bottom and provide oxygen.
the warm water at the top, taking away this cooler refuge.
Does running the waterfall on very hot days outweigh the benefits of
having cooler water at the bottom of the pond?
NICK HARRISON

JEREMY SAYS: Yes, you should run the waterfall in the heat as it drives
off CO2 and increases oxygen: two things the fish need. Run it 24 hours
per day, as the fish are most likely to succumb to low oxygen levels at
night. It’s also important to keep it running because it's fed by the filter
outlet, and the filter must also run 24 hours per day. Fish produce
more ammonia in warm water via the gills as respiration increases. It is
SHUTTERSTOCK

a valid point about cold and warmer water not mixing in a still pond
Ammonia output
— you can actually feel it if you put your arm in deep, still water — but
increases in
the fish will still be producing ammonia and will need all the oxygen
warmer water.
they can get. I'd definitely leave the waterfall and filter on.

SCAN ME FOR EXPERT

41
POND CARE AND ADVICE
ADVICE Answers
COLDWATER
Why don’t my goldfish swim about?
Lately, both my goldfish seem to be just
sitting at the bottom of the tank, and
one of them has a strange lump with a
dark shadow in the middle. Could this
be a tumour?
They still have a good appetite but are
very inactive. The oranda looks healthy
and swims up when I feed them, but
the one with the lump always seems to
keep its head up and appears to sink
whenever it stops pushing.
The tank is planted, and they used
to be very happy, always swimming
around. Water parameters are pristine,
and I have also tested it with my local
aquatic shop to make sure I wasn’t
misreading the results. The only thing
that concerns me is that the water
tends to be between 24–27°C due to
the high room temperature — but it
has always been like that.
I have tried different treatments for
swimbladder and infections, including
salt, Epsom salts, and antibacterial
treatment, but things haven’t changed.
Please could you advise?
LUIGI CIRILLO
PETER SAYS: First I should mention
that these round-bodied varieties of
goldfish are not as efficient swimmers
as ‘normal’-shaped goldfish, and I
have noticed that some tend to
become less active as they get older
and may sit for long periods on the
bottom of the tank, only rising when
food appears.
AWARD WINNING
42 PRODUCTS
Other causes for inactivity on the
tank base are swimbladder problems
(causing the fish to lose their neutral
buoyancy) and certain other health
problems and diseases. It can also be
caused by some water quality
problems, including toxins, perhaps
through contamination of the water
with air-borne paint fumes, solvent
fumes, and household insecticide
sprays, none of which will be picked
up by aquarium test kits, of course.
As for the swelling on one of the fish,
the lump looks a bit-lopsided
(asymmetrical) in the photo, so it
could be due to a tumour or perhaps
an enlargement of one of the major
organs due to disease, such as kidney
disease. Or it could be a gut blockage. The underlying causes of polycystic ABOVE:
My ‘best guess’ is that it’s suffering kidney disease are thought to be Buoyancy is
from a condition called polycystic genetic in some cases, but many gone in this
kidney, which is quite common in others have been linked to infection goldfish.
goldfish, where the kidney enlarges with a tiny internal parasite, called
considerably to the extent that the Hoferellus carassii. BELOW: An
fish’s abdomen becomes visibly Unfortunately, unlike most common assymetrical
swollen, often asymmetrically, as we parasites that target the body surfaces bump can be
see in your fish. The enlarging kidney such as the skin or gills, these internal seen.
can displace the gas-filled parasites are extremely difficult to
swimbladder which can become treat, so, if this is the case, I fear
depressed. As a result, the buoyancy there is nothing you can do regarding
properties of the swimbladder become treatment.
reduced, causing the fish to gravitate Hoferellus parasites are believed to
to the aquarium base — again, this be transmitted via certain freshwater
fits with your observations. But I worms, so transmission to your other
should add that certain internal goldfish is unlikely as you most
tumours can have similar effects probably won’t have the worm vectors
on buoyancy. present in your tank.
Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine,
Warners Publishing, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH.
Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
 TROPICAL
Which headstanders can I add to my tank?
I have a Juwel Rio 180 l aquarium with
lots of Java fern, bogwood, and a fine
gravel substrate. It's been set up for
just over three months and runs off the
supplied Juwel filter. It has a group of
ten harlequins, eight scissortails and
four Corydoras sterbai. I wondered if I
could add a group of headstanders. I
know the striped headstander gets a bit
big for my tank, but I wondered if the
marbled or spotted would be suitable.
Is one species better than the other?
How many should I get, and do they
have any special requirements?
JACK ELLIS
NEALE SAYS: Headstanders are
among the strangest characins, and
good fun to keep. While there is some
variation between the three species
you mention, there are some points of
similarity as well. All are omnivorous,
and in the wild consume algae and
even soft plants alongside the usual
insect larvae and other invertebrates.
They also tend to be quarrelsome
towards both their own kind and
similar looking fish when kept in
captivity, unless a large enough group
is maintained that they can sort
themselves out into a stable school.
Of the three species, the striped
headstander, Anostomus anostomus,
is the largest and most colourful.
Adult specimens are reputed to reach
up to 16cm in length in the wild, but
that doesn’t seem to be typical. My
own specimen, now something like
15 years old, is maybe 12cm long.
You’re probably right that a Rio 180
aquarium would be a tight squeeze for
this fish, but the problem isn’t quite
so much the volume of water as the
filter. Anostomus appreciate
moderately strong currents, and while
the Rio's built-in filter is excellent in
many ways, it doesn’t push out much
of a current. An additional canister
filter could help. So far as
compatibility goes, A. anostomus gets
on fine with active barbs and tetras
that swim about in midwater. Your
Corydoras sterbai might be at risk
though: Anostomus seem to be
‘cleaner fish’ by nature and will
approach slow-moving fish with an eye
on removing dead skin and parasites.
While large catfish can handle this
behaviour by darting into their cave
when they’ve had enough, corys aren’t
gifted with the brains necessary to
take such decisive action! Some
people have combined Anostomus and
corys just fine — and the former really
aren’t nippy, more annoying — but
exactly how this would work out in
your tank is hard to say.
The Marbled headstander, Abramites
hypselonotus, gets to around 12cm in
length in captivity and is deeper
bodied than Anostomus. It’s a
generalist, nibbling on anything from
freshwater sponges to aquatic plants.
In fact, these come across as rather
greedy fish, and it may well be that
not giving them enough food is one
reason they have a reputation for
being fin-nippers. Flake by itself
probably isn’t filling enough, and they
really do need things like lettuce
leaves and slices of courgette to nibble
on between meals, else they turn their
hungry eyes on their tankmates. I’m
not convinced they’re ideal community
SHUTTERSTOCK
NEIL HEPWORTH
tank fish, but more suited to carefully ABOVE:
structured biotope tanks. Fast-moving Abramites
characins work well with them, as do headstander.
medium-sized L-number catfish, but
I’d not trust them with Corydoras. BELOW: Spotted
Marbled headstanders very much headstander.
need to be kept in large groups, unlike
Anostomus, which do fine when kept
singly. But being intensely hierarchical
amongst their own kind, you don’t
want to be keeping fewer than six,
and given their relatively large size,
keeping six or more fish as big as
these won’t work out in a Rio 180.
While not as dramatically coloured
as either of the above, the spotted
headstander has the benefit of being
relatively small at around 7cm long
and is much more reliably peaceful
towards tankmates. It is another social
species, but because of its smaller
size, buying a large group isn’t going
to be difficult. These fish aren’t
expensive either, so getting 5-6
specimens isn’t going to break the
bank. That said, the Spotted
headstander is quite sensitive
requiring a well-run, mature tank with
excellent water quality. Like the
others, it’s an omnivore, but with a
preference for insect larvae and algae.
Kept well fed, it generally ignores its
tankmates, and if anything, stays out
of trouble, hiding away in shady
corners. It should be a good pick for
your tank, provided you get enough of
them right from the start.
TEACHING CHILDREN ALL
43
ABOUT FISHKEEPING
ADVICE Answers

PLANTS

How can I get some grass to grow?

I would like to add a grass-like plant to
my 180 l aquarium. I’ve never been
very successful with hairgrass, which is
supposed to be easy, but I find traps a
lot of debris and then just falls to bits.
I have plant-spec LED lighting and I
feed my plants regularly but don’t use
CO2. Would something like Juncus
work, or is that also difficult without
CO2? I’m not necessarily after an
aquatic lawn, but I do like the effect of
grassy plants. Is there anything else I
could try please?
TOM BAGSHAW
JORDAN ADVISES: CO2 is quite an
important element when growing
carpeting plants specifically. Dwarf
looking for without the aid of CO2.
Juncus repens would likely grow a
bit big and be quite chaotic looking,
but it’s a look you may want. For best
results CO2 is recommended, but it
will grow without it.
I would consider using Cryptocoryne
parva, as it will only grow 3-6cm tall
and grows well without CO2
supplementation. The growth will be
considerably slower in comparison to
other plants. But due to its low-
growing nature, it requires less
trimming and maintenance. Provide it
with a nutrient-rich aquasoil and
complete liquid fertilisation to grow a
thriving carpet. Lilaeopsis brasiliensis
or Helanthium tenellum are also both

SHUTTERSTOCK
hair grass, Eleocharis acicularis ‘Mini’ good options and will give a similar
may not grow into the carpet you are grassy effect.

Juncus repens.
Clean your carpets
Waste organics may collect over time from dead plant matter, fish
waste or uneaten food. It’s important to preform frequent water
changes while removing this waste. Use a syphon to lift the waste
from the top layer of the substrate — this is particularly helpful
when cleaning established carpets of plants. You can also use a
turkey baster held in one hand to dislodge waste, while in the other
hand using a tube to remove the detritus. Another popular

CREATIVE COMMONS
technique while doing a water change is to wave your hand over the
plants, which moves some of the waste into the water column to be
removed while you’re syphoning out the water.

TROPICAL How do I keep these

blue-eyed beauties?
I'd like to set up a 60 l aquarium based around a forktail
blue-eye habitat. I have an air-powered sponge filter to give
them the slow flow I know they prefer, and I’ll be using live
plants, but I wondered if you could offer any other advice
such as how many I should buy, substrate, lighting, and
whether there's anything from the same habitat I could keep
on the bottom of the tank or if they're best on their own. Are
they relatively straightforward to breed?
JACQUI SMALLEY

NEALE REPLIES: The forktail blue-eye, Pseudomugil

furcatus, comes from the eastern half of Papua New
Guinea, where it inhabits rainforest streams. These streams
Forktail blue-
ALAMY

are thickly vegetated around the margins, but the deeper

eyes.
parts are littered with twigs and leaves across a silty or

GLOBAL LEADER Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers, Practical Fishkeeping Magazine,
Warners Publishing, The Maltings, West Street, Bourne, PE10 9PH.
44 IN AQUATICS Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
 TROPICAL

How can I keep my female gourami safe?

afe?

I have a 120 l aquarium which is well
planted and houses cardinals, black
neons, sunset dwarf gourami, and
Corydoras, plus a couple of large
Amano shrimp.
The male dwarf gourami built a nest
a week ago, which got me quite
excited, but I never saw any eggs.
I noticed during the recent heatwave
that the female was hiding, although
I didn't notice him chasing her. She
died on the Tuesday when we had the
terrific heat, although I'd managed to
keep the temperature in the tank down
to 27.5°C by removing the covers and
switching off the lights, and all the
other inhabitants seem fine. There
didn't appear to be any marks on her.
Is it likely the male may have harmed
her?
I'd like to have a proper go at
breeding the gouramis and I'm
wondering whether I should perhaps
add two females, or transfer the
SHUTTERSTOCK
so that harassed fish can find respite,
and it may be necessary to remove the
female to another aquarium if this is
not feasible.
Adding a second female may help
spread out the aggression; however, if
you are successful in breeding them,
it is still recommended to remove the
females once the eggs have been laid, Male dwarf
as the male becomes especially gourami.
protective of the nest and will not
tolerate females nearby, whether they Dwarf gourami
are the egg-laying partner or not. pair.
Only in the largest, most densely
planted tanks are the parents likely to
be able to stay together.
While it's hard to imagine during the
recent heatwave, a major problem for
the fry when they hatch is cold
draughts, which can kill them or
damage their developing labyrinth
organ, as these are air-breathing fish.
It is vital to have a decent space
between the aquarium cover glasses

gouramis to a separate tank for
spawning so I can remove the female
afterwards. Any advice on breeding and
raising the fry would also be welcome
as I've only ever bred panda corys and
livebearers, neither of which needed
much help!
TONI SMITH
BOB REPLIES: Male dwarf gourami,
Trichogaster Ialius, can be very
aggressive to females, especially
during breeding. It is vital to provide
plenty of cover in the form of plants,
SHUTTERSTOCK
and the water surface to allow a
humid, warm layer of air to develop.
Fry are very small, but the male is
usually safe with them until they use
up their yolk sac and become free
swimming, at which point he is best
removed. Due to their minute size, Divide up the young
they are only capable of taking the If you successfully breed your dwarf gouramis, you
smallest foods, with infusoria being could end up with a very large brood, as these fish
the usual recommended source of can lay hundreds of eggs. They are best sorted into
nutrition for the first week or so, until several smaller aquariums for rearing, as the fry
they have grown sufficiently to be able can be aggressive to one another, with smaller
to take larger foods like microworm or individuals often failing to compete for food.
brine shrimp nauplii.

sandy substrate. The water is bright and clear, well survive a year in the wild, and even in captivity aren’t going
ALAMY

oxygenated, but with slow to moderate currents. The water
chemistry is not too soft and not too hard, and a neutral
to slightly basic water chemistry.
A biotope tank could be created with some smooth
silver sand on the bottom, decorated with suitably
sized pieces of bogwood roots, and then whatever
plants you felt appropriate. If you weren’t using
live plants, you might choose to use some subtle
spotlighting to create patches of light and shade
in the tank, which would help to bring out the
colours of these pretty little fish.
These are schooling fish that feed on zooplankton
and other small food items. You’ll want to keep a
Ceratopteris.
large group, at least a dozen, but aiming for as many as
your tank can hold. They will take finely powdered flake
food, but some small live foods, even brine shrimp nauplii,
will be welcomed. Good quality feeding will be important if
you want them to breed. Unsurprisingly, they don’t live a
long time, even in the best conditions. Most probably don’t
to live much beyond two years.
The good news is that these fish can be maintained as a
colony if you set the tank up right. Java moss, or else
any floating plant with long, feathery roots, such as
Ceratopteris thalictroides, will do the trick.
Provided there is enough cover, some fry will
survive, replacing specimens that die of old
age. Eggs will be laid on the moss or among
the floating plant roots, and while adults will
eat eggs and fry, if there’s enough cover some
will be overlooked. Algae and other small
organisms will grow among the leaves and roots,
providing the important first foods for the newly
hatched fry, in lieu of the usual brine shrimp nauplii,
and after a while, the fry will start to consume fine flake
food they find trapped on leaves or floating in the water.
You’d never get as many this way as you would by using
spawning mops, which you can move to another tank once
eggs are laid on them, but it’s an easier approach.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK &

45
INSTAGRAM: TETRA UK
ADVICE Know-how

THE
MOLLUSC
MURDERER
When all else fails and you need to call in a pro to handle your
snails, who you can you turn to? Tim Smith suggests you need yet
another gastropod to clear thing up.

46 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 GET IT. Not everybody loves Everything about this animal has continue to call this bumblebee-

I
snails. In most cases they
arrive unannounced, breed
like rabbits, and leave the
tank looking like a
molluscked mess. Solutions
TIM SMITH to this particular problem are
rarely quick and easy. But
An ichthyologist and nature has graciously provided us
oddball aquarist,
with an answer. Ironically, it is
Tim has been
involved with fish for another snail, but is blessed with
over 15 years, from none of the usual baggage.
retail to academia. The assassin snail, Anentome
helena, is the triple threat: handsome,
useful, and quite importantly, not a
pest. This slow-motion hunter is
often touted as the single greatest
snail infestation solution, and I’m
inclined to agree.
An assassin
snail goes on the
prowl.
a dramatic flair to it, from the
low-budget action thriller name to
the gaudy colours. I’d go so far as to
say that it’s quite simply the best
snail available.
Assassin snails and their relatives
are a unique — and fairly recent —
group. Hailing from the family
Nassariidae (which is by-and-large
a marine family), the ancestors of
assassin snails made their way inland
from saltier environments, finding an
abundance of invertebrates to prey
on, and no other snail predators to
compete with.
Carnivorous freshwater snails are
almost unheard of; apart from a few
other species never seen in the
hobby, the assassin snails and their
closest relatives also one of the few
marine gastropod groups to make
the full transition between marine
and freshwater environments.
Taxonomically, this species has had
a tumultuous couple of years. While
a lot of hobbyist literature refers to
assassin snails as Clea helena
(including some modern sources)
as well as placing them in another
marine predatory group, Buccinidae,
recent work has placed them in the
genus Anentome, firmly in the family
Nassariidae.
To muddy things further,
phylogenetic analyses have indicated
that the animals we see sold as
‘assassin snails’ are not even the
‘true’ Anentome helena, but rather a
closely related species. However,
until this is definitively cleared up by
a passionate malacologist, we will
dressed gastropod Anentome helena.
Assassin snails — at the very least,
the lineages we currently call
assassins — have a fairly broad
distribution across the Indochinese
Peninsula, including Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Sumatra,
and Thailand. Within this range they
appear to make their home in a
number of habitats including still and
flowing waters; what does appear to
be important, however, is the
presence of a fine-grained or muddy
substrate into which they can burrow
themselves.
Hot and hungry
Wherever they are, assassin snails
prefer warmer waters, usually no
colder than 23°C (73°F) but
preferably a touch warmer than 25°C
(77°F). Adults appear to be able to
tolerate cooler water, but breeding
and hunting activity slows down
dramatically in these chillier
conditions. Not much else has been
recorded from their collection
localities, except for the presence of
plants or solid structures which are
important egg deposition sites.
In their home country a wild
assassin takes on a more generalised
role rather than being just a snail
hunter. Any meaty item will suffice:
worms, eggs, and dead or dying
organisms are the main fixtures in its
natural diet. In summary, if it can’t
escape in a hurry, it’s lunch.
This species doesn’t seem to have
a preference for which snail species
it hunts, and will likely give chase to

The new invaders

Their role as snail predators has not gone unnoticed by
scientists and regulatory bodies. While there are dozens of
invasive snails globally, none of them are predators. The
prospect of a of predatory snail is a daunting one, exerting a
unique pressure on whichever ecosystem it might find itself in.
This species has already been recorded outside of its native
range, in Singapore, which has raised the alarm bells for other
countries with a warmer clime.
Whether assassins can really make their home outside of the
tropics is yet to be seen; nonetheless, it’s important that
responsible pet ownership is something that is practiced and
preached the world over.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 47
ADVICE Know-how
any gastropod that it can smell.
And boy, do assassin snails have an
incredible sense of smell. Even if
buried in the substrate, the addition
of food to the aquarium, be it snail or
otherwise, can elicit a response
within minutes.
Assassins at home
In the aquarium environment,
assassin snails will hunt down all the
most common pest species:
ramshorn, bladder, and pond snails;
even the burrowing Malaysian
trumpet snails Melanoides tuberculata,
are not safe, for these assassins are
capable diggers as well.
While most of their hunting will
take place at night, they can be seen
out during the day, especially when
there is food present. Their
burrowing behaviour and nocturnal
habits can mean that there may be
long periods during which you won’t
see your assassins; it is for these
same reasons that you might not
realise that your assassin snail
population is growing.
PREY SNAILS
1.
ALAMY
2.
3.
SHUTTERSTOCK
48 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Assassin snails can make short
work of a moderately-sized pest
snail population. That isn’t to say
that they will eliminate every last
trace of them, necessarily. In
sufficiently large aquariums, or those
with more structurally complex
environments, at least a few pest
snails seem to manage to keep out
the way of their predators.
Fortunately, their population won’t
explode again as long as the
assassins are present.
Once the pest problem has been
taken care of, your assassin snails
will need something else to eat.
Should you be a fan of the
bloodsport that you have just
orchestrated, you’re free to breed
snails for the sole purpose of feeding
your growing assassin family.
However, most others would opt for
a more convenient diet.
The best source of non-live food
is any sort of meaty fare. Frozen
invertebrate-based diets, like Artemia,
mysids, bloodworm, or even
finely-chopped seafood will quickly
SHUTTERSTOCK
MAIN: Assassins be sought out. They’ll also snack on
are rarely out dry foods but do best on the
during daylight high-protein varieties, not caring too
hours. much for veggie-based diets. To
ensure that your snails are getting
INSET:
their fair share, try to feed when the
1. Bladder snail.
lights go out; this will accommodate
2. Ramshorn their nocturnal preferences as well as
snail. eliminating competition from more
agile tankmates.
3. Malaysian You’d do well to keep the pH and
trumpet snail. KH up for shell health. Depleted
carbonate hardness and a pH that
has swung too low can lead to shell
erosion and weakness, regardless the
other negative physiological effects
that accompany pH swings. To be
safe, try to maintain your pH above
7; KH can be carefully monitored,
too, but levels usually can be
sufficiently buffered with crushed
corals or shells placed in a bag inside
your filter.
While assassin snails will certainly
reproduce under the right conditions,
you’re unlikely to be overrun by
them unlike many other aquarium
snails. The sexes are separate but
indistinguishable, meaning that you’ll
need several snails to ensure you
have at least one pair in the group.
Furthermore, eggs are laid singly
and up to four at a time, only
hatching after one to two months,
temperature depending. The young
hatch out at minute sizes, and rarely
make appearances above the
substrate surface. It can be a good
few months before you see them with
any regularity.
These factors together mean that
population growth is remarkably
slow, unless you’re starting off with a
decently-sized group in the first place.
Even if you do end up with a horde
of assassins, you won’t have a hard
time finding new homes for the
surplus — some stores and hobbyists
will be more than happy to pay you
for your burden. They’re the best
snail, after all.
Community friendly or not?
Even though assassin snails are my number one recommendation as
a biological snail control agent, there is some fine print one needs to
consider. The two most common questions I hear are “Will assassin
snails (try to) eat my ornamental snails?” and “Will assassin snails eat
fish eggs?” The broad answer to both is yes, but both warrant
elaboration.
Larger snails, like apple snails and nerites, are not safe from assassin
snail attacks, although assassins will struggle to feed on a significantly
larger organism.
Fish eggs, especially those that are scattered onto the substrate, are
fair game for any organism in your aquarium. While I don’t think that
assassin snails are egg hunters, they certainly will not pass up on the
opportunity to eat any eggs that they may come across.
All that being said, assassin snails still far outclass other biocontrol
options that are usually listed for snail outbreaks. Loaches and puffers,
as endearing as they may be, require careful considerations for any
setup. Assassin snails just slot right in.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 49
HUSBANDRY
Tank substrates

BARE
BOTTOMS?
Gravel, sand or nothing? What we choose to use on
the bottom of our tanks can have consequences for
our livestock, writes Heather Walford.
HEATHER WALFORD
Founder of the Birmingham
Aquatic Club, Heather has
over 15 years of fishkeeping
experience.

50 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 HERE’S ONGOING
T
debate over the pros
versus the cons of
keeping a tank
completely bare and
clear of any substrate.
It’s obvious that bare
tanks require less
maintenance but is that beneficial
for the fish or for the keeper?
Bare bases are typically used for
breeding tanks, hospital tanks and
quarantine tanks (as well as being the
standard for some wholesalers and
retailers). I don’t see any issue with
this. In the last two instances it makes
complete sense due to the
requirement for sterility, hygiene, any
medications use, and in the former it
offers an easy option to catch and
separate fry.
Instead of those, I want to focus on
general, everyday aquariums that
one may keep. As an example, some
families of fish (such as large cichlids
and fancy goldfish) are quite popular
as pets but are well known to be
extremely messy — they directly
produce large quantities of waste
(faeces and uneaten food) and are
prone to pulling up aquarium plants.
Bare tanks are considerably easier to
clean than those with substrates for
the obvious reason that you can see
exactly what you need to siphon up.
Such tanks also make it easier for fish
to visually locate food that has
dropped to the bottom as there is no
substrate for it to get stuck into.
Quick learners
You might be surprised to find that
researchers have discovered that
some fish are able learn faster than
dogs — they are not as ‘stupid’ as
popular culture portrays. We know
that some fish crave stimulation from
other fish as well as from their
environment. As a fish keeper, do we
have the responsibility to try and
replicate a good environment that
fulfils there needs as sentient beings?
I know that even the largest and most
well-maintained aquarium can’t
compare to life in the wild, but surely
we can at least try and replicate it as
much as we possibly can.
Arranging substrate, rocks, plants,
and wood to create a suitable
underwater world for your fish to live
in can be an enjoyable and rewarding
experience for all parties — there’s a
satisfaction in seeing fish behave in
your aquarium just as they would in
the wild, seemingly oblivious to their
captivity. They have needs like most
other pets — needs for mental
stimulation, for security — and bare,
empty homes may ultimately be
frustrating or even stressful.
Odd antics
Some fish I’ve purchased from
breeders who use completely barren
tanks are notably different to fish I’ve
purchased from tanks with substrate
and décor. In most cases of fancy
goldfish, I’ve witnessed ‘bare
background’ fish often swimming
clumsily around the tank, struggling
to navigate their surroundings, and
bashing into plants and tank decor.
I’ve seen no personal interaction with
other fish from them on any level at
all. When it’s feeding time, they don’t
race to the top of the tank like my
other ‘substrate reared’ fish do, and
appear situationally unaware. In most
cases, they are the last to feed, LEFT: Catfish
assuming they come for food at all. whiskers
It makes me wonder if they are appeciate fine
somehow cognitively impaired — sand.
after all wouldn’t any other pet if BELOW:
faced with such living conditions? Substrates can
SHUTTERSTOCK
I will admit though, fish that come conceal solid
from completely bare tanks are wastes.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 51
HUSBANDRY
Tank substrates
usually in pristine condition in the
physical sense, with not a single split
fin in sight – mostly they’re
immaculate and in fantastic shape
and condition.
Keeping it clean
Likely the greatest reason for keeping
bare tanks is for hygiene. Without
substrates on the bottom, tanks are a
lot easier to clean, and there’s no risk
of substrates acting as a ‘pollution
sink’ that gathers faeces, food and
other organics, releasing ammonia
and other wastes into the water.
This is especially useful for those
who keep numerous tanks. I have
always believed the mantra ‘you are
keeping the water, and not the fish’. I
must agree to a certain extent.
Having good, clean water for your
fish is highly important, but when it
comes down to maintaining good
water quality, I strongly believe that
with the right amount of effort, this
can still be done with a tank that has
substrate and décor in it and isn’t
completely bare. Why not do both?
Look after your water and your fish.
When it comes down to substrate,
some fish like to swim around and sift
through leaf litter, gravel, and sand.
This is usually because of pure
instinct and most fish will do this in
the wild when searching for food or
when finding a place to spawn — this
is especially the case with many
types of catfish, such as Corydoras.
Some fish even like to bury
themselves or build a hiding place, as
is true with many types of loaches
52 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
and eels — eels are well-known
for being shy and choose to remain
burrowed down in the substrate
for most of the day. Likewise, kuhli
loaches are also incredibly timid
and will often bury and eat from the
substrate of your tank — not having
any could potentially affect how
happy or how stressed fish like
these are.
Planting and bacteria
medium
As for having aquatic plants, it is
worth noting that the majority of
aquarium plants require into an
appropriate substrate to grow
properly. Without the correct
substrate, you won’t be able to grow
them as they are heavy root feeders.
With that being said, you can still get
many different floating plants for the
aquarium such as frogbit and
hornwort, and some plants can be
tied directly to wood (Anubias,
SHUTTERSTOCK
Bucephalandra, and Java fern being ABOVE: Goldfish
the favourites). can choke on
Beneficial bacteria colonises all the wrong sized
surfaces within your aquarium, but gravel.
ultimately the high surface area of BELOW: Kuhli
the substrate means than an loach like to bury
abundance can be found here — themselves.
indeed, this was the basis of
undergravel filters, popular before
canister filters became affordable. In
this regard, substrate is a pro because
it adds to the beneficial bacterial
colony in your aquarium. But of
course, it also has the downside of
being somewhere for excessive
detritus to be hidden, as already
mentioned.
Should substrates be taken away
from fish to save us time cleaning
and siphoning up any mess or waste
they produce? It does provoke
thought, and ultimately the decision
remains your own. I think sand or
gravel looks far more natural than a
glass bottom anyhow, that’s for sure.
SHUTTERSTOCK
 SUBSTRATE PROS AND CONS
COARSE SAND
There are many large-grain sands on the market,
and care should be taken that they aren’t too
sharp, which can erode catfish whiskers. It is
better at concealing wastes than fine silver sand,
so requires deeper cleans. Plants can be a mixed
bag, with some struggling to establish in it.
SILVER SAND
This is great for catfish and other
bottom dwellers to forage in as it
doesn’t harm their whiskers or
bellies. Usually, uneaten food and
fish waste remains on its surface,
making cleaning relatively easy.
Used too deep, it may rarely develop
anoxic patches, resulting is black
discoloured sand and potentially
hazardous gases being
produced. Some plants
enjoy silver sand while
others struggle in it.
GRAVEL
Rounded pea gravel is easyy to
clean, but notorious for
accumulating waste. Only the
hardiest of plants tend to fare
are
well in it as a growing medium.
ium.
Reportedly, even rounded gravels
can be bad for catfish whiskers,
skers,
on the grounds of the amountunt of
bacteria they can harbour.
Grubbing fish like goldfish have
been known to choke on so some
ome
gravel sizes.
PLANTING
SUBSTRATES
Rounded aquarium ‘soils’
for planted tanks seem to do little to no harm to
catfish, and plants thrive in them. They are
designed not to be cleaned with a gravel cleaner.
Many brands initially release large quantities of
ammonia into the water, which needs to monitored
through the setting up process.
BARE BOTTOMS
By far the easiest to keep clean, clear
panes of glass can be disorienting to some
fish, and deny environmental enrichment
to substrate utilising species. These are
the most sterile environments and least
likely to harbour potentially harmful
bacteria and other pathogens.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 53
STEY-BY-STEP
São Francisco River

Recreating
the Opara
Setting up biotopes is one of the most rewarding things an
aquarist can do, and few people know more about the subject
that Tai Strietman. Here he dips into South America.

54 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
With astonishingly clea
r waters,
plants thrive here!

TAI
STRIETMAN
As well as studying
in Brazil, Tai is
the author of
ALAMY

The São a forthcoming,

exciting book all
Francisco covers
about biotopes.
several biotopes.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 55
STEY-BY-STEP
São Francisco River
S SOME of you may
A
know, I am currently
working on a book
about creating
aquariums to
represent natural
habitats. These are
known as biotope
displays, where you try to use the
fish, plants and materials that would
be found in your chosen habitat.
You can be as rigid or as loose as
you like in this regard. Can’t find
exactly the right plant? Well, some
people choose to abandon the
project altogether. Others, including
myself, would find a substitute and be
a bit more forgiving.
Part of this stems from my
experiences of seeing people
creating biotopes, often on their first
attempt, only for them to be shot
down (mostly online) by others who
point out all the flaws. “Oh, you’ve
used a plant species which is found at
BELOW: the north of the lake and a fish that is
Tai’s biotope only found at the south, and so your
recreation. biotope isn’t accurate.”
56 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
I hate this behaviour. It’s crushing
someone’s creativity, while putting
them off becoming more enthusiastic
about biotopes and natural habitats.
That person could well go on to
become an ally for conservation,
for the hobby, and nothing more than
an untamed ego has stopped them.
The people I find are most vocal in
dismissing the biotope creations of
others are normally those who’ve
never even been to the habitat.
Conversely, I often see people with Follow those in the know
real experience of wild habitats being While I’m familiar with central and
the most supportive of someone’s western Brazil and have some
attempts. Sometimes that means experience of the Amazon basin, I’ve
gentle suggestions, providing a never been to Western or Central
source of information, asking if they Africa, my knowledge of Central
had thought about trying minor America is restricted to Costa Rica
tweaks, or even sending photos of and the only bit of South-East Asia
the habitats, plants, fish, and organic I’ve explored is the Philippines.
components from the location. These regions provide the bulk of our
My book is an attempt to do this aquarium fishes. This means that my
on a large scale — I provide the own knowledge gaps really began to
blueprints for setting up a biotope, standout as I researched my book.
but if you substitute, or want to do Luckily, I can access scientific
something a little different, that’s fine! journals but also follow the
Enjoy the process! adventures of friends who are in
 JULIANA LEROY
those places and know them well.
Thomas Minesi in Congo, Russell
Brian Tate in western and southern
Africa, Aiman Azminovich in
Malaysia, Victor Manuel Ortiz Cruz
in Mexico, and many others provide
me with photos, first-hand accounts
and stories, data, and insights.
My friend Juliana Leroy, a Brazilian
botanist and specialist on aquatic
plants, has been helping me learn
about the habitats of northern and
eastern Brazil. While I spent a lot of
time in Mangroves and estuaries in
those regions, my knowledge of the
freshwater systems inland is minimal.
Juliana explores alongside her
husband, using a caravan to drive
across Brazil and visit habitats. They
recently drove thousands of
kilometres to Roraima in northern
Brazil and she has posted fantastic
underwater photos of her travels
— you can see these for yourself
over on Instagram, following
@caminhosdesconhecidos.
Background to the São
Francisco River
For my book, I really wanted to
create a biotope from the São
Francisco River basin. This is the
JULIANA LEROY
fourth largest river in South America, ABOVE LEFT:
over 2900km in length and before the Echinodorus
Europeans arrived, was known as the subulatus.
Opara by indigenous peoples. It
ABOVE RIGHT:
drains an area over 630,000 square Vegetation
kilometres (larger than all of thrives here.
Ukraine). Rising in the Canastra
mountains of the state of Minas
Gerais, it flows north before veering
eastwards and spilling into the
Atlantic. Along its length it is fed by
water from 168 rivers and streams.
The northeast of Brazil is an arid
region, where the Cerrado grasslands
to the west and the Atlantic rainforest
biome to the south fade into semi
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 57
STEY-BY-STEP
São Francisco River
desert, a harsh environment known
as the Caatinga, which covers almost
10% of Brazilian national territory.
Here most plants are adapted to long,
hard droughts and often covered in
thorns to protect their precious water
reserves. Dry forest and shrubland
scramble over rocky ground and few
leaves are evident.
The name Caatinga derives from
the Tupi for ‘white forest’, due to the
lack of green foliage. For three
months of the year the wet season
brings an explosion of life which then
retreats under the relentless sun. The
river can rise or fall up to 30 feet due
to the changing seasons.
Yet despite these adverse
conditions, almost 30 million people
inhabit the region (mostly along the
coast) and over 2000 species of
plants and animals occur. It is the
only biome in Brazil which does not
cross any borders (unlike the
Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Cerrado,
Pampa and Pantanal biomes),
meaning much of the flora and fauna
found there is endemic to Brazil.
58 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
The São Francisco River flows
through this often-desolate landscape
and is a lifeline for many people and
animals. Starting as a series of
highland streams, the river grows into
a 300-mile-long stretch of rapids
before it broadens and cuts through
canyons on its way north. It expands
and widens further, becoming
sluggish as it reaches the mouth. Its
estuary is home to manatees and bull
sharks, while upstream, huge catfish
move through the brown waters. The
largest piranha, Pygocentrus, is found
here and over 40 species of annual
killifish can be found in marginal
habitats along the river. In fact, over
200 species of fish are known from
the river, with 64% being endemic.
However, over-fishing, pollution,
water-extraction for agriculture and
the construction of hydroelectric
dams mean that the river has been
severely altered and 10% of all fish
species are now threatened.
The river basin includes many
smaller clear-water streams, pools,
lagoons and minor rivers and it was
one of these which I wished to
recreate. The wonderful article
Freshwater fish richness baseline from
the São Francisco Interbasin Water
Transfer Project in the Brazilian
Semiarid” DOI: 10.1590/1982-0224-
2020-0063 by da Silva et al. 2020,
provides in-depth data and a
selection of useful habitat photos
JULIANA LEROY
which clearly shows the diversity of
habitats in the region.
Juliana explained that during the
wet season, the waters become
silt-stained and turbid, but in the dry BELOW LEFT:
season, the waters are often clear and Planting density
the high sunlight penetration this at patches of the
allows supports the growth of many São Francisco.
aquatic plants.
BELOW RIGHT:
Moenkausia
Planting up costae.
Juliana kindly provided me with a
list of plant species that were found
in the region, and these included the
following which are available in the
hobby (some species listed here are
provided by EU suppliers, but sadly
are no longer available in the UK
post-Brexit):
 JULIANA LEROY
ABOVE LEFT: 6 Echinodorus paniculatus (Widely 6 Polygonum persicaria (Available subulatus. Sadly, I can no longer get
The river is available) from Wildwoods World of Water in this plant as the sole supplier,
2,900km long. 6 Echinodorus subulatus (Difficult to Enfield) Aquasabi, is based in Germany and
source in UK post-Brexit) 6 Heteranthera zosterifolia (Widely no longer ships to the UK. The
ABOVE RIGHT:
6 Echinodorus grisebachii small available) submerged growth of E. subulatus
Silver-tip tetra.
(Variant of E. grisebachii and very 6 Pontederia cordata (Available as a reminded me of Echinodorus major,
hard to find) pond plant) so I decided that would be a good
6 Eichhornia azurea (Available as a 6 Ceratopteris pteridoides (difficult to substitute. According to Christel
pond plant) source in UK post-Brexit) Kasselmann’s ‘Aquarium Plants’
6 Eichhornia crassipes (invasive in 6 Salvinia auriculata (Widely book, E. major occurs in eastern
the EU/UK) available) Brazil while other sources list ‘central
6 Helanthium bolivianum (difficult to 6 Salvinia oblongifolia (Available as Brazil’. For me, it would have to dress
source in UK post-Brexit) a pond plant) up and play the part of E. subulatus!
6 Pistia stratiotes (Widely available)
6 Gymnocoronis spilanthoides Her list also included species of Selecting swimmers
(invasive in the EU/UK) hairgrass, Eleocharis, and lilies, Three species of fish from the São
6 Cabomba furcata (Available online Nymphaea, as well as Ludwigia, Francisco basin are often found in the
and from Ely Aquatics & Reptiles) Cyperus, Hydrocotyle, Hygrophila, and hobby and my plan was to create a
6 Egeria najas (Widely available) Bacopa which are not available here, display to showcase them. These
6 Ludwigia inclinata (Sometimes but could be substituted for other included the popular silver-tip tetra,
available from Wildwoods World of similar, species. I did get hold of Hasemania nana, and the characterful
Water in Enfield) some Echinodorus paniculatus, but darter characin, Characidium sp. (both
6 Ludwigia sedoidedoides found that they did not flourish. C. fasciatum and C. zebra, with the
(Occassionally available from I thought of using Helanthium or former being the most common
Wildwoods World of Water in Heteranthera but was inspired by a import). I also wished to include
Enfield) photo Juliana sent me of Echinodorus several Moenkhausia costae.

NATHAN HILL
JULIANA LEROY

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 59
STEY-BY-STEP
São Francisco River

RIGHT: Tai’s All these fishes are active and
Moenkhausia require space. They are also social,
costae and especially the darter characins, who
Characidium. will not do well if kept singly or in
very small groups. PFK previously
published a good article on keeping
Darter Characins by John Rundle
(Editor’s note: You can find it right here
at www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/
features/how-to-keep-darter-characins).
These fishes need plenty of open
substrate over which to forage and
move together. Most Characidium
appreciate cooler temperatures and
they will thrive when given fast
flowing, well oxygenated water. They
should not be kept with other fishes
that are too large or boisterous. A
river manifold set-up would be
perfect for darters. My darters are
most likely C. fasciatum, which were
listed as Characidium sp. at
Wildwoods World of Water
in Enfield.
I was privileged to spend time in
the lab alongside ichthyologist Paulo
C. Buckup, the authority on these
charming fishes, and have spent
dozens of hours observing them in
Brazil, so felt I knew how to cater to
their needs. They were intended to
be the ‘stars’ of the display; full of
character, while the tetras were
intended to be more ‘backdrop’
material. In the end, all three species
charmed me.
I’d never kept the silver-tips at
home before, although I’d looked
after a small group in a display at
London Zoo years ago. I was loaned
a large group of juveniles by
Wildwoods World of Water.
They exhibited a diverse mixture of
beautiful orange, yellow and greenish
colouration. While visiting Ely
Aquatics, one of my main fish
‘loaners’, I found a group of mature
specimens showing a much pinker
colour and asked to borrow them too.
These fish have a reputation as
fin-nippers when kept singly, but if
kept in a group of their own species,
this behaviour shouldn’t be an issue.
Keeping at least ten ensures any
aggressive hierarchy conflict stays
within the group. Otherwise, they are
a good option for community tanks
with plenty of room due to their
active nature and they look great in a
planted display.
I came across the Moenkhausia
costae during a foray to Ely Exotics
and, as they were a good size and in

Making a São Francisco set-up

I sourced my plants from Aquarium Gardens, one of the principal sponsors of my book project, and owner Dave provided me a great
selection of lush Echinodorus major from Tropica as well as branchy manzanita wood. The aquarium I used is a Wio Vistas 120F shallow
design and the lights are Wio Bamboo 38w LEDs. A light background from The Lightground is used with a green to yellow foil to

1 2

The Tank is cleaned and lighting, light background and filter pipework is Pre-soaked branchy manzanita wood is added, pointing in one direction to
put in place. The pipework is from Aquario.kr and the outlet includes a create ‘flow’ in the display.
built-in venturi device, so that I can add lots of oxygen to the tank

5 6

The sand is added to the foreground and is carefully evened out with a
brush so that a very fine base of sand remains at the front of the tank,
and it gets deeper as it goes towards the rear. The brush is also useful for
cleaning sand off the wood and for ‘flicking’ sand back over the soil to
diffuse the border and contrast between dark soil and light sand.
The tank is carefully filled with water. A plastic bag weighed down with a
stone helps prevent the water from stirring up the substrate. I’ve used
rainwater which from a large water butt and which is pre-heated to 24°C.

60 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
rude health, asked to borrow a small
group. While these fish develop quite
deep bodies and do need plenty of
swimming room, they are not overly
large, reaching about 6cm. They
should be kept in groups or with
other medium sized tetras and look
especially effective in large shoals in
a big display. There is a large shoal in
a discus display tank at Maidenhead
Aquatics Summerhill which show off
their full potential and beauty.
This is a straight-forward and easy
display to create and maintain. It
caters well to the needs of the fishes
and will only get better over time as
the plants grow in and the fish colour
up. Hopefully I’ve inspired you to
have a go at creating your own little
piece of the São Francisco River
Basin at home!

suggest more vegetation in the rear. Substrate is Prodibio aquarium soil provided by Aquarium Gardens and Wio El Dorado Sand which
I mixed with fine pale gravel to create texture. You could alter the numbers of fishes and exclude the larger M. costae and recreate this
display in a much smaller tank, but I think that to be effective, bigger is better in this case!

3 4

The aquarium soil is added to the rear and middle of the display, to a The Echinodorus are planted into the soil using planting tweezers and care
depth of around 6-8cm to provide a good, secure base for the plants, is taken to leave the foreground open and clean.
which are heavy root feeders and will develop large root networks.

7 8

Despite my best efforts, the tank is still cloudy straight after filling. I’m
using a Oase Biomaster Thermo 850 external filter and so after turning it
on, the water clears very quickly.
I’ve used a mature filter and so fish are added within only a few days. The
Characidium quickly manage to disturb some of the plant soil and knock it
into the open sand at the front, but I don’t mind as it reminds me of the
organic matter often found in the habitats I’ve explored. The Echinodorus
need time to settle in and I am using inline CO2 injection with a Green Leaf
Aquarium gauge and solenoid as well as Tropica plant fertiliser.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 61
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis

Lemons with a twist

A curious new tetra has been making waves for a little
while now, and while it’s not easy to breed, it does seem
possible, writes Gabor Horvath.

62 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 ’M PRETTY sure that almost

I
all of you have heard about
the lemon tetra,
Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis.
If you’ve ever visited an
aquatic store you’ve probably
seen them in flesh, maybe
without recognising the
species. I guess most of you
continued browsing without giving
a second glance to this
inconspicuously bland tetra.
The lemon tetra is Marmite to the
fish-keeping world, either loved or
hated. That’s why when Max Pedley
of Ornamental Aquatics Wholesale
asked me if I wanted to keep some
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis my
initial reaction was nah, thank you, I
have plenty of exotic and
interestingly coloured fish, why
should I have a tetra which hardly
moves the pointer on my ‘fish-
excitometer’? But when he
mentioned that it was the mysterious
orange-coloured variety I thought ok,
let’s have a go. It was one of my best
decisions.

Mystery lemons
Let me begin with some background
on the lemons. They originate from
the lower Amazon River basin and
for a long time have been considered
to be endemic to the middle and
lower reaches of Rio Tapajos, until
recent research found them in the
River Xingu system as well.
In the wild they inhabit typical
‘tetra’ waters: the forested areas of
slow-flowing tributaries of the main
rivers and adjoining igarapes. Under
the shadows of the forest canopy the
yellows of the lemon tetra really do
impress. The water parameters are
varied, but usually around 5-6pH and
23-28°C, with negligible hardness,
and these habitats are often shared
with other Hyphessobrycon tetras.
Within this genus of seemingly
mismatched characins, you can find
well-known, longstanding aquarium
favourites, like the flame tetra, H.
GABOR flammeus, and rosy tetra, H. rosaceus,
HORVATH as well as new flavour of the month
ALL PHOTOS: GABOR HOVARTH

species, such as H. peugeoti. Most of

A Hungarian
these are easy going and easy to
aquarist now living
in the UK, Gabor is a keep, and are well represented in
prolific fish breeder, stores up and down the country.
While not cheap,
a shoal is worth project undertaker The lemon tetra has been a staple
and writer. of the trade for decades and various
the expense.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 63
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis

forms (including an albino) have Colour differences

emerged thanks to widespread It’s not only the origin that’s debated.
large-scale breeding. Although the yellow and the orange
As a widely available ‘bread and lemons are considered to be
butter’ fish they’re cheap as chips, so conspecifics at the moment — the
you don’t often find wild caught new morph being thought of as a
lemon tetra on import lists — unless xanthochromic (strongly yellow
they’re something special. coloured) variant — there are
A few years back a several notable
deep tangerine differences between
coloured variety them.
appeared on the list Apart from the
of a German Wild lemon tetras are body colour
importer, and communual spawners, with tens (greyish-yellow in
immediate started of thousands coming together to the original and
to make waves in breed at once, depositing their bright orange in the
the fishkeeping eggs on the fine leaves newcomer) the
community. The fish of plants. tangerines lack the
received the ‘orange contrasting black edging
Bolivia’ moniker, which — of the anal fin and the males
allegedly — referred to where they sport a slightly extended dorsal fin.
were collected. This makes it much easier tell the
The problem with it is that known sexes of the orange version apart as
rivers of H. pulchripinnis don’t come compared to the yellow form.
anywhere near Bolivia, but following Another sexual indicator is the
the misleading initial naming, several pattern of the anal fin. Tangerine
internet sources still refer to Bolivia females have bright neon-orange
as the origin of the tangerine variety. markings with well-defined edges

Gabor’s
dedicated
spawning tank.

64 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Note the slightly
enlarged dorsal fin.

Fry readily
taking
microworms.

while males have a ruby red pattern

which gradually diffuses into the anal
fin. This also differs from the
‘originals’ where both males and
females carry the same pattern. The
orange marking on the females looks
especially impressive when they’re in
a shade, where their colours flash like
tiny triangular light sabres.
To further confuse the matter of
identification there is no uniform
colour for the orange version, and
between shipments we find a diverse
colour pattern and intensity. I have Plants help
seen some with very strong red hues, intensify
while others from another batch had colours.
only a hint of orange on them. The
colour also seems to change with direction to steal a morsel. The only an everyday community tank.
age, my own fish being pale mild aggression I’ve ever observed is Although (presumably) a softwater
brownish-orange when young, but the occasional displaying between fish the orange lemon tetra will do
turning rich amber-red when mature. males competing for the females’ well in a wide range of hardness, so
What they definitely share with the attentions. It was nothing more than unless you have liquid lime you
yellow lemons is a peaceful nature, a bit of fin stretching so no injuries should be fine — anything below
minding their own business and occurred. Interestingly the females 10°GH is ideal.
avoiding any conflicts with also similarly spar, something a bit Aim to keep the pH at the acidic
tankmates. Not that they’re shy, unusual for a tetra. side of neutral, but if you can only
rather they remind me of sparrows manage 7.5pH it’ll still be okay.
— a shoal gathers around food, but In the home tank Typical community tank
when something bigger approaches Beside its friendly temperament H. cf. temperatures suit just fine, but when
(I have a pair of kribensis in the same pulchripinnis is also an adaptable fish. kept at near the higher end of the
tank) they dart away, only to return a You can house it in blackwater scale (above 27°C) you can expect
few seconds later from another aquaria but it’ll equally thrive in the lifespan to be reduced.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 65
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis

Decoration-wise you can do Anything that won’t eat them will Trial and error
whatever you’d like, just make sure to be fine as a companion, but avoid As the members of my shoal grew
leave ample swimming room. I over-boisterous fishes. I would the differences between sexes
would also avoid sharp objects to swerve the more aggressive tetras, became more obvious and the males
stay on the safe side. like serpae tetra, H. eques, which began marking and defending their
The oranges become especially could consider the similarly coloured territories. Lemon tetras like the
pronounced in a densely planted orange-reds as competitors and presence of conspecifics but don’t
tank, giving a great visual may attack them. At the other
contrast in front of the end of the scale any fish
greenery. The lighting over 1cm is safe to
FACTFILE
doesn’t need to be keep alongside. ORANGE LEMON TETRA
very strong as Stained water, leaf litter and I have never 6Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis
6Pronunciation: High-fess-oh-bry-con pul-kri-pin-iss
the colour seems plenty of aquatic plants goes experienced any 6Size: Likely to 4cm
to fade out a long way to setting up a fin-nipping 6Origin: Unconfirmed beyond South America
(losing the deep lemon tetra biotope. despite having 6Habitat: Likely slow moving streams with or under vegetation
orange hue) in bright loricariids with long 6Tank size: 60x30x30cm
light. Floating plants fin extensions in the 6
Water requirements: Soft and acidic to slightly alkaline water;
could be useful to provide same tank. 5.0-7.5pH, 2-10°H
6Temperature: 24-27°C
some shade. Food-wise anything edible
6
Temperament: Peaceful community
Needless to say, you’ll need goes down with no fussiness at all. species 54 l+
good filtration and frequent water Any of the dried flakes or granules, 6
Feeding: Wholly unfussy, offer flakes,
changes, as the lemon tetra likes as well as a mix of frozen or live pellets, live and frozen Daphnia, bloodworm
water as pure as possible with low foods — just offer it and it’ll be eaten. 6
Availability and cost: Wild fish will cost
nitrates. Some waterflow is preferred I had no issues with feeding mine around £12 each, while aquacultured
in the tank, but avoid overdoing it and expected them to reach breeding specimens range from £5 to £9.
with strong currents. condition soon.

Displaying is as
hostile as they
become.

66 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
A safer
alternative to
serpae tetra?

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 67
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Hyphessobrycon cf. pulchripinnis
form tight shoals, the females tending
Males will show to swim around in small groups of
off to passing three or four, occasionally joined by
females. the male whose territory they’re just
passing by.
The males tried to persuade the
females to investigate their ‘nests’ by
showing off their best colours, and as
these interactions became more
frequent and some of the females got
visibly plumper, I hoped for an easy
breeding project.
Although I had information about
the more-difficult-than-usual
breeding of lemons I trusted my
many years of experience and
expected a quick success.
I set up two breeding tanks in the
hopes of getting a decent number of
fry, as lemons aren’t as prolific as
many other Hyphessobrycon species,
and I added an egg-protection mesh
to the bottom to avoid egg predation.
Sparring may
occur between
both sexes.
68 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
The water was soft (4°GH, 1°KH,
6.0pH) and warm (27oC) and I
placed spawning mops and some
live moss in the tank as a spawning
media. Mature air driven sponge
filters provided the filtration.
When the honeymoon suites were
ready, I put a pair into one tank and
a breeding group of two males and
three females into the other one.
Next morning, I went to check the
results, but there was nothing. As the
more reluctant tetras often wait until
the second or third day before laying
eggs, I checked the tanks every day
for a week. Although there was plenty
of posing and gentle chasing (typical
spawning behaviour) the end
products were missing. After a week
I separated the sexes and
conditioned them for two weeks in
separate tanks. Then I tried again,
but to no avail.
Fry have a sticky
spot on the
head.
 The true lemon
tetra lacks the
intense orange.
Under the shadows of the forest canopy the
yellows of the lemon tetra really do impress
Success (sort of)
I’d read about the reluctance of
lemon tetra females to lay eggs but
I didn’t expect such stubbornness.
In three months, I’ve tried various
permutations, changing water
temperature, adding fulvic acids,
swapping partners, and so on, but
without success — until right now!
Typically, just two weeks before I
have to submit this article the ice
broke: there were eggs!
The result came from a trio (one
male and two females) in a larger
breeding tank. For small tetras my
go-to size is a 30cm small aquarium,
but the lemons bred in a 50cm ‘flat’
tank I usually breed Corydoras in.
The water chemistry was as above,
but the tank was full of spawning
mops, Lomariopsis and Java moss.
I didn’t see the spawning nor the
eggs, but on the morning of the third
day the fattest (by lemon tetra
standards, as they never get too
plump) female suddenly became
slim. I removed the parents and
eagerly looked for the eggs, but
I could only spot half a dozen.
Unfortunately, most of the eggs
turned white (they were infertile) but
two days after the spawning I saw a
tiny fry attached to the side glass.
The newly hatched babies have white
sticky spots on the top of their heads
which they used to glue themselves
to plants or rocks (or glass panes),
preventing them from being washed
away by the currents.
After a few days of hanging out
they began searching for some
minute food. I started them on Sera
Micron and microworms, moving to
newly hatched Artemia nauplii in a
few days. I still don’t know how many
fry I have, as I rarely see more than a
couple at any time, but at the time of
writing they are two weeks old and
feeding well. I don’t (can’t) call it a
breeding success, but based on these
experiences I will give it another go
and hopefully get more fry. I know
the recipe now, so all I need is to
recreate the same circumstances
(famous last words).
Checking my records, I realise that
there was a strong weather front on
the day of spawning, so it’s possible
that changing air pressure could
have a stimulating effect on them.
I don’t know whether my fish were
wild caught or captive bred, but
either way being relatively
newcomers to the hobby the
oranges likely still have their natural
instincts when it comes to spawning.
So, what’s my verdict on the new
lemons on the block? What we have
here is a tetra that gives you the
bright colours of the serpae tetra but
without the aggression. It’s versatile,
easy to keep and affordable. I
believe we are into a winning
combination here— I can see a long
and prosperous future, where these
tangerines will be permanent
Caption,on retail lists, next to their
residents
caprion,
yellow caption
cousins.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 69
MARINE
Tilefish

We’re not gobies

Tilefish aren’t without their challenges, but for the right
aquarist, with the right mindset, they could be the
marine project you’ve been craving.
WORDS: NATHAN HILL

70 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Bleahead tilefish,
ALAMY

sometimes called
bluethroat or Starck’s
tilefish.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 71
MARINE
Tilefish

HE FOLLOWING intruders, which historically meant some authorities maintain that they

T
homage to tilefish can
come either as a
warning or a call to
action, depending
where you are in your
marine keeping hobby.
From the perspective
of the modern reef layout, the
ubiquitous coral and rock assemblies
drenched under brighter light than a
nuclear explosion, my advice is to
avoid them. But if you’re in that
growing camp of outsiders, looking
for something (literally) beyond the
reef, then a night on the tiles could
be what you need.
Tilefish are an infrequent face in a
marine stockist’ rogue’s gallery. For
one, they are difficult for collectors to
find. Nervous as dormice, they flee
into cover at the first hint of
that fishers would resort to that
less-than-savoury practice — cyanide
— to stun them and make them easy
to harvest. Such early efforts
inevitably led to high mortality from
the nerve toxin, and are thankfully
now in the past. Then there’s bringing
them to the surface. The tilefish
species most suitable for aquaria live
deep, making relocation to the
water’s surface arduous and fraught
with risks: raise them too quickly and
their swimbladders will rupture.
Taxonomic tie up
What is a tilefish? Even the
taxonomists aren’t really sure on that
one. Conventional wisdom places
them in the Percoidea superfamily,
relatives of things like archerfishes,
snooks, sunfishes and pomfrets, but
don’t belong there at all. Their family,
the Malacanthidae, contains two
subfamilies: Latilinae and
Malacanthinae. The former of these
is of no interest to us, with fish that
don’t appear in domestic aquaria, but
the latter contains two genera
—Malacanthus and Hoplolatilus, each
of which can be kept at home.
Again, we can dismiss the first of
those here. Malacanthus contains
three species, but all of these are on
the cusp of tankbuster territory (the
largest can attain 70cm fully grown,
the smallest is still a lump at 32cm).
That leaves us with Hoplolatilus,
which is where the prettiest, and
perhaps most expensive
representatives, can be found.
As you can see from the images
here, tilefish have a shape of their

72 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Bluehead tilefish
Hoplolatilus starcki
One of the deeper-living species, the bluehead tile can be
found down to around 100m, making it one of the more
light-shy members of the genus. Adults tend to have a yellow
green body (pending the lights you keep them under, it can
appear more obviously yellow in whiter lighting) with the most
pronounced blue throat and pectoral fins with blue bases.
The natural range expands from Australia up to Bali, where it
tends to dwell on steeper slopes outside of reefs (if ever there
was a biotope perfectly suited to a drop-off tank, it’s this),
At just 15cm fully grown, it’s manageable in set-ups that
aren’t huge (something 120cm or so will suffice) and its
confidence is emboldened when similarly sized dither fish are
kept alongside. In the wild, they’re known to cohabit with
certain young Anthias, presenting a potential biotope route
right there.

SHUTTERSTOCK
Generally a bit of a retailer favourite amongst tiles, you can
find them on sale anywhere upwards of £50.

own — something like a goby and a
wrasse combined, while being related
to neither. But it’s a shape designed
for a lifestyle, as we shall soon see.
The salty hoplos
Hoplolatilus are known as sand
tilefish, a direct commentary on their
choice of aquatic real estate. Living
just beyond the periphery of coral
reefs, they adopt a cave dweller’s
existence, both expert excavators
and builders that make use of sand
and scree. Their caves can be
expansive, though they don’t tend to
inhabit them during the day. In
absence of other cover, going
underground keeps them safe from
roaming, nocturnal predators.
It might be also imagined that they
spawn inside them, but this appears
not to be so. For what little we know
of Hoplolatilus reproduction, they
appear to adopt pelagic spawning
ALAMY
methods, releasing eggs and sperm
adrift to become plankton.
Despite discarding their seed to
wind, they do at least take greater
care with their mating choices, and
the evidence suggests that a bonding
between male and female is a
permanent one, devoid of cheating
and opportunism elsewhere. For their
dereliction of child care, they are
strong lovers.
The main cue to pick up on here is
that hoplos are not solitary fish, and
this is something that needs to be
replicated in their captive lives. In the
wild they are always found in pairs, or
sometimes in groups, though there
are some issues with this — once
burrows and territories have been
established, pairs will squabble with
their neighbours.
Herein lies a problem. The goal,
for optimal viewing pleasure, is to
get pair of tilefish to bond at home.
The issue is that externally there are
no differences between the sexes. As
with so many fish of this ilk, the
(costly) solution is to purchase
multiple young fish together and let
them sort out their own relationships.
Or, of course, keep eyes peeled for an
already bonded pair in stores — the
cost will be high, but the end result
worthwhile.
Domestic care and
challenges
To set up for Hoplolatilus, you want a
relatively large tank with relatively
low light; remember that these are
not especially shallow-dwelling fish.
The substrate needs careful
consideration, because it needs to be
deep and it needs to be movable.
Coarse sand and fine rubble are well
suited, but especially fine sands may
fail to keep a burrow’s integrity.
Alternatively, tilefish will utilise
existing caves. This needn’t be

overthought — a handful of PVC

pipe lengths will be gleefully adopted,
though such a layout can be ugly.
Purple tilefish Cheaper cuts of rock can be used to
cook up crevices, but ensure that
Hoplolatilus purpureus they can’t be undermined by the fish
Slightly smaller than the bluehead at just 13cm fully grown, this is one of digging — the tilefish’s terrier-like
the most common species you’ll see in the trade — though that doesn’t
predilection for burrowing needs to
make it cheap, and you can expect to pay £80 upwards for a good
be anticipated ahead of time. It’s also
specimen. From an area spanning Indonesia, Papua, and the Philippines,
worth considering a few flat stones,
it’s another deep-dweller found at around 30-80m.
Possibly because of its nervous disposition (or the fact that it’s often kept placed over deeper areas of
incorrectly) this fish has gained some notoriety as a harbinger of marine substrate, which seem to draw tilefish
whitespot, but this seems to allay when it’s housed in something dimly lit into digging beneath.
and with abundant caves. Insofar as feeding goes, on paper at
least Hoplalotilus would be great for a

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 73
MARINE
Tilefish
reef tank, ignoring sessile
invertebrates and having little time
for larger shrimp or crabs. Alas, the
bustle of reef life would drive them
largely underground, and this flies in
the face of their planktivore
feeding habits.
Tilefish need lots of
feeds, and those feeds
need to be of the
highest quality. Repeated thawing and
In the wild,
refreezing of frozen food
they’ll pick at
drastically alters the
tiny drifting
nutritional profile of it,
morels all day
(consider here the
and should never
be done.
challenges of keeping
Anthias, with their similar
habits). Whether the fish accepts
frozen food is down to the individual,
but most will if it is suitably small.
Enriched Artemia is accepted, as are
larger drifting copepods, but chunks
of Mysis may be too much for their
tiny mouths when young. That said,
there are many examples out there
that accept dried offerings of pellets
and marine flakes.
Note also that if a tilefish has
become starved for any reason, it
may begin to refuse frozen food.
Keepers report that successes have
been made bringing them back to
condition with freshy hatched
Artemia, but this may take time.
Getting the lighting right for
Hoplolatilus mainly involves keeping
74 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
things dim. If you have controllable
LEDs, then it’s a case of trial and
error, finding the intensity that draws
them out most into the open. Too
intense and they will hideaway.
Lastly, there’s the issue of
endless curiosity. Many a
tilefish has launched from
its housing overnight,
and a well-covered
tank is a must.
Tanks with
pronounced
bracing around
the sides seem a
good choice, as most
keepers who experience
jumping report that it happens
at the edges. To be sure, the
whole tank should be suicide proof.
Beyond that, care is pretty easy.
They’re are no more demanding of
water parameters than any other
generic marine fish. There’s no
physical hostility beyond gaping of
their tiny mouths, and even then,
only at rival tilefish.
What are you getting for what
amounts to a rocky, coral-devoid,
species-only tank that requires
endless feeding attention? Colours, in
a shock of striking hues. While the
non-hoplo tilefish are usually as
bland as the sand they dwell over,
this one genus contains species that
have the intensity of firefish in a
slightly larger package.
Skunk tilefish
Hoplolatilus marcosi
Had enough of blue? The skunk tilefish only has a little
of it, but its most obvious marking is its long red
streak. That alone seems enough to warrant its price of
around £80.
This species creates large rubble mounds around its
caves, and isn’t averse to stealing a little building
material from neighbouring mounds (something you
can replicate with a couple of pairs housed in a large
enough set-up).
Inhabiting a similar region to H. purpureus, the
skunk may be the smallest of the aquarium offerings,
reaching just 12cm (supposedly only 10cm in
aquaria), this is a shallower species found anywhere
from around 15m to some 70m deep. It’s also the
species best suitied to a smaller tank (when kept as a
pair) with anything from 100 litres being adequate for
two adults.
Oreni tilefish
Hoplolatilus oreni
Now here’s a rarity that you need to shop for. This
fish hadn’t even been photographed live until 2018
(before that, all we had to go on was a line drawing),
and after that a token few specimens dripped their
way into the supply chain. As you’d expect, the
scarcity alludes to a high price, and the fish seen
here was on sale for £599 (at The Abyss Aquatic
Warehouse, if you’re looking for one).
Scarce or not, reports are that this is the most
quick to settle of the genus once it’s in a tank,
making for a great display of dazzling colours.
There are even suggestions that it’s unlikely to jump,
but you really don’t want to roll those dice with an
open topped tank.
Hailing from Africa, this is one of the larger
Hoplolatilus at around a reported 20cm, but given
how little we know of the species, it may get a little
larger.
NEIL HEPWORTH
 SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK
SPECIAL
MENTION

Flashing tilefish
Hoplolatilus chlupatyi
There are some things a magazine cannot to do justice to,
and this is one of them. Check out the flashing tilefish on
YouTube, where you’ll see examples of swift colour changes
that make octopus look like amateurs. Part communication,
part camouflage, the colours can switch in a heartbeat,
making it an exciting fish to own.
From the Philippines through to Indonesia, it makes its
way to UK retailers where it commands a price of around
£100 — a steal, given its abilities. With an adult size of
around 13cm, it’s another that’s easy to house. This one is
an absolute diamond for the species-tank fan.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 75
 GEAR
GEAR & REVIEWS
Want to know how the goods on sale really perform? We put them
through their paces so you can sort the good from the bad...
CLOVERLEAF ABSOLUTE
PELLET FOODS
Reviewed by: Gabor Horvath
Prices: 150g pouches - £6-£8; 350g pouches - £10-£15; Nano shrimp (75g) - £6.65; Egg layer starter (50g) - £4.49
More info: cloverleaf.uk.net
Buying food for my fish used to be
an easy task. Forty years ago, I had
a choice of live Tubifex, air-dried
Daphnia or a mixed flake food from
the then only Hungarian
manufacturer. If I popped over the
border to Czechoslovakia I could buy
some ‘top quality’ foods from a
well-known German manufacturer,
but even those were general
one-size-fits-all mixtures.
An aquarist today is spoilt by
choices: there are rows upon rows
of tubs, bags, pots, packets and
buckets of hundreds of different
fares even in the smallest of shops.
It might even be easy to think that
every niche of the market is covered
and there’s no room for a newcomer.
The guys at Cloverleaf thought
differently and went for the gaps
nobody knew existed.
While many might associate the
brand with their successful and
award winning blanketweed
treatment, if you’ve followed them
in the past you’ll know that
Cloverleaf isn’t a one-trick pony and
is capable of pulling some surprising
products out of its hat.
That’s why I was looking forward to
seeing their latest offerings at the
Aqua Telford show. Based on the
previous shows I expected to see
76 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
USED &
ABUSED
some new
hardware, but to
my surprise the
Cloverleaf stand was
full of very sleek
looking pouches of
foods and medications.
The only hardware was a
special microscope, but
that, as well as the associated
medications, will be the subject
of later reviews.
Seal for freshness
For now, I’m focusing on the foods.
What instantly grabbed my attention
was the packaging. I’m used to
getting most of my foods in tubs, so
having them in resealable bags was
a relative novelty. The pouches are
decorative and the colourful
graphics give you the key to what’s
inside. And that’s where Cloverleaf
made a difference.
In a regular food range, you will
find staples for community fish,
something for vegetarian fish and
something for non-vegetarians.
Browsing the pictures on the
Absolute food range, none of them
depicted the usual suspects —
common angelfish, neon tetra,
guppy — preferred by many brands.
Instead of them the Cloverleaf
 packaging fronts snakehead,
stingray, arowana, altum angel,
axolotl, shrimp and turtle among
many favourites of cichlid and
monster fish keepers.
It was a good
indication of the
intentions of
Cloverleaf: go after
the gaps in the
market and produce
something that nobody
else does (or only a very few
do). As I’m always interested in
trying new foods, and as I keep
some creatures belonging to those
niche markets, I was looking forward
to receiving a selection from the
Absolute range.
When the box arrived, I realised
the first advantage of using pouches
instead of tubs: you can pack more
of them tighter into a box, as there
is no waste of space between the
bags. It makes them more
environmentally friendly, too.
As they’re still juveniles I had to crush
the hard pellets (not an easy task) but the
reception was good, my fish were happy. I
found every pellet in the Absolute range to
be quite hard, but once in the water they
soften up relatively quickly
Time to taste
After admiring the packaging and
taking some product shots it was
time to ‘taste’ the foods. It took a bit
of time to open the pouches (they’re
sealed tightly), but when I poured
out some samples I saw that
Cloverleaf followed a Ford T-model-
esq philosophy: you can have any
colour or shape you choose, so long
as it's a brown pellet.
With the exception of the fry- and
shrimp-specific foods, the Absolute
food range consists of pellets of
various sizes from 0.5-9mm. The
largest size in my sample pack was
the 4.5mm diameter Cichlid Growth
food. It was the only floating one in
the lot, so looked a perfect
candidate to feed my surface
dwelling Pantodon. As they’re still
juveniles I had to crush the hard
pellets (not an easy task) but the
reception was good, my fish were
happy. I found every pellet in the
range to be quite hard, but once in
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 77
 GEAR USED & ABUSED
GEAR & REVIEWS
ANALYTICAL COMPONENTS
EGG LAYER STARTER NANO SHRIMP
Ash 8.4 Protein 45% Fat 11 Ash 8.3 Protein 42% Fat 9
Crude Fibre 1.3 Calcium 2.5 Crude Fibre 1.0 Calcium 2.3
Total P 2.11 Sodium 0.6 Total P1.26 Sodium 0.4
DISCUS / MINI BEAST
Ash 8.3 Protein 54%
Fat 15 Crude Fibre 1.5
Calcium 1.6
Total P 1.19 Sodium 0.4
the water they soften up relatively
quickly. The hardness could be an
issue with fussy eater fish, as if they
don’t like it on the first try they may
not give it another go. Luckily all my
fish are adventurous, so they had no
problems with following up and
collecting the bits from the bottom.
Out of the tested lot the Dwarf
Cichlid food has the strongest smell
and it also feels greasy, but my rams
didn’t mind it. Although the 2mm
pellet size was a bit large to them
they kept chewing it until they
managed to get it down. Perhaps the
size of the Betta pellets (1.5mm)
would be better to cater for the
needs of juvenile dwarf cichlids, too.
I quickly noted that the Discus and
the Mini Beast foods looked and
smelled identical. There’s a simple
explanation: they are exactly the
same, but for marketing reasons
Cloverleaf have targeted two very
distinct genres at the same time.
Both discus and small predator
keepers need very similar high
78 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
protein foods, but I doubt that
there’s a single discus keeper who
would buy a dedicated predator food
for their fish and vice versa. In
today’s over-specialised world where
everyone wants a separate solution
(or product) for every single problem,
providing fishkeepers with tailor-
made (or rather cleverly adapted)
fish foods is the right approach,
especially if the product is good.
And the Absolute foods are very
good. I talked to other aquarists
using the range and they all praised
these pellets for being nutritious, yet
low-polluting. The specialist lines
work well, too. My shrimp went crazy
for the Nano Shrimp food without a
moment hesitation. The Vampire
crabs were also very grateful for their
meal, cleaning up the Crustacean
Pellets in no time.
Smaller mouths
Being a prolific fish breeder I was
especially curious about the Fry
food, as I would like to cut back on
MINI CICHLID
Ash 8.6 Protein 45% Fat 7
Crude Fibre 2.4 Calcium 1.4
Total P 1.21 Sodium 0.2
CICHLID GROWTH
Ash 5.9, Protein 38%,
Fat 8, Crude Fibre 2.6,
Calcium 1.0, Total P 0.83,
Sodium 0.2
the use of newly hatched Artemia
(the eggs are getting increasingly
expensive). The small (0.2-0.5mm)
grain size of the egg-layer food is
similar in size to baby brine shrimp,
meaning that it should be suitable
for any fry that would usually eat
those. I tested the theory with my
10-day old rainbow fish and tetra fry
and they accepted the Cloverleaf
food without any issues.
VERDICT
The Absolute foods did really well
in my tests. If you are a hardcore
or obstinate flake-feeder you
won’t find a suitable food in the
range, but if you’re after a quality
pellet for your creatures give the
Cloverleaf foods a try. You won’t be
disappointed.
EASE OF USE: 
FEATURES: 
VALUE: 
OVERALL: 
NEXT On Sale
CONTACT US
Practical Fishkeeping,

MONTH
Warners Group Publications,
The Maltings, West Street,
September Bourne, PE10 9PH
Email: editorial@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
15th 2022 EDITORIAL
Phone 01778 391194
Editor Nathan Hill

In the October iue Art Editor Katie Wilkinson

Websites Laura Wright/Lara Cracknell
Publisher James Buzzel

ADVERTISING
Key Account Manager Stephen Tanner
Phone 01778 392404
stephen.tanner@warnersgroup.co.uk

CARPS WITH Classified Account Manager Kay Cotterill

Phone 01778 395065
kay.cotterill@warnersgroup.co.uk

MARKETING
Marketing Executive Ellis O’Connell

ATTITUDE! PRODUCTION
Print Production Manager Nigel Fish
Advertising Production Mel Hudson
Printing Warners Midlands

SUBSCRIPTIONS AND BACK ISSUES

The predatory cyprinids of Africa To ensure that you don’t miss an issue
and for the best subscription offers, visit
practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
For subscription or back issue queries,
please email:
subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk

No part of the magazine may be reproduced in any

form in whole or in part, without the prior permission
of Warners Group Publications (Warners).
All material published remains the copyright of
Warners, and we reserve the right to copy or edit
any material submitted to the magazine without
further consent. The submission of material
(manuscripts or images etc.) to Warners, whether
unsolicited or requested, is taken as permission to
publish that material in the magazine, on the
associated website, any apps or social media pages
affiliated to the magazine, and any editions of the
magazine published by our licensees elsewhere in
the world. By submitting any material to us you are
confirming that the material is your own original
work or that you have permission from the copyright
owner to use the material and to authorise Warners
to use it as described in this paragraph. You also
promise that you have permission from anyone
featured or referred to in the submitted material
NEIL HEPWORTH

to it being used by Warners. If Warners receives a

claim from a copyright owner or a person featured
in any material you have sent us, we will inform that
person that you have granted us permission to use
the relevant material and you will be responsible for

PLUS paying any amounts due to the copyright owner or

featured person and/or for reimbursing Warners for
any losses it has suffered as a result. We accept no
responsibility for unsolicited material which is lost

The hype for garlic Little suckers

or damaged in the post and we do not promise that
we will be able to return any material to you. Finally,
while we try to ensure accuracy of your material
when we publish it, we cannot promise to do so.
Justified or not? A closer look at We do not accept any responsibility for any loss
or damage, however caused, resulting from use
Otocinclus of the material as described in this paragraph.

Barbs of India NE
& BROCHURE
PR
ZI

This publication is printed

IN
GA

Otocinclus ahoy!
TE
MA

by Warners Midlands PLC

Mouth almighty! WARNERS  

Telephone: 01778 391000

The quirky world of

Glossamia aprion
SHUTTERSTOCK

Pro aquascaper FAQs

CLASSIFIED To advertise here please contact Kay on 01778 395065 or email kay.cotterill@warnersgroup.co.uk

INTERNET NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

Huge range of livestock

anks
k !
in more than 600 tanks!
TROPICAL - MARINE - POND & COLDWATER
Visit us for help and advice from
our friendly, experienced team.
Facebook 4.9/5 (over 590 reviews)
Google 4.8/5 (over 1,240 reviews)

www.wharfaquatics.co.uk
Tel: 01773 861255
www.aquariumgardens.co.uk Open 7 Days - 65-67 Wharf Road, Pinxton, Notts. NG16 6LH (near M1 J28)

01480 450572 info@aquariumgardens.co.uk

UNIT 20C , UPLANDS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, MERE WAY, WYTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE PE28 2JZ SHOP

KENT

ABACUS AQUATICS
Voted one of the Best shops in
the UK for the last 6 years
Now open on Sundays
For more details about the
shop and our opening hours
please visit our website
www.abacus-aquatics.co.uk
168 Halfway Street, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 8DJ
020 8302 8000 / enquiries@abacusaquatics.co.uk
MISCELLANEOUS
LANCASHIRE
Aquascape
FISH IMPORTS
Tra 
12 e ware IW
d
: h
TRA 2 ouse
DE 3(
AQUATIC WHOLESALER ONL 1
AQUATICS Y
Tropical & Coldwater Fish Livestock Wholesalers
CENTRE
Tel: 0121 331 1212 Fax: 0121 331 1414
Over 250 tanks stocked www.aquascape.co.uk sales@aquascape.co.uk
with Top Quality Fish and a
Huge dry goods section! STAFFORDSHIRE
Tel: 01772 623497
www.aquahome.co.uk Tropical, Marine,
cold water fish &
coral specialists a good choice for advertisers?
Within Avant Gardens, (Opposite Leyland Golf 01782 775947 Expert advice and
Club) Wigan Road, Leyland, PR25 5XW sales@kidsgrovetropicals.co.uk a huge product
www.kidsgrovetropicals.co.uk range.

LONDON

The Fish Bowl Ltd To see how PFK could help your
133 Dawes Road,
London. SW6 7EA business call Kay today to discuss
Tel: 020 7385 6005
www.thefishbowlltd.com
email: thefishbowlltd@tiscali.co.uk
classified advertising options.
OFFICIAL JUWEL STOCKISTS PLUS SPARES Call 01778 395065 or email
Aquatic and Pet Shop. kay.cotterill@warnersgroup.co.uk
Open 5 days a week 10am to 6pm. Closed all day Thursday and Sunday

80 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

Regional classifieds
To advertise, email
kay.cotterill@warnersgroup.co.uk
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
ELY AQUATICS - Est 2003. Friendly
independent family run offering
quarantined fish, plants, testing,
reptiles, boarding and accessories.
sales@elyaquatics.co.uk
Tel: 01353 668880
CHESHIRE
FINEST AQUATICS - Leading aquatic
store specialising in quality tropical
and marine fish and invertebrates.
We stock a unrivalled range of dry
goods for all aquarist’s needs.
Tel: 0151 558 1110,
visit: www.finestaquatics.co.uk
FINEST FILTERS – Quality aquarium
equipment and filter media at trade
prices! Tel: 0151 261 9207, visit:
www.finest-filters.co.uk
DORSET
SOUTHERN AQUATICS - offer a
Wide Selection of Livestock, Top
Brands and Products at Great
Prices. Tel: 01202 602060 www.
southernaquaticspetsandreptiles.
co.uk/
EAST SUSSEX
DEVOTEDLY DISCUSS - Suppliers of
Stendker Discus since 1993.
www.devotedly-discus.co.uk
PARAQUATICS - Marine Specialists
with great stock of Fish and Corals
hand picked every week.
Tel: 01273 733996
www.paraquatics.co.uk
KENT
AQUARAMA - Fast Fish Food to
provide a lower cost alternative
to the usual food. Stocking 30
different flakes, more than 20
different feeding tablets.
www.aquarama.co.uk
HAVE YOU SEEN OUR
OTHER PUBLICATION?
fish
MERSEYSIDE
MIKE’S RIFTS - Mike’s Rifts is a
specialist retailer of Lake Malawi
and Lake Tanganyika Cichlids.
Visits to view our stocks need to be
arranged beforehand or alternatively A literary celebration of scale and fin
our stocks can be delivered to your
door via courier.
www.riftvalleycichlids.com
Tel: 01925 747614
NORFOLK
SCAPED NATURE - Enjoy the beauty
of nature indoors with aquascapes, ONLY
£9.99
terrariums, wabi kusa, moss art and
original planted arts.
Tel: 01603 761900
hello@scapednature.com
OXFORDSHIRE
THE GOLDFISH BOWL - Offering
personal service as well as a huge
selection of top quality livestock and
an enviable range of dry goods.
www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk
Tel: 01865 241825
SCOTLAND
FISHKEEPER SCOTLAND – Specialist
aquatic stores across Scotland with
everything for tropical, marine and
coldwater aquariums and pond
supplies. Run by fishkeepers for
fishkeepers.
www.fishkeeperscotland.co.uk Habitats and history, conservation and culture,
WEST MIDLANDS art appreciation, current affairs and cooking,
‘fish’ contains all of this and more. For anyone
C D AQUATICS - have been
with a passing interest in the piscine world —
established since 1991, our aim
is to provide a good selection of
high quality products, with the angler, aquarium hobbyist, even the lay natural
best service possible at competitive history fan — ‘fish’ offers in-depth stories that
prices. Tel: 01922 416284
www.cdaquatics.co.uk are carefully crafted as much for their literary
HOLLYBUSH PETS & AQUATICS, merit as their informative content.
Warstone Road, Shareshill
nr Wolverhampton WV10 7LX In a world of stuffy writing and practicality, we
Just off Junction 11 M6. offer musings and entertainment. ‘fish’ is the
Tel: 01922 418050
www.hollybush-garden.com long read for the long reader.
sales@hollybush-garden.com
WEST YORKSHIRE
PET AND AQUATIC WORLD - Leeds
largest specialist aquatics shop in
DON’T MISS OUT -
Armley, Leeds. Tropical, marine &
cold water indoor & outdoor fish. VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND ORDER
Tel: 0113 2631509
www.petshopleeds.co.uk YOUR COPY TODAY.
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/shop
OPINION
NATHAN HILL
Instead of living on baked beans,
there might be another way to fit our
hobbies in with impending price fuel
cost increases.
ERHAPS IT’S time for us to
P
start rethinking the virtues
of unheated aquaria. Let’s
cut to the chase: electricity
costs are going to be brutal
come the end of 2022. With
the anticipated October
price hikes (potentially 65%,
according to various authorities), that
means that a single tank with a 300W
heater (running about 12 mins an hour), a
30W external canister filter, and a couple
of 10W LED lights is going to cost about
£25-£30 a month to run in a typical heated
home. If you’re the kind of hobbyist (as
many of us are) that keeps three of four
tanks at once, you’ll be looking at over £100
a month, and that’s assuming they’re all in
relatively warm positions. As for the
hardcore folks with dozens of tanks in
every alcove... ouch. Hobbyists with
tropical tanks in an unheated garage might
as well start thinking of selling a kidney
now. It’s going to be a rough winter.
M. ocellatus —
tell me that isn’t
gorgeous.
82 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Nathan Hill is
editor of Practical
Fishkeeping
magazine as well
as fish magazine.
He adores biotopes
and currently craves
Elassoma.
Like them or not
I don’t know what it is about unheated
tanks that has been stigmatised for so long
in the public fishkeeping perception.
Amongst the mainstream, temperate fish
seem to carry an aura of inferiority, as
though they should be something relegated
to beginners and/or the incompetent. But
behind the scenes, regarded aquarists have
long been busying themselves with all sorts
of coldwater tolerant species. German
breeders are becoming masters of rice fish,
creating dozens of morphs that make some
of the brightest tropical tetras look
comparatively bland. My point is, there is a
lot to covet in the room-temperature world.
It’s likely the association with fancy
goldfish that give rise to this mainstream
view. I’m not going to weigh in here on my
thoughts on fancy goldfish. Perhaps they
are monstrosities, perhaps they are an
example of domestication for tank life —
whatever. But let’s not spite ourselves by
writing off coldwater entirely.
ALAMY
Supply and demand
The greatest problem for the aspiring
coldwater enthusiast is availability. Years
spent in fear of invasive species have led
to prohibitive white lists of what we are
allowed to import, and many wonderful
aquarium fish — pumpkinseeds, the many
North American shiners, a swathe of
adorable Rhinogobius — cannot be brought
on to these shores. Perhaps, in the same
way that apple snails have recently made a
return, some of these species may now be
reappraised, but only if we are prepared to
behave. The Fish Health Inspectorate has
already raised concerns about rice fish
being kept in ponds or barrels, explaining
that the Import of Live Fish Act only grants
a general licence to sell these fish for indoor
aquaria. Losing our outdoor barrels would
be a small price to pay for the ongoing
availability of this species.
But what is available is pretty gorgeous in
its own right. Macropodus — the lay
aquarist immediately thinks of the bog
standard paradise fish, but there are either
other species, none of which seem to get a
look in due to lack of demand. Go Google
Micropodus ocellatus and tell me don’t want
it. Elassoma evergladei, the pygmy sunfish, is
a species I’d give my left arm for. And there
are few tanks that impress me more than
fast-flowing hillstream set-ups packed with
the likes of Barilius and Sewellia.
But first comes demand. If you’re aiming
to cut costs this winter, I implore you to try
unheated aquaria. Start expressing your
interest in unusual coldwater fish, support
the stores in stocking them. Then, once
businesses start to realise there’s an
audience, pressure might be applied to get
more species included on the white lists.
Let’s make coldwater fish hot again.
 OUT TUNZE
®

eerin g

NOW!
DON’T MISS OUT -
Aquat ic Ec o E n g i n

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AND

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY.
Our masterclass is packed full of
information to keep your aquarium
healthy and thriving. Including a
handy test to check your knowledge.

ONLY
£9.99
MULTI 100%
TUBE Made in

HOLDER
Germany!

TUNZE® has modernized one of its bestsellers,

the hose holder 0102.450!
This versatile universal holder now consists of a
compact, transparent plastic part with a solid
plastic screw. Hoses from 0.236” to 0.276”
(6-7 mm) can be easily attached to it without
the need to use any tools. As usual, the hose
holder 0102.450 is supplied as a standard
accessory with every Osmolator®.
The new additional Multi Tube Holder
3154.555 consists of four assembled tube
holders and is especially suitable for dosing
pumps, additives, etc. The Multi Tube Holder
can be attached to glass and other materials
with a thickness of up to 22 mm (0.866”).

AQUATIC
ECO
ENGINEERING
DESIGNED
AND MADE IN

www.tunze.com
BAVARIA

80
www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/store/reader-offers