Modern Aquarium April 2008

modernAQUARIUM

APRIL 2008volume XVnumber 2

Greater City Aquarium Society - New York

modernAQUARITM Series III Vol. XV, No. 2 April, 2008

ON THE COVER

The photo on our cover this month is ofHoplosternum littorale, a catfish familiarto aquariums as well as to the dinner table.And, if you're a resident of central Florida,it's probably playing now in a swampnear you! For more on this easy-to-keepcallichthyid, see "Catfish Hunter," on page 11.

Photo by Dan Radebaugh

GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETY

BOARD MEMBERS

President Joseph FerdenziVice-President. Mark SobermanTreasurer Jack TraubCorres. Secretary. Warren Feuer &

Sharon BarnettRecording Secretary. Edward Vukich

MEMBERS AT LARGE

Claudia Dickinson Pete D'OrioArtie Friedman. Al GrusellBen Haus Emma HausLeonard Ramroop

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

A.C.A. Delegate Claudia DickinsonBreeder Award. Warren Feuer

Mark SobermanEarly Arrivals Al GrusellF.A. A.S. Delegate Alexander PriestMembers/Programs Claudia DickinsonN.E.C. Delegate Claudia Dickinson

MODERN AQUARIUM

Editor in Chief. Dan RadebaughAssociate Editor. Claudia DickinsonCopy Editors Sharon Barnett

Susan PriestAlexander A. Priest

Exchange Editors Stephen SicaDonna Sosna Sica

Photo/Layout Editor Jason KernerAdvertising Mgr. Mark SobermanExecutive Editor................. Joseph Ferdenzi

In This IssueFrom the Editor

The Amusing Aquarium (Cartoon).by Bernard Harrigan

President's Message

G.C.A.S. 2008 Program Schedule...

Fish Bytesby Stephen Sica with Donna Sosna Sica

Catfish Hunterby Dan Radebaugh

Wet Leavesby Susan Priest

The Bahamian Lionfishby Stephen Sica

The Case of the Hanging Cichlidsby Frank Fallon

The Undergravel Reporter

G.C.A.S. Happenings

Fin Fun (Puzzle Page)

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Articles submitted for consideration in Modern Aquarium must be received nolater than the 1 Oth day of the month, three months prior to the month of publication.Copyright 2008 by the Greater City Aquarium Society Inc., a not-for-profit New YorkState corporation. All rights reserved. Not-for-profit aquarium societies are herebygranted permission to reproduce articles and illustrations from this publication, unlessthe article indicates that the copyrights have been retained by the author, and providedreprints indicate source and two copies of the publication are sent to the ExchangeEditor of this magazine. Any other reproduction or commercial use of the material inthis publication is prohibited without express written prior permission.The Greater City Aquarium Society meets every month, except January and February.Members receive notice of meetings in the mail. For more information, contact: JoeFerdenzi (516) 484-0944. Find out more, or leave us a message, at our Internet HomePage at: http://www.greatercity.org or http://www.greatercity.com

From theEditorby Dan Radebaugh

As I look through this issue of ModernAquarium, I am struck by the fact that,of the three articles profiling a species of

aquarium fish, all three are found in nature outsidetheir native ranges. The lionfish, that now residesin the Atlantic, the brown hoplo cat, that has foundFlorida to its liking, and the chanchita, that nowresides in Spain and Portugal in addition to its nativeSouth America. Of the three, the case of the lionfishis the most puzzling. How did it get from its nativewaters around Indonesia to the waters of our Atlanticcoast? While human intervention seems likely (it's along swim from Indonesia), the "released aquariumfish" hypothesis boggles the mind a bit. Not thatno one would do that, but this is a fairly expensivefish, and I'm having some trouble imagining enoughsaltwater fanciers dumping enough of these aquariumshowpieces into the ocean to establish a breedingpopulation. It just seems contrary to economics.Author Stephen Sica notes that the new Bahamiancolony is being intensively studied. I certainly lookforward to further information as it becomes available.

While there is also no "smoking gun" in thecase of the brown hoplo cat, the fact that it is farmedextensively for food in South America may be a clueas to the means of its release or escape into the streamsand marshes of Florida, a major center of aquaculture(fish farming) in the U.S.A. Aquaculture also played arole in the release of the more notorious walking catfish,Clarius batrachus. Some years back, a truck carrying aload of these fish reportedly went into a ditch along theTamiami Trail. The truck's former cargo, finding itselfin amenable circumstances, lived on and prospered.As these fish are able to use their modified pectoralfins to "walk" for short distances out of the water,they were able to expand their range quite quickly.They were also able to unnerve many motorists, whowere surprised to run over fish crossing highways.

Both of these catfish join a long and growinglist of species, both plant and animal, now living inFlorida, that are not native to the state, continent, oreven hemisphere. Many of the problem plants areornamentals, such as the Brazilian pepper, that foundthe climate congenial, and in the absence of controlorganisms present in their native envirnonment, havebecome serious pests. Others were deliberately, evenoffically introduced with a specific purpose in mind.The melaleuca, or punk tree, was seen as a boon backin the days when "draining the swamps" was a high

priority. Now these trees, which suck up amazingamounts of water, are seen as a major threat to the veryexistence of the Everglades. Times and values change.

Some values depend upon point of view.One of the best-publicized ecological disasters goingon right now is the devastation of the Lake Victoria(or Lake Nyanza) ecosystem, which Stephen Sicamentions in his "Fish Bytes" column. Despitethe ecological and socisoeconomic devastationbrought about by this well-meant introduction1,there are probably many who would still defend it.

All over the country and the world, thereare stories to be told of invasive species, habitatdestruction, scientific "mucking about" with genesto produce more marketable, high-yield plant andanimal products, more seductive tourist attractions,greener golf courses, and on, and on. Rainbowtrout in the Andes. Largemouth bass in Spain.Snakeheads in the Potomac. Carp everywhere!

At the same time, there has been developinga contrapuntal, biological purist movement that askssome pretty good questions: Why are we using allthese foreign grasses on our prairies and pastures?Why are we introducing ringneck pheasants to shootat, when they compete with native prairie chickens,that are presumably just as much fun to shoot at? Dittofor introducing the peacock bass into Florida as anenticement to anglers (oh, and incidentally, to hopefullyeat some of the tilapia we had previously introduced tohelp control the longer-ago introduced water hyacinth)?

What does all this have to do with those ofus in the aquarium hobby? Unfortunately, plenty. Allaround the country, laws are being passed, considered,or proposed that would make it illegal to buy, keep, sell,or transport some of the fish that we routinely keep.The problem with a lot of this legislation is that electedofficials are not, by and large, very knowledgeableabout ecology, the aquarium hobby, or the speciesthey're being persuaded to regulate. Consequently,some of the proposed laws are just ridiculous. For

April 2008 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

instance, I read of a proposed law in Connecticut thatwould have banned the sale of the Jack Dempsey inthat state, so as to prevent it's colonization of localwaters. I do not know whether or not this is nowlaw, but we can expect more of this sort of thing.

We fishkeepers are not a big-bucksconstituency, or even well organized, so makingour views heard is likely to be an uphill effort.The only semblance of protection we haveagainst the excesses of any of the competinginterests in this or any controversy is knowledge.

With all this in mind, I am inviting ourmembers to send me articles dealing with the subjectof introduced species. I dislike the term "invasive,"

because they didn't invade; we brought them! I don'tcare which side of the fence you're on. Scientificfashions change, just as popular ones do, and no onegroup has a patent on the truth. Just write about whatyou know, as honestly as you can. This has been aninterest of mine for many years, so I'll contribute acouple as well. I'm certain that we'll see some strongopinions, and that we'll all have an opportunity tolearn something from one another. So who's up first?

!http:/ /en. wikipedi a. org/wiki/Lake_ Victoria

THE AMUSING AQUARIUM

Firemouth Cichlid

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) April 2008

President'sMessage

by Joseph Ferdenzi

Last month we were treated to a wonderfulpresentation on growing aquarium plantsby Izzy Zwerin of the Brooklyn Aquarium

Society. There was much food for thought, and quitea few insights that will benefit even those who have a"green thumb" when it comes to aquatic plants. Izzy'smastery of the subject is not solely evident from hissuperb lecture. I recall a Greater City meeting fromlast year when Izzy contributed a few examples of hisplant growing prowess to our monthly auction. In aword, those plants were stupendous. Of course theygenerated much bidding, and deservedly so. Perhapsthe best thing about Izzy's presentation is that it wasonly Part I. Later in the season Izzy will be returningto Greater City to give us Part II of his lecture. I'msure we'll all be looking forward to it.

This month's meeting is entirely dedicated toour traditional silent auction/flea market. Originally,this event was conceived of as a way for our membersto do some "Spring cleaning" that would benefit boththem and the Society financially. In my experience, ithas been a modest financial success. But, I think theyare fun, and I think the members enjoy them as well.So, we continue the tradition.

Speaking of fundraising, let me write on asubject that is important, but that I don't often discuss.At Greater City, making money is not our number onepriority. It's probably not even number two. Butthefactof the matter is that not even Greater City can continueto do all that it does without sufficient funds. Ourtreasury is relatively healthy, and our spending policiesare frugal, but even so, expenses continue to rise, andmeeting them has become something of a challenge.Therefore, I'd like to remind everyone that we are alegal not-for-profit organization, and that everythingyou donate to the Society is tax-deductible. This isso because of the efforts of our esteemed Treasurer,Jack Traub. If you need any form of documentationfor your contribution, Jack will provide it. Of courseif you write a check, your cancelled check is proof ofyour contribution. For those of you who don't knowthis, Jack holds a doctorate, is a CPA, and is a formerIRS employee. If Jack tells you it is tax deductible,you can rely on it to be so.

Many people have a program of charitablegiving. Perhaps you do, or perhaps one of your friendsor family members does. Well, it would be nice ifGreater City could be included in any such programs.After all, we do much in educating the public, we areopen to everyone, and we never charge admission toour meetings. I think we are a very worthwhile charity.So please, give it some thought. I would love to seea regular program of giving that would put GreaterCity on a sound financial footing well into our next100 years.

Thanks, and see you next month... i

EO PET STROPICAL FISH AQUARIUM

Specializing in Tropical Fish and Aquarium SuppliesLarge Selection of Aquatic Plants

Knowledgeable StaffSame Location Since 1947.

(718) 849-6678 115-23 Jamaica AvenueRichmond Hill, NY 11418


GCASPrograms

2008

It is our great fortune to have another admirable cast of speakers who have so graciouslyaccepted our invitation to join us throughout the coming season, bringing us their extensiveknowledge and experiences. You certainly won't wish to miss a moment of our prominent

guests, not to mention the friends, fish, warmth, and camaraderie that accompanies eachmeeting. I know I can barely wait to see you here!

Claudia

April

June

Silent Auction

Laura MuhaTFH Contributor

Ian FullerIan will travel from England to share his vast

experiences with species of Corydoras!

TEAAugust

September

Izzy ZwerinHardware Selection and Set Up of High Tech Planted

Aquariums Part II

Greg SteevesGreg will fly from Texas to bring us his extensive

knowledge of The Endemic Species-at-Risk of theLake Victoria Region and the Kenyan School Project.

October Bob LarsenBob will travel from New Jersey to treat us to his

many years of experience with, and love of, Guppiesand other Livebearers.

November

November 7th-9th

December

TBA

AFISH Convention!!!

Holiday Party!


•IE NORTHEAST COUNCIL OF AQUARIUM SOCIETIES'

53RD ANNUAL CONVENTION

April 11-13, 2008AH Day Auction Sunday

SpeakersBanquet

Vendor Room

THE HARTFORD MARRIOTTFarmington, Connecticut

Exit 37 ofTI 84 West of Hartfordin Farm Springs Park

An Educational and Social WeekendOpen To All

Celebrate with our theme ofPirates of the NEC

SPEAKERS

Eric BedrockCorydoras

CharlesClapsaddleLivebearers

Chuck DavisCome One,ComeAtt

Eric DoFreshwater Shrimp

Jim GasiorKtiliflsh

Mike HellwegLive

Foods/BreedingSmall Fish

Dean HougenSouth American

CichUds

Bob LarsenGuppies

Steve LundbladRiflMce Cichlids

Luis NavarroAquascaping

Mike SchadleBanquet MC

For i 'lore information contact:

David or Janine Banks............(802) 372 [email protected]

Penny or Al Fauft.'.... .....( 978) 534 [email protected]

Nancy Villars .....(732)[email protected]

Wally or Sue Bush.....7,.,.,....(860) 276-9475wb ush2 7@aol. com

Visit NEC Web page far photo contest rules,registration flyers, hotel registration info,

schedule, list of speakers and other updates:

http://www.northeastcouncil.org


An occasional column for societyexchanges, guest appearances, articlesand items of general interest. We try notto bite off more than we can swallow. Ifyou wish to offer comments, suggestionsor any information that you wouldlike to see in this column, the authorsencourage you to contact us throughGreater City, or at a monthly meeting.

by Stephen Sica with^^ onna and I received our jury duty notices

m about a month apart. Now I'm hangingJL-^ around the jury room with the rest of thecrowd when I'd rather be going to work. Donna, anattorney, used to work with the District Attorney manyyears ago when he was a judge. She is never chosen,although she wants to be. Good luck to her! I wasalways chosen until I married Donna, so now I feelthat hanging out is a waste of my time - except thatI decided to start on another column. I guess everycloud does have a silver lining - when it's not raining,of course.

Aline Finley admitted in the Tankquilizer thather husband-to-be gave her a Synodontisflavitaeniatusas a wedding present. To quote her, "I couldn't believeit! I was so excited!" Aline further admits that herparents couldn't understand how she could be soexcited to receive a fish as a wedding present. I mustreport that she received ten more S. flavitaeniatus forher thirty-second anniversary. Aline's husband isone lucky guy. How much do you suppose all thesefabulous gifts cost him? If I gave Donna such presents,she'd probably sue for divorce - although I did giveher a pleco for Valentine's Day a few years ago. Callme Mister Aline?

The same issue has a member's article abouta family visit to the Georgia Aquarium. We were therelast April. Their displays are magnificent, especiallythe whale sharks and, in another display, the belugawhales. Unfortunately, they were down from four tothree whale sharks at the time, and have lost anothersince. The aquarium is nowhere near a saltwatersupply, so millions of gallons of saltwater must becontinually produced and cleansed.

A tip from Norman Brandt in The Granite-Fisher of the New Hampshire Aquarium Society forbreeding Betta splendens is to cut a styrofoam cup inhalf lengthwise, and place it in water with the dome

Donna Sosna Sicaside up. Float it, or fasten it to the side of the tank, andyou have a private love nest for the pair to spawn.. .acichlid hobbyist who had relocated both his householdand his large fish collection was hit by a substantialfish die-off. He discovered that he had high ammonia,nitrites, and nitrates, despite meticulously checking andchanging his water. He ultimately solved the problemwith a water treatment of one half the recommendeddosage of methylene blue.

Piotr Ziolkowski of the Greater ChicagoCichlid Association described his experiences breedinga fish that was only discovered, or became popular, inthe 1990s, Geophagus sp. "Tapajos," more commonlyknown as the "red head" or, as he prefers due to itscolor, the "orange head." This fish is a sand sifter as itconstantly searches for food.

Jason Jenkins, a member of the Iowa AquariaAssociation, informs us that as the growing humanpopulation around Lake Victoria began to deplete itsresources, the lake was stocked with Nile tilapia inthe 1950s, and Nile perch in the 1960s to provide afishing industry, as well as sustenance for the locals.Enormously predatory, the Nile perch can reachlengths of six feet, and weigh four hundred pounds. Itgrows this big by eating almost every native fish in thelake. The Nile perch fish industry supports twenty-fivemillion people. In addition, the burgeoning populationis polluting the lake, causing massive algae blooms,oxygen depletion, and water hyacinth infestation. TheWorld Conservation Program keeps many local fishspecies in thirty-plus locales throughout the world. Asfor the lake's prospects, only time will tell.. .someoneI know who wants to breed Corydoras pygmaeuspurchased several about three-eighths of an inch inlength...now if only he can remember what tank heput them in, since he can't find them! I suggestedthat he observe if any of his other fish are showingsigns of indigestion. If they turn up, maybe he should


/ sent Donna out to get gossipfrom this nosy trumpetfish whotold her that I had better getup to date on my exchangepublications! That fish has somebig snout...! mean mouth.

keep them in the dark, and try a weak solution offungus eliminator. Someone suggested Jungle EggSaver. Maybe try a bigger Corydoras species, suchas aeneus...if a cory doesn't breed, at least it's fun towatch...well, maybe a glowlight tetra too...a femaleglowlight, Hemigrammus erythrozonus, can release upto two hundred eggs.

I have read that an easy to keep plant isHygrophila corymbosa stricta, or the temple plant, orcherry leaf, a native of India, Malaysia, and Indonesia.It's a fast grower, and can get by with average light.Once it gets going, it can fill up your tank.. .if you arelooking for a completely dust-free substrate for yourplants, try Eco-Complete from Carib Sea. The gravelsize is medium, with a brown-gray color.

I saw photos of a really beautiful shelldwellercichlid, Neolamprologus similis. I recall a GCASpresentation on shelldwellers a few months ago. Wasit the same fish? A new species of cichlid that wasdiscovered on Madagascar was named Ptychochromisloisellei, after Dr. Paul Loiselle in recognition of hismany years of outstanding contributions to the studyand conservation of Madagascar's freshwater fishes.

There were two neat articles in Fancy Finsabout breeding Corydoras aeneus and Nematobryconpalmeri, the emperor tetra. As usual, many of thesefish just seem to procreate on their own, with little helpfrom the fishkeeper. On second thought, I guess that'show it's supposed to be.

The Honolulu Aquarium Society was foundedin 1950...the October 2007 issue of the North JerseyAquarium Society's Reporter contains a glowingreview of Claudia Dickinson's Aquarium Care ofCichlids. The reviewer states that "the most importantthing is the information is...written in conversationaltext. I am too often put off by books.. .that are writtenin fourth year ichthyologist lingo." I don't even knowhow to spell itchy.. .whatever.

On a subway ride to work I was readingthe September-October 2007 issue of Aquatica. thepublication of the Brooklyn Aquarium Society, andenjoying Izzy Zwerin's "The Practical Plant" column.

Most of the column contained information that I knewlittle about, which is no surprise when it comes toaquarium plants. I had decided to retain the issue andtry to apply its helpful information. The very next dayI receive the GCAS postcard and learn that he wasscheduled to lecture at the March meeting! There is nomoral except that I am far behind in reading exchangejournals. By the time this column is published Izzywill have spoken. I predict that it will be an excellentlecture.

On the subject of plants, Mike Mathis wrote"How to Grow Plants (When You Don't Know WhatYou're Doing)" last fall in Fancy Fins. He is beginningto have success, and thinks that the reasons may bemixing fluorescent and power compact light bulbs,a fired clay substrate, and a daily squirt of FlourishExcel to each side of the tank, plus a weekly squirt ofFlourish Iron.

Mike Olsen's "Green Water: Friend or Foe?"in The Granite-Fisher tells us that a green water bloomin an aquarium is thought to be caused by a spike in theammonia level, which is common in new aquariumsthat have yet to establish their biological filtration. Toavoid a bloom, locate the aquarium away from directsunlight, limit the artificial lighting, perform frequentwater changes, and vacuum the gravel. The one thatI have difficulty with is to avoid overfeeding the fish.When all those cute little organisms swim to the top ofthe water column and make those eyes at me with theirlittle mouths open, just begging for food, especiallythe angelfish, I just have to give it to them. When thefood container is nearly empty, I just have to shakeout the last drop. Healthy plants can prevent a bloomby vying with algae for excess nutrients. The algaecan be used as a food source for daphnia and othertiny creatures, which in turn can provide food for fish.Now it's time to hit the periodicals again.


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American Cichlid Association

Atlanta 2008Thurs.,July 17th-Sun.,July20th

Hosted by theAtlanta Area Aquarium Assoc.

For More Information

GEOR61A

Catfish Hunteror

As Long As You're Going to Floridaby Dan Radebaugh

Afew years ago, while visiting my sister at herhorse farm in Zephyrhills, Florida, where shetrained horses and young riders, she and her

husband told me about a large number of small catfishthat had recently appeared in the drainage ditches alongthe side of the road that ran by the farm. At that time Iwas very interested in adding an all-native tank to mycollection, and I said, "Show me!" So after armingourselves with a bait bucket and a small dip net, wewalked the half-mile down to the highway, checkedout the wading birds stationed along the ditch (newsgets around), and looked at an open area by the culvert,where I did indeed see a large gathering of small fish,many of which were clearly catfish, hanging out undera metal grate, in about 18-inch-deep water.

Moving carefully (the air temperature wasabout 30°, and I had no wish to get any wetter than Ihad to), I was able to get the net through the grate, andtaking a swipe through the crowd of fishes, came upwith a pretty good haul. What I captured was a mixtureof young sunfish - warmouth, or Lepomis gulosis, asit turned out - and several catfish that I immediatelyknew were "not from around here." It was a Saturdayafternoon, and Marsha and I were returning to NewYork the next morning, so I decided to take a chance,and improvise. Keeping two each of the sunfish andthe catfish, we used a couple of locking sandwich bags(doubled, of course), put the two sunnies in one, thecats in the other, and headed for the Post Office. Theywere just starting to close, but the Post Office peoplewere very helpful. We were able to buy a box fromthem that would hold the fish bags, and mailed them toourselves here in New York.

Much to my concern, the fish didn't arriveuntil late the following Tuesday, so they had beenin those bags, sans amenities, for over three days.Miraculously, all were still alive, though clearly notin the best possible condition. The catfish had chewedeach other up a bit, and showed some kind of skinproblem, as well as general lethargy. I put them all ina ten-gallon quarantine tank, added some Melafix forthe skin problem, gave them a light meal, and hopedfor the best. Once they showed signs of recovery, I putthem on Pepso food for a couple of weeks as a checkon possible parasites. Meanwhile, I went online to seeif I could find out what they were. It took some time(and growth) to identify the warmouths, but a reliable

online acquaintance (Stilllearnin at Cichlidfish.com)pointed me in the right direction for the catfish, whichI had correctly guessed were South American, and hecorrectly identified as Hoplosternum littorale. Thisfish has more AKA's than most, so I'm not going to listthem all, other than the simplest - the brown hoplo.

As you might deduce from the Latin name,this is an armored fish that breeds in the littoral - theplants inundated by water during the rainy season. Ituses the plants to construct large bubble nests, whichare vigorously defended by the male. Accordingto Wikipedia, it is the most widely distributedcallichthyid. Native to the Amazon, the Orinoco, andLa Plata drainages, it has almost undoubtedly (indeedmanifestly) been introduced outside its normal range.It is a very popular food fish, and is farmed in severalcountries, Trinidad and Suriname in particular. Themeat is reported to be reddish in color, and to havea salmon-like taste. Maximum size seems to be7-10 inches for males, with females being somewhatsmaller. My two are both about 6 inches TL, so myguess is they're both females. During the spawningseason, males develop fatty deposits near theirpectoral spikes, which show as red spots visually, andseem to help to recurve the pectoral spikes so that themale can use them as weapons. The fish exists in theaquarium hobby, but can hardly be called common.An omnivore, it eats algae, detritus, insects and theirlarvae, small gastropods, etc. Feeding in the aquariumposes no special challenges.

So, you might well ask, how did this fishfrom South America come to be in a roadside ditch inFlorida? The quick and direct answer is: I have no idea.However, it seems to have thoroughly colonized muchof central Florida. I would speculate that, like manyof the species that have colonized Florida over the past60 years or so, aquaculture most likely played a majorrole, either deliberately or accidentally. This has alsobeen the case with other, more famous immigrants,such as the walking catfish (Clarius batrachus), theOscar (Astronotus ocellatus), various species oftilapia, as well as others. The good news is that H.littorale seems to be filling an ecological niche forwhich many of Florida's native species are not as wellsuited. It can survive - even thrive - in conditions ofvery low oxygen and varying pH. It eats pretty muchanything, and poses little direct threat to other fish


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This is some low-lying pastureland a couple of hundred yards from where the catfish in thisstory were caught (in this context, the littoral). The photo was taken by Linda Konst, shortlyafter Hurricane Jeanne paid a call, and is typical of large areas of central and southern Floridaduring the rainy season - approximately June through September. One might see how fish,normally confined to streams, ditches, marshes, etc., could easily move to new habitat - evendifferent river drainage systems.

species. Parts of its range in Argentina become coolerthan does central Florida, so H. littorale isn't confinedto the sub-tropical region of southern Florida, as arethe majority of the other South and Central Americaninvaders.

In the aquarium H. littorale is a modelcitizen. It will feed anywhere in the water column, isnot fussy about food, is peaceful with other fish, andis curious about its keeper. One might wish for a littlemore exciting color pattern, but on the other hand itdoes stay out where it can be seen, unlike some of myother, more interestingly colored catfish, whom I seemaybe once a month - when I move their hide-out tovacuum the gravel! My two are currently living in a75 gallon tank, along with 1 large male and 2 sub-adultfemale Paratheraps synspilus, a few giant danios, andan Acanthicus adonis. I have not read of aquariumspawning, but I presume it to be possible, though themale is very militant in his defense of the nest, so therecould be some issues around that. While I have nottested it for flavor, I can wholeheartedly recommendHoplosternum littorale as an excellent choice for youraquarium!

For Further Reading:

Southeastern NaturalistVolume 3, Issue 3 (September 2004)Article: pp. 451^66"Nests and Nest Habitats of the Invasive CatfishHoplosternum littorale in Lake Tohopekaliga, Florida: ANovel Association with Non-native Hydrilla Verticillata"by Leo G. Nico and Ann Marie Muench

Online:http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=North_Americanjtnvasives

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoplosternum_littorale

http://www. aquarticles. com/articles/breeding/Calway_Hoplosternum_littorale.html


WET LEAVES

a Series On Books For The Hobbyist

by Susan Priest

The first thing I noticed about this book wasthat it seemed familiar to me, even though Iwas sure I hadn't seen it before. It didn't take

me very long to figure out why. If you read lastmonth's review, it might not take you very long,either. I'll give you a hint; look at the names of ourauthors.

"Essential information to help you choosethe right fish for your tropical freshwater aquarium."The title and subtitle(above), along with the eye-catching photography onthe cover, had me reachingpast other nearby books topick up this one. By nowI'm hoping that you want toknow what is inside, so I'lltell you.

The table of contents does double-duty.The chapters are alphabetically arranged fromcichlids through oddballs. Under each heading arethe common and Latin names of every fish beingdiscussed; thereby, the table of contents is servingas an index as well. For example, the first fish listedunder the chapter on barbs is the Tinfoil Barb,Barbodes schwanfeldi. This seems to be an efficientlayout, especially for those readers who knowexactly which fish they want to look up.

Pages 10 through 199 make up the bulk ofthe text, and present profiles of each individual fish.Specific information that a prospective shoppermight want to know is presented in detail. Everyentry asks and then answers the same 14 questions.They are: what size, what does it eat, where is itfrom, what does it cost, how do I sex it, what kindof tank, what minimum size tank, how warm, whatdecor, what area of the tank, how many in one tank,how does it behave, and last but not least, will itbreed in an aquarium? This format offers the readera remarkably large amount of information which isvery eye-friendly and easy to absorb.

Let me return to the Tinfoil Barb and, asbriefly as possible, fill in the answers for you. Bothmales and females reach 12 inches, they arebasically omnivorous, they come from SoutheastAsia, large specimens are often sold cheaply tomake space in the shop tanks, it is not possible tosex them, they need very large bare tanks (they areplant eaters), a minimum sized tank would be60"x24"x30", they require medium hard water with

What Fish?A Buyer's Guide to Tropical FishNick Fletcher and Geoff Rogers

Barren's, 2006

a pH of 6.5 to 7.5 and a temperature range of from72 ° toll0 F, decor could include artificial plants,a sandy substrate, and rocks without sharp edges,they occupy middle to upper levels of the tank,keep as many as the tank will allow (but no fewerthan two), they are peaceful, active schoolers, andare spawned in fish farms, but not in an aquarium.

So, have all of our questions beenanswered? What else would we like to know? It'shard to find fault with the thoroughness of thisprofile, however I'm not sure that a beginneraquarist will be able to understand that this fishwould be a poor choice for them.

Pages 200 through 207 have mini-chapters on choosing fish, buying and introducingfish, quarantining fish, and compatibility. I wouldmake the minor observation that these topics mightbest have been presented at the beginning of thebook, and the major observation that compatibility

might well have been thefifteenth Q and A for everyfish.

A discussion ofthis book would not bec o m p l e t e w i t h o u tmentioning its visualimpact. Here is where this

book should seem familiar to you. Even withouthaving actually seen last month's book next to thismonth's, you perhaps will notice that the twoauthors are the same, but that their names havebeen reversed. This is to say that the emphasis inthis book is on the text, but that it is illustrated bythe same photographer, and, indeed even some ofthe same photographs, as Focus on FreshwaterAquarium Fish. (I must admit that if you picked upon that detail sans les livres dans votre mains, youare even more enamored of the "wet leaves" genrethan I am!)

Let's sum things up. I would say that thisbook has a place in the library of every fishkeeperwith more than a casual interest in the topic. Inspite of its minor shortcomings, I give it highmarks for its comprehensiveness and readability,and would therefore recommend it to beginners,as well. If you are going to use it as a shoppingguide, you had best make sure that you either haveit tucked under your arm, or installed in yourKindle.*

* Watch for my review of the "Kindle" in the Juneissue of MA.


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14

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The Bahamian Lionfishby Stephen Sica

Last fall Donna suggested that we travel toa warm weather climate for our upcomingwedding anniversary rather than drive to

colonial Williamsburg, Virginia as we usually do. Ienthusiastically agreed since we had just driven toWilliamsburg in September. "Can we go diving?" Iasked. "Sure. Three or four days, "she answered. "Let'sdo three and chill out the last day," I responded.

Donna made the arrangements, and themorning of December 7, 2007 found us in a fast boat,heading for a wall dive on the southwest side of NewProvidence Island. It was the first time we actuallywent diving on our anniversary day. I mentioned this tothe dive master, who acted impressed, although Donnathought it was not "need-to-know" information.

"Be alert and you may see a lionfish," Chang,our Australian dive master, said during our predivebriefing. When we dove with the same outfit in May2006 no one mentioned lionfish. I questioned Changand he said that nobody knew their local origin, but thetheory was that someone may have dumped pet fishin the water, where they began to breed prolifically. Ioffered that I had read that lionfish were sighted offthe northeast coast of the United States during the pasttwo summers. It was believed that they arrived on theGulfstream and perished as the ocean cooled. Changsaid that this theory was not widespread for Bahamianlionfish. He said that they had only appeared in theBahamas within the last twelve months.

We were doing six dives during threeconsecutive mornings. I was very eager to see alionfish. I had my digital camera in a waterproof case,so I was hoping to photograph an actual "Bahamianlionfish." Chang said that the water temperature wasseventy-nine degrees, which we thought was verygood for this time of year. In Key Largo last Octobera warm summer season kept the water temperature atan enjoyable eighty-two degrees. When we actuallyhit the Atlantic Ocean in the Bahamas, both our bodiesand our instruments gave a more accurate readingof seventy-six to seventy-seven degrees, which waschilly, but warm enough in our three millimeterwetsuits. Donna wore a three mil shorty over a threemil full suit so she was toasty warm but somewhatrestricted in movement. In spite of my body fat, mythree/two mil wetsuit was a little chilly. When thewater is "cold," that is, below eighty degrees, the bodygets chilled from the first dive. The second dive isdownright cold most of the time, even when wearing awetsuit. Luckily, there were wrecks, reefs, many fish,and even a few sharks to occupy our time underwater.

But I was keen to see and photograph a lionfish, andjust about everything else both under and above theocean for that matter!

On our very first dive we saw a lionfish.Upon conclusion of our three days of diving we hadseen four lionfish. I photographed three of them. Mycamera's battery expired during a second dive and Imissed one. The first fish was fairly small, hoveringfacedown in front of a basket sponge that was split in

half, and offered a small concave hollow that appearedto be home to the lionfish. It did not provide muchprotection, if any at all, but I guess that lionfish donot need a hiding place. The next two lionfish weremedium in size, and on our third day Donna spotteda full size one about fifteen inches in length. Therewere lots of particles swirling about the ocean thatday, so it was not possible to take a clear photograph.Nevertheless, I snapped a few photos of this prizespecimen. I always dream that someday I'll purchaseone of those very expensive editing programs that canremove imperfections. Probably it can even makeme look good - perhaps move some facial hair to myhead!

I edited the best photos on my computer andincluded three for this article. The fish were all of thesame species, Pterois volitans, and their color wasapparently black and white, although I perused themfrom all angles up close within a foot or two from myface to see if any of their bands had brown, gold, orreddish tints. From published photos, lionfish appearto have brown or reddish bands. All of the fish that Isaw were black and white. It is possible that the depthof the water filtered out some color, but the camera'sflash did not enhance the color either.

After we had returned home and I wasattempting to catch up on reading, I spotted a letter


published in the July 2007 Tropical Fish Hobbyistmagazine wherein the writer's diver friend sightedlionfish off the North Carolina coast. The letter wasacknowledged with the opinion that these fish are nowall along the East Coast, and the personal belief thatlarvae were transported by ship ballast. I perusedtwo unrelated articles on scorpionfishes in TropicalFish Hobbyist. One author had seen lionfish in theBahamas.

Finally, after I completed this brief article,I received the March 2008 issue of Scuba Divingmagazine, which I believe has the definitive statementto date on Bahamian lionfish. Per the article, "Bornin the Wrong Sea," by Ned DeLoach, lionfish haveno natural enemies. They have a voracious appetitefor juvenile and other small fishes, most of whichare fairly exotic. Stomach contents have includedfairy basslets, dwarf and arrow blennies, yellowheadjawfish, and seahorses. A survey of more than fivehundred dissections in the Bahamas found that lionfisheat seventy percent fish and thirty percent crustaceans.A group of scientists, with the aid of the local divecommunity, have been netting dozens of lionfish forscientific study. Two out of three captured fish aredestroyed, while the third is tagged and released.

This article explained that isolated sightingshave been reported off Florida's southeastern coast forfifteen years. Biologists speculate that the fish werereleased when they outgrew home aquariums until abreeding population formed. In 2002, lionfish tookhold along North Carolina's coast where they inhabitmany offshore dive wrecks. Two juveniles were sightedoff Long Island in the summer of 2001. In the sameyear another was discovered in a tide pool in Bermuda.Cold winter waters probably killed the northern-mostfish, but the species is thriving in Bermuda. In theBahamas sporadic sightings began in 2004, and by2006 the number of sightings increased significantly.A coral head the size of a small automobile wasinhabited by eleven lionfish. The capture and study oflionfish has been strenuous work, with researchers anddivers being stung on occasion.

My personal opinion is that it is only a matterof time before lionfish wreak havoc on native fishpopulations in the Caribbean, the Atlantic Ocean offthe East Coast of the United States, and Bermuda. Alionfish will eat every living sea creature that will fitinto its mouth!

Every summer in Florida there is a two dayopen season for catching lobster via skin and scubadiving. Someday, I would not be surprised to see alionfish hunt; but are they too dangerous to catch?Would they be channeled into the aquarium trade, orground up into meal? Would their poisonous spinesmake them too dangerous to handle whether alive,dead, fertilizer, or meal? I'm not a hunter. Would Ikill a lionfish if given permission and the opportunity?Who knows? I do know that I would not shoot at adeer or other animal.

Hopefully, someday lionfish populationscan be controlled, so that they do not pose a threat toother sea life. It seems that lionfish swim and adaptwherever the ocean is warm enough. I thought thatit was only a matter of time until lionfish inhabitedthe Atlantic Ocean, but they have already arrived.Anyway, the next time we head south for some diving,I'll be looking excitedly and carefully for a lionfish!

A-


I ne (_^ase of tne

anging O'cnliasby Frank Fallen

Except for the special fish that like to puttheir eggs along the walls of caves, or aremouthbrooders, most of the cichlids we are

familiar with and breed lay their eggs in a pit or on asurface near the bottom of the tank. We are all familiarwith these habits, and so it is that when we see cichlideggs on a rock or piece of tile or slate, we know thatwithin a few days there will be wrigglers, if we arelucky. We also know that the parents may then movethem to another location in the tank. Usually thatplace is a pit dug for the purpose. We have thereforeall become accustomed to looking at the bottom ofthe tank for the wrigglers, which soon become freeswimming, and then we must provide food if weare to successfully raise the brood, and get breederaward points and bragging rights at the next fish clubmeeting. Those of us who are breeders know the drill,or that's what I thought when I picked up a bag fullof Australoheros facetus at a fish club meeting abouta year ago. I eventually learned something new fromthese fish.

This was a fish I knew nothing about andhad never heard of before, and there was not a lot ofinformation in the usual places I look. I had morethan a dozen of the small fish - at first about an inchand half to two inches long. A few turned out to bestunted runts that eventually disappeared. After aboutsix months, two of the fish became interested in eachother. They apparently wanted a bedroom of theirown, and I provided a fifteen gallon tank, the largest Ihad available.

I discovered that this species, sometimesreferred to as the chanchita (or chanchito), is nativeto coastal drainages in Uruguay, the Rio Grande doSul in Brazil, and the lower portion of the ParanaRiver in Argentina. It's a dark, perch-like fish, withhorizontal black bars. In earlier times the species wasknown as Cichlasomafacetum (Jenyns, 1842), and hasbeen around in the hobby for a long time, althoughnot often seen in the shops. It's a fierce looking fish(more about that later) that does not intimidate easily.It knows when it is going to be fed, and will come tothe front of the tank or the surface for food. In my pairthe male is much larger than the female, but she has ared circular outer ring on her eyes that makes her lookvery frightening. A tough cookie, if you will. Eggs

were eventually laid on top of a large ceramic rock,but they would fungus, and were eaten. The fifteengallon tank has no gravel, but I provided a floating logfor the female along with a cave rock that she could fitinto, but not the male. The log is from Zoo Med - agreat sanctuary for battered cichlid wives. Eventuallyshe was about four inches, and he was about sixinches long. One morning I noticed that the male hada number of torn up fins. I have come to expect tosee the female looking this way, but not the male. Thebig guy had a split in his tail fin, and was missing achunk of the end of his lovely dorsal fin. His red eyedpartner had apparently turned on him during the night,and torn him up badly. She had no visible damage. Ilooked for a note of satisfaction in her red eyes butfound none. Hmmm....

For almost four months the pattern continued- the mating sequence, the egg laying, and thenfungusing and eating, and no viable fry. The surfaceof the tank is covered with floating plants - duckweed,water lettuce, and hornwort - which are periodicallythinned out, but it is a dark tank below the surface. I

began to suspect an infertility problem on the part ofone of the pair. Was that why she lost it and chewed uphis fins, I wondered? But finally I had a large spawnand eggs that lasted three days, and then I spotted awriggler or two. I suspected that the female had movedthe wrigglers into a corner behind some rocks, whereI could not see them. A few days later there were stillno fry to be seen on the bottom of the tank. There wereno parents taking turns hovering over a mass of youngwrigglers. I went out of town for four days, and when

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) April 2008 17

I returned she had gone into hiding in the cave and thefloating log and I knew it was all over - again.

Every two or three weeks they would layeggs, but nothing had come of it. I wondered what wasgoing wrong. Like clockwork, about three weeks laterthere were more eggs on top of the usual rock, and formore than three days there was no fungus. By thistime they had used the same rock about eight times.Things were looking good, but they had last time too.In the evening some of the eggs were gone, but nowrigglers were to be seen in the corner of the tank,and there was no hovering parent to be seen. Bothfish were in the back of the tank and in a defensiveposture, but there was nothing to defend that I couldsee. There was no mass of wrigglers under either ofthe parents. In fact both parents were closer to thesurface than to the bottom of the tank. I did not wantto move the rocks at the back of the tank to see if theyoung were hidden there.

The next morning, conditions were thesame in the tank - defensive parents, but no young.I decided to do a water change, and put my siphontube into the tank to clean out some of the junk onthe bottom. With one quick motion I had the siphontube into the tank and sucking out bottom debris.But just as quickly, the male was attacking the tube!Then I saw why. I had knocked a few wrigglers outof the plants as the tube descended to the bottom. Ihad in fact already sucked about a dozen of his newfamily into the bucket. I pulled the tube out of thetank and took a close look. There were three or fourwrigglers at the bottom of the tank and he was alreadymouthing them for protection. Then I discoveredwhere the babies were. They were above the parents,hanging from the roots of the floating plants. Therewere hundreds, perhaps as many as five hundred littlecichlids, holding onto the plant roots at the top ofthe tank. The fry were motionless. The parents werehovering below their still fry. They were just hangingthere with their worried parents below them. Thesewere hanging cichlids! They had probably been thereon previous spawns and I had never seen them, andmore importantly, I had never provided any Anemiasalinas nauplii (baby brine shrimp) for them, and theyhad starved to death.

And let me tell you - these are two veryaggressive parents! While I have had other fish attacka brine shrimp net at feeding time, I have never hadthem come out of the water before the net reaches thesurface. One of the first times I went to feed the fry,the male grabbed the net and did not let go until I hadhim about four inches above the water! For almost aweek the young stayed at or near the surface lookingfor food. It was almost two weeks before they beganto move to the bottom of the tank, and even thenlarge contingents of their siblings were still at thesurface. These are cichlids that like to hang aroundthe surface.

The moral of this tale is: Sometimes youhave to look up to find cichlid young!

The photo is none too clear, but with a littleimagination you might see some brine shrimptoward the lower part of the tank, and some verysmall fry in the fuzzy-looking area at the top.

18 April 2008 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

It's NeverEnough!

A series by "The Undergravel Reporter"

In spite of popular demand to thecontrary, this humor and informationcolumn continues. As usual, it doesNOT necessarily represent theopinions of the Editor, or of theGreater City Aquarium Society.

/ don't know the key to success, but the key tofailure is trying to please everybody.

- Bill Cosby

It sometimes seems that, no matter what you do,even when you are apparently successful in yourendeavors, it's never quite enough.

This February, two 8-foot tall, 1,600-gallonfish tanks were unveiledin the Staten IslandFerry's St. GeorgeTerminal. Each tankholds 200 tropical fishand will be maintainedby the Staten Island Zoo.However, the tanksalready promptedcomplaints from someferry riders who missedtheir ride because theywere too busy admiringthe fish and didn't hearthe announcements theboat was boarding.1

In addition,even though only 1% ofthe 400-some fish have passed away (actually a lownumber for such large tanks, especially ones newlyestablished), some New York papers have hadarticles titled: "Mystery deaths in S.I. ferry fishtanks"2 and "Fish Die, People Don't Care."3

Photograph of the Staten Island Ferryfish tanks by AllwaysNY on Flickr

Even though these tanks have proved soattractive and engaging that commuters miss theirrides, and have a fairly low rate offish loss, thereare still complaints.

O.K., what about you? You keep a tankor two (or more) of fish that live, grow, maybeeven reproduce in your tanks. You feed the fish,provide decor in the form of rocks, plants, gravel,etc., and you make sure the water quality is goodby means of filtration and periodic changes. Doyou think you have done all that is required? Whatabout mental stimulation?

Two years ago, Macquarie Universitybiologist Culum Brown established that fish couldfind their way out of a trap he set for them - andremember how they did it for at least a yearafterwards. They could negotiate a maze byspotting the difference between signs with greentriangles and those with red squares. Brown foundthat in their natural environment they employintelligence to survive. To get away from whatthey thought was a predator, fish in rock pools atthe seaside jump from one pool to another.

"They couldn't do that unless they had amental map of wherethe different poolswere," he said. Brownadvised people whokeep tropical fish aspets to set brainteasersto keep them happy.

"I move thetank around every sooften and introducenew rocks and plantsand logs," he said. "Ifyou look at the amountof activity they engagein afterwards, they arefar more active. Thechange can be a bitstressful for them, but

afterwards they love it.''

1http://gothamist.com/2008/03/17/staten_island_f_4.php

2http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/03/05/2008-03-05_mystery_deaths_in_si_ferry_fish_tanks-2.html

3http://ftl.nypress.com/blogx/display_blog.cfm? bid= 14366949

4http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/187881 ,food-for-thought-fish-can-think.html


.KIMAquariu ciety

t "erSodefy

Aquarium Society

BrooklynBarium Society

November 7—9, 2008

Venue///Holiday Inn — Islip Airport

3845 Veterans Memorial HighwayRonkonkoma, NY 11779

631-585-9564

Room Rate $89 per night! Reservations must be made directly with the hotel. Mention you areattending the AFISH Convention to receive this discounted room rate. Reservations must bemade prior to October 7, 2008.

* Complimentary shuttle from Macarthur Airport and the Ronkonkoma LIRR station provided by the Holiday Inn.

Guest Speakers to include ...... *

Dick Au — Discus

David Boruchowitz — Editor-in-ChiefTropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine

Chuck Davis — Featured Banquet Speaker

Gary Lange — Rainbowfish

Rosario LaCorte — History of the AquariumHobby

Vendors to include

Kingfish Services

Ken's Fish (.COM)

Ro* s Glass World

Tropical Fish Auction— Sunday, November 9, 2008Fish — Plants — Dry Goods

* Appearances subject to change.


G.C.A.S. HAPPENINGSLast Month's Bowl Show Winners:1) Bill Amely 2) Bill Amely 3) Ed Vukich

A warm welcome to our new GCAS member: Harsha PereraA warm welcome back to renewing GCAS members: Barbara & Karl Albrecht, Robert Altomen, WilliamAmely, Mervyn Bamby, Sharon Barnett, Mario Bengcion, Jerry Berkowitz, Jeff Bollbach, Michael & NatalieBoscia, Claudia & Brad Dickinson, Rod Du Casse, Gino Cusano, Pete D'Orio, Akinwunmi Durojaiye, HarryFaustmann, Joseph & Anita Ferdenzi, Warren Feuer, Michael Gallo, Walter Gallo, Horst Gerber, Arie Gilbert,Joseph Graffagnino, Bennie Graham, Al Grussell, Bernard Harrigan, Berek & Emma Haus, Andrew Jacovina,Jason Kerner, Denver Lettman, Richard Levy, Frank Liang, Temes Mo, Dick Moore, Roderick Mosley, Jakleenand Doug Murk, Jerry O'Farrell, Karen Ottendorfer, Nick Pandolfi, Ron Pandolfi, James & Margaret Peterson,Sue & Al Priest, Dan Puleo, Dan & Marsha Radebaugh, Jannette Ramirez, Leigh Richardson, Ross Socolof, MarkSoberman, Stephen Sica & Donna Sosna, Marty Silverstein, Peter Steiner, Jack Traub, Anton Vukich, andEdward Vukich

Here are meeting times and locations of some aquarium societies in the Metropolitan New York area:

GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: May 7, 2008Speaker: Laura Muha, TFH ContributorMeets the first Wednesday of the month (exceptJanuary & February) at 7:30pm:Queens Botanical Garden43-50 Main Street - Flushing, NYContact: Joseph Ferdenzi (516) 484-0944E-mail: [email protected]: http://www.greatercity.org

East Coast Guppy AssociationMeets: 1st Thursday of each month at Alley PondEnvironmental Ctr.: 228-06 Northern Blvd. at 8:00 pmContact: Gene Baudier (631) 345-6399

Long Island Aquarium SocietyNext Meeting: April 18, 2008Speaker: Michael KovarikTopic: "Making Your Hobby into a ProfitableBusiness"Meets: 3rd Fridays (except July and August) atHoltsville Park and Zoo at 8:00pm.249 Buckley Road - Holtsville, NYWebsite: http://liasonline.org/Email: Arie Gilbert - [email protected]

North Jersey Aquarium SocietyNext Meeting: April 17,2008Speaker & Topic: TBDMeets: 8:00 P.M. - 3rd Thursday of each monthat: Meadowlands Environmental Center - OneDekorte Plaza - Lyndhurst, NJContact: NJAS Hotline at (732) 332-1392Website: http://www.njas.net/or e-mail: [email protected]

Brooklyn Aquarium SocietyNext Meeting: April 11, 2008Speaker: Steve GiacobelloTopic: "Digital Fish Photography"Meets the 2nd Friday of the month (except Julyand August) at 7:30pm:NY Aquarium - Education HallSurf Ave. at West 8th St., Brooklyn, NYCall: BAS Events Hotline: (718) 837-4455http://www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org

Big Apple Guppy ClubMeets: Last Tuesday each month (except Jan.&Feb) at Alley Pond Environmental Ctr.: 228-06Northern Blvd. at 7:30-10:00pm.Contact: Donald Curtin (718) 631-0538

Nassau County Aquarium SocietyNext Meeting: April 8, 2008Speaker: Andre CarlettoTopic: "Ecology of Annual Killifish inBrazil"Meets:2nd Tuesday of the month (except Julyand August) at 7:30 PMMolloy College - Kellenberg Hall -1000Hempstead Ave - Rockville Centre, NYContact: Mike Foran (516) 798-6766Website: http://www.ncasweb.org

Norwalk Aquarium SocietyNext Meeting: April 17, 2008Speaker & Topic: TBDMeets: 8:00 P.M. - 3rd Thursday of each monthat: Earthplace - the Nature Discovery Center -Westport, CTContact: John Chapkovich (203) 734-7833E-mail: [email protected] our toll free number (866) 219-4NASWebsite: http://norwalkas.org/

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) April 2008 21

Fin FunLions, Tigers, and Bears...O/i My!

Match the scientific name of each fish in the left column with the correct common name. Hint: all thecommon names this month are related to terrestrial animals. Additional hint: this is our first meetingfollowing April Fool's Day, and the "April Foolster" might have made his or her own addition.

Brachygobius xanthozona Alligator Gar

Aulonocara hansbaenschi Lionhead Goldfish

Acestrorhynchus altus Peter's Elephantnose

Pantodon buchhohi Siamese Tigerflsh

Lepisosteus tristoechus Butterfly Fish

Xiphophorus roosevelti Teddybear Toothcarp

Carassius auratus African Peacock Cichlid

Corydoras panda Panda Cory

Gnathonemus petersii Bumblebee fish

Datnioides pulcher Red Dog Characin

Solution to last month's puzzle: Rainbow of Fishes

(The three species offish in each numbered row share, as part of their common names, the color shownin bold.)

1 "Blue": Aequidenspulcher Apistogramma trifasciata Trichogaster trichopterus

2. "Red": Epalzeorhynchus bicolor Megalamphodus sweglesi Serrasalmus nattereri

3. "Green": Poecilia velifera Rivulus cylindraceus Aequidens rivulatus

4. "Silver": Metynnis argenteus Thoracocharax securis Rasbora myersi

5. "Gold": Nanacara anomala Nannostomus beckfordi Hemigrammus rodwayi


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Modern Aquarium April 2008