Welcome to the 2nd

issue of the Lake Malawi Forum Newsletter.

In our 2nd

issue we will try to carry on the success of the first issue with some great

write ups and informative features.

This months issue won’t be quite as big as last months issue as we won’t have the 5

Page write up on Lake Malawi.

Hope you enjoy it as much as last Months.

With Love

All the LMF Team!!!!

Contents……………………

Item Details Pages

1. Contents. 1

2. Meet the Team…………….Bren. 2

3. Lake News, Ad Konings Profile 3

4. Fish of the month. Ps Acei “Yellow Tail” 4-5

5. Natural World Pages 6

6. Forum News 7-15

Lake Malawi Forum, Newsletter. Issue # 2, September/October 2010.

Bren Cunningham.

The biggest news coming out of “The Lake” this month is news that Divers have discovered a new Reef. Details of this “New Reef” are very sketchy at the Moment but rumours have it that Dr Ad Konings is very excited about this and has taken a team to Malawi to reseach the Reef and describe any new Species of Fish, Some of you may be aware who Dr Ad Konings is but others may not, For those of you that Do not Know who he is I have given a Biography on him below, Those of you who do know who he is but don’t know too much about him hopefully this is very informative for you also. Natural World have said that hopefully any new Species found in the new Reef will be imported to the Country sometime in November, Lets hope some Beautiful fish are found and we can start keeping them too!!!

(All details taken from Wikipedia.)

Born on 11th January 1956 in Roosendaal, Netherlands, Ad Konings is an

ichthyologist originally trained in medicine and biology. Konings is best known for

his research on African rift lake cichlids. After studies in Amsterdam he has spent

most of his life in Rotterdam.

Konings started keeping cichlids when he was 14 years old in 1970. Soon he was

breeding rare African cichlids and working as an assistant to the largest tropical fish

dealer in the Netherlands. From 1974-1980 he studied medical biology at the

University of Amsterdam and was awarded his Ph.D. in 1980. He chose this field

despite his love of ichthyology due to a fear that if he chose the latter field he would

be unemployable. From 1980-1986. he did research on lysosomal enzymes at the

Erasmus University in Rotterdam. Most of this was DNA-related work (molecular

biology). In 1986 Konings moved to St. Leon-Rot, Germany (near Heidelberg), where

he started to write books and breed Lake Tanganyika cichlids. He also worked for 18

months at the University of Heidelberg Parasitology Department. Konings started his

own publishing company, Cichlid Press, in 1991. Its first book was titled the Cichlids

Yearbook, vol. 1. The business grew and now publishes a number of cichlid

guidebooks by Konings and other authors; its publications are often regarded as the

standard reference works on various classes of African cichlids. Amazon booksellers

list 36 different books or publications under his name.

He is also a prolific photographer, and a recent Google image search under his name

yielded 6,900 images. Two Lake Malawi cichlids have been named after him, namely

Aulonocara koningsi by Patrick Tawil in 2003, and Placidochromis koningsi by

Hanssens in 2004.

Late in her career famed ichthyologist Ethelwynn Trewavas mentored Konings,

providing feedback and suggestions for his research. When her eyesight failed late in

her life she asked him to accept her stereo microscope as a gift from the prominent

African cichlid expert of the mid-20th century to the man who succeeded her in

describing a multitude of new cichlid species.

Konings also was mentored by prominent fish explorer and exporter Stuart Grant

early in his career, and when Konings married his wife Gertrud in 1996 in Malawi

Grant and his wife Esther were best man and maid of honor. Konings moved to El

Paso, Texas, in 1996, relocating Cichlid Press along with his family. In interviews he

has described a love of the area's climate and landscape as the reason for the move.

He occasionally leads expeditions to Lake Malawi and lectures extensively around the

world.

(All details are taken from Lake Malawi Forum Profile Pages)

Name…………….……Pseudotropheus sp Acei “Yellow Tail”.

Common Name……….Yellow Tail Acei

Locale………………....Msuli

Habitat………………..Sand

Diet/Food……………..Herbivore

Gender Differences…...Monomorphic Blue Body with Yellow Fins.

Comments…………….Midly Aggressive Mbuna that reaches adult size

of 4-5 Inches.

Review.

Pseudotropheus Acei (also known as Yellow-tail Acei) is a Mbuna from Lake Malawi

that grows to around 7 inches in length. There are two different varieties found, the

most common Pseudotropheus Acei (Msuli), and the white-tail Pseudotropheus Acei

(Ngara). Like most Mbuna, it dwells in shallower waters, however it will sometimes

go near the surface, which is very uncommon for Mbunas. It is a very common fish

for fish-keepers. It gets its common name from its blue body and yellow tail.

Originally discovered in 1922 by Regan, the Acei was originally classified as

Pseudotropheus, but was later changed to Gephyrochromis and then back again. It

prefers the sandy and rock filled shoreline where sunken logs are easily accessed. This

species has developed the advantage of being able to harvest algae from submerged

logs and roots. They are equipped with typical Gephyrochromid cuspid-like teeth that

are flat for removing Epixlyic or Epilithic algae from wood. In the lake, schools of 30-

50 individuals surrounding a large log are not uncommon, however in the rocky areas;

schools usually consist of 3-10 individuals, The Acei are a very active and good-

natured Mbuna; they tend to stay out of full-fledged biting battles, and stick to

occasional mock fights. They can be the bullied or the bully in any tank, depending on

whom they live with. They get along quite well with Labidochromis sp Caeruleus

(Yellow Labs) and other moderately aggressive Mbuna. Acei have bright colours,

generally blue to deep purples and violets with a usually darker and more electric blue

face. The finnage ranges from cream to sunshine yellow and makes them an amazing

looking fish in any scenario.

Several varieties of the Pseudotropheus sp. "Acei" exist throughout the lake. The most

common form in captivity is the variety from the Nkhata Bay and Bandawe area;

these are your typical dark sparkly blue and yellow finned Acei. Then there are the

Ngara and Karonga area Acei, which are sold as White Tail Acei. These are paler blue

with white finnage. And finally the South Rukuru River, Ruarwe and Senga Bay Acei,

these are typically very pale in coloration.

Males and females of this species are very similar in coloration and both possess

dummy-eggs on the ventral fin (Although males tend to have more spots that are

brighter in colour). This is known as Monomorphic Colouration, (The English

translation for Monomorphic is…….Having only one form, Having the same or very

similar structure.) Males usually attain an adult length of 6 while females remain

slightly smaller, ending up at about 4. But small males will show up. Males and

females are most easily differentiated between by their behaviour. Males tend to be

more standoffish, the first to spread fins at intruders etc. Females tend to be a little

calmer, following the school quietly, and usually is the one being shimmied at by an

interested male. Mating usually takes place on a flat rock, and the pair usually swims

close together, shaking and nipping and chasing each other. Eventually the female

will lay her eggs, and the male will fertilize them in typical mouth-brooder fashion.

Spawns consist of 30-80 fry that the female will hold in her mouth for several weeks.

It is best to strip Acei or to remove holding females, as males tend to bump them,

causing them to swallow their young.

These Mbunas are omnivorous but prefer plants and algae in their diet. If they are to

be fed staple, then any food made for African Cichlids will do. Most vegetable matter

will work as well. These fish are possibly the most peaceful fish in the Mbuna family,

and because of this it is not necessary a male-female ratio. Their preferred water

conditions are a pH of above 7.5 and a temperature of 78–82 °F (26–28 °C).

Acei like most Mbunas have a very long intestine so they can live of a few bites of

algae a day. These fish are at high risk for Malawi bloat. Bloat is caused by a

protozoan that multiplies when under stress or with improper diet. They multiply

enough that they cause blockages in the intestines. So food can not pass and neither

can gasses so it causes them to be bloated. The bloat eventually damages their liver,

swim bladder, and kidneys too much that they die in 24-78 hours.

According to Wikipedia the Yellow Tail Acei is classed as Vulnerable on the

Conservation status list.

Due to the recent concerns over Disease, Natural World have closed down

their Malawi section and cleaned all of the tanks ready for the next

shipment of Wild Fish. Therefore there is no Stock list this month.

Just to keep you all informed of what is going on within the forum, in this section we will keep you updated with everything.

Due to the recent outbreak of Disease that has swept through the Wild

Caught Trade this past Month there hasn’t been a great deal to report on

as everyone’s concerns are trying to get to the bottom of the cause and

take rectifying action, so as a result not much Forum news to report on

I’m afraid.

But………………

We are still trying to organise a Day out to the London Aquarium

sometime in the very near Future, All members and their Family are

Welcome to join, I have tried my hardest to get a Behind the Scenes tour

in Numerous places but these are now only available to School Trips. If

you are interested please look on the forum at the thread…. Next meet up new poll. http://www.lakemalawi.co.uk/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=13459&p=127073#p127073 Or Pm sam.bird3

The winner of SUMMER 2010 POTM is................ Neil Winning with 35% of the votes. Photographing this gorgeous Metraclima zebra chilumba "Maisoni". Well done to all who entered there have been some really nice photos. Heres the winning photo. Thank you to all who have entered and look out for the next competition which will have a little difference.

Next Months Photo Competition Theme will be…………………………..

FULL TANK SHOT.

Well its time for something different in the competition world. Over

the summer a lot of people have been re-scaping and upgrading

tanks so it made think of something a little different.

Dust off those cameras and take your eyes off the fish. This time we

will be doing tanks. So de-algae, get the glass clean and if you don't

know how to do a tank shot, follow my tutorial found at the bottom

of this page.

All the past, upcoming and present comps can be found on the

Forum.

Looking forward to a lot of entries with this competition and

especially looking forward to the winner. As always email, PM your

photo or uploaded photo link to Me.

Thanks,

Clare.x

Full Tank Shot Tutorial….

Hello. I'm Clare, a Moderator on this site and I am a very

enthusiastic fish photographer. I have been taking photos of

my fish and tanks for nearly 5 years. I moved on from a point

and shoot camera (commonly referred to as a compact

camera) 3 years ago and I moved onto a DSLR (known as the

cameras that you can change the lenses)

I have compiled a detailed walkthrough of how to get a good

tank photo. Everyone can do this, even those who only have

a camera on their phone.

This tutorial is being done with an Olympus SP-700 6 MP

camera. Its a low end 5 year old camera which I thought

would show people how to get the most out of whatever

camera they have to use.

Settings are Automatic with FLASH OFF!!!!!!

After editing, I am using Windows Photo Gallery on the "fix"

option. If you don't have this option, then any other photo

software with a "cropping" tool will do.

If you do not resize your photos yourself, then make sure the option on Photobucket resizes then for you. This forum only

accepts photos 800x600 pixels or smaller.

The camera that is being used.

The room in which the tank is situated.

Try and find yourself something to lean the camera on for

stability. I use my computer chair. Move the camera to

where you can get the full tank width in frame In the middle

of the window so cropping is easy. Like this.

The tank should look like this in the screen. If you are using

a camera where you need to use the view finder then it

should also look like this when you look through it.

Most cameras have a timer option on the settings. Turn this

on and press it once you have the perfect shot. This takes

away all camera shake and gives you a clearer picture. If you

can't use the timer use both hands to take the picture and

use the chair or whatever you are using to keep yourself

steady. Remember to turn all your room lights OFF!!! keep your

tank lights on this reduces any reflections on the glass.

Open the photo in your editing software. As stated, I am

using Windows photo gallery for this tutorial, something

which 98% of you should have as standard on your pc.

Open your photo and you will see it like this. Now.

Step one - Click fix.

Step two - Click crop picture.

Step 3 - Move the cropping to border the glass of the tank

only.

Like so.

After clicking Apply your photo will look like this. so save it

and upload it to www.photobucket.com or whatever photo

sharing site you use.

Your photo will look something like this.

I really do hope this tutorial has helped you capture your

tank in all its glory. Please don't forget to share your photo

and let me know so I can add it to the forums photo gallery.

If you feel anything else could be added then please let me

know. Please leave a comment if you use this tutorial.

Best wishes and happy snapping.