June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

More documents

Recommendations

Info

J U N E 2 0 0 9 Re-Scaping a Show Tank BAP Submission by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca). Or……. What happens the first time you are spawning geophagus. That’s right, I have now experienced what happens when you have a somewhat tidy and planted tank and geos decide to spawn. You end up with a tank that looks very little like what you started with. A bit of floating salad, a new level to the substrate, and many nervous fish that aren’t quite sure where they are allowed to wander. This all came about in my 120 gallon South American community tank. There are about 20 various plecos, some nymnogeophagus, anostomus, Columbian and serpae tetras, corys and a few other odds and ends. There are several swords, crypts and other plants in the tank and a substrate of peat moss covered with kitty litter and fluorite. There are several pieces of Mopani driftwood and I do add a bit of “black water” extract or alder cones every once in a while. The pH in the tank is about 6.5 and there nothing but rain water that goes into the tank. The temperature in the tank is 77-78 F. I have had pretty good success with this set up for my SA’s and the general health and activity of fish has been quite good. For anybody wanting to try the peat approach, be aware that sediment will filter through the substrate over time and there will be a bit of a mess when planting or moving your substrate around later. There is definitely a steeped tea look to the water that some people may not like over time, but as I say, I have had very healthy fish in these conditions. The tank has an Eheim and a small HOB filter to add some circulation. Getting back to the fish, I had a few fish given to me by a friend to add to my nymnogeophagus. I was not sure what they were at the time or their sex. Over time it became apparent that there was a dominant male in the mix as he was growing quicker and larger than the others and started marking his territory a bit or at least asserting his will in the tank. There were a few other geos in the tank that I still wasn’t sure of but as the male coloured up and chose a female the colour patterns could be differentiated and I found that I had a pair. They also made it easy to tell they had paired off, swimming together, nuzzling up to one another, and starting to keep the 6 other geos in the tank clustered in one half of the tank. Soon they began re-arranging my/their tank. First they started making pits in the substrate. They didn’t care what was where – they just started digging. It became very easy to see why they are called “earth eaters” (the translation of geophagus) as soon the bottom of my tank looked like a construction zone. My slate caves were exposed almost to the bottom of the tank and they didn’t stop when they found the peat moss so things became a bit messy and cloudy. They even made cave areas larger by pulling out any extra bits and pieces they could. Next came plants that were not located to their liking. Several swords and one huge crypt were uprooted and left floating in the cloudy water, but after a few days I noticed that the smaller female was huddled in one back corner of the tank in a pit and not leaving it. Having some other SA’s breed for me I thought maybe there was a clutch of eggs but I couldn’t see anything in the murky water. Sure enough, a few days later there was a small cloud of fry that were swimming with the parents. As is normal for most SA’s, the parents moved the wigglers several times to new pits and both parents were very good parents guarding the young and chasing any would be predators away. I was very surprised that the entire brood was not eaten as the tetras and anostomus can be quite fast and daring when it comes to picking off easy meals. The parents though kept a diligent watch over them and seemed to pay more attention to the other geos. These seemed to get their attention more often than other fish and the male would chase them about as far as the tank would let him. The fry grew and seemed to find a lot of food in the mulm on the bottom but I also fed them frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen daphnia and micro pellets. There were about 50 fry. They are now about half an inch long, growing slowly (I had kribs spawn at the same time and they are twice their size now) but are still doing fine in the community tank. Although they have increased their range that they venture, the parents are still loosely guarding them and the fry do not seem to be harassed or targeted by the other tank residents. I now have a tank to move the fry to so I should be doing that soon. The geos in question are Geophagus sp. “Red Bahia” and take on some very nice reds in their fins and coloured up over all very well with blues and iridescence. The male is only about 5 inches long with the smaller female not yet hitting 4 inches. The adults are fed with flake once or twice a day (earthworm, spirulina or cichlid) and conditioned with black worms, frozen brine shrimp and a bit of beef heart. They also like to go after veggie wafers. They are generally quite peaceful and a good choice in a SA community in my opinion. -ED JohnsFishFood.com Our company is your number one source for high quality aquarium products. We surpass the competition, in not only price, but value as well. We only buy what we ourselves would use and purchase. We value your business, so any products we don't have, just ask and we will do our best to get them. Check out our web catalog at... JohnsFishFood.com 18
The newsletters featured in this column and others are available to you. Please let me know by email, or at the monthly meeting, which ones you would like to read. Let’s start with a Rainbow. Regina Spotti wrote about Melanotaenia sp. “Kiunga” in the March 2009 issue of Finformation from the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society. This 10 cm ( 4 inch ) fish has pastel colours of mostly blue, with some green, yellow and pink. They like a high pH and hard water, a perfect companion fish for Rift Lake cichlids in the tap water of Kitchener-Waterloo. Think you know about Mollies ? Neale Monks’ article on “The Truth About Mollies” was reprinted in the March 2009 issue of Below The Waterline from the London Aquaria Society. He talks about the naming of the various species of Mollies, their habitat and habits in nature, breeding, using salt, and the appropriate aquarium set up. Springtime brings thoughts of goldfish and koi in ponds. Read more about breeding Goldfish and Koi Basics in the April 2009 issue of Pisces Press from the Nassau County Aquarium Society. Goldfish require a cycle of cold and then a warming period to trigger breeding. Koi require a large volume of water and space to thrive. J U N E 2 0 0 9 June Exchange Editor’s Report Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net). edged sword extends only a short distance from the tail fin. There are two or more red lines along the middle of the body and red spots on the dorsal fin. The male has a turquoise blue body, whereas the female is silver grey, but also has the red lines along the body. Dave Unruh wrote about these undemanding fish in the May 2009 issue of The Scat from the St. Catharines & Area Aquarium Society. Surf’s up ! Here is this month’s web site to explore: Cichlids of Central America, including descriptions and photos: http://mycichlidtank.oneinfostop.com/CAmerica_cichlid.htm Backyard ponds contain not only fish but plants as well. Charlie Drew details spring duties required for lily and lotus plants in the April 2009 issue of The Monthly Bulletin from the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society. Work done now will encourage growth and flowering in the summer. In Lake Tanganyika, there are very large schools of a slender blue fish with a yellow tail. Cyprichromis Leptosoma “Utinta” is one of many such mouth brooding species. Males usually maintain a territory of about a metre ( 40 inches ) so a large aquarium is required to keep more than one with a harem of females. Roberto Prati wrote about his experiences breeding these fish in the April 2009 issue of Finformation from the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society. The April/May issue of Tank Topics from the Greater Akron Aquarium Society contains three articles I want to highlight for interesting reading. Wayne Toven wrote about the Spike Tail Platy Xiphophorus xiphidium. There is a reprint of a BAP report from 1978 for the White Cloud Mountain Minnow Tanichys albonubes by Rick Johnson. Bob Miller wrote about an attractive, relatively small, non-aggressive cichlid from Panama called Cryptoheros nanoluteus. A very beautiful live bearing sword tail is the Uplander or Chiapas Swordtail Xiphophorus alvarezi. The yellow black The Fish Sempai www.fishsempai.com info@fishsempai.com (519) 648-9992 • Show quality goldfish: Ryukin, Ranchu, Oranda, Butterfly Moors, Jikins, Pearlscales, Tosakin • Japanese & Malaysian Koi • Arrange to visit the fish farm to see one-of-a-kind, rare and marvelous specimens • Hobbyist Club members receive 10% off purchases • Wholesaler inquiries are welcome • Visits by appointment ONLY 1268 Kramp Road RR 2, Breslau, Ontario N0B 1M0 19
Page 1 and 2: J U N E 2 0 0 9 Fins & Tales Servin
Page 3 and 4: J U N E 2 0 0 9 KWAS Mission Statem
Page 5 and 6: J U N E 2 0 0 9 The Minimalist Aqua
Page 7 and 8: J U N E 2 0 0 9 construction as wat
Page 9 and 10: J U N E 2 0 0 9 The weekend closed
Page 11 and 12: J U N E 2 0 0 9 June Tank Draw for
Page 13 and 14: J U N E 2 0 0 9 • the Denisoni ba
Page 15 and 16: J U N E 2 0 0 9 source to grow anyt
Page 17: J U N E 2 0 0 9 found that some par
Page 21 and 22: Treasurers’ report read by Brad.
Page 23 and 24: J U N E 2 0 0 9 May Name That Fish

June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?