May 2009 Shoreline

16
Member Classified
Fish Bags
Selling
Contact Dean at [email protected] for prices
and sizes
Holland Lop Rabbits Assorted colors available - (Solids and Broken). True dwarfs and
false dwarfs. Young adults available sometimes.
Price starting at $15.00 each and up / call for Availability. Dwarfs and Netherland Dwarfs
Rabbits also available.
Dean Majorino 732-679-5864
USED TANKS FOR SALE George @ 908 797 1049
1
150 Gal. $200 with stand
3
90 Gal $125 each. one stand that holds all 3
1
55 Gal $65
1
29 Gal $35
15
5 1/2 Gal $6 each
Show your 2009 Membership Cards and receive discounts at the
following aquatic stores
ABSOLUTELY FISH - Clifton NJ
15% off fish and dry goods. Discount does not apply to already discounted items
ALL ABOUT PETS - Sea Girt, NJ
20% off fish and fish products
ALLQUATICS - Hamilton, NJ
15% off fish and dry goods
PETS PETS PETS - Somerset, NJ
40% off freshwater fish
30% off aquarium dry goods
20% off saltwater fish
Buy 2 get one free on corals
WOW… that’s a
great deal!!
PETS PLUS - Hazlet, NJ
10% off fish and dry goods
PET SHANTY - Scotch Plains, NJ
10% off fish and dry goods
SHARK AQUARIUM – Hillside, NJ
15% off fish and dry goods
Tropiquarium – Ocean, NJ
10% off fish only
Vladiscus
Feastervillie, Pa
10% discount
215-354-9372 or 267-241-0590
Aquarium Center
Blackwood , NJ 856-627-6262
10% discount.
2
Adam”s Pet Safari 732 469 6744
114 Mountain Blvd
Warren NJ 07059
and
19 w. Main St
908 879 8998
Chester NJ 07059
15% discount
15
Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act – HR 669
As expected, there has been strong reaction to the introduction of HR 669; PIJAC is
working to quell any panic until specific and unified action needed. In the mean time,
please note:
PIJAC has been working this issue since well before HR 669 was introduced and has
been tracking this process for almost one year.
PIJAC has been meeting with House of Representatives staff responsible for managing this process, and specifically working on HR 669.
PIJAC has been meeting with senior US Fish and Wildlife Service officials responsible for policy as well as implementation of the invasive species laws.
PIJAC has created a Coalition involving trade associations and others representing a
wide variety of potentially affected industries (i.e. pet industry, food aquaculture,
zoos/aquariums, and game ranches).
The Coalition is critically analyzing the bill; developing messaging points; and planning to develop a policy position paper.
People need to remain calm throughout the process and to recognize that this is
only the beginning of a long process.
IT IS PARAMOUNT THAT ALL SEGMENTS OF THE PET INDUSTRY ARE
PERCEIVED AS HIGHLY PROFESSIONAL THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF
THIS PROCESS. IF PERCEIVED OTHERWISE, WE WILL LOSE OUR CREDIBILITY AND WITHOUT OUR CREDIBILITY, OUR COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL VOICES WILL HAVE LITTLE TO NO IMPACT.
Petitions are nowhere as effective as well crafted letters addressing key points in the
legislation. Please wait until more information is posted here on the PIJAC HR
669 Forum.
The best thing you can do is research and educate yourself
http://www.pijac.org/
Bulk Fish Food, Books and
Aquarium Supplies
AquaTerra Backgrounds
www.yourfishstuff.com
From the President.....
The Jersey Shore Aquarium Society is a great organization with
several valuable benefits offered to our members. Let’s face it – $20
buys a lot at JSAS! We are treated to a monthly printed newsletter
(which by itself costs more than $20 to deliver
to your mailbox for the year) and a monthly
meeting with great topics, auctions, and the
opportunity to socialize with fellow fish heads.
If there’s a fish you’d like to acquire or breed,
you’ll likely find a fellow member with helpful
knowledge to share.
To keep JSAS running smoothly and even
improving, we could use a little help. Here are
a couple of ways you can make a positive contribution to the success of
our club and to get more enjoyment from your membership: (1.) Pay
your dues! If you’ve already paid for 2009, we thank you. If you
haven’t, we politely ask that you do so right away. We rely on these
funds for ongoing club operations like our meeting space, insurance and
the newly improved web site. (2.) You can become involved with the
JSAS Board of Directors. We meet over dinner on the 3rd Monday each
month to discuss club functions and make decisions about how to improve the members’ experience. If interested, please join us – or speak
with any current club officer for details. We have lots of opportunities
for our members.
Our May speaker should offer a great presentation. Mark Denaro of
Anubias Design will speak about rare fish – a topic for which he’s
known. Mark started keeping fish in 1970 and since then has been
involved with import, wholesale, retail, speaking at clubs, aquarium
maintenance, and writing columns such as the Import Report for TFH.
Anubias Design is an online retailer of rare freshwater fish, plants and
invertebrates.
Now go feed your fish… we’ll see you on May 11th,
Matt
JSAS Members: shop our website and get a 10% Discount,
use coupon code “jsas” on checkout.
14
3
Minutes from the April 13th regular meeting of
The Jersey Shore Aquarium Society
The meeting was called to order by our President at 8:15pm.
Matt reported that the auction was well attended and success. Shelly will soon
have the final tally.
A trip is planned on April 25 to Tangled up in Cichlids. Any wishing to go
should meet the group at the Cheesequake rest area on the GSP.
There was a rousing discussion on the HR 669 insued. The bill is being heard by
the House Subcommittee on Insular Affairs on April 23rd.
Dean Majorino gave an informative talk on Pond Plants. you don’t need to have
a pond built in your yard to grow beautiful plants, as long as the tub will hold
water it will grow a plant. Put in some livebearers for fertilizer and get those
BAP points in the fall.
Barbara DeCross
Membership
It’s that time again to get your membership dues paid and update your information. Dues
may be paid ($20 for a single and $30 for a family) at the monthly meeting or may be
mailed to Dan Decross c/o The Jersey Shore Aquarium Society 5 Hummel Dr. South Toms
River NJ 08757. Along with paying your dues please update your contact information:
address, phone and email. It is important that we have this information in case of last minute changes. As you know our dues offset the publishing and mailing cost of the shoreline.
Anyone who has not paid their dues by the March meeting will be placed on the inactive
list. Contact info may also be updated by emailing Dan at [email protected]
Pick up your 2009 membership cards and enjoy all the discounts listed on page 15.
Editors Note
Matt Siegel will be taking over as Editor starting with the June Shoreline. I will still be involved with the process
of printing, stapling and mailing. Any suggestions, comments or changes you would like to see can be emailed
to [email protected] or you can speak to him at one of the general meetings. If you have an article, puzzle,
or anecdote you would like to share please send it to Matt. I am lookinjg forward to seeing the changes Matt will
bring to the Shoreline, I am sure it will be Great! Thanks for your support in the past 18 months.
4
Day 8. Lower the water level about 10%.
Day 9. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness by 1
degree each. Shut off air stones. Take out the filter and clean it. Let the filter run in
another tank so it has a working bacterial culture when it's needed in a week.
Day 10. Lower the water level about 10%. The water level should be down to 25% of
the tank's capacity. The temperature should be around 28 degrees. Put peat, alder
comes, leaves, etc. in the water. Add plant fertiliser. Increase the lighting to max.
Take away any floating plants. Start an infusoria culture. Check pH.
Day 11-19. Leave the fish in peace.
Beginning of rainy season:
The first clouds can be seen in the sky but no rain has started to fall.
Day 20. Clean the filter that has been working in another tank. Decrease the lighting,
both the intensity and the length (down to about 10 hours). Take out the peat, leaves
etc. Check the pH.
First rainfall:
Day 21. Put the floating plants back in. Add more plants of the type the fish like for
spawning. Add clean, as soft as possible, water (preferable RO), about 20% of the tank
volume. The water's temperature should be about 3 degrees lower than that of the tank.
Put in the filter and run it at half speed if possible. One could try to turn off the light
for a couple of hours in the middle of the day to simulate thick clouds. Lower the
heater temperature by 2 degrees. Feed a little with mosquito larvae and newly hatched
brine shrimp. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness.
Day 22. Add the equivalent of 20% of the tank volume, with water about 5 degrees
lower in temperature than the tank. Run the filter at full speed and make it "splash" in
the surface. Lower the heater temperature by 2 degrees. Feed a lot and often. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness. Add a vitamin product and plant fertiliser according to instructions for your product.
Day 23. Add the equivalent of 20% of the tank volume. The water temperature should
be about 5 degrees lower than that of the tank. Add aeration at a low level. Lower the
heater temperature by 2 degrees. Feed a lot. Add infusoria so that the water gets a
slight cloudiness.
Day 24. Turn off the heater if the fish can take such low temperatures. Aeration at half
speed. Fill the tank. The water temperature should be about 5 degrees lower than that
of the tank. If you can, open a window during the night to lower the temp. further.
Feed a lot. Add infusoria so that the water gets a slight cloudiness.
Height of the rainy season:
Day 25. Aeration at full speed. Change 50% of the water volume. Feed a lot.
Day 26-?. Carry on as Day 25 until they spawn!.
13
JSAS Breeder’s Award Report
Meeting and Events Calendar
2009
May 2009
Highlights from April:
There was only one submission in April. Bill Loesch bred hi fin peppered cories.
Recent Spawns:
Bill Loesch
Corydoras paleatus
10
May 2009
8 BASNY
11 JSAS
17 ALAS
18 JSAS
21 NJAS
Spring Auction
General Meeting - TBD
Auction
Board Meeting
Tony Orso - TBD
June 2009
8 JSAS
12 BASNY
15 JSAS
18 NJAS
George Fear - Under water video from South America
Live foods & Knowledge round table www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org
Board Meeting
Mark Denaro - The Planted Tank www.njas.net
www.Brooklynaquariumsociety.org
www.jerseyshoreas.org
www.aqualandtropical.org
www.njas.net
Catfish
BAP Standing as of May 2009
July
1- Larry Jinks
2 - Mike Palmese
3 - Dean Majorino
4 - Richard Janssen
5 - Jack Borgese
6 - Frank Nell
7 - Laura Staub
8 - Dave Leshinsky
9 - John Wares
10 - Bob Merz
11 - Anthony Metta
12 - Robert Janssen
13 - Bill Arndt
14 - Bill Loesch
15 - Leonard Reback
16 - Jim Sorge
17 - Lothar Koenigstein
18 - Luis Morales
20 - Andrew Hebert
21 - Shelly Kirschenbaum
2805
1290
1230
825
595
545
365
360
325
320
290
270
265
235
225
200
190
165
150
135
22 - Dave Salkin
23 - Margo Pellegrino
24 - Charles Smith
25 - Nancy Villars
26 - Matthew Metta
27 - Rory Lay
28 - Gary Wong
29 - Joan Most
30 - Jim Costello
31 - Tony Gallirio
32 - Herb Frietsch
33 - Klaus Huenecke
34 - 34 Gary Silve
35 - Dan DeCross
36 - Tom Strain
37 - Carol Ross
38 - Frank Policastro
40 - David Cohen
41 - Bill Guest
42 - Stephen Morgan
12
100
95
90
80
60
60
55
50
50
40
30
30
25
25
20
15
10
5
5
5
13 JSAS
16 NJAS
20 JSAS
30-2 ACA
General Meeting TBD
Swap Meet
Board Meeting
ACA Convention
www.njas.net
Cincinnati, OH
www.2009aca.com
Don’t Miss The Next Meeting
May 11, 2009
Mark Denaro
Rare and Unusal Fish
Mark Denaro has been keeping freshwater aquariums since 1970 and marine
aquariums since 1976. He has propagated over 100 species of freshwater fish
and a wide array of freshwater plants. Mark has also propagated over 20
invertebrate species and 7 species of marine fish in his tanks. Mark is currently
the President of International Betta Congress www.ibcbettas.org. A wellknown speaker and aquatic judge with 20 years of experience in the pet
industry, he currently operates AnubiasDesign.com an online retailer of new,
rare, interesting, fishes and plants.
5
Exchange Editor
Dry and Rainy Seasons in the Tank
by Kristian Adolfsson
General:
Many fish from tropical areas spawn seasonally due to changes in their natural
environment. Most often they spawn when the rainy season begins, because it brings
increased food supply and increased possibilities for the fry to find food and shelter.
Re-creating as many of the changes as possible that occur during the rainy season's
beginning might be one way to spawn species that otherwise are very difficult to
spawn. Many species are so easy to spawn you need not use the often cumbersome
methods that are described below, but certain species and groups of species might need
them. First try the general rules for breeding a certain species or group of species, but
if you don't succeed, try the suggestions below.
The following is a compilation of a way to breed fishes that come from areas with
marked dry and rainy seasons, e.g. the Amazon and Rio Negro areas of South
America. Data and ideas have been collected from a lot of different sources; including
books, friends and the Internet, and are based on my own experiences breeding
catfishes and tetras from South America.
This simulated dry and rainy season cycle takes about 4 weeks to go through. Using a
simpler method people have been able to breed Panaque nigrolineatus, Sturisoma sp.,
and Siamese algae eaters, which are thought to be very difficult to spawn.
Spawning triggers in nature:
Below follows a list of the different changes that can occur during the rainy season's
beginning and that might trigger a species to spawn. They are not listed in any particular order, and which of them various species need to spawn is not fully known.
Low pressure
After a long period of high pressure at the end of the dry season, the barometric pressure falls in connection with the first rain.
Increased food supply
After a starvation period during the end of the dry season the food supply increases
drastically. Certain species look like skeletons at the end of the dry season, and have
perhaps been without food for more than a month. Certain species even eat detritus to
get some nutrition.
Changed food types
During the dry season the scarce food might consist of bottom dwelling animals (red
mosquito larvae) and decaying plant parts. When the rainy season starts the food
changes to insects that fall onto the surface: mosquito larvae (especially white and
perhaps black) and other water insects, pollen from flowers, seeds, fruits, fresh leaves
and eggs, and fry from other species that have begun to spawn earlier.
Increased water flow
The rain results in increased flow of water. The fish become more active. Some species
migrate upstream to get to calmer and more suitable spawning areas.
Increased oxygen levels
Rain that falls on the water surface increases the oxygen level in the water. Increased
water flow also makes the oxygen level increase. In many cases a high oxygen level is
a condition for the eggs and fry to make it during their first days.
6
If you don't know how the fish spawn you have to set up the tank with a little of everything.
The plants can be varied with large leafed plants (Java fern, Echinodorus, Anubias, and
Hydrocotyle), fine leafed (Myriophyllum, Cabomba, and Egeria), narrow leafed
(Vallisneria) and other (Java moss, Najas). Large plants can be planted in pots for easy removal. Use roots, plastic pipes of different diameters, etc. Plastic plants can be used instead
of live ones. These can be easily disinfected and be cleaned of snails etc.
The tank should be filled with water from the tank where the fish were before, and have the
same temperature. Make sure the water has been recently changed (low nitrite and nitrate
levels).
A filter with adjustable flow should be used.
The light hood should be able to give a high light level.
The heater should be mounted along the bottom, yet be easy to adjust. Make sure it's a good
quality heater that can be fully submerged.
Cover the sides and top with paper to avoid scaring the fish when you are moving about in
the room.
Do not feed white or black mosquito larvae before the spawning attempt.
Make sure you have peat (black peat is preferable), alder cones, leaves, peat extract or
whatever you want to use. Make sure that the carbonate hardness is at about 2-3 kH to
avoid too low pH levels when you add the peat etc.
Choose healthy and mature animals with the right ratio of males to females depending on
the species, and put them in the breeding tank. They should be well fed, to be able to
survive a two-week dry season period.
Simulation Scheme
End of rainy season:
Still some food, and the water level has not started to lower.
Day 1. Feed about 1/10 of normal. The lights should now have a level between full power
and "cloudy", about 14 hours. Filter running at full speed.
Day 2. Lower the water level about 10%, feed 1/10 of normal. Add some calcium carbonate and magnesium sulphate to raise total and carbonate hardness 1 degree each. (An alternative is to take out 20% of the water and add half the amount with hard tap water if that's
available.) Add a dose of plant fertiliser according to instructions for your product (gives
more dissolved salts in the water).
Day 3. Lower the water level about 10%, skip feeding. Increase the temperature about one
degree.
Day 4. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness 1 degree
each. Feed 1/10 of normal. Put peat, alder comes, leaves, etc. in the water. Tannins etc. will
be leached from these items over the coming days.
Beginning of the dry season:
Food supply decreases and ceases. Water level and current decreases. Temperature of the
remaining water increases.
Day 5. Lower the water level about 10%, skip feeding. Increase the temperature about one
degree. Decrease the flow by adjusting the filter. Check pH.
Day 6. Lower the water level about 10%, feed 1/10 of normal.
Day 7. Lower the water level about 10%. Increase total and carbonate hardness 1 degree
each. Stop feeding until day 21. Increase the temperature about one degree.
continued on page 13
11
Fish of the Month
Cleithracara maronii
Common name - Keyhole cichlid
Family: Cichlidae
Origin - South America: Rio Orinoco basin, and rivers of Guyana
TYPICAL SIZE/COLOR- max. size 12 cm (4 ¾”), the body is a mottled yellow/
cream color with faint lateral lines. A curved dark band runs from the 1st ray of the
dorsal fin through the eye to the corner of the gill cover. The keyhole shaped marking is
located in the middle of the rear half of the fish.
Water parameters – Temp 75 – 82 degrees, PH 6.8 – 8.0, dH to 20.0
TANK TYPE/SIZE – - Minimum size should be 36” long and it should contain
smooth rocks, caves, driftwood, and plants. The substrate can be fine gravel or sand.
DIET- Keyholes will accept most foods (flakes, pellets, frozen and live)
TEMPERMENT – The Keyhole is a small, friendly cichlid that generally leave
plants alone and can be kept with a variety of similar tankmates including medium
sized tetras and rainbows.
Sexing -Adult males have longer more pointed dorsal and anal fins
Breeding –Keyholes are a good beginner fish as they are easy to spawn. The female
will lay up to 300 eggs on a smooth rock. They hatch in 3-5 days and are free swimming
2 days later. The fry will accept baby brine shrimp. The parents will care for the fry for
up to 6 months.
10
Dilution of dissolved substances in the water
The longer the dry season lasts, the more salts, humic substances and organic material
are concentrated in the water that remains. When the rain starts the concentration of
these substances decreases due to dilution. The river, the stream etc. is diluted with
rainwater that has zero hardness, which lowers the hardness and often even the pH.
Change in water temperature
Water temperature is often lowered due to cloudiness and the cold rainwater. In high
terrain temperature differences are often greater than down in the lowlands (10ºC
compared to a few degrees).
Change in water depth
Increased water volume causes the water to deepen. Water pressure at the bottom
increases and the fish get a larger vertical swimming space. Distance to the water
surface will be longer for species that go to the surface to catch air.
Spawning sites become available
At the end of the rainy season there is often water only in the middle of the river or
stream, and there are very few plants or hiding places. With increasing water depth,
the fish can find newly flooded areas with plants, roots, tree trunks and shadows, in
which to hide eggs and give the fry a better chance to hide.
Changes in the light
The amount of light and duration of light decreases due to cloudiness in connection
with the rain. Certain parts of the day can be very dark during the most intense rain.
With more clouds in the sky it takes longer in the morning before it gets light and it
darkens faster in the evening. Even light angles vary from one part of the year to the
other. The further from the equator, the more the variation. Note that certain species
want almost complete darkness to spawn (they live under dense vegetation, among
tree roots and in black water).
Increased plant plankton level
When the rainy season occurs this increases in certain waters. This is also a signal to
the adult fish to spawn because there is food for smaller fry.
Right time of the year
Certain species have a very strong "biological clock" that is linked to when the rain
and dry seasons occur in their natural distribution area.
Other fish spawn
Hormones in the water from other fish spawns might prompt another species to
spawn.
Sound
Even the rain's splashing against the surface might be a signal to spawn. Maybe also
the sound of thunder.
How do we simulate these things in the tank?
Below are suggestions on how to simulate the different stimuli that are listed above.
Which to choose depends on which species is to be bred. Certain species might
require only a few, e.g. good feeding and a water change with lower water temperature, while others need most of the items from the list. The list below follows the
same order as above:
Low pressure
Many have written about their fish having spawned during periods of low pressure.
However, the same species might in many cases have spawned during a period of
high pressure if the right circumstances had been present.
continued on page 8
7
Low pressure is of course impossible to simulate in a tank, so keep an eye on the
weather forecasts and start a simulated rainy season during the passage of a period of
low pressure. A barometer might be good to have handy to check the trend for air pressure.
Increased food supply
If fish are in good condition when they are set to spawn, they can manage to starve for
several weeks. When feeding begins again, this will trigger the instinct to spawn.
Changed food types
A change of food might trigger a spawn. In some waters in South America the amount
of mosquito larvae increases (especially white mosquito larvae) at the beginning of the
rainy season. If you don't feed mosquito larvae before setting a species to spawn, and
then begin to feed with them during the simulated beginning of the rainy season - this
will simulate the change.
Increased water flow
Easily solved with different forms of pumps and filters. Certain species lay their eggs
close to the largest water flow in the tank - e.g. in front of the filter outflow.
Increased oxygen levels
Use an air driven filter and air stones. One can also let a motor filter "splash" in the surface to increase the amount of oxygen. An air diffuser can also be used.
Dilution of dissolved substances in the water
Build a higher level of humic substances ( e.g. peat and alder cones) and salts (fertiliser,
CaCO3, MgSO4) during the simulated dry season. Later, dilute with as soft water as
possible when the rainy season begins (preferably RO water).
Change of water temperature
Use submersible heaters to keep the temperature up during the dry season. Note that
certain species can't take too high or too low temperatures and that certain species prefer
high temperatures to spawn. These species perhaps seek out flooded grassy areas to
spawn where the sun heats up the shallow waters. To lower the temperature, one just
decreases the setting on the submersible heater until it can be turned off. To further
lower the temperature one might ventilate the room or put an ice block in the tank.
Change in water depth
Lower the water level to 25% of normal during the dry season. Increase it to normal
level over a couple of days when the rainy season begins.
Spawning sites become available
Change the plants and decorations. If gravel is not used, plant plants in pots and move
caves and roots to make a new environment more suitable for spawning.
Changes in the light
- Light intensity: With several bulbs on the tank, it's easy to turn off all but one (or perhaps use only daylight). Another way might be to put paper between the hood and the
cover glass.
- Light duration: At the equator the duration of light is about 12-14 hours year round.
The further from the equator the larger difference between the seasons. Shorten by 1-2
hours in both morning and evening. Use a timer!
- Light angle: Hard to simulate in the tank.
Increased plant plankton level
Not possible to simulate easily in the tank, but one might try infusoria. Even if this does
not stimulate spawning it might be a good first food for certain species with very small
fry.
Right time of the year
Wild caught fish might require that it should be rainy season time in the area from where
they come, for them to spawn in our tanks. Check exactly where the species comes from
and when the rainy season occurs there. Captive bred fish have generally had their sense
of when it is the rainy season and when it is not reduced, and might often be bred year
round. The same could be true for young fish that are wild caught. If they have not experienced a rainy season it might be easier to breed them at a different time than when
they normally spawn in nature.
Other fish spawning
Let an easily bred species spawn in the same tank as the more difficult one. This works
as a natural hormone treatment. An alternative might be to let an easily spawned species
spawn in a separate tank, and add water from it to the difficult species' tank.
Sound
Add water through a plexi-glass plate with lots of very small holes. The drops that fall
through simulate the rain beating on the water surface.
Further ideas that are used by breeders are:
Filter over limestone during the simulated rainy season. This does make the water harder,
but it might be the change in water chemistry that makes certain species spawn.
Move the well-fed fish from a tank without optimum conditions (no spawning substrate,
"wrong" water parameters, many fish that are "disturbing", etc.) to a tank with the right
conditions for spawning. The move itself together with all the changes that occur might
get the fish to spawn (good way to breed many tetras).
Suggestions for a breeding scheme:
Preparations and tips:
Choose a tank of the right size for the species in question. The tank should have a volume that will be enough when only 25% of the aquarium is filled with water. The most
important issue is that the oxygen level is kept high enough without filter and air stones.
Arrange for hiding places and a few plants. The tank should simulate the end of the dry
season.
Bottom substrate
Whether to use bottom material or not can be debated. The most common is to have
some kind of gravel, but peat or filter floss can be used. When a bottom material is used
it will help increase the surface for good bacteria to multiply.
Advantages of bottom material:
Some species prefer a dark bottom, others a pale one.
Some pale Corydoras prefer a pale bottom.
Many species "like" to probe around in the bottom for food.
Less risk of fungus attack on bottom dwelling fry (e.g. Corydoras).
Eggs that fall to the bottom are harder for the parents to find and eat.
No reflections from the bottom.
Disadvantages of bottom material:
Difficult to see if all food has been eaten.
Difficult to clean without vacuuming out sand/peat.
8
9
continued on page 11