ISSUE 112 JULY 2004 FREE

ISSUE 112
JULY 2004
FREE
See page 5 for details
What were Chris and Craig up to?
turn to page 3
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
AVAILABLE NOW!
JACK WATTLEY DISCUS
LEOPARD
RED PANDA
Each fish hand selected
and sold with certificate of
authenticity.
OCEAN GREEN
MARLBORO RED
”Wattley manipulated genes
the way an artist manipulates a
paint brush. His reward, aside
from the satisfaction of accomplishing a difficult life’s ambition, was to become the most
famous breeder in the world.”
By Dr. Herbert R. Axelrod
SNOWFLAKE
STRIATED RED
Your Reliable Animal Care Specialist
MON—FRI 9:30 AM—6:00 PM
SAT 8:30 AM—6:00 PM
TEL : 236-1533
FISHTALES
1
In this Issue:
President’s Podium..............................2
Evening of Fun ..................................3
JULY’S meeting will be held on Friday 16th – It will be a Social
evening at David Terceira’s place – Hope to see you there.
Species Spotlight –
Julidochromis marlieri ..................5
August
September
October
November
December
What’s for Dinner ..............................7
Sal Silvestri - Tanganyika Cichlids
Sailboat Cruise
Annual Fish Show with Joe Ferdenzi
Mike Schadle - Livebearers
Christmas party
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
Please join me in welcoming the following
members to the society.
Jamel Bailey • Shane Adderley
I
And the Winner is –
Tips on Showing Fish ....................6
Corydoras duplicareus ......................11
Check out
the web site
its been
updated
Bermuda Fry-Angle Society
f you are inerested in joining the Bermuda Fry-Angle Society, just come along to our next meeting
to see what we are about. Meetings are held on the third Friday of every month either at the
Police Recreation Club or the Lecture Rooms, behind the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo,
or contact Chris Roy, Membership
Coordinator at 238-0552. He will be
happy to provide any further information
or just sign you up. Application forms are
also available at Noah’s Ark (just ask at
cashiers desk.) You can also download
an application form from our website:
www.fryangle.com
Membership fees are $20 for the
year, and payable to Bermuda FryAngle Aquarium Society. This would be
an excellent time for new members to
join. It’s the start of a new year and
many exciting things are planned.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
See page 5 for details
2
F
PRESIDENT’S PODIUM
ry-Anglers excelled again in June with a
tremendous Annual Charity Auction that
sets a new benchmark for donations to the
Paul Loiselle Conservation Fund. Members
have cause to be extremely proud of their
accomplishments.
Society favourite, Rusty Wessel, was the
guest speaker for the June meeting. He gave an
interesting presentation on the Panuco basin of
Mexico and the fishes that are found there.
Rusty generously donated a nice assortment of
fish for the auction, comprising a variety of cichlids and livebearers, primarily from Mexico.
Rusty’s visit was sponsored by Marineland who
donated an assortment of dry goods to the club.
We decided to incorporate the dry-goods into
the charity auction to boost the amount of
money that we could donate to charity.
The auction contained fish that were eagerly
sought by members, so the bid prices were high.
The highest bid of the night was $210 for a bag
of four Montezuma swordtails. Montezuma
swords are seldom available in the hobby so it is
not surprising that a number of members were
keen to get hold of some. Also extremely popular were the blue convict cichlids. One bag went
for $165 and a second sold for $150. A bag of
four
Lake
Tanganyika
featherfins,
Opthalmotilapia ventralis, attracted a lot of interest and finally went under the hammer for $150.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, the cheapest bag of fish went for $20 – pygmy swordtails.
When the dust settled, the auction had pulled in
just over $3,000. A draft for $3,000 will be taken
to the American Cichlid Association (ACA) convention by a delegation of members, where it will
be handed over to the Dr. Paul Loiselle
Conservation Fund.
The Loiselle Fund is operated by the ACA and
is still in the process of building capital before it
can begin to fund conservation efforts utilizing
annual generated interest. For now at least, the
Bermuda Fry-Angle Aquarium Society has
FISHTALES
PRESI
DEN
T
donated more than any other
group to the Loiselle Fund! Our
standing may not last for long. The
Babes In The Cichlid Hobby (BITCH), a
group of female hobbyists who raise funds at
the ACA conventions, will be raising funds at
the Denver convention, so they will probably
reclaim their top spot after July. Even if the
Babes reclaim the top spot, we will retain the top
spot for donations by a local club. As can be
seen in the accompanying table, there is a significant gap between the second and third highest donors. ACA records show that we donated
$1,650 in 2000; $2,000 in 2002; and $1,500 in
2003 to which we now add $3,000.
Top Five Donors
Bermuda Fry-Angle
Aquarium Society
Babes In The Cichlid Hobby
Aquaworks – Eric & Brenda Glab
Atlanta Aquarium Association
ACA’s $1 per member donations
$8,150
$7,098
$1,638
$1,207
$1,178
We followed up the meeting with a well-attended dinner at Café Cairo. Eighteen of us turned
out for a fun dinner in the Middle Eastern themed
restaurant on the Sunday evening where we
were ‘treated’ to a spot of belly dancing – first by
the resident belly-dancer and then by Bev and
Chris who gamely got into the spirit of the
evening. Meanwhile, Howard certainly looked
the part as he took on the role of Sheik, relaxing
and smoking the shisha pipe. (see next page for
some great pictures)
Rusty and Suzi had a very enjoyable time during their visit and left with more fond memories
of the island. We next roll out the welcome mat
for Sal Silvestri who will be the guest speaker in
August, and who will bring more fish for auction.
In the meantime, we will have a social gathering for the July meeting before many of us head
to Denver for the ACA convention.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
"An Evening of Fun - Rusty & Suzi Wessel
join members for dinner at Cafe Cairo"
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
3
4
FISHTALES
THIS ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM
Cichlid-forum.com – July, 2004
And The Winner is…
Tips on Showing Fish
H
by Don 'Z-Man' Zilliox
ave you ever walked through a fish show
and said, "I have fish at home that could
have taken this class!"? Well maybe so but
a lot of entrants put a lot of work into their entries
so they just didn't happen to look that good. If you
are interested in showing prize fish, here are a few
helpful hints.
The fish you want to show must first
conditioned with the correct foods to bring out the
best color and finnage. Lots of meaty live foods
and flakes food rich in carotene should do nicely.
One trick used by at least one who has won many
trophies is to shine a flashlight into the tank as the
fish are being fed daily. This way the fish will
associated the light with feeding time. Why? So
when the judges shine their lights into the show
tank your fish will dart to the front of the tank
expecting to be fed and display their very best to
the judges. I know this sounds silly but if you carry
a clipboard along just like the judges do, that won't
hurt either. This way your fish won't hide in the
corner of the tank while the judging is in progress.
Read the show rules carefully! Use a small
sponge filter to keep the water clean if one is
allowed. Those sold for goldfish bowls are just the
right size. If a background is allowed, use one.
Usually a blue, green or black one will contrast
with your fish. Try lots of different colors at home
until you find one that shows you fish to its best
advantage. Some shows even allow you to put in
your fish's favorite clay flowerpot to make him or
her comfortable. Some shows supply the tanks
but if you must take your own, don't use one that
is too large. Use the smallest size possible to
make your fish look large but not cramped
Your show supply box should contain the
following: fish net, siphon hose, a few feet of
airline tubing, plastic wrap to cover the tank, tape
to hold down the covering, cloth or paper towels,
pail, sharp knife or a pair of scissors, air stones,
sponge filters and colored tank backing (if
allowed), extra fish bags & rubber bands. You
probably won't have to buy all this as mostly likely
it is already part of your fish room but you will
need it all at the show site.
At least 36 hours before the show day, stop
feeding the fish you are planning to take with you.
This will give them enough time to clear their
bodies of waste material so your show tank stays
clean. When bagging my fish I always siphon the
water from the tank through a brine shrimp net to
keep any floating debris from getting into their
transport bag. When trying to capture the fish it is
best to coax them into a plastic bag rather than
risking fin damage using a net. Next, filter some
more water into another bag or pail and upon
arrival at the show location, transfer your fish from
the now cloudy water they are in due to more
waste debris to the clean extra water. It's a good
idea to have the air stone or filter running before
even thinking of placing the fish in the tank and
run you hand or net along the inside walls of the
tank to remove any tiny bubbles that have
accumulated.
After releasing your fish, cover the tank so
your prize doesn't get out and wipe the front of the
tank clean of all water and spots. Then just sit
back and wait for your name to be announced as
the winner in your class!
Time to get your fish ready for our Annual Tropical Fish Show October 2nd, 2004
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
THIS ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM
5
Hill Country Cichlid Club – May 2004, Volume 1 Issue 4
SPECIES SPOTLIGHT
By Lisa Boorman
J
ulidochromis refers to the former marine
wrasse group Julidini and also the former
name for cichlids (Chromides). Marlieri
refers to the Belgian ichthyologist 0. Marlier.
This fish was originally described in 1956 by M.
Poll. It was introduced to hobbyists in 1958.
Julidochromis come from Lake Tanganyika.
Marlieri are found in the NW part of the lake
near Makabola and Luhsanga in Zaire (also in
Burundi). They are most commonly found in
boulder and rock zones up to 115 feet below
the surface.
It is hard to tell the sexes apart in this fish.
They are a long skinny fish. The body is yellow
with brown vertical and horizontal stripes.
These stripes may be intermittent. Their
pectoral fins are yellow. All other fins are dark
with light spotting on them. They grow 4-6”.
The me way possibly to tell them apart is hat
the male has a more pointed genital apilla
slanted towards the rear. Females generally
grow larger than the males.
Females of larger Julies seem to take more
care of eggs and fry than the smaller Julies lie.
transcriptus and ornatus). There are several
color varieties of
these fish. The darker varieties come from
deeper in the lake.
For these fish to feel comfortable in a tank
they like to have rock structures, caves, or pots
to hide in. The tank should not be rearranged a
lot as this causes fights to break out even
among mated pairs. The pH of the water
should be greater than 7.5 with a temperature
of 22-25C (72-77F). dH should be around 15.
These fish are micropredators in the wild.
In captivity they seem to do very well on flake
food, baby brine shrimp, and frozen foods
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
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FISHTALES
finely chopped. They seem to ignore pieces
that are too big.
When these fish breed they will do so in a
cave like structure. Their eggs are grayish green
and are laid on the roof of their ‘cave’. The fry
hatch after 3 days and free swim after another
10 days. Marlieris have two methods of raising
young. The first is in which they lay a large
batch of eggs (up to 300) at a time every 6
weeks or so. The other is where they lay 12-20
eggs every 7-10 days. They can change their
method at any time for no discernable reason.
Fortunately young fry are tolerated by their
older siblings. They become sexually mature at
about 14 months.
In the wild these fish are located next a
population of Julidochromis regani. In the
middle of these two groups is a population
known as ‘I. . regani affmis’. The affinjs seems
to have characteristics of both species. It is a
possible natural cross between the marlieri and
the regani.
I received my fish in a trade from Wayne
Cole. He told me they were a mated pair. They
were placed into a 20g tank with a large conch
shell and a sponge filter. They both immediately
disappeared into the shell. The pH of this tank
runs around 7.8. The temperature is 77F.
They were fed brine shrimp flakes.
However they wouldn’t eat when I was
watching. I kept an eye out for them through a
hole in the end of the shell that let me see the
larger fish. Occasionally the smaller one would
be kicked out of the shell but was let in a few
minutes later. Three days later I saw grayish
green eggs at the top edge of the shell right
near the hole. I counted 30 eggs.
Approximately 2 weeks later I saw 12 fry
hanging around the edge of the shell. They
were fed BBS for the first couple of weeks and
they were also given powdered fry food. Later I
discovered that only 9 of them had made it.
That was a disappointment. Six weeks later
there was another batch of fry. I found that they
grew faster than my brichardi fry. But I think
that I need more plants or another sponge in
the tank so that I can grow a good ‘crop’ of
little critters for the fry. I have a funny feeling
that most of the fry starved because the BBS
was a little too big for them. They hang around
all over the tank after approximately 2 weeks.
The ones that hang on the filter are darker than
the others, I think it’s because the filter is dark
and they are ‘hiding’. These are fairly easy fish
if you can get the fly to survive. They are very
pretty and don’t seem to fight too much (at
least for me). This fish will be one of my
keepers.
HINTS/TIPS/TRICKS
ROUTINE MAINTENANCE
Get into a maintenance habit – preferably
weekly – habits are easier to do.
Postponement adds to the amount
of work, and makes the job
more time consuming.
– Roger Brewster
MODERN AQUARIUM JANUARY 2004
Annual Tropical Fish Show
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE SOCIETY
OCTOBER 2ND, 2004
Open to the public - free of charge
BAMZ Lecture Room
Showing your fish can be very satisfying, fun and easy to do
Stay tuned for more information in future newsletter issues or go to our web site: www.fryangle.com
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
Y
What’s for Dinner?
7
By
Amanda DeCouto, BFAS
our choice of fish food and the way in which
you feed your fish is important for the overall health of your fish. It is extremely important that you do not over feed your fish. A significant factor contributing to poor water quality is
overfeeding fish. This can result in wasted food
settling on the bottom of your aquarium. It will
quickly pollute the water making it toxic for your
fish. I am aware that many people do not actually like to touch the fish food. Instead of taking a
“pinch” of food out of the can they prefer to pour
some food into the tank straight from the can.
DO NOT try this! More often than not, this
results in excess food being dumped into the
tank. A better choice is to pour some of the food
out into the lid of the container first. If you have
poured too much you can easily put some back
into the container. Then use the lid to pour your
food into the tank. Another hint is to punch a
small hole in the foil seal under the cap, allowing
only a small amount of food to come out of the
container at one time. This may seem obvious to
some, but it is still worth mentioning.
After food has become water logged your
fish will generally not eat it. If you find that there
is uneaten food in your tank, or you accidentally
dumped too much food in from the start, your
best course of action is to remove it as soon as
possible. Either netting the food out or siphoning it off the bottom should accomplish this.
Feed your fish as much food as they can consume in five minutes. It is better to feed small
amounts over the five minutes rather than your
guess of five minutes worth all at once. Some is
sure to be left uneaten if you feed the full amount
at one time. It is important to consider the tank
filtration when you are feeding your fish. If you
have a very turbid tank with strong filtration and
are using power heads etc… it may be worthwhile shutting them off during feeding. This
gives the fish a better chance to feed. The key
points to remember about feeding: feed small
amounts often over five minutes and don’t leave
uneaten food in the tank.
There is such a variety of fish food on the
market today, that it is little wonder that many
people find themselves standing in front of the
selection at the local fish store with a somewhat
confused look on their face. I hope that this
overview of the choices will help make the decision easier.
The choices of fish food available include
flakes, floating pellets, sinking pellets, granules,
sinking wafers, floating sticks, freeze dried,
frozen, and live. With such a variety it is easy to
see how some people can feel lost. Always look
to the label on the container as an indication of
what kinds of fish it is for and how much food to
feed. However, before deciding which food to
buy you must determine what kind of diet your
fish require (herbivore, carnivore or omnivore)
and whether they require sinking or floating
food. An easy way to tell what level your fish
feeds at is by looking at its mouth and observing
its behaviour. A fish with an upturned mouth who
generally can be found near the top of your tank
(such as a betta) will feed from the surface of the
water, a fish with a straight forward pointing
mouth that swims all around the tank (such as
neon tetras) will feed in the open water, and a
fish with a down turned mouth usually found
lurking about the bottom (such as plecostomus)
will feed off of the bottom. Obviously, you pick
the correct floating vs sinking food depending
on where your fish prefers to feed. For example,
do not feed sinking wafers to your bettas. Once
you have figured this out you can easily narrow
your choices.
It is more difficult to determine which kind of
diet your fish need. It is important that you know
what kind of fish you have for a start. Always
keep your fish store receipts so that you can
record what the names are. Knowing what kind
of fish you have is extremely important. This
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
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FISHTALES
does not apply just to feeding. If you ever
encounter any problems with your tank and
need to seek help there is really no substitute for
telling the person helping you what kind of fish
you actually have. You should always ask at the
time of purchase what food your newly acquired
fish requires (as you want to have the proper
food when you get home). If you have forgotten
don’t despair, you can also look up this information at a later date in one of the many aquarium
atlases available.
FLAKES. This is the most popular formulated food for feeding fish in community style
aquariums. Generally speaking flake foods consist of a variety of ingredients using both vegetable and meat proteins, and added vitamins &
minerals. Flake foods are appropriate for many
species commonly found in a traditional community aquarium (ie danios, tetras, rasboras,
some barbs etc…) However, it is important to
read the label. You can get spirulina flakes,
earthworm flakes, goldfish flakes etc…. which
are either a vegetable base or a meat base. You
would want to use these appropriately. If you
have a small community of tropical fish, pick one
labeled as tropical flakes or community flakes.
There are usually two kinds available: standard
flakes or colour enhancing flakes which highlight
the red colour in fish, the choice is yours. If you
have goldfish, stick to a food labeled for goldfish
as the nutrition is quite different. Flakes are considered a floating/sinking food. When you first
feed flakes they float on the top of the water, and
then once they become saturated they will sink
towards the bottom. This is perhaps why they
are especially suited to a community aquarium.
Surface feeders will have first chance to feed
and as they agitate the water during their feeding the flakes will easily begin to sink making
them available to open water feeders, some perhaps even making it all the way to the bottom.
MICRO PELLETS. The formulation of
ingredients is likely to be similar to community
flake foods but with a different presentation.
This would also be a suitable choice for community style aquariums with small fishes. These are
also floating/sinking and can be used for various
level feeders. One caution: It is very easy to over
feed as the pellets are very tiny. Micro pellets
are useful when you have very small fish to feed
but flakes are also suitable in most instances.
My personal preference is to recommend flakes
instead of the community formulated micro pellets. The simple reason is due to the overfeeding potential as a small pinch of micro pellets is
a large amount of food that can easily get lost
before it is eaten resulting in water pollution. Plus
the size of the pellet makes it very difficult to
remove once you have accidentally over fed
them.
FLOATING PELLETS. These come in a
range of sizes from mini to large. I consider this
a different group from the micro pellets as the
smallest size is many times larger than a micro
pellet. These are best for feeding larger fish as
they are dense and give a lot of nutrition in a
small bite. A large fish would have to eat a lot
of flakes (often wasting a lot ) to equal one of the
pellets. For many manufacturers, the same formulation of pellets comes in different sizes. This
makes it easy to raise your fish on the same
food. As your fish grows you can increase the
size of the pellet without changing the food
entirely. Recently, one manufacturer has started
using a new kind of packaging, which is a controlled shaker container. The lid is such that each
shake can only release a few pellets into the
tank. This is a pretty easy way to feed pellets as
sometimes they can be difficult to handle,
depending on their size. Pellets can be a good
choice for Oscars and other large cichlids etc…
GRANULES. These are often available in a
mini form as well as a larger size. Granules are
generally slow sinking by design and are intended for mid water feeders. The formulation tends
to be omnivorous but you can get a carnivore
variety also. This is best suited to mid size fish as
it’s denser than flakes, but soft enough to be
eaten easily. These will sink much faster than
any of the floating/sinking pellets that I have had
experience with and are very useful for slow –
active mid water feeders. Eg angels, discus,
juvenile-small South American cichlids etc…
FLOATING STICKS. Floating sticks are
available in many formulations. These are gener-
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
9
ally a larger size than pellets and can even come
in jumbo sizes. They are often used for large fish
and are quite easy to feed as you can control
how many sticks you put in with ease. Their size
also makes them easy to remove in the event
that you did overfeed as they are extremely easy
to net out of the tank or pond. Out of the many
brands that I have encountered, floating sticks in
general seem to float for quite a while. They are
a good choice for surface feeders and not likely
to sink to the bottom in any reasonable length of
time. These sticks can be a good choice for Koi,
Large goldfish, arrowana, large cichlids.
SINKING PELLETS / SINKING WAFERS.
These are very similar in the formulations and
the style. They are usually available in herbivore
or a variety omnivore mix or a carnivore pellet.
These are fast sinking and meant to feed your
bottom feeding fish. Many bottom feeders are
nocturnal (look up in your aquarium atlas for
clarification on your particular species.) It is usually best to feed them a few minutes after you
have turned off the tank light for the night. It is a
common misconception that bottom feeders
clean the tank. They do not eat other fish waste
and do not replace cleaning the gravel.
However, many bottom feeders are scavengers
and they will often eat any food that has made it
to the bottom of the tank.
Many people tend to overfeed the flake
food, leaving the catfish with some leftovers on
the bottom of the tank. It is a much better choice
to feed your regular food sparingly and feed your
bottom feeders the sinking food to ensure that
they are eating the correct food and definitely
getting fed. If you have accidentally over fed
your tank, I recommend that you go ahead and
net out the excess and do not rely on the bottom
feeders to eat it all. Always refer the feeding
guidelines on the package as this food can
come in various sizes and you want to resist
over feeding these pellets. With many brands
once they have become water logged they can
break apart making them slightly harder to
remove from the tank. Siphoning them out
seems to be the best method in the event that
you have put too many in and they have already
become water logged. This kind of food is best
for plecos, algae eaters, corydoras, and other
catfish.
FREEZE DRIED. These are often single
ingredient, vitamin enriched foods such as
plankton, bloodworms, tubifex worms, krill etc.
These foods are meant to be a treat or a supplement to the diet and generally do not have adequate nutrition to be fed as a standalone food.
Some fish that do not settle in quickly and are
hard to feed may begin to eat freeze dried foods
before other formulations. If you are having a
particular problem feeding a fish check it’s diet
requirements and perhaps you can find a suitable freeze dried food that may help jump start
it’s feeding again (this may work with frozen food
also). I have noticed that many people seem to
feed krill to their larger cichlids and I warn
against using this as the sole diet. Whist it is
often vitamin enriched, there are no other proteins included except the Krill making it a carnivourous food, and not a complete diet at that.
You are better off feeding these items as recommended as a supplement to the diet and not as
the sole diet. These freeze dried foods usually
float for quite a while and are not suited to bottom feeders as they just won’t get to them. Most
small community fish will enjoy the bloodworms
and plankton etc.., whilst larger fish will enjoy the
krill.
FROZEN FOOD. This is a whole category
of fish food that comes in many choices: marine
mix, tropical mix, bloodworms, mosquito larvae,
brine shrimp, daphnia, krill, marine algae, discus
mix, etc. Frozen food is more expensive than
other kinds but the benefits are worth it.
Complete diets as well as supplements are
available. After reading the ingredients of one
tropical mix I have to admit I was quite
impressed with the variety so look out for these
frozen mixes. You can use the complete diets as
a treat or as a sole diet as they should be vitamin and mineral balanced – just check the label.
There are many grades of frozen food available
and it is best to stick to the highest quality,
cleanest food that you can afford. An interesting
choice that is worth mentioning is frozen silversides. These are usually vitamin enriched (again,
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
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FISHTALES
check the label it may vary by brand) and are a
better choice than live feeder goldfish. There are
many fish that for whatever reason, want to feed
only on live fish. As it turns out, often they will
take the frozen silver sides. This is a much cleaner choice and will have more nutrition than a live
goldfish.
LIVE FOOD. There are many kinds of live food
that you can feed your fish as a treat. Keep in
mind that these are not going to be enriched
with V&M, so you still have to feed a formulated
diet. Live foods are most often useful when you
are feeding fry or trying to condition fish for
spawning. Unfortunately, here in Bermuda we
are not privileged to have all of the choices available to us. Fish love mosquito larvae but you
cannot farm them in your home as it is illegal in
Bermuda. Don’t do it! Stick to the frozen or the
freeze dried if you want to feed mosquito larvae
to your fish. Brine shrimp is easily hatched from
eggs, it just takes a little know how and some
minor equipment. Ask at your local fish store for
advice. This is very useful when feeding fry as it
is often the first food they are able to take.
Feeder guppies & feeder goldfish are often available. These do not offer the best nutrition on
their own, but some fish (ie South American
Leaffish) just don’t seem to want to eat anything
other than live food. The best advice that I can
give on this is to set up a separate tank to house
your feeders. Quarantine them as you would any
other fish that goes into the main tank. They are
just as likely as any other fish to harbour bacteria and parasites so you should use caution
when feeding them. Since they are not enriched
with any V&M I suggest feeding them well whilst
you keep them. An idea to consider is to gutload the feeders by feeding them right before
you feed them to your bigger fish. It’s the same
theory as putting your dog’s medicine in a piece
of cheese. They really want the cheese and
inadvertently are tricked into taking their medicine also! I would also recommend as I stated
earlier that you give the frozen silversides a try; it
won’t work for the leaf fish however as they are
too large but they are a good size for your larger
fish. If you can get your fish to eat these over the
live feeder fish you will be giving them a much
healthier diet.
TABLE FOOD. Many fish will enjoy a treat of
foods that you may have in your house. Always
remove leftovers in a timely manner as they can
pollute the tank just like any other fish food. If
you have never tried these before do not be surprised if your fish do not take to them straight
away. Give it a few tries before you give up,
once they realize what it is you should be OK.
Zucchini, Peas, prawns etc are considered a
welcome treat by many. Check the diet of your
fish and see which choices you can offer.
Feed green vegetables to herbivores and
fish & shellfish to carnivores. Most species of
suckermouth catfish seem to love zucchini.
Zucchini floats so it can be blanched in boiling
water to help it sink. There are also little clips
with suction cups that can hold various foods in
place. My personal preference is to use a rubber band to secure the zucchini to a piece of
driftwood or a rock. They don’t seem to eat the
rind so I suggest slicing the zucchini in rounds
and then cutting them in half. Mango plecos for
some reason really enjoy honeydew melon rind.
They are often difficult to feed in captivity so give
the melon rind a try if you are lucky enough to
have one of these fish. Peas are also another
choice. You can buy frozen peas, thaw and shell
them, leaving two halves. These will sink to the
bottom of the tank and can be enjoyed by many
species, especially silver dollars and small pacu.
If you have carnivorous fish it is best to offer fish
or shellfish over hamburger or chicken. You do
not have to cook the fish but do not put too
much or a piece too large for your fish. Many
fish will take a piece of shrimp without hesitation. Variety is the spice of life so go ahead and
give some of these a try and be creative with
what you have in your fridge.
I hope that you now have a better understanding of the different choices of fish food
available. Next time you are at the local fish
store and are armed with this new information,
spend a few minutes surveying your choices and
you will be sure to pick the right kind of food. Of
course, if you still end up feeling a little overwhelmed, your local fish store staff should be
able to help you make the right choice.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
11
THIS ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM
The Calquarium June 2003 – Calgary Aquarium Society
Corydoras duplicareus
A
by Paul Mcfarlane
First published in the newsletter of the Hamilton and
District Aquarium Society, January 2003
Aquarticles
bout three years ago I purchased half a
dozen Corydoras adolfoi at an auction in
Orillia. One of the local hobbyists in the
area had been raising them in quite large
numbers - one of the few people I've heard of
being able to do that. The corys went home with
me and ended up in a ten gallon tank with a few
tetras of one kind or another. Somehow I never
got around to seriously trying to breed them and
by this time a year ago I still had five of them but
they all had a male "look" to them.
I had decided to keep an eye open for some
females and on a visit to The Fish Place in North
Tonawanda (one of our Bulletin advertisers) I
saw what I thought was just what I wanted - a
tank of corys labelled "adolfoi" that were larger
and fatter than mine. A bit expensive, especially
with the high US dollar, but three of them went
home with me.
I'm sure you're all ahead of me and realize
that once I had the fish home and settled in, I
realized they were not Corydoras adolfoi,
although at that time I didn't know what they
were.
Aside from being a little larger than the
adolfoi, they also had a somewhat darker body the adolfoi seem brighter. But the most obvious
difference was the black stripe on the back; it
was much wider and maintained its width
whereas on the adolfoi it narrows, almost to a
point, at the caudal fin. A bit of searching, mostly
on the Internet, lead me to the fact the fish were
actually Corydoras duplicareus (Sands, 1995).
According to most sources I've seen they
are found in conjunction with a few other,
similarly patterned corys - adolfoi, serratus, and
imitator. They originate in certain tributaries of
the Upper Rio Negro in Brazil. One source,
"Aqualog, All Corydoras", is specific in listing
their place of origin as the Rio Poranga.
Although I haven't kept them, Corydoras
serratus is supposed to differ in being a 'long
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
12
FISHTALES
nose' cory and has serrated pectoral spines. C.
imitator is the 'long nose' companion to adolfoi
and has a black dorsal band that narrows
towards the tail.
My three fish came home with me from the
States and ended up sharing a ten gallon tank
with half a dozen Rasbora hetamorpha. Because
of the Rasboras, I was keeping the water fairly
soft and water changes were usually done with
50/50 tap and RO water. Conditions seemed to
suit them there and four or five months went by.
Then one day, out of the blue, one died and I
was left with two fish that, in all honesty, I wasn't
certain I could sex. But at least neither of those
two died and before I knew it, Fall arrived.
Whether it's true or not, it has always
seemed to me that corys, wild ones in particular,
are much more willing to spawn from early fall to
mid spring than they are at other times of the
year. And so I finally got around to setting up the
duplicareus and trying to get some eggs.
I used a simple arrangement that has
worked well for me in the past with a number of
different Corydoras species. The two fish were
put in a five gallon tank with about an inch of
sand on the bottom. Filtration was a standard
sponge filter and there were no plants in the tank
since the lighting was not very intense. The
original water was from their old tank and each
day I did a change of about a quart, using RO
water, until I felt the softness was appropriate
(about a week).
About mid November I looked into the tank
to see one of the fish (a female obviously) with a
single egg held in her pelvic fins. By the next day
there was no sign of that egg or any others but
it would appear that at least I had a pair! Since it
didn't seem that this species wanted to stick
eggs all over the glass (like C. aeneus for
example), I added a floating spawning mop that
was long enough to touch the sand.
My experience has been that there are two
things (among others) that help to 'trigger' corys
to spawn. One is water changes with cold water
and the other is a change in the barometric
pressure. I hadn't added any cold water to the
tank but near the end of the month we did have
a number of high and low pressure systems
move through our area. And sure enough, as I
went to feed the fish, the duplicareus were
chasing each other in a typical Corydoras prespawning frenzy. I suppose, actually, the male
was chasing the female. The next day there were
no eggs on the glass but when I checked the
mop I found sixteen - not a lot but at least a
start. One of the spawning reports I read stated
that these fish lay their eggs almost entirely on or
near the substrate. I found more than half the
eggs at the surface near the float and the rest
very close to the sand. Who knows? Maybe
different pairs have different preferences.
As is my habit for mop spawning corys, I
picked the eggs and put them in a small
container with a little methylene blue. I decided
to use tap water in order to make water changes
a little simpler. The eggs were large, fairly sticky
and somewhat whitish. An inexperienced
breeder might have thought they were already
fungused. But over the next few days,
developing fry could be seen in the eggs and on
day six, twelve of the sixteen eggs hatched. The
newly hatched fry are large - about a quarter of
an inch - and have an egg sac which, it turned
out, took the best part of five more days to be
absorbed.
The fry were placed in a three gallon tank
with only two or three inches of water; over the
next few days the tank was filled, an inch or two
a day, until it was full. After that I tried to change
a pint or so of water each day.
The fry seemed to do quite well and ate
microworms and live baby brine shrimp; they
grew noticeably within the first week or ten days.
I also put some newly hatched killies in with
them since the tank could support a few more
fish. Everything worked well with the corys on
the bottom and the killie fry mostly at the
surface.
At the time of writing, the fry are about four
weeks old and seem to be growing well. Only
one has died. They do not yet have the adult
pattern but the typical spotted baby pattern is
slowly changing and I imagine that within
another month (all going well) I'll have a dozen
duplicates of my duplicareus.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
President:................................................................Craig Morfitt
Vice-President: ..........................................................Chris Roy
Treasurer: ..............................................................Nyon Steede
Recording Secretary: ............................................Peter Marsh
Corresponding Secretary: ....................................Carol Terceria
ELECTED OFFICERS
Librarian: ..............................................................Carol Terceira
Breeders Award Program Chair: ........................David Terceria
Editor: ....................................................................Peter Marsh
Assisting Editors: ..................................................Derek Fisher
Neil Catell
Webmaster: ............................................................Peter Marsh
SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP
Membership to the Bermuda Fry-Angle Aquarium Society is
open to any resident of Bermuda who has an interest in tropical
fish. The annual membership fee is $20. The Society’s financial
year runs from April 1st to March 31st.
Meetings are held on the third Friday of every month. Meeting
place is either the Police Recreation Club or the Lecture
Rooms, behind the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo.
Occasionally meetings are held elsewhere. Check the
“meeting” column in this newsletter for details of upcoming
meetings.
If you would like further information please contact Peter Marsh.
Tel: 295-4343(w), 238-1406(h) or email: [email protected]
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