the filter - Tampa Bay Aquarium Society

December 2011
Volume 20 Issue 4
THE
FILTER
TBAS . . . Since 1992
DECEMBER CHRISTMAS
MEETING . . . at USF
Panda Cory, Corydoras panda . . . photo by MFJacobs2011
Tampa Bay Aquarium Society
“The Filter”
Tampa/St. Pete Florida
CONTENTS
November 2011
Volume 20 Issue 4
President
‘Dre’ Alvarado
V-President
Al Alvarez
Secretary
Stephanie Alvarado
Treasurer
Patty Moncrief
BOD
Hank Darin
Thelma Frias
Joe Gargas
Mike Jacobs
Jim Norris
Bill Shields
Al Starkey
3) “AQUARIUM SKOOL”
Joe Gargas
5) “Haplochromis obliquidens”
Joe Berberich
6) SIAMESE ALGAE EATER
Mike Jacobs
8) Patty Talks
Patty Moncrief
10) BOD Meetings . . . 2011 Bowl Show Results
11) Monthly Bowl Show Categories
Welcoming
Mike LoBello
WebSite &
Newsletter Editor
Mike Jacobs
Galactic Purple . . . Brachydanio rerio
. . . photo by MFJacobs . . . 2011
........................ TBAS December 2011
-3-
Carbon Review Part 4
Before we close are series on carbon I would like to briefly talk about
types of synthetic carbon that are often available. Synthetic carbon, also known
as organic scavengers, are plastic beads. With this category there are two types:
Type one is called a “functional” (ion exchange) organic scavenger it is actually an anion resin having a negative charge – the
resin will turn dark as it becomes loaded with
organics and it will give off the chloride anion
in turn. An example of this is a product called
Purigen. This product does work well. However
to clean it you put in water with a little bleach the
bleach in turn will oxidize the organics and the
chloride ion from the bleach will in turn attach
to the resin. The resin must be rinsed well and a
chlorine neutralizer added to it and it can be use
over again.
The Type two organic scavenger is a non
functional (no ion exchange) group that looks like
a resin bead but cleans up with steam or denatured alcohol this group is noted for removing
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TBAS December 2011 ....................
-4drugs from blood or urine. I use this type in my hatchery and I am
amazed on what it pulls out as it changes from white to very dark grey almost
black. See photo:
Due to its ability to be used over and over synthetic carbon is the wave of the future.
REVIEW
Anthracite has a great hardness and does not burn readily thus it is dif-
ficult to reach the heating point for carbonization making it unusable for carbon.
Bituminous coal is an organic sedimentary rock formed by the compression of
peat bog material. It burns easily and rapidly thus being able to be processed into
carbon and is the best choice for water filtration.
Coconut Shell Carbon is not necessarily made from coconuts it is
produced from any carbonaceous material like eucalyptus, saw dust, rice husk,
wood even scrap wood like an old chair.
When using any carbon in an aquarium remember that it does not last
long. A general rule off thumb never keep carbon in the filter for more than a
week and a carbon pad is useless after about 3 days.
Next Month UV (Ultra Violet Systems)
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........................ TBAS December 2011
-5One of the Haplochromis from
Lake Victoria is
Haplochromis
obliquidens. This is
a softer water lake
than say Lake Tanganyika although
both are located in
Africa along with
Lake Malawi but
in different areas of
the continent.
Obliquidens are
Unknown Internet Photographer
a mid size cichlid
reaching a maximun length of about five inches and having several different
color spectrums in the males. Females are generally with a whitish body with
black vertical stripes. Males also have fake egg spots on the anal fin. My males
had redish tinged fins with red -yellow body coloring over white with black
vertical stripes.
I purchased three males with twelve females because males like the harem
touch. I wonder if fish can be Mormon’s! I found for the most part both males
and females to be shy rather than bold and they are maternal mouthbrooders.
This means the female will take the eggs into her mouth and the male will fertiize them using the fake egg spot method. This done by the male flashing his egg
spots in front of the female and when she tries to gather the fake eggs the male
then fertilizes them. She will then go without eating until the eggs hatch an she
feels they are ready to be released. This can be from two to four weeks.
The new fry are dark when free swimming and can be fed powered flake
food. Both adults and fry are easy to keep. Foods they eat can be just about
anything but it’s better to change diet for better growth and health. No special
foods just the norm like frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and a good
tropical flake is greedily ingested. My fish were only about two inches in length
when they spawned. So I would say they weren’t more than maybe three to five
months old at the time.
If you haven’t raised obliquidens you should do so, for they are one of the
prettier species of Haplochromis from Lake Vitoria. Just remember at least three
or more females to make one happy male.
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-6-
TBAS December 2011 ....................
PSSSSSssssssssttttt!!! My friend!!! What’s the best algae eater for an
aquarium??? I know . . . this pleco or that pleco but they all get to be MONSTER size and what are you going to do with them at that point? I have the
answer . . . I really, really do!!!
Crossocheilus siamensis, the Siamese Algae Eater . . . Oh, yea
you think you know this one!!! Sure, you say . . . it’s the Flying Fox . . .
NOOOOOOOO!!!!! Well . . . it’s the one that . . . probably not!!! I haven’t seen
the TRUE Siamese Algae Eater for maybe 40 years. I know . . . I know what the
stores have written on the tanks but 99% chance they are wrong!
But I have to tell you I ran across a source of the true Siamese Algae
Eater and I bought 5 and man-oh-man, how did I ever do without these fish
for the last 40 years? They are simply a wonder to watch. They work the tank
like a school of pigeons. BINGO it’s clean of all types of algae . . . green, red,
BLACK . . . yes, the black algae too . . . they really will eat it all. The other fake
Siamese Algae Eaters simply won’t/don’t do the job. The Flying Fox . . . nice
fish but does NOT eat algse. The other one won’t touch the green stuff either.
Let me try to give you a visual of the difference in the 3 fish. Except
for the pictures of the true Siamese Algae Eater the other pictures are taken from
the internet and they had no photographers listed so I used them anyway.
Flying Fox . . . red in
the fins and a douoble
black line on the body
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........................ TBAS December 2011
-7False SAE. . . the center line
on the body stops at the Caudal Peduncle. The dorsal line
is very faint
TRUE SAE. . . the line on
the body goes through the
Caudal Peduncle & crosshatched on the back.
FLYING FOX
Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus
FALSE S.A.E.
Garra taeniataa
True S.A.E., Crossocheilus siamensis pics by Mike Jacobs . . . 2011
The True Siamese Eater, Crossocheilus siamensis, will
absolutely clean up your tank . . . NO QUESTION!! No
mess no fuss! You can ask for them by name now!!!
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-8-
TBAS December 2011 ....................
CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG???
by Patty Moncrief
One of the biggest problems that new and old fish keepers have is getting
their fish to get along, even when they are only keeping one species. To complicate matters what works for one person may not work for someone else. Tank
Size, the habitat, food and water quality are all factors in fish compatibility. But,
sometimes you will run into a fish that does not fit its profile. This can be caused
by inbreeding, poor nutrition during egg development or a number of other factors. These fish can be either big bruisers or real wimps, but these are exceptions
to the rule.
There are many books that try to give compatibility guides but they often
all short. Here are some simple rules that you can follow that will help you select
the right kind of fish so your tank will be a more “peaceful” place.
The first thing you need to know is how big the fish will get. Hopefully
your fish store will have books you can look at (if they don’t have any reference
material, I would worry about buying any fish at that store). Once you know how
big the fish will become, then you will know if you have the right-sized tank for
it and any tank mates of similar size you might want to put with it. NO! FISH DO
NOT GROW TO THE SIZE OF THE TANK! This is the biggest fallacy in the
hobby and if someone tells you that, they don’t know what they are talking about!
A fish’s mouth size will tell you a lot too . . . big mouth predators should not be
kept with small fish. Large fish with small mouths can be kept with smaller fish.
The next thing you need to know are the water requirements. Do you
need hard or soft water, warm or cold? Maybe this fish needs a higher pH or lower
pH. You can’t mix fish that have very different water requirements because it is
inevitable that someone will be unhappy.
Does the fish need to be in schools, pairs, harems or alone? What if you
purchase barbs? They like schools and are very unhappy in pairs and will nip and
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........................ TBAS December 2011
-9-
pick at each other and other fish unless kept in groups of six of more. Perhaps your
male won’t get along with a single female but needs a harem. These are things
you must consider.
Food is not something that many people think of when considering compatibility, but take, for example, the seahorse. Seahorse and related pipefish eat
only live food
and eat it very
slowly. Most
fish you keep
with them will
eat all the food
before they get
a chance, even
though
they
won’t
harm
the seahorses.
Don’t mix vegetable-eaters
with live plant
tanks. Many
Photo by MFJacobs . . . 2011
fish have special food requirements so keep this in mind when mixing different kinds of fish.
Activity level and habitat go together. Active fish need swimming room
and many sedate fish need hiding places. Often the very active fish will make
slower fish nervous, but sometimes they are used with more aggressive fish to
distract them from fighting with each other. And what do YOU want? Do you like
fish darting and flashing about are more sedate, slow movers? Some predators are
sedate until food goes by. Don’t let that fool you. Be sure they fit the other rules
too.
This article is meant to provide some guidelines and just because the fish
you pick match all rules doesn’t mean they will all get along. Sometimes you have
to change the tank around or add more fish for distraction or add more habitats.
There will always be exceptions to the rule and remember each fish has its own
personality. Until next month, keep those fish happy.
Coastal Aquarium Society
Serving the Sarasota, Fl Area
Meets the 1st Wednesday of Each Month
http://coastalaquariumsociety.com
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-10-
TBAS December 2011 ....................
2011 - 2012
November . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hank Darin
December . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gene Linkoski
January . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Gargas
February . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Fair
March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bill Shields
April . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Norris
May . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mike Jacobs
June. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
July. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hank Darin
Saltwater
“Pork
Fish”
Jan-Dec Totals
Nov Results TOTAL POINTS
PERSON
Angel Heald-Post 91
7
98
Joe Berberich85186
Barbara Kusich84084
Tanja Diederich31031
Jim Lombardi18119
Jim Norris12012
Nan Smith10515
Bob Heagey
0
9
9
Allen Alvarez
8
0
8
John Papp
7
0
7
Walter Nourse
0
5
5
Petie
0
4
4
Dre Alvarado
3
0
3
Missina Buecaw
2
0
2
Christian Greico
1
1
2
Jim Owens
0
1
1
Bobo Hudson
0
1
1
Jim Owens
0
1
1
Austin Russelt
0
1
1
Christian Greico
0
1
1
Derrick Hudson
0
1
1
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........................ TBAS December 2011
-11-
MONTHLY BOWL
SHOW
January
1) Livebearers 2) Egglayers
February
1) Killifish 2) Invertebrates
March
1) Old World Cichlids
2) New World Cichlids
April
1) Sucker Catfish
2) All Other Cats
May
1) Livebearers Spawned &
Raised
2) Egglayers Spawned &
Raised
June
1) Open
2) Fish Shirt (must be worn)
July
1) Barbs & Rasboras
2) Danios, White Clouds & Rainbows
August
1) Bettas
2) Anabantids
September
1) Characins
2) Sharks, Loaches & Eels
October
1) Native Florida Fish
2) Any Plants
November
1) Goldfish & Koi
2) Participant Created Fish Art
December
No. . . Bowl Show
. . . Awards!!!!!
To Table of Contents
PO Box 27044 Tampa, FL 33623
Tampa Bay Aquarium Society
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