bestinshow - The Bermuda Fry

ISSUE 115
OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2004
BES
T
IN
SHO
W
SEE COMPLETE LIST ON PAGE 5
Turn to page 8 to see some of
the fish that were judged
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
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
November’s Guest speaker
Dan Woodland ..............................3
A Special Presentation........................4
November
December
The NOVEMBER meeting will be held at The
Police Recreation Club on Friday November
19 at 8pm. Guest Speaker is Dan Woodland
speaking on setting up a new fish room
followed by a Fish Auction
Christmas Party – will be held at David
Terceria’s Home – details to come.
Member of the Year Trophy ................4
2004 Fish Show winners list ..............5
2004 Fish Show weekend Photos ........7
Species Spotlight
Paracyprichromis nigripinnis ..........12
Keeping it Fun ................................13
Getting your cichlids to breed ..........15
Please welcome new members
HILDA MCKNIGHT • WENDY CORRADO
to the Society
SORRY FOR THE
DELAY
(Have combined
Oct & Nov, newsletter)
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
cashier’s desk.) You can also download an
application
form
from
our
website:
www.fryangle.com
I
Membership fees are $20 for the year, and
payable to Bermuda Fry-Angle 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.
See page 12 for details
2
FISHTALES
PRESIDENT’S PODIUM
’m pleased to say that the show weekend
went very well and that everyone seemed to
have a good time. Interestingly, this year saw
the most laid back approach to show-planning
in our history. Most of the organizing was
conducted by e-mail without any show
committee meetings being held. With this year
marking our 14th annual show, I suppose that
we have become accustomed to what needs to
be done.
David did a wonderful job building new
show stands that really made a visual impact
on those entering the show room. The lumber
cost the club a few hundred dollars but we now
have re-usable show stands for the foreseeable
future.
We had 66 show entries, which is more
than we had last year. Cichlids made up half of
the entries, which is not unusual for our shows.
I was pleased to see that a number of our
members got involved this year and I hope that
everyone found it a worthwhile experience.
Congratulations go to Nyon Steede for winning
Best in Show and to Howard Paynter for his
Reserve Best in Show. This was Howard’s
second fish show, so it shows what can be
done with a little effort.
Our visiting judge, Joe Ferdenzi, gave a
very entertaining presentation on “The
Romance of Aquariums” at the Friday night
banquet. Nyon took over responsibility for
organizing the food this year and he did a great
job – I think everyone enjoyed the edible side of
the banquet.
I would like to thank you all for the surprise
presentation at the banquet. Nyon caught me
by surprise with the award, for my dedication
and service to the society since its inception in
1989. It is always nice to be honoured by
friends and the presentation capped a great
I
PRESI
DEN
T
weekend. We have a wonderful
group of people in the club and it
really is a pleasure to be associated
with you all.
With all of the hard work behind us, the
membership was invited to relax on the
Sunday afternoon during a sailboat cruise with
Captain Leon on the “Sally Bum Bum”. Apart
from almost leaving people behind at Hawkins
Island, everyone seemed to have fun. Even
Woody, our mascot, went on the cruise. He
had a more peaceful time than during the fish
show, when the kids were attracted to him like
a magnet and seemed to enjoy spinning his
head around! I’ve promised to repair his
broken arm before the next meeting.
We get right back into the swing of things
at the November meeting with a presentation
by Dan Woodland on building a fish room. Dan
will be bringing fish for auction, so bring along
your cheque-books!
HINTS/TIPS/TRICKS
GENERAL
Use two heaters in a large tank, one set
a few degrees lower than the other,
rather than on large heater. For example,
if 200 watts are required, use two 100
watt heaters. This will improve heater
efficiency, and decrease the problems
that might be caused by a
malfunctioning heater.
– Raymond Albanese
MODERN AQUARIUM JANUARY 2004
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
3
THIS MONTH’S GUEST SPEAKER
NOVEMBER 19th, 2004 – 8PM
P O L I C E R E C R E AT I O N C LU B
DAN WOODLAND
an has been involved in the aquarium
hobby since the age of ten. His illness
began when his parent’s purchased a
ten-gallon tank where he spawned black mollies for the first time. At that point he was completely and hopelessly infected with the tropical
fish hobby. Dan has kept many different types
of aquatic life including: salt water fish, turtles,
indigenous Ohio species, and amphibians but
has turned most of his attention to Cichlids.
Active in his local fish club, the Ohio
Cichlid Association, for the past 18 years, Dan
has held the positions of President, Editor, program chairman, librarian, and is currently VicePresident. Maintaining over 1500 gallons of
water in his self-built fish room he has raised a
wide variety of animals including some of the
largest Cichlids.
In 1998 Dan began traveling to Central
America annually to collect wild fishes in an
effort to inject new specimens into the hobby
as well as taking a small part in the preservation of troubled Cichlids through captive breed-
D
ing. His 2002 trip was truly an “Adventure in
Panama” where his collecting party was
stranded on a remote beach overnight with no
food, water, or dry clothes. In 2003 Dan traveled to South America where a wealth of new
fishes were found.
Dan has written a number of articles on his
adventures, breeding cichlids, and other aquatic interests. His articles have appeared in
Cichlid News, Aquarium Fish Magazine,
Tropical Fish Hobbyist, and the American
Cichlid Association’s Buntbarsche Bulletin.
At the November meeting, Dan’s presentation will be:
Building a High Tech, Low Cost Fish Room:
This program looks at building a fish room from
the ground up. In many fish rooms, time and
fish health are important issues. This step-bystep design to building a modern fish room will
give anyone the ability to spend more time
working with their fish rather than maintaining
the aquariums.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
4
FISHTALES
A Special Presentation
n October 1st 2004 at our Annual Fish
Show banquette, Club President, and
founding member Craig Morfitt was
presented with a plaque in recognition of his
years of continuous dedicated service and
tireless work on behalf of the Bermuda FryAngle Aquarium Society.
Under the leadership of Craig, the Club
has grown in many aspects, i.e. we now enjoy
hosting six speakers a year, members have
access to species of fish that are not readily
available in Bermuda, membership is at an all
time high, and the calendar of events planned
for the year continues to contain interesting
events that cater to all members.
Not negating the contributions of the other
hard working and dedicated members that our
club is blessed with but, I as well as many other
members would attribute the success of our
modest club in great part to Craig. Craig, the
accolades are well deserved. Thank you for
helping to make the club what it is and for
sharing your wealth of knowledge with us so
that we can grow in the hobby.
Photos by Craig Morfitt
Photos by Eric Hirschberg
O
Member of the Year Trophy
he society has a new trophy that will be awarded on an annual basis. The Member of the
Year Trophy will be awarded at the Annual General Meeting each year to the person so
voted by the membership.
The idea arose from Kathryn Garcia's desire to donate and dedicate a trophy in memory
of her brother, Richard Card. Richie loved tropical fish and had aquariums for many years.
Kathryn even remembers an occasion when they had baby alligators (South American
Caiman) crawling around on their living room floor. Years ago, Richard and his brother, Alan,
owned and operated The Fin and Feather pet store that used to be on Cedar Avenue.
The trophy will have a cedar base and a hand blown Murano crystal "fish bag" with a
seahorse inside. I'm sure that it will make an impressive display in the homes of the annual
winners and will prove to be a fitting memorial to Richard.
We have yet to establish criteria for judging who will be the Member of the Year. Possible
considerations could include frequency of attending meetings; club-spirit; volunteerism within
the club; participation in club events such as Annual Show, Home Show, etc. We also need
to decide who will vote and when. One option would be a secret ballot at the AGM following
proposals on likely candidates. We will be discussing these options at upcoming meetings.
T
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
5
ANNUAL TROPICAL
FISH SHOW
200
5 W I N2nd,
N E R2004
S LIST
October
Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo
Lecture Room
Class 2. CHARACINS/CHARACOIDS
Class 1. CICHLIDAE
Aulonocara species
1st
Howard Paynter – Aul Bandawe
2nd Chris Roy – Aul. Lwanda
3rd Devin Lightbourne – Aul. sp.
Tetras
Lake Tanganyika
•
1st
Jeffrey Porter – Julidochromis transcriptus
Valerie Hirschberg – Silver Tipped Tetra
COME
ANDHirschberg
SEE – Silver Tipped Tetra
1st
Valerie
Other American
Characins
BERMUDA’S
MOST
BEAUTIFUL
Howard Paynter – Red Hook Silver Dollar
1st
AND
UNUSUAL FISH
Other Lake Malawi
African Characins
1st
Devin Lightbourne – Copadichromis borleyi
ON DISPLAY
None Entered AND IN
2nd Wendy Corrado – Labeotropheus fuelleborni
3rd Wendy Corrado – Tropheops sp.
COMPETITION
BEST
IN CLASS – CHARACINS
Tropical Fish Show
3. CYPRINIDAE
• Door Class
Prize
Other African or Asian Cichlid
Barbs Eclipse Aquarium)
1st
Devin Lightbourne – Haplochromis Zebra (12 gallon
None Entered
Obliquidens
• Raffle Prize
Botias and other Loaches
Angelfish and Discus
• Dry Goods
Auction
1st Simon Onabowale – Clown Loach
1st
Eric Hirschberg - Angelfish
Central American
1st
Nyon Steede – Theraps synspilum
2nd
Nyon Steede – Vieja fenestratum
3rd
Nyon Steede – Theraps maculicauda
SHOW YOUR OWN
BEST FISH
Danios, Rasboras, Minnows and other Cyprinidae
1st
Simon Onabowale – Red Tailed Black Shark
2nd
Simon Onabowale – Giant Danio
Fancy Goldfish
1st
South American over 6” (full adult size)
Jeffrey Porter - Comet
Anyone can enter the show
1st
Nyon Steede – Crenicara saxatillis
Koi
2nd
Wendy Corrado - Geophagus surinamensisShowing your fish can be satisfing,
None Entered
fun,
and easy to do
3rd
Eric Hirschberg – Geophagus surinamensis
Killifish
South American under 6” (full adult size)
Entry1st
formsEric
areHirschberg
available
on bermudae
- Fundulus
None Entered
www.fryangle.com or at Noah’s Ark
BEST IN CLASS – CICHLIDS
Nyon Steede – Theraps synspilum
The Bermuda Fry-Angle Aquarium Society is a group of
dedicated fish hobbyists that meets monthly for
informative presentations on fish keeping, including
presentations from overseas speakers and fish auctions.
BEST IN CLASS – CYPRINIDS
All entries Simon
for theOnabowale
show must– be
beforeBlack
9pmShark
RedinTailed
Thursday 30th September, 2004
For Information regarding showing or visiting
contact ???????? at ??????
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
6
FISHTALES
Class 4. CATFISH
African Catfish
1st
Howard Paynter – Synodontis decorus
Jason Shirley – Synodontis eupterus
2nd
3rd
Chris Roy – Synodontis angelicus
Asian Catfish
1st
Devin Lightbourne - Mystus sp.
Corydoras
None Entered
“Suckermouth” Catfish
1st
Nyon Steede - Acanthicus adonis
Eric Hirschberg – Orange Fin Leopard Pleco
2nd
3rd
Chris Roy – Ancistris sp.
Other Catfish
1st
Ryan Terceira – Jaguar Catfish
BEST IN CLASS – CATFISH
Nyon Steede - Acanthicus adonis
Class 5. POECILIDAE
Swordtails and Platies
1st
Valerie Hirschberg - Platy
2nd
Walter Welch - Platy
3rd
Walter Welch - Swordtail
Mollies
None Entered
Guppies
1st
Stephen Corrado – Fancy Guppy
BEST IN CLASS - LIVEBEARERS
Valerie Hirschberg – Platy
BEST IN CLASS – ANABANTOIDS
Simon Onabowale - Blue Gourami
Class 7.
TRUE BONY FISHES
Knife Fishes and Mormyrids (Elephant Noses)
None Entered
Rainbow Fishes
1st
Jeffrey Porter – Bosemani Rainbow
2nd
Jeffrey Porter – Bosemani Rainbow
3rd
Stephen Corrado – Australian Rainbow
Gobies and Blennies
None Entered
Snakeheads and Arowanas
None
Spiny Eels
None Entered
Other Bony Fishes
None Entered
BEST IN CLASS – TRUE BONY FISHES
Jeffrey Porter – Bosemani Rainbow
BEST CICHLID BY A JUNIOR
Brian Terceira – Deepwater Haplochromis
BEST GOLDFISH BY A JUNIOR
None entered
BEST LIVEBEARER BY A JUNIOR
Valerie Hirschberg - Platy
Class 6. ANABANTOIDS
BEST EGGLAYER BY A JUNIOR
Stephen Corrado – Betta Splendens
Bettas
1st
2nd
3rd
BEST IN SHOW BY A JUNIOR
Brian Terceira – Deepwater Haplochromis
Stephen Corrado – Betta splendens
Stephen Corrado – Betta splendens
Kathryn Garcia – Betta Splendens
b) Gouramies
1st
Simon Onabowale - Blue Gourami
2nd
Eric Hirschberg – Flame Gourami
3rd
Valerie Hirschberg – Dwarf Gouram
c) Other
None Entered
BEST IN SHOW
Nyon Steede – Theraps synspilum
RESERVE BEST IN SHOW
Howard Paynter – Aulonocara sp. Bandawe
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
7
ANNUAL TROPICAL
FISH SHOW
… Start of2nd,
a busy
weekend
October
2004
Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo
Lecture Room
After David’s
hard work, we
now have
purpose built
show stands
COME AND SEE
BERMUDA’S MOST BEAUTIFUL
AND UNUSUAL FISH
ON DISPLAY AND IN
COMPETITION
Craig & Peter
assisting David with
the construction
• Tropical Fish Show
• Door Prize
(12 gallon Eclipse Aquarium)
• Raffle Prize
• Dry Goods Auction
SHOW YOUR OWN
BEST FISH
Craig and Woody getting ready
for the arrival of the fish
Tanks are ready, waiting on the fish
Anyone can enter the show
Showing your fish can be satisfing,
fun, and easy to do
Entry forms are available on
www.fryangle.com or at Noah’s Ark
All entries for the show must be in before 9pm
Thursday 30th September, 2004
The Bermuda Fry-Angle Aquarium Society is a group of
dedicated fish hobbyists that meets monthly for
informative presentations on fish keeping, including
presentations from overseas speakers and fish auctions.
Photos by Howard Paynter, Sr
For Information regarding showing or visiting
Wonderatif Woody
contact ????????
?????? knows “The
Bully’ is checking his eye lids
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
8
FISHTALES
… Here are some of the Stars
“Best in Show”
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
9
Photos by
Craig Morfitt
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
10
FISHTALES
… The show banquet and presentation of Awards
at the Aquarium
Photos by
Eric
Hirschberg
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
11
… and finally some of the club members join Woody for a
Sunday afternoon of fun and relaxation on board Capt.
Leon’s catamaran “Sally Bum Bum”
Photos by
Derek
Fisher
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
12
FISHTALES
SPECIES SPOTLIGHT
Originally published in
Hill Country Cichlid Club’s Newsletter
Vol. 1 Issue 3 April 2004
Paracyprichromis nigripinnis
by Roberto De Leon
aracyprichromis nigripinnis or Blue Neon is
a maternal mouthbrooder native to the
rocky areas of Lake Tanganyika where
caves and other hiding places are found. The
surface temperatures of the water range
between 78-82 degrees and 70 degree at
deeper levels. The pH of the lake ranges
between 8.6 and 9.5. I
obtained seven full
grown adults from
George Martinez. P.
nigripinnis
is
an
elongated fish with a
dull orange color and
iridescent
blue
horizontal
stripes.
Males achieve a size
of 4.5 inches. Females
achieve a size of 3.5
inches and have the
same colors as the
male although the blue
striping is less intense.
The fish bred in a 75 gallon tank which
contained pool filter sand and Texas holey rock.
The tank was filtered by an Aquaclear 500 and
Filstar XP3 canister and had a pH of ~7.8. I
performed weekly water changes equal to 1520% of the tank volume. I used fluorescent
lighting for duration of 10 hours each day. In the
wild, P. nigripinnis feed on zooplankton, but I fed
them brine shrimp flake, Cyclop-eeze and HBH
pellets.
I did not observe the spawning, but these
fish will generally spawn on a diagonal rock
allowing the eggs to roll down until picked up by
the female. The brood consisted of 6 fry. After
spawning, the female retreated to a hiding place
P
to avoid harassment by other fish. To protect the
fry, I moved the female to an empty tank until
she release. The total numbers of eggs were
unknown but spawns are generally small (3-10
eggs).
The fry were release about 20 days after
spawning but since I did not observe the spawn,
I am not exactly sure
how long she held.
The
fry
were
brown/grey in color
and of pretty good
size at about 1 cm.
They
were
free
swimming with no
yolk sack and began
feeding immediately.
The fry tank uses a
small power filter for
filtration. The mother
showed no care for
the fry. She was
returned to the main
tank the day she released. I started the fry off on
Cyclop-eeze and crushed flake which they eat
well. Growth rate is yet to be seen.
It is best to keep these fish in a large group.
These fish are a wonderful addition to a
community tank. They aren't aggressive and are
very beautiful. A side-effect of having them in the
tank is that normally very shy fish feel more
comfortable when they venture from their hiding
places. I would recommend this fish to anyone
with at least a 3 foot tank. Tank mates should not
be very aggressive. These fish are also very
sensitive to stress. I lost one of the adults when
I first obtained the group. Care should be taken
to keep stress to a minimum.
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
13
THIS ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM AQUARTICLES
Originally published in The Calquarium Volume 42, Number 3, November 1999
Keeping It Fun
by Grant Gussie, Calgary Aquarium Society
he aquarium hobby has a high rate of drop
out. It always has had, and probably always
will have. Persons who drop out of the
hobby will give you lots of different reasons for it:
lack of time with a new job or increased family
commitments; moved on to other interests; difficulty of moving tanks to new home; etc . But the
fact is that for all of the dropouts, the aquarium
hobby had stopped being fun.
There are many reasons for the aquarium
hobby to stop being fun. All of them are however
avoidable.
The most common hobby killer is also the
most easily avoided: lack of success. If you are
reading this article you have had at least some
exposure to our aquarium club; and as all its
members can attest, fish can be kept alive,
healthy, and reproducing. Success is available to
anyone who will take the time to learn the techniques, and you can learn those techniques most
easily by simply talking to club members and be
willing to learn.
So you get over the initial "how to" hurdle of
the novice and can now expect your fish to grow
and live out the normal lengths of their lives, and
to even reproduce.
In all probability, you will then go through a
"kid in the candy store" phase. There are so many
beautiful fish that you could keep, if only if you
had another tank. And of course, your previouslyowned fish are now producing babies. More
tanks! Always more!
This can lead to serious changes to your living quarters. Sensibly, all the new tanks should
end up in their own room; hence that peculiar
invention, the "fish room". This is pretty much the
only way to insure some degree of domestic harmony…the lack of which is almost guarantied to
kill your career in the hobby.
T
And tank proliferation has another side.
Every tank you own requires maintenance.
How many tanks can you maintain before that
maintenance becomes "work"?
Be realistic. Some club members have over
50 tanks, and although the sight of such a fish
room may make you drool, could YOU actually
take care of that many? Or rather, how many
tanks can you realistically maintain and still enjoy
it? When will raising that catfish spawn be a chore
you dread…rather than an enjoyable challenge?
And don’t be fooled into thinking that more
tanks equals more profit. Turning your basement
into a "fish factory" will not mean that you can
quit your day job. Clearly a "fish factory" fish
room can easily lead to burn out. Spawning and
raising the same fish over and over again
because that fish has a ready market will not
keep you interested for long, especially since it is
certain that, no matter how ready that market is,
it will not put you in fine wine and sports cars. It
is very difficult to make a living out of ornamental
fish…this is a hobby and don’t forget it.
And it is a good one. Breeding fish is fun. It
is a challenge. It is rewarding. It is very interesting.
It even does have its own (modest) financial
returns. And it is not excruciatingly difficult.
So keep it fun by not taking on more than
you can handle. If you do find yourself "working"
rather than "enjoying", cut back.
Cutting back does however produce its own
stresses. Your 50-tank fish room represents a significant financial investment. Can you stand seeing 45 of those tanks laying empty while you work
with your five remaining active tanks? If not, can
you sell the empty tanks off at, what will certainly
be, a significant loss without resenting the
hobby’s financial realities?
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
14
FISHTALES
It is much better to not go over board in the
first place.
You can also avoid burn out by pre-planning
your fish room to reduce the maintenance
involved.
First of all, make sure your fish room has running water. Water is heavy. You don’t want to
carry it.
And the second thing is to seriously consider a central filtration system. That way you only
have to change water in one (very large) tank system, rather than in many individual tanks. Ditto for
filter maintenance. This gets rid of more labor
than you can imagine. You can therefore keep
many more fish with very little more work.
But central filtration systems do have their
own problems. You must quarantine your fish
before introducing them to your system. This
means that at least one tank must be kept isolated from the system. I know, I know. Every one
says to quarantine fish and nobody ever
does…but when all your tanks are on one filter
system, you have to. No fooling. I’m serious.
Nothing will cause "burn out" faster than watching 50 tanks full of previously healthy fish die.
And secondly, the books tell me some
aquarists use stuff called "medications". I don’t
and never have, and don’t know anybody who
does, and quite frankly don’t think you should,
but if you do, dosing a central filter system is a
royal pain.
You may even go one step further and build
an automatic water change system for your central filter system. This can be a good idea for a lot
of reasons. But be careful and make sure you
keep it simple. Water change systems that rely on
water level monitors, valves, or timers are almost
guarantied to fail (eventually). Instead, use a simple overflow. Have a tap slowly dripping water
into a tank, and have the water in the central filter
box flow into the sewer through a simple overflow
pipe.
I would highly recommend that a plant filter
be used for a central filtration system. Fast-growing plants, such as temple plants (Nomaphila
stricta) are very good at removing nitrates and
phosphates, especially when coupled with a continuous drip water change system. Such a system, coupled with reasonable stocking rates, will
keep your water pure and algae growth low, so all
you need to do is feed your fish!
Another thing to do to keep from burning out
is to actively seek new challenges. If swordtails
are old hat, or you no longer think the world really needs a blue and gold Cambodia betta, then
move on to something else.
A lot of aquarists specialize within the hobby
to some extent, which is fine unless they completely ignore other aspects of the hobby or are
unwilling to "change specialties" if bored with
their current one. Popular fresh water specialties
include catfish, rainbowfish, killifish, live bearers
(with the subspecialties of guppies, sword tails,
wild types, etc.), cichlids (with the subspecialties
of discus, Rift Lake, dwarfs, etc. ), and aquatic
plants. Marine specialties include corals and
marine fish breeding. Participating in another
specialty will introduce you to new facts, fish, and
people, and can spark renewed interest in the
hobby.
Another thing to avoid burnout is to find what
is for you the right level of involvement in your
aquarium club. If you do nothing with your club
but skim through its magazine and go to the
occasional auction, then your club won’t help
your keep up your enthusiasm level. Get more
involved! You get out of a club – any club – what
you put into it. On the other hand, if you find yourself taking on more and more of the club’s duties
because no one else will volunteer, you are in vast
danger of burning out. Again, don’t go overboard!
Look at our annual show, which didn’t happen
this year. Why? Because the few people that did
all the work simply burnt out over it. It is too big a
job for just a few volunteers. If everyone did a
moderate amount then people will neither burn
out from overexertion, nor drop out from lack of
enthusiasm.
There is enough content in the aquarium
hobby to last a lifetime. A child with a bedroom
goldfish could go on to spend an entire lifetime
with aquatic creatures, all the while never ceasing
to learn about biology or animal husbandry. Or
that same child can spend a lifetime with an
empty aquarium
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
FISHTALES
15
THIS ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM
Cichlid-forum.com
Getting Your Cichlids To Breed
by Marc Elieson
ichlids in general are prolific spawners,
but they don't always cooperate. Below,
I've prepared some comments about
breeding cichlids and included some tips for
getting your cichlids to spawn. These are some
methods I've used and that seem to work
pretty well for me. I hope they help!
C
male. Having at least 2 females will spread the
damage an aggressive male will dish out. And,
if he is not ripping their fins too often, they will
be stronger and healthier, and hence more
likely to mate.
Diet is also important. I raise my Victorians and
Malawi Cichlids on spirulina flake, with
Breeding Tips
Perhaps the best piece of advice I can give you
to get your Cichlids to breed is to keep them
healthy. A good filtering system, with regular
water changes, with the water chemistry
matching their requirements, will keep them in
good spirits. Only healthy fish will be interested
in mating. Because females will be required to
incubate the eggs for up to four weeks, she will
need to be strong and healthy before she will
be able to go without eating for that period of
time.
It is also a good idea to have several females to
one male of each species you keep. This way,
not just one female takes the aggression of the
supplements of brine shrimp, blood worms,
krill, and plankton. It is important to go light on
the latter in order to prevent them from getting
"Malawi Bloat." But feeding them frozen food
once a week (and only what they can consume
in about 30 seconds) seems to get them in the
mood. I have noticed that most of my Cichlids
have spawned within a few hours after I feed
them one of these frozen foods. The most
plausible explanation for this is that when a fish
is going to breed, it has a certain amount of
energy and materials (e.g., proteins, fats, etc.)
that it can spare from the resources it needs to
survive and grow. These materials will be put
into the eggs. And so by feeding your Cichlids
protein-rich foods they then have more
BERMUDA FRY-ANGLE AQUARIUM SOCIETY
16
FISHTALES
resources to put into making eggs. The more
resources they have available, the more eggs
they'll make.
The last thing that I know has helped me and
many others in getting their fish to spawn are
caves. I use holey rock (limestone) with its
many tunnels and caves. I know some people
use clay pots. What's important is that they
have a place they can hide, and call their own.
continue to spawn with surprising regularity.
Also note, I have noticed that the first time a
female gets pregnant is often unsuccessful.
They tend to be finicky and don't carry the eggs
full term (either swallowing or spitting them out
after a week). All of my females have had some
sort of trouble the first time they conceived. But
by the second time, they usually figure it out.
Still Can't get them to spawn, huh?
One problem people often experience is that
their fish are overfed. What you can do, if they
are sexually mature, is to separate mating pairs
(you could do this with dividers, separate
tanks, etc.) and starve them for a week. It is
important to separate them because Cichlids
get more aggressive with hunger. You should
notice males digging a lot, making nests, and
preparing to spawn. After a day or two of this
behavior, reintroduce the females and wha-la! - they should spawn.
This is especially important for mouthbrooders
because they will need extra protection from
enemies while they are holding because they
can get pretty thin and weak.
Just a word of encouragement for any firsttimers: The first time mating for a female is the
biggest milestone. Once she has reached
maturity and learned how to mate, she will
Some supposedly easy-to-breed species can
often be finicky. Make sure they have personal
nooks, males have ample female selection
(ratios of at least 2 females to one male), and
keep water temps around 76ºF or 78ºF, with
alkaline, hard water.
I would just encourage you to be patient. Some
species, like Auloncara and nyererei are very
slow to reach reproductive levels.
Need more information on Breeding?
Well check out our library, we have some great
books for you to borrow and its free to members.
Call Carol at 236-1533 Mon-Fri
between 9:30 and 6pm
A complete list is availble on our web site: www.fryangle.com
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
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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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