15:01 April

'.O.Sox IS,
SALACU.VA,
VidDltiA,
51 '3.
ALL. CICHLIDS
BOUGHT. SOLD
(WHOrL • •ALII
ONLY)
TH
CICHLID
MONT LV
•
COMMITTEE FOR 1986
PBESIDENT
DANNY GENOVESE
GHAJIAlVl HOWE
. SECRETARY
TREASURER
KEITH PATFORD
JOHN EMMS
VICE PRESIDENT
SHOW SECRETARY
AART LANGELAAR
TRADmG TABLE SECRETARY
SOCIAL SECRErARY
LEE
LIBRARIAN
•
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8g8. 4870)
scarr HAYMES
898.4870
AMANDA GENOVESE 527.2546 ~
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::J
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Front cover Artwork and Design by AMANDA GENOVESE.
The Cichlid Monthly is Registered by Australia
Post - Publication No. V8H0291
The Cichlid Society is a member of the
Federation of Victorian Aquarium Societies.
Edited bV AMANDA GENOVESE
VOL 15
No
1.
CONTENTS
~
Page
3
Editorial.
Nile Perch eats all and Sundry in its New HOJre.
I'tinutes.
8 -10 Spawning Apistogramna Kleei ans Agassizi
By George and Barbara f\1athis. (Reprint)
11-12 RAMS. The Butterfly Cichlids
by Frederick J. KerT.
13-14 ROWemin' 'round.
15 ApistograJTJTl1a Ortmani. by C.Drew (H & DAS)
16-19 How about Sane Angelfish By Larry Phillips.
20-21
Diagr'ams. re Angelfish.
22
Table Show Report.
23 Cichlid Scene.
4 -6
7
~
bit about us ./
The Victorian Cichlid Society was formed by
Cichlidophiles in March 1972, thus becoming
the first specialist aquarist group in the
State of Victoria.
The aims of the V.C.S. are to promote the
keeping of cichlids, to gain and disseminate
knowledge of their habits through 6lides, films,
booKs, lectures, overseas magazines, articles
by members and discussion with fellow members
or other experts in the field.
The Clchlid Monthly is pUblished monthly by
THE VICTORIAN CICHLID SOCIETY,
C/- 23 Mangana Drive,
MULGRAVE
VICTORIA
AUSTRALIA
3170.
~/
REPRINTS :
Anyone wishing to reprint material from
any Cichlid Monthly, may direct their
requests to authors, via the Editor • .
~
--l
IAL
SomeA:..oneA Mme. pe.opte have. 9!Le.at d-i66-icu.Uy in pttonoWtc.<.ng
~u.1aJr. woJr..d;~.
It .6e.em6 qu-i;te. evident thaX. I .6u.66V1.
eltom -60me. M4t on f.lpe.e.ch .bnpe.cU.men.t wlUch 1 th1.nk I -6hou.ld
C£lnt.,u,U a phyf.l..i..c.-ia.n a.bout,
M 1 do not .6e.em to be. a.bte .to
mouth the. lAXJJtd NO. EveJty:time. 1 go :to fla.y.it, U comeA
ou;t- "YeA-:t O.K. -orr1..y one. moM ye.a.JL though.-Suc.h a. f.£til..e.
(AXJILd ! - bu..t U me.a.n.6 a lot - tw ~ g dew-UteA, no lack
On a.tt:Uc1.e..6 - no typ..i.ng plWblem.6, no coUati..n.g nJ.ght6 ­
no h~c.he.f.l·~. e.tc.. e.tc.••• Oh we.tl - one. yean '.6 not
.tong - and j uot tlUf.tk :the.!Le r.6 on..e..y 10 molte. magf.l .to do.
A{yteJl. thA..6 one.!! I' U J.J:taJr.:t pltact.L6,ing now. NO - NO - NO - NO.
t!Je.fuome. :to new c.ommille.e. - (eApe.c..ia.liy to my de.aJL hMband
Vanny who aR..6a .6unneM uJWm a .6peec.h ,impe.d.i.me.n:tJ.
Thankyou :to tho.6 e who have. 1te:tiJr.e.d nJWm the. c.otrmifte.e. ­
Ke.vht Altc.h<..Wd ht ~ who ha..6 f.leAve.d on c.ormU.tie.e.
n0lt many ye.a!Ul. We. .took eoJtW:Vr.d .to a happy yefVl., oe C£c.hU.d
k.e.e,ung wUh much ht .6:WIte. bOlt you.
1 /AKJu.U Uke. :to apo£.ogize. to you a.U.. nolt fu.6t month'.6 magazm
not lteac.lU.ng the. deadUne. and ..i.nto yoM home.6 be.b0lte. .the.
me~.
TriXI yea.tr..6 we.n:t by wUhout a .ta...tnte.d lte.c.oltd a.nd
MuJephy MAuc.k. afjcUn. Oh well f.luc.h M Un e.••••••
1 wae, .eJ1de.a.voWt j"f) Qcd. aLf. ~u.t.wt.e. mGtaaz.lne.6 out .on,:time..
p!Wv,Ld.u1f) '{;11.e.!L~ -Me ni'f -molte. ma.c.tUJlte. ~e.a.tu10[,(,tU, - eu: ~ne. yYUi'l.-t:V1.-6
L
AU. bo!L:theomhtg ~e.6 bltOm you fAX)u£.d be. much apptte.c...i.a.:te.d ••
HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT
3
,
~e
Nile perch eats all 2Dd sundrYm its new home
r
A species of fish that was intrcduced into Africa's biggest
lake in 1960 has caused an ecological catastrophe~
according to scientists reporting to the UN's Food and
Agriculture Org:inisation (FAa). While indigenous species
in lake Vlctoria becane extinct and local p30ple lose an
important source of protein, fishIng ccmpanies pI m to
export the fish-the Nile perch-to European markets.
The Nile perch is a carnivore which can grow to over 100
kilograms. It is not native to Lake Victoria, the huge
rift valley lake that straddles Uganda, Kenya and_ T-anzania.
During the 1950s~ Nile perch were it1troduced to ponds near
the lake by projects aimed at supplementing the relatively
poor diet of the local people.
According to scientists who surveyed the Lake Victoria
fishery for the FAa, a srrall number of fingerlin g; found
their way into the lake :in 1959. The species was then
deliberately introduced. During the 1970s,perch spread in
the lake. They cannot now be removed.
:Before the mtroduction of the perch, locals took indig,en
-ous fish~ such as cichlids, to supply markets as far
mey as Nairobi. Nm-l ~ many unique species may be extinct.
The cichlids fed on plankton or on detritus and fell victim
to the glant, voraciousperch.
Cichlids were easy prey~ so much so that the perch have
depleted the stock to such low levels that small are eating
the shrimp which fonn the base of the food chain in th e
lake. The large perch, meanwhile, have nothing to eat
but small perch.
The ecology of lake Victoria is no longer stable. The FAa
hopes to improve the situation by adding more cich lids.
It is not sure if this will work.
It is not clear hOI-v the introduction of the perch viaS
allowed to happen in the first place.
The FAO denies
being involved, and its scientists warned against it at
the t:ime. .f\!Jore protein can be produced by prir.ury consume
-rs, like the cichlids:1 than predators in any case, so
the perch could never have improved the lake 1 s total ~Tield.
The FAO estimates the overall productivity in tJle lakevJas
down by 80 per cent in 1984 "due to energy losses by the
predator" . Mefu'1while" however, perch were in troduced to
nearby Lake Naivasha in 1972. The fishery there has now
been abandoned.
The perch has produced other problems for the local fisher
-maIl.
The fish I s oily flesh will no dry properly :in the
sun, once the local method for preserving fish, but rruJst
be smol<:ed, which burns valuable f:irel'lood.
All this is leading to to the collapse of local_ fishe:ries
in favour of travll=rs. Sea Containers, a conglomerate DqSed
in Britain, has just signed a contract v'lith Kenya 's fishe
-ries department to catch and freeze perch for Europe .
Fisheries authorities hope this will easeof the giant fish
on the lake.
Scientists at Leiden Universityin Holland, who have studi
-ed lake Victoria drew attention to tl1e disaster last year.
They ".rarned that potentially disastrous introduction progra
-mInes Vlere under vray, notably in Lake Nalavr.L Like Lake
Victoria, Lake Mala""ri is an ancient lake in which species
have evclved that exist nowhere else. The scientists feared
that introduction of the zoo-plankton eater LiITInothrissa
VJQuld cause extinctions like those in Lake Victoria.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature
(mCN) published these fears last December. hOVleve r,. Digby
Lewis, senoir fisheries research officer with r'1ala~'n' s
Fisheries Departrrent, denies that his department plans
such introductions. Tanzanian authorities, on the ot fer,
have claimed that Malawi plan to introduce alien spec ~s
of fish.
The reports from lake Victoria have also worTied people in
Australia, wber~ Nile perch were to be :introduced as a
sport fish. Robert Lamb of the ruCN says that those plans,
Which had been approved in the course of a detailed
envoirolll'rental impact assesrnent, have noW' been dropped.
Accorcling to the FAO' s_lbbin Wellcorrrne, 60-80 per cent of
the world's fishing business is based on introduced species,
such as the North American salmon and trout, which supply
most of the European fish farms.
There have been successful introductions of alien species
of fish :into other lakes in Africa. Limnothrissa that were
put into the new lake behird the Kariba dam in Zimbabwe and
into Lake Kivu between Rwanda a..'ld Zaire have done no harm.
REPRINTED FRCM
"NEW SCIENTISTS"
MARCH 1986 .
CONQRA-rULRrIONS
71
MINUTES
~
meeting opened at 8.25 with 26 rrembers and one visitor
present. The President ~lCOITEd all.
Apologies were recieved. Minutes of previous rreeting
taken as read· and motion-moved by Aart and seconded by
illke. Treasurers report was given and recieved on a motom
moved by Grant and seconded by Kevin.
Correspondence was read. QUIZ.. Adam defeated Grant (on
the tiebreaker) and won sane plants.
Aart won the article contest and generously donated it back
for a raffle prize. After the reminders a short break was
called. Graham then showed slides "llisically on Cic liids lf
and these were discussed by all present.
At 10.02 the meeting closed so the AGM could be held.
At 10.24 the meeting reopened with the newly elected president
in the chair.
Show results were announced.
DRA\AJ PRIZE.. Steve won the heater,
Graham won the frozen focxi.
Door prizes of plants donated by Andrew Challingsworth
were distributed.
The meeting adjourned for supper at 10.35pn.
Please note that our HCME SHOW is :in May ~ and now is the
tiJJl9 to get started on getting that tank spruced up for
showing. If you are not sure ~~~'/ to go about entering
or want more information please feel free to ask any
committee member. At this next meeting (April) I will be
giving a revised talk on setting up tanks (Aquascaping).
I hope I can answer a few questions or give you some ideas ..
.7
SPAWNlliG APPISTmHAlY1MA KLEEI aYld APIST03RAIVJ£l1A AGASSIZ I .
by Georg,-e and Barbara Mathis.
(Reprinted from T.C.M. July 1973 Vol 2. No 3.)
Three years ago we purchased 6 dwarf cichlids. We believed
them to be A. Agassizi which we had been looking for. \vell
5 ou.t of six isn I t bad. 'That I s what we got $ 5 ..A.pisto
agassizi and 1 unidentified one who hid 111 a plantp'OG all
the t:1:me. Not much attention 1A!aS paid to the fish wrJ.le
they were gr'owing up, they were kept iYl a 15 gallon tank
with a pair of Krebs and some A.Rarrdnezi. This tank was set
up for breeding Dwarf Cichlids, lots of caves, plants and
live worms and live plants. When the Appistogr-arrms. Agassizi
were old enough to sex we discovered that we r..ad 1 female
and four males. But that's beside the piont. While 1"J€ were
gazing at the A. agassizi tI'\Jlng to determine the sex of the
inbabitalllt of the flower pot was sl:eken out and when we had
a good look at it we were quite shaken. It was gorgeous,
obviously a male, about 2 inches in length from snout to tip
of caudal. The body shape was the same as the agassizi and
tre background body colour was the sarre, but th Ere the
similarity ended.
'The first six or seven rays of the dorsal fin were separated ­
. and elongated the first 2 or 3 rays being aJrnost 1 inch long ..
These rays were tiped in yellow. On either side of the
dorsal f:in running down the length of the fish was a band of
ITBrOon ar' dark red, the gill plate was flecked with nurrerous
greenish blue jewels. The pelvic fins were lavender, with
black and white lateral lines. Overall I think this is the
most beautifal fish I have ever seen. Needless to say we
forget all about the Agassizi and set out to find a mate for
our unidentified find. No luck. we thought we had SOITEthing
really rare, permps a new fish. John Martin identified the
fish as APPIS'IDGRAlVIlVIA KLEEI, narred for a Dr. A. Klee, and
pronounced claye eye,' and said he had seen it around
occasionally
He was alerted to the search and w CB lUCky
enough to find a pair for himse l.f, but that didn't help us
any. The male died after a one year monastic st cw in our
fish room.• As luck would have it we found the fish again
under the catchall of II dwa:rf cicblids 11 • We snapped up all
twelve juveniles in the dealers tank and provided them with
a gallon rodel dwarf cicblid hane. Even though the great
building was going on at this tirre trese fish were given
treatrrent ,frequent water changes, live food and too much
observation.
0
itJhen the new fish room was completed they were the first lllhab­
-itanta. A ten gallon tank was -set up on a high shelf where
uld be tre warrtEst. The tank contained red flin t gravel, three
plant pot caves, several large stones and lots and lots of
live plants. As the temperature rose to 760 the males started
to spar with one another and the fenales started to fatten up.
Before long the dominent IIE.le asserted himself and set up rouse
keeping in the choicest pot. He:in turn was court Ell by three
femles. The dcminent female chased the other two away ~
started to clean the pot with the IIE.le. Gravel started to
shoot out of the top and the side and all the other inhabitants
were kept well away. One day the rrale CCl1re flying out and was
not permitted to enter again. He had to content himself with
guarding the entrance, and tanking an occasional peak inside,
for which he was always sternly reprimanded by t re fenale. We
knew they had spawned and prepared hatching tank for we heard
that these apistog:raIIIn3.s were notorious egg eate IS. A two gal1h
drum bowl was filled with aged tap water with 15 drops of meth­
-ylene blue added and an airstone to keep the water circulating,
a heater added to get the water up to 800. The pot was reroved
from the spawning tank and 75 or 80 bright eggs, red in colour
.q
were cOill1ted. Three days later the wrigglers were seen to
have fallen to the bottom of the bowl. Four days later the
wrigglers were up and swirrming aroill1d and eager to eat the
brine shr:lirro that was being offered •
•
two weeks after hatching the fry were removed to a bare 10
gallon tank. The temperature was kept at a constant 800.
The fry were fed twice a day with newly hatched brine shr:linp
and micro worms and once with crushed Tetra mi.Y1 flake food. I
Apistogramma fry do not grow as quickly as other latger cichl:
cichlids but at four months they were an average length of
3/4 inch and even at this stage some of the males were show­
ing a distinctive maroon stripe along the dorsal fin.
He still have two pad.rs of A. Kleei fran the orig:inal 12 fish
and the rest have been distributed to local hobbyists. The
finnage on the males is W1believable, the dorsal spines are
one inch long, the ventral fins are tipped with yellow and
a little longer than one inch and the lyretail would make a
fancy finned swordtail jealous.
The A.lG.eei haa hooked us on appistograrnrrB.s and we now
possess several different ldnds. l.ve go far afield when we
hear toot a store has a new dwarf cichlid and we never !lass
a tank with that familiar catch all. We can always be found
kneeling before the tank vr.!.th our noses pressed to the glass
giving ",,-I-I top :inbalYibmt:-- '=I J"ln~e R:oing over before rroving
to the next tank: Half the fun of fjrtdjno- thp;::;p fish is
dlscoVering a new one and pesterjrtg hell aut of one of the
experts until he can identify it.
000000000000000000000000000000000000
l' m a6MA...d .:the dalj-6 0b 6..Lnd..&tg a new -6pe..uu in a -6hop
waJ..tJ.ng :to be. J..de.ili6..Le..d aILe.. no longeJL wUh lL6, bu.:t j lL6,t
hnag..ine. how muc.h bW1 l i wou.td have. be.e..n bOlt C..LchU..dopille..J.>
-Ut .:the.. goo d old My!.> ~ 06 plen;t:,i.{p1. ava..i.table.. C..ic.hf.J..fi6 boJt
.oa,£,e •••••••.•..•
,0
~a
~o
m
!
.EBUTTERFLY CICBLID·\
by frederick J. Kerr
DW ARF CrCHUDS ARE MORE
$
talked about ~ written about th<!n
they are s~en. A number of factors
worle against most dwarfs becoming
widely available. Many are either scar­
ce in nature or they produce few fry.
TIle most commonly seen dwarf cichlid
is our present subject, the ram or but­
terfly cichlid. The availability of the
ram is largely due to the skill of Orien­
tal breeders in producing this species in
substantia! numbers.
ALTHOUGH
black and an eyestripe is often pr.::sent.
In .addition the shadows of several
cross bars are visible on the body.
FEMALES
ARE
SIMILAR
IN
coloration to the males, but they de­
velop a reddish flush on the abdomen
when in breeding condition. Females
are generally smaller than males and
have shorter fins. Some males develop
extremely long ventral fins and this
may be a fin mutation. Older males
MOST
rams available are do­
mesticated fish from the
Orient, some wild rams are
imported each year from
Colombia and Venezuela.
TIIDlli A,!lE lWO c.oWR
varieties, the original wild
or blue r:lm and a mut~ted
form called the gold ram.
Each has its beauty. The ram
in breeding coloration. is a
beautiful fish with the
female being just as color­
ful as the male. In the blue
form the body color is
overlayed with iridescent
8~~~:,~·A.~~Ef3~.';';~
blue with a yellow flush The most common dwarf cichlid, the ram <Papifiocnromis
over the head ,and ~b- ramieresi) is one of the most colorful and peaceful. The gold
domen. The nose IS reddIsh, l'ariety is as l'Olorful as the wild form. Photo by Frederick J. Kerr
and this color shades back
- over the head and reappears in [he ven­
tral fins.
THE UNPAIRED FINS ARE SPOT·
- ted blue and red and the dorsal fin
. has a bright red margin. Black mark­
ings come and go with the mood of the
fish, but the largest spot at about mid­
point is usually displayed. The first few
rays of the dorsal and ventral fins are
which are in breeding condition. Th~
on the nose of the male and on the
z.bdomen of the female are more con·
spicuous than on the wild colored
form.
. p;;d
THE TYPICAL RA.'\1. IS LESS
than two inches long, but occassionally
specimens up to three inches are seen.
Rams are peaceful, even for a dwarf
cichlid. Males indulge in territorial
disputes and aggressive males may
chase females, but no
damage is done.
A SCIENTIFIC NAME
for the ram is a bit of a
problem. The fish was
originally named Apislo­
gramma rarnirezi by Myres
and Harry, but the name
Microgeophagus
ramirezi
started
appearing
in
aquarium literalUrc. The
most recent name, and
probably the correct one, is
Papifioch rom is
have the black rays of the dorsal fin
elongated.
THE GOLD RAM LACKS ALL
black pigment which not only results in
the absence of the conspicuous black
markings on the body and fins, but
also causes the body to be bright
yellow. The intensity of the blue is
reduced, but il is still bright in fish
tZ­
ramirezi.
The generic name means
"butterfly cichlid" reflec­
ting lh~ common name.
EASILY
FED
ON
Iypical fish foods, the ram
has a pronounced prefer­
ence for white worms and
tubifex. Temperatures between 70 and
85 OF suit it admirably. Optimal water
conditions are soft and neutral to
slightly acidic, but the fish adjust to a
wide range of aquarium conditions.
RAMS ARE NOT THE EASIEST
eiehlids to spawn. Some pairs will
spawn on Oat rocb while others prefer
small pits in the sand.
,"
GR A'
··~tL-VEf\
~ ..
64-9
We
-
,
H:I::JAA'U
Warri9cc\ f\2
~~
CMclstone.~66&6962.
J
BW q.SEU. OtGHUOS!
40
j~1OFF~F
'10
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You 6R1N6 nus
SH
Now available - the following rare titles :
'(
Graham Rowe
The Study of Fishes - Gunther 1880
Freshwater Aquaria - Bateman c1910
Australian Inland Waters and Their Fauna _
W2atherly 1967
Australian Freshwater Fishes - Lake
The Encyclopedia of Aquarium Fish ­
Coffey 1977
1978
.~
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~·egetation. and a few floating plants
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Greetir'.gs ! I'm all fired up to ~.-rite a brilliant reSUille
of our magic carpet ride arolli'1d the world's aquarium clubs
and as 8..'1 April Fool's Day joke the postie doesn't deliver
the invites. I now Knocr how \'1i11ie Sr..akespear felt in
the great candle shortage of 16ll. (\AJby else 1'.'aS Hen.."'Y VIII
not produced until l6l3- a..'1d not entirely under his name?)
fmY\'iay He 1 11 look at the modest collection of mvites
that have been delivered and leave dreams of Pulitzer
Prizes to another day.
Let's look in on those few clubs v:hose invites v,B did
receive. Firstly Vi'e find Eastern Districts Aquariu,'1l Soc­
iety (Hhom vre visited :in response to the invite in the
February issue of FISh"'I'ALES ) mdulgi11g in some nostalgia
and revisiting the good old days of 1976 via the pages of
the tlAquarists li • They were certainly good ti'nes 2..71d Jack
He.rns treatise on lithe Ram 11 reminds us that sorr.e things
never cf'Bnge including controversies over names. Editorials
relT.cind us tll.at the bureaucrats are still tryiJ1g to rr6ke
aqucJ'ists an e.,'dinct species. Perhaps if Vie "''ere to
approach the Conservation }1inistry for protection as an en­
dangered species we 'would get more sympathy and logical
response that v,e are currently.
Our next port of call is North Jersey Aquarium Society :in
a'1swer to the invite in their Jan 1986 issue) of the N J A
S REPOR1ER . Regrettably everyone there except their
talented artist is on holiday al1d the irwite aJmost took
up more space than the mag. However I certainly appreciated
Gial1 Padova'1is 1 superb Ime work and the short and pithy COIT1rl:E
comrr:ents of Chuck Davis and Mike Sheridan. Chuck reiterates
my thoug..r1ts re holic1aysvJ when he adrr.its to neglect causin g
II A Eandit Goes to Sick Eay11. However they made up for their
oversight uith record sales of Paragon 1
A double barreled invite got through fror~ i-:assau County
Aquariufn Society in the December 85 c.nd Jam)2..2Y anJ FebI'uary
1986 issues of PISCES PFESS. Tom j-{a:,res proudly tells all
't/ho'l1 listen all about 'The Care and 3reedL'1g of Larnprol­
/3
guS ca.lyus 1 CQDgl;'atulations TQm. \\lho mows one day we way have
'Coo bonQJ.ltl- of :rece~y;l.pg peV¢-§§?-on ;fCIJ;' tbe~e "fussy about wate r
chemistry that reClUire special attention llt6 grace' Qur tanks'
T'nere is absolutely no environmental danger from this fish
Nhich "will go into shock at the least upset and somet:i.rn2s
die almost :immediately" Perhaps reason will pre .raij. a'1.d the y
...r ill be permitted by ~990. In the meantime, Usten to Tom,
drool n:emorize the methods and save your dollars as costs will
be, high due to a high attrition rate until they acclirmlti.ze to
your conditions. Tom lost 35 out of 75 fry in a rr.atter of
seconds because he added new water to the tank which ...'2.8 rather
on the cool side. T-anganyikans are in, so members are absorbing
all information they can including Ron Chings Spawning 'l'ropheu s
Duboisi In Todays' Aquarist TVol 2 No 4. Sr;ecial care nrllst be
taken not to lose your beautiful dUboisi.
Closer to home Western Suberbs Aquarium Society tr~ugh the
invite in II'Iarch issue of W.S,A.S. NEI'ISIEITER welcomes us.
They are attempting to complete )che green of their t2r'J<s and
are eargerly devouring every v,lOrd that 1\rnanda GeJ.ovese C2...'1
say about aqu8.scaping. We hope they don't over consume vegetative
verbage or they'11 have to diet or get to an e..,::cessive input
situation and begin to forget those pearls of wisdom they r-2.ve
recieVed.
'i'hat's it for another month. Settle back and tUljoy our f:?J:?L (or
mrifl for short)
CIc;dLID CPiliTIER- Chicago
r/lar/apr
j'Iay/June JlJ.I/fl,ug 85
5UHIBARSCI-IE BRLLETm ACA lJo D2 Feb 86.
Hope the postie delivers those invites so \\'e can have a more
Horthwile trip next month.
Regards.
GRAHAM •••.
1ft
APISTOGRAMA ORTMANNI
A. ortmanni is an interesting little dwarf cichlid
from the Amazon region of South America. It seems to be
a little bit shy if kept in a smal 1 tank ~ithout many
plants or rocks to hide among"but overcomes this trait
when placed in a community tank. The male is brown/grey
in colour and has a squared off tail [comb shaped). He
will grow to about three inches in length. The female's
body colour is about the same as the malels but the fins
are a pale "ellow; this becomes brilliant yellow during
spawning. The female does not have a comb tai 1 and only
grows to about two inches.
A. ortmanni likes an aquarium with well aged water
and prefers the water to be slightly acidic as well.
Given this and a temperature of about 78°F, they wi 11
spawn quite readily, usually in a cave, such as the
inside of a clay flower pot lying horizontally. After
she has spawned, the female becomes mean and bossy, so
it is best at this time tm remove the male for his own
safety.
The eg9s hatch in about four days and the fry become
free swimming in another four or five days after that.
It is then a good idea to remove the female just in case
she loses patience and pro~eeds to eat the fry. The fry,
although not as fast growing as many cichlids, do quite
well on live baby brine shrimp and micro worms
As adults, they are not fussy eaters and wi II accept
all frozen, live, or dried foods. A person with a spare
aquarium of five to ten gallons would be wise to try
this little cichlid.
C. Drew [H&DAS]
*****************************~~******************~*****~
JS
REPRJNrED FRCM"HEARr OF AMERICA AQUARIUM SOCIETY."
March 1981. ...
HOW ABOUT SOME ANGELFISH? ••..
By Larry Phillips
My main interest in Angels is their beau­
ty and interesting habits. They are usually
the largest fish in a community tank and
peaceably get along with both larger and
smaller fish.
Angelfish species tanks are
very impiessive because of all the different
activities and behaviors they&ll demonstrate.
I've had one pair spawning in one corner
while another pair herds a cloud of fry in
-the opposite corner, with the leftover angels
cowering anywhere they can find cover, all
in the same tank.
pteroph*llum scalare is the scientific
name for t is beautiful fish.
There are
two sub-species, although I have never seen
either for sure. These may be geographical
differences, but it is.rare when the shops
receive anything but scalares~ seldom ever
ftwild angels" (captured rather than raised).
Angelfish is the only fish shown in the
Heart of America Aquarium Society logo.
He's the symbol of our Society, and at the
time the logo was drawn (by GUy Paugh) 1
Angelfish were very difficult to keep.
It
was a status symbol for an aquarist to hav~
several nice angels.
Forty years ago the
wild Angels were almost the only Angels
available to the hobby.
That's when they
got their reputation as a scrappy 6 even
mean fis1).
They are native to South America and sur­
vive in the same waters as the Piranha.
lb.
Theyu re in the same family as the Rift Lake
fishes, Cichlidae. And just like the Afri"J
can Cichlids 8 they consider baby Guppies a
gourmets' delight. The GuPPY, however, is
native to Venezuela where all the rivers
drain into the Gulf of Mexico. Angelfish
are native to the Amazon River Basin and it
runs into the Atlantic, so eating Guppies
is not a~:' natural behavior, since they would
never see one in the wild. Normal prey for
this carniverous fish would be insect larvae 0
small aquatic creatures ff worms, grubs, and
especially the young of other fish. They
seem to know that the presence of other
fish is a threat to the survival of their
own yang so they gobble down small fish with
great abandon - they will eat almost any­
thing they can swallow whole.
In the wild
they have to eat whatever doesn't eat them
first.
They can survive on a diet of algae
and plants when no other food source is
available.
Angelfish in the wold are not as pretty
as the Angels in our shops. They usually
have rather drab stripes and brown or red
spots about the forehead. Their main cam­
ouflage is their vertical stripes which
blend into the background of vertical aqua­
tic plants (amazon sword plants, val, etc.)
The fish seem to throw large numbers of fry
that differ slightly from the parent stock.
This has allowed the aquarist to genetically
change the Angelfish. We've been able to
establish color and finnage strains which
would never survive in the wild, such as
the black Angelfish. A fish with no nat­
'7
ANGELFISH •••• continued
ural camouflage would never reach breeding
size in the Amazon. By protecting those
off color and strange finnage Angels we've
been able to get colors from silver to gold,
black, blue, blushing and even 1/2 black,
in eith~ long {veil} or short (regular)
finnage and every combination in between.
The Zebra Angels are most attractive to
me because this strain represents a fish
with more of what nature gave him. He
still has the black and silver vertical
stripes, but there are just more of them.
Zebra Angels represent "getting baCK to
nature", they could survive in the wild.
Another benefit of breeding in aquaria is
that the fish has become more hardyo The
poor cirtters are alternately pampered and
abused - thrown in with natural enemies,
subjected to stresses -found only in the
hobby. Those fish that survive and spawn
have to be the hardiest of our stock. To
make my point - have you ever seen an angel
with ich? Wild Angels get leh, but I' ve
never seen tank raised stock with it.
There are many schools of thought on how
to raise the fry, so I won't go into all
the different methods (which work for some
and not for others). I prefer to let the
parents raise them as long as they will.
The act of spawning Angels is particularly
beautiful and graceful~ The parents only
touch each other during spawning by acci­
dent. The female deposits eggs in verti­
cal lines, slowly moving up over a broad
leaf, while the male follows, passJ,."ng .over
the egi;JS s;lowly, being careful"not'to. touch
the. eggs", ,Male anQ female moving in un,ison
.ina· delicate under-water .ballet created
and preserved by eons of evolution. The
parents .ale.an and move. 'the egg~ 'during the
two to .three days 'it takes for thA eggs to
hatch. TBey.-spend those days gently fan­
ning water over the eggs w~th t~eir pectoral
fi~so
D~riDg this time· they take turns
. protecting the eggs " .e·ating·6 •· and' defending
t,he nest from predatOr s (a:n . other aqua tic· .
life). The Angel's f.amily life is beauti-.
ful, graceful and very. interesting. It'~
also the natural order of ,things.~ No ·amount
of chemicals or mechanical filters or de~
vices can match ~he aelicate care the pdr~
~nts can. give the1~ spawn.
.
.
"We've changeq the Angels .slightly by se-.
lectively breeding 'longer or shorter finned
individuals·, emphasing ,in this way rilinor
color':differences or traits which .the .hob­
byist wants to refine •. But they' ,~re still
An,gelfish an? must retain a:1l 'the .herit.age
and instincts' of their ancestors. Still the
Angels hold a~special place in the hob~y.
'They're known as a bread and butt~r fish'
to the dealers, because almost' everyone. in
the' hobby has or:"has· had Angels. .Because .
. . of the, wide varieties tha."t. are available,"
.' theiJ:' hardine'ss and. interesting' behavd.or, .
.they can pe found in' communi ty tanks and"
species-tanks allover' the world~
19 . .·
Thp three spe('.ics of Ptl'ropnyl1um can he distinguis\wcl
h\' thf' shapf' of the head:
1 1', dumerilii
2 p, S(,Q lare
~
P. alillm
1
2
3
1\1<-lh,J{1 01 1,·('r1lllg
I
oj
:~
1
I
hI' rOIHI
Il'
/'/""'Jl!l"I/II/JI
I~ :--C'I'"
h I~ l>ltJll- III II '.1
1:0. "'lwk.·d III
IllCllith n·tllll' .... ln '1 . . ,~n~ln:lt
Illl' Inulll
\ IH'
lill-
4
llHJd
pU:--II,IHl
TABLE S
March is the month in which the final table show for the
cichlid year is held. Unfortunately I didn. it lNri -re a Table
Show Reportfor last month which rreant I was w.able to reITL1nd
you that Cichlid of Your Choice Show once again. had a trophy
for first place. So I apologize to those people vIDO would
mve shown a fish i f they had knmm there ~<JaS a trophy and
hope you will make a special effort for Cichlid of Your
COO.ice next year. Now is also the time to start organising
~self for the new table show year. Rerrember there are
trophies for the three highest point scores and the highest
point scoring novice for the year.
FISH
SCORE
ENffiANT
P. LivIDgstoni
78
A. Genovese .
H.Mloto
36
D.Thom.
H.moto
93
J .Reeves.
P.Lombardi
83 popular choice M.Riley.
I would like to thank Steve Butcher for jUdging March f s
table show and all the other judges who have been good
enough to take the time to do the judging when requested.
Don't forget to bring along your Africans and Asian s in
April and let's have a real increase in the moo Er'S of
tanks down the back.
~
22
.....
CICHLID SCENE
The. NEXT" MEETING
w-Ut be. hei.d on We.dne6 day 16th Ap!U.J.
at .the. Ail hbuM:on UbtwAy, 154 H.-iB h St A6 hbwt:ton. at g. 00 pn.
MINI TAU(;;
wU1. be. g-tVeJ1 by MCVl.k Le.e. on Ke.yhole. C.i..c.hLUl6.
MaJtli IiCi6 fie.p:t and f.,pawned many South AmeJUc.tlYLb f.,O th-U. talk
f., hou.td be. quae. h!:teJt.e6.tJ.ng.
MAIN TALK -iJ., on "R..a.ymg ou.:t an ae.f.>the.ti.caliy pie.Mmg tank"
TO be. g.ive.n by Amanda. Ge.nOVe..6e. (He.ave.n ~O!l.b.i.d)
..
VOOR 'PRIZE by Aqac.e.nta. (SeJl.Cl 'PJtoduw}
DRAW 'PRIZE
Z fJoo:t Ught.
FM h T/f.M.6 poJt:te.Jt• ••
TABLE' SHOW -i..f.> A~Jt.£.c.a.M a.nd A6.i.an..6. Lw g-tve. OUlt
~how ."$Wo~y Q.. hMd .t<me. by .all bJt-i..ng-i..ng along
:to ~how.
new
a (,..L6h
HOME SHOW .the. home. J.Jhow J.h on 25th May. So t,:taJr..t yoWl. tan.k
Jte.adlYie.M 60ft judEhtg, and yM why not e.n:te.n, the.n' e.f.>
p!L-i..ZeA 06 :tJw phy' J.J ;tJJ be. won, Von' t be. a6JW.J.r1. :to e.n:teJt
we. a..U. have. to .o:taJtt .0 am etin e.. a.nd the. judgM c.omme.nU
c.a.n be. qwe. be.ne.6~ to you. and yoWl. 6i-6hke.e.p-i..ng.
.{.vI.
ANNUAL VINfJfR
f.,ome. -tai.k aiAe.ady 06 oWl. annu.a.£. V-i..nnvr. :to be.
on ALLgu.6t 16th. Mofte. de.t.aJ.1.J., We.n.
MAY MEETING :to be. on the. Z1J.Jt May• ••
INVITE
FRIEND
A
TO
JOIN
THE SOCIETY
FEES :
Ordinary Membership
Family Membership
Junior Membership
Overseas Membership
•
•
112.00 Joining fee "5.00
113 .. 00
7.00 (no Joining fee)
$12.00 Plus Charges
(handling)
•
•
•
•
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
The Secretary,
Gr ah am Rowe,
Victorian Cichlid Society,
23 Mangana Drive,
MULGRAVE
AUSTRALIA 3170.
Dear Graham,
I wish to become a member of the Victorian
Cichlid Society.
Below I have included the
required information, and I include a cheque
for, the correct amount.
NAME IN FULL : .•••.•.•••..•.•.••••.••.••••••.••
AGE
NEXT BIRTHDAY (if under
ADDRESS:
••••••••
P05TCODE
DATE
:
CI
••••.••••••••••.••••
..
o ••••••
••
~
:
•••••••••••••
41
••••••••••••••
AREA OF INTEREST
NOMI NATED BY
5ECONDED By
24
18)
:
:
:
••
:
••••••••••••
eo • • • • • • "ID.e • • • • • • •
aoae.Clillop
.
TELEPHONE:
5IGNATURE
:
•••••••••••
••••••••••••••
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
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•••••••••••••••••••••••••••
fFRANKSTON AOUA IUMS
TROPICAL
COLDWATER
CICHllD~3
137 Beach 51, frankston
(03) 783 1311
STH AMERlCAN and AFR1·CAN
MAR NE FISH
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BANKCARQ .l~"V~ WE CQIIE
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HOURS
Monday - Sunday 10 -00 -- 6 -aD pm
CLOSED WEDNESDAY
54
KOORNANG RD. CARNEGIE
568 -5226