About the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association

1
November 2012
Volume XVIII, Issue 11
About the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association
The AAAA is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the spreading of information of aquarium and aquarium related information
to its members and to the aquarium hobby at large. The club was founded in 1995.
The club meets the first Sunday of the month. The meeting is
held at Emory University. 101 White Hall . This is near Athens Pizza House, 1341 Clairmont Rd, Decatur, GA 30033.
Meetings begin around 1:30 pm. Membership is $15 for
individual or $18 for a family membership. An application
can be downloaded from the website, or new members and
renewals can also be done through PayPal. The link for PayPal membership can also be found at the website under the
join button.
Website - http://www.atlantaaquarium.com
Forum - http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/forum
Monthly FishTalk newsletter
FishTalk is the monthly publication of the Atlanta Area
Aquarium Association. Members are encouraged to submit
articles, pictures and other fish related material for the
newsletter. Send them to the editor, David Ramsey at
[email protected] . Please make the submissions in either a plain text file or MS Word format please.
Excel can be used if needed. He will be forever grateful.
Please submit your material for the newsletter at least one
week prior to the last weekend in the month. The newsletter
comes out the Sunday or Monday prior to the next meeting.
That will usually be the last weekend of the month. Distribution is via a pdf download, with notification to the membership via email. Therefore, a current email address on file
with the club is extremely important. Any changes to your
email need to be sent to [email protected] or
to Brian Revennaugh at [email protected]
Newsletter Exchange
The club does a newsletter exchange with several other clubs throughout the country. Articles of particular interest to other clubs can
be used by the exchange club. Reprints of articles appearing in FishTalk may be used by other clubs for their newsletters (noncommercial use) providing full credit is given to the original author and publication. A copy of the publication containing the reprint
should be sent to the AAAA. If the exchange club needs the article in a different format, please contact the editor by email. AAAA
prohibits distribution of any articles contained in FishTalk on any online electronic service, unless permission is granted from both the
editor and the author. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individual author and not necessarily those of the AAAA. All
material is copyright by the respective authors.
Cover Photo: Spotted Rubber Lip pleco, David Ramsey
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE: From the Editor , David Ramsey 6 Notes from the Prez, Brian Revenaugh 7 The Lettuce Box, HAP, Ken Seiders 8 The David Ramsey Report 12 All Aquarium Catfish Convention recap, David Ramsey 14 Fishy stuff for sale or trade or wanted 34 Renewals Due 36 AAAA Calendar of Events
November 4
Brian Perkins of WildPeru adventures
December 2 Party
Daylight Savings Time Ends
This Weekend, Change your
clocks or arrive very early to
the meeting!!!
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Other Fishy Events
Aquatic Gardeners Convention Nov 2-4, 2012 Crowne Plaza Hotel, St. Louis, Mo.
Tampa Bay Aquarium Society Nov 10 Fall Auction
2013
Raleigh Aquarium Society Feb 15-17
RAS has secured some very low rates at the Ramada Inn on Blue Ridge Road in
Raleigh (next to the NCSU Vet School and NC State Fairgrounds) for our upcoming RAS Workshop and Auction on February 15-17, 2013. Rates start at a low
$79.00/night, and the hotel is basically walking distance to most of our club's
events planned for that weekend. Please mark your calendars now for the Winter
RAS Workshop and auction in February 2013.
ACA July 18-21, 2013 Red Lion Hotel, Denver, Colorado www.2013ACA.com
Daylight Savings Time Ends
This Weekend, Change your
clocks or arrive very early to
the meeting!!!
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Fish Talk
AAAA Officers
President
AAAA
Officers
Brian
Revennaugh
http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/
[email protected]
Vice-President
President
Ken
Davis
Andrew Hebert - 770-441-2708
[email protected]
[email protected]
Secretary
Ken Seiders
Vice-President
[email protected]
Dino Hicks
Treasurer
[email protected]
Andrew Hebert
[email protected]
Secretary
Christine Pirtle
[email protected]
Board of Directors
Larry Bugg
Board of Directors
[email protected]
http://www.atlantaaquarium.com/
forum/
Marcie Dicenso
[email protected]
Luis Indacochea
Tom Koranda
[email protected]
[email protected]
Bob Major
[email protected]
Mark Powell - 770-486-0932
Ron Van Zant
[email protected]
[email protected]
334-642-6585
David Ramsey
- 770-963-1342
[email protected]
David Ramsey
[email protected]
Kirsten Eidsmore 678-463-7853
[email protected]
Treasurer
BJ &Ron Reisinger - 770-717-9594
[email protected]
Brian Revennaugh- 770-919-8382
[email protected]
Kevin Kubista - 404-310-3104
[email protected]
Committee Chairs
Auctions & By Laws
Committee Chairs
Ken Davis - 770-725-9223
BAP Program:
Auctions
& By Laws
Luis
Indacochea
Eric le- Calvez
Ken Davis
770-725-9223
Donations
Breeder’sLiaison:
Award:
TomDatka
Koranda
- 770-730-3436
Jim
& Luis
Indacochea
Fish
Talk Editor
Donations
Liaison:
David Ramsey - 770-963-1342
Mark Barnett - 770-507-9165
Historian:
Fish Talk Editor
George Libby - 770-978-2117
David Ramsey
- 770-963-1342
Membership:
MarkHistorian:
Barnett
PetLibby
Shop -Liaison:
George
770-978-2117
Dan Asher
Membership:
404-502-0635
Mark Powell - 770-486-0932
Programs:
Newsletter Exchange:
Ken Davis
Mark Powell
- 770-486-0932
Publicity:
JimShop
Datka
Pet
Liaison:
Website Manager:
Colt Facer Mark Barnett - 770-507-9165
Programs:
Larry Cohen
Dino HicksLibrarian:
– [email protected]
Rick Publicity:
Watkins
HAP Program
Jim Datka – [email protected]
Ken Seiders
Website Manager:
Club Liason/Newsletter Exchange
Mark David
BarnettRamsey
- 770-507-9165
Librarian:
Goodwill
Rick Watkins
Len DiCenso
Auction Treasurer
?
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From the Editor…
David Ramsey [email protected]
November means it is election time of year. The 'important' election. Not the election that all the news people
are talking about. The 'important' election. The fish club election. So turn out for the November meeting and be
there for the election. If you want to get more involved with the club workings, then nominate yourself for a position and see what happens.
The Fall 2012 auction is history. Good news is the club made some money. Bad news is the club made the smallest amount since Fall 2008. Fewer buyers, fewer sellers, fewer items up for auction all means less money for the
club to pay to bring in speakers and for renting the Emory space. It will be hard to have a positive cash flow
going into next year. I do not have a remedy for this, just pointing out the obvious.
The November speaker is Brian Perkins. He does Wild Peru exploration and collecting trips. Be it the bird life,
the insects, the vegetation or tropical fish, Wild Peru has something to offer. This should be an interesting talk
with lots of Peruvian pictures.
South Carolina Aquaria Association Swap Meet/Auction with speakers. January 19th
http://scaquariacom.ipage.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=2206&view=next
I know that several AAAA club members make the trek to our auction each year and we would welcome your return.
I wanted to let you know (hope you share this information with other club members) that contrary to what the flyer
currently says we will start the auction at 9:30am not at 11:00am as published. The building will open at 8am and
registration will start immediately. We didn’t like making this change but the university booked an event on top of
us and we have to be out of the room by 4pm. If you have questions please email me back.
Bill Little
President Tampa Bay Aquarium Society 727.530.0928
I was the only club member to go up to the All Aquarium Catfish Convention 2 weeks ago in Virginia. This is an
every other year event hosted by the Potomac Valley Aquarium Society. There is a lengthy recap of the event
in this month’s newsletter. The next time this event will happen is in 2014. Believe me, if you are into catfish and
plecos, or just want to have one fantastic fish weekend, plan on attending the next onve.
This past month I had a lot of rejected emails from emails that are usually good. You can not get the newsletter
without us having a good email address. If yours changes, let us know.
Rejected emails, for the most part permanent errors: exceeded max time without delivery
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
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From the Prez…
Brian Revennaugh
For those who sold items at our Fall Auction, you should have received your check in the mail by now. Huge
thanks go to Andrew for getting this tough job done once again! Thanks also go to the buyers, sellers, and volunteers who made this all possible.
The Aquatic Gardeners Association Convention will be in St. Louis, Missouri on November 1st through the 4th.
For more information visit:
http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/convention.html
Elections for Officers and Board members will be held at our next meeting on November 4th. As I mentioned
last month, there’s no better way to get involved in the club, please consider running for an office or the board.
It’s not an easy job and I’m grateful for all our current Officers and Boards members and well as our Chairpersons who have generously volunteered their time to help guide our wonderful club. If you would like to know
more about the positions available and the duties required, please read our by-laws: http://
www.aquaticgardener.com/AAAA/bylaws
Previously we have counted votes by a show of hands. This year, I think I’m going to print out ballots and actually have a ballot box (probably a shoe box). If you’re considering running for a position, please let me know
before Friday, Nov. 2nd or you’ll have to be a write in candidate. You can PM gofish on the forum or e-mail
me at [email protected].
Brian Perkins will be speaking to our club at our November 4th meeting. I’ll quote our Vice-President, Ken Davis
who I think described Brian Perkins best by saying, “[h]e owns Wild Peru and is a collector and guide, just think
of the great stuff you would learn talking to him for a day”. In other words, don’t miss this meeting. It will be a
good one!
Brian Revennaugh
President, Atlanta Area Aquarium Association
Daylight Savings Time Ends
This Weekend, Change your
clocks or arrive very early to
the meeting!!!
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Exciting News from Ken Seiders at
the Lettuce Box… [email protected]
If you missed last month's meeting, then you really missed a great presentation. A great photographer gave us tips on taking great
pictures. Mo Devlin gave instructions on the format to take pictures, editing tips, and as you might imagine, had some excellent photographs to show us. I suppose if one could take photos as well as Mo, all our tanks and fish would look fantastic! I have begun using
some of his tips, but it isn't working quite as quickly as I had hoped!
However, when one grows plants, it is somewhat easier to take pictures. The plants are not nearly as motile as the fish. Still, patience
is necessary. Not waiting for the plants to stop moving, but to figure out how to get the best pictures of them. Once you get good
pictures of plants, it is another whole kettle of fish to take pictures of fish. So, maybe I'll stick to plants for a while. Plants such as
those submitted recently, including:
Pierre Thiault
Rotala macrandra 'Green' 10
Salvinia minima
Which makes the current standings look like this:
Place
Horticulturist
Points
Level
1
Ken Seiders
1005
Expert Aquatic Horticulturist
2
Brian Revennaugh
335
Advanced Horticulturist
3
Phil Edwards
330
Advanced Horticulturist
4
Kirsten Eidsmoe Chris Tidwell
310
Advanced Horticulturist
5
Larry Bugg
235
Advanced Horticulturist
6
Jeremy & Jessie Johnson
200
Advanced Horticulturist
7
Jim Datka
140
Aquatic Horticulturist
Len & Marcie DiCenso
130
Aquatic Horticulturist
8
Roger Lorts
110
Aquatic Horticulturist
9
George Libby
100
Aquatic Horticulturist
10
Eric Le Calvez
90
Member
11
Beth Hall
85
Member
12
Rick Watkins
80
Member
13
Keith Hudgins
75
Member
14
Jerry Henderson
40
Member
Kevin Kubista
40
Member
Dan Asher
40
Member
Brennan Peabody
30
Member
Dave Ramsey
30
Member
Louis Indacochea
30
Member
Patrea Dowless
25
Member
Christine Pirtle
25
Member
Omar Leon
20
Member
Larry Cohen
20
Member
George Libby
15
Member
Pierre Thiault
15
Member
Tom Koranda
10
Member
John Patterson
10
Member
15
16
17
18
19
8
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We even got a new member in the HAP program this month. (Now I know you are all running to last months
newsletter so you can check the standings and can see who is on this months list that was not on last month's.)
Anyway, they are growing a plant that even I find difficult to grow. While the one I have is not dying, it is
staying alive and growing, albeit slowly, it has not produced any new plants, though I have had it over a year.
I am hoping we will hear more about it in the near future, with some tips on growing it.
Which brings me to something I have noticed recently. When I first attended the club, nearly every auction had
some new plant I could acquire. It was always exciting anticipating which new species might make their appearance. There are many other members from whom I have gotten plants, and many of those plants (or their
progeny) are still living happily in my tanks. I always like getting plants from other members, as the member is
always able to tell me (or at least make suggestions) how they are growing the plants successfully. If I have
any questions, or think the plants are not growing as well as they should, I can always get some reasons or
helpful suggestions.
But recently, and I suppose it is my own fault, I don't find as many bags of individual
plant species. Now I know the Pot-O-Plants gives plenty of plants and is an easy
way to plant a new tank, but really, it came to be because I was too lazy to bag all
those individual plants. With over 200 plants, and over 35 varieties, that would
make for many, many bags of plants at the auctions. I just can't do that, as it would
take too many bags, and would extend the auction for many hours, and think of all
the work it would involve!
As a result, it seems like most bags of plants are many varieties of plants mixed together. Which is a good thing. When one gets one of those bags, they get several varieties of plants to try to
grow. It becomes easier to see which plants one likes the most, and which varieties grow best in the conditions
one can provide. And let's face it, not all of us have a 125 gallon tank to fill with plants. Some of us, so I have
heard, only want to plant a smaller tank, and just try our hand at growing a few plants, to see if it even works
for us. I am not sure if I believe it, but I have heard it. So I am not complaining, because varietal bags give
one a chance to try several different plants and see which ones are most liked, for whatever reason.
What I'm saying is, if a person is looking for a specific plant, it is not
always available by itself. I wonder if the reason that members
aren't bringing plants to the club auctions is because they “only have
one kind of plant that grows for them” to offer? That would be a
bad reason. You may be one of the few that can actually get the
plant to grow in great quantities. Someone else who doesn't have
that species of plant wants it (so they can get new HAP points, you
know). Some members may have had the plant in the past, and
want to grow it again. Some are new members, and have never
seen that plant before, but need something easy to grow.
An example is Rotala macrandra. I used to have that plant. Over
the years it slowly disappeared from my tanks, due to the lack of
real estate and competition among plants. Just the other day I was
wondering if anyone still had that plant, as I had not seen it at auctions lately, and might like to have some of it again. You might be
the one with a thriving tank of Rotala macrandra. But if you don't
bring them to the auctions, and share with us, how will us other folks
get them? And you might even get a few bucks you can spend on
something else at the auction! Before you start counting your bucks
though, you should remember:
Green Cabomba
If you bring 100 bags of that plant, you will slow the auction down,
and after the few members that want that plant purchase it, the rest
of the bags don't sell. You don't need to bring every plant you
have. I probably dispose of more plants than I am able to bring to
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the auctions. I think if I brought every plant I had, we would be swapping salad recipes at every meeting. Instead of many bags with few plants;
It may be better to have fewer bags, but more plants. There should be enough plants in the bag. For HAP
points you need at least 5 individual plants. For someone purchasing the plant, they probably want
more. If there is only one small plant in a bag, and it dies, that's the end! If the bag has more than 5
plants, surely at least one will thrive? At the very least it will take longer for them to die, and one can
try to deduce why they aren't growing. I happen to have several plants like this right now, I can't figure
out why they aren't growing. They aren't dying, they just aren't thriving. Many of them already died,
but because I had several plants to begin with, I still have some inching along in growth. It gives me a
better opportunity to get the plant to thrive. More is better!
Another reason I like bags
of individual species is to
try to determine which
species works best for my
tanks. As an example,
many plants look very
similar when they are
growing. I can get almost
the same look from a
stand of Myriophyllum matogrossense, Cabomba
caroliniana, Cabomba pulcherrima and Limnophila.
But every one of them has
different growing preferences. While one person
might not be able to get
Red Cabomba
(pulcherrima) to grow for
them, they might get exLEFT – CABOMBA PULCHERRIMA, RIGHT - MYRIOPHYLLUM
cellent growth from their
Green Cabomba
(caroliniana). Growth differences depend on the conditions of the tank in which they are grown. Some plants
might grow too well, and require more maintenance (trimming, thinning,
fertilizing). While one species may grow quickly and sparsely, another
might grow more slowly, and more dense. One might also want to try a
different species of a plant that already grows well for them. While the
overall look is similar, there are differences between these plants. Just
have a look at the included pictures. (But please, don't blame Mr. Devlin
because I was unable to improve my photography in just one short month!)
Myriophyllum is a brighter green than Green Cabomba, and does not
have the reddish highlights of Red Cabomba. Limnophila is even brighter
green. Limnophila branches more quickly and grows more dense, requiring more thinning. In my experience, all of these plants grow more slowly
without cO2 injection, and more densely (less stem length between leaf
nodes) than they do with added cO2. I wouldn't know that if I didn't have
the experience of growing them.
I suppose of course this means that I need to bring plants with only one
species in the bag, you know, to set the example and all that stuff. That
way, if someone else wants to try a new plant, they will be able to do so,
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without getting a gazillion other plants. Then you can try just one plant, and learn the best growing conditions
for that plant, the best way to display and trim the plant, and if it is a plant that will do well in your aquarium
parameters. If it does well in your aquarium(s), let us know. In what conditions are you growing the plant?
Light? Substrate? Fertilizer? Temperature? Inquiring minds want to know.
Of course, once you do well with one plant, you will want at least one more. That's all part of that multiple tank
syndrome (MTS) you hear about. While a single species of plant growing in a tank can look quite attractive,
pretty soon you start to wonder what it might
look like with 2 species of plants. It is a slippery
slope from there
So get ready, and let's go down that slippery
slope. Join the HAP program today. Bring in
those plants you are able to grow so well, give
the rest of us a chance to enhance our tanks with
your favorite species. Besides, when I find someone who is growing a plant successfully, especially when I cannot, I can find out what you are
doing, ask questions, and improve my own ability
to grow plants. (Oh yeah, and don't forget fame
and dubious fortune and all that stuff too!)
And thus ends another exciting month of HAPpenings.
Get involved in the HAP program, it will grow on
you!
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The David Ramsey Report
[email protected]
Mo Devlin came to talk to
the club. 'Talk' is a poor
choice of words. 'Dazzle'
would be more appropriate. Most of us have seen
Mo Devlin's work in TFH
and other magazines. That
latest issue of Amazonas
has a full page picture from
Mo inside the back cover.
Try to find anything in that
picture that is not in focus!
Seeing a great picture of
some cool fish that Mo has
found and photographed is
hard enough. But to see
dozens of them, all at the
same time, is hard to absorb. Mo has taken a love
of fish keeping and a love and true talent for photography and
merged them into something special. I am sure that Mo has captured the imagination of many a youngster into wanting a tank of
their own. The beauty of his pictures inspires us all to pay more
attention to our fishes and their care.
Many of the pictures that Mo had were from his trip to Segrest
Farms in Gibsonton, Fl. This facility is obviously a state of the art,
high class wholesale ornamental fish distributor. It was truly amazing to see the setup they have to rapidly care for, catch bag and
ship out fish so quickly.
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13
All Aquarium Catfish Convention Recap David Ramsey
A few years ago someone at the Potomac Valley Aquarium Society thought it would be a good
idea to put together a big catfish weekend. Start out with the best speakers in the world, add in
an 'all fish' show with judging and awards, toss in a huge all day all fish auction on Sunday and
it sounds like a full weekend. And just for laughs, lets take an entire floor of the motel and let
the participants that want to set up their own 'vendor rooms' and sell fish and supplies. Let's get
the room on each end and make it a hospitality room with beer and wine and chips and snacks
and hot dogs. Turn Friday night into a full night of everyone talking and catching up and buying
and selling fish.
Thus was born what a lot of people will tell you is the premier convention of the year. I fully
agree. They put this on every other year. This year was the 5th one they have had. It was my
second one. I am already looking forward to the next one in 2014.
Early birds arrived on Thursday. They got to listen to Heiko Bleyer do a talk on the 'Catfishes of
the Iriri River', followed up with a 'get to know you social' on Thursday night. Friday is a full day
of field trips.
I missed all of this so far. Thursday evening was spent bagging fish and getting the truck
packed. It seems my fish adventures always start at 2:00 am. 2:00 am Friday morning is when
the alarm went off. By 3:00am I am on the road, heading up I85 toward someplace in Virginia.
With 3 1/2 hours sleep, the trip is one of bouncing betweeen those wonderful bumps in the
lanes. No amount of coffee seemed to be enough. I was really sleepy, but the heavens above
look out for 'fish nuts', or at least this one. I got into Herndon Virginia at the Hyatt Dulles motel
about 2:30pm. As I get up to the check in I get grabbed and informed that somehow the computer decided that I had cancelled the night before. I don't have a room on the fish sales
floor!!!! I don't have a room at all!!! But Gerry saves the day, bumps one of the non fish sellers
off the floor to another floor and I get his room. His wife even helps me with my many trips up
to the room loaded with fish and tanks and supplies and 5 gallon containers or water.
It seemed that everyone else on the fish selling floor had set up the day before. This let me walk
around and see how they were setup and how to move the furniture. There was a big table
waiting for me at my room and I had brought another one from home. The furniture gets quickly
moved around, the tables are set up, the
fish spread out, and the air pumps and tubing are working. Peace at last.
By this time I am beyond hungry. Thankfully
there was a 6:00pm buffet dinner that I
had signed up for. Starvation would have to
wait for another day.
After the dinner, there was a presentation
by Heiko Bleyer on the 'True history of the
blue eyed pleco'. I have seen old pictures
of the blue eyed pleco, Panaque cochilodon, and thought that was one of the coolest fish ever. But for many years they have
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not been seen. Heiko went in search of either
the fish or what happened to the fish. His
search took him all over the Rio Cauca. But
everywhere he searched was without plecos
and very polluted. The population of Columbia
has grown by 10s of millions and the environment has really paid the price. There was a
2nd population of these fish that were from the
Rio Magdalena that was imported for many
years. These also are now gone.
Heiko did a trip in 2011 throught the Rio Magdalena in Columbia searching for this fish. He
seined through the cattle areas, the rice fields, far up the
tributaries and found no fish.
The local natives that he
talked to had not seen the
fish in many many years.
He finally came to the inevitable conclusion that the blue,
blue eyed pleco is extinct. He
even found out what the natives said was the cause.
Many years ago the child of
a billionaire was stung badly
by a fresh water stingray. She
was extremely ill from this
and nearly died. The father's
anger drove him to have
someone poison the river to
kill all the stingrays. It worked, but it also killed all the other fish. There are even pictures of the
massive fish kill that Heiko was given. Nearly all the bottom hugging fishes were killed off.
Once the poison had broken down, tilapia pens were introduced into the river. Of course the
fish escaped, and now the river is full of tilapia. Carp were introduced later. Now there is no
way the native fish could ever recover with all the tilapia and carp in the river.
To make it all even worse, the whole area is being destroyed with the construction of a huge hydroelectric dam. Not the best of endings for the first presentation.
After Heiko comes Hans-Georg Evers with a talk on 'Loricarids'. Hans is the editor of the
'Amazonas' magazine, and a gigantic catfish, pleco, and especially corydoras fanatic. Hans
takes us collecting in Argentina in the Misiones area. He says Argentina is a fantastic country to
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go collecting. It is a safe, convenient
place to go. Only problem is that you
can only take out 10 fish per species
per person. That is ok for the private
collector, but prevents commercial collecting do the per fish cost.
The 'misiones' area has lots of cichlids. Rhinolocaria pleco in the mud flats They needs a cold
period to get spawning.
A. cirrhosos does not need a cold period but
needs a strong current.
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Check out this green pleco.
They want colder water,
stronger current. The fry have
2 yolk sacs. They hatch when
one is about gone and then
live a couple of days on the
other one. Do not feed them
brine shrimp. They are looking
for algae and rotifers.
Misiones is in the extreme north of Argentina. Corydoras carlae is the prize
in this area. A remarkable corydoras
that is very seldom seen in the hobby.
Rio Panera has the Corydoras paleatus and the Corydoras marmoratus
with black pelvic coloration. Also
found is the Corydoras longipinnis - only
the males have the long flowing fins. Also
found is Corydoras C07. This is a smaller
cory.
In the Uruquay drainage are is Corydoras
undulatus.
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Some of the most amazing plecos
are found in this area. The male carries the eggs around like a beard.
That is one way to protect the eggs.
Just keep them safely underneath
and the predators will not even
know they exist.
After this talk, it is time for the 3rd
floor sellers to share their wares
with the many attendees. Lots of fish
are available from the very common
to those rearely if ever seen. Since we
have the entire floor, it becomes one
gigantic party. Everyone is getting to
renew old friendships, make new
friendships, and enjoy the liquid refreshments at each end of the hall. It
was quite commical to see the steady
stream of people going back and
forth. All had bags of fish in one hand
and a 'liquid refreshment' in the other.
Things did not settle down until around
1:00am. I am not saying it was over,
many folks saw the sun come up, but I
was not one of them.
The room setups were varied and from
the simple (like mine) with tanks and tubs
on top of the tables to fully built racks
with aquariums. There were huge setups
that would rival a decent sized pet store,
with fish valued way beyond what I
could pay for a fish. But I would have
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liked to.
This room had an amazing array of catfish and plecos. I left quite a bit of
money here.
All African cichlids,
custom built setup
with a central filtration system. All
acrylic. All gorgeous.
He was sold out of
what I wanted by
the time I got back
to him to buy. He
had some great
young Calvis.
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Saturday morning starts off
with the grand catfish master
himself, Ian Fuller from England
speaking
on
'Corydordinae catfish'.
He starts off with the aspidoras and the Bronchis goving
an overview of how they are
different from the regulas
corydoras. Then on to the
Scleromystax genus. The more
often seen ones are the barbatus and the kronei. These
fish will take cooler water
than many of the other fish. Hi
60s will keep them happy.
Ian is a fan of Melafix on
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new fish. Some of the corydoras are strange in that the
can secret a poison from the
skin to ward off predators.
That is the good news. The
bad news is that they are not
immune to it either. When
startled or scared, like when
you catch them, they will exude this poison. If you have
them in a small container or
bag they will kill themselves
with this poison. Ian says to
catch them or startle them
some in a container. Then after a few minutes you will
need to give them a 100%
water change to get them out
of the poisoned water.
C. sterbai and gossei
are two of the worst
with exuding large
amounts of poison.
Ian thinks the Corydoras pygmaeus is the
easiest cory to breed.
So if you are looking
for a place to start,
try that one.
Most of the corydoras
are peaceful without
any
damaging
squabbles. But the
Corydoras semiaquillus males have developed very hard and sharp perctoral fin extensions. When they fight they
can actually kill another cory by stabbing with the fin.
Ian always has sand in every tank. He adds some plants suct as Anubias, Java Fern or Java
Moss. Then he adds a corner filter or a sponge filter and some mops. Plants are in pots so if
they are used to deposit the eggs they can easily be removed to a hatching tank. He does not
like bare bottom tanks. He believes that they will develop a slime coating the is bad for the
21
barbels of adults and will
kill the fry. Besides he believes that a sandy bottom
is important to the life of
corydoras. They are all
sand sifters.
MAny of the corydoras are
from dark water, meaning
water with a lot of tannins.
To make this kind of water
IAn will add driftwood and
lots of oak leaves. He says
be very careful adding tannins to clear water species.
Ian has discovered that different corydoras will spawn
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in different types of mops. Knarly boiled mops are preferred by some species. He has some
very fuzzy mops that are the favorite of some other catfish. So be experimental when having
trouble getting a type of cory to breed. Try different plants and different types of mops.
Ian loves live food. Evidently in England there is a good supply of clean tubifex worms. He uses
a lot of them. (This is where we are using blackworms). He also feeds daphnia, blookworms, bbs
and adult brine shrimp. Add to that microworms, grindal worms, whiteworms and earthworms
and you pretty much now know that Ian feeds all the live foods he can. He is not a big proponent of commercial prepared foods. He does use the frozen foods. He will take the block of frozen food and grind it on a grater and feed that to his fishes.
Breeding requires an understanding of what type of breeders the particular species is. Some
are pair spawners. Examples would me metae and kronei. Kronei will do their spawning very
quickly, usually in less that a half hour. Metae of course will take the whole day to lay 30 eggs.
Corydoras sterbai like calm water. They will lay eggs in a mop. The eggs are not very adhesive.
C. undulatus will have huge spawns attached to the underside of anubias leaves. One of the
most interesting corys, C. orcesl will roll in the sand until the eggs are covered with sand and
then deposit that somewhere. The eggs are cammoflauged!
He will place the eggs in hatching containers. Sometimes he will use some of the breeder boxes
that have sponge filter attachments that give a continuous flow of fresh water over the eggs.
He likes alder cones for the dark water eggs and fry, but they can hurt the clear water eggs
and fry.
Next was Hans-Georg Evers with more on 'Loricarids and their biotopes.' This time the not
often
seen
ones
from
Peru,
Venezuela and the
very endangered
ones
from Brazil. He
showed us pictures of some
really
gorgeous plecos
from Peru that
we all hope
become available in the
near future.
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What does the waters look like for
the wood eaters?
Plecos come in all shapes and sizes.
All different habitats from wood
strewn to rapid flow over rocks.
The Rio Pachicilla is clear water, fast
flowing with high oxygen content.
Panaqolus albomaculatus is a 'wood
eater'. The adults are found in the
bog wood areas of the river. But no
youngsters? Where are the youngsters? They are upstream in the rocky
rapids. This is only possible if the
adults migrate upstream to the rapids
for spawning, then travel back down
to the bog wood to live. The fry
hatch, start out eating the algae
and crustaceans on the rapids,
then eventually move down to
the bog wood areas to complete
the cycle. Then just to be as confusing as possible, the Panaques
shampupa does the reverse. The
babies are in the bog wood and
the adults are up in the rapids.
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The collecting in Venezuela
was in the delta areas. Here
large floating islands could
be found. Whole ecologies
develop around these floating islands. The hypoancistrus species would live in the
roots flowing down from
these islands. Some of the
most amazing fish can be
found in these areas.
Twig catfish will attach to the roots
and essentially be invisible. Others
will spawn and the eggs will hang
from the mouth of the male like a
long beard. Where he goes, they
go.
And last Hans gave an update
on the dams being built in Brazil.
Work has resumed. As this work
moves along our most beautiful
plecos and other fish will be
gone foever.
Whew, it has been a busy morning alread. Time for lunch! After
lunch these is some time left so I
headed to the show room. Over
300 fish were entered in the
show. There were many catfish
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and plecos that just are not
ever seen. Very rare fish
were everywhere.
Then the talks continue with
HEIKO BLEYER 'AMAZING BIOLOGY OF SOME CATFISHES'. This talk is still more very interesting stories of collecting along with habitat pictures. There was a lot to learn here.
26
Then came a return to the corydoras with Eric Bodrock, 'BREEDING AND FEEDING'.
This was one of my favorite talks. Eric has really developed a great presentation to pass on to
us his huge knowledge of the different fish he works with. He starts out with some really basic
stuff we all must deal with on a daily basis. Tricks to bagging fish, tricks to getting fish ready to
bag. Transporting fish with 2-3 drops of liquid Kordon 'Ammolock'. Eric offered a tip I had not
heard of before. The cardboard container that soda or beer comes in provides a perfect divider for breather bagged fish. Support and separation in the box for these breather bagged
fish. He reminded everyone that you never float a breather bag. Oxygen does not transfer water to water with a breather bag so the fish will suffocate. Another great tip, when doing water
changes in a fry tank, attach a airstone to the end in the fry tank. That will keep any fry from
getting sucked out with the water change. I liked that idea. When bringing new fish home, be
sure to ditch the water they came in. Eric never adds the bag water to his tank. And check the
fish out before doing the long water adjustments. If the fish is in trouble he may not live long
enough for you acclimatization process. Net the fish and get him in good water fast. Another
cool tip, when you have to move a fish in a bag that is in a cave, rubber band the cave to the
sides of the bag to keep it from rolling around and killing
the fish.
Then Eric moves right into his feeding choices with the fish.
Blackworms are a big item for Eric. But he works live
foods all the way down to maintaining algae water
cultures. He uses drops of miracle grow every day to
keep them going.
27
Brine shimp are an everyday food for his
fish. Daphnia is a steady food as well as
glassworms when you can find a source.
He also feeds microworms and whiteworms. For very small fry, along with the
live foods he will feed the Sera 'micro
food'.
Eric likes the HBH SuperSoft Krill Pellets, as
well as freeze dried daphnia and bloodworms. For the plecos he keeps that are
looking for wood to eat, he will provide
locally 'collected' beech wood, willow
wood and alder wood. What a great talk.
After Eric came Mark Sabaj Perez speaking on 'The Thorny Catfishes'. This was a good biology lesson on how the bones structures of the Doradidae make them a seperate genus. For
those interested in the Doradidae this was a great talk.
After this talk it was banquet dinner and show results time. I did not enter any fish in the
show, so I could just happily cheer the winners. What a great night for Scott Arney. He one Best
of Class in the Loricaridae with a Heminacistrus sp 'Rio Yi' that he personally collected in Uruquay. That fish went on to be
BEST IN SHOW! How cool is it to collect a fish in
another country, take care of it for a year, and
then win Best of Show at the national catfish
convention.
Sunday was auction day. I put into the auction
the few fish I brought that were not already
sold. And I spent what little money I had left on
some great corydoras I have not had a chance
to get before.
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They had over a 1000 items.
They also had some great vendor donations that were raffled
off. I bought raffle tickets but
came up empty.
I left about 4:30pm to start the
long drive home. I did not want
to hit Atlanta with the Monday
morning 'going to work' traffic.
Leaving then would let me beat
them. I made much better time
coming home than I did driving
up. I got home about 2:30am and
slept in the driveway. I did not want
to get the dogs up that early and
wake up my wife. she had to go to
work Monday and would never
have gotten back to sleep. After a
couple of hours napping in the car, I
could go ahead and go in. I got the
fish settled in tanks. Then I got all
the fish fed. Then finally after 36 or
so hours up I went to bed for a couple of hours.
All the containers and coolers that
I had used for the fish had to go
out in the back yard and get
scrubbed and bleached out. I let
them soak all day in the bleach
water and finished cleaning them
up on Tuesday.
Can not wait for the next one!!!
More fish, try to eat more, less
sleep!! Yea!
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For Sale or Trade all things Fishy
David Ramsey 678-463-7853
I am looking for Corydoras paleatus that you have had for more than a year. The Asian fish farms have
crossed these fish and they are all now hybrids. I want to establish a pure strain so only fish you have had for a
year or more. Let me know what you have and costs. Thanks
34
For Sale or Trade all things Fishy
The Aviarium gives Atlanta Area Aquarium
Association members a 10% discount on
all purchases excluding tanks. Take
along your membership card and get the
discount. And remember to tell them you
appreciate their support of the club and
its members!
Premier Aquatics offers AAAA members 15% off everything in the store.
Take along your membership card, and
remember to thank them for their support of our club by offering you a discount on your purchases.
See ya at the meeting!
35
FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME EXPIRATION Angel Rivera 09‐14‐2012 George Libby 11‐30‐2012 David Ramsey 11‐30‐2012 Tom Koranda 12‐04‐2012 Troyce Wolf 09‐17‐2012 Steve Bowman 09‐17‐2012 Jim Greenwald 09‐24‐2012 Charlie Muise 09‐25‐2012 Georgene Palka 09‐25‐2012 Mario Gomez 09‐25‐2012 Kevin Curtis 09‐25‐2012 Michael Barham 09‐29‐2012 Brian McGeachy 10‐15‐2012 Mark Miarka 12‐31‐2012 Clifford Walsh 12‐26‐2012 Jerry Henderson 08‐31‐2012 Kristin House 09‐06‐2012 Richard Indelicato 09‐20‐2012 Jason Priez 09‐25‐2012 Errol Reiss 11‐08‐2012 John Chamberlin 12‐13‐2012 Rod Walls 09‐25‐2012 Juan Damelines 09‐30‐2012 Smokey Sullins 09‐25‐2012 James Clanton 09‐30‐2012 36