Wet pet gazette y2001 issue

The Journal of the Norwalk Aquarium Society regulations, and species we may find.
Whether you are interested in native fishes, just want to get out of the house, or simply From Up-front
want to watch everyone splashing around in the water, this can be an excellent way to spend a day. This trip will be held on the DEP free fishing day in early June. Further details has already been working to make this year an probably give me a sound thrashing if I don’t take a moment to remind everyone that dues First, and very importantly, February 4, 2001 will be the date of our annual auction to benefit the Nature Center for Environmental Activities. All of the proceeds from this auction are donated to the Nature Center as Officers and Directors
our thanks for all of the effort they give us throughout the year. I hope to see everyone there to help out and spend some money.
We have been discussing the possibility of a Anne Broadmeyer 775-0030 anne@broadmeyer.net bus trip this year. Various destinations have been discussed, and the Board seems to think that Boston would be the best choice. It is still too early to give any details and we’re still open to suggestions if any of you have ideas.
Gary Krasilovsky 227-7066 gary.krasilovsky@snet.net Next, I have been in contact with the State (DEP) about the possibility of a freshwater Note: All phone numbers are area code 203 unless otherwise noted collecting trip. They gave us a number of suggestions about possible collecting sites, Editor’s Notebook
My Experience with
Apistogramma
nijsseni
This month we have a brand new author for the Wet Pet Gazette: Rich Grenfell! Rich’s first article is about his success in breeding the Bolivian Ram. Great article, thanks Rich! Everybody at one time or another who is as This month Ed Katuska again brings forth his seriously involved in the tropical fish hobby as I am, has had a quest or dream of spawning a should win a first place prize. I love it.
I am also starting what will be a recurring Apistogramma nijsseni (I am mostly interested series, “Oh – That’s One Of My Favorite in South American dwarf cichlids, especially Fish.” Believe me, it will be a while before I Since the early days of my hobby, when I first This month we have two golden oldies, one saw this particular fish at the home of a club each from Emil Bella and Walter Stevens Jr.
member, I decided that I had to have this fish You know, back when Walter was writing, he and eventually spawn it. But this was not going to be that easy, as I will explain later. This club ahead of the Wet Pet Gazette with his book member had some fry but they were too small.
I patiently waited for a couple of months, purchased half a dozen juveniles and threw We also have a reprint by Gary Smith of the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society on They were about one-half to three-quarters Peat Divers. I didn’t translate the article, so inch total length (TL). I guessed that the bigger readers could enjoy the full flavour.
WE NEED YOUR ARTICLES!
which proved to be true. A few months later, to Write up a few! I’ll take them in any format.
females. The males were already about one An article does not need to be long in order to and a half inches TL and the females almost make it good. Take the time to spread the one inch. They seemed to grow more rapidly information that you learned. If you haven’t than the other Apistos I have in my collection.
bred a fish, write about what you like about The males were already forming territories.
Squabbling among the females was the order of the day, so I decided to separate them. I set up a so-called breeding tank. I used a five Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 gallon tank, some gravel, a few plants, and a the shell. I kept waiting but did not see the half coconut shell with a small hole in one female coming out of the shell, so I decided to side. For filtration, I used a sponge filter. Then investigate. I removed the shell from the water I put two females and one male in the tank. But and to my surprise, eggs -- tiny red eggs, about I soon found out that this was a big mistake 30 of them, so I put them right back and started because the females almost killed each other. I to count the days. But nothing -- no fry. I thought that I had learned from my previous without this type of problem, but I guess this mistake with A. agassizi -- but no! (I also had was not meant to be with nijsseni. I quickly removed one of the females ending up with In the next month, the fish spawned a few A few water changes later, I noticed that the more times with the same results -- no fry. At female's color had intensified to a bright this time I said to myself the next time they yellow with its typical contrasting black spawn, I will remove the eggs and hatch them blotches. It was a sight to behold! I started to artificially. I would gamble. I set up a two and get excited about things to come. I knew from a half gallon tank using pure rain water. I put previous experience spawning other Apistos the coconut shell with the eggs into it with an that the color intensification of the female airstone and a few drops of methylene blue -- signifies her readiness to spawn soon. But a few months went by and -- nothing. I guessed the fish were not sexually mature yet.
To make a long story short, out of about 30 eggs, 14 hatched and grew up to be 14 males - not one female! I had read in some books that chemistry. I had read that this particular fish the pH influences the sex of the fish. If the required very soft, acid water for breeding. For water is too acid, you get mostly males. The my water changes, I was using 75% pure rain rainwater had a pH of 4.5, so this could be a water and 25% tap water. With this mixture, I possibility. I will never know. The only thing I was getting a pH reading of 5.5. The softness know is that I finally had spawned the fish I of the water I couldn't measure, but I guessed it always wanted to spawn. But the quest is not to be soft. The temperature was set at 80 over. It still remains. It will end when I finally see the beautiful female nijsseni swimming By this time, the male was about two and a quarter inches TL and the female one and a Footnote: Since I wrote this, I have fulfilled half TL. I guess the fish were seven to eight my dream! My nijsseni female can be seen months old. I noticed the female shaking her parading about her tank with her brood.
body in front of the male and immediately swimming into the coconut shell with the male together. They repeated this for a few hours with the female finally chasing the male out of Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 length. I put them into a 46-gallon tank with the pH at 6.8 the hardness at 4dH and the KEEPING AND BREEDING
temperature at 83 degrees. I planted with a Microgeophagus
few Anubias, some Water Sprite across the altispinosa
top, and a large piece of drift wood with Java moss. I also lay some flat rocks about the (The Bolivian Ram)
member. As dithers, I added a small school of I fed 3 times daily, with a rotating menu of I have been in the hobby most of my life, but somehow I never really got into the breeding website, and decided to join. At my first changes were done once per week, at 30% of meeting I met a few people that were breeders and I was instantly hooked. I just HAD to breed some fish! As you can see by the title of After about 6 weeks they had doubled in size this article, my first breeding experience and I knew I had a pair. There were 2 fish that would hover above the same rock, and chase all the other fish away. In talking to other NAS members, I was told that this meant that I first saw them at the store I happened to be working in at the time. And as was customary with fish that I was interested in, I put all 6 of fishroom and there they were…. About 60 or 70 little eggs on top of the rock that they had been defending. This batch ended up being bloodworms, and chopped frozen krill, and eaten, as did the 2nd batch. The 3rd batch meanwhile, I did some reading. The book that gave me the most information was American swimming stage, but disappeared 2 days after.
As the spawns came with regularity, and I discovered that it was recommended that the became more familiar with the pre-spawning pH be in the slightly alkaline range. I thought behavior, I began to watch for it and one night that this might present a problem, as my tap water most always has a pH of 6.8. I tested spawning right before my eyes! The female, neutral. They seemed fine, so I didn't worry would make a few passes over the rock, and on the third or fourth pass she began to lay develop nice round bellies, and good color. I saw no sign of disease so I took them home.
keeping all of the other fish out of the area.
At this point, they were about 1 inch in total Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 turned the overhead light in the room out, got For my first time, I must say, that it was off of the telephone, and backed off a few pretty problem free (except for so many of the feet. After she had laid a dozen or so, the male made some passes close to the eggs, and probably feeding a bit heavy and bought the I assume that he was fertlilizing them. This Nitrogen content of the water up as a result. I went on for 45 minutes to an hour or so, and need to thank Sal, Don, and Ken for all of when all was said and done, there were about their help and advice, and especially for 75 to 100 eggs, in a tight little group. They hatched in about 60 hours at 83 degrees, and were free - swimming in about 72 hours. I was told that it was probably the tetras and not the parents eating the fry so as soon as the anyway), is that good quality food and water 4th batch became free- swimming, I removed them, filled a 5.5 gallon tank with water from providing the fish with a proper environment the parent tank, added a mature filter, some with which to breed. If I was hooked before, I Java moss, and put the babies in their own tank. I started them with microworms as a five different types of Apistos and will be first food and fed 3 times daily. After about 2 trying my luck with them in the months to weeks, I took some color flake, spirulina flake crushed it into a powder. After about a week of the flakes, I noticed that the number of fry was becoming smaller. I thought that maybe I wasn't changing the water enough, so I began doing 25% every other day, but the babies "Colored Atlas of
kept dying till I had only 10 left. At this point Miniature Catfish"
I moved them to a 10-gallon tank ‘til they were about 3/4 of an inch long and they were While the rearing of the young was going on When I think of the most active, some times cutest and most over looked fishes, I think of They spawned every 14 to 20 days or so. I either the Corydoras, Brochis or Aspidoras didn't have the room for so many of them so I miniature catfish. I would venture to say that decided to let nature take its course. I watched most hobbyists do not realize that there are carefully and was able to verify that it was over 115 species of the genus Corydoras and indeed the tetras eating the babies. They approximately 14 species of the Aspidoras. I would pick them off a few at a time.
recently had some limited success breeding some Aspidoras catfish and was attempting to breed some albino Corydoras. Then someone Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 breeding. I drew a blank, I didn't realize there was more than one. So I looked around for a descriptions of the species, care, feeding and breeding habits. I found such a book.
The book "Colored Atlas of Miniature Catfish" is a hard covered T.F.H. publication (TS-183) written by DR. Warren E. Burgess. It is a 1992 advertisements normally associated with the T.F.H. publications. This was a refreshing experience. There are well over 300 color (mixture) of photos and hand drawings of the different species. There is an abundance of information on each genus's natural habitant, breeding habits and requirements. In some cases I could get away with saying species One thing that has always impressed me at club knew the names of all the parts of the different Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 I have had B. modesta almost continuously Although this individual fish was part of the since 1980. I remember the year, because that’s original “pack” that I had in the late ‘80s, it the year that we moved to Trumbull. First I had wasn’t tolerant of tankmates of other species. It did put up with a skunk loach for about 18 thereabouts, I purchased four more fish from months. (Maybe the modesta thought the skunk former N.A.S. president Bruce Smith, who was moving down south. I had these fellows in the same tank, a twenty-nine, for many years. I My modesta loaches would readily take flake would occasionally see what looked like a nip, food, although they loved meatier fare. (When but I never saw any resulting damage. Which Peek-a-boo stayed with his Uncle Ed, he loved reinforces what I read in my reference book: “It the worms that he got daily. What a great is said that the fish will not tolerate other uncle!) He also loved it when I would scour my other tanks for some snails, and drop a few into his tank. He would search out these snails Over the years, I lost one then another. Usually and eat them up, shell and all, crunching them these losses were found on the floor, having found some small opening in the tank cover.
I had this individual until 1999. He was at least night?) There was one or two that I never seventeen years old, but I feel that we would found, they simply vanished. Perhaps they have had him longer, if I hadn’t rushed a water flopped somewhere that I couldn’t see. We change. It was in a period of time when I was don’t have any cats, so I’m not sure where else trying to use rain water for some of water being changed. I’m not sure if the rain water / tap water mix was a little too cool, or if it was the pH, or if By 1995 I was down to a single fish (and I had there was some contamination in the rain water, finally learned to be very careful about the or if the loach didn’t agree with the Geo-Liquid cover). I don’t name my fish, but he actually that I tried. When the tank cleared, the loach was got the name “Peek-a-boo” which hinted at his covered with spots. I was kicking myself for my shy nature. Actually he got this name when my haste. “Peek-a-boo” didn’t make it.
mother-in-law was visiting once. She slept in the family room where we had his tank. One Well in the February 2000 auction, there was a “orange finned loach.” Everybody, stand aside: “Grandma Sarah” had gotten into her jammies, I would not be outbid. He is now situated in a we noticed a bath towel over the tank. “Let me fifteen. There is a foot long piece of a four inch hang that towel for you.” “No,” she said, PVC pipe, which he likes to stay in … “Hide-n- “Leave it there. If I wake up at night, that darn seek” is still quite somewhat shy. Now, let’s go fish is there looking at me!” Peek-a-boo got his through these tanks … where are some snails? Reference:Aquarium Atlas. Riehl, Dr. Rudger and Baensch, Hans A. 1991, Tetra Press. P. 372 another, this fellow stayed in a spare tank with its “Uncle” Ed Katuska for a month or so.
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 or crevice where is only one outlet, which the female proceeds to block. Once she has the Did you know?
male cornered the female lays approximately leave once he has fertilized her eggs.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s just a fish
season. I started the year off by diving into the ocean and I brought back some interesting fish facts to pass along. As usual, check out leaving the water at a speed of 35 miles an The Wacky Fish World segment for some hour, gliding for 42 seconds, soaring as high as 50 feet and covering a distance of 150 feet.
making headlines. Our editor, Doug DeMent, knew the answer to last months trivia question that I pretty much thought was a stumper, way to go Doug. You can find the answer and a The Wacky Fish World
new question at the end of this column. Some of you trekky fans may know the answer.
Goldfish hell
game sweeping Japan is replacing soft toys - the lucky dip crane-grab game with goldfish.
Did you know…
complaints of animal cruelty against an earlier Taking your time
The slowest grower in the animal kingdom is the Deep Sea Clam, Tindaria callistisormis, designed the game to appeal to the Japanese which lives in the North Atlantic and takes love of festivals and fairs. Players try to one hundred years to reach a length of 8mm.
maneuver an arm to try to scoop out one of the 200 goldfish in the tank. KNT says “the goldfish are wallowing in a luxurious tank equipped with a water purifier and a ladle that In the mood, NOW
snares them is made in soft fabric.” The initial The male grunt sculpin really plays hard to company has inquiries from South Korea and get. Willing females chase the male grunts until the female actually corners him in a cave Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 Pass the Dramamine please
laughing every time it is switched on and starts to twich and croon. “The Queen thinks Billy is a scream—he’s always on her piano,” suffer from seasickness, according to a marine A Balmoral insider told the paper. “It’s so scientist. Erland Moksnes says a Norwegian funny to see all these mounted deers’ heads lighthouse keeper asked him to examine a cod and stuffed animals hanging on the walls of this grand room and there in the middle of it strangely — relaxed but also distressed. Mr.
plague singing “Don’t Worry Be Happy”, the water where it recovered after a few hours. He concluded that the fish was suffering from seasickness. He said “we humans have an organ of balance associated with our ears Last months trivia question
experience unexpected movements, as at sea.
The golden trout, Salmo aquabonita, believed Fish have a similar organ which help them to occur only in Golden Trout Creek, high in orient themselves in the water so they can tell the California Sierras, once bore a patronymic scientific name in honor of a former, now sideways. If a fish is caught up in rough seas deceased, US president. Name this president.
it will become ill.” Once the fish recovered, Sir Billy Bass
entertaining guests at her Balmoral estate in This month trivia question
Scotland with renditions of “Don’t Worry Be Happy” in a duet with a rubber singing fish.
The monarch has even mounted the grotesque Generation” Captain Jean-Luc Picard had a “Billy Bass” singing fish toy – which looks pet lionfish, Pterois volitans, in his “ready like an angler’s trophy – on top her grand room.” Like most pets, this fish had a name.
piano. Buckingham Palace could not confirm the bizarre report, but it stopped short of ruling it out altogether. “The Queen may have a singing fish, but more than that I couldn’t say,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said.
member of the royal family and bursts out Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 constanciae and Pterolebias longipinnis can all be spawned very successfully without having THE PEAT DIVERS
any experience with the soil spawning killies.
Then again, there are some species that should be tried only when the hobbyist has had success with easier ones. Such species that may be considered difficult might include Pterolebias zonatus, Pterolebias hoignei and Cynolebias When discussing their breeding habits, killifish fall into three main categories: plant spawners, comfortable in aquariums of 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 soil spawners and peat divers. In this article, I gallons. Some of the larger species such as P.
zonatus or C. wolterstorffi can reach a size of 5 or 6 inches and therefore require a larger interesting and unique breeding habits of all killifish. Their spawning behavior is unique in Filtration can be simple, a box filter being that a pair will completely burrow or "dive" quite adequate. Temperature plays a major role in keeping peat diving killis (as well as process. These fish are true annual species all other killis). If kept at lower temperatures with eggs capable of surviving extremely long (64' to 68'F), the Cynolebias and Pterolebias slowly but do not die as quickly as fish kept at higher temperatures. At lower temperatures they are also more active, in better colour and In their natural habitat, the peat divers live in small ponds and ditches in South America, which evaporate during the dry season. The In the aquarium the peat divers do not readily adult fish die, leaving behind hundreds of eggs accept dry foods, but live and frozen foods are buried beneath the mud. On the arrival of the wet season, the rain begins to fill up the dry shrimp, live tubifex, live white worms and live ponds. The eggs, which are embedded in the or frozen mosquito larvae are all eaten readily.
mud and silt, begin to hatch into tiny fry that A spawning medium must be used to breed the will mature, reproduce and die in less than one peat divers. The most commonly used medium is peat moss or peat fibre. Two methods are Some literature states that peat divers should commonly used: 1) the margarine dish method only be tried after the aquarist has successfully and 2) the bowl method. Both ways work very well and it is simply a matter of preference as necessarily true. There are some species of peat divers that are easily bred and equally beautiful too. Cynolebias whitei, Cynolebias aquarium of appropriate size (depending on the Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 size and the temperament of the species), dumped into a container (1 gal. tank, plastic usually 2 1/2 to 10 gallons, containing a box shoe box, etc.), and cool water (68' to 70' F), is filter. The filter also serves as a hiding place poured in to a depth of about 5 or 6". Most for the female if the male gets too rough. The eggs will hatch within 24 hours of their first peat is placed in a margarine dish or something wetting but some may not yet be quite ready. If similar, to a depth of 3 or 4 inches. This allows the hobbyist wishes to do so, he may collect the the fish to bury themselves completely when peat and store it again for another 3 or 4 weeks spawning. The lid an be placed on the dish but and then rewet it. This may result in more or remember to cut a 3" hole in it to give the fish less fry than the first attempt and the process access. The lid helps to keep the peat moss in can be repeated until no more fry hatch out.
the dish to some extent, during the spawning.
But one hatched, the fry are very easy to raise.
Most are large enough to accept newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms immediately.
Some species such as C. boitonei and A. affinis contain eggs, is placed into a fine mesh net to are rather small and would benefit from feeding of infusoria for a day or two before starting on squeezed out. When the peat is dried to the brine shrimp. With steady feedings and partial consistency of fresh chewing tobacco it is put into a plastic bag, sealed and labeled with the Pterolebias species can start to sex out in four name of the species, the date collected and the weeks while Cynolebias species can be sexed The bowl method employs a gallon goldfish In closing I would like to recommend these bowl as a breeding tank. The fish are first kept fish for anyone who is looking for something in a conditioning tank either together or separately. Fish that are kept together will not Pterolebias species lack the brilliant colours spawn as long as there is no spawning medium.
of other killifish, they surely make up for it When the females have filled with eggs the with their graceful finnage and attractive breeders are introduced into the spawning bowl which has been filled to a depth of 3 or 4" with peat moss. No feeding should be done while the fish are in the spawning bowl. After about either greens, blues (light and dark), turquoise or black colouring, covered with small light spawned out, the breeders are put back into blue or white dots or stripes, producing a very their original tank to be conditioned for the next striking pattern. The colour of Cynolebias breeding session. The peat in the breeding splendens will make any marine buff think bowl is removed and processed as before.
twice. Imagine if you would, a fish about When the proper incubation time has passed, two inches in length with alternate vertical the eggs are ready to be hatched. Incubation bars of intense "Paris" green and vermillion time for Cynolebias and Pterolebias species ranges from 1 1/2 months to almost a year.
When hatching time has arrived, the peat is Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001 REGULAR MEETINGS AND PROGRAMS
N.A.S. EXCHANGE PROGRAM
Meetings are on the third Thursday of each month N.A.S. will exchange its publication with other societies except July and December, starting 8:00 PM at the Nature Center for Environmental Activities, 10
Articles may be reprinted by not-for-profit aquarium Woodside Lane, Westport. Meetings are open to societies by acknowledging the source and sending us members and the public. Each meeting includes a short two copies (one for our library, one for the author).
business meeting, refreshments, a raffle of goods, and aprogram/event.
WET PET GAZETTE ADVERTISING RATES
The Wet Pet Gazette will offer a web page on our web
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETINGS
site for any business that will display and offer our Board of Directors' (BOD) meetings are held in membership flyers. (We supply the flyers, the business member's homes. They are generally but not always the first Thursday of the month. You do not need to be aboard member to attend or to host a BOD meeting.
For ad spaces in the Journal, the cost per issue is Attending a BOD meeting is an excellent way to get better acquainted in the society, it also gives you a chance to see another aquarist's set-up. Just let the These ads must be paid in advance of printing.
host/hostess know if you plan to attend. Hosting a BODmeeting is an excellent way to have some experiencedhobbyists review your set-ups. Just let a BOD member AFFILIATIONS
know that you are interested in hosting a meeting and N.A.S. is a member of the Federation of American when. The BOD will gladly relocate a meeting to a Aquarium Societies (FAAS), and the North East Council Norwalk Aquarium Society
P.O. Box 84
South Norwalk, CT 06856
Wet Pet Gazette, January – February 2001

Source: http://www.norwalkas.org/docs/wpg2001i1.pdf