41:09 October

Transcription

41:09 October

A40
Victorian Cichlid Society Inc
VC S 40th
Anniversa ry
Convention
41:09
October 2012
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CONTENTS
So You Want to Breed Dwarf Cichlids?
– Steve Chester . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 2-15
Dwarf Cichlid Show Eligible Species .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 15
A40 . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 16, 28-30
Presidential Patois – John McCormick .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 19
The Four Stages of the Aquarium Hobby
– Albert J Klee .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 20-23
Success with Dicrossus maculatus – Albert So . .. . 24-27
VCS Calendar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 30
Minutes of the Previous Meeting .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 31
The Last Word – Daryl Hutchins .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 32
THE NEXT MEETING of the Society, will be held at
3 pm on Saturday, 13 October in the Empire Room of the Manhattan
Hotel, Canterbury Road, Ringwood. Incorporates the Elaine Turner
Memorial Art & Photographic Competition.
Main Talks: two presentations each by Alf Stalsberg (Norway) and
Spencer Jack (Canada). Tickets: see Page 29.
Art Competition Prizes: courtesy of Cichlid Press Australia.
Raffle Prizes: courtesy of Aquariums & Reptiles at Cranbourne,
Aqua-Pic’s, Cichlid Press Australia and VCS. See Page 28 for
complete details.
COVER PICTURE: A40 at the Manhattan.
FEES
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THE SECRETARY
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© Copyright, Victorian Cichlid Society Incorporated 2012
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1
So You Want to Breed Dwarf Cichlids?
By Steve Chester
– British Cichlid Association
I
n the past few years
there has been a
noticeable boom in
the available species
of dwarf cichlids to the UK
cichlids.org.au
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Enigmatochromis lucanusi pair with fry.
hobbyist. The time has never
been better to give these wonderful
fish a place in your aquarium!
They are small, easy to keep
if you follow the rules, and when
Photo: Steve Chester.
you have mastered keeping them, the keeper to have a good underthey are also easy to breed.
standing of the chosen species. So
Before we start, let’s go over the let’s look at the fish that are classibasics. To breed any fish requires fied as ‘dwarf’ cichlids.
cichlids.org.au
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Photos: Steve Chester.
Apistogramma baenschi – Adult female
displaying broodcare colour pattern.
Apistogramma baenschi – Adult male
specimen, neutral mood.
Apistogramma barlowi – Adult female
Apistogramma barlowi – Adult male,
neutral mood.
The term ‘dwarf cichlid’ has no
scientific meaning, it is a hobbyist term generally used to describe
the small, peaceful cichlids from
South America and West Africa
that measure less than 100 mm
in length. Again, this is not a
scientific measurement and many
‘dwarf cichlids’ measure under
75 mm and a few reach slightly
larger than the 100 mm that is
usually regarded as the maximum.
Several Rift Valley lake cichlids can also be classed as dwarf
ciichlids but do not fit
cichlids
into the general
bracket due
t o m aj or
or
to
differences in water parameters.
(In case this is confusing, a list
of Dwarf Cichlids eligible for the
VCS Dwarf Cichlid Table Show in
June, follows this article – Ed.)
The dwarf cichlids from South
America and West Africa are
numerous and consist of many
genera including Apistogramma,
Apistogrammoides, Biotoecus,
Congochromis, Dicrossus, Laetacara, Mikrogeophagus, Nannacara,
Nanochromis, Parananochromis,
Pelvicachromis and Taeniacara.
There are several more groups, but
the genera listed here are amongst
the more popular aquarium fish
and are the fish you are likely to
come across as you research this
vast group of small cichlids. In
total there are well over 500 species and forms of dwarf cichlids,
with many more new fish discovered in the jungles of South
America and West Africa every
year. Many species are spread
across vast stretches of water and
have developed individual colours
and patterns, these morphs add to
the complexity and interest of this
huge group of fish.
So where are these fish found? To
understand this, is the first leap into
the world of successfully breeding
dwarf cichlids. The vast majority
of these small cichlids are found in
Apistogramma eremnopyge – Adult
female displaying broodcare colour.
Apistogramma eremnopyge – Young
adult male.
Neolamprologus brichardi Pemba.
Photo: Wikimedia.
cichlids.org.au
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cichlids.org.au
5
Apistogramma hoignei – Male.
Apistogramma sp ‘Kelleri’ Diamond
Face – Female mouthbrooding Apisto.
Apistogramma sp ‘Kelleri’ Diamond
Face – Male mouthbrooding Apisto.
two of the world’s largest tropical
rainforests, the Amazon rainforest
in South America and the Congo
rainforest in West Africa. These
huge rainforests are truly epic in
scale and are fed by two of the
world’s largest rivers, the mighty
Amazon River and the huge Congo
River that runs through the Congo
rainforest. These vast waterways
are gigantic in size and are generally poor in fish species; only the
largest and strongest fish survive
the main river that is often dirty,
silt-laden, very deep and very fastflowing. To find the small cichlids
we need to move away from the
main river and travel the numerous
tributaries. As we move through
the jungle, the rivers gradually
become smaller, narrower and
slower-flowing. It is in these shallow and slow-moving waterways
that we can start to look for the
small species of cichlid.
These fish are mainly found in
small rivulets of still water, jungle
pools and small streams. These
waters are usually characterised by
a sand substrate overlain with fallen leaf-litter and driftwood from
the jungle canopy above. Aquatic
plants are rarely encountered due
to the lack of sunlight and the water
is quite often dark with tannins
leached from the fallen leaves, but
crystal clear. This water deserves
special mention as it is the most
important part of breeding dwarf
cichlids in the aquarium. The rainforests of the world are usually situated on giant floodplains, due to
the geology of these areas it is usually found that the earth is made up
of mainly sand and many millions
of years worth of fallen debris
from the rainforests themselves,
this means that any neutral and
very soft rain water that falls onto
the jungle remains very soft due to
running over inert substrates. The
pH is dropped naturally by decaying vegetation and debris from
the jungle itself, this means that
most if not all dwarf cichlids are
naturally adapted to very soft and
acidic water with plenty of cover
in the way of leaf-litter and fallen,
decaying wood.
There have been very few detailed
studies done into the natural diet of
dwarf cichlids but a few details can
Apistogramma norberti – Adult female.
Apistogramma norberti – Male.
Apistogramma sp Masken – Pair.
Apistogramma sp Masken – Male.
cichlids.org.au
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Anomalochromis thomasi.
Photo: Bill Benett.
Apistogramma hoignei – Female.
cichlids.org.au
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Apistogramma trifasciata – Adult male.
Congochromis dimidiatus.
Congochromis sabinae.
be found in the literature that tell us
that in general dwarf cichlids are
omnivorous fish that have a mixed
diet consisting of small shrimp,
fish and also algae and higher plant
life such as small fruits and berries
that find their way into the habitats.
ally available in your country or
area. Dwarf cichlids are a fairly
tricky fish to raise commercially
and because of several difficulties
are not often available in local fish
shops. Several species are commercially available and make ideal
starting fish for those interested
in trying this group of cichlids.
For those that like the rarities and
more difficult species I would recommend searching for a hobbyist
breeder/enthusiast who specialises
in dwarf cichlids. Here in the UK
there are several different clubs
and associations that contain many
Cyprichromis leptosoma.
Etroplus maculatus.
Photo: Wikimedia.
Photo: Wikimedia.
specialist breeders of dwarf cichlids. These fish are available at
specialist auctions across the country and in many cases the search
for the rare fish can be almost as
exciting as the breeding! When you
have located your fish and reserved
them with either the breeder or
shop you can now turn to setting up your aquarium that will be
designed as naturally as possible to
allow these small and shy fish to
feel completely at home.
What tank to use? Many dwarf
cichlids can pair for life but in the
initial stages can be quite territorial
and aggressive to their potential
partner. A larger tank is far better
In the Aquarium
Now we should all be aware of
what a dwarf cichlid is, where they
come from and what kinds of habitats they live in! If we want to keep
them alive and well, and to breed
them in the aquarium, we need to
follow several well-defined rules
when planning their tank.
Firstly you need to have a look
around and see what fish are actu-
Apistogramma sp – Male.
cichlids.org.au
Apistogramma sp – taking cichlid
granules.
8
Apistogramma trifasciata – Female
Apistogramma sp – Female with fry.
cichlids.org.au
Apistogramma sp – Female amongst the
leaf-litter with fry.
9
Ivanacara adoketa – Adult female in
brood colour pattern.
Ivanacara adoketa – Pair with eggs,
male on the left.
Nannacara taenia – Female with fry.
Nanochromis parilus.
than small, height is not critical
and most professional and hobbyist breeders use a tank around 24
x 12 x 12. These tanks are easy to
source and offer enough room for
almost all species of dwarf cichlid
that you are likely to come across.
In this tank you can use a normal aquarium heater set to around
26°C. Many dwarf cichlid habitats run through very dense forest
and run slightly cooler than open
pools in clearings and savannahs.
Filtration is required but we ideally
do not want too much water-flow.
A small power filter can be used
but any fry produced are in danger
of being sucked into the intake
and losing their lives; far better is
a specially designed air-powered
sponge-filter, which will provide superb water cleaning potential while
keeping the fry safe.
Now we can move on to the
décor, the substrate is always
essential for dwarf cichlids and
needs to be fine-grained to allow
these fish a small amount of digging to create their caves that are
essential for breeding. Most dwarf
cichlid hobbyists use very finegrained and most importantly, inert
sand. This can be found in several
places and children’s play pit and
swimming pool sands are utilised
by keepers of soft-water fish as
these substrates do not contain any
minerals that increase the water
hardness. This is essential if you
want to create the natural softwater biotope of these fish!
Remember that in the wild the
small dwarf cichlids are almost
at the bottom of the food chain.
They are predated by a large selection of both aquatic creatures and
threats from above the water such
as birds and even humans. They
are naturally a shy, skittish and
nervous group of fish that absolutely require plenty of cover in
the aquarium to feel at home and
Photo: Wikimedia.
Mikrogeophagus altispinosus – Bolivian
Ram.
cichlids.org.au
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi – Ram.
10
Julidochromis regani with fry.
Photo: Wikimedia.
Paracyprichromis
nigripinnis.
Nanochromis transvestitus – Female
with fry.
cichlids.org.au
Pelvicachromis humilis.
11
Pelvicachromis pulcher – Female with
fry.
Pelvicachromis roloffi – Pair with fry.
Pelvicachromis subocellatus Matadi –
Pair with fry.
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Bipindi – Male
with fry.
to be able to reproduce. In a perfect
biotope tank you could overlay
your sand substrate with twigs and
small, specially prepared branches
from both oak and beech trees. In
winter you can also collect handfuls of dried, fallen leaves from the
same trees. Dry them out at home
and rinse under the tap before adding them to your aquarium; within
24 hours they will sink and create
a perfect South American or West
African dwarf cichlid biotope.
The fish will find plenty of hiding
places amongst the leaves and will
have more confidence to patrol the
open areas where you can observe
them.
If you do not want to
work with these natural
materials then you are
welcome to use a smallgrained gravel but please
spend some time to check
if it leaches minerals into your
water which will in turn raise your
hardness. Many gravels do this,
and this is the reason why so many
serious dwarf cichlid keepers keep
their fish over sand. If you would
like to use plants then feel free and
many, many successful breeding
attempts have been made in attractive planted tanks.
If you choose either setup you
will have to provide a spawning
substrate. There are basically two
types of spawning strategies performed by dwarf cichlids. The vast
majority are cave-spawning
fish that spawn in complete secrecy. In
this case, the best
item to supply
is a cave with
....a very
....
small
entrance. Clay flowerpot saucers
or half a coconut shell are the
items used most often in the breeding of fish such as Apistogramma,
Nanochromis and Pelvicachromis.
A low ceiling is also important,
many Dwarf cichlid males are too
large to physically get inside the
cave and spawn by spraying their
milt through the cave entrance. The
females spawn on the roof of the
cave and a low ceiling allows eggs
and milt to make better contact
thus ensuring better fertilisation.
Eggs hatch in roughly 70 hours
and after a further 122 hours have
used up the attached yolk-sac and
are reliant on fresh food. At this
Pelvicachromis rubrolabiatus – Male.
Pelvicachromis sacramontis – Female
with fry.
Steatocranus tinanti.
cichlids.org.au
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Photo: Alf Stalsberg.
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Lobe – Wildcaught from Cameroon.
cichlids.org.au
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Dehane.
13
Article continued on Page 16 ➜
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Nigerian Red –
Pair with fry.
Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi – Male.
Caring for Dwarf cichlid fry is
stage the female will guide them
out of the cave for the first time fairly easy but does require a little
and the aquarist now gets his first knowledge and experience. First
you need to feed them. Several
look at his new charges!
species can have fry that are too
The second spawning method
small for newly hatched brineis to spawn in a sheltered but
shrimp; these fish will require
open space, usually on a firm sura smaller substitute food and
face. It is possible to create a
infusoria is perfect for the first few
sheltered spawning area that is days. Microworms are also accepteasily viewable and many pro- ed. If you have no experience with
fessional photographers create live foods then several hours readthese zones that allow easy photo- ing and studying either online or in
graphing of spawning fish. Open- a specialist book will pay off here.
spawners like Crenicara, Dicrossus Once feeding on baby brineshrimp,
and Mikrogeophagus will utilise a the fry will grow fast. The adult
plant leaf, stone or piece of wood dwarf cichlids make superb parents
as a spawning substratum.
and will guide their family for sev-
cichlids.org.au
Pseudocrenilabrus multicolor – Male.
14
Pseudocrenilabrus nicholsi – Ovigerous
female.
eral weeks to several months. It is
not unheard of to have two spawns
in the same tank! Usually in this
case, the older juveniles are chased
away from the vicinity of the second spawn, but in a large enough
tank they can all get along fine.
There is currently a huge interest in the small dwarf cichlids;
availability has never been so
good and there are approximately
30 species available in the UK
at any one time. Why don’t you
do a little research and take the
plunge into these stunning fish?
I hope this short article can help
you on your way.
o
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Nigerian
Yellow – Pair with fry.
Pelvicachromis taeniatus Moliwe.
Dwarf Cichlid Show
Eligible Species
Anomalachromis spp
Apistogramma spp
Apistogrammoides pucallpaensis
Crenicara maculatus (Dicrossus
maculatus)
Cyprichromis spp (Jumbos
excepted)
Dicrossus spp
Eretmodus cyanostictus
Etroplus maculatus
Julidochromis dickfeldi
Julidochromis ornatus
Julidochromis transcriptus
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Labidochromis spp
Laetacara spp
Melanochromis dialeptos (Dwarf
Auratus)
Melanochromis joanjohnsoni
(exasperatus)
Microgeophagus/Mikrogeophagus/
Papiliochromis spp
Nannacara spp
Nanochromis spp
Neolamprologus brevis
Neolamprologus brichardi
Neolamprologus buescheri
Neolamprologus calliurus
Neolamprologus caudopunctatus
Neolamprologus hecqui
Neolamprologus leleupi
15
Neolamprologus leloupi
Neolamprologus meeli
Neolamprologus multifasciatus
Neolamprologus mustax
Neolamprologus ocellatus
Neolamprologus calliurus (sp
“Magarae”)
Neolamprologus walteri
Papiliochromis/Microgeophagus spp
Paracyprichromis spp
Pelvicachromis spp
Pseudocrenilabrus spp
Steatocranus spp
Taeniacara candidi
Tanganyikan Clowns
Telmatochromis bifrenatus
E&OE - ring the Secretary with any queries.
40th Anniversary
A40 Convention A40
Saturday,
13 October
2012
at 3 pm
Aquarists extraordinaire, Spencer Jack (left) and
Alf Stalsberg (right) will be headlining the day’s
entertainment, but there will also be an exclusive raffle
with 28 valuable prizes (see Page 20), tickets for which
can only be purchased at the Convention.
The Elaine Turner Memorial Art & Photographic
competition will run in conjunction with the A40 and on
this occasion will have actual prizes courtesy of Cichlid
Press Australia.
Australia So bring along your work of art/photo
... and remember that the competition is open to all
attendees, VCS members and honoured guests.
(The formalities will be kept to an absolute minimum.)
See you at the A40!
cichlids.org.au
16
cichlids.org.au
17
NATIONAL
AUSTRALIAN
KILLIFISH ASSOC
AUSTRALIAN & NEW
GUINEA
FISHES ASSOCIATION
Meets bi-monthly at the
Field Naturalist Club,
1 Gardenia St, Blackburn.
Meets Bi-monthly
in members’ homes.
Call:
Emma Jenkin 9442 3408
Contact: angfavic.org
EEASTERN DISTRICTS
AQUARIUM
SOCIETY
Meets on the 4th Friday of the month
at Nunawading Civic Centre, Whitehorse Road, Nunawading.
VICTORIAN
RIAN
AN CICHLID SOCIETY
SSO
PO Box 3005, Nunawading 3131
Usually meets on the first Wednesday
of the month, except January
at the Oakleigh Centre,
773 Warrigal Rd, Oakleigh.
(April & October are normally Auctions but
this year we host our 40th Anniversary
Convention in October ... see p16)
AAQUARIUM SOCIETY
OF VICTORIA
Aims of the Society:
Meets on the last Thursday
of the month at
29 Grant Street, Clifton Hill.
Call:
Daryl Maddock: 9874 1850
Contact Graham Rowe:
9560 7472 for information
The Victorian Cichlid Society was formed by cichlidophiles in March 1972, thus
becoming the first specialist aquarist group in Victoria. Its main aims are:
1. To promote the keeping of cichlids;
2. To gain and disseminate knowledge of cichlids, their habits and attributes through the use
of slides, films, books, lectures, practical demonstrations, local and overseas magazines,
articles by members and discussions with fellow members or experts in the field;
3. To assist, in any way possible, the establishment and/or maintenance of approved public
aquaria;
4. To be involved in the education of the general public with regard to the benefits of fishkeeping
(particularly cichlids), and the potentially harmful effects of animal mismanagement;
5. To promote fellowship between members;
6. To further the conservation of species and their natural habitats;
7. To further the identification, distribution, breeding, maintenance and enjoyment of species
in the Family Cichlidae.
cichlids.org.au
18
Presidential
Patois
By John McCormick
Hi Everyone,
Well, what a difference a month
makes, this time last month I was sitting here freezing my butt off! It was
so cold and wet, it was a little hard to
get motivated. Here we are a month
later, well into Spring, with the weather looking a lot more respectable. The
days are longer, brighter, and warmer,
which makes doing the maintenance in
the fish room seem a lot more appealing than the chore it can seem in the
cold and wet.
If you can remember, several months
ago I warned you that 13 October
would come around before you knew
it, and guess what, the A40 dinner is
here. You should all be reading this
with only a week to go before the big
event; all the waiting is just about
over. Alf Stalsberg and Spencer Jack
will be arriving in the country any day
now; I can’t wait to be there for their
presentations.
I do hope of course you took my
much-repeated advice to buy your
ticket to the dinner early and not leave
it to the last minute; last time I looked
we were down to only seven tickets
left and that was in early September.
If you have not purchased your
ticket by now, I can only guess that
you missed out and not only will
you not have the opportunity to hear
cichlids.org.au
Alf Stalsberg and Spencer Jack speak,
you have also missed the chance of
winning any of the great prizes that are
on offer in our raffle.
Tickets for the raffle will only be
available for sale to those people in
attendance at the Convention. Raffle
tickets will not be available to anyone
else or sold at any other time prior to
the event.
For those of you who have a ticket, I
will look forward to seeing you on the
13th and for those that don’t I guess
I’ll see you at the November general
meeting where we can talk over what
you missed.
Something that is also approaching
very fast is the VCS Annual General
Meeting, which is held in December.
This is the meeting at which all committee positions become vacant. Yes,
that is correct, this is your chance to
stand for a committee position and
have your say in how the Society
should be run.
Maybe you have some ideas that
you would like to put into practice;
if so, this is the meeting to put your
name forward. Any one of you could
be elected to the committee with the
only requirement being that you are a
financial member of the VCS.
Speaking of being financial: membership becomes due at midnight on
31 October. It would be very much
appreciated if you would arrange payment to the Society prior to this date
if possible. (Late payments wreak
havoc with the mailing lists – EasilyConfused Mailing List Slave.)
Take care and I shall see you all
very soon.
Cheers,
John.
19
From the Aquarium Hobby History Society, a fellowship of collectors and amateur
historians of the US and global aquarium hobby.
The Four
Stages of the
Aquarium
Hobby
By Albert J Klee,
PhD
When did the aquarium hobby
start? Who “invented” the aquarium?
What do we mean when we say the
“aquarium hobby” or, for that matter,
the “aquarium”? These questions have
presented difficulties for hobby historians precisely because there are no
universally agreed-upon definitions.
Trying to pin down a concise explanation of the meaning of a word or a
term sometimes is – to paraphrase a
remark of my grandmother’s – akin
to attempting to estimate the number
of angels that can dance on the head
of a pin.
One way out of this dilemma is to
avoid definitions and instead describe
the major stages in the development
of the aquarium hobby. The first stage
clearly started when people began to
keep fish for their ornamental and
entertainment value in ponds and in
indoor containers, eg, goldfish by the
Chinese a thousand years ago, and the
piscina (from piscis, a fish, fish-pond,
pool or basin – the term later took on
Even if we were to agree on these
definitions (and bear in mind the line
from Lewis Carroll’s Through the
Looking-Glass and What Alice Found
There: “When I use a word,” Humpty
Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone,
“it means just what I choose it to
mean — neither more nor less.”)
there is no guarantee that this will take
us any “forwarder” on our quest to
elucidate the hobby. It also should be
recognised that, in defining an object,
the definition then limits the object,
and this may have unforeseen consequences.
cichlids.org.au
20
THE FOUR STAGES OF
THE AQUARIUM HOBBY
STAGE I:
THE TOP-DOWN AQUARIUM
(circa 4000 BC)
Opaque-sided containers.
STAGE II:
THROUGH A GLASS
CLEARLY (late 1530s)
Glass jars: fish kept for
ornamental or scientific
study purposes.
STAGE III:
OCEAN AND LAKE IN
GLASS (mid 1800s)
Tanks frequently with flat
glass sides; aquarium
books; commercial aquarium
fish and equipment
suppliers; object to emulate
a small portion of a natural
habitat.
STAGE IV:
ASSOCIATION (circa 1900)
Aquarium societies;
exhibitions; competitions;
aquarium magazines.
Example of a Stage I Aquarium,
ie, a goldfish pond.
different meanings) of the Romans.
One can argue that these ponds and
indoor containers were not aquariums
in the technical sense since, although
the owner of any respectable Roman
villa could look down upon the animals in his fishpond, they could only
be viewed from above through the
opacity of rippled water. The same
held for the indoor containers of the
time since they, too, were opaquesided.
STAGE I of the aquarium
hobby, therefore, is what
I term “The Top-Down
Aquarium, ” exemplified by these ancient,
opaque-sided, outdoor
and indoor aquariums
that were viewed from
above, although obviously Stage I aquaria are
still common today. I
use the term “aquarium” accurately here,
as originally it was
nothing more than
a reservoir or large
vessel holding water
without any specification as to the uses to
which that water was
applied.
STAGE II is what
I term “ Through a
Glass Clearly, ” ie,
any container of glass or other transparent medium that affords the viewing of a fish in the more direct, edgeon, eye-to-eye orientation. Since the
Romans produced glass bottles and
other glass containers, it might be
supposed that they were used to house
some of their fishes and thus were
the first Stage II aquarists. Not only
is there is no evidence for this, it is
highly unlikely since their fishes were
rather large for such containers. The
Romans, however, did maintain fish
The Stage II Aquarium.
Cats and goldfish bowls are almost a
cliché in the aquarium hobby.
cichlids.org.au
21
uct we normally associate
with the word “glass”
today. Therefore, whether the Romans should
be credited for the first
glass-fronted aquarium
is open to debate.
The first Stage II
fishkeeper of record
was Jeanne Rondelet,
who kept a fish alive
in a glass of water for
three years sometime
in
the late 1530s or
A Stage III Saltwater tank circa
early
1540s.
In
the
mid- to late-1700s,
1857.
the keeping of fish in glass containers
became fashionable in Great Britain
hatcheries and may have used glass and included such illustrious personjars to temporarily house the fertilised
ages as Horace Walpole, the 4th Earl
eggs of fishes destined to be introof Oxford.
duced into waters where they were
What the aquarium craze of the
expected to reproduce and provide a
mid-1850s
in Britain did was to bring
source of food. Again, however, there
on
STAGE
III of the aquarium hobby,
is no evidence that they did so.
ie, what I term “The Ocean and Lake
There has always been a great deal
in Glass.” This stage is characterised
of speculation as to who was the first
by the following: (1) first, and most
to keep a fish in a glass container.
important, the interpretation of the
The Romans began to use glass for
aquarium as a mini-representation of a
architectural purposes, with the dissmall portion of some natural aquatic
covery of clear glass (through the
environment – the marine aquaria of
introduction of manganese oxide) in
Alexandria around the First Century the day, for example, were frequently
AD, although it was very expensive. referred to as “parlour oceans,” (2) an
Well-to-do Romans replaced one wall availability of books on the subject,
of their marble piscina with clear glass and (3) the existence of commercial
(albeit with poor optical qualities), establishments supplying fish and
arguably resulting in the very first equipment.
aquarium in the sense that we define
Towards the end of the 19th Century,
the term today.
improved printing, cheaper mails, and
However, it was during the second telephone service put people in quick
half of the 15th Century that a material touch with what was going on. It
known as “Crystallo” was perfected was the age of the periodical and
in Venice. This was the beginning of in the aquarium hobby it started
the clear, almost transparent prod- with the publication of Mulertt’s
cichlids.org.au
22
THE AQUARIUM
in the late 1870s
and into the
1890s. Tropical
fishes were being
imported for the
first time, starting
with the Paradise
Fish in 1876, and
the others that followed shortly after
the introduction of
the Chanchito in
1895.
In the 1890s,
aquarium societies
appeared on the
scene as well as
new authors such
as Ernst Bade,
Gregory Bateman,
Charles Page, and
Mark Samuel,
ushering in the
last stage of the
aquarium hobby as
we know it today,
ie, STAGE IV,
“Association,”
An early Stage IV aquarium publication.
the notion of
aquarium societies, exhibitions, Hobby Historical Society are examand competitions, all strengthened ples of Stage IV aquarists. Although it
by improved communication through
has been said that the aquarium hobby
the appearance for the first time of
is the world’s largest, since most preaquarium magazines, improvements
in travel, and the changing nature of sent day fish keepers simply maintain
their tanks for decorative purposes, a
cities.
source of relaxation, a conversation
It should be noted that each sucpiece, a learning tool, or teaching
cessive Stage coexisted with previous
ones and therefore one can find all responsibility (especially for children),
four Stages today in various mani- they more accurately may be characb
festations. Members of the Aquarium terised as Stage III aquarists.
cichlids.org.au
23
From CICHLIDAE communiqué, publication of the Pacific Coast Cichlid Association. Interested parties are invited to
write: PCCA, Membership Chairman, PO Box 28145, San Jose, CA 95159-8145 for more information.
Success with Dicrossus
maculatus
By Albert So, a PCCA Member in Portland, OR
Pictures by the author.
Dicrossus maculatus female guarding the spawn.
Dicrossus maculatus female guarding the spawn.
There I was wandering around a
LFS drooling over some other Old
World cichlids. All of a sudden I
noticed there was a tank full of
Checkerboard Cichlids. Closer examination revealed them to be the Spadetail Checkerboard Cichlid, Dicrossus
maculatus instead of its distant and
more common cousin, the Lyre-tail
Checkerboard Cichlid, Dicrossus filamentosus. There were at least a dozen
of these wild-caught specimens in the
tank, of which the biggest one was definitely a male. Eager to score myself a
pair of these little gems, I got the store
owner, Steve, over to help on identifying a female. Apparently, he was just
as clueless as I was in distinguishing
the sexual characteristics of this species. I harnessed my experience of
years of staring at fish, and decided
on a medium-sized specimen that was
fairly plump. As it turned out, a sexu-
The pair settled-in nicely and started
to explore the tank. The male was generally aggressive toward the female
and she would initially avoid any
direct physical confrontation and
retreated among the Anubias. Even
though the tank is full of adult RCS,
I did not notice any aggression from
the pair toward them as Poecilocharax
weitzmani only preyed on the shrimplets and left the adult shrimps alone.
Within a couple of days of the pair’s
arrival, I noticed a dramatic behavioural change on the RCS.
cichlids.org.au
ally mature female would have yellow
ventral fins and an orange anal fin.
The pair was housed with a group
of Poecilocharax weitzmani (Black
Morpho Tetra) which behaved more
like a cichlid than a characin, four
baby Bristlenose Plecostomus, and
half-a-dozen Otocinclus cocama
(Zebra Oto). The tank had multiple
Anubias on a piece of wood, some
Java Fern, Java Moss, and was toppedoff with Water Wisteria and a carpet of
Riccia flowing on the surface. Hence,
the tank was well-planted. This tank
was used to breed Neocaridina heteropoda (Red Cherry Shrimp) as a food
source for other fish. Since putting
the Poecilocharax weitzmani in the
tank, it had kept the shrimp population in check. With the arrival of the
Dicrossus maculatus, it became the
final nail in the coffin for the shrimp.
24
They all stopped foraging on the
bottom but instead hid among the
plants and wood. This would indicate
that even the adult RCS are being
actively hunted. At this point, I came
to a realisation that in order to ‘save’
the RCS, I would have to relocate
the newly introduced pair. Weighing
my options (which are very limited in
cichlids.org.au
terms of other tanks), I opted to keep
the pair where they were and sacrifice
the RCS. Since the tank was heavily
planted it allowed the female to move
in and out of the male’s line of sight
quickly as the male was close to twice
her size. They readily accepted grindal
worms as their first meal almost right
away. During the course of the next
few weeks, there were minor skirmishes between the male and female
without any real damage. The male
exhibited an interesting foraging technique which was not observed from
the female. He would get close to
the substrate and wiggle his body as
well as fan the pectoral fins to stir up
debris in the substrate. This undulation movement would create a circular
depression the size of the fish in the
substrate. The tank would be dotted
with these little craters everywhere.
25
The first sign of courtship was observed when
the female held her
ground when the male
approached her with
rapid flickering of the
ventral fins. This would
continue for the next few
days. The male would
stay close and follow the
female as she selected a
spawning site.
The water parameters
were 26°C with a pH
of 6.5 and conductivity
at 250μS/cm. I immediately dropped the
conductivity to around
150μS/cm through a 50 per cent RO
water change. The actual spawning
took place during an afternoon where
the female selected an Anubias leaf
that was well concealed by Java Moss.
The spawning was completed as the
female chased the male away.
The male would try to return to the
spawning site only to be met with an
angry female. Eventually, he was given
a 50 mm square ‘penalty box’ in a corner where the female would leave him
be. The female was very diligent with
her duty as she would hover directly
over the spawn and occasionally pick
debris off them. Hatching took place
in two days and she would move them
immediately to a different location.
During the next five days before the
wigglers became free-swimmers, the
female would move them to different
well-hidden locations that were out of
my sight. The cloud of tiny followers
appeared seven days after the spawn.
The female would parade them all
over the tank while chasing away all
cichlids.org.au
eight-week-old fry due
to poor water quality
was my rite of passage
of breeding Dicrossus
maculatus.
Dicrossus maculatus female with
two-day-old free-swimmers
other fish in the immediate vicinity.
Newly hatched baby brine shrimps
were readily accepted as their first
meal. I counted a total of 110 from this
spawn and the typical spawn size was
consistently over 100.
The male took no part of any parental care and was repeatedly confronted
by the female when he approached.
Since no actual pair bonding took
place, one would suggest Dicrossus
maculatus is polygamous, similar to
some Apistogramma. After subsequent
spawns, I decided to introduce another
female and the male was happy to
court both females. The female would
corral her fry into a depression in
the substrate every night, the very
depression that the male made while
foraging. The fry grew at a very slow
rate, even with frequent feeding. At
four weeks old they were no bigger
than two weeks old Pelvicachromis
26
... and with three-weeks-old fry.
as the checkerboard pattern began to
appear, making them look like a mini
version of the female. As the fry grew
bigger, the male was tolerated more
by the female even though he was not
allowed to get close to them. After
the five-week-old fry were removed
to a separate rearing tank, the female
proceeded to feed heavily and began to
show signs of being gravid. The male
started to harass the female almost
immediately and spawning would follow within a week or two.
The rearing tank received a 50 per
cent water change on a daily basis with
heavy feeding, yet the growth rate
was minimal. A word of caution when
switching their diet from live food to
commercially prepared food as they
are extremely sensitive to water quality. Excessive uneaten food could foul
the water and result in sudden massive
die-off. Losing most of a spawn of
cichlids.org.au
Sexual dimorphism
would start to develop
around 38 mm where
males would exhibit
much longer ventral fins
in addition to a more
pronounced caudal pattern. Males would also
increase in growth-rate
as they compete for the
alpha position. At six
months old, a 50 mm
male would have its full adult coloration. With the water parameters listed
above, I would get approximately onethird males, which is actually ideal
for this species. Higher temperature
has the effect of skewing the ratio in
favour of males.
Dicrossus maculatus is rarely
encountered in the hobby as most
specimens are wild-caught. The spectacular male couples with interesting
and unique behaviours and warrant a
closer look by any Neotropical enthusiast. The high price of wild-caught
specimens is coupled with their huge
swings of skewed sex ratio. One would
come across an entire batch of females
at the LFS while another time they
would be mostly large males mixed in
with small possible females. Through
the understanding of environmental
factors in controlling the sex ratio, it
will enable a more even distribution
and better availability in the aquarium
trade for this Amazonian gem.
w
27
VC S A40
Raffle Prizes
A40
1st
Victorian Cichlid Society’s
40th Anniversary Convention
Yikes!!!
Yik
!!!
There are ONLY
seats left!!!
7
2nd
3rd
1st: 64GB Apple iPad with Wi-Fi
+ Cellular, PLUS an up-to-date
eCichlids anthology on USB
flash drive
($930)
2nd: Orca 80L Aquarium, with
filter, stand, heater and air
pump
($550)
3rd: $200 Fuel Card.
14th: 2013 Cichlid News subscription
15th: 2013 Cichlid News subscription
16th: Konings Cichlids of Lake Malawi CD
17th: Fish food and/or conditioner pack
21-22nd: Fish food and/or conditioner pack
23rd: Fish food and/or conditioner pack
($60)
($60)
($60)
($59.90)
($55.36)
($55.18)
($51.77)
($49.90)
($48.04)
($45.31)
($43.59)
($42.68)
($42.63)
($41.72)
4th: Konings Malawi Cichlids in Their Natural
Habitat 4th edition
($110)
5th: Mayland & Bork South American Dwarf
Cichlids
($85)
($78.99)
($72.63)
($67.18)
9th: Konings Diving Lake Malawi DVD
($65) THANKS TO THE DONORS WHO
MADE THIS RAFFLE POSSIBLE:
10th: Konings Hidden African Beauties DVD ($65)
Fish Tank – Cranbourne Aquarium & Reptiles
11th: Heijns Mexico World of Cichlids DVD ($65) Tank Accessories/iPad/Fuel Card – VCS
12th: Heijns Nicaragua Crater Lakes DVD
($65) Books/Magazines – Cichlid Press Australia
13th: Fish food and/or conditioner pack ($62.57) Fish Food and Conditioners – Aqua-Pic’s
cichlids.org.au
28
They are disappearing steadily, so don’t leave it any longer
to reserve your place at this never-to-be-repeated event ... not at
these ridiculous token prices anyway!
VCS Members . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. $30
Public . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. $60
Interstate/Overseas .. .. .. .. .. .. AU
AU$30
$30
To avoid the disappointment when that obnoxious individual who
only bought one ticket, doesn’t keep fish, and is not even attending,
wins the good stuff (only to put it on eBay without offering it to
you first), raffle tickets will only be available for purchase at the
Convention venue (Manhattan Hotel, Ringwood) before and during
the event ... so try not to dally in the pokie room if you are a bit
early. Note that the start has been moved up one hour to 3 pm.
(Most people thought 6 pm much too early for the dinner part of the
festivities, especially with munchies available.)
First Prize in the raffle is a new 64GB Apple iPad with Wi-Fi +
Cellular and a copy of the eCichlids anthology on flash drive.
Second Prize is an 80L Orca Fish Tank with Stand, built-in Filter,
Heater and Air-pump (donated by Aquariums & Reptiles at
Cranbourne).
Third Prize: a $200 Fuel Card.
Register today online:
A40.cichlids.org.au
Pay by Direct Transfer – Acct: Victorian Cichlid Society Inc.
BSB: 06 3206. Acct No: 1002 3958 – or forward a cheque (payable
to Victorian Cichlid Society) with your return-mail details to:
VCS-A40, 23 Mangana Drive, Mulgrave, VIC 3170
cichlids.org.au
29
HOW TO FIND THE MANHATTAN HOTEL
The hotel is in Canterbury Road, Ringwood, between
Heatherdale Road and Eastlink ... you can’t miss it!
It is suggested that you park at the rear of the hotel near the
function room as there is usually plenty of space there.
Handicapped access is available via the front entrance.
Minutes of the Previous Meeting
The September 2012 meeting opened at 8:08 with the
President in the chair. He welcomed all.
Apologies: Tony Ferguson and Uri Bouman.
The magazine had been received by all present.
The minutes of the August meeting were taken
as read on a motion moved by Peter Frost and
seconded by Daryl Hutchins.
Greg Nicolacopoulos apologised for not being able to
prepare his presentation on home-made food.
There was a discussion on Electric Blue Jack Dempseys and their
“authenticity”. This led to further discussion on man’s “improvement” of other
species: eg, Balloon Mollies, Flowerhorns, Long-finned Rams, Blood Red
Parrots, etc. After a general discussion, a short break was called.
After the break, a DVD of the African Rift Lakes was viewed. David Green
was thanked for supplying this enlightening DVD.
A brief mini auction was then held. John McCormick was thanked for his
donation.
The next Meeting is the A40 convention. John McCormick reported on his
further conversation with the NSW Cichlid Society regarding Willem Heijns’
visit next year. He will be in Perth on 2 April 2013, Albury on the 3rd and
Sydney on the 6th.
VCS Calendar 2012
General Meetings: the Oakleigh Centre, 773 Warrigal Road, Oakleigh
October 13 in the Empire Room, Manhattan
Hotel, Canterbury Road, Ringwood – (Committee & VHS
deadline, Fri 19/10).
NOTE: end of Financial Year 31/10 (fees are now due).
November 7 – (Committee, Fri 23/11).
December 5 – Annual General Meeting. Normally there is no
Committee Meeting in December.
TABLE SHOWS
Any cichlid species can be entered at any General Meeting except
June (Dwarfs) and August (Pairs).
See the VCS Calendar online, calendar.cichlids.org.au
calendar.cichlids.org.au,, for more details or discussion.
Discussion was then held re various alternatives: eg, travelling to Albury or
Sydney, or finding a date around our Auction on 13 April, 2013 that we could
hold a special meeting to hear him speak. John will find out the length of his
stay and attempt to arrange a date for him to visit Melbourne.
The next Committee Meeting will be held on 21 September at Greg
Nicolacopoulos’ residence.
Daryl Hutchins won the $60 voucher from Rayonne Aquarium. Aussie
Magnussen won the $40 Rayonne voucher and Greg Nicolacopoulos took home
the chocolates.
Door prizes were won by Daryl Hutchins, John Vella, Peter Frost and Dave
Thorn.
The President thanked everyone for coming and looked forward to seeing
them on 13 October at the VCS 40th Anniversary Convention.
The meeting ended at 10:44 pm.
cichlids.org.au
30
cichlids.org.au
z
31
::
the
last
word
By Daryl Hutchins
W
ell, it’s finally here ... the 40th
Anniversary Convention is actually
happening on Saturday, 13 October (3 pm
at the Manhattan Hotel, Canterbury Road,
Ringwood). If you don’t have your ticket
by now and wish to attend, I hope you
haven’t left it too late.
The speakers we have lined-up for you
are both normally busy with speaking
engagements in their own parts of the
world and are unlikely to visit this part of
the southern hemisphere again in the very
near future.
It’s going to be a most enjoyable
experience; I hope to see you there.
I
want to take a piece of precious
.editorial space to thank the supporters
of this event. Firstly the speakers, Spencer
Jack and Alf Stalsberg, who are taking
time out of their busy lives to help out.
Both will have to endure one of the
world’s longest plane trips. Despite which,
and/or realising the cost to the club, both
have waived any fee for their services.
Then there are the sponsors who
came to the party. Regulars all, whose
contributions are in addition to their
ongoing support of the Society. None of
whom, I hasten to add, had to be cajoled
in any way.
Aqua-Pic’s donated a large quantity of
foods and chemicals, which will also be
utilised as raffle prizes.
Cichlid Press Australia donated a
variety of books, magazines and CD/
DVD presentations. Most will be used as
raffle prizes; some will be prizes in the Art
and Photographic Competition. We will
endeavour to find devilishly cunning ways
to give away any surplus.
a
o f
f i s h
9783 2204
Over 80 tanks dedicated to cichlids.
Our pledge is to provide the best service and
competitive prices on all fish and accessories.
M
y statement in a recent editorial
.that I would not be continuing
in the position of Editor in 2013 came
under discussion at the recent Committee
Meeting.
Open 7 days 10:30 am-5:30 pm
www.fishybusiness.net.au
sales@fishybusiness.net.au
evalife@hotmail.com
evalifeaquarium.com.au
facebook.com/evalife.aquarium
141 Whitehorse Rd Ph: 03 9877 0394
Blackburn, Vic 3130 Fax: 03 9894 7795
Need to fill a gap in your
knowledge?
Read the latest on your favourite fish written
by Ad Konings and other cichlid experts in
Just in case there is any shadow of a
doubt at all: there is no possible scenario
under which I will run for the position of
Editor of this magazine in 2013.
CICHLID NEWS
from your local aquarium.
I simply have other things to do that
will consume more time than I can spare if
added to the editing and production of this
magazine. Surprisingly, I also have a life.
For in-depth information ask your
local aquarium shop for
CICHLID PRESS Publications
It is always a battle to get original
content for any club magazine. That is
a puzzling, but unfortunate, fact of life.
However, this magazine has reached
the ignominious stage where it receives
virtually zero support from the members
that it represents.
5429 1516
Keysborough
A
Q
U
A
R
I
U
M
214 Cheltenham Rd, Keysborough 3173
A similar situation applies to a few
other things as well, including other
committee positions, but most especially
presentations at General Meetings ... the
Usual Suspects are quite rightly getting
tired I believe. But we’ll leave that for
another day, as precious editorial space is
again running out.
S
w o r l d
Freshwater Fish & Cichlid Specialist
3 OLSEN ST, FRANKSTON
In case I forget on the day, I would also
like to thank the other two members of the
A40 Sub-committee, Uri Bouman and
Graham Rowe, for their time and effort.
Aquariums & Reptiles at Cranbourne
donated a Fish Tank set-up with Stand and
built-in Filter for the raffle.
cichlids.org.au
32
FISHY BUSINESS
evalifeaquarium
um
Phone: 9798 3668
RAYONNE
AQUARIUM
Online sales available:
keysboroughaquarium.com.au
Open Mon-Sat 9-6:30, Sun 9:30-5:30.
Specialists
pecialists in Marines, Discus,
African and American Cichlids,
Exotic Goldfish, Custom-made
Aquarium Units, Corporate
Hire and Service.
ee you at the Manhattan Hotel, 3 pm
.13 October. If not, it’s your loss! y
::
MELBOURNE’S LARGEST
RANGE OF CICHLIDS
712 Plenty Rd, Reservoir 3073
Phone: 9478 6614
Present your current VCS Membership Card for 10% discount.
VC S C er tif ic ate of Inc or poration
# A0 01279 4D
:
:

41:09 October

Transcription

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