Victorian Cichlid Society Incorporated

cichlid
the
monthly
Victorian Cichlid Society
Incorporated
36:06, July 2007 — $1.10
Certificate of Incorporation # A0012794D
R E G I S T E R E D
B Y
A U S T R A L I A
P O S T
-
P P 3 4 2 7 8 0 / 0 0 2 4
THE NEXT MEETING of the Society will
be held on the first Wednesday of the
month at 8 pm sharp (the Trading Table
opens earlier) in the Mitcham Scout Hall,
Brunswick Road, Mitcham. Visitors are
heartily encouraged to come along.
Fish of the Day: Otopharynx lithobates
- David Green.
MAIN TALK: The Future of Fishkeeping
- Graham Rowe.
DOOR PRIZES: AquaMagic.
DRAW PRIZES:
1. $60 Fishy Business Voucher.
2. $30 Fin Land Voucher.
3. Chocolates.
TABLE SHOWS: Details see page 18.
MEMBERSHIP FEES 2007
Ordinary. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $30.00
Family .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $35.00
Junior/Concession Card Holder. . $15.00
Overseas .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . $35.00
(new memberships add $8 joining fee)
Resun and White
Crane aquarium
products
imported by:
©
www.resun-china.com
©
Copyright, Victorian Cichlid
Society Inc 2007
PRESIDENT:
John McCormick .. .. .. .. .. 5944 3502
johnmcc@hotmail.com
VICE-PRESIDENT:
vacant .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..xxxx xxxx
SECRETARY:
Graham Rowe .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9560-7472
hotrowe@hotmail.com
TREASURER:
Tony Ferguson .. .. .. .. . 0408 533 552
EDITOR:
Daryl Hutchins. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9870 3556
Mobile .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 0430 032 304
darylhutchins@hotmail.com
SOCIAL SECRETARY:
Melissa Kirkham. .. .. .. .. .. 57 969 304
TRADING TABLE:
David Green .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9874 2392
LIBRARIAN:
Sandra Robotis .. .. .. .. . 0433 985 344
SHOW SECRETARY:
vacant .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..xxxx xxxx
Sub-Committee Chairpersons:
BAA: Peter Robinson.
Constitution: Daryl Hutchins.
Handbook: Daryl Hutchins.
Mailing: Peter Robinson.
Species Maintenance: vacant.
LIFE MEMBERS:
©
Anyone wishing to reprint material from `The Cichlid
Monthly’ for non-commercial purposes, may do so
(unless the item is copyright by the author) provided
due credit is given to the author and `TCM’ and one
copy of the relevant publication is forwarded to the
author, care of the Secretary. Enquiries re the use
of material in other publications may be directed to
victoriancichlidsociety@hotmail.com.
Graham Rowe, Heinz Staude,
Kevin Archibald, Keith Patford,
Danny Genovese, Daryl Hutchins and
John McCormick.
HONORARY MEMBER:
Max Davenport.
FELLOW OF THE SOCIETY:
Graham Rowe.
PUBLIC OFFICER: David Green.
cichlids.web.com
ABSOLUTE
AQUARIUM
PRODUCTS
20-24 Boola Ave,
Yennora 2161
(02) 9681 7011
Distributed
in Victoria by:
GREAT FISH
9560 7472
COVER PICTURE: Section of a
collage by Lauren McCormick.
COMMITTEE:
1
cichlid
scene
VCS Calendar ....................................................................................... 3
No meeting
TBA
February
7
7
4
2
6
4
1
5
20
7
5
16
16
13
11
15
13
10
14
12
16
Scared, Weird Little Cichlids - P Robinson .........................................4-13
March
Seeing Spots - D Hutchins .............................................................. 14-18
April
Rowemin’ ‘Round - G Rowe .................................................................. 19
Cunningly Constructed Cichlid Crossword - D Hutchins ..................... 20-21
June Crossword Solution - D Hutchins ................................................. 22
Committee Home Show
January
May
June
July
August
September
Minutes of the Previous Meeting ........................................................ 23
October
The Last Word ................................................................................... 24
November
December
Auction
Art & Photo
Dinner
21
27
tba
5
VHS Deadline (14th)
*
V*
20
* A G M *
TBA
* Video Home Show results announced.
|
2
C|O|N|T|E|N|T|S|
Table Show Calendar ............................................................................ 3
Meeting
3
2007 VCS Calendar
Meeting Details ..................................................................................... 1
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.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those
of the authors, and are not necessarily those of
the Editor of TCM or the committee of the Victorian
Cichlid Society Inc. You are encouraged to write to,
or e-mail the Editor on any subject raised herein.
Correspondence to: THE SECRETARY
VICTORIAN CICHLID SOCIETY INC
c/- 23 Mangana Drive, Mulgrave, Victoria,
Australia 3170
Fax: 9560 7472. E-mail: hotrowe@hotmail.com
Tablee Sho
Tabl
Show
w Calenda
Calendarr 2007
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Kevin Archibald Show
Keith Patford Show
Any American
Any American
Any American
Any American
Any American
Dwarf Americans
Any American
Pairs (American)
Any American
Any American
Any American
Any American
Any African
Any African
Any African
Any African
Any African
Dwarf Africans
Any African
Pairs (African)
Any African
Any African
Any African
Any African
NOTE: Asian and Madagascan Cichlids may be entered any time,
but must meet the special requirements in June (dwarfs) and August (pairs).
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
Aims of the Society:
G’day All, I have been
asked to come along and
bore you all with a talk
tonight, it’s a long time
since I have given one
so just bear with me
and I will try to give you
my thoughts on dwarfs,
no not the Snow White
and Seven variety, who
sang: “Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s
off to work we go”, it’s
about Dwarf Cichlids, the
little cute ones, a much
overlooked section of the
family Cichlidae.
Before I start, I would
like to ask a couple of
questions.
Firstly, what is the
difference between a
lawyer and a Plecostomus?
– One is a bottomdwelling, scum-sucking
scavenger, the other is
catfish. (Wow, it took a
while to get the patrons
off the floor and back into
their seats after that one,
I can tell you! – Ed.)
Secondly how many of
you actually keep or have
kept dwarf cichlids?
(Which was a lovely
trap to question why
those present have not
Peter Robinson
presented their stories
to the Editor … couldn’t
have done it better
myself. Well done Robbo!
[and he’s not even on the
payroll!] – Ed.)
What is a Dwarf
Cichlid, and Why
Keep Them?
It is in general a cichlid
which is 10 cm (4”) or
under in length. The term
“Dwarf” was first used
back in the early 20th
Century, almost 100 years
ago in 1908 by Engmann
in describing Geophagus
taeniatus (Apistogramma
taeniata) and Geophagus
agassizi (Ap agassizi).
Later all Apistogramma
species were called dwarf
cichlids.
Since then of course the
name has been used to
describe all small cichlids
from any continent. We
find dwarfs in the New
World (the Americas) and
the Old World in both
Africa and the Indian
subcontinent as well as
Sri Lanka.
To list the species
would take days as there
are many, many small
cichlids that fall into this
group, but I will list a
few of the genera for you:
Apistogramma of course,
Apistogrammoides,
Cyprichromis, Dicrossus,
Picture:: Alf Stalsberg
Picture
Apistogramma viejita.
Eretmodus,
some
Etroplus, Hemichromis,
some
Haplochromis,
Julidochromis, a few
of the Melanochromis,
Microgeophagus (Rams),
some Neolamprologus,
Pelvicachromis (Kribs),
Pseudocrenalabris,
Steatocranus, Taeniacara,
Telmatochromis
and
Variabilichromis.
As you can see, the
dwarf species are widely
spread and varied but the
beauty is they are small
fish and do not need huge
water-hungry tanks …
something to think of in
this water-conservative
time where every drop
counts and water bills are
probably going to soar in
the not-too-distant future
when and if new water
projects are undertaken
before we die of thirst
here in Victoria.
In general the dwarf
cichlids are very attractive
guests to have in your
homes. They are usually
very beautiful little guys
with great colouration
and quite often very long
or high fins adding to
their beauty.
South American dwarfs
are happiest in decorated
tanks with plenty of plants
and believe it or not these
Americans won’t destroy
your décor and will live
happily in their nicely
Picture:: Alf Stalsberg
Picture
A female Nanochromis squamiceps in typical
pose.
cichlids.web.com
4
cichlids.web.com
From a presentation to the Society in June 2007 by
5
Scared, Weird, Little Cichlids
landscaped and planted
tank.
The female Apistogramma may heap a small
amount of gravel at the
entrance to her breeding
site but that is the extent
of their excavation. I
found small flowerpots
or half pots and resin
imitation tree trunks
with the plastic plants
are in great demand by
breeding females. In fact
any structure where she
can hide away and protect
her eggs and fry is fine.
They love the security of
being out of sight when
brooding eggs.
The orange eggs are
laid on the inside upper
surface of the pot, cave
or whatever item she
decides to breed in. If you
use terra-cotta flowerpots
the eggs are not easy to
see due to their orange
colouration as they
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Picture:: Dave Thorn
Picture
Julidochromis marlieri.
changes assist in keeping your fish happy and
healthy – 25 per cent
weekly or a third fortnightly. Although I must
stress the use of a water-
ager is a necessity to
remove chlorine, which
at times can be strong
and will kill fish.
I learnt this to my cost
back in the 1970s when I
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It’s only natural
lived at Tullamarine and
during a drought similar to this they opened
Greenvale
reservoir
before it was advisable and
treated the water heavily with chlorine, killing
three tanks of rare fish
we had imported after I
did water changes before
leaving for work, a costly
and tragic event.
Dicrossus – we have
seen two species of this
genus here, filamentosus
and maculates. They are
one of the more challenging cichlids to keep and
breed, with their elongated checkerboard-marked
bodies and crimson-
cichlids.web.com
6
cichlids.web.com
that did not drop to the
gravel when warned of
danger.
This is understandable,
as those slow or disobedient fry endanger the
whole school by attracting
the predator to the area.
Apistogramma females
are usually excellent
parents and the sight of
any substrate spawner of
any species leading her
fry about the territory is
fascinating and wondrous
thing.
Melbourne’s soft tap
water is ideal for keeping
South American dwarf
cichlids. Most come from
soft acid or soft alkaline
waters, so a little adjusting of pH is all that is
needed. Although I found
that they mostly were
happy in the tank without
playing with the pH.
Regular weekly or biweekly partial water
7
dangle there like tiny
ornaments.
I always used a small
number of Neon Tetras
as dither fish, 4-6 is
plenty. This gives the
male something to guard
against, as his job is to
fertilise the eggs and
protect their territory.
Once the fry hatch the
female has sole charge
and woe betide the male
if he tries to help her out,
she will beat him up or
even kill him.
Another idea I used
was to have two breeding
tanks side by side so the
males were continually
sparring through the
glass; this was comical
to watch as they flared
fins and gills posturing
dramatically trying to
look fierce.
I am told that seldom
are full-grown male
Apistogrammas caught
in the wild as they are
mostly eaten either by
larger fish or birds as
they attempt to defend
their tiny territories. The
valiant little guys lay
down their lives trying to
protect their offspring.
When a female Apisto
dons
her
breeding
colouration of brightyellow and black, she
turns into quite a
stunning-looking
fish, as the females are
generally quite dull and
drab. To watch a small
female Apisto threaten
another fish is comical,
she will helicopter as we
call it, swimming slowly
in a 45° head-down
attitude until close to the
intruder, then quick as a
flash she will zap at the
offender and attack.
The
female
communicates with her fry
with fin flicks and any fry
that ignore her warning
risks being eaten. I have
seen good females eat fry
Picture: Alf Stalsberg
Picture: Alf Stalsberg
Steatocranus cassuarius.
Steatocranus tinanti.
Amazingly
the
Cyprichromis and fry
were swimming about.
I turned off the power,
caught the Cypros and
put them into a bucket
and removed the dead
adult Julies.
Some weeks later I
noticed movement in the
now cool and unfiltered
tank; on closer inspection I found a swarm of
baby Julies swimming
about the rocks. I was
tank full of fish through a
faulty heater?
Steatocranus – these
two species, casuarius (the
Lionhead, Buffalo Head
or Blockhead) and tinanti
(Slender Blockhead), are
a couple of the clowns of
the dwarf world, especially the tinanti. Discovered
in 1939 by Poll they were
not seen in the hobby until
the 1980s due to WWII
and the unstable political
situation in the Congo.
dumbfounded as the tank
was quite cold, it was on
the floor outside the fish
room in the garage. The
fry survived after I transferred them to another
tank.
After these and a few
other heater disasters,
I think that it is advisable to replace any heater
after a couple of years and
immediately if moisture
is seen inside the glass
tube. Why risk losing a
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The genus name comes
from “steato” meaning
fat, and cranium, that of
course means skull: “tin”
means stretch in Greek,
while “antiae” is Latin for
forelock referring to the
long head shape.
Both of these species
are what is called
reophiles, where “rheos”
= running, and “philo”
= like; meaning the fish
like running water. So a
good power filter creat-
Need to fill a gap in your knowledge?
Read the latest on your favorite fish written by
Ad Konings and other cichlid experts in
CICHLID NEWS
from your local aquarium.
E-mail: retail@boroniaaquarium.com.au
For in-depth information ask your
local aquarium shop for
(Opposite Police Station)
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These ugly but comical-looking fish are quite
drab in colouration but
make up for that in their
engaging behaviour. They
are found amongst the
rocks and boulders in the
rushing waters of the rapids of the Congo River.
They have much-reduced
swim bladders that enable
them to keep close to the
bottom, where they hop
about goby-like, doing
what tinanti do, feeding
and breeding.
These fish although
timid and retiring will
always make me smile
as they constantly peek
out at you from wherever
they are hiding, like a
small child hiding behind
mum or dad when meeting a stranger.
Their strange hopping
swimming action is also
very different to most fish
and reminds me a little of
the Tanganyikan Clowns.
To set up a tank for these
fascinating fish I would
recommend about a 36”
tank furnished with rocks
and driftwood.
Water conditions can
be from 6.0 to 8.0 but
I kept mine around 7.0.
The spawning of the
tinanti is very secretive
and I was amazed one
day to find fry swimming
cichlids.web.com
8
cichlids.web.com
ing strong current is preferred.
9
edged fins making them
stand out.
I never succeeded in
spawning filamentosus
but I came close with
maculatus and only due
to my pig-headed belief in
letting the parents raise
their young, I lost the
fry after about a month.
I had encouraged the pair
to breed several times
but each time the eggs or
fry were eaten, although
the time before they ate
them was increasing with
each spawning. I watched
them closely and the last
spawning was proceeding
beautifully, the fry had
been free-swimming for
about 10 days until zap,
all gone once again.
Just after the last spawning the heater locked on,
boiling the tank to my
horror and sadness. The
amazing thing was the
pair survived the disaster but never spawned
again, possibly the excessive heat destroyed their
reproductive organs.
This leads me to another disaster with heaters, I had a 36” divided
tank that I had set up
breeding Julidochromis
dickfeldi in one half and
Cyprichromis leptosoma
mpulungu in the other.
I lifted the lid one day to
find the water steaming
and dead Julies floating.
Probably the first
mouthbrooder we had
was Pseudocrenilabrus
multicolour, the Egyptian
Mouthbrooder. These fish
were of course very interesting as all the cichlids
we had seen were substrate spawners, while
these little guys would
hold the eggs in their
mouths; a real wonder
at the time. The species
10
and the Chromidotilapia
guentheri (the giant
Krib), another fish we
had years ago and has
been lost. It’s a pity this
area is so disturbed politically as the waters would
probably yield many
interesting cichlids. How
many here have kept a
pair of kribs in a community tank? They are a very
attractive fish with their
striped bodies and red
bellies and readily breed
in a community tank,
although some beginners
find them a little aggressive towards their other
tankmates.
The Cyprichromis are
a genus of small beautiful Tanganyikan cichlids
that live in open waters
in huge schools and the
fact that dominant males
actually can establish and
maintain territory in the
school is quite incredible.
These colourful little fish
spawn and brood their
eggs in mid-water; quite
a feat. The only other fish
I can think of are the
Siamese Fighting fish
which spawn at the surface under a bubble nest
and the male catches the
eggs in mid-water. The
Cypros are quite an easy
fish to spawn and are well
worth trying, as they do
not need huge tanks to
be happy.
Lepidiolamprologus
hequi, or as it was originally sold as, meeli, is
another dwarf from
Tanganyika. This interesting fish spawns in the
empty snail shells on
the bottom of the lake,
a fine example of cichlids
adaptability to discover
and develop a new territory. They will spawn
happily in our Mystery
Snail shells and it is a fun
Cranbourne
Aquarium
For the right advice and all your
aquarium needs
14 Cooper Crt, Cranbourne 3977
Tel: 5995 5066
Fax: 5995 5044
cranbourneaquarium@iprimus.com.au
sight to see them peeking
out of the opening. These
fish require hard alkaline
conditions to be happy
and spawn readily in the
tank.
Another Tanganyikan
dwarf is an old favourite
of mine, Neolamprologus
brichardi, named after
Pierre Brichard the man
who really was the instigator of getting the fish
from this remote area to
the world. These subtly
coloured fish with their
graceful, slender body
shape and white-edged
fins are a stunning fish to
keep. They look incredibly
beautiful in a tank against
a backdrop heavily planted with Vallisneria plants
or a dark background as
they cruise about, doing
their own thing . This
species is another anomaly as cichlids go, they
form a family in your tank
Freshwater
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Phone: 9783 2204
Over 80 tanks dedicated to cichlids.
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competitive prices on all fish and accessories.
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www.evalifeaquarium.cjb.net
Trading hours: 10:30 AM-5:30 PM, 7 days a week.
and will spawn again and
again with older fry looking after and defending
their siblings. I have had
up to six generations in
a tank, and that is something to see.
Now … While
I Have Your
Attention:
Ok, enough on the fish
I would like to get on my
hobbyhorse about a few
things pertaining to the
Society.
Firstly, the Breeding
Achievement Award program. Can I ask who here
has bred a cichlid?
Ok there are a few of
you present, why have
you not bothered to fill
out a BAA form and sent
it in to be registered?
The simple filling out
of a BAA form and getting a member to witness it, helps the club
keep tabs on what fish are
around and being bred to
help maintain the Cichlid
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
Water changes are vital
for maintaining your fish,
but let’s not waste water
during this drought. The
water from your tank or
tanks is the best fertiliser
for your garden plants,
it is full of nutrients and
your garden will love it.
So either syphon it out
into a bucket, or if you
have many tanks use a
long hose and run it out
that way.
disappeared many years
ago but reappeared about
four or five years back.
It’s very sad how fish are
common and so they fall
out of favour to disappear, and we have lost so
many great fish over the
years, many will never be
seen again unfortunately.
It is a shame that the
mighty dollar rules what
fish we keep, it is another
reason to be a part of the
Breeder’s Achievement
Award program, but more
on that later.
The Krib (Pelvicachromis pulcher) as we
have called them forever,
would probably be one
of the most commonly
seen cichlids but they
still seem to be one of
the most frequently sold
cichlids. They are originally from the Congo area
of Africa along with the
Hemichromis (Jewels)
11
about that were 2.5 cm
long. The eggs are lightsensitive so they spawn
in a dark area under
rocks or wood. The fry of
course are fully able to eat
adult brine shrimp and
even black worms; the
sight of two baby tinanti
having a tug-of-war with
a black worm is hilarious. The male seems to
be the main carer of the
fry, as mum only seems
to be about when putting
the kids to bed in the
evenings.
The Table Show is practically defunct, which is
a shame as it gives visitors something to stir
their interest when they
attend a meeting. It gives
members the fun of competing, and even getting
the thrill of winning with
your fish.
Picture:: Alf Stalsberg
Picture
Pelvicachromis subocellatus matadi.
Picture: Alf Stalsberg
Picture:
Female Nanochromis transvestitus.
Picture:: Alf Stalsberg
Picture
Pelvicachromis sacrimonti.
Picture: Alf Stalsberg
Picture:
Pelvicachromis subocellatus male inspecting
a potential spawning site.
The rules have been
relaxed to the point
where it is farcical, to try
and increase participation; most months you
can enter any African or
American except for the
Dwarf or Pairs shows.
Sadly still, almost nobody
goes to the effort of bringing in a fish.
The VCS is one of the
oldest cichlid clubs in
Australia and has been
around for 35 years. It
has gone through some
ups and downs over its
history, but I am sad to
see the few members
who attend meetings
these days. Attendance
has deteriorated greatly
in the 18 months I have
been away from it; only
you can restore it to its
former glory.
Get behind your club
and the committee by
participating in events
and actively helping to
rebuild
membership
numbers.
y
cichlids.web.com
12
cichlids.web.com
ways of generating interest and fun.
13
Register and the cichlids
we keep.
When filling out the
form, try jotting down
the pertinent facts of the
spawning such as water
conditions, temperature,
etc, this will enable you to
write a first-hand breeding report to send to the
Editor to be published in
`The Cichlid Monthly’ (as
previously noted, he is
not on the payroll – Ed).
This is a way you can
share your knowledge
with all the members and
those overseas who get
the magazine through
the exchange system.
Our magazine was
regarded highly by overseas clubs and many articles were reprinted from
it, but sadly the magazine
is now composed nearly
completely of reprints
these days.
There is now only one
member still registering
spawnings, this I find is
a sad indication of the
malady the club is currently suffering from and
which will unfortunately
lead to its demise unless
it is reversed.
Participation in club
events is one way you
can bring the club to life.
The BAA, the Table Show,
the Home Show and the
Elaine Turner Art and
Photo competition are all
14
●
15
●
Seeing Spots!
●
●●
● ●
●
From a presentation to the Society in June 2007 by Daryl Hutchins
place flora and faunawise. Paul Loiselle called
its cichlids “Jurassic
Park cichlids”, referring to their primitive
nature. These “primitive”
cichlids, like most other
Malagasy fauna, were left
behind in the African leg
of the evolutionary race
due to its isolation.
We actually used to
be neighbours with
Madagascar once … but
for a few million years and
a little continental drift,
Australia might have its
own native cichlids.
The first, and most
important point that
should be brought to
your attention is that
the Malagasy cichlid that
we have in Australia is
certainly not Paratilapia
polleni. It is an as-yet
Picture: Olaf Pronk
Picture:
Paratilapia sp Itremo.
Picture:: Olaf Pronk
Picture
Paratilapia polleni.
undescribed Paratilapia
species.
Paratilapia come in
two basic varieties, both
of which are your basicblack, either with “largespots” or “small-spots”.
There are however,
variations on these two
themes.
It is believed that there
may turn out to be as
many as four distinct
small-spot Paratilapia
species. To add to the
confusion, another fish,
formerly assigned to the
genus Paracara is coming
over to “our” team.
So
possibly
we
should be re ferring
to them as “Marakely”,
the name used for them
by the native Merina people, meaning “black fish”.
Presumably the term covers all the Paratilapias.
The Marakely are, or
were, prized food fishes in
Madagascar. I say “were”
because at least one,
Paratilapia bleekeri, has
disappeared from its usual
haunts (the Antananarivo
Swamp) and is believed
to be possibly extinct in
the wild.
Others are being eased
out by feral Tilapias and
Snakeheads which were
introduced to feed the
growing population, without much thought apparently as to their effect on
the existing food supply
amongst other things.
Even when the genus
is sorted out, I suppose it
might take some time and
“discussion” to determine
what species it is that we
have in Australia.
I have a personal communication, the author
of which I will not cite as
I didn’t ask if I could and
I am not sure how closely
he wants to be associated
with this information. It
reads: “Anyway an extra
piece of info for you in
regards to Paratilapia in
Australia. The ones here
originate from Asia which
originated from the USA
which originated from
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
I won’t spend too much
time on “le Grande Isle”
as this is supposed to be
a brief “Fish of the Day”
presentation on the fish
known here as Paratilapia
polleni, not a full-blown
lecture on Madagascar or
its cichlids … as fascinating as that would be.
Suffice to say that the
island of Madagascar is
an incredibly interesting
16
Paratilapia sp aff typus Lac Vert.
Picture: Olaf Pronk
Picture:
Vatomandry on the East
coast of Madagascar. The
original specimens were
collected by Melanie
Stinassy and Co under
scientific research for the
NY Museum of Natural
History.”
I made enquiries for this
piece in a Madagascanspecialist forum which
includes amongst its
participants some wellknown personalities and,
possibly more impor-
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Dr de Rham agreed that
all small-spot Paratilapia
are undescribed species.
Paratilapia bleekeri and
the
soon-to-join-ourteam ex-Paracara (typus?)
are from the large-spot
school. I am a little confused as to the spot-size
of polleni, but since we
don’t have them, I won’t
lose any sleep over it for
now (I think the funny
money was on large
spots).
In closing, I should
say something about
the physical/behavioural
aspects of the Mystery
Marakely. In my experience, these fish thrive
on neglect: ie, they do
not take kindly to being
disturbed by décor/tank
changes.
To breed them, just
feed them well (they love
earthworms) and don’t
disturb too much: ie,
change their water a little less often than you
do your other fishes and
refrain from trying to
get them to do fish tricks
like begging for food,
or coming out to flash
their spots from blue to
white in front of complete
strangers.
Picture:: Olaf Pronk
Picture
Paratilapia polleni.
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Factory 2, 41-43 Sinclair
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9792 5513
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cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
Paratilapia sp Henandrano River.
disagreement with my
previous informant who
described their circuitous
journey via the US and
Asia.
17
Picture: Olaf Pronk
Picture:
tantly (for future reference) actual citizens of
Madagascar. I was very
impressed with the wealth
of information and materials received. There is
hope for the internet yet.
I want to thank all those
people for their help.
Not least among the
ranks of the aforementioned was Dr Patrick de
Rham who is going to be
doing an update on this
whole mess soon.
The update did not
arrive in time for this
presentation, but he did
have some comments on
our conversations. He
agrees that our Australian
population most likely
came from the southern
half of the east coast, as
this is where most exports
are from. As Vatomandry
is almost exactly in the
middle of the east coast,
I suppose he is not in
18
cichlids.web.com
modation at a friend’s
place. Unfortunately, they
did not survive. Their
replacements are two
males … so, if anyone
has two females that are
not working out ... ?
That is about all there
is until I have a new pair
and get them to breed
successfully. I am going
to give my head a rest
and wait for the updated
taxonomy of these fishes because I am seeing
spots!
y
Elaine Turner
Memorial Art
& Photographic
Competition 2007
(5 September)
Rowemin’ ‘rounD
These days our flights
are very short as we are
receiving very few overseas
invitations. Consequently
the savings we are making
on fuel are being offset by
the increased maintenance
costs. (The cost of mothballs
is killing us!)
The Kiwis are calling
us and so we travel to the
New Zealand Federation
of Aquatic Societies in
answer to their colourful invitation in the `New
Zealand Aquarium World’.
Our next visit is close
to home: Eastern Districts
AS in answer to the invitation in the May issue of
`Fishtales’. Cuz is explaining
how everyone was stimulated by Dave Thorn’s “America
in 10 Minutes”.
Our last trek is to the AS
of Victoria in response to the
invitation in the June issue
of `Finchat’. Here we find
Daryl Maddock reporting on
the interesting journey that
the members took with Dave
Thorn to absorb all about
the “Cichlids of the World”.
Regrettably, we have to
make an early return to cool,
foggy Melbourne where
we can digest some of the
MRIFL before retiring to the
warmth of our fish bunkers,
supposedly to care for our
fish.
Cichlid Evening Post .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Great Lakes CS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. April and March
Revue Française des Cichlidophiles. .. Association France Cichlid .. .. .. .. April and May
All Cichlids. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Michigan CA. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. January, February, March,
April, May and June
Perth Cichlid Society Newsletter .. .. .. Perth CS . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. April, May and June
Superfish. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Queensland CG .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. April-June
Cichlid Circular .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. New South CS . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. May (ie, April-June)
You have to feel even
sorrier for the latter two
Editors as they have to
produce a magazine that
will keep their members
entertained for three whole
months. Whereas our poor,
overworked Editor (and his
confreres at the other publications listed) has only to
Not every fish is lucky
enough to eat OSI
foods ... only those with
caring owners.
The centre of interest is
the Banded Apistogramma,
Apistogramma bitaeniata,
whose keeping and breeding is outlined by the shy
aquarist.
put together enough material to keep his readers entertained for only one month!
You will remember he keeps
wishing that some of our
members would jot down a
few notes about their observations of their fish ... or
something that has caught
their eye and ear around the
Aquarium shops ... and that
is for a monthly missive.
Whereas these guys have to
beg, plead, bribe or do whatever to get enough for their
quarterly missives.
We will now list the other
kind societies and the noncichlid invitations that they
sent to us.
Sunfish. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Sunshine Coast AS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. March and May
Finchat. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. AS of Victoria .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. March, April and May
Fishtales .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Eastern Districts AS. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. March, April and June
Well that’s it for this trip.
Until next time,
Graham
cichlids.web.com
The good times in
this pair’s relationship
did not last through the
free-swimming fry stage
though, at least five
spawnings ended with
some overnight marital
problem that had resulted
in the disappearance of
the children. One morning during the second
week, the male would be
patrolling alone and the
female, sans fry, back in
her hole.
They were slated to
have to endure Child
Protective Services intervention at the next spawning, but a burst tank
forced me to put them
into temporary accom-
19
The male fish is larger
by around 30 per cent
than the female, and in
fine “real cichlid” tradition their dorsal and anal
fins are longer. Please
correct me if I am wrong,
but the largest male specimens that I have seen
have all been around the
17-18 cm mark. Polleni
reportedly reach 30 cm.
The male of my original
pair was a complete chauvinist, only allowing his
mate out of her cave to
eat and to spawn. When
she came out of hiding
with eggs she was treated
a little better: ie, she was
not chased back into her
cave, but he inspected
the troops quite often
and wasn’t slow to let her
know if her housekeeping
was not up to scratch.
The red-coloured eggs
actually seem to only
stick to one another, so
bunches of them would
break-off from the main
bunch and roll around
like detritus. The male
thoroughly disapproved
of this, and usually let
the female know in no
uncertain terms with a
shot to the side and some
harsh words.
20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
11
12
13
15
15.
19.
14
16
17
21
18
19
21.
20
22
23
24
02.
04.
08.
09.
11.
10
9
Across
23.
24.
26.
30.
31.
25
26
27
28
29
33.
34.
38.
39.
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
41.
42.
43.
39
40
41
42
44.
43
Cleaner.
Fish food.
Rainbow Cichlid.
Lake George
Haplochromis.
Simple living
aquatic organisms.
Chocolate Cichlid.
Cleithracara
maronii.
Rose-Breasted Dwarf
Cichlid.
Hardness.
Fish covering.
African river.
Dolphin Cichlid.
Small colourful
cichlids.
Fish parasite.
Dorsal.
African river.
The main propulsion
fin.
Codliver ...
... Devil.
Home of Jurassic
Cichlids.
Symphysodon sp.
46. Mixed parentage.
49. Low pH.
51. Steatocranus
casuarius.
55. Mystery .....
57. ..... dwellers.
58. Pseudotropheus
crabro.
61. Forest Jewel.
62. Convict.
63. Rubber Lips.
Down
01. Live food.
03. Smiling Acara.
04. Imortant part of any
fish.
05. African Rift Lake.
06. Open-water
Malawians.
07. Angels.
10. T-Bar Dwarf Cichlid.
12. Fish catcher.
13. Pterophyllum
scalare.
14. Princess of Burundi.
16. An important
parameter.
17. Triangle.
18. Lake Victoria
cichlids.
20. Tilapia buttikoferi
22. Lone Star cichlid.
25. A Peacock.
27. Container for fish.
28. Brichard’s
Teleogramma.
29. Checkerboard
Cichlid.
32. Live food.
35. Caring family.
36. Pundamilia nyrerei.
37. Paratilapia species
(common name).
40. Pseudocrenilabrus
multicolor.
45. Important for
breathing.
47. Petenia splendida.
48. Small cichlid.
50. Top fin.
52. Jewel.
53. Substrate.
54. Caudal.
56. Nandopsis
octofasciatus.
59. High pH.
60. ....... America.
21
Cunningly Constructed Cichlid Crossword
44
45
49
50
46
51
47
48
52
53
54
55
56
58
59
60
61
62
63
EclipseCrossword.com
The AUGUST meeting will NOT be at Mitcham.
Instead, it will be held at the premises of
All Aquarium & Pet Supplies
8 Dunoon Crt, Mulgrave
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
57
REALLY, REALLY
IMPORTANT NOTICE
22
Across
Down
01. TEXAS.
03. ERETMODUS
CYANOSTICTUS.
04. AMAZON.
05. PH.
06. MELANOCHROMIS
DIALEPTOS.
07. TERROR.
08. CLEITHRACARA
MARONII.
10. CICHLID.
12. HYPSELACARA
CORYPHAENOIDES.
17. OIL.
18. MELANOCHROMIS
LABROSUS.
20. ARCHOCENTRUS
NIGROFASCIATUS.
24. NILE.
26. NEOLAMPROLOGUS.
28. EGYPTIAN
MOUTHBROODER.
29. FLAKE.
31. ARCHOCENTRUS
SEPTEMFASCIATUS.
33. ASTRONOTUS
OCELLATUS.
35. DICROSSUS
FILAMENTOSUS.
37. MALAWI.
38. LIONHEAD.
39. GILLS.
42. NANDOPSIS FACETUS.
45. CATFISH.
46. VARIABILICHROMIS
MOORII.
47. FILTER.
50. METRIACLIMA
ESTHERAE.
53. ELECTRIC BLUE.
57. FLAMEBACK.
70. DORSAL.
Support our Advertisers!
Without their support the world
would be ... more complicated.
Previously ... at a VCS Meeting
The June 2007 meeting opened at 8.04 pm with the President in the chair. He welcomed
everybody.
The May minutes were taken as read on a motion moved by Daryl Hutchins and seconded
by Dave Thorn. Apologies were received from Jeff Staude, John Reeves and Sandra Robotis.
The Treasurer reported that after paying the printing and postage costs, the balance was
$3597.25. Heinz Staude moved and Aussie Magnussen a motion that this report be received.
Agreed.
The Secretary reported that the only correspondence received was the bank statement and
a cheque from Action Publishing for advertising. This was accepted on a motion moved by
Anthony Apostolakis and seconded by Heinz Staude.
Daryl Hutchins then caused us to sit up and take notice of the interesting information
he had researched on the Madagascar cichlids Commonly and erroneously referred to as
Paratilapia polleni. The President moved a vote of thanks and this was carried by acclamation. A short break was then called.
A brief mini auction was then held. David Green was thanked for his donations and the
bidders were thanked for their support.
Peter Robinson then spoke on dwarfs from around the world. (Sleepy snuck into the back
row and Grumpy helped Peter comment on our involvement. Unfortunately Snow White
didn’t turn up.) The President moved a vote of thanks to Peter for his comprehensive coverage and this was carried by acclamation.
David Green was successful in the raffle and claimed the $60 Regency Aquarium voucher.
Melissa Kirkham won the Cichlid Press Australia prize and chose “Back to Nature ...
Tanganyika”. She also won the bottle of wine to sip and enjoy whilst perusing the book.
OSI foods were offered as door prizes and the fortunate beneficiaries were the fish of Vien
Nguyen, Daryl Hutchins, David Green, Aussie Magnussen, John McCormick and Dave Thorn.
(Robbo declined the offer as he has lost his taste for fish food and Graham declined also.)
A preliminary warning was given to members of the change of venue for the August meeting. (See magazine and/or our Message Board for details.)
The next meeting will be
at the usual venue on 4 July.
(No mention of Africans
allowed on this Americanof-all days.) The committee
will discuss the date and
venue over supper, to which
all members were invited to
partake.
The President thanked all
present for attending and
MELBOURNE’S LARGEST
extended a special thank you
to our speakers. The meetRANGE OF CICHLIDS
ing was adjourned at 10.18
712 Plenty Road, Reservoir 3073
pm so we could enjoy that
Phone: 9478 6614
supper and a chat with our
Present
your
current
VCS Membership Card and receive a 10% discount.
fellow members.
R AYON N E
AQUA RI U M
y
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.com
02. APISTOGRAMMOIDES
PUCALLPAENSIS.
09. LAETACARA
CURVICEPS.
11. TOP.
13. CYRTOCARA MOORII.
14. ANGELFISH.
15. HEROTILAPIA
MULTISPINOSA.
16. MICROGEOPHAGUS
ALTISPINOSA.
19. PERCH.
21. HORNET.
22. PTEROPHYLLUM.
23. SAND.
25. HAPLOCHROMIS
LIMAX.
27. CENTRAL.
30. AULONOCARA
NYASSAE.
32. KEYHOLE.
34. DISCUS.
35. DAPHNIA.
36. PELVICACHROMIS
PULCHER.
40. FLY.
41. TANK.
43. SCALES.
44. ICH.
48. FIN.
49. NET.
51. UARU.
52. TELEOGRAMMA
BRICHARDI.
54. RED.
55. TAIL.
56. LAETACARA THAYERI.
58. CONGO.
59. JACK DEMPSEY.
60. SHELL.
61. SNAIL.
62. CAUDAL.
63. BAY SNOOK.
64. MBUNA.
65. BLUE FRECKLED
CICHLID.
66. MUDSKIPPER.
67. AEQUIDENS
PULCHER.
68. GRAVEL.
69. NEOLAMPROLOGUS
BRICHARDI.
71. CHAMELEON.
72. HEMICHROMIS
CRISTATUS.
23
Solution to Last Month’s Crossword
24
The
Last
Word
Daryl Hutchins..
cichlids.web.com
A
t the time of writing,
I have not seen the
new Australian Aquarium
Magazine (so you will
have to wait until next
month for a revue), but
I have received an e-mail
indicating that it is in the
shops now. Keep in mind
that if you are subscribing,
the Society gets a piece of
the action.
There is also a competition that you may be
interested in ... the Pimp
Your Tank Competition.
This is a theme tank
competition with over
$1500 in prizes! Entries
can be sent to Comp@
pimpyourtank.com.
There are two categories: Freshwater and
Marine tanks. Five finalists
will be chosen in each
category, readers and web
surfers vote online for
their favourite pimped
tanks.
I
t must be the season for
aquarium competitions.
Our friends at the Million
Dollar Tropical Fish page
have one going too. They
are launching a Tropical
Fish Photo Contest with
the winner receiving
not only their photo in
Tropical Fish Hobbyist
magazine, but also a US
$250 gift certificate to the
Aquarium Shop of your
choice.
Check it out at www.
milliondollartropicalfish
page.com/Contest.
This fishkeeping caper is
becoming quite lucrative
... high time too!
24
pages in this
edition, in case
you didn’t notice. Both
the original pieces
presented are transcripts
of the presentations to the
June meeting. It is our
intention, where possible,
to do this in the future.
This is partly because we
who attend on a regular
basis were feeling really,
really guilty about keeping
all this good stuff to
ourselves.
I
want to give a special
thank you to Alf
Stalsberg and Olaf Pronk,
who supplied the pictures
for the abovementioned
articles.
Living in Norway and
Madagascar respectively,
they are obviously not
members, but their help
was invaluable in making
those articles presentable
in print.
I have known Alf for
some time, and he never
hesitates to help me out.
I have only recently made
Olaf’s acquaintance, but
he, Patrick de Rham, Alex
Saunders (Denver Zoo)
and a number of others
have restored my flagging
faith in the internet as a
worthwhile research tool.
I hope the results were
presented accurately.
y
REGENCY AQUARIUM
488 Dorset Road, Croydon
Expert advice given on a wide range
of products to keep your aquarium
attractive and healthy.
Extensive range of fish and plants.
9723 1202
Present your current VCS Membership Card and receive a 10% discount.
Get your TCM
in
Living Colour
go to
home.vicnet.net.au/
~cichlid/MagList.htm
~cichlid/MagList.ht
m
to have your name added to the
e-mail list.
(Please note that the url is
case-sensitive.)
Victorian Cichlid Society
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS
or other enquiries may be directed to:
The Secretary, Graham Rowe
23 Mangana Drive, Mulgrave Vic 3170
Ph/fax: 9560 7472
victoriancichlidsociety@hotmail.com
Or go to our website:
cichlids.web.com
cichlids.web.co
m
Did you hear
that somebody
really cool is going to
advertise here?
As
cool as
him?