Aquarium International 2012
Aquarium International 2012
Aquarium International 2012
Lutz Döring
Do we need another magazine? - Yes,
because International Aquarium is more
than a magazine
From the earliest stages of develop-
ment it was clear that to be truly success-
fu l this journal would have to find a way to
bridge the continental gap and be presen-
ted to a truly international audience. We
are not just after a larger number of rea-
ders. lt is said that we live in a small
world, but the differences between hobby-
ists on different continents have kept us
all from learning from each other. Accom-
plishments in Europe, America, Asia, Afri-
ca and Australia are rarely reported trans-
globally... until now.
The mainstream aquarium publications
have done a good job of moving some
knowledge around the world, but the abili-
ty to do that in print formal is limited by
the time it takes to produce a copy, the
cost of production and cost of delivery
Everything changed with the advent of
the Internet. An explosion of information
expanded our hobby in directions few of
us would have predicted 20 years ago As
the on-line aquarium hobby flourished,
the paper periodicals suffered. The unfort-
unate reality is that, by relying only upon
the Internet for their information, many
hobbyists gave up quality information for
quantity. But the Iide is shifting Good in-
formation has become valuable again,
and the technology of today makes it pos-
sible to deliver that information in new
and exciting ways, to everyone, everyw-
here and immediately.
Lutz Döring, in Germany, is the true
creator of International Aquarium. This is
his dream, but one that I have shared for
some time.
The fi rst ta lks of collaboration between us cult questions and offer us an understanding
on some kind of media project happened of fish in their habitats that most us will never
over beers in Kribi, Cameroon two years ago experience Hobbyists are in a unique positi-
Then we were tal king about doing translati- on to add to the scientist's contributions by
ons for each other, but the concept grew .. reporting Observations that are more than a
snapshot of a moment in a stream. Aquarium
SoWhyNot? industry expends enormaus amounts of
With this edition, which is free for you to money on research and product develop-
download onto your iPad, we want to give ment, without which the pace of technological
you an idea of what you can expect when the growth in our hobby would be painfully slow
first full editions are published in 2012. You Everyone has something to contribute to our
will see original articles from some of the communal knowledge, and th is journal wil l
best-known aquarists, scientists and industry seek to present information from everyone
Ieaders, on topics ranging from expeditions of with something useful to share.
discovery to how to build a fish room . Articles I have been a passionate aquarium hobby-
on breeding, fish health, planted aquariums, ist since I was a ch ild. At some point, I do not
freshwater invertebrates, taxonomy and con- really know when, the hobby itself became
servation .. . and that is just the first issuel my passion I dedicate more time to the
The aim of International Aquarium is to pro- people in the hobby than I do to keeping fish.
vide "infotainment"... valuable information in That is why I am a part of this project I know
an entertaining way. The digital format per- that International Aquarium can become a
mits an almost endless range of possibilities truly international crossroads for aquarium
You will see a Iot more photography than you knowledge
are used to seeing in a printed magazine Blah blah blah ... nice words. Now I will Iet
And you will see video, with audio. Same film you get to the fish l
will support a written piece, and some will be
stand-alone documentaries. New Ieveis of in-
teraction will be added as our journal evolves.
We should all value good information from
every facet of the aquarium world. Scientists
offer new insights (and species), answer diffi-
• Ted Judy • Lutz Döring
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Intern
Aquari1m
Iateraatioaal
Content lssue #0, 201 1
~ 13 A Taste of Chocolate
l!!l.ll!!!:l by Mark Denaro
24 100 Bridges to Sarmi
by Gary Lange
94 Sewel/ia lineolata
von lngo Seidel
ln Search of the Princess
Bees
As an Aquarist in Vietnam
by Lutz Döring
Andreas Karge reported a collection of This mountain range, with its curvy roads on
what he called the 'Princess Bee' shrimp the eastern slope that climb up to the Cloud
in Vietnam. I wanted to film these wild Pass, has become weil known among shrimp
shrimp in their natural habitat, so Frede- enthusiasts as a hot spot for new shrimp. Ha-
rick Bitter and I booked flights on Vietnam bitats of undescribed Paracaridina shrimp
Airlines to fly to Danang in April 2010. species can be found here.
Exactly one day later lceland's Eyjafjal- The day after our arrival we drive out on
lajökull volcano, dormant for 200 years, the main highway, bypassing the center of
erupts. Thank God we plan to go in the the city. lt is obvious that Danang is still not a
other direction! When air traffic in Europe tourist town, but there is booming hotel buil-
almost halts in mid April because of the ding on the ocean side of the city with miles
ash cloud, we fear the worst; but two days of sandy beaches. The road into the hills pas-
before our departure on April 22, air traffic ses the Marble Mountains, which have lang
from Frankfurt resumes and we can start been mined for marble. During the war the
our joumey in search of the Princess heavily eroded hills served as hospital and
Be es. shelter from bomb attacks.
We arrive in Danang where we check in to From the outskirts of the city we could see
a cheap, but very comfortable, hotel in Hoi the misty mountains, and could also see that
An • south of the one-million person metropo- the weather would not be good. A thick wall
lis. This hotel would be the central starting of clouds covers the raute up to the pass; it
point for our expeditions to the nearby Hai was easy to see how the Cloud Pass got its
Van mountains and surrounding countryside. name.
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Exped1t1on
Our first tocatity 1vim Paracaridma sp. 'Prmcess Bee' The habitat is very narroiV IVilh no more man 30Cm
ofiVater.
The measured water parameters corre- the sediments in the ditch that is barely cove-
spond what we know we should see: pH red in water. Again and again Vietnamese re-
about 6 and hardness zero. peatedly stop their bikes to Iook at what we
Only the water Iernparature was a surprise are doing there. We soon continue towards
at 26·c, significantly higher than previously Hue in the hope that this micro-pool is not the
known. Sut this was not surprising in the bla- only water-bearing stream with Princess's
zing sun and the low water Ievei. Sees.
The underwater camera reveals that the We encounter the next stream only a few
shrimp are not uniformly colored . They are hundred meters fu rther up the road. This time
not as rich in cantrast as some pictures we there is plenty of water, but no Princess
had seen, but some among them have a Sees. Frederick does find a different, slightly
body color that is not the expected black, but unassuming colared shrimp. We discussed
a red-brown. The main body band between whether we should Iook further up in this
the darker heads and tails is weaker that the stream for the Paracaridina , but do not get
etassie princess bee. ls the color depended the chance to start because a dense cloud of
on the food? This we cannot say for certain, mist moves slowly downward. ln just a few
but there are striking red-brown minerat de- minutes these clouds cover us in deep fog -
posits, possibly oxidized iron, in many places too much of an obstacle to overcome when
on the surface of the rocks. How can so searching for dwarf shrimps!
many animals survive in a pool so small? De- We break off the search on this day. Alt-
tritus and plants seem to be the only renewa- hough this was not what we sought, we did
ble food source in this habitat infested with have a small success. Our ultimate goal has
dwarf shrimps. not been reached. Andreas Karge found Prin-
Filming this population is difficult, as the cess Sees in very small biotopes on this
smallest movement of the camera disturbs mountain, so there must be something more
than what we have found so far.
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Exped1t1on
Sure enough, after looking a little more .. . stream is fine gravel, like that of the pond, but
there they arel The Princess See! Their here it is found only sporadically between
high-contrast body patterns stand out like a rocks.
beacon compared to the green shrimp, large
There are no plants in the stream, which is
Iadpoies and botias !hat they are feeding
shaded only by a few bushed growing bet-
along side. They are far more contrastad in
ween the rocks. The stream is no more than
color than the weakly banded shrimp we
three meters wide, but already we see shrimp
found in yesterday's puddle.
crawling over the creek bed. And there are
many of theml They are fearlessly searching
for food in full sun. which suggests !hat there
are no predators here.
...1
Olher than teaves and detntus, there 1s not-
hing edible in sight.
The Princess Bee also shows variability in the aqua- Plant food is the ideal food' (Photo: F Bitter)
rium.. (Photo: F Bitter)
ln The Aquarium
I Lutz Oöring
Closed fins on thts ptcture at S vatllanll (Photo: F. Tnis s. ospnromenoides is also very dark, more Ob-
Bitter) servation is necessary. (Pfloto: F. Bitter)
Glass worms can also be collected in some your fish in optimum condition and get them
areas, and can be fed to large adults, but spawning on a regular basis.
should not be offered to young fish.
Bwylng H~e1m; Fl~i' J:; ~~~/
Prepared foods should also be offered.
Very high quality tlakes ca n be fad a couple While all four Sphaerichthys species are
of Iimes a week. High grade pellets, appro- available to the hobbyist, obtaining healthy
priately sized for the mouths of the fish you're and happy individuals may be a different
feeding, can also be offered a few Iimes a story altogether. lf purchasing your fish local-
week. Be sure to remove any uneaten dry ly, be sure to spend some ti me observing
food that is not eaten within an hour or so of them before making a buying decision.
feeding so that it do not rot in the tank. lf your Healthy fish will be breathing normally and
fish don't readily eat the flakes or pellets, try will be fairly active. Their unpaired !ins will ex-
a few more Iimes. tend and close as they move around lhe tank.
lf they still don't accept dry food, disconti- lf their breathing is rapid and uneven they
nue its use, but offer 11 once every few weeks may be suffering from gill tlukes, a common
to see if the fish w111 Iake 1t I beheve !hat fee- malady with this genus. lf their fins are exten-
ding a really good tlake or pellet w111 increase ded or clamped all the time, they are under
the range of vitamins and minerals in the fis- stress and may be sick. Examina all indlvldu-
hes' die!, so don't g1ve up on dry food too als closety for any signs of velvet, a parasrte
quickly. to which lhey are particularty vulnerable
Clamped fins can be evidence of velvet. 01-
Frozen foods can also be offered a few seased or stressed fish should not be purcha-
Iimes a week. lf you can't collect live blood- sed. You will have another opportunrty to ob-
worms then frozen bloodworms are probably tain lhese fish, so wait for a group with wh1ch
'
the first choice. Frozen vers1ons of any of lhe your chances of success will be much grea-
previously ment1oned live foods can also be ter. ln the Ideal situation, you should see the
offered along with generahzed d1ets 1ntended fish eat prior to purchasing them. lf you're
for smaller fish . A good rule of thumb is to buying from an online dealer, be sure to
feed eilher live daphnia or live brine shrimp purchase from a reputable company !hat has
once a day, sorne other live food once a day the experience to keep and ship delicate fish
and a prepared food once a day. Thai will successfully.
provide a well-rounded diet that should keep
Aquanum International #0, 2011 ------ Care and Breedlll<J
Sma/1 rasboras, such as these TngonostJgma hen- Boraras brigittae, and other members of this genus,
geli, make good tank mates tor choeolate goura- are excellent tor keeping With choeolate gouram1es
mies.(Photo: I. Seidel) because ot their small size. (Photo: I. Seidel)
Chocolates do best in a species tank or in neficial for these species and will help to
a biotope setup with a school of peaceful, in- keep velvet in check.
offensive fish that will neilher intimidate them
EJr;~;~dlng C,;h!J<::<JJ~r;~ G<JI.Jr~rr i;~:;.
nor out-compete them at Ieeding time. A
small, peaceful cyprin id such as one of the All four of the Sphaerichthys species are
Boraras or Trigonostigma species would be a mouthbrooders. When most hobbyists !hink
good choice. Adding the cyprinids will provide of mouthbrooding fish, the ones !hat come to
the gouramies with an early warning system mind first are the matemal mouthbrooding
in case dangar threatens, will make them haplochromine cichlids of Lake Malawi. Unli-
more comfortable in the tank and therefore ke cichlids, the mouthbrooding Iabyrinth fish
more active. Because the pH will be very low are all patemal mouthbrooders in other
biological filtration wi II not be particularly ef- words, the males brood the eggs and fry. This
fective • because most bactena don't do weil makes for some interesting behavioral diffe-
at low pH Ieveis. I prefer to use box filters. rences when compared to cichlids. Fernales
Add a bit of gravel to the bottom of the box to tend to be the dominant individuals in a
weigh it down and then cover !hat with filter group, and they initlate spawning. ln some
floss. I sandwich some peat moss between cases, the female will appear to guard the
layers of filter floss to further ac1d1fy and sof- brooding male. II is common in a commumty
ten the water. Chem1cal filtratlon can be ac- situatlon for a male to release a brood and
complished through the add1t1on of activated then spawn again within a few days Gare
carbon, Poly Filter or a filtratlon resin to the must be taken to ensure that males have time
box filter. Setting the tank up 1n th1s way will to recover after releasing a brood before they
result in the pH and hardness decreasmg to spawn again. Doing this several times in suc-
the ideal Ievei for these spec1es gradually cession will result in a much weakened and
over time. Adding aquarium salt at a ratlo of 1 stressed male, which could eventually cause
teaspoon to 1 Iabiaspoon per 5 gallons is be- hisdemise.
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Care and Breed1ng
When kept in a group, it 1s not uncommon the females in any group, while the males all
for only the dominant female to display full seem to get along fairly weil. lnterestingly, se-
color. The subdominant females will often dis- veral aquarists have reported that their tank-
play male coloration, making thi s species ex- raised F1 generation fish all show the domi-
tremely difficult to accurately sex. Dominant nant female pattern regardless of sex.
females have alternating vertical bars of red
Twa C.:ha~al~Jt~ GtJ!.JfOJml~" thOJt MOJy EJ:J
and a really uniqua shade of blue-green with
1·J ::~w ta YtJu
almost black somewhat sword-shaped bars in
between. The unpaired fins are red, edged in Sphaerichthys acrostoma, the moonlight
black and tipped with wh ite. There are dark chocolate gourami, was described by Vierke
horizontal stripes on the head and the eye is in 1979. lt inhabits streams in southern Bor-
red. Males and subdominant females are es- neo and should be kept at a Iamperature of
sentially brown fish , although they sometimes 78 to 80 degrees. This is the least colorful
display a sharply delineated darker brown in species in the genus, sporfing a pale brown
the rear half of the body There is a black stri- body color !hat can sometimes have an over-
pe from the snout to the eye, and a cream cO- lying green sheen. lt will sometimes display a
Iored stripe from the eye to the caudal pedun- clark horizontal mid-body stripe. The dark stn-
cle. A row of cream colored spots 1s along the pe on the face and the reddish stripes that
lower part of the body, and a small ocellus is run from the eye across the gill covers are
typically present on the caudal peduncle. The darker in females. This species can grow to 6
unpaired fins are brown. w1th the dorsal and cm in length.
anal fins edged in white and the caudal fin
having a clear edge. Th1s coloralion helps S. selatanensis, the cherry or cross banded
them to blend 1n wrth the leaf lrtter !hat fills chocolate gourami, was also described by
their home. They will swim in all d1redions, Vierke in 1979. Prior to that time, it was
tuming somewhat on lheir s1des in addition to thought to be a subspecies of S . osphrome-
swimming vertically, which helps to further noides. II inhabits blackwater streams in sou-
the illusion !hat they are small leaves. A defi- theastem Borneo and should be maintained
nite pecking order will be estabhshed among at a Iamperature of 78 to 80 degrees F.
Aquanum International #0, 2011 ------ Care and Breedlll<J
s. setatanensis unterscneidet s1cn von S. os- This is the smallest species in the genus,
pnromenoides durcn das aufftJIIige scnacn- only reaching 5 cm in length The color pat-
brettmuster auf dem KOrper. (Foto: tngo Sei-
del) tern is very similar to !hat of S. osphromeno-
ides, with the addition of a few more vertical
bars and a horizontal cream stripe !hat runs
from the eye to the caudal peduncle, giving it
an overall Checkerboard appearance and
making a rather attractive package. A red
color can suffuse the brown on the body and
the unpaired fins are somewhat reddish
when the fish are very weil settled in. leadmg
Can you provide the right li- to the common name. Fernales are generally
ving conditions? They try it! more colorful than males.
lf you have the ability to raise lrve food ,
can provide the right water conditions and
just happen to have an empty tank ava1lable,
consider having a taste of chocolate by ad-
ding one of the chocolate gouramies to your
fish collection. Bon appetit!
Mari< Denara
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Advertising
100 Bridges to Sarmi
Living Your Dream
by Gary Lange
Something is wrong when the air you me. You really didn't notice too much when
exhale is cooler and drier than the air you the windows were down but when the rains
inhale; but if you are in the jungles of New were pelting us, forcing the windows up
Guinea (Papua West, formerly lrian Jaya), let's say it was a real experiencel At times
th4ln it's just about par for the course. We like this you tell that inner crabby voice to
weht on a short two-kilometer hike to shut up and remember that you' re on an ad-
Danau (Lake) Pianfon, which had never venture of a lifetime; you're out chasing rain-
been searched for rainbowfish before. We bowfishl We also had a couple of other Papu-
were hoping that we might find a new ans in the bed of the truck with the fishing
Glossolepis species here, since you often and camping equipment So instead of com-
find them in lakes or slow moving bodies plaining about the smell, I was thankful that I
of water. This Iake is far enough away wasn't in the back of the truck during those
from other bodies of water that it might torrential rains.
contain something new.
A Iot of the road is freshly paved "Papuan"
This particular adventure was actually our asphall That's about a o/. inch layer of
trip, as we were following a asphalt with a one or two inch layer of gravel
~rlrtrr.,.,i from Sentani around the edge of below it Not very much support in soggy
the island northwest to Sarm i. Dan, my mis- jungle conditions. lt Iooks nice for a season or
sionary triend and guide for the trip, is bles- two, but then gives way and can produce pot-
sed with a fantastic boss who allowed him to holes of biblical proportions. lt was a long and
borrow his 4-wheel drive diese! truck for three bumpy ride, as Dan would be able to accele-
days. lt has air conditioning and seating for rate to almost 40 miles per hour and then
five inside Dan, Johannes Graf (my triend have to quickly brake because we had arri-
from Germany), two rather ripe Papuans and ved at yet another bridge.
Aquan um International #0 2011 Exped1t1on
~ - -~-
.. •~
.:J
jf •
••
.- •· •
--·-·
•
Aquanum International #0, 20 11 Exped111on
We wasted a Iot of time getting the nat rrxed, but at Leeches seem to sense where you are and move
least we werenf out eollecting m the to"ential raln. quici<Jy to take adVantage.
Mouth Almighty1
Twenty miles or so inland we arrived at a
clear and rocky stream. Most of the
streams near the coast have a mud bottom
and are sometimes clear sometimes not.
With all of the rains it is difficult to tel! what
the norm is. We seined and ... . caught the
same two species of rainbowfish againl
C/ose-up of a/most hatched eggs of G/ossamia gjelle'll:lfiii did get a surprise catch though, a
Mouth Almighty, G/ossamia gjellerupi lt was
a male with a mouth full of eggs that were
shortly going to hatch.
Even to a rainbowfish nut this was a pretty
fish, and we were planning to take it back for
all of our cich lid friends who might apprecia-
te such a beast Unfortunately, in the pro-
cess of posing him for the camera he slipped
out of our hands and back into the safety of
the stream. Maybe next time.
At the last place we stopped, Johannes
collected a bunch of small young C. cf. fasci-
ata. We had found what looked like a nice
color variety in this stream from one small
lone male that we had captured Again, we
pickled a few for futu re DNA analysis Finally
it was time to start the long road back to
Dan's place in Sentani and soon this leg of
adventure was over. At the time it seemed
like a long three-day trip up the coast j ust for
an ok C. cf. /orentzii and another color varie-
ty of C. fasciata.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Beat up sma/1 male of Chilatherina sp from the Upper Tor RiVer. Only atter arri-
ving harne and submitfing samples for DNA anatysis did we realize that it was a
new species.
Not submitted yet - Aquarium shot of Upper Tor Chilatherina species. They are
still growing and becoming more co/orful by the day Perhaps they will be the
most co/orful Chilatherina of a/1.
He claims it might be the prettiest
Chilatherina ever. Myself, I find it hard to be-
lieve. I th ink the fish that I had a bit of a hand
in naming, C. afleni, is the prettiest Chi/athe-
nna out there (yet another story).
So for our entire two week journey we
came back with five new species of rainbow-
fish, plus three other fish that have never
been in the hobby. Two of those rainbowfish
came from this long trip to Sarmi, which at
the time seemed like a long way to nowhere.
Sometimes you just have to stick it out, en-
dure the leeches and concussion and see
where it Ieads. l'm glad we didl
• by Gary Lange
Aquanum International #0. 2011 r=a e a r"~! Breoeodncr
l acr1flt>l9gy
The type of lighting depends largely on
your taste and the financial resources, as
weil as the plants used in the aquarium.
Sword plants, ferns, Anubias sp and Cryp-
tocoryne sp. do not need powerful lighting
Full spectrum florescent bulbs or LED light-
ing will promote satisfactory plant growth.
Filters usually have a Ionger life than the
aquarist has patience That's why you
should clean your filter only when the water
flow rate decreases significantly Matten fil-
ters in the most diverse varieties offer ex-
cellent performance Use only materials re-
commended for the aquarium No foam or
foreign plastics! Managing the organic was-
tes in the aquarium (ammonia, nilrite and
nitrate) is very important Water with a ni-
Discus and angels can be kept tagether in an aqua- trate Ievei of less than 50mg N03/L should
rium. Sword plants in the background and peat fi- be the goal. Algae growth, poor plant
bers on the substrate.
growth, and the occurrence of parasites on
the fish are usually directly associated with
a high nitrate Ieveis and a high bacterial
Ioad in the aquarium water.
QlJ~rMllnEll
Any peaceful fish that can be kept in the
same water param eters as the discus are
suitable at tank mates. One aspect often
forgotten in the euphoria of the new acqui-
sition is the uncontrolled introduction of di-
sease with new fish . lt is imperative with
newly acquired animals be quarantined!
Keep in mind that the turnever of ornamen-
tal fish in retail stores is very high, and
when you buy new stock an infection may
exist in the new fish that has not progres-
sed to the point where you can see it Her-
ein lies great danger! Newly purchased fish
and plants should go first into a quarantine
This turquise discus is 14 month o/d. tank.
There is absolutely no harm at all for
healthy discus fish to fast for up to two
weeks, so do not worry about thei r care du-
ring your vacation. Make a water change
just before you leave, and lower the tempe-
rature a few degrees to slow down the me-
tabolism of the discus. Check all electrical
equipment, and turn off the C02 supply for
the holidays, the plants can survive with a
'fast' as weil .
JUWE[
AQUARIUM
DISCOVER LI FE
0 For further information, visit www.juwel-aquarium.com @ Also suitable for use as marine
aquarium
by TedJudy
Corydoras adolfoi fins are smooth IVhlle ... (PhOto: I. ... the fins of C. duplicareus are not. (Photo: I. Sei-
Seidel) del)
My new bride and I relocated to a new city fall into this group include C. arcuatus (the
in the summer of 1992, and I put the cory ad- skunk cory), C. panda, C. adolphoi and C.
diction behind me... both figuratively and duplicareus.
physically
I had been beaten. Obviously I was not
meant to be able to reproduce Corydoras cat-
fish, but I still liked them. I always had a few
swimming about in various community aqua-
riums and fry tanks. I found a signed copy of
lan Fuller's ldentifying Corydoradinae Catfish
- Corydoras (2005) at a hobbyist show,
where I also met the gentleman, so I purcha-
sed the book. To be perfectly honest, I pul the
book on a shelf and forgot I even had it, until
2009 when I decided to give the genus ana- Corydoras duplicareus (Photo: I. Seidel)
lher go. Had I actually read lan's book in
2006, I would have started trying to breed the The last two are very similar, and about the
fish right away. lan's book was a revelation. only way to teil them apart easily is to Iook for
serration on the edges of the pectoral !ins. C.
My favorite group of cory cats are what I adolphoi !ins are smooth while the !ins of C.
call the 'saddled' or ·masked' cories. These duplicareus are not. I found a group of wild
species share a similar color pattem in that 'adolphoi' for sale in 2010 and snapped them
the base color is uniformly light tan, brown or up. Rumor had it that true C. adolphoi were
gray with some very distinct black markings. hard to come by, so I looked at all the fish
Some have black bands through the eyed under a stereoscope and, sure enough, they
(what I call 'masked'), others have black stri- were all C. duplicareus. I was happy to have
pes on their back (a ·saddle') and many have eilher species.
combinations of these markings. Species that
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeod r'lcl
Healthy btackworms are the author's food of choice Mate cory cats are more stender than femates.
for condiüoning cory cats for spawning.
A matten filter is a wall of open cell foam of prepared, frozen and live foods; but the
that fits into the tank snuggly from side to food that has been the best for conditioning
side and top to bottom. A Iift tube draws water fish to spawn in my fish room is live black
from behind the foam wall over the top and worm. When I have these worms available I
into the tank. The size of the fi lter provides a can predict the days that I will fi nd eggs in the
very Iarge surface area for biological filtration, spawning mops. When I do not have worms I
which is important for keeping fish that need do not find many eggs, regardless of how
to eat a Iot and not get a Iot of water changes much food the breeders get. I do not have to
(I will explain the Iack of water changes later) feed black worms every day, which is not a
I do have a heater in the aquarium, but it is very good idea. Two feedings of worms per
set to its lowest setting so that the temperatu- week is enough keep the females producing
re rarely climbs above 76°F, which is about lots of eggs My colony of breeders has eight
as cool as I can keep my fish room in the males and six females, which produce about
summer. I use a very thin layer of silica sand 50 - 80 eggs in an average week.
as a substrate, and the only structures in the
My fish ra rely require a trigger to get them
tank are three large spawning mops that
to spawn; but when spawning tapers off
hang from top to bottom. Two of the mops are
(which happens after a few months of regular
anchored in each of the front corners of the
spawning), I have found that giving them a
aquarium while the third floats freely around
few weeks of rest will revitalize the colony.
the tank.
The resting period starts with a big (80%)
Conditioning cories for spawning is the key water change using my local tap water (pH
to success. Fernales that do not have eggs to 7.6, KH 12, cond uctivity 250 ppm) I feed the
lay cannot lay any eggs. That may seem too colony only flake food and live Artemia nauplii
simple, but I have come to the conclusion (baby brine shrimp) for two weeks (no worms
that my Iack of success with breeding catfish at all), after which I do not feed the fish at all
in my early years was because I did not un- for a week. Ouring th is time I am not doing
derstand what it really takes to condition any water changes.
them. I now feed my cory cats a wide variety
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeodr'lcl
{---------------------------} {-------------------------------------·-}
4 mm Smm
Larvae are born with a /arge yolk. After four days the yolk is absorbed and the fry
needs to eat.
The adUlt color pattern begins to appear at After 50 days the juveniles Iook like miniature
about 40 days old. adUits.
The nursery is a 2.5-gallon aquarium with a chop them up into very small pieces. When
small sponge filter and a Y.-inch layer of worms are cut up they release a liquid (call it
long-fiber sphagnum moss on the bottom. blood) that needs to be rinsed away before
The moss is not peat and it will not cause the feeding them to the fish. That liquid will just
pH of the water to drop; the moss provides add unneeded nutrients to the water, which
cover for the shy fry to hide in, as weil as trap may result in an ammonia spike. The best
food particles for the fry to feed upon. Once way to rinse chopped worms is to Iet them
the fry are in the nursery tank the amount of rest in a cup of water for five minutes, stir
food is increased to three feedings per day them up and then pour them into a brine
Water changes of 50% are performed every shrimp net.
other day using aged tap water. The fry grow
The juvenile catfish will continue to grow
very quickly, and reach W in two to three
quickly until they are o/."-1" long and start to
weeks. At that point they are transferred to a
show the adult C. duplicareus color pattern,
10-gallon fry tank that is set up the same as
after which the rate of growth slows down. ln
the nursery.
my fish room the next few weeks seem to be
The baby catfish in the fry tank are fed a the most critical for survivaL The first few
wider variety of foods, including everything I spawns did very weil until they changed over
feed the adults but in smaller quantities, more to adult color, and then I lost half or more of
frequently (at least twice a day) and in smal- the brood.
ler sizes. I do feed them black worms, but I
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeod r'lcl
• TedJudy
Astatotllapta aesrontatn/1
• Anton Lamboj
•
Aquanum International #0 2011 ': a e ew~! E r eo~c!ncr
The male part: H. debilittera from Columbia. The female part: L 28 from Rio Guama in Brazil.
Most species come to us come from the hybrids that appear in the hobby, and educa-
Amazon River tributaries in Brazil. Export re- te aquarists about the risks of keeping certain
strictions by the Brazilian environmental species together. When the first hybridization
agency IBAMA, and tighter controls on ex- between my catfish happened in 2001, the
porters, will probably Iead to significantly existence of hybrids within the genus Hypan-
fewer imports in the future, and the biodiver- cistrus was still unknown among experts I re-
sity of this genus in our aquariums will decli- cognized that this accident in my community
ne dramatically. Captive breeding of the spe- aquarium might portend a !arger problern in
cies we already have has become a priority the hobby, so I decided to allow the hybridiza-
to ensure that we do not lose them from the tions to continue and carefully document
hobby The working group "L catfish" was what I saw.
founded within the international community
The crossing that occurred in my 240 Iiter
BSSW (characins barbs loaches catfish) to
community aquarium involved a H debilittera
facilitate the captive breeding efforts of the
(L-129) male breeding with a H sp "L-28" fe-
species affected by the Brazilian export bans.
male. The aquarium held various catfish spe-
Almost all known Hypancistrus species cies living together with some dwarf cichlids
have been successfu lly bred in the aquarium, of the genus Apistogramma L-28 is a spe-
so the technical aspects of breeding the fish cies with fine white dots on a black body from
is not an insurmountable obstacle. Preventi ng the Rio Guama in Brazil. H. debilittera is a
hybridization is a much more important issue, catfish of the upper Orinoco river in Colombia
because this problern is still often misunders- which shows white to yellowish, irregularly si-
tood and underestimated. nuous, narrow lines on a dark body. The
spawning itself went unnoticed, because I do
A Oocumented Hybridization not try to spawn catfish in community aquari-
The proliferation of hybrids is a bad thing, ums. The only catfish which would regularly
but in order to assess the risk we need to spawn that aquarium was a breeding pair of
know more about how hybrid spawns occur Peckoltia sp "L-134".
and what we can expect to see in the Fry which differed from L 134-fry suddenly
offspring This information will help us identify appeared in !arge numbers in the aquarium.
Aquanum International #0 2011 ·: a c "' ~: E · ~~' 1•_1
The most surprising thing about Peter's appeared, which also showed the "typical"
case is that the he was keeping both sexes of appearance of points and line segments in
both species in the aquarium when the hybri- combination with caudal and dorsal stripes
dization occurred, and they had previously L-66 can be significantly !arger than L-136.
been breeding with in their respective species Even more striking is the difference in size
when combining L-333 x L-260, which was
What Combinations Are Possible? reported to me by Ralf Heidemann. L-333
After hearing of Peter's experiences I rese- (the "Queen Arabesque" from the lower re-
arched Hypancistrus hybrids some more. lf aches of the Rio Xingu) can grow to 15 cm
this phenomenon occurred within my circle of long, while L-260 (from the Rio Tapajos) rare-
acquaintances, it probably has happened ly reaches more than 10 cm. These cases in-
more often in the hobby at !arge I was parti- dicate that being different sizes is not an
cularly interested in what combinations were issue for the parents.
possible. The most surprising cases to me are the
hybridizations that involve the zebra catfish
Hypancistrus zebra (L-46). This species falls
~ ;(
a little out of line within the genus by its color
pattern, unusually small size and the somew-
hat different larval development it exhibits
'' compared to other Hypancistrus species W.
Heinrich told me of crosses between H zebra
and L-260 observed by an aquarist known to
him. I also learned from Heidemann of a
crossbreeding between H. zebra x L-66
A hybrid of L 262 and L 270.· The pat-
tern is much finer. Choi (personal com munication) reported that
his Hypancistrus zebra crossbred with L-400.
Unfortunately, nothing is known about the ap-
According to Ya nn Fullquet (personal com- pearance of 46-L hybrids from Choi, because
munication), hybrids of L-66 and L-136 have his few pups died very early.
Aquanum International #0 2011 ,: a c "' ~: E · ~~' 1,_1
A 4-way hybrid at 7 cm in length. Noüce combi- Two typical 4-way hybrids. No flvo Iook alikel
naüon of lines and dots.
Not even 4-way hybrid siblings Iook alike. This 4-way hybrid is almost completely dotted.
L270 siblings showing their stripes. A 3.5 cm 4-way hybrid with both lines and dots.
The specific characteristics of the parents diation and are thus more genetically compa-
are not passed on to their young, but certain tible than older genera
features from all four species can be obser-
ved in the F2 offspring For the descendants What ls the Risk?
of sibling hybrids that were the result of cros-
Hybridization between different Hypancis-
sing only two species, the F2 generation
trus species has been demonstrated on multi-
should also show a range of phenotypes that
ple occasions, so this is fact... no Ionger spe-
represent the patterns found in only the two
culation. The fact that only a few number of
original species
cases have been reported should not be in-
Are All Hypane~trus One Species? terpreted as an indication that hybridization in
captivity is rare. Most catfish breeders are ca-
Should we now assume that all the repre- reful to keep their colonies separate from
sentatives of the genus Hypancistrus are only each other, but even in those cases the high
different colors and forms populations of a variability in some species may cause a hy-
single species, because the hybrids are fertile brid to not be recognized and added to a co-
even in higher generations? Nol An essential lony of pure species. Aquarists who are not
component of a biological species concept is trying to breed their fish may still get spawns
that some sort of a "natural" barrier to hybridi- in a community tank, and if those hybrids clo-
zation in the wild exists. These barriers can sely resemble one parent or the other the
be physical (such as being from separate ri- aquarist may unintentionally pass the fry on
vers) or behavioral (as must be the case for as a pure species
species that share a natural habitat). Bringing
the different species together in the aquarium Serious aquarists who ca re about the fu-
breaks all these barriers. The only conclusion ture of pure species in the hobby will not in-
one can draw from these Observations is that tentionally perpetuate hybrid fish. Mistakes
the genus Hypancistrus is evolutionarily very will happen unless steps are taken to prevent
young, currently going through a species-ra- them.
Aquanum International #0 , 20 11 ' I ' ·' I ·' I I ' ' ' ·' I I' I
A 4-way hybnd of the same age wtth only dots. The male hybrid of L 262 ana L 270.
11 is very important that we all leam how to Different Hypancistrus species should not
recognize when a hybrid spawn has occur- be mixed Iogether in an aquarium, especially
red , and take steps to ensure that those fry if you intend to breed them. Once a colony of
are never distributed in the hobby. You may positively identified fish is established, even
be very careful to Iabei your hybrids for what from wild fish, do not add new specimens to
they are, but once they are out of your control the group unless you are absolutely sure !hat
there is no guarantee that the person who they are the same (preferably from the same
gets them will be as responsible. Once hybrid source) Misidentifying a Hypancistrus spe-
fish get into the breeding colanies of pure cies is too easy. lf you are not sure of a fish's
species the genetic integrity of !hat group of genetic purity, err on the side of caution and
fish is lost. The pure species and varieties keep it out of your breeding tanks.
that are currently available could be irretriev-
ably mixed if hybrids get into their gene The potential for catfish hybrids to become
pools. a problern is so high that we should not even
be mixing closely related species in a com-
When you consider the restrictions on wild
munity aquarium. ln reality, we can assume
fish that are already in place, and with prO-
that most aquarists ignore the risk and will
jects like the Belo Monte Oam on the Xingu
keep multiple species Iogether in community
River in Brazil threatening availability even
tanks. The minimum you can do in this Situa-
more, we need to protect the valid species
tion is to keep species that are significantly
we have in the hobby as though they are the
different in appearance Iogether (such as a
last remaining fish of these species on the
spotted with a striped), so when they do hy-
planet The reality is that they may weil be all
bridize you will be able to teil the hybrid
we have in the not too distant future. Preven-
offspring apart from their parents. Those hy-
tion in the eure.
brids should never leave the building they
were bom in.
Aqu anum International #0 2011 ·: a c c; • ~: E · ~~' 1•_1
Bl bllography
Breeding
• Jörg Vierke
VVes'!-J-\frJc8 ~®Dvö~&Jt:hrtttJmö~
ff!J~JO~!JJ~Y oJN!©'J@n~~oJ
1 Jdonga~Krib
For many years it was assumed
that the only place to fi nd wild Pel-
vieaehromis puleher is in the Niger
River delta of Nigeria A few decades
ago, however, travelling aquarists dis-
covered a unique population in Ca-
meroon..
<
. the Ndonga population.
This beautiful krib is uncommon in
the wild and the hobby II is infre-
quently imported, and probably the
bet way to get them is to travel to Ca-
meroon . to collect them first hand.
, The editors of this magazine, Lutz
and Ted, met on an expedition to Ca-
meroon where the first stop was a
stream holding this species. Several
pairs were collected, and what fol-
lows is a combination of our Observa-
tions of the P. puleher 'Ndonga' in the
field and aquarium
Dascnp11on:
P. puleher 'Ndonga' is a typical Pel-
vieaehromis in body~orm, but its colo-
ration differs from its well-known Ni-
gerian cousin. The Cameroon popu-
lation is browner with yellow high-
lights, and the spots on the tail of the
male are more similar to those on
some varieties on P. taeniatus. The
aggressive colors of the ltemales in-
clude an beautiful purpl~ 'belly, unlike
the bright cherry red Iof'the typical P.
pulcher. ·
.-'
Habitat:
i
The habitat pf P. puleher from
Ndonga, Camerqon, is a tributary of
the Dibamba R!Ver located on the
southern side ot, the estuary region
adjacent to the large city of Douala.
·. ...
Aquanum International #0. 2011 S1lec1e' Prof le
VVes'!-J-\frJc8 ~®Dvö~&Jt:hrtttJmö~
ff!J~JO~!JJ~Y oJN!©'J@n~~oJ
i1ö!l'llUn~li3S: 1 Jdonga~Krib
Depending on tank size, P puleher
'Ndonga' will telerate medium to Iarge The stream is shallow, swift and
sized open-water swimming species about 20 meters wide. Marginal
that are not a threat to their territory. plants are abundant, but the only true
livet>earers, fetras, barbs and larger aquatic plants present are a few
danios are all app_ropriate. Bottom fish Nympheae sp. in the quiet, sunny
should t>e avol ded unless the aquarium shallows. The water is cool (less than
has plenty of room to share t>etween
. - 76' F),< pH 7 and very soft (less than
them and the cichlids. ~
20 iJS conductivity) The bottom is
sandy with small to large rocks. The
P. puleher are not at edge-oriented as
one would expect, but are instead
found mostly in the center of the
stream around large, sheltering
rocks.
Other species of fish that share the
stream include killifish (Epip/atys sp.,
Chromaphyosemion sp.), Chromidoti-
/apia guen(heri guentheri, Hemichre-
mis e/ongatus, Tilapia sp., Brycinus
sp. telras and various small barbs.
Ein zunuss des Dibamba-RiVers ist das Biotop
dieser hübschen Standortvariante von P pul-
eher. Es könnte sich allerdings auch um eine Aqu!!lrlum:
Übergangsform zwischen P pucher und P tae-
niatus halten, da die Tiere Merkmale beider An aquarium witt't_ plenty of room,
Arten aufweisen. subdued lighti ng and a moderate to
strong current is ideaL Live plants are
not necessary (there are few in their
natural habitat), but the fish will not
bother plants, so adding vegetation is
not a problem. Structure should inclu-
de plenty of bogwood, coconut halves
or other caves and hiding,places The
species will telerate a wide range of
hardness and pH, butm oderately soft
and neutral conditiolls are most suita-
ble. ·
,'
}
~~Ovöcmchromis
fPJM]t:JJ~J' l nOJt)n~~JJ
Ndonga~Krib
Llvlng ln a Shell
The group of Lake Tanganyika cichlids
collectively referred to as shell-dwellers live
over sandy areas, without any rock structure
for hiding, because they make use of empty
snail shells for protection from predators and
as a place to spawn
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeod r'lcl
Naolamprologus muJliiEiscietus
and Naolamprologus similis
N. multifasciatus was originally described
in 1906 by the ichthyologist Boulenger. The
Shell-dwelling cichlids only few colletion sites of this species are loca-
swim forward into their shells. ted mainly along the eastern coast (Tanza-
nia) and southern coast (Zambia) of the
Lake. Neolamprologus similis, however,
was not discovered until 1989, when it fi rst
became possible to explore the Iake on the
weslern coast (Democratic Republic of
Congo) Heinz Buescher, who conducted
the first ichthyologic investigation on the
southwestern coast of the Iake, what was
at that tme an unknown species of shell-
dweller. The distribution of N. similis seems
to be limited to the southwestern shore of
Lake Tanganyika, and only two localities
(Zongwe and Tembwe) have been found to
have populations of the species
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeod r'lcl
in N. similis, the dark stripes are wider than the light. /n N. multifasciatus, the dark stripes are wider than
the light and the head has no patterns.
The females of N. multifasciatus and N. si- tom. A deep substrate may become sculpted
milis, because of thei r small size, are the only into huge craters and ridges in the aquarium.
adult shell-dwellers of any species that can The animals instinctively digging to crate
turn around in the shell. When a fish is res- more hiding places for themselves and their
ting outside of its shell, it will lie facing the offspring, so that the young fish are not only
opening in order to escape danger in a flash. hiding in the snail shell refuge , but also bet-
Unlike the obligate snail-shell breeders that ween and among several shells that combi-
spawn ra ise their broods exclusively in shells, ned will make an elaborate crevice-fi lled refu-
N. multifasciatus and N. similis are not limited ge.
to th is single method of reproduction, and
The fish can also move the position of a
they will also breed in crevices in rocks.
specific shell to meet their needs. ln general,
the fish will grab the opening of the shell with
their mouth and push violently until the shell
changes position. This behavior is rarely ob-
served. The more frequent method of home
relocation is to excavate the sand from under
the shell on the side towards which the fish
wants the shell to move. Once enough of the
shell's support has been moved, gravity will
do the heavy work. Once the shell is in positi-
on the fish will replace sand around the shell
N. similis has stripes an the back of the to stabilize it A third behavior is performed to
head. cover the shell with sand so that only its
opening is visible. The fish will start at the
Despite their tiny size these small cichlids opening of the shell and swim quickly away
are capable of great amounts of activity They from it while physically plowing through the
are so focused upon excavating the sand sand, which is th rown backwards over the
from around thei r chosen home that they wil l shell. Any grains that end up in the shell are
often remove all the substrate until the shell cleaned out
is lying on the bare glass of the aquarium bot-
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Care am! Br8C!dlllcl
Soclal Behavtor
Another interesting aspect of keeping N.
similis and N. multifasciatus is being able
to see their interesting social behaviors and
parental ca re. Both species live Iogether in
a large fam ily, with members defending
their territory together. Young fish take part
in caring for their younger siblings, relieving
the parent fish of the task so they can
breed again. A strong male will also mate
with multiple females, creating a harem,
N. similis lives in a /arge family group which adds to the overall productivity of the
colony.
The reproductive rate of either species is
not very high. Small fish have few fry, and
broods of only half a dozen babies are nor-
mal. Both species can spawn repeatedly
over a short period of time, however
(usually less than three weeks between
spawns), thanks to the cooperative
brood-care system of the colony. Freshly
hatched nauplii of brine shrimp are recom-
mended for feed ing the colony, as they are
readily accepted by all ages
These tiny dwarf cichlids are tenacious in
A !arge family group of N. multifasciatus.
defending their fry and territory, and can
drive off much larger fish with lightning-fast
attacks. Tank mates learn very quickly to
respect the shell-dweller's temper. Both N
multifasciatus and N. simi/is differ from
other shell-dwelling species (such as Lam-
pro/ogus ocellatus and L ornatipinnis) by
having a significantly lower Ievei of intras-
pecific aggression, a characteristic that
makes both species suitable for keeping
groups of more than fam ily in a single
aquarium.
The offspring are tolerated in the area of
the parents unti l they reach sexual maturity
and a size of about 15 millimeters, after
The o/der juveniles of N. multifasciatus are weil which the young adults will leave to start
camounaged against the substrate. their own colonies; but they do not have to
move far to escape any negative attention
from the older fish.
Aquanum International #0. 2011 Cace anc! Breoeod r'lcl
Aquarium caro
Keeping small family group in a small
aquarium, starting with a single pair or
breeding trio, is possible in as small a
space as a 10-gallon aquarium. The sur-
face area of the floor is more critical than
the height, and a tank with less than 200
sq. inches of bottom space is probably ina-
dequate.
Benavioral elements of N. similis. Keeping large groups in a nano-aquari-
um is not a good idea, but the fish do very
weil in large aquariums One extended fa-
mily of thee dwarfs only needs an area of
about 400 sq. inches (an area of 20" x 20")
There is enough room in a tank with the
base dimensions of 48" x 12" to accommo-
date at least three colonies. The borders
between the adjacent colonies are defen-
ded by the offspring of the colony's par-
ents, but the ski rmishes are highly rituali-
zed and fish are rarely hurt.
A layer of sand two inches deep and a
shell density of about one dozen shells per
family group is sufficient. The shells of the
Lake Tanganyika snail genus Neothauma,
the natural shell that these eichIids use, are
usually difficult to obtain. The fish are not
Br bhography picky, however, and will accept shells from
various species of snail. lf plants are desi-
red it is important to not cover too much of
the surface area of the substrate. Valisne-
ria sp. grass is a good choice for planti ng in
a shell-dweller aquarium.
8oth N similis and N. multifasciatus are
excellent choices for a cichlid nano-aquari-
um. Their very small size combined with
their relatively small space requirements
make them uniquely suitable compared to
other rift Iake eichIids.
• Wolfgang Staeck
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Exped1t1on
This characin reminded me of Hyphessobrycon her- This glandutocaudine species was caught in a brook
bertaxetrodi. nowing into the Tahuamanu riVer. This group of aha-
raeins uses internal insemination.
We stayed in the best hotel in town (the ted by a very shallow water, I caught some
owner's words, but we agreed} After we had Rivulus, which Florian (my second compani-
recru ited a driver with an SUV, we were on on} took home successfully and was able to
our way to inspect the town. breed in the aquarium. For myself, complete-
A well-constructed asphalt road Ieads ly unexpectedly, I caught several nice Creni-
south from the city, and another road runs cichla that I could not take home because of
north, across the bridge over the Rio Acre, their size. Juergen (my thi rd compan ion} tried
into neighboring Brazil. Our first trip, after to take some juveniles of th is species to Ger-
packing our extensive equipment, went to the many, but did not succeed because he could
south to various water bodies, rivers and not provide the appropriate food during the
streams. next three weeks.
We made a stop at a small, swampy bioto- We also caught some nice characins,
pe formed from water than drained from which rem inded us of the black Neon Fish
under the road into a small creek, and there Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi. Unfortuna-'
we found our first interesting catches. tely, it lost the lovely yellow color it shows in
the photo tank the day it was captured. We
initially thought we were catching that same
kind of tetra everywhere, but after comparing
them later I am not so sure. Another characin
belonged to the subfamily Glandulocaudinae.
These fish are characterized by internal inse-
mination, but are often not represented in the
aquarium. We also netted darter tetras of the
genus Characidium, as weil as representati-
ves of the genus Pyrrhulina, which we would
find several times later. These species lie re-
A similar species from a ptace some 10 kilo- latively motionless on the bottom of the
meters away but from a total different catch- stream and wait for prey
ment basin.
lt was clear to us that these fish also have
Everywhere the waters drained north to the
predators. We caught several smaller preda-
river system of the Rio Acre we found A
tor-characins of the genus Hoplias.
acrensis. Where the vegetation was inunda-
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Exped1t1on
---
.
We found many varielies of A. rubrolineala. II was
lhe mosl common dwarf cichlid in lhis area of BoliVia.
Florian collecled a few specimens of A. luelingi lo
Iake home. Here is an image of a male.
They are widespread in South America, thout the benefit of useful facilities to separa-
and have the ability to breathe atmospheric te bad chemieals from the effluent going into
air to survive in different habitats. We also the stream.
fou nd a catfish of the little-known fam ily of
Trichomycteridae, named because of his ap-
pearance right as a "loach-catfish", which
lives hidden and partially buried in the sedi-
ment of the bottom.
The shower rom was used to keep the fishes. The fish were checked twice a
day and water was changed dally.
G!:>ifll&J :=~sl
The next day we drove to the east. Over
long stretches we passed extensive pastu-
res with little native vegetation and a Iot of
eroded soil Half-way towards Riberalta we
came upon a small forest of Mauritia flexuo-
sa palms, a sure sign of slightly acidic soft
water or even black water. Seeing those
palms from a distance gave us the clue that
there might be something interesting there.
ln fact, there was a small stream that flowed
Uke on every riVer and brook 1 was afmost under the road. Even from the car we saw
eaten up by bfackflies which Jett me with do-
zens of smafl blood fifled pustufes. large schools of small telras in a pool on the
downstream side of the road. A quick draw
with the net brought around 200 of these
small telras and compensated for the bites
of little stubborn fl ies.
Aquanum International #0, 20 11 Exped1t1on
Tnis small cflaracm arter arrMng m my tank. Sebasüan our driver nad brougflt fl1s msulated coo-
ling bag to pick up l/Je /arger fisfies wf11cfl would
make a nice evening meat.
My first impression was that these letras only hope to be able to maintain a small PO-
were juveniles of an Astyanax species, and I pulation. They are very attractive, small
wanted to Iet them go (because species of (20-24mm) and hide a Iot. They are a good
that gnus grow large and aggressive). Wolf- fish for a nano-aquarium
gang Staeck advised me to keep some,
however, because the presence of both thick
and thin fish indicated that adults of both
sexes were present, and they were probably
already fully grown.
Wolfgang is demonstrating his way of fishing Placing the net carefully some meter trom the
for Apistogramma. waters · edge, he carefully chases the fish into
the deeper water by trampfing into the shallow
The fish nee into the deeper water and are lf you are lucky and experienced befiVeen 5
trapped in the net. and 30 fishes are caught with each attempt.
Smaller streams were dammed by the con- annoyed (I am not alone in th is feeling) that
struction of the road, creating ponds on the we stayed so long in th is area of smaller
upstream side. Wolfgang Staeck again show- streams where all the fish were the same as
ed us his proven fishing tactics to fish the what we could find in the larger streams clo-
shoreline for Apistogramma. He placed his ser to the town.
net a few feet from the bank with the opening
facing the shore, and into the shallow water
to chase the fish fleeing into deeper water. .
directly into the netl A very effective fishing
method.
The area we were exploring sat directly on
the watershed divide between the Rio Acre
(which ultimately empties into the Rio Purus)
and the Madre de Dios River (which drains
into the Rio Madeira) The creeks draining to
the north (Rio Acre) held mostly A acrensis.
Creeks that drained to the south contained
mostly A rubrolineata. ln hindsight, I am a bit
Aquanum International #0, 2011 Exped1t1on
A tew spectmens of this mce ltttle suckermouth cat- A last view back to Cobija trom the plane on the way
fish was caught m this mce small rtver. to our second /ocation in Bo/ivia.
By late afternoon, our driver was getting The next day, after we had packed the cap-
nervous, about the time, but we made a briet tured animals for travel, we headed oft to the
stop at a pond where we were able to catch airfield. With one last glance over the hazy
some small Ancistrus catfish. I picked up pie- Cobija and the Rio Acre, we Iook leave to tra-
ces of wood quickly and shook them over my vel via Trinidad to Los Lagos, where the
net, and managed to capture a total of five of collecting of fish should be much better
the relatively small (8-9cm} plecos.
Tobe continued .. .
Due to the tentacles on the head of some I
suspected I had both sexes. Unfortunately,
these animals didn't survive the Iransport • by Siefan K. Hetz
home, because my Iuggage arrived a day late
and damaged in Berlin. Another heavy piece
of baggage must have had the case com-
pressed, so the five animals died in transit.
W'r1ara eJfc trua::;a Jo~c'rlas frmn? water is not a problern either. The most im-
portant factor, in my experience, is to ensure
Sewellia lineolata's home is in northern and
an adequate oxygen Ievel. These are rapids-
central Vietnam. According to Freyhof, the
loving fish !hat need the water to weil aera-
species is found in almost all the rivers of the
ted. Very regular water changes are also ne-
rapidly flowing rivers in central Vietnam. The
cessary to ensure good water quality A mat-
distribution of this species ranges from the
ten filter wall with an airlift works weil. A
Huong River in Hue (Perfume River) and
strong current makes the animals happy,
south to the An Lao River in the province of
however, it is not mandatory The water tem-
Binh Dinh. The animals mainly inhabit the
perature should be at best between 22 and
rocky sections of clear-water streams. The
25·c .
animals are diurnal and search at the rocks
for food, especially small insect larvae. These loaches are not algae eaters, as one
might expect because of their catfish-like ap-
VV'rl~l :o~re l'rlB tlam~rJds &J Sawai- pearance, and they need protein in their die!
JiOJ? I feed my Sewellia with tablet, frozen and live
foods, all of which they eat very weil.
Small aquariums are perfectly suitable for
these loaches, because their maximum size When I feed a tablet food, many individuals
of 6-7 cm does not require a Iot of swimming with gather araund the tablet all at once.
space, and are they very sociable fish. A They distribute food particles from the tablet
small group may weil be kept in aquariums as with wave-like motion of their fins, and then
small as 60 Iiters. The decor for these ani- feed on these particles greedily I also feed
mals should have numerous stones, under live mosquito larvae, which are sucked to the
which the animals like to hide. surface of the matten filter where the loaches
scurry over to find. But mostly I feed them fro-
Sewellia ca n talerate a range of conditions
zen red mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and
from soft to medium hard water, and a pH
Cyclops.
from slightly acidic to slightly alkali ne. Harder
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
J-Jow C~fll 'tYB dis:iiru ~!.JisfiJ l:Je b YBBrl eggs, I pile a bunch of 1-2 cm diameter peb-
bles in a corner of the aquarium The eggs
- v~ ......
...rr'J::) :=:.i"A' ......
=-- ':J
-: _.,. ".)
fall between the pebbles and the resulting lar-
The distinction between the sexes of adult vae and young fish, being under cover, can
Sewellia is quite simple to see. The females develop safely Your first sign that a spawn
show a wider body and a wider head portion. has occurred will be when the first small juve-
At the starting point of the pectoral fins they niles venture out to Iook for food .
form a !arger angle (see illustrations) from the
body in the female. The front rays of the I initially feed the fry with a crushed tablet
males usually show marked elevations, which distributed on the water surface so that the
are absent in females. particles gradually sink and are distributed
throughout the aquarium. I also feed live Ar-
temia nauplii When the young fish are more
numerous and !arger I feed them whole food
The breeding of Sewellia lineolata in the
tablets, frozen Cyclops and grindal worms.
aquarium is easy to accomplish with enough
The young fish are initially very thin and dark
hiding places and the Iack of predators that
banded, and they do not have the typical su-
would eat the eggs and fry. Because these
cker-disk Iook that they will have as adults.
loaches scatter their small and crystal clear
S. lineo/ata needs many rocks to fee/ com-
fortab/e.
lf the Sewe/lia absolutely do not procrea-
te in the aquarium, there can be a number
of reasons. lf the water is very hard, the
eggs may no hatch, and softening the
water with reverse osmosis or rainwater is
recommended. My animals have stopped
spawning in the summer months when
temperatures in my aquarium rise above
25·c.
The parent loaches do not feed on the fi rst aquarium. lt is indescribable to observe an
free-swimming fry, but you should make that aquarium fi lled with reticulated hill stream loa-
there are no egg or fry predators in the aqua- ches of various sizes.
rium.
Sewellia lineo/ata can proliferate under ap- • by lngo Seidel
propriate cond itions so that the bottom is litte-
red at feed ing time with juvenile fish. When
that happens it is important to do more fre-
quent water changes to account for the
added number of fish in the tank. ln my expe-
rience, the parents will stop breeding at some Literature
point when there are too many fry in the
Impressum AquIateraatiepl
Ausgabe #0, 201 1