That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Just wanted to give everybody a heads up. For Memorial day That Fish Place retail store in Lancaster, PA is offering 10% off your entire order with a coupon
So in case you’re in the area, stop by and do a little saving. And in case you’re not around, check out our weekly livestock specials.

Have a great holiday,

Until Next Time,

Dave

Ok, I thought I would blog about this new product we’re getting in at That Fish Place: as it’s popping up all over the place lately.

The R2 Fish School from the folks at R2 Solutions company dispels the myth that goldfish, and apparently any smaller sized fish, have 2-second memories by teaching them how to perform a variety of tricks. As wild as it seems, the R2 Fish School is loaded with press showing goldfish in action.

For all of you myth busters out there, the system works by simple positive reinforcement, but it’s truly hilarious to watch your fish, literally, swim through hoops. Each R2 Fish School is packed with “athletic gear” to get your fish punting a football through goal posts, scoring a soccer ball in a goal, swimming the slalom, going through tunnels or doing the limbo. The Fish School “arena” fits into tanks as small as five gallons, and parts of it can be used separately in a smaller fish bowl. An instructional DVD is included so you can get your fish into training fast.

Great for kids, or even those adults who are always looking for something else to compete at (Goldfish Fantasy League or Extreme Goldfish Tricks on ESPN2), The R2 Fish School looks like an interesting product. Let me know if anyone has any cool fish training stories to tell!

Until Next Time,

Dave

Pygmy Angelfish

Pygmy angelfish are fairly small, yet bright and colorful. They are generally not-specific feeders and usually accept most prepared food offered to them. They should be offered frozen foods like Mysis Shrimp, Formula 1, Formula 2, and Clams. They should also be offered flakes, pellets, and a regular supply of algae to round out their diet. Pygmy Angelfish typically do well in an established aquarium, 55 gallons or larger. Some acceptable tankmates include damsels, clownfish, tangs, gobies, blennies, and wrasses. As with their larger Angelfish cousins, careful consideration needs to be taken when attempting to keep more than one Pygmy Angel in the same tank. Two Pygmy Angels of the same species or very similar coloration should not be housed together, they will be very aggressive towards each other. If you want to attempt to keep two different species of Pygmy Angels together, your best bet is with species of different coloration. While there is no guarantee that these feisty little fish will coexist in your aquarium, you can increase your odds of them getting along in a few ways. First, the bigger the tank the better; 55 gal tank or larger. Second, make sure that there is plenty of live rock with lots of hiding places, this will allow the fish to establish their own territory. You can also reduce aggression by adding the fish at the same time, this way no territory has been established by older residents. Pygmy Angelfish are generally “reef safe” but may nip at the occasional polyp from time to time. I would not recommend Pygmy Angels for reef aquariums with Acropora, or other SPS corals for this reason. Their max size ranges from 3-6 inches for most species.

One of the most popular Pygmy angelfish would be the Coral Beauty (Cenropyge bispinosus). Their colors range from a deep purple to shades of orange. They stay fairly small (3-4”) and can be housed in tanks as small as 30 gallons. Coral Beauty’s are usually “reef safe” but may nip on polyps as well as the slime coat on other corals. The Coral Beauty is very hardy once acclimated into a well established tank with plenty of liverock.

 

Another hardy Pygmy angelfish that does well in an established tank is the Flame Angel (Centropyge loricula). Their colors are a vivid red with black lines. The amount of black varies. Flame Angelfish do not have different juvenile to adult coloration’s so be sure to pick the stripe pattern that you like since it won’t change. Flame Pygmy angelfish tend to be more peaceful than some of the other pygmy angelfish. Flame Pygmy Angelfish are usually “reef safe” but may eat polyps or clam mantles.

 

One of the smaller pygmy angelfish that is also hardy is the Cherub Pygmy Angelfish (Centropyge argi) . Cherub Pygmy angelfish is a purplish blue with a splash of orange around its face. They reach a max size of 2-3 inches. Cherub Pygmy angelfish may be shy any first, but don’t let their small size full you. These little angels have attitudes and will defend their home at all cost. They are generally “reef safe” but may pick at the occasional polyp.

One of the larger Pygmy angelfish would be the Keyhole Pygmy Angelfish (Centropyge tibicen). They can reach a max size between 7-8 inches. Keyhole Angelfish are not as colorful as many of the other angelfish. They are mostly dark blue to black with the lower portion of the anal fin bright yellow and an oval white area on both sides of their body. Keyhole Angelfish do not tend to ship as well as some of the other angelfish but once properly acclimated they are usually pretty hardy.

One of my favorite pygmy angel is the Lemonpeel Pygmy Angelfish (Centropyge flavissimus). They are bright yellow with blue trim around both eyes and gill covers. Lemonpeels are generally shy and need lots of places to hide to feel safe. Once acclimated they usually become more social. Lemonpeel angels are more likely than some of the other pygmy angelfish to pick at LPS corals and clam mantles.

One of the more aggressive pygmy angelfish is the Eibli Angelfish (Centropyge eibli). Eibli Angelfish have a silver gray body with orange stripes, black tail rimmed in blue, and a hint of orange around the eyes and belly. These angels adapt fairly well to aquarium life if given an established tank with lots of macroalgae to graze on. Eibli Angelfish are usually “reef safe” but may nip on the occasional polyp or clam mantle.

While there are many pygmy angelfish that do well in aquariums there are some species that are gorgeous but are a challenge for even the experienced aquarist. The Potter’s angelfish (Centropyge potteri) and Golden Angelfish (Centropyge aurantia) fall under this category. Potters angelfish are bright orange with blue gray scribbled lines and blue trim. Golden Angelfish are a burnt orange color with vertical yellow stripes. These angelfish tend to be very shy and reclusive and do not readily accept prepared food.

I hope you enjoyed Mellissa’s article.

Until next blog,

Dave

Here at TFP we are rapidly approaching our annual spring sale event, This year marks our 35th anniversary. For those of you who have made the trip for past years events, you know what a fun and crazy sale it is. If you have never been to one of our anniversary sale events, then this should be your year to check it out. There are thousands of items on sale, some of them at unbelievable savings.

One of both ours, and our attendees, favorite parts of our sale events are the free seminars. This year we have a great cast of speakers for your enjoyment. We are proud to welcome back Anthony Calfo, Steven Pro and Jesse Rothacker, all of whom have been guest speakers for us in the past. This year we have a couple of new speakers, Chris Brightwell and Doug Dent.
Here is a little information about each speaker, and the topics of their seminar.

Anthony Calfo:
Aquarium Photography Tips (Sunday 2:30 p.m.)

For those of you who are not familiar with Anthony, you are in for a real treat. Anthony has an incredible amount of information and enthusiasm for the aquarium hobby, and he spends a great deal of his time sharing his knowledge and experiences with hobbyist around the world. Anthony has authored, or co-authored, several books, the most recent of which is his second edition of The Book of Coral Propagation. Anthony also publishes C the Journal, magazine for aquatic science, travel, and adventure.

Anthony’s seminar this year is about aquarium photography, in which he will share some of his tips and tricks that he has learned through the years. Aquarium photography is something that many people struggle with (myself included), this seminar will hopefully help make better photographers out of us all.

Steven Pro :
Greenhouse Coral Propagation Farm (Saturday 10:30 a.m.)
Responsible Reef Keeping (Sunday 1:30 p.m.)

Steven Pro, yes that is his real name, has over the last 15 years turned his love of the aquarium hobby into his livelihood. Steven has operated an aquarium sales and maintenance company in the Pittsburg area for many years, as well as held several interesting positions within the industry. Steven has held positions on the board of directors for the AMDA (the American Marinelife Dealers Association) and the Pittsburg Marine Aquarium Society (Hosts of MACNA XIX in 2007) For those of you who have visited the WetWebMedia.com website, you may also recognise him as a past member of the Wet Web Media crew.

Steven is performing two seminars for us this year. Saturday, Steven will chronicle his ongoing Coral Propagation greenhouse project. Over the last couple years Steven has been planning and building a Coral Farm, with the ultimate goal of large scale coral production for distribution. Steven is well into the project, and has already started to produce farmed coral.

Steven’s second seminar on Sunday will be on responsible reef keeping. This seminar will deal with issues that the worlds coral reefs are facing, and the impact that we as hobbyists have upon them. The discussion will involve focus on things that we as hobbyist can do to minimize our impact, and help ourselves at the same time.

Chris Brightwell :
Reef Aquarium Husbandry; Philosophies and Results. (Saturday 12:00 noon)

Chris Brightwell is a fellow graduate of Coastal Carolina University, and a rising name in the aquatics industry. Chris has authored numerous articles and books, including his latest book Marine Chemistry. In 2007 Chris launched a new company, Brightwell Aquatics, which offers a comprehensive line of water conditioners and supplement for Marine, Reef, and Freshwater aquariums.

Chris’s seminar will focus on the wide range of approaches and techniques that have been used in the maintenance of marine reef aquariums, and the theories behind these practices. Chris has done extensive research in the field of aquarium chemistry, both while working for Kent Marine in the past, and for product development and testing for Brightwell aquatics.

Doug Dent:
Aquarium Care Basics (Saturday 3:00 p.m.)

Doug has worked in the aquatics industry for over 30 years and is the V.P. of sales, and technical support for Ecological Laboratories, the manufacturer of Microbe Lift products. Doug is an expert in biological processes in aquatic environments.

Doug’s seminar will be about basic water chemistry, and biology, of aquariums and ponds. He will cover how the Microbe Lift products work, and how you can reduce your maintenance in both aquariums and ponds, where algae, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate come from, how to control, and how to cycle a pond or aquarium in 24 hours.

Jesse Rothaker :
Forgotten Friends Reptile Sanctuary (Saturday 1:30)

Jesse, is a herpetologist and founder of “Forgotten Friend” Reptile Sanctuary, a non-profit local reptile rescue based out of E-town. He gives hundreds of reptile shows and informational seminars to local groups and schools, and educates people on the responsibilities of being a good pet owner.

Jesse’s seminar will be a reptile show featuring all this stuff, along with a bunch of reptiles, including many Jesse and Forgotten Friend has rescued. His website is forgottenfriend.org.

I hope that this information has peeked your interest, and you will come to our anniversary sale to see this great group of speakers

Until next blog

Dave

In the interest of science, Dave asked me to post some biology/aquatics breakthroughs recently discovered here at That Fish Place. We hope that the information provided allows other aquarists and scientists to continue what we’ve started.
Thanks, Melissa

It all started with our recent shipment of Blue-Tipped Acropora, Acropora sp. For those readers not familiar with coral, this is one of the most easily recognizable, most beautiful corals in the aquatics trade. Unlike most corals in the trade, these were asexually reproduced and shipped here from a local coral greenhouse. Upon arrival, we began our normal quarantine process; placing the frags in an aquarium containing conditions identical to the display tank they would eventually inhabit. Remarkably, right from the beginning we started noticing differences in this batch…. click here to read the rest of the story and view pictures.