That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Cory here.There are so many things that I would love to add to my aquarium, but would never buy for myself. So, I add them to my list for Santa every year.

1. Purple Rhinopias (Rhinopias aphanes):

I’m not really a predator fish person, but this fish is beautiful and expensive. Most likely the only fish I would put in the tank, but would do just fine in a 40 gallon tank.

2. Conspicillatus Angel (Chaetodontoplus conspicillatus):

Another beautiful fish with the price to go along. Typically retailing for around $2000, the Conspicillatus Angel is rarely seen in hobby.

3. Magnificent Shrimp Goby (Flabelligobius spp.):

Excellent choice for a nano aquarium, but hard to find for less than $350 for a 1.5 inch fish!

4. French Polynesian Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima):

Collected only a couple of times, the colors are one of a kind! The clams start around $280 for a 6 inch clam to as high as $800 for an Ultra variety.

5. Jason Fox My Miami Chalice Coral (Echinophyllia spp.):

Awesome coral for an amazing price of $1500 for one eye. I’m sure this will be on my wish list for quite some time.

With so many fish and corals in the oceans, it was very hard to narrow down my list to just 5, I’m sure the list will change for next year. Merry Christmas!!

Until Next Blog,

Cory

Dave here.  I just got back from a trip to California to visit with the folks from Ecoxotic, a new aquarium lighting company that specializes in LED technology.  Many thanks to Ecoxotic for the opportunity,not only was the trip informative, but it is much warmer in southern California than it is here in frosty Pennsylvania.  Ecoxotic has just started shipping product this month, and we will have it here at TFP very soon, so I wanted to give a quick rundown of the new products that we will be carrying from this exciting new company. Read More »

In my first blog, I talked about why the Zebra Loach (Botia striata) is well suited for smaller aquariums, and why it was certainly a more sensible choice for snail control than its larger cousin, the Clown Loach. The Zebra Loach is one of the most under rated of the snail eating Botia, in my opinion. But what if you have a planted aquarium and you’re keeping small shrimp? Zebra Loaches may very well eat them! Or what if you have a small tank, but don’t have room to house 4 or 5 of these fish? Well, I think there may be something that is just as effective, does not appear to want to eat the little shrimp, and won’t take up a lot of room. A somewhat new introduction into the hobby called the Assassin Snail.

The Assassin Snail (Clea helena or Clea Anentome helena) comes from lakes and ponds in Southeast Asia, where it feeds on decaying protein, worms, and other snails. That’s right, a snail that eats other snails. Voracious little predators, the Assassin Snail has an attractive yellow shell with a spiraling brown stripe wrapped around it. While they do have an appetite for snails, predation does not occur within their own species. This allows several individuals can be kept in a single small aquarium. At an adult length of just under an inch, a 10 gallon aquarium could easily house a dozen of these snails. They are pretty durable and can take a wide range of water chemistry, as long as it does not fluctuate greatly. While preferring a pH of 7.0 or 7.2, they can tolerate a range from slightly above 6 to about 8.2. Water hardness, can also be somewhat flexible. Reports of keeping them in water with GH values of 5 and a dKH of 1 seem to be pretty standard. Fine gravel or sand is always preferred, but not a necessity. If you do have fine substrate, these little guys will burrow and crawl through the substrate in search of food.

Assassin Snails are known to be extremely active. The idea that snails are slow and plodding is definitely challenged by this gastropod. Assassin snails will scale plants, glass, large stones, and wood with surprising speed when hunting for food. I have even seen them suspended upside down on the surface of very still water! Being able to move quickly gives this snail an advantage over slower moving prey items, such as the troublesome pond snail, Physa sp. In large numbers, Physa sp. pond snails can damage soft plant tissue and can present a real problem if you are trying to keep a well-groomed planted aquarium. A handful of Assassin Snails will eventually clear the aquarium of unwanted snails. After the problem snails are eaten, Assassin Snails will take up a somewhat more laid back role by eating left-over fish foods and decaying protein. While some reports of shrimp predation have occurred, it is a pretty rare occurrence.

Watching a group of these curious little snails cruising around your aquarium is really fascinating. I have never really gotten absorbed into the snail world, but seeing the Assassin Snail hunt and forage for food has definitely piqued my interest! From my personal observations, I have to say that these snails are definitely more than capable of ridding an aquarium of unwanted snails. They may be the predator you’ve been looking for.

Thanks, until next time,

Craig

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  In terms of species diversity, fishes are the most successful of all vertebrates…with over 25,000 species identified so far, they outnumber mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds combined.  Ranging in size from 2/5 of an inch to over 40 feet in length, one fish or another has colonized every aquatic habitat imaginable, from desert pools of 104 F in temperature to frigid Antarctic seas.  

In keeping with this remarkable diversity, fish reproductive methods are also extremely varied.  Today I’d like to convey some interesting facts concerning the breeding habits of both aquarium and non-pet trade species.

Placing the Young out of Harm’s Way

All American and European eels, whether inhabiting a bay in New Jersey or a pond in England, originated as eggs laid in the Sargasso Sea, off Bermuda.  Eels, salmon and many other fishes engage in massive breeding migrations, with millions of adults laying eggs simultaneously and then dying shortly thereafter. 

Most fishes lay eggs (up to 35 million per season in some cases), but a great many are live bearers that reproduce via internal fertilization.  Many merely scatter the eggs or fry and leave them to take their chances, while others take great precautions in preparing nests, guarding the eggs and caring for the young. 

Adult tilapia and many others protect their young by taking them into their capacious mouths at the slightest hint of danger, while male bullhead catfish accompany their offspring on feeding forays for several weeks (please note the photo of a brooding Cyphotilapia frontosa – youngsters can be seen within the parent’s mouth).  Perhaps most surprising of all, discus fish produce unique skin secretions that serve as food for their fry.

Switching Sexes and Sex Roles

Many fishes depart radically from what we’ve come to know as “typical” vertebrate reproduction.  Female seahorses, for example, deposit their eggs in the pouches of the males.  The males then act as “surrogate mothers” – regulating the salinity of the water in the pouch, brooding the eggs, and bringing forth the young. 

Wrasses, many species of which are kept by marine aquarists, begin life as females, with a number becoming males at a later point, a phenomenon known as protogyny. 

The ever-popular clownfishes utilize an equally unusual reproductive strategy, known as protandry.   All clownfishes fishes start out as males, and some later change their sex and wind up as females. 

Cloning (with a twist)

The Amazon Molly (Poecilia formosa) adds yet another variable to its reproductive strategy.  Named for the female-only Amazon Tribe of Greek Mythology (it ranges from southern Texas to northern Mexico, and is not found in the Amazon River), only females are known.  They must, however mate with a male to stimulate egg development – but there are no male Amazon Mollies. 

Female Amazon Mollies solve this dilemma by mating with males from one of several related species that share their habitat.  None of the “father’s” genetic material makes it into the young mollies however – these are all clones of their mother!

Well, we could go on for pages…I’ll add other interesting tidbits in the future.  Until then, please write in with your own odd facts and any questions you may have. 

Further Reading

To learn why inbreeding has not doomed the Amazon Molly to extinction, please see this article.

To read more about seahorse reproduction, please see my article The Care and Natural History of Native Seahorses.

Thanks, until next time,

Frank Indiviglio

Mouthbrood image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by MidgleyDJ photo by Matthew Miller

Hey, it’s Eileen again! Last summer, I posted a blog on artificial reefs and their wide range of uses and designs, but an English artist is taking this concept to a whole new level!

Jason de Caires Taylor, an underwater naturalist and diving instructor with over 14 years experience underwater, has created magnificent underwater sculpture exhibits.  The exhibits are located in Grenada (Moilinere Bay) and the United Kingdom (Canterbury and Chepstow) with a sister exhibit on land in Crete, Greece. His exhibits highlight the underwater environment and its ability to change and adapt. Instead of scrubbing each bit of algae and growth from the artwork, it has become part of the exhibit.

As the underwater life reclaims each piece of Jason’s artwork, it helps illustrate his point on the resilience and adaptability of his exhibit. Most of his sculptures are of human figures, a truly haunting picture as the sealife starts to overtake them. His latest sculpture is incorporating a collection of glass bottles with messages submitted by the public and divided into categories like fear, hope, loss and belonging. Another project to be installed in Cancun incorporates propogated corals and over 400 individual sculptures.

Check out the gallery on the artist’s homepage and don’t forget these pictures the next time you are scrubbing the algae off your ornaments!