That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hi, Desiree here.

Have you ever stopped to think where we’d be if the internet didn’t exist?  Probably stuck at the library. (Believe it or not they DO still exist!)  But, although I am a fan of books and the knowledge they contain,  the information in them can be out-dated as soon as it’s printed.  These days, our source of information is online.  If there’s anything we need to find, we can almost certainly find it on the Google machine.  As biologists and hobbyists, the internet is a valuable and fun source of information.  As we “fish” for information we often find great websites dedicated to one single class or family of animal, both fresh and salt water.  Some of these sites are public forums full of shared knowledge and experience, others are more scientific in their classification and identification, some are a combination of both.  I wanted to share just a couple of my favorite links, sites I use frequently to identify fish or find fun new species to offer in the store.  Check these out, and have fun online!  Surf’s Up!

http://actiniaria.com/  A site dedicated to sea anemones; not all can be kept in aquaria, but are still really cool to look at.

http://www.seaslugforum.net/  Exactly what it sounds like.  Again, most you’ll never see in any store, but the pics are awesome!

http://tolweb.org/tree/phylogeny.html  A site for us true fish nerds, heavy on phylogeny and nomenclature – fun to explore but not for identification of a single animal.

http://www.planetcatfish.com/index.php  Awesome freshwater catfish site – great for looking up L- or C- numbers.

http://www.loaches.com/species-index  Another freshwater site – fun for loach lovers!

http://puffernet.tripod.com/main.html  A personal favorite – freshwater and brackish puffer info.

And we can’t forget to mention these two:  a wealth of hobbyist information –

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/index.html

http://www.reefcentral.com/ 

Feel free to send along any of your favorite websites, or comments on the ones I’ve listed.

Until next time,

Desiree

Hi folks, Brandon here.  I recently re-read my article on the Candiru, and their strange relationship with humans reminded me of another strange relationship between two aquatic creatures.  Some of my favorite marine animals are sea cucumbers, a type of echinoderm related to sea stars and sea urchins.  There are varying types of sea cucumbers, some of which sift through the sand, filtering out organics and leaving sand or silt pellets behind.  Others have fan-like structures that protrude from their mouth that they use to filter small particles out of the water for food.  All sea cucumbers share one characteristic in common; they breathe through their anus using respiratory trees to extract oxygen from the water.  They expand and contract their lower intestinal tract, very similar to how our lungs expand and contract, to take in and expel water.  They can even spray water several feet when exposed to air.   Sea cucumbers are fascinating animals any way you look at them.

Another interesting animal that shares a close bond with certain types of sea cucumbers is the pearlfish.  There are many different species of pearlfish, all of which share the same characteristic long, slender body shape.  Pearlfish seek out shelter from sea cucumbers, but instead of sharing the same hiding place like pistol shrimp and gobies, the pearlfish will actually retreat into the anus of the sea cucumber.  It’s very strange to watch, but amazing nontheless.  The pearlfish will back into the sea cucumbers anus tail first where it is then safe from predators.

It is unclear whether this relationship is commensal or parasitic.  Some pearlfish have been known to nip at the respiratory system of the sea cucumber, but it does not seem to affect the host in any way.  Most sea cucumbers will expel what is known as cuvierian tubes (sections of the respiratory tree) when they are stressed to deter predators from eating the cucumber.  These sections of the respiratory system naturally regenerate over time, so the pearlfish’s nipping does not seem to affect them in any way.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this bizarre but fascinating relationship.

Until next time,

Brandon

Hey cichlid fans, Jose here again. I want to share a little story about the first time I tried to mix Centrals with Africans and Madagascars.  This is just an experience that I had when I was much younger, and I DO NOT condone my actions, nor am I proud of how I handled the situation at the time.  I have learned a lot from my mistakes, and most who have been in the aquarium hobby for as long as I have will have some similar, horrifying experiences to share. Sometimes you get lucky with a mix and sometimes you don’t, so you learn by experience and not necessarily just from the advice of others.

 The tank size was a 75 gallon, and the species were 1 Parapetenia dovii (wolf cichlid), a pair of Dimidiochromis compressiceps (Malawi eye biter) and 1 Paratilapia bleekeri (large spot). I purchased them at the same time, and they were about 3 to 4 inches.  I was told if they grew up together they would get along fine (ha ha ha). Everything seemed to work out fine for about 7 months then the fun began. On a daily basis they would take turns fighting with each other in the tank, even the 12 inch gibbicep pleco got a work out. Then one day I noticed that the compressiceps were preparing to breed (hooray!). The aggression level from the compy pair went up a notch as they both defended their spawning site.

Ok, now here is where the story really gets messed up.

So I went to work, put in my 8 hours and went home.  My girlfriend at the time tells me my fish are acting weird, and I thought it was because they were spawning (boy was I wrong). Upon entering the room, what I saw was a shock. The female compressiceps‘ head was in the dovii‘s mouth, while the bleekeri had the rear half.  There in the middle was her gravid belly. Before I could even reach for a net, they decided it was time to end the game of tug of war.  I tell you it was heartbreaking as what looked like 100 eggs fell to the bottom of the tank.

A lesson in mixing I had to learn the hard way, and a tale I hope that encourages others to research a lot before deciding which fish to house together.

Write in if you have any tank horror stories that you’ve learned from that you’d like to share.

Until next time, have fun with cichlids.       JOSE      

The possibility of encountering and getting to use new gadgets is definiately one of the coolest perks in working at That Fish Place. Particularly in the aquarium hobby, lots of technology is constantly being developed to make things easier.

The most recent example of this has come in from a new vendor for us: Aquatic Life.

Several of their new aquarium lighting fixtures come with a bulb known as HID, or High Intensity Discharge. Not familiar with this term, I quickly shot an email right to our vendor contact. 

A quick response back told me all I needed to know. Developed by OSRAM GmbH in Germany, The HID lamps are single-ended, G12 base metal halides with output similar to comparible double-ended HQI models. The single-ended design allows Aquatic Life to position the bulbs both horizontally and vertically, depending on the demands of the fixture. The single ended design with a built-in reflector allows the light to be extremely focused for greater lighting power. The technology used is common overseas, but has only recently reached the States. Being metal halide bulbs, you still get the shimmering, dappled effect on the water too. The Aquatic Life website gives viewers access to independant bulb output tests too if you’re interested.

Thanks for your help guys.

Aquatic Life also markets a line of compact fluorescent and T5 lighting fixtures; as well as advanced monitors and RO units.

Feel free to pass along any information you have on this technology or your experience with the Aquatic Life items.

Until Next Time,

Dave

Hey everyone!  Recently I was forwarded this article by a friend that I really found to be a good read.  It almost made me feel like I felt when I read those little paperback serial stories as a kid.  I really can’t wait to hear more about this and see a plethora of photos when they’re available as a continuation about the new things they’ve discovered while compiling the Census of Marine Life.

This short article is another testimony to how big and yet un-explored the oceans of the world still are.  This census is being compiled by more than 2000 scientists from 82 nations and it is to be completed in 2010.  The data will be published in a series of three books after the study has concluded: a survey of sea life, one focusing on the working groups, and a third on biodiversity.  A speck of the newly compiled data on behaviors, new species, and other topics is touched upon by the author of this article and others I’ve seen.  I wanted to make sure the link was blogged so anyone interested can stay tuned for more on the census. 

http://www.coml.org/

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/09/tech/main4586743.shtml