That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I’m glad to see that crayfishes are beginning to get more attention from aquarists.  Many can be bred in the aquarium, and their colors, ranging from apricot to blue and deep red, rival those of any marine invertebrate.  The USA, home to over 80% of the 600+ known species, is a center of their diversity (84 species occur in Alabama alone).  The year 2011 opened with a bang for Crayfish enthusiasts – a unique new species, twice the size of those nearby, was discovered Tennessee.  “Tennessee Giant Crayfish” would seem a suitable common name, but for now the unique crustacean is known only as Barbicambarus simmonsi. Read More »

Greetings! The big news this week? MACNA!! Our team is on location in Atlantic City for this year’s main event, and Dave will be tweeting on all the cool stuff going on there. I’m sure we can also look forward to a blog recap highlighting the showstoppers.

In the news this week: more new species. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the diversity we find on this little blue planet blows my mind. This time the newly discovered critters were found at around 500 meters depth near the Canary Islands. Don’t be expecting to see these deep water oddities in your local aquarium store, but take a look anyway because they’re just cool.

There was also this article on a risque new Chimera or Ghost Shark species discovered off the Southern California coast!

As if there wasn’t enough at the beach to look out for as a hazard, people in New Zealand now have to be aware of puffers and puffer toxin when they’re frolicking on those beautiful coasts. This piece should hit home with aquarists, too, as fun and adorable as puffers are there is a risk involved in keeping them in aquariums that has to be kept in mind, as the toxin has the potential inflict some serious damage. Read more on puffer toxin in Eileen’s blog about toxins.

And now for a look at the future of the aquarium hobby! We all know that leaving our precious aquariums home alone for extended periods of time can be stressful, and many of us can relate to the horror of tank disasters that can occur while we’re on vacation or working long hours. Why not construct your own robot to monitor your tank? Seems like an impossibility? Not when it comes with the help of the braniacs at Erector! The Spykee Robot may be the key to giving you a little piece of mind.

This week we got some pretty cool stuff in the fish room in addition to all the favorites. Here are the highlights:

I’m a fan of Possum Wrasses. Also known as Arrowhead Wrasses and Pygmy Wrasses, these little beauties are fun to watch, s and they’re reef safe. Their small size makes them suitable for even smaller tanks. The Tanaka Possum Wrasse is the newest arrival!

We also received a lovely little Polleni Grouper. Only about 3-4″ and very pretty! Of course, I’ve never seen an ugly Polleni.

On the fresh side, the Zebra Loaches that arrived this week are looking particularly robust and active. Those attractive stripes would complement any community tank. The new Bug-eye Squeaker Cats, Synodontis contractus, also caught my eye. Synos are interesting looking cats in general, but the patterns on these are very attractive and the current stock is fat and happy. If you’re on the market for African Cichlids, I recommend the adult Pseudotropheus acei with their spectacular blue color.

Until next time, Patty

Pufferfish image referenced from wikipedia and originally posted by Mbz1