THE JO URNAL O F THE BRO O K LY N AQ UA RIUM S O C IETYVOL XXI V M AY /J U N E 2 0 1 1 N o . 5

AQUATICAAQUQU1911~ 2011

Celebrating 100 years of Educating Aquarists

Photo Credit: Kenji Takasi

Male Cyprichromis leptosoma

Photo Credit: Rusty WesselFemale holding eggs

A Q U A T I C AV O L . X X I V M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 1 • N O . 5

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Illustrations: J. Todaro, C. GiamExchange Editor: Stuart HershkowitzContributing Writers: Jeremy Gay, Regina Spotti, Mike Garibaldi, Joe Graffagnino, Dan Hagan,Michael Steffen, H. Blair Howell, Izzy Zwerin.

C O N T E N T S

Aquatica is published bi-monthly (except July/August) by BAS. Original articles may be reprinted by other non-profit organizations, provided proper credit is given to the authorand Aquatica, and two copies are sent to the Exchange Editor. Transcriptions of lectures may not be reprinted without written permission of both Editor and the Speaker. Distribution ofarticles on any online electronic service is prohibited without written permission from the Editor and Author. A notice of where approved articles have been posted should be sent to the BASExchange Editor.

Aquatica will exchange publications with all interested societies. If we do not receive your publications for three consecutive months, we will assume you no longer wish to ex-change and your club will be removed from our mailing list.

ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS PUBLICATION SHOULD BE SENT TO:• Editor: John Todaro, 247 Middletown Road, S. Londonderry VT, 05155 Home: 802 824-3743 Fax: Same

Please submit all articles to the Editor by mail, fax, or E-mail JTODDYBAS@AOL.COM. • Exchange Editor: Stu Hershkowitz, P.O. Box 290610, Bklyn, NY 11229-0111 Phone: 718 967-1321• Membership: Christna Cingari, P.O. Box 290610, Bklyn, NY 11229-0111 Phone: 718 982-5910

All articles in Aquatica are the opinion and experiences of the author or authors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions ofthe editors or staff of Aquatica or the Brooklyn Aquarium Society Inc.

Editor: John TodaroCopy Editor: Kay MartinFreshwater Shrimp Editor: Dan HaganMarine Editor: OpenPlant Editor: Izzy Zwerin

OFFICERSPresident: 1st Vice President: 2nd Vice President: Treasurer: Corresponding Secretary: Exchange Editor: Membership Chairperson:Sergeant-at-Arms: Recording Secretary: Web Master:Editor:

The Brooklyn Aquarium Society Inc. is a non-profit organization 501(c) (3) for people interested in the aquarium hobby and the study of aquatic life. The Societymeets the 2nd Friday of each month except July and August at the Education Hall of the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, Surf Avenue at West 8th St., at 7:30PM. Meetings are open to visitors. Refreshments are served. Membership is $25 per year family/$20 individual/$15 for students under 14. Send inquiries or membership checks payable to: Brooklyn Aquarium Society, c/o Membership Chairperson, P.O. Box 290610, Brooklyn, NY 11229-0011.

Joseph GraffagninoSteve MatassaMarie LicciardelloDenise HershkowitzOpenStuart HershkowitzChristina CingariLita GoldbergKay MartinBernard DerenJohn Todaro

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BOARD MEMBERS

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PAST PRESIDENTS(In good standing)Seth KolkerJohn TodaroAl DiSpigna

AQUATICA STAFF

Note: The Editor takes full responsibility for misspellings and punctuation errors.

2 Calendar of Events ~ 2011/20123 How Long Will My Fish Live?7 Breeding Synodontis lucipinnis9 Everything You Read about Fish

Keeping Is BS - Including This Article13 The Practical Plant

Cryptocoryne walkeri

14 Crystal Red Shrimp

16 Platy variatus18 Black Eggs19 Species Profile:

Cyprichromis leptosoma21 Support Our Sponsors. They Support

Us. We Must Support Them!22 Membership Renewal Application

1911~2011 100 Years of Educating Aquarists1911~2011 100 Years of Educating Aquarists

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BROOKLYN AQUARIUM SOCIETY

CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2010 ~2011

100 Years of Educating Aquarists ~ 1911 - 2011MAY 13 Spring Auction ~ Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry goods

auction including a new 55 gallon tank & stand • Discount books & sales • Raffles • Door prize and

much more.

JUN 10 Carol Ross ~ Collecting Fish in Peru ~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured corals, freshwater

fish, plants & dry goods auction • Discount books & sales.

JULY 8 100th Anniversary Party to be held at the New York Aquarium. More information to follow.

SEPT 9 Joe Caparetter ~ Unique Corals You Can Keep ~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured corals, fresh-

water fish, plants & dry goods auction • Discount books & sales.

OCT 14 Fall Giant Auction ~ Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals& dry goods auc-

tion including a new 55 gal. tank & stand • Discount books & sales.

NOV 11 Anthony Stissi ~ Lake Tanganyikan Tropheus Species ~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured corals,

freshwater fish, plants & dry goods auction • Discount books & sales.

DEC 9 BAS Holiday Party ~ Members, their families and friends, all you can eat sit-down dinner

• Fish Bingo & Prizes • BAS Awards presentations.

2012

JAN 13 TBA (marine)

FEB 10 Peter Warny ~ Visits to Various City & State Aquaria ~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured

corals, freshwater fish, plants & dry goods auction

MAR 9 Tony Vargas ~ Successful Reef Aquariums from Around the World and HowThey Got There

~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured corals, freshwater fish, plants & dry goods auction

APR 13 TBA (freshwater)

MAY 11 Giant Spring Auction ~ Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry

goods, including a 55 gal. tank & stand

JUN 8 TBA (marine)

SEPT 14 Mike Hellwig ~ Fish Breeding Contest with Ted Judy ~ Marine fish, aqua-cultured

corals, freshwater fish, plants & dry goods auction

OCT 12 Giant Fall Auction ~ Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry

goods, including a 55 gal. tank & stand

NOV 9 TBA (marine)

DEC 14 Holiday Party ~ Members, their families and friends, all you can eat sit-down dinner

• Fish Bingo & Prizes • BAS Awards presentations.

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How long willmy fish live?

With permissionJeremy Gay,Thursday 24 February 2011, 11:00 am

Filed under: lifespan longevity oldest live Koi Discus catfish cichlid loach guppy marine

Unfortunately, although some fish dieevery year through disease or mistakes, the onesthat are being cared for properly are going on toreach a truly ripe old age, and that doesn’t alwaysseem to be related to species size.

Species selectionI think that as well as researching fish size

and water requirements, we should also considerthe length of time which they will live. Life isshort when you are an avid fishkeeper, as thereare so many species to keep and so little time tokeep them.

To find out how long a broad selection ofaquarium species are living, I posted a blog ask-ing readers to share their experiences.

What I foundMy investigations led me to discover that

many community species of fish are capable ofoutliving a cat or a dog, so making themselves along-term commitment for the fishkeeper.

Take the Clown loach, for example. Ifound ages up to 24 years reported, and, consid-ering that in that time they can and will reach30cm/12” in length and are a social species

requiring the company of their own kind, thenumber of enthusiasts who can truly offer themwhat they need, compared with the number ofpeople who purchase them, is very low indeed.

Twenty five years is a large chunk of any-one’s life and who can predict what they will bedoing and where they will be living for the nextquarter of a century?

It seems it’s not always the small speciesthat have the shortest life spans.

Most tetras, rasboras and small barbs canhit five years old, as you might expect, but myinvestigations showed that some were swimmingthrough to seven, eight and even ten years of age.An Emperor tetra was listed at nine years old anda Neon tetra at ten!

I’ve listed two fish in the table at the endof this feature with big questions marks aroundthem — a nine-year-old guppy and a 12-year-oldWhite Cloud Mountain minnow. If those twocases are true, then these small '‘short lived'’ fishspecies are outliving species like rainbowfish andsome cichlids, both of which are normally notedfor their longevity. The average life span for aguppy, apart from that one, was a much moreaverage 18 months.

This is a question often asked in the postbag of Practical Fishkeeping magazine. Havingseen lots of aged fish on my travels, I wanted to find out the length of time some ouraquarium veterans are surviving, and my findings are amazing!

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Whether this is good or bad I have yet todecide, but some families, genus and species stoodout as being long lived. I’ve already mentionedthe 24-year-old Clown loach, but even smallerloach species seem particularly aged. A 15-year- oldDwarf chain loach has been recorded along witha 17-year-old Kuhli loach.

Then there are the catfish. I would go sofar as to say that some catfish are known forbeing long lived, Synodontis in particular, and aSynodontis schall, a large syno, is listed at 38 yearsold. But even smaller synos are hitting the 20years of age mark and beyond. I found a S.nigritaat 19, a S. flavitaeniatus at 20 and the small, trueupside down catfish, S. nigriventris, at 21 years ofage

Other small catfish species continued tosurprise me, with Corydoras really opening myeyes. The list includes a Bronze corydoras at 11years old, no surprise there perhaps, but whatabout a Corydoras zygatus at 21?

Lots of 'common plecs' and 'gibbiceps'plecs were registering at the 27, 28 year mark, sothat is another good reason why you shouldthink long and hard about introducing one as asolution to controlling a short-term algae problem.

Marines were featured too, even commoncommunity species. Mr. A. B. Hussey said: "Ihave been a fishkeeper for 35 years. Started keep-ing marines in 1992 and have a Regal tang, pairof Clowns and a Humbug, which were myamong my first fish purchased." Well done, MrHussey, I say.

Extra careThe fact that some specimens are living so longmust be a combination of genetics and extra caretaken by the fishkeeper. No fish will last verylong in poor water conditions, if fed a diet that ispoor in nutrients or if kept in a stressful situation.You, the fishkeeper, are responsible for all threeof the above and should always put the welfareof the fish first.

I dropped fish health expert, Dr PeterBurgess, a line to ask if he knew of any age-relatedillnesses in fish and anything to look out for.

It seems that old fish are at greater risk ofcertain diseases and are also less able to withstandunsuitable water conditions or bullying. Spinaldeformities can occur in old fish just as they do inhumans. And fungus and eye infections increasein older specimens due to less efficient immunesystems. Cell mutation is more likely in old fish,resulting in melanomas, as will organ failure,particularly kidney failure.

A tall story?Koi are well known for being long-lived. How-ever, there is one age reference about which I ammore than a little skeptical. If it is true and can bescientifically proven then great, but even if it can-not be validated it still makes a great story.

It involves a Japanese Koi carp calledHanako that reportedly lived 226 years. Hanakowas owned by Dr. Komei Koshihara and lived ina pond in Gifu, Japan, with five other geriatricKoi. In 1966, Dr. Koshihara made a radio broad-cast about his favourite fish and the following istaken from the English transcript, which I foundon www.vcnet.com:

"This Hanako is still in perfect conditionand swimming about majestically in a quietravine descending Mount Ontake in a shortdistance. She weighs 7.5 kilograms and is 70centimetres in length. She and I are dearestfriends. When I call her saying ‘Hanako!Hanako!’ from the brink of the pond, she unhesi-tatingly comes swimming to my feet. If I lightlypat her on the head, she looks quite delighted.

"Sometimes I go so far as to take her out ofthe water and embrace her. At one time a personwatching asked me whether I was performing atrick with the carp. Although a fish, she seems tofeel that she is dearly loved and it appears thatthere is some communication of feeling betweenus. At present, my greatest pleasure is to go tomy native place two or three times a month andkeep company with Hanako.

"I am often asked how it is that I can tellthe age of a fish. As a tree trunk has its annualrings, so a fish has its annual rings on its scales,and we only have to count them to know the age

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of a fish. As a matter of course, we ourselves can-not do it. It requires the aid of a specialist and theuse of a light microscope.

"Now, what was it that made me think ofascertaining the carp's age? My grandmother onmaternal side, who left this world at the advancedage of 93 some eight years ago, is said to havebeen told by her mother-in-law: ‘When I wasmarried into this family, my mother in-law saidto me, that carp has been handed down to usfrom olden times; you must take good care of it.’

"When I was told this story, I became verycurious to know how long the carp had lived. Ifound out Hanako's age by the before mentionedmethod, but you may easily imagine how greatlyI was grieved when I was forced to take a scaleoff her beautiful body. I caught her in a net verycautiously and repeatedly said: 'Excuse me!'

"I took off two scales from different partsof her body by using a strong tweezers. Thescales were examined by Professor MasayoshiHiro, D.Sc., Laboratory of Domestic Science,Nagoya Women's College.

"It took two months for him to acquire asatisfactory result. Using the light microscope, hephotographed every part of the scales. It seems hetook a great deal of trouble. When it was certainbeyond doubt that the carp was 215 years old, thetwo of us exchanged a look of delightful surprise.

“Then I had the professor examine theremaining five carp in the same pond, three whiteand two black ones. The examination took one year,and it was found out that three were respectively168, 153 and 149 years old, and the remainingtwo were both 139 years old.

"Those results led us to be convinced thatnot only are the carp rare ones, but they are avery precious existence from the scientific pointof view as well. We must consider, then, in whatsurroundings and under what conditions theselong-lived carp are placed. The pond is locatedfar deep among the mountains of Mino Province.The locality is called Oppara, Higashi-ShirakawaVillage, Kamo County, and is about the same dis-tance from Gero Hot Springs on the TakayamaLine as from Nakatsugawa City on the CentralLine, both lines belonging to the National Railways.

"Nearby there are rustic hot springs calledOppara-onsen. Facing south toward the Pacific onthe top of Mount Ontake, you will look down uponthe locality at the foot of the mountain. Throughthe locality runs the Shirakawa, a tributary of theRiver Hida, which again is the upper reaches ofthe River Kiso.

"A stream of limpid water never ceases toflow all the year round. It is this water that flowsinto the pond where Hanako lives and which wascarefully constructed with stones in former days.Besides that, pure water trickled from the foot ofthe mountain streams close by into the pond,making the favourable conditions still morefavourable. The pond cannot be called large, onlybeing about five metres square."Hanako died in 1977 at the age of 226 as theworld’s oldest animal. The current record holderfor longevity is a 400-year-old clam found in wa-ters off Iceland’s north coast. The species, Arcticaislandica, can be aged by measuring the growthrings around its shell..

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Below is a list of fish and their age as claimedby their owners.

• 3 yearsThree lined pencilfish, Nannostomus trifasciatus• 5 yearsRed eye tetra, Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae,Buenos Aires tetra, Hyphessobrycon anisitsi, Black phantom tetra, Hyphessobrycon megalopterus,Cherry barb, Puntius titteya, Swordtail, Xiphophorus hellerii,Sailfin molly, Poecilia velifera/latipinna,African red eye tetra, Arnoldichthys spilopterus• 6 yearsX ray tetra, Pristella maxillaris, Festive cichlid, Mesonauta festivus, Uaru, Uaru amphiacanthoides, Gold sucking loach, Gyrinocheilus aymonieri,Tiger barb, Puntius tetrazona, Cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi, Harlequin, Trigonostigma heteromorpha, Angelfish, Pterophyllum scalare• 7 yearsGolden barb, Puntius sachsi• 8 years Silver shark, Balantiocheilus melanopterus,Pearl gourami, Trichopterus leeri,Scissortail, Rasbora, trilineana,Snakeskin gourami, Trichogaster pectoralis• 9 yearsAngelicus catfish, Synodontis angelicus, Guppy,Poecilia reticulata, Giant danio, Devario aequipinnatus, Emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri• 10 yearsNeon tetra, Paracheirodon innesi Wild discus, Symphysodon spp.Black widow, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi,Silver dollar, Metynnis argenteus,

Armatus eel, Mystus armatus,Hoplo cat, Megalechis thoracataCongo tetra, Micralestes interruptus Brochis, Brochis splendensRosy barb, Puntius conchonius • 21 yearsUpside down catfish, Synodontis nigriventris• 24 yearsClown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus• 25 yearsBristlenose catfish, Ancistrus spp. • 27 yearsRed tailed catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus• 28 yearsCommon plec, Liposarcus pardalis • 30 yearsOrnatipinnis, Polypterus ornatipinnis • 31 yearsPacu, Colossoma macropomum• 37 yearsAfrican lungfish, Protopterus annectens • 43 yearsGoldfish, Carassius auratus• 73 yearsAustralian lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri • 80 years (226 years)Koi, Cyprinus carpio

Note that some of the fish listed are still aliveand well, and many would have been over ayear old when purchased.

Longevity rules OK!

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Last year while on one of his many journeys, Eric returned home with a pair of this fish for meto “play with.” The juvenile male and female made themselves at home in a 20 gallon tankequipped with a floating killie mop, a sponge filter and a stray potted plant. The bottom of

the tank is covered in approximately one inch of an African Cichlid gravel mix. The Synos sharedtheir quarters with a group of Melanotaenia angfa, a mid size rainbow fish.

Breeding

Synodontis lucipinnis

Reprinted from The Youngstown Aquarist Vol. XXXVII Issue. 3BAP Article by Regina Spotti

Prior to attending the fourth All-AmericanCatfish Convention in October 2010, we thoughtthis was just another pair of Synodontis petricola. Iwas excited when someone at the conventionlooked at my fish, which were for sale, and stated

he thought they were S. lucipinnis, not petricola.As luck would have it, one of the speakers at theevent was Jeremy Wright. Jeremy has studiedand will soon publish his work on the revision ofSynodontis species. During his presentationregarding his research, he explained the differencesbetween these two species of fish. The petricolahave small spots on their heads and an even pattern to their spots. The lucipinnis, on the otherfin, have larger spots scattered eandomly overtheir entire body. S. petricola are also a largerfish, with lucipnnis usually maxing out at aroundfour inches. Apparently there are quite a few lucipinnis that have been parading around as petricola. And now, my original pair is makingthemselves at home in a friend’s tank.

Back to caring for and spawning the fish: Regular partial water changes were carriedout on the tank weekly to maintain water qualityand the pH at 8.1. The fish were provided withlive blackworms, various crushed flake, frozenplankton, live glass-worms, and freeze driedtubifex worms as part of their varied diet. Babybrine shrimp was fed to the bows on a dailybasis, but I did not see the Synos partake of them.They did frenzy on the live and thawed frozenfoods when they hit the water. Basically, they ateanything. Of course, on such a varied diet, theygrew quickly and began to spawn regularly.

To ensuremy success inspawning them,Eric suggested using a plastic deli-style cup filledwith black marbles to catch the eggs. The cupwas covered by an overturned terra cotta flowerpot with a hole in the center to allow access for thefish. The parents frequently met inside of the potand appeared to wrestle or chase each otheraround the dark space inside. Once the spawningwas complete, tiny 1 millimeter pale milky colored eggs could be seen between the marbles.I would dump the cup filled with tank water andmarbles into a plastic tray, scoop out the marblesand look for eggs or fry. There were just a feweggs in the first spawn only 10. Since they had tocompete with the angar for food, the pair did notproduce a high amount of eggs. To keep theeggs clean, I siphoned off any debris in the con-tainer using a turkey baster. Water from the parents’tank was added to the container to main-tain water quality. An air stone was used toslightly stir the water. A word of caution aboutthe air stone-if the flow from the air stone is up toohigh, the fry will hatch and quickly die becausethey are using all of their energy fighting thecurrent. After only 24 hours, white 2.5 mm frywith large egg sacs will appear (although theyare somewhat difficult to see in a clear container!).

These fry are quite active, wriggling andscurrying around looking for somewhere to hide.Provided they have Java moss or some sort ofcover, they will settle down, but are quite active.

Being so small, theyare tricky to feed. Iused sponge

squeezings and APR powder for almost twoweeks prior to introducing fresh baby brineshrimp and microworms. Even with daily waterchanges, these fry grow incredibly slowly! Afterabout one week, their color is white with blurrysplotches of brown.

At eight weeks, there are differences inmeasurements of the fry. As you may haveguessed, the fry are cannibalistic. Siblings oftenbecome a handy snack and should be separatedby size. Some fry are just over a centimeter whileothers are smaller. From here on out, the fry willeat anything that is available to them. And yes, itdoes take a long, long time to grow to adulthoodfrom fry! Patience is required! This is a prettyspecies of Synodontis. They are also very peacefuland will make enjoyable pets. I f anyone isinterested, there are numerous articlesavailable online regarding the revision of Synos.These articles are very informative and wil lclarify anyone’s questions, if you keep anySyno species, you really should peruse these articles.

RLS 10/25/2010Breeding Synodontis lucipinnisBAP Article by Regina Spotti

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Breeding Synodontis lucipinnis

9

Everything You ReadAbout

Fish KeepingIs BS -

Including This Article

While sitting up late one evening readingvarious forums, I reflected on whatwe know versus what we don’t; on

sound practice versus nonsense; on that whichis effective and what is just plain old BS.Please remember this is from the perspectiveof a fish room with breeding/aquaculturetanks, not from the perspective of a showtank in a living room. If you wish to applythese thoughts to a show tank – get longerboots - the BS really starts to get deep whenthe tank is in a public area.

FiltrationYou can filter a tank for anywhere

from $1 up to thousands of $. I have seentanks filtered by sponge filters, HOB filters,canisters and wet/dry filters – all at the sametime! Assuming you do a minimum 20%water change every week, anything more than 1type of filter is overkill. If you are removingthe waste, why bother filtering it? Many of usdo 50% water changes weekly – or more.What’s left in the water after a 50% water change?A little wee-wee, but not in a concentrationhigh enough to hurt your fish. All of thisextra filtration is an extravagance designed tomake the fish healthy, but all it really does ismake us feel better. Test your water! If your

nitrates are managed and you maintain yourwater changes, kill the extra filters. I usesponge filters in all of my tanks. Some tanksare filtered by 1 sponge; some by 7 – it all depends upon the number of fish in and sizeof the tank. Why do I say get rid of the re-dundant filters? I think it gives you a falsesense of security in that you think the extrafilters are keeping the water clean. If you relysolely on your filters, you will succumb toManana Syndrome. When this disease hits,you start saying “I’ll do the water changesmanana.” As the syndrome develops youwill stretch and stretch the interval betweenwater changes and eventually your muchvaunted filters will crash. Set a ritual –weekly, bi-weekly – whatever – for yourwater changes and stick with it. Your fishwill thank you and those little gadget filterscan be sold and the $ can be used for morefish, or beer.

Stocking LevelsI massively overstock all of my tanks

with the exception of fry tanks. In a standard 125, for example, I have

9 champsochromis , 9 rhamphochromis ,6 buccochromis and 5 oreochromis tanganyikae.All about 175 inches. Oh no – I am over the

Mike GaribaldiReprinted from Cichlid Chatter, Greater Chicage Cichlid Association

January/March 2010

1” per gallon rule! Call the Fish Police! Aslong as you maintain good water changefrequency and quantity, stocking levels aren’tthat meaningful. Keep the water clean andthe rest works itself out. Of course, as thosefish mature, I will move them to other tanks sothat I can observe their natural behaviors…WAIT – more BS is on the way. UPDATE –the rhamps kept gettingsome type of scourge. Iwould treat, it would healand then it would return. Iwas unable (lazy) to godown to the fish room fora few days and, as badluck would have it, arhamp or two succumbedto the bug. That started acrash dive to fish hell andI lost all of the rhamps and7 of the champs – MANANA SYNDROMEstrikes again.

Stock ListsKeeping fish in

glass boxes isn’t natural.Fish won’t show their“natural” behaviors in atank, so get over it. Everytime I hear – you can’t mixthis with that because itisn’t “natural,” I cringeand reach for a drink. Ihave a tank right nowwhere I have 11 wildcaught Petrochromis, 3 wild caught male fron-tosa, 6 rare as an honest politician paretroplusnourisatti and 6 mbuna. Hmm, I forgot thenew world fish. I can remedy that thisevening. How did this tank develop? Thepetros and mbuna were hanging out andthen I needed a home for the frontosa – in theywent. The nourisatti have a reputation as a badattitude fish that will kill each other for fun,so they went in this tank so that the petroscould keep them in line. Guess what – itworks. It might not be aesthetically pleasingto everyone, but these are hobby tank, not apublic aquarium.

FoodsHow many times have you heard the

hobbyist talk about the insane number offoods he feeds his fish? Live worms fromCalifornia flown in via FedEx; freeze dried,hypoallergenic salt free krill; floating pellets,sinking pellets, moist pellets, home-made

foods – oh my! Want tohear a secret? Fish,given enough time andproper inclination, willeat anything. I havefound great foods for$2-$3 per pound. I wasin Michigan a few weeksago and bought 5pounds of pellet foodfor $16 from Wet ThumbAquatics. Guess what?The fish eat it; no, theyLOVE it. Funny thingabout fish food – wewait til steak goes onsale to buy it, becausewe hate paying$10/pound for it, yet wewill gladly pay twicethat rate for FISHFOOD! Fish keepers willspend $20+ on a 1.1pound bag of “special”color enhancing food –really - that is insane.Yikes! My suggestion,buy a cheap pellet in a

quantity that you will use in 6 months, throw itinto a container (or a bag) that you can resealand store in a corner of your fish room. Banflake foods. They suck. They are messy, andan inefficient way to get mass into a fish.Here is some blasphemy – tropheus will eatpellets. No kidding. And piscivores will eatveggie pellets. This is serious blasphemy, but itis true. Lots of folks will say I am full of BSbecause they have seen the frozen foods andhalf a dozen different pellets in my fish room.Why am I saying only use one type when Ihave so many?

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In a standard 125, for example, I have

9 champsochromis , 9 rhamphochromis ,6 buccochromis and

5 Oreochromis tanganyikae.

All about 175 inches. Oh no – I am over the

1” per gallon rule! Call the Fish Police!

As long as you maintain good water

change frequencyand quantity, stocking

levels aren’t that meaningful.

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Several reasons – 1) I am still looking for the holy grail of fishfood; I have not found it. 2) If you ask manufacturers, they will sendyou a several 5 pound bags of food for free sothat you will give them feedback. I gothrough about 10 pounds of food per monthand I only pay for half ofit. When I think aboutfoods, I think we are alltruly nuts.

EquipmentWhen I think of

other equipment that isfull of BS – heaters cometo mind. We expect adevice to cost $15 - $20,be absolutely accuratein the most, relativelyspeaking, hosti leenvironment on earthand to last forever. Theyare all crap. Want to knowthe greatest thing I didwhen I rebuilt my fishroom and installed drywall? I installed a tonof fiberglass insulation.Right now I have 6-20 gallon tanks, 6-75 and 5-125. The 75 gallon tanksand 4 of the 125 haveheaters in them and therest do not. The tankswithout heaters sit at about 74 – 75 degrees. Ido not vent the furnace into this room and, asseveral GCCA members will tell you it stayswarm year round.

Frontosa keepersby and large are full of BS. I am astoundedhow much they (we) will spend for a fishthat, while pretty, is quite frankly identicalwith its brethren found in other regions of thelake. Of course, I am speaking about the ZaireFrontosa. Say it to yourself in hushed tones –Zaire Frontosa. I will reek of sophistication if Ihave a Tembwe, or Kitumba or Moba, or M’toto,

or Moliro, or a Kapampa. Holy crap! Whyshould anyone care if the fish is found atKitumba or Kapampa? By virtue of it beingfound by one set of grass huts versus another,the price can be 2 or three times as expensive.I understand that the fish come from Congo,and there is a war going on, but these aren’t

diamonds. They are fishthat are very similar tothe same genus/speciesfound in less exotic (lesswarfare) countries likeZambia or Tanzania. Ba-sically, it seems folks arehot for somethingbecause it is rare. Theseare not Picassos, just fish.I am always amazed at aConvention when I see aguy talking about his$2000 in Frontosa yet hehasn’t seen a dentistsince the dawn of time.Get your priorities to-gether people!

Manufacturerswill not escape my wrath,eitherI would like to

think that there arethings I would buy from

a fish store, if there were any left. Look at allof these manufacturers who will sell directlyto any BS artist with a business license (lessthan $50 from most states) or even withoutone. Fish food is a prime example. In the olddays you would run out of food and go hitthe store. While there, you would have an op-portunity to see some nice fish and odds areyou would walk out with something new.Now you buy the food at swap meets, oronline from some guy out of his basement.It’s unconscionable how these vendors dealwith ANYONE. As a matter of fact, pleasedon’t forget, I am ordering bulk food at the

Fish food is a primeexample. In the olddays you would runout of food and go

hit the store. While there, youwould have an

opportunity to seesome nice fish and

odds are you wouldwalk out with

something new.Now you buy the

food at swap meets,or online from some

guy out of his basement.

It’s unconscionablehow these vendorsdeal with ANYONE.

end of the month, so PM me right away. Fishclubs and conventions – anytime you go deep,deep into a hobby, you will find eccentricsand BS. I always tell my wife, in the geekdomchart, fish shows are above the comic booknuts, but below (way below) the Trekkies.Don’t get me wrong – conventions are fun andI attend them frequently. Still, at these conven-tions, you’ll see the guys selling the f1 OBPeacock or some other drivel that is BS and itbugs me when the rubes get taken. What isworse is when a guy buys a ton of fish rightbefore the convention and then they become,through some mystic ritual, wild. Yesterdaythey were pond raised and today **poof** theyare wild. How do I know this has happened?The guy bought the fish from me. Did I callhim on it? No, because I too am full of BS.

F1, f1, f3, oh my -Somewhere along theway, we all became

geneticists.A wild fish is often designated f0; its

progeny are f1, f2, f3, etc.However, if you arein Canada, a wild fish is designated wc and itsprogeny are designated g1, g2, g3, etc. If an f1US fish is bred to a g1 Canadian fish what doyou get? Probably ankle deep BS. While weare on the topic of f1 vs. wild, where did all ofthis craziness start? You can get greatrepresentations of almost any fish out of thefarms in Florida. Some of the real obscurethings – okay, you’ll need to get wild fish tosee those, but the rest are available. Every-

body wants instant gratification today. Buy awild caught group, let them breed, and poofyou have a ton of f1 fish to sell to all the newbswho don’t know better. Those same fry areoften (always?) available from Florida farmsfor a fraction of the cost. Somewhere along theway, many of us have been brainwashed intobelieving that unless the fish is wild or onegeneration removed, it is garbage. What BS.Breeding fish – a speaker just said in one ofour meetings – I didn’t breed the fish, theydid it themselves. I paraphrase, but you getthe gist. Fish breeders are also purveyors ofcow pies. 95% of the fish that have beenBAPed in the GCCA would have bred in abucket in the corner. You didn’t breed them;you were patient. Want to really impress people? Keep a strain of fish for severalgenerations.

Fish adsI love the adjective “rare.” Fish keepers

often fail to distinguish the difference between“rare” and “ugly.” Rare is the “true” rare fish.Most ugly fish are rare; not all rare fish areugly. But most are. Just because you were adamn fool to buy the icantbelieveiboughtitusexpensiveandgrayus doesn’t mean the rest ofus will. Another ad that makes the BS meterstart to wiggle is when you see a guy selling awhole setup that has a few years on it, and hewants 95% of the purchase price. What makesa guy think that after several years, the valueof the equipment even remotely approachesthe original cost? That’s about it. Enjoy yourfish. Pay it forward.

12

hat’s ab.

Another ad that makes the BS meter start to wiggleis when you see a guy selling a whole setup that has

a few years on it, andhe wants 95% of the purchase price.

What makes a guy think that after several years, the value of the equipment even remotely

approaches the original cost?

13 Izzy Zwerin - BAS

EDITORS NOTE: Members with questions about aquatic plants or setting up a planted tankcan contact Isidore (Izzy) Zwerin, our plant editor. You can call him at (718) 449-0031

between 7pm to 10pm, Monday to Friday.

ThePractical Plant

Propagating:

Cryptocoryne walkeri

Cryptocoryne walkeri is a great plant that would be a great addition for any aquarium.The plant is suitable for placement in the midground. This plant is extremely hardyand tolerant of a wide range of water and lighting parameters, as are most Crypts.

It is, in typical Crypt fashion, slow to getestablished. Minetook about twomonths to startgrowing. Once itgets established itgrows well. It willspread via run-ners and given alittle time becomequite prolific. Theleaves are Lanceo-late in shape.Under properlighting the leavesare reddish brownin color. In less in-tense lighting theplant will be morebrown than red.

Mine is currently being housed in a 10 gallon aquarium with good light but no CO2enrichment. The water is fairly soft, slightlyacidic and temperature of 78˚ The plant will notdo well without adequate water movement. It doesnot require much in the way of liquid fertilizers, Ijust add some trace elements a couple of times a week.

Like most Crypts, this plant is a heavy root feeder andwill benefit greatlyfrom the use of sub-strate fertilizers.

The nativerange of Cryptocorynewalkeri is in centralSri Lanka. This isone of those Cryptsthat is prone to“Crypt Rot.” This isdisturbing. butthere is no cause forpanic. Crypt rot isa conditionwhere all the leavesrapidly disintegrate.There is consider-able debate in

plant circles as to the cause of this. I personallybelieve that this is just how the plant adaptsto a new environment. I keep a variety of Cryptsand given time, the plant will regenerate.

Be patient as the regeneration process maytake quite some time. Because of this habit, theplant should not be transplanted often.

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Crystal Red Shrimp CareCrystal Red Shrimp are a little more demandingthan many other Dwarf Shrimp, and have thesame care requirements as the wild type of thisspecies, the Bee Shrimp. The water is required tobe soft and slightly acidic for the Crystal RedShrimp to be happy. They also prefer a little lessthan tropical temperatures. As with all DwarfShrimp, the aquarium should be well establishedand parameters should be kept stable. The highergrade Crystal Red Shrimp are more sensitive tonitrates than many other Dwarf Shrimp so caremust be taken to ensure high quality water.Crystal Red Shrimp DietCrystal Red Shrimp are omnivores and share thesame diet that most Dwarf Shrimp enjoy. CrystalRed Shrimp are algae eaters, but will often timesneed supplemental feedings. Aquarium foodsintended for bottom feeders and aquatic invertebrates are readily accepted, as are blanched

vegetables (boiled until soft). There are foodsmade in Japan specifically for Crystal Red Shrimpthat are high quality foods, but are not necessary.

Crystal Red Shrimp BreedingIf optimal care requirements are met, the Crystalis fairly easy to breed. Crystal Red Shrimp carrytheir eggs a little longer than many other DwarfShrimp, and after hatching develop a little moreslowly. It can be difficult to determine the sex of aCrystal Red Shrimp’, the males are slightly smallerand have shorter, thinner tail sections. The femalesare larger with a longer and wider tail section.Crystal Red Shrimp BehaviorCrystal Red Shrimp are non-aggressive, and are quiteactive. In an aquarium that has no predators, CrystalRed Shrimp will often be observed grazing onalgae, on aquarium plants, decorations and on thesubstrate. When fed, the shrimp will often formlarge groups that are quite striking in appearance.

Dan Hagan runs TheShrimp Farm.com. The place to go for dwarf freshwater shrimp.

Shrimp are the perfect aquatic inhabitants for your under water planted garden. If you’re interested in keeping dwarf freshwater shrimp or have a question about them, go to

Dan’s blog site and ask your question. It’s a great site with reliable and accurate information on dwarf shrimp.

Crystal Red Shrimp

Crystal Red Shrimp HistoryThe Crystal Red Shrimp is the selectively bred red color variant of the Bee Shrimp.Originally selectively bred in Japan for its red coloration, the Crystal Red Shrimp is becoming one of the most popular Dwarf Shrimp across the globe.

14

ReCrystal Red Shrimp Historyryryrytotoisis H HmpmpririShShd ReRel tataysysCrysCrysCr isisriri

Crystal Red Shrimp

Scientific Name: Caridina cf. cantonensis

Other Scientific Names: N/ACommon Name:

Crystal Red ShrimpOther Common Names:

Red Bee ShrimpOrigin: South East AsiaFound in the wild: NopH Range: 5.8 - 6.8 Ideal pH 6.2Temperature Range: 62˚ - 72˚ Ideal Temperature: 68˚FHardness Range: -1-5 dkh Ideal Hardness: 3 dkhLife Span: 1 - 2 years Size: 1 - 2 inchesGestation Period: 30 days Diet: Omnivore

15

Special NotesAs with all aquatic invertebrates, it is important to make surecopper does not get into the aquarium. Copper is toxic to allDwarf Shrimp. Many medications contain elevated levels ofcopper, so it is recommended not to medicate an aquariumwith Dwarf Shrimp in it.

nded n

16 BAP Report by Michael Steffen

TANK TALES November 2010 Volume 39, No. 10The Official Publication of the Aquarium Club of Lancaster County

Iacquired a few of the “Sunset” variety of thisspecies in early May while fish shop hoppingwith my father. The time spent with him

would have sufficed, but to find a few gems tobring home that day put it over the top for me. Ipurchased 1 male and 2 females with the femalesbeing prehit; and before long I knew I wouldhave fry.

The Platy variatus hails from the southernTamaulipas and northern Veracruz states innortheastern Mexico.This species presents aninvasive problemin Florida andMontana. as well asa few othercountries of theworld including Colombia,Singapore, and Hong Kong.Hong Kong reports a large negativeimpact on their native species dueto the prodigious breeding ofthese fish. They are omnivorouswith its diet including bothplants and small crustaceans,insects, and annelid worms inthe wild. In tank settings, theywill accept most any preparedor live foods small enough to fitinto their mouths. These fish will in-habit almost any slow moving canals,ditches, and warm springs that they are re-leased into and therefore can become invasivevery quickly.

The fish were maintained in a 10 gallon

tank with a few assorted other livebearers andmy ghost shrimp. The tank is fully planted with adual sponge filter and a composite substrate consisting of a peat moss layer covered by a sandlayer topped with a small gravel layer. This tankalso boasts a 3 dimensional back ground that Icrafted a while back from styrofoam and dry lockpaint, but more on that in other article in the future.

The chemical levels of this tank are 0ammonia, 0 nitrates,

and 0 nitrites with aph of 7.6 and a

hardness ofvery hardby thejungletest strip.

1 teaspoonof salt is added

per 5 gallons of waterand upon water changesit is replaced at the same

proportions. Nothingoverly special was done

to maintain these fishas they are one of the best

and most forgiving fish onthe market.

I started noticing thatthe gravid spot was getting

large on the one female anddecided that the following day I

would go thru the arduous task of catching a fishin a fully planted tank. Well, to my shock the nextmorning I didn’t have to catch anything since shehad given birth that morning before I got to the

Platy Variatus

17

tank and there were little platys all over the tank.I am not one to leave livebearer fry in the tankwith their parents due to the high protein snackfactor that the fry often become. But trying tochase these tiny fish in a tightlyplanted tank was turning into anightmare and after 30 minutes of chasing them and tearing almostevery plant loose, I decided to let thechips fall where they lay and I'll getthe next batch. At this pointI had given up on havingany fry from the firstbirthing but with the platy'sability to store sperm Iknew that even if the maledidn’t get his job done, Iwould have more fry in 4-5weeks. Plus I also had thebackup plan of the secondfemale who was not quiteready to pop.

In the next few days,I spent some time in front ofthe tank and noticed some fryhiding in the plants andsneaking out to grab a flakeevery now and then. Thisthrilled me with delightand I also noticed that theadults I had were hangingat the top of the tank moreand more. Over the next few days I lostthe 3 that I purchased from the big boxpet store but still had the fry. Slowlybut surely, they started venturing outand I could count them and saw that Ihad 8 little perfectly clear fry. Over the next

month or 6 weeks, they started developing theircolors and man-o-man the color from the fry eatinghigh quality food vs. their parents was astonishing.The fry had bright clear colors ranging from

yellow on the dorsal thru orange tored to green on their stomach. Theywere really becoming a sight to seeand a true gem in my fish room.For some unknown reason, I lost 1during week 8 and another during

week 10. I now believe theones I lost to be males sincethe ones I have left are nowpushing the 5 month ageand seem to be 5 femalesand 1 male. I think that thestrongest male nipped thefins of the other 2 males totake dominance and theydidn’t fare too well in thefighting.

In conclusion, thesefish are great fish to keep andhave a dog like personality.They are always happy tosee you come to the tankand even happier after youtoss in some food. “Highlycolored” and “energetic” aresome more descriptive wordsfor these little jewels.Personally, I usually have a

nicely planted livebearer tank and oftenspend many restful hours in front of it.

So till you peek behind my shell tosee me again I bid you happy fishkeeping.

Over the next month or 6 weeks they started

developing their colorsand man o days the colorfrom the fry eating high

quality food vs. theirparents was astonishing.The fry had bright clear

colors ranging from yellow on the dorsal thruorange to red to green ontheir stomach. They werereally becoming a sight tosee and a true gem in my

fish room.

gag.

18 Joe Graffagnino, BAS, President

Ihave bred many species of fish, but I have never seen black eggs. I was amazed when I saw themand from a West African cichlid no less. I obtained a breeding pair of Tilipia snyderea from fellowfish breeder Vinny Babino. Vinny informed me that these are very beautiful fish, with striking

color markings. They are aggressive fish when spawning and protecting their young, and they are thegift that continues to give – once they start spawning, you can’t get them to stop.

Tilipia snyderea are the smallest of allTilipia and they hail from Lake Bermin inCameroon, West Africa. This species’ commonname is “Snyder’s dwarf tilapia.” There are threecolors that these species can display, based ontheir mood and especially during breeding. Theycan go from a pale bland color to a green, to ared. In breeding dress, both the male and femaleare absolutely stunning with a green top thatgoes to the middle of their body (lateral line)which extends from the head through the anal fin.The lower portion of the body is an orange red.But that’s not all -- the face changes color as themouth becomes a dark black, while the lipsbecome pure white -- truly amazing coloration ona fish that gets no larger than 4 - 5 inches.

When I received this beautiful pair of fish,I realized they were too large for a 20 gallonaquarium, so I quickly did some rearranging andSince I believe in species tanks I kept them by themselves. After less than one month in theirnew home, they started moving large amounts ofgravel in the tank. They really like to landscape.Four days after the landscaping began, the femaletook up residence in a small clay breeding cavethat had an opening the size of a thumb. It wasobvious that the male could not enter. I assumed

that they would lay their eggs on the glass bottomsince they made it bare by moving all the gravelaway. A day or two later I used a flashlight to seeinto the cave and lo and behold! I saw around 20or so black eggs.

A few days later, they must have hatchedbecause the parents moved the fry one foot awayfrom the cave and under a piece of coral. I wasworried for the fry because this tank was overrunwith Malaysian burrowing snails, who I thoughtmay go for the babies. However, within a fewdays my snail problem was a problem no more.After their yolk sacs disappeared and the frystarted free swimming, I fed them microworms,vinegar eels and frozen baby brine shrimp. Thefry grew quickly and they tended to clone eachother, for although I initially counted around 20eggs, I now counted about 80 swimming fry.

I would highly recommend this beautiful,but aggressive West African cichlid as a welcomeaddition to a species only tank. Also, this fish ison the endangered list of fish species, somaintaining this fish will help it from becomingextinct in the wild. Please share this wonderfulfish with other members of local fish clubs andlet everyone enjoy them.

Black Eggs

Cyprichromis arefound around rocky shorelines and in openwater all over the lake. Theyprefer a temperature of 74 -78 degrees and, as with allrift lake cichlids, like hardalkaline water.

In the aquarium,Cyprichromis should be keptin groups of at least 6 individuals or more. Theyare sensitive to water quality and good filtrationis a must. They are great for a Tanganyikancommunity tank because they occupy the upperlayers of the tank.

Some care should betaken in choosing tank matesfor Cyprichromis. They shouldnever be housed with frontosa,as they are a primary foodsource in the wild.

Cyprichromis can bevery entertaining to watch asthe males are constantly displaying either to femalesor to display dominance.

When spawning, the

males will stake out a threedimensional area in the openwater at the top of the tank.They defend this area vigor-ously against intrusion by othermales while trying to entice thefemale to enter. As a rule, theyare quite nonaggressive, but Ihave seen them chase awayfish much larger than them-

selves while defending their territory. I have one male that is particularly

aggressive in defense of his territory which he al-ways stakes out right near my highly aggressivemale Hap. sp. 44's territory in my 125. On more

than one occasion, I have seenthe male 44 and the Cyp. getinto a face off. Ultimately the sp.44 always backs down. Whilethey look quite fragile it hasbeen my experience that theseguys can be quite tough. By nomeans are Cyprichromis aggres-sive towards other fish though;they in fact seem to have acalming effect on the tank. This is especially true with my

19

Species Profile:

Cyprichromis Leptosoma

Cyprichromis leptosoma or the sardine cichlids, as they are called in the hobby, come from LakeTanganyika where they live in schools numbering in the 1000s or more. They are one of theonly true schooling cichlids known. They occur in a number of different geographical variants,

each displaying a different coloration and each variant occurring in both a blue and a yellow tailedmorph. While the females remain a dull dusky color, the male's colors can be quite stunning.

H. Blair Howellwww.hillcountrycichlidclub.com/articles

Displaying Male Photo: Blair Howell

Male Photo: Blair Howell

Julidochromis marlieri gombe. I was never able to get a

photograph of him because hewas always hiding in the rocksbefore I added the Cyprichromis.He now will come out andpatrol an area around his rockyhome and I have gotten severalgood shots of him.

Breeding Cyprichromis isnot difficult provided they feelsecure in their environment.Once a male has successfully lured a female intohis territory, he will display for her with his dorsaland anal fin clamped tight against his body andhis mouth protruding. In this way he induces herto lay an egg. She then turns around and catches

the egg in mid fall. Oncethe egg is in her mouth,she nuzzles the male'sventral fins, fertilizing theegg and the dance is re-peated. Depending on the sizeand condition of thefemale, she may lay up to20 or 25 eggs.

Cyprichromis are a veryactive and fun to watch

addition to any large Tanganyikan communitytank. This fish is always in demand and is a greatfish to breed. All in all, I would recommend themto any Tanganyikan enthusiast.

20

Female Photo: Blair Howell

• Scientific Name: Cyprichromis leptosoma(Mpulungu)

• Pronunciation: sp-r-kr-ms lp-t-s-m• Common Name(s): Blue Flash, Blue Neon,

Neon Head • Geo. Origin: From Kasanga to Mpulungu• Habitat: Open Water• Diet: Carnivore• Gender Differences: Dimorphic

• Breeding: Maternal Mouthbrooder• Temperament: Mildly Aggressive• Conspecific Temperament: Mildly Aggressive• Maximum Size: 4.5"• Temperature: 77 - 79°F• pH: 8.6• Water Hardness: Very Hard• Difficulty: 2

COMMENTS:Certainly one of the more popular Cyps in the hobby, this geographical variant is known byseveral nicknames: Blue Flash, Blue Neon, and Neon Head. The Blue Flash is the holotype forthe species Cyprichromis leptosoma. It is found at the southern most end of the lake, from Kasanga,Tanzania to Mpulungu, Zambia. Specimens are collected at several locations, includingKasanga, Kambwimba, Isanga, Chituta Bay, and Mpulungu. Like all Cyprichromis leptosoma, itis found in 2 distinct color morphs: blue-tailed males and yellow-tailed males. It differs fromthe other 4 leptosoma in the following manner: Males are not as blue-bodied, but are primarilygrayish-brown with a strong blue highlight on the head (hence the name Neonhead). Blue-tailedmales have a light-blue anal and dorsal fins. The dorsal fin is speckled throughout with small,dark spots. Yellow-tailed males have a blue dorsal fin with a black band running along itsbase. The anal fin is also blue and may or may not be streaked with black markings.

ng.

Species Profile:Cyprichromis Leptosoma

21

Absolutely Fish’s staff is knowledgeableand can help you solve your aquatic problems.They offer a 15% discount on select fish, marine life & supplies with current BASmembership card. A really great aquatic shop.Well worth the trip. Absolutely Fish 1080 Route 46 W. Clifton, NJ 07013

Ph: 1 (973) 365-0200Open 7 days a week: Mon-Fri 12-9 Sat 12-8 Sun 12-5

Mark’s Discus over 4,000 gallons of hormonefree Brooklyn bred discus & angelfish. Markstands behind his quality fish with a live deliveryguarantee. Feel free to contact him with yourquestions. 10% discount for BAS memberswith current membership card.

MARKSDISCUS.COMYou’re welcome to visit their hatchery by

appointment only. Call for directions. Ph: 917-202-7699

Open 7 days and all Holidays • 9am -11pm

Brooklyn Zoo & Aquarium Inc. A classic pet shopwith a full line of aquarium supplies, freshwater, ma-rine fish and corals. BAS members get a 10%discount with a current membership card. Somerestrictions apply.

Brooklyn Zoo & Aquarium Inc.2377 Ralph, Ave., Bklyn, NY • Ph: 1 (718) 251-7389

Hrs: Sat - Sun 10am - 6pm & Mon - Fri 10am - 8pm

Br kl Z & A iu In A cl si t shIniu A & ZklklBr shsiclA

Aquatic Wildlife, features 11,000 gal. of freshwaterfish, plants & marine life. Discount with currentmembership card. Aquatic Wildlife, 179D Demming St., Manchester, CT

06040 (In Panera Plaza) Ph: 1 (860) 648-1166 www.aquaticwildlifecompany.com

“C” The Jungle Pet Store In the heart of Brook-lyn carries a full line of pet supplies, tropical fish,birds, and small animals. They offer a 10% discount to BAS members witha current membership card.

“C” The Jungle Pet Store247 New Lots Ave., Bklyn NY 11207

Ph: 1 (718) 649-2536Hrs: Tue -Sat 10am-8pm • Sun 10am-6pm

Petland Discounts, the complete pet store, car-ries a full line of pet supplies for fish, dogs, cats,birds, reptiles and small animals. Also a varietyof fish, birds, small animals and reptiles.Open 7 days a week. Locations in New York,New Jersey & Connecticut. Over 15 stores inBrooklyn. Shop on line at: See the white pages, or their ad on page 44 for a store near you.

www.petlanddiscounts.com.

Royal Aqua World Inc. Over 100 tanks of marinefish, hard & soft corals, freshwater fish, goldfish &koi imported from Japan, plusplants and pond sup-plies. BAS members get a 10% discount on allpurchases with a current membership card.

Open 7 days a week.Royal Aqua World Inc.,815 65th St., Bklyn, NY 11220

Ph: 1 (718) 238-0918 Hrs: 7 days a week 10:30am-8pm

Pacific Aquarium & Pet Inc., in Manhattan’sChinatown, carries ornamental goldfish, koi, fresh-waterfish, & aquatic plants. BAS members get 10%discount with current card (Discounts not to becombined with other specials). They have a full lineof aquarium supplies. You can order custom size tanks.

Pacific Aquarium & Pet Inc.46 Delancy St., NY, NY 10002 • Ph: 1 (212) 995-5895

Open 7 days a week and all holidays 10am to 7:30pm

Pet Shanty. Family owned & operated; 3rooms of freshwater fish & 1 of marine fish &corals. They stock a vast list of fish which isposted on line at http://petshanty,com. Theyalso carry other pets and pet supplies. Check themout; they probably have the fish or corals you want.Members get a 10% discount.

Pet Shanty 2507 U.S. Hway 22, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

Ph: 1 (908) 889-8262 • Fax: 1 (908) 889-0803Mon-Fri: 10am-9pm • Sat: 10am-7pm• Sun 10am-5pm

Fauna is Manhattan’s largest exotic pet boutiqueand a new sponsor of the BAS. Dan, the owner, offers a 10% discount to members. They keep over2,300 gallons stocked with freshwater, marinefish and corals. They also carry small animals,birds and reptiles. Make a point to visit andtell them you saw their ad in the BAS Bulletinand Aquatica. This store will blow you away!

FAUNA 265 West 87th St. between Bway & West End Ave., NY, NY

Ph: 212-877-2473Hrs: M-W-T-F 11am- 7pm • Closed Tues.

Sat 11am-7pm • Sun 11am-6pm

Nassau Discus has different varieties of Discusavailable at various times. All fish are quaran-tined before they are sold. Members get a 10%discount with a current membership card. Tolearn what’s in stock Email Nassau Discus at morgansfin@aol.com or NassauDiscus@aol.comTo make an appointment

Call Mark Rubanow Ph: 516 939-0257205 8th Street, Hicksville, NY 11801

SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS. THEY SUPPORT US. WE MUST SUPPORT THEM!

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22

Meetings are held at the NY Aquarium Education Hall on the 2nd Friday ofthe month at 7:30pm. Knowledgeable speakers on fish care and culture, door prizes, raf-fles, and fish auctions. All meetings are free to members. Visit us on line: BROOKLYNAQUARIUMSOCIETY.ORG