Practical Fishkeeping September 2024

WHILE our new editor is preparing to take the helm, I am stepping in with the support of our incredibly talented contributors to bring you another fantastic issue. We hope you will enjoy it and that our recently departed editor, Nathan Hill, would be pleased with our efforts. It is a great honour for me to contribute to this publication, especially as my father has been a long-time supporter and an avid breeder and keeper of his beloved Angelfish. I will be filling in temporarily until our new editor assumes their role. I would like to dedicate this issue to my father, for the countless hours of information and inspiration he provided, which I never imagined I would need. Your passion has now become mine as well! Stay in touch…

TROPICAL White Cloud Mountain Minnow IN LIFE WE are constantly searching for ideal things: we want the ideal car, the ideal job, the ideal house and to find the ideal partner. It is the same in fishkeeping: you want to find the fish that fulfils all your requirements. The problem with “ideal” things is that they often don't exist. Or do they? What makes a fish ideal? You want it to be easy to keep, meaning that it shouldn't be a fussy eater. It shouldn't have any special environmental requirements, it should be peaceful and it also helps if the fish is easy to breed. Finally, it should look good, as well and be available at an affordable price. It’s a very long list of expectations, so let's see if…

TROPICAL Corydoras Hephaestus IN THE LAST few years there has been a noticeable increase in the amount of new and exciting species of fish being found across South America. From new Characins to Catfish, one that really stuck out for me was a particular species of Corydoras, with colouring which made me think that someone had been playing with the settings on their camera. From my first memories of seeing pictures, this fish had a dark base colour that was contrast with a vibrant orange nose and caudal peduncle. The comments under said photos were not what I was expecting. Rather than the usual “wow” “these are amazing”, what took me aback was the “Leave these where you found them”, “put them back” comments that made me think this is…

HOW MANY SPECIES do you think are described annually? Experts estimate the sum total of new species descriptions each year across all taxonomic groups range between 18,000 and 19,000. With numbers this high, the average of 240 freshwater fish species described each year seems small fry, but it means a new species of freshwater fish becomes known to science every day and a half. Each of these species teaches us important things about the web of life, about evolution and adaptation. Each new discovery can surprise and amaze, and every ‘new’ species has the potential to lead to medical breakthroughs. The Danionella cerebrum for example can make noises as loud as a gunshot, the only question is why? On World Wildlife Day each March, SHOAL release their New Species reports…

BIOLOGY Raising Fry COMPARED TO BIRDS or mammals, fish are relatively poorly developed in evolutionary terms; however, they do have a strongly developed maternal instinct, and in this respect they are a match for them. In this article I will present popular aquarium species which have mastered child care to perfection. There many reproductive strategies among fish. Generally speaking, they can be egg-layers or livebearers; there is also a subgroup, the ovoviviparous. Some species are very prolific; they go for quantity, bringing many young into the world, out of which only a small percentage survive. Prolific reproduction (large numbers of young) is, therefore, a matter of calculated losses. Others, on the other hand, are not so prolific, not characterised by such high reproductive capacity, so they have developed more specialised…

WHEN I WAS a boy, the little old lady at the end of my road had a 25-year-old goldfish in what was no more than a 40cm tank on the windowsill. She passed on to me that well known but completely inaccurate phrase – ‘Fish will only grow to the size of the tank!’. Oh, how wrong we know that to be. A more accurate phrase would be ‘a fish will be severely stunted by the toxins building up in its surroundings as a result of its own waste production, that its organs and bodily functions will cease to operate properly, leading to a plethora of health issues shown externally as a malformed and lethargic animal staring blankly at the glass awaiting its demise.’ This leads us onto another phrase,…