Tabla de contenidos para October 2024 en Practical Fishkeeping

THE REPUTATION of some fishes precedes them, and rightly so. Oscars. Jaguar cichlids. Discus. Hypostomus plecostomus. Even, arguably, the cosmopolitan Carassius auratus. But, away from the ranks of tankbuster behemoths, there are fishes whose reputation is such that they are now, if they can be found at all, vanishingly rare within the trade. So, when I saw that Wharf Aquatics of Pinxton, Nottingham, had acquired some Ctenops nobilis, hellfire itself would not have stopped me ordering some to see if they merited their fabled status. Ctenops nobilis, the so-called frail gourami, has a relatively wide distribution across India and Bangladesh, being especially frequent in the Brahma-putra region. The ninth longest river in the world with a drainage encompassing almost 275,000 square miles, it should be no surprise that C. nobilis’…

HABITAT Brazil I’M NOT BIG on surprises. I like to plan, to prepare and know what I’m getting into. This especially true when I’m on expeditions; trekking through swamps and jungles is not something you do ‘on the fly’. However, the surprising things you see, hear, encounter, and feel on these trips? Well that I’m all for! When trying not slip and suffer a fracture while negotiating the descent down a muddy mountainside, I did not expect to encounter a small catfish, popular with aquarists, in a clear forest stream which bubbled through the vegetation. Yet, it was one of the highlights of an adventure across Brazil’s vast interior, and a memory I will hold onto for a very long time. I had been traversing the north-eastern region of Brazil…

TROPICAL Hard water fish FOR MANY NEW aquarists, their first exposure to fishkeeping, certainly in the modern world, is being encouraged to research and understand the water hardness that they have coming out of their taps. After all, it’s always easier to work with what you have, rather than having to jump headlong into the complexities of Reverse Osmosis water, or Buffers, because you want to keep a species that isn’t likely to thrive in your default conditions. Whilst adjusting water hardness is somewhat of a formality for a more seasoned aquarist, certainly at the beginning, the old adage of “keep it simple, stupid” very much applies. This means for a lot of UK fishkeepers, at least those in areas like the South East, London, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and a few…

Common goldfish, Comets and Shubunkins can grow to 30cm/12in or more and are messy feeders, requiring a large aquarium – better still, a pond -and lots of filtration. A much more manageable alternative is the Rosy barb, Pethia conchonius, which has similar colours to a goldfish but stays much smaller at 8cm, so can be kept in tanks with a footprint of 90 × 30cm or more. Peaceful and hardy, these are temperate fish, happy at 15-24C, so a heater isn’t required in the aquarium. Best kept in groups of six or more, a mix of males and females will ensure the fish display their best colours. For those who like Comet goldfish, there is also a long-finned form of the Rosy barb available.…

TROPICAL Cichlids THE FISH I report on, are inhabiting streams and rivers which originating in the famous Fouta Djallon region in Western Guinea. The Fouta Djallon region and its famous Highlands are the source of many international rivers, which include the Senegal, Gambia, Niger, Rio Corubal, and the Great and Little Scarcies Rivers. Eight countries (The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Senegal) are thus directly or indirectly affected by these Highlands’ water resources. And in these highlands of Guinea are the species that I want to introduce here. PART 1 Coptodon rheophila Daget, 1962 Etymology Coptodon rheophila: rheos, stream; philos, loving, referring to occurrence in of Konkoure River rapids in Guinea (often spelled “rheophila” but name is an adjective (stream-loving), not a noun (stream lover), and…

TMC POWER FILTER 375 Reviewer: Gabor Horvath Price: Around £130 More info: www.tropicalmarinecentre.com Canister filters are the must have equipment for the filtration of larger aquariums. Since the appearance of the first external filter on the market hundreds of versions were launched by a range of manufacturers. It’s a very competitive market segment so designers are keen to add features that can differentiate their products from the rest of the market. Therefore I was quite surprised when the Tropical Marine Centre decided to go on the “devolution route”, minimizing the features on their new Power Filter range. They went with the traditional “find a bucket, put a pump unit on it and you are done” way. But was it a bold decision or a bad move? When I mentioned to…

BEHAVIOUR Schools THE MORE THE merrier – as they say – as well as safer and generally better. And there you have it – at the very start I have already revealed the whole great secret of schooling. However, I invite you to read the article anyway, because there are still many interesting facts about schools to be discovered. Let us begin by explaining what a school is – it is simply a group of fish swimming together in order to increase safety, the likelihood of finding "the other half" (pairing off and of course the availability of food (when the fish are merely keeping together, and not swimming in an organised formation, such a group might also be called a "shoal"). Schooling enables more effctive use of the food…

ADVICE Fishkeeping Know-how HYBRIDS ARE ONE topic that will cause debate, with passionate keepers on both sides. But what are hybrids and why are they such an issue? A species is a group of organisms in which any two individuals of appropriate sexes can produce fertile offspring. If you cross two species, any offspring are hybrids. This is difficult in fishkeeping as many closely related species can hybridise and produce fertile offspring, often with hybrid vigour meaning that these offspring can outcompete both of the parent species. This isn’t like crossing a poodle with a labroador, those are two breeds of the same species. This is like crossing a poodle with a fox. Conservation colonies There are millions of litres of water in private aquaria, far more than in zoos. With…

MARINE Burrowing species GETTING UP CLOSE and personal with marine fish in their natural habitat provides an unrivalled window into their world. Be it hunting or hiding, remonstrating or reproducing, for an aquarist, taking the time to observe their wild behaviours and preferences can be hugely beneficial, especially when it comes to understanding their husbandry considerations further down the line. Razorfish With this in mind, one of my favourite fish to spend time with is the pearly razorfish, Xyrichtys novacula. Hailing from the Labridae family and found throughout the tropical Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, my own encounters have been in the shallow bays of the Canary Islands, and there’s a lot to like about these mid-size wrasse. Aside from their delicate pastel attire, adorned with electric dots and dashes, that…