FISH...

Mid-winter sale!

2012-02-13T13:58:00.001-05:00

I have a bunch of Cichlids to sell

1 adult male (~7") Cyphotilapia sp. North (Fronts) Burundi Strain $40
1 adult female (~4") Cyphotilapia sp. North (Fronts) Burundi Strain $35
or $75 for the pair.
6 sub-adult (3-4") Cyphotilapia sp. North (Fronts) Burundi Strain Group $100 or $20 ea

5 sub-adult (2-3") Placidochromis Phenochilus group $60.or $15ea

4 adult (1-1 1/2") Lamprologus' multifasciatus (Multies) $6 ea
12 juvies (less than 1") 3ea. or group of 6 $15

6 adult (greater than 2") Neolamprologus pulcher (Daffodils) $6 ea
12 juvies (less than 1") 3ea. or group of 6 $15

12 juvies Hemichromis bimaculatus (Jewel cichlids) $1 ea or group $10

trio (1M 2F) adult Astatotilapia latifasciata $40 trio
6 juvies (less than 1") 1ea. or group of 6 $5

Photos coming soon

February's Brant meeting

2012-02-08T20:34:00.001-05:00

Tony Bernard doing his presentation on his trip to lake Tanganyika.

Update:

Tony is the Former President of the Brant Aquarium Society and Past President of the Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs. In 2003 Tony traveled to Lake Tanganyika at the southern end of the lake through Zambia and briefly visiting Tanzanian.

Tony Slide show presentation was filled with photos of the fish he encounter during his diving trips into the lake.

One of his follow travelers, Jerry Draper was present at the meeting and this brought another view of the trip.
The presentation was very interactive and Tony fielded a number of questions from the people on hand (Mostly were from my daughter Catie and Tony's Gavin)

This was the third time I have seen the presentation and it is always a good one.

Brant Aquarium Society's January Meeting

2012-01-11T20:05:00.001-05:00

Walter is doing a presentation on how to setup a saltwater tank.
It's been very interesting.

Update:

Walter is the Secretary for the Brant Aquarium Society and a long time Saltwater hobbyist.

Walter powerpoint presentation was well prepared and logically laid out to give the freshwater hobbyist insight into the Saltwater hobby.

Walter discussed the different types of saltwater setups and the costs. He explored environmental setup, including filtration, saltwater preparation and habitat requirements.

He also talked about the different groups of saltwalter fish and what species are the best for beginners and the more advanced hobbyists.

As strictly only a freshwater hobbyist the presentation was an excellent look into in the salt water hobby.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-12-24T22:03:00.003-05:00

I made it in the local community newspaper!

2011-12-22T16:02:00.001-05:00

Randy Austin invites you to visit
this virtual publication
CLICK HERE
Message from Randy Austin
Check out the article on page 17 about me and my fish that was in our local community paper.

2011 trip to Santa

2011-12-14T10:43:00.003-05:00

Vote for us in the Expositor's

Me and Santa Photo Contest

New Import rules for Pet Aquatic Animals come into affect December 10th.

2011-12-06T10:12:00.001-05:00

For all you Canadian Hobbyists that import fish, there arenew rules that start this Saturday.

Now to be honest the majority of hobbyists will never noticethat there are new rules when it come to importing fish and other Aquatic Animalsinto Canada, as we generally get our stock from local breeders or from peoplealready doing the importing for us. But I know that that there are a lot of usthat are close to the border with the US and may think about bringingback some fish with us.

As this is brand new for both us and the border agents, the followingis in no means the defacto guide to crossing the border with your pet fish, butwhat I have been able to ascertain.

First here is the “official” link to the Canadian Foodinspection agency, Yes the food inspection agency is the department handlingour non-food pets, Importation of Pet Aquatic Animals. This is where I’mgetting most of my information from. The following information lays out theinformation hopefully in a clearer method than they have.

There is one VERY important fact that a hobbyist MUSTunderstand. Pets are not for resale. If you intend on importing fish for resale,the fish that you are importing are NOT pets and are NOT eligible for a petexemption. You MUST be clear that the fish that you are bringing into Canada are foryour own personal use in your own personal aquarium and nothing else.

Here's a note from their website:

“However, as of December10, 2011, anyone bringing an aquatic animal into Canada must have a declaration or,in the case of aquatic animals on the susceptiblespecies list, an import permit.”

So there lays the jist of the new rules. ALL aquatic animalsrequire either a Declaration or Import permit.

First the "difficult" ones, the fish that require an importpermits. The reason I'm calling this difficult is that you require knowledge of and you must plan for this import. The complete list is here, the susceptiblespecies list. This is the list that you will require an import permit,there are some exceptions and they will be listed below. You will need to fillout an import form BEFORE you import them. You will need to get this form tothe CFIA and receive your permit before you bring them back to Canada. Thereis a fee for this permit, which starts at $35. That said, what you need to have and what you need to do is fairly clearly laid out and you should not have much if any problems with the actual inspection as all of the "work" is done before the actual import.

There are several species that are on the susceptible species list that you can bring into the country without a permit. Here is the list of petExemptions:

Barbonymus gonionotus
Carassius auratus
Colisa lalia
Danio rerio
Glossogobius giuris
Osphronemus goramy
Oxyeleotris marmorata
Poecilia reticulata
Puntius sophore
Symphysodon discus
Toxotes chatareus
Trichogaster pectoralis
Trichogaster trichopterus

For these species, if you can do the following, you do notneed the permit (see section 192 below),

Importation of Aquatic Animals

Aquatic Animals Listed in Schedule III

191. No person shall import an aquatic animal listed inSchedule III except in accordance with a permit issued under section 160.

Pet Aquatic Animals

192. (1) Despite section 191, an aquatic animallisted in Schedule III may be imported without a permit for use as a pet if

(a) theaquatic animal is a member of one of the following species, namely, Barbonymusgonionotus, Carassius auratus, Colisa lalia, Danio rerio, Glossogobius giuris, Osphronemusgoramy, Oxyeleotris marmorata, Poecilia reticulata, Puntius sophore, Symphysodondiscus, Toxotes chatareus, Trichogaster pectoralis or Trichogaster trichopterus;

(b) theaquatic animal has not been taken to a show or display outside Canada;

(c) theaquatic animal is imported by its owner;

(d) theaquatic animal is accompanied or picked up by its owner at the point of entryinto Canada;and

(e) theowner presents proof of the owner’s identity and his or her ownership of theaquatic animal to the inspector.

(2) An aquatic animal imported under subsection (1)shall be kept in an aquarium in the household of its owner, and the owner shallnot, for the year following the importation, expose it to any aquatic animalsother than those kept in the household.

(3) The owner of an aquatic animal imported undersubsection (1) shall not, in the period of 90 days after the importation,import another aquatic animal under that subsection.

(4) The owner of an aquatic animal imported undersubsection (1) shall keep the records of the importation, including thedocuments required under paragraph (1)(e).

Soif you are willing to keep your pet for one year, not import another pet aquaticanimal for 90 days, have proof of ownership and attest to the fact that theanimal been taken to a show or display outside of Canada. You don’t need thepermit for it.

The 90 day restriction is the biggest issue, as this truly restricts your able to bring over future pets. Proof of ownership seems bizarre as unless you are specifically named on a bill of sale, how is this possible? Unless you are going to a breeder's home and picking up fry, can you really attest to that fact that fish has never been to a show or display. There is no definition for the terms Show or Display so does that include fish auctions?

This exemption seems to be almost impossible to "honestly" get it and may be no less work or cost than the permit.

Now for the “easy” ones. This one is not easy at all but there no planning required, sort of. For all other aquatic pets you willneed a Declaration.

AquaticAnimals not Listed in Schedule III

194. No person shall import an aquatic animal that isnot listed in Schedule III unless it is accompanied by a document that is satisfactoryto an inspector and that includes the following information:

(a) the name and address of the exporter;

(b) the name and address of the importer;

(d) the country in which the aquatic animal was born or where thegermplasm came from and, in the case of an aquatic animal, whether it was bornin captivity or in the wild.

The one biggest problem that I see for hobbyists is that it will complicate importing fish from an auction. Generally speaking the name and address of the "exporter" is hardly ever known to the buyer at an auction. I guess that our American friends will have to help us at the auctions with the names and addresses of the sellers that we buy from, that should be no problem, right?

Ican’t find anywhere within the CFIA site that has a pre-formatted Declarationform. I emailed the CFIA and they replied with a link to their website that does not have a pre-formatted Declaration.

So for now you will have to create a document that is satisfactory to theinspector, (good luck with that), that includes all of the above information. This should be easy but it's now is in the hands of the individual inspector and as we all know this makes it a hit and miss process.

The lack of a pre-formatted Declaration from the CFIA makes this whole processvery troublesome for the average hobbyist. Hopefully as time goes on this willbe standardized and published. As I learn more about the new import rules I willshare them with you.

The bottom line is that if you are still considering importing fish, YOU will have to do your own homework and understand that regardless of what you know or understand when you arrive at the border it can all change depending on the individual inspector. Good luck!

Here's some links that will help you on your adventure:

Health of Animals Regulations (C.R.C.,c. 296)

http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/C.R.C.,_c._296/index.html

Susceptible Species of Aquatic Animals

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/aqua/disemala/spliste.shtml

Importation of Pet Aquatic Animals

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/imp/petani/fispoie.shtml

Import form

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/for/pdf/c5083perimpe.pdf

NAAHP brochure

https://docs.google.com/open?id=1vn0c41kpUMgaCRzsil76T4ZvL1WECrRtBh4yqmu23FUUz4Y8xcvdvy4BG7Mx

2011 Ohio Cichlid Convention

2011-11-23T12:29:00.001-05:00

We arrived at the Holiday Inn in Strongsville, OH around 2pm Friday. We registered for the convention around 3pm.

The First presentation which was at 6pm, was by Ad Konings and it was about "Saving the Malawi Cichlid Diversity". This presentation may be one of the most important presentations that I have seen in the cichlid hobby to date for me. Although the focus of the presentation was not about how we hobbyists are endangering the existence of fish species in the lake, it was one of the factors and the one that is most easily fixed by us hobbyists. As a member of the CARES program conserving endangered species is important to me, so if I may be one of the causes of endangerment that really sucks.
SO, I will not be purchasing any wild-caught or F1(G1) Rift Lake Cichlids from now on. There are very few, if any, species of lake malawi cichlids that we keep in aquariums that will not breed for us, so I feel we hobbyist should get our fish from fellow hobbyists.

The Second presentation at 8pm was about the "Cichlids of Mexico" by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas. It was interesting if not a little too long. Unfortunately due to the length of travel and how extremely tire I was by 10pm, I was unable to attend the Ian Fuller Catfish presentation.

On Saturday the 8am morning mixer was not what I expected. As a newbie I thought that there would be more mixing. When I was there it was more grab a donut and coffee and get out. The 9am Ingo Seidel: Catfish Presentation was very informative and just about the right length. The 11am Ad Konings: “Breeding Strategies of Tanganyikan Cichlids” was not what I expected. I was hoping for breeding strategies for hobbyists, but the presentation was about how cichlids breed in the lake, which most of us hobbyists already know.

At this point I had to take the family out to do some not so early Christmas shopping. I did not spend too much time at the Swap meet and did not meet any of the speakers.
We did attend the 6pm pizza party, award presentation and Manufacturer auction. But once again I was asleep before 10pm.

We left for more shopping in Pennsylvania at 9am Sunday, so we didn't see the auction.

All in all we had a okay time. Maybe in the future we will make it back.

Going to the OCA tomorrow!

2011-11-17T17:57:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning we are going to travel to Strongsville, OH to attend the OCA's Extravaganza 2011. Check back for updates!

Shanghai Ocean Aquarium

2011-11-10T21:02:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday November 8th I was fortunate to be able to go to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium in the Pudong area of Shanghai China. The first thing that I found was that the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium has an awful lot of fresh water fish!

There are displays of native chinese fish like the carp, snakehead and chinese sturgeon.

They also have a huge south american fish area. They have a number of tetras, catfishes, and cichlids.

They also have a walk through pacus, arapaima, arowanas and few others large SA fish display.

They have displays of african cichlids.

They also have a large Australian fish area. They have a barramundi display as well as very large rainbow tank with the biggest rainbow fish I have ever seen.

They have a large ornamental asian fish display tank, filled with barbs, gourami and many others and that's even before you get to the "oceans" part of the Aquarium.

.

If you are in Shanghai, and you have an extra 160 RMB, the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is a great Aquarium to visit.

Live from Shanghai

2011-11-02T10:23:00.004-04:00

This week I'm away from home in China. I arrived in Shanghai on the 2nd of November. I'll be in Suzhou and later in Cixi. Hopefully I will have some time to do some fish related things while I'm here.

Hamilton Show and Auction

2011-10-02T20:30:00.003-04:00

We went to the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society Show and Auction. We showed and did not do that well but that is what happens with fish shows. We did however win a "major" award. The People's choice award.

We added the following to the fish room.

Xiphophorus mayae, Betta pugnax, Aphyosemion (Orange) australe, Otopharynx tetrastigma, Neolamprologus brichardi, Steatocranus casuarius, Archocentrus spilurus and a couple of female Betta Splendens. We also picked up some platies (Xiphophorus maculatus) at big als Hamilton for Dan

London Aquaria Society Auction & Show

2011-09-24T21:57:00.002-04:00

Sunday September 25 the London Aquaria Society is hosting its Fall Auction and Show. We will be there!

We picked up some Angels, Nezzie Swords, celestial pearl danios, tropheus some java moss and a 15 gallon tank

Canadian Reptile Breeders' Expo

2011-09-16T08:33:00.001-04:00

The Canadian Reptile Breeders' Expo takes place this weekend Sept 17-18) in Mississauga at the International Centre.

Several member clubs of the Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs (CAOAC) have setup up display tanks.
The Brant Aquarium Society has one setup by us. It has Cichlids from the African Rift lakes, African Rivers, and Central America.
It's a 26 gallon Bowfront tank. Which is a too small for the types of cichlids that are in it, we should have had a bigger tank. But we will know better for next time.
If you are looking for something to do on the weekend why not check out the Expo.

Why are Students not keeping fish as much as they did in the past?

2011-09-15T12:38:00.000-04:00

As I’m the Newsletter Editor for the Brant Aquarium Society, I was doing some research for a Newsletter article. I happened to stumbled across something on the StatsCan website. For those of you that aren’t Canadian, StatsCan is short for Statistics Canada the Government agency that does the Census here in Canada. On their website they have a program called Census at School – Canada! What the program is in a nutshell is they collect statistical data from Canadian Students in Grades 4-8 (for my purposes.) One of the questions that they have asked Canadian students since 2004 is Which of the following pets do you have? The chart below shows the results for the survey (I have only included the top 4 pets in the chart below)

As you can see from the chart two groups have had an upward trend over the last five years, Dogs and Student without pets. Cats have had a slight decrease but have remained fairly stable. One group has had a steady and rapid decline during the survey period, FISH.

In 2004 30% of female grade 4-8 students surveyed had fish, in 2010 the number had dropped to 23%. In the same time period the number of female students that had no pets went from 19% to 26.4%. Male students are following a similar trend with both the number of fish keepers decreasing and the number of students without pets increases.

The largest issue that I see is that there are no obvious reasons for these trends. The prices of equipment and supplies have not increased dramatically and have certainly not anymore than that of dog supplies and equipment with has seen an increase from the number of people keeping them within the same time. The price and availability of fish haven’t changed, so that is not a reasonable answer to explain the decrease. Why is it that 9-13 year olds have lost interest or no longer wanting to keep fish?

I don’t know what the answers are for this, but I do know what the results of not trying to change the trends will be, less and less hobbyists. There are very few adult hobbyists who did not have fish as children. I myself only got back into the hobby because my children liked the fish that their grandfather was keeping.

We hobbyists have to promote the keeping of fish by children so that we will still have a hobby to enjoy in the future.

Hamburg Matt Filter

2011-09-09T13:15:00.001-04:00

Way back in May, the Brant Aquarium Society had Udo Rohmann speak about the Hamburg Matt Filter. Generally speaking this kind of filter is not a "out of the box" filter and is more of a DIY setup. That's perfect for me. That said all of the components needed to make the sytem are available to be purchased online. Udo has talked about this filtration system all over Canada was I was really looking forward to seeing the presentation. Unfortunately I was 12,000 km away, in China at the time. I really wanted to hear his presentation and was bummed that I wasn't able to.

Well HDAS held it's September meeting on Thursday and had Udo down to do the presentation. I was able to convince my wife to allow me to go. The presentation was excellent and far more informative than what I will have in this post, but the basics of the filter is a large piece of Reticulated foam (the same as a ATI Pro filter) is placed in one end of your tank. The piece of foam is slightly larger than the end of your end and is wedged in place a few centimeters from the end to created a well. The water in your tank is passed through it by either a powerhead or lift tube which is in the "well". The benefits of this filter is that it has a tremendous area for the biologicals (bacteria) to reside. It will also do a good job of mechnical as well.

The part of Udo's presentation that I really found interesting was the "Udo Air Lift" It is the best DIY air lift tube I have seen. It is comprised of a number of PVC tubing parts and a couple of o-rings.

I will be trying this out in a number of my tanks and will be posting about it as I get parts and start using them.
For more info check out http://www.janrigter.nl/mattenfilter/

My summer projects: Pond addition

2011-08-25T12:37:00.000-04:00

Well it has been a while, but we are back and it's fish season again. During the summer I installed a pond in the backyard. Here are the specs on the pond.

It's 4' wide and 8' long and is 13" above ground and 13" below ground for a total depth of 26". That makes it a little more than 500 gallons. The above ground part is 4x4 pressure treated lumber glued together with polyurethane glue and wooden rods (13" long dowels). The facade is 1x6 western Red cedar and is top off with 5/4x6" WRC. The whole thing including the hole that is dug 13" below the wood frame is covered with 60mil black pond liner. It has a 900gph fountain pump with filter box.

It took me and my dad about 3 hours to dig the hole. It hadn't rain in our area for almost a month and the ground in my backyard was as hard as concrete. We first constructed the above ground wood frame so that we would know how large to dig the hole. The wood frame consists of the 4 -4x4 glued and dowel together per side. The are offset as to stagger corner joint. I than installed the pond linver inside the hole/frame and cut the excess liner . I than cut and nailed the WRC 1x6 to the frame and top it off with 5/4" x 6 WRC top frame.

Added water & fountain and wella, we have a pond. I added was duckweed to help with the cycling and eventually put in several zebra danios and black mollies.

Inline Heater Module

2011-06-14T08:43:00.007-04:00

For one of my "over the summer" experiments, I'm attempting to create a conditioning stand for breeding substrate spawners and eggscatters. In short it is a stand with a bunch of plastic containers that are plumbed together into a mini central system. In the future I will do an post just about the stand. Due to the size of the sump in the system I didn't have anywhere to put the heater. So I did a little internet searching and came across a DIY project to create an Inline Heater Module.

I thought the idea was great and started designing my own version. There are two keys to this project, the first is a 1"OD heater and the second is a 1" cordgrip. The first key was easy as I already had a number of VIA AQUA 50 watt submersible glass heater which happens to be a 1" OD heater. During my non-superhero time, I work as a product designer for an electric heating company. Cordgrips are well known device for me. I was able to procure a Heyco 8437 cordgrip.

Ironically the part that should have been the easiest parts to get, were not. The rest of the module is made up of "standard" schedule 40 white PVC. At first I thought that I would use 1 1/2" ID pipe, but I was unable to source the majority of the components that I would need, I decided that I would use 2" ID pipe. But that was still a problem because not all of the components for that size were available. I went back to the internet and ironically found all of the parts at Lowes.com (ironically because I was at the Lowes store in my hometown and they didn't have any of the parts I needed). So we were planning on our regular bi-monthly trip to the US and during the trip I stopped at a Lowes store in Amherst, NY and picked up all of the PVC parts.

The assembly is fairly easy as everything either threads in (cordgrip and barb fittings) or is cemented together (all the PVC). I didn't use any teflon tape on the cordgrip or the barb fittings and should have as they leak a little but my module hangs over the sump so the drips aren't a problem. The cordgrip also drips a little but I think that it probably due to the heater and the excessive back pressure that the 6' of head is causing. outside of the couple of drips that i'm getting this porject is working prefectly for me for what I need it to do.

To view a 3D model of the Inline Heater Module click here

June's fishroom addition

2011-06-09T08:11:00.000-04:00

At the Brant meeting in June we won the Guess the Fish contest. We got a pair of Kissing Gouramis (Helostoma temminckii).

CAOAC Convention Auction.

2011-05-23T16:58:00.003-04:00

The Canadian Association of Aquarium Club's 2011 Convention was this Victoria day long weekend. It was hosted by the Brant Aquarium Society, right here in Brantford.

We showed in the show. Actually our daughter was the one that showed. She won 1st in both Male and Female guppy, she came in 2nd in AOV livebearer and took 1st ,2nd & 3rd in both Junior Egglayer and Junior Livebearer. She won the Junior High Aggregate.

On Sunday I received my Basic Merit Breeders' award and my Rift Lake Cichlid Basic Merit award from CAOAC.

On the Monday there was the Caoac/Brant Auction.
We sold some fish and bought a ton.

A trio of Blue-Black Moscow Guppies. Aphyosemion (Orange) australe. Hoplosternum thoracatum (Hoplo Cats). Apistogramma cacatuoides (cockatoo cichlid). Neolamprologus signatus. Tateurndina ocellicauda (peacock gudgeon), Telmatochromis sp. "Temporalis Shell" (Mbita), Carlhubbsia stuarti (banded Widow Livebearer), Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl (Nezzie Sword), Haplochromis sp.44 (Haplochromis obliquidens) , Fundulopanchax sjoestedti (blue gularis) the last two are CARES fish.

worm culture success!

2011-05-19T21:02:00.000-04:00

After a couple of days all of the cultures are growing new worms

Micro and Walter Worm Cultures

2011-05-15T16:18:00.004-04:00

Live food is a part of the hobby that I hadn't really tried before. I have done baby brine shrimp with some fair success in the past and I thought that I would expand my live food to include Micro and Walter worms. These are great live food for newly hatched fry and small livebearers and cyprinids.

Here's my first attempt at starting a culture.

It seems quite easy. Here's what I used:
quick oats,
a small plastic container with lid,
starter culture,
baker's yeast,
scissors,
warm water,
mixing spoons,
labels.

I start by adding about 1cm of quick oats to the container. I add the warm water to the oats and mix it together to make a porridge. It shouldn't be too runny or too dry.

the next step is to sprinkle a little baker's yeast over the oats. This will become the food for the worms.

The next step is to add the starter culture to oats mixture. I spread a layer over the entire top surface of the oats.

Here's what the final product looks like with the starter culture ready to start growing worms. That said there are a couple more steps to go.

You will need a lid for the culture to keep it from drying out and you need to add a couple of holes for air to get into the container. If you are like me and have a couple of different kinds of worms, it's best to label them .

Trip to Niagara Falls, NY

2011-05-15T10:29:00.002-04:00

On Saturday May 14th we traveled to the United States of America and did some shopping, so while I was in the area, I took the opportunity to visit a local aquarium store.

Before we left I checked out Google to see if there was any aquarium stores that were close to the places that we planned on going. I didn't know if we would have the time with the shopping, but if there was I'd go. While traveling between shopping destinations, I stopped at a traffic light and on the bus stop bench was a sign for Rainbow Tropical Fish. I took it as a sign from a higher power and we decided to go.

It's a small yellow building on Niagara Fall Blvd. in Niagara Falls, NY. Currently there is a little bit of road work being done in front of the store, but it doesn't really affect getting into the store.

The store was well lit, had quite a few available products and the fish tanks in the fish room were exceptionally clean, one of the cleanest fishrooms that I have seen.

I bought some Prime at a really great price and talked to the owner for a little bit about being from Canada, and he said that he has several Canadian customers that get all kinds of supplies and fish from him.

It's a nice store and worth the visit if you are in the Niagara Falls, NY area.

You can check out their website and follow them on facebook

London Auction ups and downs

2011-05-01T20:33:00.004-04:00

Today was the spring auction at the London Aquaria Society.
On the down side we had a number of Yellow Labs died before the auction started. I used bag buddies but the tablets had crumbled up so I think that I used too much and tranquilized them to death. I also lost $10 on my Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos because the runner wrote the wrong price down.

On the up side I was able to save a number of my fish from dieing at the auction with the help of some of my fishy friends. All of the fish that we attempted to save, did survive. Thanks Ron!

I got Xystichromis sp. "day glow" a new addition to our fish room that's on the CARES priority list.

We also picked up Telmatochromis d'honti, which is apparently a holy terror.

We also added some really nice half black-purple moscow guppies to our existing stock and we brought back some flame tetras for a future BAP attempt from Big Al's in London, which has apparently move to a new location which I found out after driving to the old location..

All in all I would have to say that it was a okay day.

May's update

2011-04-30T15:18:00.002-04:00

On May 1st London Aquaria Society holds its Spring Auction. I'm taking a number of Cichlids. On May 11 Brant has its monthly meeting. This is the first time I will be at a Brant event since the Brant Auction. I'll bring a few BAP fish for the auction. Than the last large event of the year is the CAOAC convention held on the May 24 long weekend right here in Brantford. Although I will not be attending the Friday, Saturday or Sunday events, I may be going to the auction that is on Monday.

The last Saturday of April, we got a couple of new species. Skunk Botia (Yasuhikotakia morleti) and Gold Ring Danios (Danio tinwini)

More new additions to the fishroom

2011-04-03T17:51:00.000-04:00

We went to Big Al's in Mississauga and got three new species.
Nannostomus beckfordi (Beckford's pencil fish), Iriatherina werneri (Threadfin Rainbow), Haplochromis nubilus

April Update

2011-03-31T12:26:00.001-04:00

Brant Aquarium Society's Spring Auction was last weekend and I picked up quite a bite of supplies and also a small group of Savannah tetras.

In April the Durham Region Aquarium Society is holding its spring auction but unfortunately I will not be around for it, heck I won't even be on the same continent. From the 9th to 18th I'll be in China. That means that my wife will have to take care of the fishroom for that period, which I'm very thankful for.

Starting in May I hope to be able to bring to the blog several DIY experiments. The first will be a sump for my 90 gallon tank. The sump will be made from things that I have laying around or that you can buy hardware store.

Brant Aquarium Society Spring show and Auction

2011-03-25T13:04:00.002-04:00

The Brant Aquarium Society, where I'm the past president, is holding its spring show and auction in Paris, Ontario on Sunday March 27th. I'll be there showing and selling. For more info click here

fish for sale

2011-02-21T21:58:00.002-05:00

Melanochromis cyaneorhabdos 4.5" males(2 available) $20ea, 4"unsexed (female?) 1 available $15 ($40 for all 3)

Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" adult 6" males $35 2 available

Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" Albino adult 6" male $40 1 available

Protomelas sp. "Steveni Taiwan" sub-adult 4" males $20 3 available

More new additions to the fishroom

2011-02-19T20:52:00.000-05:00

On Friday I got a bunch of free juvenile Archocentrus nigrofasciatus, AKA BAP in a bag or Convict cichlids from a KWAS forum member RYNO1974. Thanks Ryno. On Saturday I bought a trio of Astatotilapia latifasciata, Zebra Obliquidens from Big Al's Kitchener and some Skiffia lermae from KWAS forum member Sucker4plecos.

new additions to the fish room

2011-02-13T19:53:00.000-05:00

we went to Big's Al's in Oakville and Hamilton today and got a few new fishes.

Green Tiger barbs, Emerald eye Rasboras, White Cloud mountain minnows & Betta Imbellis.

New Species articles

2011-02-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

I have created a number of new species articles:
Heterandria Formosa

Yellow Labs
Highland Platy
Limia Perugiae
Taiwan Reef
Upland Sword

They can be viewed on the Articles page

fish food video

2011-02-04T20:24:00.001-05:00

Trust me it really is a video about how Tetra make fish food.
http://science.discovery.com/videos/how-its-made-filigree-glass.html

Stop The Meter On Your Internet Use

2011-02-01T12:29:00.001-05:00

I really hate when our governments do some really stupid things, like the Ontario government and bill 125, and now the Federal government is allowing the CRTC to impose internet usage caps. This has to be one of the least intelligent decisions that the CRTC has ever made. Help let the people in Ottawa know that making Bell even more money is not a good thing for Canadians. Sign the Petition

One of my secrets for being able to keep so many tanks

2011-01-27T15:03:00.000-05:00

One of my secrets for being able to keep so many tanks in my house is the use of Activated Carbon.

The Fishroom has to share the house with 6 individuals who do not like the odors sometimes associated with the hobby and multiply tanks. We also take pride in being able to show off our fishroom to non-hobbyist, and having a "pee" coloured fish tank is just not acceptable. Activated Carbon helps eliminate these problems.

Activated carbon has many benefits when it comes to the tropical fish hobby. Activated carbon removes organic pollutants, some of which discolor the water with a yellowish tint, organic acids, proteins, hormones, antibiotic compounds, and organic compounds as well as a variety of chemicals, medications, metals, and minerals. Inorganic substances removed are, chlorine, chloramine, colors and odor causing substances such as phenols.

Now, for most hobbyists that run power filters like canisters and HOBs (hang on back) using AC is easy yet it can become extremely expensive to use the filter manufacturer's proprietary filter media. It becomes more difficult when you use an air driven sponge filter system like I do for most of my tank, but there is an easy solution. I use media bags filled you AC that I place directly in the tank in the water flow created by the sponge filter. I use the same media bags filled with AC in any of the power filters that I use as well. To keep the cost of the AC down I buy my Activated Carbon from companies that specialize in different carbons and I buy it in bulk (In my case I buy 55lb bags).

I found a great article on the internet about activated carbon. The article goes in depth about what kind of AC is best and how to use it.

The Activated Carbon that I used has the a TYPICAL PHYSICAL PROPERTIES / SPECIFICATIONS

Total Surface Area (BET), m2/gm	1050 – 1150
Iodine Number, mg/gm	950 - 1000
Apparent Density (ASTM D-2854), g/cc	0.50 - 0.52
lb/ft3	31 - 33
Hardness, Min. (ASTM D-3802)	98.5
Particle Size	4mm
Moisture, Max. (ASTM D-2867)	3%

If you are looking for a premium activated carbon check out my for sale page.

Water Chemistry

2011-01-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Water chemistry is an important part of the fish keeping hobby. The area that I live in has moderately hard water and due to this, I have a softener installed at my house. This removes almost all of the General hardness in my tap water. This leads to a need to have to buffer my water for my African cichlids.

I have found the following information about the make-up of the water in the Rift lakes on my favourite Cichlid site, Cichlid-forum.com .

pH
While common tropical fish are happiest right around neutral, African cichlids prefer the following alkaline ranges:
                              Lake Malawi species:       7.4 - 8.6
                              Lake Tanganyika species: 7.8 - 9.0
                              Lake Victoria species:      7.2 - 8.6

General Hardness
African Rift lake cichlids are most likely to appear vibrant and colorful in aquariums with a general hardness ranging from 160 - 320 ppm (parts per million) or 9° -18° DH (“Deutsch hardness”).

Alkalinity
For a Rift Lake aquarium, KH is ideally in the range of 180 - 240 ppm, or 10° - 14° DH.

Now how do I change my tap water to match the above parameters? I use the Rift Lake Buffer Recipe.
Baking Soda or Bicarbonate of soda (NaHCO3) raising the pH and buffers the alkalinity (kH)
Epsom Salt or Magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) raising the gH
Aquarium Salt or Sodium Chloride (NaCl) improves the electrolyte and fish health.

RIFT LAKE BUFFER RECIPE
Ingredients
Epsom Salt
Baking Soda
Aquarium Salt
Instructions
for every 5 US Gallons (19L) of water add, 1 tablespoon (15ml) Epsom salt, 1 teaspoon (5ml) baking soda,
1 teaspoon (5ml) aquarium salt.

I have been asked why I just don’t “tap-off” before the water softener and use my moderately hard water. I have two reasons. First, where I live tap water is very cold around 50° F and my tanks run at above 80°F. The fact that I general do a 25-50% water change would cause too much of a temperature swing. Secondly, I would still need to buffer my water to match the parameter anyway.
For a more in depth article check out:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/water_chemistry.php

Want an inexpensive RLB? Check out my For Sale page

New fishroom additions

2011-01-21T09:49:00.000-05:00

Over the past 4 weeks I have sold around 200 juvies to a local fish store. That has open a few tanks and I have bought a few number species. Firemouth cichlids, celebes halfbeaks, zebra danios and bloodfin tetras have all been added.

January clearout

2011-01-12T16:26:00.008-05:00

UPDATE: HUGE price reduces to help move the items

It's time to clear out some of my used equipment. I have the following available for sale.

I have a 55 Gallon Tank it includes 2 covers and the tank. There are NO light fixtures with this tank.

You will also get one used, and repaired 150 watt heater and a used Tetra Whisper EX70 filter -no media with your purchase.
All this for just $75.

1.5 Gallon Aquarium kit $15 $10

Little Mermaid Aquarium Kit $30 $20

Betta tank $15 $10

10 gallon tank with light and canopy $25 $15

Elite 802 air pump $25 $15-2 available

3 plastic box filters, $3 for 3

Maxi-Jet 900 powerhead as shown, $10 $8

Aqua clear 20 powerhead as shown, $10 $8 -2 available

Aqua clear 10 air pump $10 $8

new 90 gallon tank

2011-01-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

Last week I got a new 90 gallon tank, today I set it up. Here's some photos.

January photos

2011-01-02T21:35:00.001-05:00

FOR SALE 55 gallon tank and accessories

2010-12-29T10:24:00.001-05:00

I have a 55 Gallon Tank for sale. It includes 2 covers and the tank. There are NO lights with this tank. You will also get one used, and repaired 150 watt heater and a used Tetra Whisper EX70 filter -no media with your purchase.
All this for just $85.

2010-12-24T11:33:00.011-05:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

From Fish...

Melanochromis Auratus

2010-12-21T16:18:00.000-05:00

I got about 9 fry from one of my co-workers the other day. They are a nice but nasty addition to the fishroom.
check out their profile on cichlid-forum

Trip to Big Al's Kitchener

2010-12-06T09:13:00.000-05:00

As part of the Kwas Oktoberfish, each of the kids got a $10 dollar gift certificate from Big Al's Kitchener for Showing in the fish show. So we finally went to cash in the GC's. With them we got 2 more Curviceps, 2 Blue Neon tail Guppies and 4 Jewel Cichlids.

Amatitlania siquia spawned

2010-12-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

I got a nice surprise tonight when I went down to the fishroom. I had seen my little female Honduran Red Point in a clay pot for the last couple of day and tonight I noticed what I thought was at first a lot of brown poop below here, but it was moving. Apparently her and one of the males have spawned and I have about 18 little wigglers.

Why you should tell your MPP to not vote for Bill 125

2010-11-20T17:03:00.002-05:00

On Nov 4, my representative in the Ontario legislature introduced a new Private Member’s Bill, The Exotic Wildlife in Captivity Act, in the Ontario Legislature. This act amends the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, 1997.
The current legislation contains the following interpretations:

Quote

1. (1) In this Act,
“animal” means a member of the class Mammalia (mammals), Aves (birds), Reptilia (reptiles) or Amphibia (amphibians), but does not include a human being; (“animal”)

2.“wildlife” means an animal that belongs to a species that is wild by nature, and includes game wildlife and specially protected wildlife.

The amending act includes the following:

Quote

Exotic wildlife
47.1 (1) Exotic wildlife means an animal of a species or type, other than game wildlife or specially protected wildlife, that is not native to Ontario and that in its natural habitat is usually found wild by nature and includes a species prescribed by the regulations.

Which means that the Ministry of Natural Resources gets to determine what “exotic”(not native) wildlife animals (mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians) are going to require licenses to own.

The wording in the current version of the bill doesn't not specify how the MNR is to choice what species are "dangerous". This list could include such “violent animals” as budgies (non-native bird).

The MPP website has a press release titled "Proposed law aims to keep animals and the public safe". So it appears to me that the intent of the law is public safety. This is why your MPP should NOT vote for bill 125.

I feel that the current bill does not do that in any way. All that this bill does is generate revenue for the current government, by forcing animal owners to pay a license fee to the government to keep their "dangerous species".

If the goal of the bill is to keep us safety than we should have a bill that would create a list of Dangerous species that are banned form being kept in Ontario except in specific situations. The list should be created in legislature by elected officials, that way if the public feels that species that are not dangerous have been put on it we have a way to fix it. (by replacing the people at the next election, that added them to the list)

The other issue that I have with this piece of poorly thought out legislation is that most, if not all, municipal codes in Ontario already ban the keeping of dangerous species. Brantford's own code states"

206.4.1 Prohibited classes - set out
No person shall keep, harbour or possess any animal or animals of any
of the following classes anywhere within the City of Brantford:
(a) all marsupials (such as kangaroos and opossums);
(b) all non-human primates (such as gorillas and monkeys);
(c) all felids, except the domestic cat;
(d) all canids, except the domestic dog;
(e) all viverrids (such as mongooses, civets, and genets);
(f) all mustelids (such as skunks, weasels, otters and badgers);
(g) all ursids (bears);
(h) all artiodactylus ungulates, except domestic goats, sheep,
pigs and cattle;
(i) all procyonids (such as racoons, coatis and cacomistles);
(j) all hyaenas;
(k) all pinnipeds (such as seals, fur seals, and walruses);
(l) all snakes of the families pythonidae and boidae;
(m) all venomous reptiles;
(n) all ratite birds (such as ostriches, rheas, cassowaries);
(o) all diurnal and nocturnal raptors (such as eagles, hawks, and
owls);
(p) all edentates (such as anteaters, sloths and armadillos);
(q) all bats;
(r) all crocodilians (such as alligators and crocodiles);
(s) all arachnids (such as tarantulas); and
(t) all prohibited dogs.

so how does this bill help the people of Brantford with dangerous species if they are already banned. The only thing that is bill can do is have people have to pay a license fee to keep animals that the people of Brantford already don't consider dangerous.

If you live in Ontario and you own a pet, contact your MPP and tell them that they should NOT vote for this bill so that you will not have to pay another tax to live in Ontario.

CARES Program species wishlist

2010-11-17T10:26:00.002-05:00

The CARES program promotes the keeping of endangered fish. The list of endangered species is call the Priority list . The list has over 400 species on it. Below is the list of Species that I would "open a tank for" in my fish room. If you know of a source for these fish let me know.

Alloophorus robustus
Allotoca dugesii
Allotoca goslinei
Ameca splendens
Ataeniobius toweri
Characodon audax
Characodon lateralis
Skiffia bilineata
Poecilia latipunctata
Xenotoca eiseni
Xiphophorus gordoni

Glossolepis incisus
Melanotaenia eachamensis
Melanotaenia parva

Tanichthys albonubes
Devario pathirana

Betta simplex
Betta brownorum
Betta Channoides
Betta Coccina
Betta Livida
Betta miniopinna
Betta rutilans
Parosphromenus alfredi
Parosphromenus deissneri
Parosphromenus filamentosus
Parosphromenus quindecim

Lithochromis rubripinnis
Haplochromis rufocaudalis (Neochromis rufocaudalis)
Haplochromis chilotes (Paralabidochromis chilotes)
Haplochromis labiatus (Paralabidochromis labiatus )
Herichthys bartoni
Hemichromis cristatus
Haplochromis cyaneus
Haplochromis erythromaculatus
Haplochromis lividus
Haplochromis obliquidens
Copadichromis atripinnis
Enigmatochromis lucanusi
Eretmodus cyanostictus
Haplochromis piceatus (Astatotilapia piceata)
Haplochromis latifasciatus (Astatotilapia piceata)
Haplochromis brownae (Astatotilapia brownae)
Cryptoheros nanoluteus (Archocentrus nanoluteus)

Salt and heat treatment for ICK has dangerous side effect.

2010-11-16T09:08:00.001-05:00

It appears that the old reliable Salt and Heat cure for Ick can have a dangerous side effect, if you do it wrong.

DEATH by OSMOSIS

Here's what can happen.

"Putting a fish into excess salt water upsets the balance in osmosis, in which cells naturally try to balance the level of salt/other stuff and water inside and outside the membrane. If the fish lives in fresh water, and is dropped into salt water, its outer cells (eyes, mouth, around the scales) will try to get the inside of the cell to match the concentration of salt in the water. This will cause the cells to expel water (salt does not pass though the membranes) and they will shrivel up."

so if the level of salt is too high in the tank it will start to dehydrate the fish, this is not totally the issue but half the problem.
When the treatment is finished and you do a water change to return them back to freshwater the opposite happens

"If you put a saltwater fish into fresh water, the alternate case occurs, and the cells absorb water until they burst, so creating the same outcome."

If this happens your fish will ballon up and appear to have dropsy. This is ultimely fatal as the cells in the fishes body have ruptured and the treatment for this is euthanizing the fish.

It is very important that you use as little salt as needed to treat the ick and than slowing reduce the salt level with some water changes after the treatment.
Even with the issue I still will use Salt and Heat as my main treatment for Ick.

quotes from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_would_happen_if_you_put_a_fresh_water_fish_into_saltwater

Spawning was a success

2010-11-15T20:59:00.001-05:00

Albert has children!

Astatotilapia Aeneocolor fry

barbs now have dropsy - wrong

2010-11-14T20:12:00.002-05:00

the last 5 of my barbs now have dropsy. I'm treating with Maracyn II, but I don't hold out much hope.
After two days of treatment all 5 have died.

Update
THE BARBS DID NOT HAVE DROPSY!!!
The ick treatment was the cause of there death (read my new post)

November Photos

2010-11-14T17:58:00.000-05:00

Malawi Bloat Cured?

2010-11-13T11:54:00.000-05:00

I got Hikari Metro+ and treated my Cynotilapia Hara for bloat with it. I did the 7 day treatment described on the bottle and all of the exterior signs of bloat are got.
The reason why I have a question mark is that she still has not ate and unless she does I don't consider it a complete cure.

Albert Died :(

2010-11-11T07:53:00.002-05:00

After spawning with our female Yellow belly our male Astatotilapia Aeneocolor has died. Maybe he spawned himself to death.

PS. I'm now in need of a replace male if you have one

death toll from the last two months

2010-11-08T08:04:00.004-05:00

We are now about 2 months after the first fall auction and here is what I have purchased at auctions and Local fish stores since the beginning of September.
This list below shows how many have died and the reason.

Livebearers: 22 of 39 mostly unknown
Poecilia reticulata (Guppies) Red fluorescent 2 of 3 unknown
Poecilia reticulata (Guppies) Black moscow 3 of 3 unknown
Poecilia reticulata (Guppies) half black green tail 3 of 3 unknown
Poecilia reticulata (Guppies) delta blue tail, 3 of 3 ick
Poecilia sphenops (Black Mollies) 1 of 4 age (one old female)
Poecilia latipinna (Sailfin Mollies) silver, Dalmatian 0 of 9
Xiphophorus couchianus 2 of 6 camellanus worms
Xiphophorous hellerii (Swordtails) Red, Red Wag tail 2 of 2 age (old male, fry bound female)
Cnesterodon decemmaculatus 6 of 6 maybe neon tetra disease?
Antabantids: 2 of 3 unknown
Betta splendens (Bettas) Spade tail 0 of 1 appears okay
Betta splendens (Bettas) Crown tails 2 of 2 ick, unknown
Rainbowfish: 6 of 9 unknown
Melanotaenia lacustris (turquoise rainbows) 6 of 9 unknown
Cyprinids: 34 of 34 disease and treatment
Puntius semifasciolatus Schuberti (gold barb) 10 of 10 unknown ick treatment
Puntius titteya (Cherry barb) 9 of 9 ick, ick treatment
Puntius tetrazona (Tiger Barb) 3 of 3 unknown
Puntius conchonius (Rosy barb) 6 of 6 ick treatment
Puntius oligolepis (checker barb) 6 of 6 ick, ick treatment
Characins: 0 of 2
Metynnis argenteus (silver dollars) 0 of 2 appears okay
African Cichlids: (Lake Malawi) 0 of 9
Metriaclima estherae (Red x Red Zebra) 0 of 9 appears okay
African Cichlids: (Lake Tanganyika) 0 of 22
Julidochromis dickfeldi 0 of 4 appears okay
Julidochromis marlieri (Gombe) 0 of 3 appears okay
'Lamprologus' multifasciatus 0 of 3 appears okay
Neolamprologus leleupi 0 of 6 appears okay
Neolamprologus pulcher 0 of 4 appears okay
Neolamprologus meeli 0 of 2 appears okay
African Cichlids: 1 of 2 unknown
Astatotilapia aeneocolor (Yellow belly alberts) 1 of 2 unknown
New World Cichlids: 0 of 11
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (German Blue Rams) 0 of 4 appears okay
Amatitlania siquia (honduran red points) 0 of 6 had ick but treated
Laetacara curviceps 0 of 1 had ick but treated
cichlid total 1 of 44

update we lost our male yellow belly Albert but found a turquoise rainbow
Update we lost the rest of our barbs to the ick treatment

Malawi Bloat

2010-11-03T20:49:00.000-04:00

I was doing my weekly water change and I noticed that my female cynotilapia sp hara was sitting on the bottom of the tank with signs of bloat. I took her out to a hospital tank and started treating with jungle lab internal parasite med and epsom salts.

Yellow Belly Albert Spawning

2010-10-31T14:36:00.000-04:00

The Yellow Belly Alberts Spawned today. Well at least went through the motions. I didn't see any milt from the male, but you can see the eggs from the female in the video.

fishdiylive on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

ick cure?

2010-10-31T14:25:00.001-04:00

At first I tried jungle labs ick guard. It appeared to reduce the ick in the barb tank and it didn't look like it did anything in the south american tank. I searched the internet and found that a number of sites that said that the parasite can be eliminated by increasing the heat in the tank and add 4-5 tablespoons of aquarium salt for every 5 gallons of tank water. Well after the a couple of days it appears to be working very well. There is only one South American showing a little bit and it is very reduced from when the treatment started. the internet sites said that The treatment must continue for ten day, so I'm half way done. I will be starting the Barb tank today.

Update
All signs of ick are now gone from the South american tank. I will continue with the heat and salt for the balance of the tens days and will reduce the heat after that as well as doing a 75% water change followed by a 50% water change in one week.
I have had some trouble with the barb tank. The SA tank was running at 92'F so that is what I set the barb tank to and I also put 4 tablespoons per 5 gallons of salt and it appears that I did that too fast and maybe too much salt as I lost all of my Cherry barbs, all of the Rainbow fish that where in the tank, half of my checker barbs and a couple of Rosy barbs. All of my gold barbs appear to be fine.

Camallanus worms

2010-10-27T09:11:00.002-04:00

A couple of the Xiphophorus couchianus that I bought at a recent auction came with a bonus aquatic creature: Camallanus nematodes, (worms). These little parasite worms are nasty little beasts that attach themselves to the gut of the fish and then protrude out the anus of the fish. If you have ever seen them they are nearly impossible to cure in the host fish. I have a 100% death rate on fish that have been infected and are showing adult nematodes.
I have been treating the affected fish by first removing any of the fish that are showing signs of adult nematodes, this is most part to stop them from infecting any the other fish that are not showing signs yet. I then use Jungle labs internal parasite crystals and add it to the tank that the infected fish come from, I do this for the hospital tank that I must the infected fish in, although every fish that has shown signs of infection has died there's always hope that there will be a first. I continue the treatment for 6 days as the direction show treat, wait, treat, wait, treat, water changes are done on wait days and at the end of the treatment. I also feed the original tank with Jungle Labs internal parasite food for three feeding (I only feed ever other day as it appears to increase appetite and reduce food waste) at this point the infected fish seem to allow died and this is the point that I'm at right now. The plan going forward is that in two weeks is to re-medicate the original tank as the meds only treat adult worms and the life cycle for the worms is two weeks from what I can find on the internet. If any new fish show signs of infection they will be removed for the tank. if no new fish show signs of infection after the 2 week treatment, one final treatment will be done two weeks after that.

Ich is spreading...

2010-10-27T08:50:00.000-04:00

The ich has spread. My South American Cichlid tank now has ich, or at least 2 of the 6 fish in the tank do, and it is a fairly obvious case on the 2 with most of their body covered.
It's also in my Barb tank, but it is not that obvious, only a few of my long finned cherry barbs are showing a few white spots on there finnage.

Oktoberfish

2010-10-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

We picked up Metriaclima estherae (Red), Neolamprologus leleupi, Neolamprologus pulcher & a trio of very nice guppies.
We sold a ton of Cichlids

2011 ACA

2010-10-21T08:46:00.000-04:00

I found this video for the 2011 American Cichlid Convention in Washington DC.
I thought it was good, take a look.

Bad luck with Auction fish

2010-10-18T10:05:00.001-04:00

This years group of fish that I have purchased at the recent Auctions have been somewhat disappointing, in that I have a higher than normal amount of disease and die-off.

My Delta blue tail guppies died from a really bad case of Ich, my Xiphophorus couchianus came with Camallanus worms, (nice surprise that was), my Cnesterodon decemmaculatus all slowly die off for no apparent reason as did 2/3 of my Red fluorescent guppies.

Good thing for quarantine tanks as I had all of these in separate tanks.

On a good note it appears that the cichlids that I bought seem to be okay, although they still have a couple of more weeks of quarantine and all but one of my barbs that I bought in Sarnia a month ago are doing fantastic.

Brant October meeting

2010-10-14T09:21:00.000-04:00

Ben and I went to the October meeting of the Brant Aquarium Society. I picked up 3 trios of turquoise Rainbow fish for the growing comp. (1 trio for each child) I got 2 Silver Dollars and 9 Silver mollies, and bought black, Dalmatian and Silver mollies.
If you didn't go to the meeting you can see poor quality video of the meeting on the Video page.

ick ich

2010-10-11T13:58:00.000-04:00

At the Hamilton Auction I got a trio of Delta blue tail guppies. A couple of weeks ago
I got a blue crown tail betta. After the Hamilton auction all of them when into a 5 gallon tank, a couple of days later I noticed that the Betta had ich, but it wasn't a bad case, just barely noticeable.

I started ich treatment. a couple of days later I noticed that the guppies also had ich but it was more advanced than the betta. I continued the treatment but it was all for not as they all died.

Here's a link to some info on ich.

Brant's fish growing contest

2010-10-08T08:04:00.004-04:00

BAS monthly meeting - October 13

Fish Grow Contest

We are challenging everyone to join the fish growing contest. Fish will be available at the meeting next week for $5. the contest will end in May when the fish will be judged to see who "grew" the biggest & best looking fish. More details will be available at the meeting.
To learn more about the Turqoise Rainbowfish - check out this website. fishprofiles.com/profiles/freshwater/Rainbowfish/Melanotaenia_lacustris/

update
I bought 3 sets (of 3) Rainbowfish, 1 for each child. 3 set went into Catie's guppy tank, One set went into Ben Barb tank, and the last set went into Dan Molly tank.
Update x2
Dan's set of 3 seem to be not as health as the other rainbows and did not appear to eat. All 3 have died.
Ben's set of 3 where victims of the ick cure, in the barb tank.

Any port in a storm...

2010-10-06T12:18:00.000-04:00

I had sold a pair of Cynotilapia sp. "North" Burundi Fronts to a co-worker today. She was concerned that the fish not be in a bag all day and that they got some air. Seeing how we don't have regular aquariums at work and that she would need to bring them home, she created her own temporary tank.

It a drawer box from one of our mantel and a corbel ornament. I thought it worked great. It made the fry feel a lot more secure and they seemed to be really comfy with it.

Hamilton & District Auction and Show

2010-10-03T20:12:00.002-04:00

We went to the HDAS auction and show today. We got several new fish and did alright at the show. We placed with 55% of the fish we brought.
I bought Julidochromis dickfeldi, Julidochromis marlieri (Gombe), 'Lamprologus' multifasciatus, Astatotilapia aeneocolor (Yellow belly alberts), Mikrogeophagus ramirezi (German Blue Rams), and some Delta Blue Guppies. My wife bought a Laetacara curviceps thinking that it was an Altolamprologus compressiceps.
We sold a number of bags of fish and got almost nothing for the Livebearers and got a good price for the cichlids we brought.
We only showed 9 fish including the 4 that the kids showed. Daniel got first in Junior and Catie got 3rd in both junior and female betta. We got first in betta female and 2nd in Male betta AOV.

Update
As per usual, Master fish event photographer Zenin has some great photos of the event. You can see them here

New Page added

2010-10-01T11:38:00.003-04:00

I added a new page of photos to the blog. check them out here

London Aquaria Society Show and Auction

2010-09-27T08:42:00.001-04:00

We went to the the London Aquaria Society Show and Auction yesterday and we showed and sold in the auction. We bought 1 pair of neolamprologus meeli, 2 trio of guppies and some floating plants. It was a strange auction in that it was both a sellers and buyers market depending of what you wanted/ had for sale. I got my plants for a $1 a bag but some people paid 3 times as much for the same thing.
As for the show we need okay we won enough to cover the cost of entering, but Catie did really well winning 1st and 2nd in Open Junior and 3rd in female bettas.

Master Fish Event photographer ZeninSkomorowski took some great photos of the London S&A. You can see the here.
( the blue and yellow wooden fish and the pink fish tank pictured where made by Catie and myself)

Septembers 4 Sale list

2010-09-22T10:19:00.003-04:00

I have updated the list of stock I have for sale (see below)

Livebearers

~~Girardinus falcatus adults $2ea (4 F available)~~
Heterandria formosa fry <1/2" $1ea (4 unsexed available)
~~Xiphophorus evelynae adult 1ea (1M 1F available)~~
Xiphophorus alvarezi adults $2ea (2M 3F available)

Cichlids
Protomelas Steveni juvies <2" $3ea (12 available),~~<1" fry $1ea (8 available)~~
~~Metriaclimia Hajomaylandi Adults ~3" $10 group of 3 (1F, 1M 1 Unsexed)~~
Metriaclima lanisticola adults >2" $5ea (2M 3F), ~~juvies <2" $3ea(12 avialable)~~,<1" fry $1ea (12 available)
Otopharynx lithobates Females >2" $5ea (3 available), ~~juvies <2" $3ea(2 available)~~,<1" fry $1ea (12 available)
Pseudotropheus Acei (yellow tail acei) >2" $5ea (2F 3M), ~~juvies <2" $3ea,(12 avaialble)~~<1" fry $1ea (12 available)
~~Cyphotilapia sp. North (Fronts) Burundi Strain juvies ~2" $10ea (10 available)~~
Cynotilapia "zebra hara" Gallireya Reef Males >4" $5 ea (2 available)
~~Labidochromis caeruleus adults ~2” $5ea (2M 2F)~~
~~Placidochromis Phenochilus lupinga Male $10, juvies ~2" $5ea (4 available)~~
Pseudotropheus Pulpican Kingsizei Adult pair $10 pr
Pseudotropheus Acei (white tail acei) Adults $5ea (4 available)

Plecos
Bushynose Pleco ~~adults >3” 5ea, (2F 4M)~~ 1" fry $1ea (4 available)
Albino bushynose Plecos 1" fry $2ea (5 available)

Sarnia Show and auction

2010-09-18T21:55:00.002-04:00

We went to the Sarnia Aquarium Society's Show and Auction today. We picked up a bunch of plastic plants and two new species livebearers and a whole whack of Barbs. We placed 3rd in a few classes and first in betta female.

C.A.R.E.S

2010-09-09T13:35:00.002-04:00

At last night's Brant Aquarium Society (or Club, if you are Klaus Steinhaus) the presentation was about a program called C.A.R.E.S. or Conservation, Awareness, Recognition, Encouragement, and Support. This is an interesting program in that it recognizes hobbyists for breeding and sharing ornamental fish that are extinct or nearly extinct in the wild. Some of these fish are regularly available within the hobby here in southern Ontario. For example, Ameca Splendens are on the list as are Boesemanni Rainbow fish. Until last night I had Ameca Splendens and I have had Boesemanni in the past. Currently the only drawn back is that you have to below to a club that is a "member" of the Program which currently is only Durham here in Canada. I think this program is great and I will be looking for fish on the priority list as I look for new fish to stock my tanks with.

Update
I have added two species from the Prioirity list to the fish room.
Xiphophorus couchianus and Astatotilapia aeneocolor.
I have added a third species Melanotaenia lacustris (the brant fish growing contest fish)

Breeders Trade

2010-08-27T10:53:00.005-04:00

Hello Follow Fish Breeders,
Earlier this week I had my final inspection on 14 of my BAP (Breeder Award Program) entries. It’s now time to move on, so I have decided instead of just selling, I would offer the following for trade.

Livebearers:

~~Ameca Splendens adults >1" , fry <1"~~
~~Girardinus falcatus adults~~
Heterandria formosa fry <1/2"
~~Poecilia Wingei (Endler Livebearers) group of ~20~~
Xiphophorus alvarezi adults
~~Xiphophorus evelynae group of 5~~
~~Xiphophorous maculates (platys) adults~~

Willing to trade for: (adult for adult, fry for fry)

Sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna
Black molly, Poecilia sphenops
Poecilia velifera
Celebes Half Beak, Nomorphamphus liemi
Xiphophorus nezahualcoyotl
Xiphophorus montezumae
Xiphophorus gordoni
Pygmy swordtail, Xiphophorus multilineatus
Gambusia affinis
Gambusia holbrooki
Carlhubbsia stuarti

Or breeding pairs/ groups of:

Black tetra, Gymnocorymbus ternetzi
Bloodfin tetra, Aphyocharax anisitsi
Buenos Aires tetra, Hyphessobrycon anisitsi
Congo tetra, Phenacogrammus interruptus
Serpae tetra, Hyphessobrycon serpae
~~Convict cichlid, Archocentrus nigrofasciatus~~
Keyhole cichlid, Cleithracara maronii
~~Cherry barb, Puntius titteya~~
~~Rosy barb, Puntius conchonius~~
~~Tiger barb, Puntius tetrazona~~
White Cloud Mountain minnow, Tanichthys albonubes
Pearl danio, Danio albolineatus
Leopard danio, Danio rerio
Zebra danio, Brachydanio rerio

Cichlids:

Protomelas Steveni ~~adults >2"~~ juvies <2",<1" fry
~~Metriaclimia Hajomaylandi Adults >2", juvies <2"~~
Metriaclima lanisticola adults >2" , ~~juvies <2"~~ ,<1" fry
Otopharynx lithobates ~~>2" , juvies <2"~~ ,<1" fry
Pseudotropheus Acei (yellow tail acei) >2" , juvies <2" ,<1" fry

Willing to trade for: (adult for adult, fry for fry)

Apistogramma borellii
Apistogramma cacatuoides
Mikrogeophagus altispinosa
Blue acara, Andinoacara pulcher
Redhump eartheater, Geophagus steindachneri
~~Julie cichlid, Julidochromis dickfeldi~~
Lamprologus ocellatus
Neolamprologus leleupi
Neolamprologus pulcher (FEMALE)
Neolamprologus brevis (sunspot brevis)
Tropheus moorii

Or breeding pairs/ groups of:

Paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis
Peaceful betta, Betta imbellis
Betta pugnax
Betta macrostoma
Betta prima
Betta ocellata

Cichlids:

Cyphotilapia sp. North (Fronts) Burundi Strain juvies <2"

breeding pairs/ groups of:

Synodontis multipunctatus
Synodontis petricola
~~Julie cichlid, Julidochromis dickfeldi~~
Lamprologus ocellatus
Neolamprologus leleupi
Neolamprologus pulcher
Neolamprologus brevis (sunspot brevis)
Tropheus moorii

Catfish :

Bristlenose Plecos Fry<1’’

Any other pleco or cory or catfish fry

I’m more than willing to entertain other trades.

Trip to Michigan

2010-08-17T11:49:00.002-04:00

n Aug 12-15 the family and I took a trip to Michigan, specifically to shop for back to school supplies, but any time I get a change to visit a fish store I'll take it.

We got a great rate on a hotel in Canton, outside of Detroit between it and Ann Arbor. Because most of our shopping took us to Ford Rd, I looked for Pet Store near there and found a few.

The first stop was at Pet Supplies Plus, a mid size complete pet store similar to the old Petetera's and Pet Crazy here in Ontario. It had a relatively good selection of equipment at reasonable retail prices. Sale prices seem okay as well.

The had the typical selection of tropical fish found at most mid size stores.

The Next stop was Walmart, which had the same supply of equipment as the Walmart's in Canada but without the livestock. Somewhat surprising to me was the fact that they were competitive with their pricing. $12.97 for a 10 gallon tank, which was the same price as the mid-size pet stores regular price.

The last stop on the first day around Canton was actually in Garden City at Cichlid World.

This is a hard store to describe. As the name would imply this store was an aquarium store only (no cats and dog supplies) From the outside its easy to miss. The parking lot is at the back and the building in all black. From it's outside appearance, my wife decided that she didn't want to go in. On the inside the store is also all black with dozens of dimly lit tanks that were in need of a good clean. That said most of the tank had some nice looking cichlids for the Rift lakes as well as for the Americas. Most were actually adult sized and priced accordingly. This was a very interesting place to visit.

It this point I thought that my fish store sightseeing was done, but I got one surprise when we went to Birch Run. We went to a Meijer's Grocery store which had a pet dept with equipment and livestock that was as good as any of the mid size pet store that I have been in. They had house brand equipment and the livestock display at this store was the cleanest I had seen in Michigan and one of the cleanest I had seen anywhere. That said on our final day in Michigan we went to another Meijer's and it display was far less than stellar.

It appears to me that the people of Michigan have a really good retail source for the hobby.

Youtube and the fish hobby

2010-07-29T12:13:00.000-04:00

You Tube is a great way to find out about fish and share your videos of them. Visiting youtube.com and searching for "fish" yields some interesting results, most are not too usefully to the general aquarist, but there are some ways to improve the results. First there are a number of You Tube channels that are full of interesting videos.

Fish Tanks and Ponds has a large number of very interesting videos about both our indoor and outdoor aquatic fauna.

Monster Fish Keepers has a number of videos on the tankbusters of the hobby. If you like watch arapaima gigas, and who wouldn't, this is the right channel for you.

Practical Fish Keeping has vblog videos available on you tube that can keep you up-to-date on news from around the world.

Tropical Fish Hobbyist also has a considerable amount of videos about a number of interesting topics that anyone interested in the hobby will find worthwhile.

Google can also help find videos for you through its Video search. Be specific. If you want to see videos of Placidochromis Phenochilus, search for that.

Starting Blogging with Bloggers

2010-07-27T13:30:00.000-04:00

Well I have started blogging. This is where I will post my thoughts about the Tropical fish hobby and update my adventures with the hobby.