May / June 2007

VOLUME 56 / ISSUE 3

Velvet

In This Issue

DWARF BAENSCHI ______

Apistogramma baenschi WORD SEARCH & NAS WORD JUMBLE

THE JOURNAL OF THE NORWALK SOCIETY CELEBRATING 56 YEARS

NAS WHO’S WHO

NAS Officers and Directors

President: Barry Lynch ------(203) 637-2616 ------Vice President: Sal Silvestri ------(203) 984-8626 [email protected] Treasurer: Charlie Sundberg ------(845) 635-3016 [email protected] Membership Secretary: Ken Purcaro------(860) 582-8449 [email protected] Recording Secretary: Cathy Chapkovich ----- (203) 734-7833 [email protected] Asst. Recording Secretary: Linda Van Reet -- (203) 335-9371 [email protected] Sergeant at Arms: Steve Ng ------(203) 746-8577 [email protected] Director: Doug Kneissl ------(203) 934-2559 [email protected] Director: Dan McKercher ------(203) 949-1149 [email protected] Director: Dick Moore------(845) 278-0261 [email protected] Director: Maryanne Naylor ------(203) 949-1149 [email protected] Director: Rich Weglinski ------(203) 866-5973 [email protected] Director: Bob McKeand ------(203) 531-6643 [email protected] Past President: John Chapkovich------(203)734-7833 [email protected]

Director Emeritus: Diane Adinolfi Ira Freidman Sal Silvestri Jack Adinolfi Don Barbour Anne Broadmeyer Ed Katuska

Chairpersons: Advertising: Charlie Sundberg Alt. NEC Delegate: Maryanne Naylor BAP: Barry Lynch Programs: Sal Silvestri By-Laws: Barry Lynch Publicity: Charlie Sundberg Membership: Ken Purcaro Refreshments: Dick Moore Good Will Ambassador: Don Barbour Webmaster: Cathy Chapkovich Good Will & Welfare: Wilma Barbour Assistant Webmaster: John Chapkovich Manufacturer Relations: Barry Lynch Special Events: Dan McKercher Show Chairperson: Cathy Chapkovich Special Events Assist: Ken Purcaro NEC Delegate: Bob Alberino Wet Pet Gazette Editor: Cathy Chapkovich

Wet Pet Gazette Editorial Policy Affiliations The views expressed in this publication are the N.A.S. is a member of The Northeast Council of views of the author(s), and are not necessarily Aquarium Societies, INC (NEC) the views of the Norwalk Aquarium Society, it Officers, Directors, or Editorial staff. We re- serve the right to reject any article which in Cover Photographs our opinion is offensive, and / or does not pro- Acquired by Cathy Chapkovich mote the aquarium hobby.

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IN THIS ISSUE WET PET GAZETTE FEBRUARY & MARCH 2007

A VIEW FROM UP FRONT - Barry Lynch 4 EDITORALLY SPEAKING - Cathy Chapkovich 5 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 6 NAS WORD JUMBLE - Doug Kneissl 7 DWARF CICHLIDS - APISTOGRAMMA BAENSCHI - John Krol 8 A TRIP TO QUINCY MARKET & THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM - 10 Ken Purcaro BAP REPORT - Barry Lynch 12 BAP POINT STANDING - Barry Lynch 13 BREEDER OF THE YEAR - 2007 —- Competition Standings 14 AQUARIUM WORD SEARCH - Doug Kneissl 15 NAS BAP Classification List - Barry Lynch 16 ASK KC - Cathy Chapkovich 17 TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF GUPPY BREEDING–Cathy Chapkovich 18 ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, CLASSIFIEDS 19

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE The Norwalk Aquarium Society is a not-for-profit, all volunteer organization, dedicated to the advance- ment and promotion of the aquarium hobby.

REPRINT POLICY Unless noted by copyright, articles from this publication may be reprinted by not-for-profit aquarium societies. You are required to acknowledge the source and send two (2) copies to NAS. Mail to: NAS P.O. Box 84, South Norwalk, CT. 06856

GENERAL MEETINGS Regular meetings are held the third Thursday of each month (except July & December) at Earth Place, The Nature Discovery Center, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, CT. Each meeting includes a short busi- ness meeting, program or event, door prizes, raffle, auction, and refreshments. All regular meetings are open to the public to attend.

PAGE 4 A VIEW FROM UP-FRONT By: Barry Lynch - NAS President

This “View” is a review of the highlights of an excellent first half year for NAS.

Programs: Sal Silvestri has done a great job in lining up topnotch speakers for the general meetings. The first five meetings were graced by:

January: Al Sabetta “Discus Raising Angel Fry” February: Chris Baumgartner “Basic Fish Anatomy” March: Andre Carletti “Killifish” April: Leo Buss “Genetic Defects in Line Breeding” May: Ed Champigny “Koi: Born & Raised in America”

We are grateful to all five speakers for the educational and entertaining programs they provided. I also note the special treat provided by Al Sabetta. Al surprised us all with numerous beautiful young adult angels and discus donated (or offered 50/50) to the mini-auction.

BAP: In my six years with NAS, I’ve never seen a BAP year like this one promises to be. After only five meetings, we’ve already had eleven different participants including four first-timers! The 28 sub- mitted entries represent a wide diversity of fish made available to the membership. The 2007 Breeder of the Year competition is proving to be especially exciting with at least six participants pos- sessing a realistic chance of winning the award.

The Wet Pet Gazette: Our new Editor, Cathy Chapkovich, has really revved up production of the Wet Pet. We’re on a pace for six issues this year - this one being the third. Once again, this is unparalleled in my six year experience with NAS.

The NAS Board: In my previous “View”, I noted how pleased I was that, for the first time in several years, all thirteen Board positions were filled. I am sorry to say that our Membership Secretary and my good friend, John Krol, has since resigned as he prepares to move to North Carolina. I am happy to announce that Ken Purcaro has been appointed the new Membership Secretary and that Bob McKeand has been appointed to fill Ken’s vacated Director position. In short, we continue to be fully staffed.

Special Events: I have previously reported in detail the very enjoyable Holliday Party hosted by Cathy Chapkovich at Earthplace in January and the successful Benefit Auction conducted on behalf of Earth- place in February. I must now report that the New England Aquarium Day Trip put together by Dan McKercher was simply a wonderful experience for the 35 participants. The day was beautiful, the ex- hibits fascinating, the company great. Dan put significant time and effort into setting up and coordinat- ing the trip co-hosted by NAS and Aqua-Land. The trip was well-planned, well-cordinated and went off without hitch. Thanks, Dan!

A Brief Look Ahead: The second half of 2007 promises more of the same. Sal has locked in top notch speakers for the rest of the year. Conversations with BAP participants reveal there are many more fish entries to come. And, of course, the Annual Show and Auction looms ahead. This one should be spe- cial as the Connecticut Betta Club will simultaneously host an IBC-sanctioned betta show on premises.

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EDITORALLY SPEAKING By Cathy Chapkovich - Editor

Well here we are again. It’s hard to believe that it’s time to put another issue of the Wet Pet together again and get the ball rolling in full motion for our annual show and auction. As always I am looking for volunteers to help out. Last year the show and auction went off without a hitch or any complaining about the lack of help to set up. I would really like to see that happen again this year. Please help out and support the club. You can talk to me about it anytime. I would like to thank Doug Kneissl for his two puzzles that he submitted. It is very appreciated to have members submit to the Wet Pet. Doug has done a few articles in the past also, and it is nice to see that he can create some additional things for our enjoyment. He refused to give me the answers to the puzzles till it is time to put together the next issue. I think he is afraid I might cheat on the puzzles. He may be right, but I won’t admit it. Ken Purcaro has submitted some nice pictures from the road trip to Quincy Market and the Bos- ton that we took with our sister club Aqua Land. Unfortunately, John and I were un- able to go; we were on our way to Branson, Missouri that day. From my understanding, everyone had a terrific time. Thank you Ken for sharing your pictures with us. Speaking of special events – Dan McKercher is working on putting together a deep sea fishing trip for Sunday July 22. If you are interested in going speak with Dan for the details. The PVAS is hosting its annual picnic on August 18th for all sister clubs – families & friends invited – they ask that you bring a dish with you to share. See the Calendar of Events page for location. On the other side of the coin, a lot of members have voiced their concerns about the monthly meetings running so late. On defense of the president and past presidents, the meetings have started late due to members showing up late. They have waited for people to show up to start the meetings. At the last board meeting, it was decided that the meetings would start as close to 8pm as possible. If there are only 2 members in attendance, the meeting will still start at 8:00. This is to insure that we can get the speaker started close to 8:30 and give people time to socialize. I agree with those that have complained about the meetings running late, especially for those of us that travel a distance to get to the meetings. It makes it a longer trip home when the meeting runs past 10:00 and you have to drive home and get up to go to work the next day. (I am lucky here, I still haven’t found a job yet so I do get to sleep in if the dogs don’t wake me up. ------Right……….)

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS SUPPORT YOUR SISTER SOCIETIES

June 7 NAS Board Meeting Location: Rich Weglinski 21 NAS General Meeting Speaker - Mo Devlin: “Today in the Fish Room” TBD NAS Show & Auction Committee Meeting

July NO GENERAL MEETING HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 22 Deep Sea Fishing Trip: Talk to Dan McKercher 203/949-1149 for more info. TBD NAS Show & Auction Committee Meeting

August 16 NAS General Meeting Speaker - Al DiSpigna: “Saltwater” 18 PVAS Pinic TBD NAS Show & Auction Committee Meeting

September TBD NAS Show & Auction Committee Meeting 19 NAS General Meeting Speaker - TBD 26 & 27 NAS Show Set-up 28 Show Entries beginning to be set-up 29 NAS Aquarium Show Judges Diner 30 NAS Annual Auction

October 14 New Hampshire Aquarium Society Auction - Newington, N.H. nhaquariumsociety.com 17 NAS General Meeting Speaker - TBD 21 Danbury Area Aquarium Society Auction northeastcouncil.org/daas 26 NJAS “MEGA” Aquarium Weekend 29 NJAS Auction www.njas.net

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NAS JUMBLE Unscramble the letters to reveal words related to and the aquarium hobby. Unscramble the letters on the shaded lines to complete the sentence.

PEDYSME ______

IWRTCNOLA ______

OUIEBKRTFIT ______

SRAOC _ _ _ _ _

IAANHRP ______

Norwalk in September means ______!

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Dwarf Cichlids Apistogramma Baenschi

By:

John Krol

Dwarf cichlids need running room, they may be dwarf in size but they make up for that by their de- meanor. They have attitude! How much attitude. Picture a 1-1/4” N. Anomala female beating the heck out of a 6 to 8 inch Oscar. POOR OSCAR!! He never got to see the flash of lightning that was beating on him. While Oscar never got to move out of the upper corner of that 55 gal, and was fine as long as his beady eyes were looking up, but the moment his eyes started looking towards the bottom, there was that flash of lightning inflicting a great deal of damage!

Anyway this was my first year in the tropical fish hobby and unbeknownst to me the N. Amomala had spawned and a few days later there were free swimming fry. Oscar was sent to fish heaven by that diminutive Anomala female and this hobbyist was captured by dwarf cichlids!

Three decades later I am still captivated, while I’ve kept the wide spectrum of tropical fish, as well as cold water fish which did on their own despite being fixated on the dwarfs.

Now when it comes to dwarf cichlids (My Love, My Passion) I’ve listened to a number of presenta- tions, and generally I shut down and disregard the speakers when I hear “You can keep them in a 10 gal tank! For Pete’s Sake, take a hint from the German hobbyists and the Lieden style of fish keeping. It is not that they want to keep 2 or 3 fish in a heavily planted 55/70/90 gal tank; it is that the dwarf cichlids need that room! So one is faced with a choice. Give them their space or keep replacing the D.O.A’s, or just stay away from them. Are the heavily planted tanks with 2 or 3 fish in them worth the effort? In this hobbyist’s eyes most certainly so!!!

So, to continue, A. Baenschi (a.k.a A. Sp Inca) is one of the newer Apistos in the hobby. A. Baenschi proved to be an easy spawner at a PH of 6.8, KH 1, GH 1, but was also demanding. A male and two females proved to be one too many in a 55 gal planted tank. When I acquired them my tank space was limited. Decisions, decisions, decisions! I had not worked with them before, and had no useful infor- mation as to their needs. Were they black water or whitewater species? All my 33 longs were already occupied, I had a 20 long which was empty, and OK that’s good for a pair, what about the other four fish. The only other possibility was my 55 gal highfin lyre tail swordfish tank. They were born and raised in the 55 gal. The following morning I was Panicking. A number of the livebearers were dead! I sat down, had a couple of cups of coffee and ½ pack of cigarettes and watched this tank. The A. Baenschi (or my term for them Banshee) were fortunate for not being thrown against the wall!!

I had raised the high fin lyre tail swords for a year and the one male and 2 female Baenschi I put in the tank (the second male was in a breeding net) were slicing and dicing the livebearers at a phenome- nal rate. I had to take action; the remaining livebearers had to be pulled. I spent a few days cursing myself, the Baenschi and circumstances in general. While I was using the double bet method i.e. one large stationary net and a smaller chaser net, the tank had a great deal of planted matter and the swords

PAGE 9 knew their way around the tank all together too well! Whatever evaded capture would be at the mercy of the Baenschi. I believe I spent 2 days catching the swordtails. The Baenschi were very efficient and by the end of third day the rest of the swords were gone. Of the 30 or so swordtails 17 met their end on be- half of three Baenschi.

After approximately 5 ½ months of keeping the Baenschi and numerous spawns. I can safely say. “Give them space” In the end 2 males and 1 female did each other in. The 20 long pair didn’t last 3 days (male was found dead). I can not say what happened in that tank, but I’ve spent numerous hours daily watch- ing the happenings of the 55. The Original male was killed of by a brood caring female. The backup male from the breeder net was put in. The remaining female from the 20 gal was put in the breeder net. Two weeks later the backup male killed of a female. My fault I believe, since I did a 40% water change and did not realize she was brood caring. That spawn was a failure and the male took vengeance on that female. Why didn’t I catch her? On approach to the tank the fish would disappear into the rockwork. If you have ever worked with Apistos, you’re aware that they are masters of camouflage and I did not see her or the brood.

I decided to leave the unproven female in the breeding net and the remaining pair now has approxi- mately 20 juvenile Baenschi to pick on as I am awaiting the emergence of a new batch of free swim- ming fry. Four days for the eggs to hatch and 4-6 days for them to become free swimming.

Of the approximately 60 plus species of Apistos that I have kept; only A. Althualpa can rival A. Baen- schi temperament. Hopefully the 6 specimens that I’ve worked with are the exception rather than the rule!!!

Judging from the growth rate of the Baenschi fry, I’d have to say the majority of the fry are females, which is perfectly fine by me, as most of the wild caught livestock received are predominantly male populations.

Apistogramma baenschi - Male

Apistogramma baenschi - Female

PAGE 10 A Trip to Quincy Market & The New England Aquarium Photos by: Ken Purcaro

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Alligator Turtle - Leo Buss Can get Leo was our speaker in April on up to “The Consequences of Communal In- 200lbs cest”. His presentation was very inter- esting and presented in such a manner that he made it very easy to understand without having to have a science back- ground. He enjoyed us as much as we enjoyed having him, that he donated his time for the presentation and decided to take a membership in lieu of a presenta- tion fee. Thank Leo and we are very happy to have you as part of commu- nity.

——————

“Shepard’s on the Hill Trout Hatchery” Pictures taken by Cathy Chapkovich

My Apologizes for not having pictures of the last 2 meetings. The battery was low in the camera & the pictures did not come out very well. In place of the monthly meeting pictures I will share some of the pictures take at Shepard's on the Hill Hatchery in Bran- son Missouri during John’s and my Va- cation.

PAGE 12 THE NORWALK AQUARIUM SOCIETY BAP REPORT By: Barry Lynch

Approaching 100: Entering 2007, 95 NAS members had participated in the BAP program. I set what I thought was a rather ambitious goal of reaching the magic figure of 100 by year’s end. As re- ported in my last report, first-time participants Cathy Chapkovich and Rich Weglinski increased the total to 97. I am pleased to say that two new participants brought in entries to the May general meet- ing. Peggy Heckler brought some beautiful black (black marble and black lace) angels. Doug Kneissl brought some really nice green Aeneus corys. Assuming the math is correct, we now stand at 99 participants. Who will bring us to 100? Time will tell.

Breeder of the Year Competition - 2007. In its third year, this year’s Breeder of the Year competi- tion is showing signs of being the best yet. Member participation increased from 7 in 2005 to 12 in 2006. Through the first five months of 2007, there already have been 11 participants. Also, the 28 entries submitted to date puts us on a pace to break last year’s record total of 53 entries. Finally, this year’s competition is showing signs of being the most competitive one yet. Last year, my 20 entries effectively eliminated all competition. This year it would appear that at least six participants have a reasonable chance of winning the award. While past winners John Chapkovich and I are in the run- ning, I personally predict a new winner for the third straight year. The current Breeder of the Year standings follow this report.

Awards: Two BAP awards have been earned since my last report. Both Cathy Chapkovich and the team of Dan McKercher & Maryanne Naylor have earned the first level (50 points) Breeder award. What impresses me the most is the variety of their respective entries - ancistrus, cichlids, corys, killies, livebearers and rainbows. This leads me to suspect that the Breeder award will not be the last award won by them.

BAP Points Standing: An updated BAP Point Standings for current NAS members follows this re- port.

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BAP POINT STANDINGS - CURRENT NAS MEMBERS Date: 5/17/07

Participant Breeder Award Species Pts Bonus Pts Total Points

Sal Silvestri Expert 1545 515 2060

Bob McKeand Grandmaster 855 620 1475

Don Barbour Expert 1055 170 1225

Barry Lynch Master 475 80 555

Ed Katuska Grandmaster 470 40 510

Anne & Mark Broadmeyer Breeder 280 25 305

Rich Grenfell Grandmaster 260 45 305

John Chapkovich Senior 270 10 280

Dick Moore Breeder 165 90 255

Steve Ng Senior 185 20 205

Jack Adinolfi Senior 120 20 140

Joe Masi Breeder 85 10 95

Dan McKercher & Breeder 70 10 80

Maryanne Naylor

Ed Schildnecht Breeder 70 70

Charlie Sundberg Breeder 60 60

Cathy Chapkovich Breeder 50 50

Pete Izzo 20 10 30

Bob Alberino 20 20

Rich Weglinski 15 15

Peggy Heckler 10 10

Doug Kneissl 10 10

Ed Peters 10 10

Sue & Scott Reed 10 10

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NAS BAP PROGRAM BREEDER OF THE YEAR - 2007

Cathy Chapkovich 5 entries Corydoras aeneus Albino Aeneus Cory Corydoras paleatus Long-Fin Peppered Cory Melanotaenia boesemani Boesemani Rainbow Pterophyllum scalare Black Marble Angelfish Xenotoca eiseni Red-Tailed Goodeid Barry Lynch 5 entries Ameca splendens Butterfly Goodeid Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum Convict Cichlid Gambusia affinis Mosquitofish Girardinus metallicus Metallic Girardinus taenia Banded Bob McKeand 4 entries Aphyosemion australe Lyretail Killy Fundulopanchax gardneri Steel-Blue Killy Poecilia heterandria Venezuela Molly Rivulus geayi Chevron Rivulus Dan McKercher & Maryanne Naylor 4 entries Ancistrus dolichopterus Big-fin Bristlenose Aphyosemion australe Lyretail Killy Labidochromis sp :Blue/White Tanzania” White Lab Poecilia sphenops Balloon Molly Bob Alberino 3 entries Ameca splendens Butterfly Goodeid Poecilia wingei Endler’s Livebearer Xiphophorus helleri Red Wag Swordtail John Chapkovich 2 entries Julidochromis transcriptus Masked Julie Limia tridens Tiburon Limia Don Barbour 1 entry splendens Neolamprologus helianthus Peggy Heckler 1 entry Pterophyllum scalare Black Lace Angelfish Doug Kneissl 1 entry Corydoras aeneus Green Aeneus Cory Charlie Sundberg 1 entry Haplochromis obliquidens Zebra Obliquidens Rich Weglinski 1 entry Julidochromis transcriptus Masked Julie

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AQUARIUM WORD SEARCH by: Doug Kneissl Doug will publish the answers in the next issue of the Wet Pet

S D T N M U P L E C O L K J T Y W S F R B A S S W O R D T A I L V D E F I L T E R O D I T O H D W E Y U J M E W H J K Y O R H R G R R N J I B E T T A W X B V A C A K G H U A S Q U A R D F V L A K I L N C R M R K P H G T V A A L J N A R Q G E R K M G U A P I S T O O B O L T W T G K U W B S R S M Y M P W S N R E J E I E E P S E U G A M N D K O Y C E E J A Q K R M W A I B I V S N O E N N A M G C V A A C H G Y J B K E E B N Y G B R O I A A S K H L P H U L U L G H U T E D D I T I M X M A P L N H E W G H U F C M I F H F J O R A N D A Z Y N A D U I C O R Y G U R V S G H G L J F S E C W T O L N K N T Y C G S J R E D B U P S J Y R P P V L D B U T T I K O F E R I M T A N K H S I F I L L I K T M L S C V I E O K U D Q U C N H K L G O U R A M I I L D K I L X

A E T U J M O L L Y B K L I K H W D X Z C

AIRSTONE EGGLAYER NEON ALGAE FILTER ORANDA ANUBIAS GOURAMI OSCAR APISTO GRAVEL PLAKAT BETTA GUPPY PLECO BUBBLENEST JAVAMOSS TANK BUTTIKOFERI KILLIFISH TIGERBARB CONVICT MALAWI WATERCHANGE CORY MOLLY PLUS ONE NAS MEMBERS FIRST & DEMPSY NEMO LAST NAME

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NAS BAP FISH CLASSIFICATION LIST NOTE: An Asterisk (*) indicates some members of the family or are in a different class.

This list is for reference only. Please check with the BAP Chairperson for any changes. Class A (5 points) Brachydanio Carassius Cichlasoma* Gambusia Goodeids* Killies* Laetacara Limia Poecilia Tanichthys Xiphophorus Class B (10 points) Anableps Archocentrus Astatotilapia Aulonocara Barbs* Belonesox Betta* Brachyrhapsis Characins* Chromidotilapia Cichlasoma* Colisa* Copadichromis Corydoras* Cyntilapia Enantiopus Etroplus Geophagus Goodeids* Haplochromis Hemichromis Heros Iodotropheus Killies* Koi Labeotropheus Labidochromis Lipochromis Melanochromis Melanotaenia* Nannacara* Nimbrochromis* Pelvicachromis* Phallichthys Protomelas Pseudotropheus Pterophyllum Thorichthys* Tilapia* Trichogaster Trichopsis Class C (15 points) Altolamprologus Ancistrus Apistogramma* Badis Bedotia Betta* Characins* Cichlasoma* Colisa* Corydoras* Crenicara Ctenopoma Cyprichromis Hypostomus Julidochromis Killies* Lamprologus Lepidiolamprologus Limnotilapia Loricaridae Melanotaenia* Microgeophagus Nannacara* Monochromes Neolamprologus* Nicralestes Nimbochromis* Paracyprichromis Pelvicachromis* Thorichthys* Tinfoil Barbs Class D (20 points) Anostomous Apistogramma* Dermogenys Hoplosternum Labeo Lamprichthys Loaches* Megalechis Neolamprologus* Pantodon Rasbora Sphaerichthys Sturisoma Symphysodon Synodontis* Taeniacara Tateurndina Tetras* Tilapia* Toxotes Class E (50 points) Arrowana Biotodoma Botia Coius Distochodus Monodactylidae Pangio Scatophagidae Synodontis*

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KC (aka Krazy Cat) He will try to answer your questions to the best of his ability. If he can't, he will find someone with the answers. So if you have a question for KC, please E-Mail him in care of Cathy at [email protected] — please refer your questions to KC of the Wet Pet. Thank You

Apistogramma baenschi Specifications

Scientific Name: Apistogramma baenschi Common Name: Inca Apistogramma Geographic Location: Middle Rio Huallaga (Peru) : Still or slow moving water with root tangles Diet: Ominvore Gender Differences: Dimorphic Breeding: Cave Spawner Temperament: Peaceful Conspecific Temperament: Mildly aggressive Maximum Size: 3.5” Temperature: 800F pH: less than 7 Water Hardness: Soft

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AQUARIUM TERMS

The following terms are from “Dictionary of Aquarium Terms” by John H. Tullock – published by Barron’s Educational Series, Inc, 2000

Activated carbon: A filtering medium prepared by exposing organic materials such as bones or coconut shells to high temperatures and steam; this highly porous mate- rial absorbs dissolved organic compounds and large ions, such as iodide, from aquarium water

Algae: Any of a wide variety of photosynthetic organisms lacking a vascular system; may be unicellular, filamentous, or, in the case of seaweeds, large and complex in form

Algae-eater: Any species of fish or invertebrate that feeds on encrusting and filamen- tous algae; introduced into the aquarium primarily for control of such growths

Anabantid: Referring to any of the labyrinth fish, Family Anabantidae, freshwater spe- cies characterized by an organ that permits them to breathe atmospheric oxygen

Biotope: A specific portion of an ecosystem, defined by the physical conditions and types of organisms usually found, and generally limited in extent, geographically; are frequently designed to represent a particular .

Cichlid: Any member of the large Family Cichlidae, distribute from Central and South America to Africa and Asia; a wide variety of feeding and habi- tat preferences may be found in this group, but the numerous species are united by anatomical similarities and extensive parental care of the eggs and young

Daphnia: The most commonly encounter genus of water fleas, often cultivated as food for fish or their fry

Dither fish: Those placed in the same aquarium with a potential breeding pair to en- courage the latter to spawn by giving them a sense of security necessary for suc- cessful parenting; may also serve as a “target” for the displacement of aggressive behavior between a potential breeding pair

Dwarf cichlid: Any of the freshwater fish of the genus Apistogramma, together with the related genera, seldom reaching over three inches (7.6 cm) in length and native

PAGE 19

to Central and South America

Endangered species: One recognized under law as so imperiled that a single event could render it extinct in the wild; also applied by ecologists to any species consid- ered in peril of extinction, regardless of its legal status

Extinction: The loss of a species from its ecosystem

Family: A group of related genera

Freshwater: Water of low salinity, lacking significant amounts of the anions fluoride, chloride, bromide, and iodide

Habitat: The geographic locality, together with its biological components, in which a species is typically found

Hard water: Water that contains dissolved salts of calcium and magnesium in a con- centration greater than 200 part per million

Hybrid: The offspring resulting from crossbreeding between two different species

Live-bearer: Any of the fish in Family Poecillidae, including many popular aquarium species such as the guppy, platy, swordtail, and molly, that give birth to live young

Mouthbrooder: Any fish, but particularly certain cichlids, in which the fertilized eggs are incubated within the oral cavity of a parent

Nocturnal: Active primarily during the hours of darkness

Quarantine tank: An aquarium intended for the temporary housing of any living speci- men to assess its state of health before exhibition in a display tank in order to pre- vent transmission of disease to specimens already there

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Welcome to Earthplace, a haven for those who love nature.

Grounds open daily 7 AM - dusk Building: 9 AM - 5 PM Monday-Saturday, 1 - 4 PM Sunday

10 Woodside Lane P.O. Box 165 Westport, Connecticut 06881 203-227-7253 [email protected] Admission: $7 Adults and children over 12, $5 Children 1—12 yrs & Seniors

PAGE 22

THEY HELP US, LETS HELP THEM PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

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YOUR ADVERTISMENT CAN APPEAR HERE

ADVERTISMENT RATES:

BUSINESS CARD SIZE: $10.00

1/4 PAGE SIZE: $25.00

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FULL PAGE SIZE: $75.00

Rates are for 1 year Make Checks payable to: NAS

For information on advertising contact: Cathy @ 203/734-7833 or 1-866-219-4NAS (toll free) E-mail: [email protected] please refer for “advertising in Wet Pet”

REMINDERS

NAS AQUARIUM SHOW & JUDGES DINER SEPT 29, 2007

NAS ANNUAL AUCTION SEPT 30, 2007

NAS meets the third Thursday of every month (except July & Dec.) at Earthplace, The Nature Discovery Center, 10 Woodside Lane, Westport, CT. Free admission—Public welcome Raffles, door prizes, guest speakers, refreshments and more.

THE WET PET GAZETTE NORWALK AQUARIUM SOCIETY P.O. Box 84 SOUTH NORWALK, CT 06854

FIRST CLASS MAIL ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED