From NIELSEN's MARINE MATES

from NIELSEN’S MARINE MATES

45 – 47 Beenleigh Redland Bay Road, Loganholme. 4129 www.nielsensmarinemates.com.au Ph 3801 4222

OCEAN NUTRITION RED PLANKTON This food contains FROZEN FOOD an omnivorous copepod called In our April newsletter we were Calanus finmarchicus. This pleased to advise that we were microscopic crustacean is an stocking some of the excellent important part of the marine food Ocean Nutrition Frozen Foods – chain in the North Atlantic Sea. This Black Mosquito Larvae, Cichlid Mix, zooplankton is rich in natural Malawi Mix, Turtle Food and Marine carotenoid pigments that will Quintet. Now we have extended the significantly enhance the colour of range to include the following: your marine organisms. It is easy to FISH EGGS evenly spread this food in your reef Fish eggs are an essential part of tank. Excellent food for your fish, the natural diet of many marine and corals and invertebrates. tropical fish. The Ocean Nutrition CHOPPED COCKLES fish eggs (600–800 micron) are of This cockle meat is well cleaned and marine origin and contain high fresh frozen. This is an excellent levels of the highly unsaturated source of marine protein for a fatty acids. The surrounding variety of marine fish and membrane is a natural guarantee invertebrates and, being a meaty against leaching so assuring optimal type of food, is enjoyed by the more water quality. Fish eggs are suitable carnivorous fish. to feed to almost any marine fish, cichlids and larger freshwater MARINE SPECIAL OF THE tropicals. They are ideal to coax MONTH - HELIOFUNGIA CORAL fussy feeders or new fish to Also known as Mushroom Coral, commence feeding and are said to Heliofungia looks a lot like an promote breeding. anemone, but LOBSTER EGGS has the skeleton Another antioxidant rich food which of a hard coral. is highly taste attractive to marine It is however, a and freshwater fish. Watch your fish solitary coral go nuts for this one! (not reef SPINACH building) and is capable of some Chopped spinach is an excellent movement. For this reason it is best source of fibre that is essential for located on the bottom of the many herbivorous species of fish. aquarium or, if positioned higher in Spinach also contains high levels of the tank, placed behind a rock etc. beta-carotene for colour enhancing. to prevent it falling. Quite an easy A must have food for many marine one to keep and available now in fish such as angels, surgeons/tangs, both light to dark brown and also some African cichlids and all algae green centred. eating fish both freshwater and Normally $39.00 marine. THIS MONTH’S SPECIAL $32.00 (But only while stocks last!)

www.nielsensmarinemates.com.au Ph 3801 4222 SALT WATER TANKS DO NOT FRESHWATER FISH OF THE HAVE TO BE REEF TANKS! MONTH – ZEBRA DANIOS If you’d love a marine tank but are Although strictly speaking a tropical not ready to commit to a reef tank, fish, zebra danios are a hardy little there are alternatives. fish which will tolerate cooler water Amongst the most beautiful groups (although not freezing!). They are of marine fish are the closely related perhaps one the easiest of the angels and butterflies . Many of egglayers to these fish will eat live corals so are breed. Preferring not generally kept in to swim in the reef tanks. However mid-water to they make a surface area of stunning display in a the tank, they look best when kept fish only tank, in schools. Zebra danios are very especially a large active, constantly swimming and tank. If you aspire darting in and out of plants and to one of these rocks. They will eat almost anything tanks, please seek offered but will do best on quality our advice on the flake food with an occasional feeding correct order for of frozen, or even live food. stocking these fish Usually $3.60 each as some are more ZEBRA DANIOS THIS MONTH territorial than others. These are ARE $2.90 EACH. some of the most stunning of all FRESHWATER PLANT OF THE marine fish but MONTH – THIN VALLISNERIA unfortunately they This is a very versatile eat live coral so plant which can be generally are a no-no in reef tanks. used in a tropical or However they make a beautiful cold water aquarium display, especially in a larger tank. and also in an outdoor Another alternative is the predator pond. It is a tall tank . This type of growing plant, which tank allows you to looks great planted keep exciting things across the back of the aquarium. such as Port Jackson Unlike many aquatic plants which or Epaulette Sharks, grow from cuttings, Vallisneria Moray Eels, grows on a runner. It is sold in Lionfish, Harlequin bunches and can be planted as is, Tusks and other but can also be separated out and large growing cod, planted as individual plants. If the wrasse etc. which plant grows too tall, it can be are often just too trimmed from the top, but the predatory for a community tank and offcuts will not grow if replanted. It put out too much waste for a coral can be successfully kept with most tank. fish, even with plant destroyers such Either tank is a great introduction to as gold fish and with many cichlids. keeping marines and can be just as Normally $5.50 per bunch. interesting as a coral tank. JUNE SPECIAL $4.50

www.nielsensmarinemates.com.au Ph 3801 4222 MAKING USE OF Also excellent algae eaters are the FRESHWATER CATFISH Bristlenose Catfish . These fish can Whilst catfish are an interesting live up to 12 years and commonly group of fish to keep, most do not exceed 10 – 12 cm. They are aquarists know them for their South American in origin ‘cleaning’ abilities. These are usually and are relatively easy to divided into either algae eaters or breed. The males present substrate scavengers (although with a mouth full of some fall in to the grey area ‘whiskers’ whilst the between the two). females only have a few. A well known group is the Their sharp dorsal spine easily Corydoras catfish. These South becomes entangled when netting, so American fish come in a huge care is needed. The standard colour number of varieties. Most often seen also has an albino or golden version are the Albino, Bronze and Peppered and the more spotted Peppermint Catfish. Bristlenose. Whiptail catfish are also a larger growing algae eater. These slender, graceful fish are very peaceful and make a beautiful addition to the topical aquarium. Whilst these are the most common, Staying with the algae eaters, some varieties of Corydoras are Otocinclus and Siamese Flying quite rare and are considered Fox are two collector’s fish. Corydoras are great smaller varieties scavengers and are constantly busy of catfish which fossicking around in the gravel for are good for uneaten food. They are a very cleaning algae peaceful fish, both with their own from the leaves of species and others, and are a plants, without damaging the plant perfect addition to a tropical itself. Both also do a great job of aquarium. cleaning the aquarium glass. Sucker mouth catfish are another An interesting catfish is the Cuckoo group commonly seen in the Catfish . This fish can grow to 12cm aquarium. These are useful as algae or more and is often kept in African eaters. From South East Asia are Cichlid tanks particularly Malawi or the common Sucking Catfish , Tanganyikan cichlids. Whilst it can sometimes called Sucking Loach. be kept singly it displays best in a These scaleless fish can grow quite small shoal and will be constantly large in time but do a good job of turning over the substrate, using its scraping algae off the glass. They barbels or whiskers to fossick for are not recommended to keep with food amongst large slow-swimming fish such as the sand or Discus and Goldfish as they will pebbles. Cuckoo often suck on catfish are like to the sides of the bird of the these types of same name and fish. The will deposit their eggs to be common variety is brown and there incubated by other fish, usually is also a gold colour version. mouthbrooding cichlids.

www.nielsensmarinemates.com.au Ph 3801 4222 RED SEA COMPLETE REEF CLEANERS FOR THE PROGRAM - TRIAL SIZES NOW MARINE TANK AVAILABLE There are many marine fish which will Between March 2011 and June 2011 happily chew away at algae, mostly we ran a series of articles in our green. These include angels, tangs or newsletters on the Red Sea surgeons and some blennies. Complete Reef Program with a The goby and sleeper family have some fish which ‘sift’ the substrate through follow up on the progress of coral their gills to find food and will, as a growth in the September 2011 consequence, clean the sand and also issue. You can access copies of inhibit algae on the bottom by these back issues by visiting our constantly breaking it up. One of the website: most attractive of this group is the www.nielsensmarinemates.com.au Golden Headed and clicking on the Newsletter Sleeper . These Archive located on the right hand peaceful fish can be side of the home page. kept singly or in Previously most of the additives pairs and do a great were available only in 500ml bottles. job of cleaning up. In addition, there are two molluscs Now Red Sea has released the Red which are outstanding algae eaters: Sea Coral Colours A, B, C and D in a STROMB SHELLS trial pack containing one bottle of These often hard-to-get molluscs are each, four in total, in a 100ml size great because they eat heaps of algae for only $31.99 . In addition the but only from the substrate. They are Reef Energy trial pack, containing not climbers so will not knock down Reef Energy A & B in the 100ml size corals etc. Fascinating to watch and is now available for $25.99 . This is always busy – worth their weight in an ideal opportunity to try these gold. We have managed to get a good outstanding products and are also supply of Strombs this month and are perfect for those of you with small offering them, this month only, for $15.00 (normally $18.00). or nano tanks which do not require TROCHUS SHELLS big dosages of additives. Huge eaters of algae and will chomp their way along the glass as well as NEW RED SEA TEST KITS over rocks etc. Whilst you To supplement their range of high may not see these on a daily quality test kits most suited to those basis, they will be busy with coral tanks, Red Sea have now eating away somewhere in introduced their standard range of the tank and will pop up when least kits especially for marine tanks not expected. requiring such precise testing. The PEPPERMINT SHRIMP following are now available: Best known as eaters of nuisance anemones (aiptasia), pH/kH Kit $29.99 these are also very NO 3/NO 2 Nitrite/Nitrate - $37.50 ornamental – but can NH 3/NH 4 Ammonia/Ammonium - not be mixed with $29.99 toothy fish! A multi test Marine Care Test Kit, testing Are you registered for our newsletter? If not, send an email to for NO 2, NO 3, NH 3, [email protected] NH 4 and pH/kH is now or register next time you are in the store. Also, don’t forget to pick up your Rewards Card also available. and start collecting Rewards stamps NOW!