The Clown Loach
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Products to try for your koi Pond!...Pg38 January/February ‘20 Vol. 11/No. 01 THE ISHKEEPER For theF Aquarist: Freshwater & Marine The website for the aquarist fishkeeper.co.za The Clown Loach Tips for keeping nocturnal fish in the marine aquarium! Bottom of the tank: Driftwood Catfish! Reef friendly Triggerfish! Keeping Kribs! the racoon Butterflyfish! Page 28 Page 34 www.thefishkeeper.co.za January/February 2020 the fishkeeper1 While mandarins are often found in small groups or pairs in the wild, males are intolerant of each other in the confines of an aquarium. May/June 2019 issue out now! Terrarium Plants 101...pg28 Should I Feed Mice or Rats?...pg04 Subscribe online at Vol. 13 | No. 03 | May/June 2019 The Bamboo www.ultimateexotics.co.za Ratsnake care and breeding The Bushmaster (Lachesis) WOMA HUSBANDRY AND CAPTIVE BREEDING the #1 reptile and exotic pet website Ultimate .co.za INTRODUCTION exotics TO BLUE TONGUE SKINKS Tarantula Cages Pg. 38 Pg. 08 [email protected] www.thefishkeeper.co.za 2 the fishkeeper January/February 2020 For the Aquarist: Freshwater & Marine Contents South Africa’s only magazine for marine and freshwater aquarium hobbyists. January/February Vol 11 / No 1/ 2020 16 22 KEEPING KRIBS features 28 THE CULTURE OF PELVICACHROMIS CICHLIDS One of the most beautiful cichlid families around and very easy THE CLOWN LOACH to keep. This article will help outline a couple of harder to find 06 species which are absolutely stunning. One of the most iconic fish around! Clown loaches are hugely popular amongst many aquarists and make a superb addition to THE RACCOON BUTTERFLYFISH an aquarium. 34 CHAETODON LUNULA AND FACIATUS TIPS FOR KEEPING NOCTURNAL FISH IN THE A fantastic species of butterflyfish to keep in a non reef tank. 12 MARINE AQUARIUM These do a great job with dealing with nuisance anemones such Keeping nocturnal fish can really make for an interesting aquarium. as Aiptasia. Not only will the you have activity during the day with your diurnal fish, but your aquarium will be a hive of activity at night as well. 38 2020 PRODUCTS TO TRY FOR YOUR KOI POND BOTTOM OF THE TANK: DRIFTWOOD CATFISH This article outlines a couple of products to help with maintaining 16 a successful pond. A very odd looking family of catfish, this family can prove quite interesting to keep for any of those who enjoy something different. regulars 22 REEF FRIENDLY TRIGGERFISH 04 From the Editor Have you always stayed away from Triggerfish due to concerns of 05 About the Editor them destroying your lovely reef tank, well this article will outline a few great species which are very safe to keep! 40 Advertiser’s Index www.thefishkeeper.co.za January/February 2020 the fishkeeper3 Editorial THE FISHKEEPER volume 11 | number 1 January/February 2020 Managing Editor Design Layout elcome to the first issue of the Proof Reading 11th volume of The Fishkeeper. Advertisements WThis year marks 11 years that Subscriptions The Fishkeeper has been running. Sales Alot might have changed over the Matt Needham years but our mission of bringing the best possible fishkeeping magazine to the fishkeeping hobbyists of South Contact the Editor at Africa will not change. [email protected] for any inquiries on advertising, Alot has been happening at The sales etc Fishkeeper fishroom over the holiday period. We acquired a couple of pairs Above: Apistogramma Hongsloi of some stunning fish in the last quater Disclaimer: The Editor and Below: Paratilapia polleni of last year, namely Paratilapia polleni Publishers of The Fishkeeper do as well as Apistogramma’s hongsloi, not accept any liability whatsoever macmasteri and erythrura. All spawned with regard to any statement, fact, in the last few months with us currently advertisement or recommendation made in this magazine and do not sitting with fry from the polleni and necessarily agree with the viewpoints apistogramma’s macmasteri and expressed by contributors to The hongsloi. Unfortunately our erythrura Fishkeeper magazine. eggs did not appear to hatch. I do have a suspicion why, so hopefully the next batch we will have more success with! © 2019 by The Fishkeeper. All rights Once again we bring you a packed reserved. Reproduction of any material from this issue in whole or in edition to start the year. Our feature part is strictly prohibited. article is of none other than a very iconic species in the aquarium trade, The Clown Loach. Recently i have seen a lot of chatter with regards to this species over various social media platforms and thought we just had to include it in this edition. Thats right, we do pay attention to what is the current hype in the fishkeeping world! On the marine side, my pick of articles for this edition is one on Reef “a righteous man cares for the Friendly Triggerfish. These fish which are full of character and beautiful needs of his animals,” in appearance often get overlooked for reef aquaria due to the the stigma PROVERBS 12:10 that they will devour all yours stunning corals. Although this might be true for some species, this article covers a few species which are entirely reef safe and would make incredible additions. We hope you enjoy this issue! Happy reading, and happy fishkeeping! The Editor Editor: [email protected] Subscribe now! Visit www.thefishkeeper.co.za to subscribe to the Digital free version of The Fishkeeper. Each issue will be sent straight to your mail box or alternatively visit our site and down- load the latest version under the tab DEADLINES magazines and latest issues! Cover Photo: Issue Colour Adverts The Clown Loach March/April 2020 15 February 2020 May/June 2020 20 March 2020 July/August 2020 20 June 2020 4 the fishkeeper January/February 2020 www.thefishkeeper.co.za About the Editor! Matt Needham was born in Durban in 1985. His passion for fish began at a very young age with picking up his first aquarium at the age of 10 as a Christmas present. Around the time he was 16 he had 20 tanks and had started working at his local petshop on weekends, where he was approached to run their fish section. Once he had finished school he attended the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal where he acquired a degree in Environmental sciences life stream. During this period he had purchased approximately 100 tanks and had begun to breed freshwater Angelfish on a commercial scale, with around 20 pairs spawning. After University he moved to the UK for a couple of seasons to pursue his cricket career and unfortunately shut down his breeding operation where he bred well over 50 different species of fish with great success, with the majority of these being Above and Below: The Editor with two different species of Loracariidae Cichlids. During this period he studied a found along tributaries of the Rio Negro river, Brazil. Diploma in Ichthyology through the Institute of Animal Health Care in the UK. On his arrival back into the country in 2010, he SeaWorld under SAAMBR. He started working there inquired about a potential position at uShaka as an intern in January 2011 of which he then received a full time position as an Aquarist in the aquarium from April that year, where he worked with various species of marine fish, elasmobranchs and corals. During his time at SAAMBR he has been involved with numerous projects ranging from reproduction of fish at the aquarium and helping ORI with coral work in Sodwana Bay. In 2017 he won an award at the Pan African Association for Zoos and Aquaria conferance for his presentation on the captive spawning of the coral Acropora appressa and linking it to the wild. In 2013 Matt was invited along as a representative on an Amazon fisheries project called Project Piaba. The goal of the project was to help the local fisherman improve their methods of capturing wild caught specimens for the aquarium hobby. In doing this it kept them in a self sustainable industry instead of moving over to destructive practices such as forestry and mining. Matt has well over 20 years of experience in the commercial trade and breeding of ornamental fish and has regularly contributed to The Fishkeeper over the years. He was approached mid way through 2019 with regards to taking over the production of The Fishkeeper. www.thefishkeeper.co.za January/February 2020 the fishkeeper5 Freshwater The Clown By: Clarice Brough CFS, Loach Jeremy Roche “The Clown Loach is a big fish that is lively and fun to watch. They can be kept in a community aquarium but smaller fish can easily be intimidated by its size and behavior.” he Clown Loach Chromobotia macracanthus starts at front of the dorsal fin and goes back to is one ofPhoto the mostby Peter beautifully Maguire colored and the base of the tail. It also has a bright to deep red Tpatterned of all the freshwater fish. It is coloring on the front fins and tail. All together this loved for its bright colors and is one of the more vibrant, complimentary color combination makes it outgoing loach personalities.This very popular fish an extremely striking fish. They are most colorful is also known as the Tiger Loach. when they are young however, and do become a This handsome “tiger loach” has a bright orangish bit less brilliant as a larger fish. to reddish body and three broad jet black vertical This fish will need a good sized tank as an adult bars. One bar passes through the eye, the next is because in the aquarium a Clown Loach can grow located just in front of the dorsal fin, and the third up to about 6 1/2 to 8 inches (16-20 cm) long.