AQUATICA T H E J O U R NA L O F T H E B R O O K LY N AQ UA R I U M S O C I E T Y VO L . X X I I I M AY ~ J U N E 2 0 0 9 N o . 5 Buffalo Head Cichlids Steatocranus casuarius Illustration: John Todaro . A Q U A T I C A V O L X X I I I • M A Y / J U N E 2 0 0 9 • N O 5 C O N T E N T S 1 Calendar of Events ~ 2009/2010 13 Red Cherry Shrimp 2 Digging, Playing, and Extreme 15 More About Buying & Keeping Aggression in Green Terror Cichlid Freshwater Dwarf Shrimp Breeding Pairs 17 Bus Tour of Atlantis Marine World 4 The Spawning of a Mouth Brooding Saturday, July 18 Betta: Betta edithae 18 The Practical Plant 7 Breeding Clownfish: A Short Description 20 The Amazon Biotope Aquarium 8 Fish for Ponds & Water Gardens 22 Exchange Editor’s Report 23 y Support Us! ...Where the Buffalo Roam... Patronize Our Sponsors, The 11 We Must Support Them! 12 Buffalo Head Cichlids } Steatocranus casuarius 24 Membership Application AQUATICA STAFF Editor: John Todaro Subscriptions: Lita Goldberg Copy Editor: Kay Martin Exchange Editor: Vinny Babino Marine Editor: Open Contributing Writers: Robert Price, Heather Burke, Plant Editor: Izzy Zwerin William Berg, Ed Katuska, John Todaro, Bill Southern, Illustrations: J. Todaro, C. Giam Izzy Zwerin, Andy Gordon,Vinny Babino Advertising: Izzy Zwerin Note: The Editor takes full responsibility for misspellings and punctuation errors. Aquatica is published bi-monthly (except July/August) by BAS. Original articles may be reprinted by other non-profit organizations, provided proper credit is given to the author and Aquatica, and two copies are sent to the Exchange Editor. Transcriptions of lectures may not be reprinted without written permission of both Editor and the Speaker. Distribution of articles on any online electronic service is prohibited without written permission from the Editor and Author. A notice of where approved articles have been posted should be sent to the BAS Exchange Editor. Aquatica will exchange publications with all interested societies. If we do not receive your publications for three consecutive months, we will assume you no longer wish to exchange and your club will be removed from our mailing list. ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS PUBLICATION SHOULD BE SENT TO: • Editor: John Todaro, 247 Middletown Road, S. Londonderry VT , 05155 Home: 802 824-3743 Fax: Same Please submit all articles to the Editor by mail, fax, or E-mail [email protected]. • Advertising Manager: Izzy Zwerin , P.O. Box 290610, Bklyn, NY 11229-0111 Cell Phone: 646 269-5926 • Exchange Editor: Vinny Babino, P.O. Box 290610, Bklyn, NY 11229-0111 Phone: 718 298-5978 • Membership: Lita Goldberg, P.O. Box 290610, Bklyn, NY 11229-0111 Phone: 718 375-0948 OFFICERS BOARD MEMBERS President: Joseph Graffagnino 1st Vice President: Steve Matassa Robert DeBonis Charles Stein 2nd Vice President: Marie Licciardello Stuart Hershkowitz Izzy Zwerin Treasurer: Denise Hershkowitz Alfred Licciardello Corresponding Secretary: Kay Martin PAST PRESIDENTS (In good standing) Exchange Editor: Vinny Babino Al DiSpigna Membership Chairperson: Lita Goldberg John Todaro Sergeant-at-Arms: Joseph Cingari Seth Kolker Recording Secretary: Adam Engerow Web Master: Bernard Deren Editor: John Todaro The Brooklyn Aquarium Society Inc. is a non-profit organization 501(c) (3) for people interested in the aquarium hobby and the study of aquatic life. The Society meets the 2nd Friday of each month except July and August at the Education Hall of the New York Aquarium at Coney Island, Surf Avenue at West 8th St., at 7:30 PM. Meetings are open to visitors. Refreshments are served. Membership is $25 per year family/$20 individual/$15 for students under 14. Send inquiries or membership checks payable to: Brooklyn Aquarium Society, c/o Membership Chairperson, P.O. Box 290610, Brooklyn, NY 11229-0011. On occasion, the Brooklyn Aquarium Society uses its mailing list to send notices of interest other than society business to our members. If you do not wish to have your name used in this manner call the Hotline 718 837- 4455 and leave a message. All articles in Aquatica are the opinion and experiences of the author or authors, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editors or staff of Aquatica or the Brooklyn Aquarium Society Inc. 1 BROOKLYN AQUARIUM SOCIETY C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T S 2009-2010 MAY 8 ~ Spring Auction ~ Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry goods auction; including a 55 gal tank & stand • Raffles • Discount aquarium books & sales• Door prizes. JUN 12 ~ Meet The Experts Experts will answer your questions at a Freshwater fish table, Plant table, Marine table and a Live/Frozen foods table. Marine fish, aqua-cultured corals, freshwater fish, plants & dry goods auction • Discount books & sales • Door prizes • Raffles • BAS Elections. Summer Break July & August SEPT 11 ~ Dana Riddle Raising Coral Spawn: Can it Be Done? • Freshwater & marine fish, aquacultured corals, plantsauction • Discount books & sales. OCT 9 ~ Fall Giant Auction • Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry goods auction • Discount books & sales • Raffles • Door prizes. NOV 13 ~ Greg Sullivan ~ Building Filter Systems For Fresh & Marine Aquariums • Freshwater & marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & plantsauction • Discount books & sales DEC 11 ~ BAS Holiday Party Members, their families & friends • All you can eat dinner. • Fish Bingo & Prizes • BAS Awards presentation. 2010 JAN 8 ~ TBA • Freshwater & marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & plants auction • Discount books & sales FEB 12 ~ TBA • Freshwater & marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & plants auction • Discount books & sales Mar 12 ~ TBA • Freshwater & marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & plants auction • Discount books & sales APR 9 ~ TBA • Freshwater & marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & plants auction • Discount books & sales MAY 13 ~ Spring Auction • Freshwater fish, plants, marine fish, aqua-cultured corals & dry goods auction; including a 55 gal tank & stand • Raffles • Discount aquarium books & sales • Door prizes. All Events held the 2nd Friday of the Month at 7:30pm at the Education Hall of the New York Aquarium ~ Surf Avenue & West 8th Street ~ Brooklyn, NY (unless stated) We request a $5 Donation for non-members, good towards membership the night of the event only. FREE REFRESHMENTS AND FREE PARKING AT EVERY MEETING - UNLESS STATED NOTICE TO ALL MEMBERS A motion was made, seconded and passed at the March board meeting (3/7/08) that membership cards be made up and handed out the night a person joins the BAS. If you join or renew by mail you must come to the next general meeting to get your card. Publications will still be sent by mail. Web memberships do not get a card, and only get publications that may be on-line. The cost of mailing has gone up and this is a cost-saving measure. 2 Robert Price - BAS Photo: Sean Evens thetropicaltank.co.uk Digging, Playing, and Extreme Aggression in Green Terror Cichlid Breeding Pairs ichlid pairs grow on you. You become aware of it every time you need a bigger tank, and over the years, every time you study their peculiar talents, which they seldom reveal. In this short article, I Cshall present and speculate about some of the more extreme behaviors of a species which I have had the opportunity to see breeding in a large aquarium, the Green Terror Cichild, Aequidens rivlatus. I purchased my first certified breed- to the tank, they hide behind the stone and ing pair of Green Terrors from a venerable old won’t come out until the strangers move back gentleman in Chinatown who I knew for forty from the tank. years and since his departure from this world After the first two months, they estab- I will miss. lished a much more patterned dig. They He kept a divider between the breed- cleared out all the gravel behind the stone and ing pair. I gave them the run of a 55 gallon put most of it in front, t hus constructing tank. They immediately settled in and started their typical anti-predator mound and narrow to eat heartily. (The male has now approached homesite for which these cichlids are famous. record size for this species.) The tank was Then one day they did something that crossed sparsely planted and they denuded what veg- Differential recognition of myself the line - they each picked up one of the larg- etation I had in it in the first week. This behav- ensued rather rapidly. They know I feed them er round pebbles and deposited them on the ior is common, and thought by many to be and that a female companion of mine pays very top of the round stone. I was stultified, “clearing the way” so they could expose any excessive attention to them. They quickly having been taught by experts that lower ver- potential predators. The substrate in the tank became accustomed to us and I like to think tebrates did not exhibit play behavior. Thus, I was natural dark colored gravel. They sur- they became our friends. always considered their almost orchestrated veyed every nook and cranny of the tank for Dare I assume they act on emotion dancing together and seemingly inexplica- the first week. The main feature of the tank and not on instinct? Yes, we were the only ble digging as instinctive behavior, but this was was a larger round rock fossil, which I had two people they didn’t seem to avoid, and heresy to everything I had been taught. placed standing up and slightly skewed from go about their business of rearranging the In the past three years, they have the back of the tank.