APHYOSEMION APHYOSEMION Etheostoma Caeruleumetheostoma in the CONGO BASIN BASIN CONGO the in : a Dwarf Among the L-Number Catfishes
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FRESHWATER AQUARIUMS & TROPICAL DISCOVERY Congo Killies ❙ Pac-Man Catfish ❙ LED Freshwater Lighting ❙ A New Dwarf Cichlid MAY/JUNE 2013 $0/5&/54r70-6.& /6.#&3 EDITOR & PUBLISHER | James M. Lawrence 4 EDITORIAL by Hans-Georg Evers INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHER | Matthias Schmidt EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Hans-Georg Evers 6 AQUATIC NOTEBOOK CHIEF DESIGNER | Nick Nadolny SENIOR ADVISORY BOARD | Dr. Gerald Allen, Christopher Brightwell, Svein A. Fosså, Raymond Lucas, Dr. Paul Loiselle, Dr. John FEATURE ARTICLES E. Randall, Julian Sprung, Jeffrey A. Turner 22 APHYOSEMION IN THE CONGO BASIN SENIOR EDITORS | Matthew Pedersen, Mary E. Sweeney by Jouke van der Zee and Rainer Sonnenberg CONTRIBUTORS | 34 THE KEEPING OF APHYOSEMION IN THE AQUARIUM Juan Miguel Artigas Azas, Dick Au, Heiko Bleher, Eric Bodrock, Jeffrey Christian, Morrell Devlin, by Olaf Deters Ian Fuller, Jay Hemdal, Neil Hepworth, Maike Wilstermann-Hildebrand, Ted Judy, Ad Konings, 40 BREEDING APHYOSEMION Marco Tulio C. Lacerda, Michael Lo, Neale Monks, Rachel O’Leary, Martin Thaler Morte, Christian & by Olaf Deters and Michael Schlüter Marie-Paulette Piednoir, Karen Randall, Mark Sabaj Perez, Ph.D., Ben Tan 48 AQUATIC TRAVEL: TRANSLATOR | Stephan M. Tanner, Ph.D. In search of the Blue-eyed Plec ART DIRECTOR | Linda Provost by Heiko Bleher DESIGNER | Anne Linton Elston HUSBANDRY & BREEDING: ASSOCIATE EDITORS | 54 Louise Watson, John Sweeney, Eamonn Sweeney A native jewel: Etheostoma caeruleum, EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICES | the Rainbow Darter Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC 140 Webster Road | PO Box 490 by Ken Zeedyk Shelburne, VT 05482 Tel: 802.985.9977 | Fax: 802.497.0768 62 HUSBANDRY AND BREEDING: BUSINESS & MARKETING DIRECTOR | Triops: Tadpole shrimp in the aquarium Judith Billard | 802.985.9977 Ext. 3 by Timm Adam ADVERTISING SALES | James Lawrence | 802.985.9977 Ext. 7 68 AQUATIC PLANTS: [email protected] Shedding new light on a planted aquarium ACCOUNTS | Linda Bursell by Thomas Hörning NEWSSTAND | Howard White & Associates PRINTING | Dartmouth Printing | Hanover, NH 74 HUSBANDRY AND BREEDING: CUSTOMER SERVICE | [email protected] Breeding success with the Pac-Man catfish, 570.567.0424 Lophiosilurus alexandri SUBSCRIPTIONS | www.amazonasmagazine.com by Ivan Chang WEB CONTENT | www.reef2rainforest.com 80 HUSBANDRY AND BREEDING: AMAZONAS, Freshwater Aquariums & Tropical Discovery is published bimonthly in December, February, April, Using a trick to rear Apistogramma playayacu June, August, and October by Reef to Rainforest Media, LLC, 140 Webster Road, PO Box 490, Shelburne, VT by Hans Georg-Evers 05482. Application to mail at periodicals prices pending at Shelburne, VT and additional mailing offices. Subscription 84 HUSBANDRY AND BREEDING: rates: U.S. $29 for one year. Canada, $41 for one year. Outside U.S. and Canada, $49 for one year. Ancistrus claro: a dwarf among the L-number catfishes POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: AMAZONAS, by Jörn Sabisch PO Box 361, Williamsport, PA 17703-0361 ISSN 2166-3106 (Print) | ISSN 2166-3122 (Digital) AMAZONAS™ is a licensed edition of AMAZONAS Germany, Natur und Tier Verlag GmbH, DEPARTMENTS Muenster, Germany. 86 AQUARIUM CALENDAR: All rights reserved. Reproduction of any material from this issue in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Upcoming events COVER: by Mary E. Sweeney Various Aphyosemion species. Images by Olaf Deters. 88 RETAIL SOURCES 90 SPECIES SNAPSHOTS AMAZONAS 94 SOCIETY CONNECTIONS 97 ADVERTISER INDEX 98 UNDERWATER EYE 3 Dear Reader, Fishes from Africa play almost no role in the modern a highlight. Similarly exciting is the story about the aquarium trade today, unless they come from the Blue-Eyed Pleco, which is certain to start a lively dis- famous Rift Lakes. This, of course, was not always the cussion—and not just among catfish followers. case. During my youth, the cichlids and the small When I look over this new issue, with its many but very vibrant killifishes of Central and West Africa interesting stories that should excite a diversity of true were quite popular. Killifishes were kept then—as they are now—mostly by specialists, but they ITORIAL were more commonly mentioned in the literature and more often seen at shows and auctions. Today, killifish enthusiasts appear to operate much more under the D radar. However, our knowledge about these colorful dwarfs is vast, and scientists and amateur enthusiasts have contributed much to it in recent years. E One of our editorial board members, Olaf Deters, is very active in this sphere of interest, so it was just a matter of time be- fore we chose killifishes as a cover theme. We have intentionally focused on the ge- nus Aphyosemion because the name is well recognized and there are many new and exciting insights to tell you about. An African cover addicts, I cannot stop grinning! It is amazing what story is quite unusual for us, but I hope you enjoy this both hobbyists and scientists have to report. Quite peek beyond the usual horizon. the opposite of predictable, fishkeeping is far better When water plant enthusiasts gather, the ques- than reality television for most of us. I would much tion of lighting will almost always come up sooner or rather spend my time in the fish room than turn into later. We have wanted to report on this topic for some a dazed sofa spud. time, and in this issue we include hands-on articles Enjoy the issue, and happy fishkeeping! on the ever more popular LEDs. In the marine hobby, this technology is already widespread and fast becom- ing an accepted technology. For a catfish buff like me, the breeding report on the Pac-man Catfish, Lophiosilurus alexandri, is truly AMAZONAS 4 Only POLY-FILTER® and KOLD STER-IL® filtration provides superior water quality for optimal fish & invertebrate health and long-term growth. POLY-FILTER® — the only chemical filtration medium that actually changes color. Each different color shows contaminates, pollutants being adsorbed & absorbed. Fresh, brackish, marine and reef inhabitants are fully protected from: low pH fluctuations,VOCs, heavy metals, organic wastes, phosphates, pesticides and other toxins. POLY-FILTER® is fully stabilized — it can’t sorb trace elements, calcium, magnesium, strontium, barium, carbonates, bicarbonates or hydroxides. Use KOLD STER-IL® to purify your tap water. Zero waste! Exceeds US EPA & US FDA standards for potable water. Perfect for aquatic pets, herps, dogs, AMAZONAS AMAZO cats, plants and makes fantastic drinking water. Go green and save! 117 Neverslnk St. (Lorane) N Reading, PA 19606-3732 A Phone 610-404-1400 S Fax 610-404-1487 www.poly-bio-marine.com 5 AQUATIC NOTEBOOK t article and images by Ralf Britz Three new fish species from Southern India The fish fauna of the so-called Western Ghats, a mountain range that extends parallel to the west coast of India over a distance of 1,600 km (1,000 mi.) from Maharashtra in the north to Kerala in the south, is considered one of the best-studied ichthyofaunas in this country. Sykes (1839) and Jerdon (1849) published the first monographs of the freshwater fish fauna, which were followed by those of Day and Hora and their co-workers. A recent compilation by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 290 different species of fishes (Dahanukar et al. 2011). The best-known species of the Western Ghats is the Red-Line Torpedo Right: Type locality of Pangio ammophila Below: Pangio ammophila AMAZONAS 6 Pristolepis rubripinnis Barb, Puntius denisonii. Other popular species found his German friend Benjamin Harink. Harink reported there include Carinotetraodon travancoricus and Pristolepis about it on the forum of the IGL (International Society marginata. While on a short collection trip with Indian for Labyrinth Fishes). Sood took us to the location and colleagues in different river systems in Karnataka and we were able to capture a number of these chameleon- Kerala, we were able to collect several new fish species, fishes in a few hours. The river was up to 10 meters (33 which we have described in the past few months. A big feet) wide and 2 meters (6.5 feet) deep. Large stands of surprise for us was the discovery of a second Indian Pris- aquatic plants such as Blyxa, Lagenandra, and Cryptoco- tolepis species, P. rubripinnis, which differs significantly ryne were present. The new species was hidden, mainly from the known species P. marginata. We were able to in leaf litter that had accumulated in the shallower areas, capture a number of specimens of this fish, which has and could be shaken out of the roots along the riverbank. beautiful orange fin fringes, at night in the Pamba River. During our research to describe the species, we We hope that this species will soon be imported, because discovered that Francis Day, one of the fathers of it is a very pretty fish. Indian ichthyology, had already collected this fish, but In some recently published Indian publications, a he believed it belonged to the taxon Dario dario. There second Pristolepis species, P. fasciata, was mentioned; were also some specimens collected by Day, said to be however, this species is native to Indonesia. Whether the from “Wynaad,” in the collection of the Natural His- fish called P. fasciata in the Indian literature is potentially tory Museum in London, which, together with the newly identical to P. rubripinnis could not be clarified due to the collected animals, served as the basis for the description. lack of reference specimens. For completeness, it should be mentioned that in June A second unexpected freshwater fish was caught in 2010, a group of Indian aquarists caught the same (or a a tributary of the Barapole River in southern Karnataka. very similar-looking) species in the Sita River, part of the This exciting new Badidae was co-discovered by the In- Kaveri River system. Rahul Kumar pointed that out to me dian aquarium fish lover Nikhil Sood from Bangalore and on the Indianaquariumhobbyist.com forum.