MAY 2015 Newsletter the Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Meets on the First Thursday of Every Month at 7:30 Pm

Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Volume 34, Issue 5 May 2015

MAY 2015 Newsletter The Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) meets on the first Thursday of every month at 7:30 pm. All meetings are held in the South Theater of the NCSU CVM campus library (North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine) located at 4700 Hillsborough Street in Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 (USA). Agendas begin with introductions, followed by a discussion of assorted business topics, then by a program of interest to the membership, and conclude with a ticket raffle and silent auction of fish, plants, and equipment/supplies. Complimentary light refreshments are provided and guests are always welcome. For more information, visit us at http://www.raleighaquariumsociety.org/ or email [email protected]. You can also find us on YAHOO (www.groups.yahoo.com/raleighaquariumsociety), MEETUP (www.meetup.com/raleighaquarium society), and FACEBOOK (www.facebook.com/raleighaquariumsociety). RAS is a member in good standing of FAAS (the Federation of American Aquarium Societies) with a mission to increase the knowledge, enjoyment, and conservation of home ponds & aquariums for aquarist hobbyists/professionals at all levels of experience.

NOTE: RAS club meetings are held in the South Theater of the NCSU Veterinary School Library, downstairs level. Park across the street and enter via the main library lobby no later than 8:00 pm.

Table of Contents: 2 May 2015 Program (5/7/15 @ 7:30pm) – “Fish Nutrition”: 2 RAS Club Officers and Committee Chairs: 3 From the Fishing Desk: 3 RAS 2015 Calendar of Events: 4 Fishy Business: 5 Proposal Status 5 Fish & Trips: 5 May Roadie – Ripley’s Aquarium 5 Fish Action: 6 April 2015 Silent Auction (SA) Report 6 April 2015 Breeder’s Award Program (BAP) Report 6 Fish Market: 7 Fish Nets: 8 Fish Posts: 9 NC Catch – Real Local Seafood 9 Leadmine Creek Cleanup 11 New RAS Website 12 Clean Water Hints 12 Fish References: 13 Fish School: 14 Fish Tales: 17 The Black Molly (Poecilia latipinna) 17 Magnificent Mollies 18 SoMeThInG’s PhIsHy”: 21 Go Fish!: 22 RAS Sponsors: 23 RAS Membership Application: 24 May 2015 Program (5/7/15 @ 7:30pm) – “Fish Nutrition”:

In May, Les Wilson, product marketing manager and founding partner of Cobalt International, will speak to us on fish nutrition. Prior to founding Cobalt, Les spent 17 years with United Pet Group aquatics. He began his career with Marineland as an aquatic biologist, working in and then managing, the aquatics lab. Les personally spearheaded many of the projects you know today, including his favorites Marineland LED lighting, BioSpira nitrifying bacteria, corner flow tanks, and the Marineland Deep dimension aquariums. In 2011, he left UPG to start Cobalt International with the goal to get back to his roots as a fish geek and give back to the hobby the lessons he learned. Starting with the basic dietary needs of fish and how we want to augment those needs to keep them in top shape and color in the captive environment, Les will take a deeper look at a unique study done on the effects of immunostimulants. We will also discuss labeling requirements and how to read the “GA” and Ingredient lists. Once we have a base knowledge of fish nutrition, we will then finish with how fish food is manufactured. We hope you can join us!

Keep those raffle/silent auction items coming in! Visit our raffle chairman before each meeting to drop off donations. If you have nonraffle items for the silent auction, see our silent auction chairpersons (you’ll get a portion of the proceeds). We’re always looking for programs to educate our membership on any aquaticrelated topics. If you’d like to be a speaker at any of our future meetings, contact our Program Chairman.

President: Frank Montillo [fmontillo @ aol.com] VicePresident and Vendor Coordinator: Jon Haddad [jhaddad88 @ comcast.net] Secretary and Newsletter Editor: Michael Maieli [michaelmaieli @ aol.com] Treasurer and BAP Chairman: Larry Jinks [bapman13 @ hotmail.com] Past President and Program Chairman: Todd Wenzel [wenzelt @ netzero.net]

Workshop/Auction Chairman: Chris Smith [ctyank @ frontier.com] Monthly Raffle Chairman: Robert Sanderford [onearmr @ gmail.com] Monthly Silent Auction Chairpersons: Richard Poole and Maggie Poole Field Trip Coordinator: Jeremy Maciejewski [jjmaciej @ yahoo.com] Utility Chairpersons: Jeff Jenkins and Emily Hirtle Yahoo Groups/Forum Administrator: Gerald Pottern [gbpottern @ yahoo.com] Webmaster: Matt DeGroodt [degmat @ gmail.com]

From the Fishing Desk:

The Raleigh area had a late winter this year, but the warm weather is now here to stay and the cub has planned quite a number of activities for the spring and summer. We will have at least 2 stream cleanups combined with collecting trips at our adopted stream in North Raleigh, plus we’ll have our usual summer picnic at Umstead Park, and we will visit several shops/aquariums before our fall auction (which this year will be in November after the NC State Fair). We should remind members that presentation of your RAS membership card will get you free admission to any of our 3 public North Carolina state aquariums on our coast at Manteo (near Cape Hatteras), Pine Knoll Shores (near Cape Lookout), or Fort Fisher (near Cape Fear). We are also negotiating a reduced rate at some of the other nearby aquariums in Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia at the present time. We’d like to know some of the other activities you would like to do and so will be sending out a survey form shortly to solicit your feedback. We welcome any comments.

A general election for the vacating office of VicePresident will be held at the June meeting. Those interested in running for that office should send a note of their intent to the club secretary at our email address. The club has also planned a few “experimental” Saturday meetings for later in the year to help make attendance easier for our younger members. We are also starting to plan for our 2016 workshop now which will be held next March. Don’t forget our new and improved website is now hosted by SquareSpace; we’d like to hear your comments

Membership dues are $20.00 per calendar year, starting each January. This is a perhousehold price. Pro rated fees for joining at other times of the year are listed on our application form (the last page of every newsletter). Kindly remit your dues in person to the club treasurer or by mail to our P. O. Box.

Contributions to this newsletter are always welcome. This includes business/technical articles, items to buy/sell/trade/donate, activity updates, forum posts, trip reports, classes, job openings, etc. Submit news softcopy via email or hardcopy via our P.O.Box. When communication to us in any form, please include your full name, phone number, and email address. Monthly newsletters are published about a week prior to each regular club meeting and sent blindcopy to your email address on file. If you have any updates to your contact information (including subscription removal), or any questions about our newsletter, web page, forum, MEETUP page (join us on MEETUP!), or FACEBOOK page (like us on FACEBOOK!), please contact the club secretary. FYI, last month’s find the hidden RAS logo was contained in both the “Something’s Fishy” section. A final note should be made about the locations we use for any of our meetings, events, or outings please keep in mind that we are guests of these facilities and must treat all property and equipment in a responsible manner. Direct any concerns to the club secretary for resolution. Thank you for your responsible actions. We wish all our Moms a Happy Mother’s Day!

Club Meetings Board Mtgs. W.S./Auctions Fish Food Field Other Trips January 8th 22nd 24th February 5th 19th 13th15th March 5th 19th 28th April 2nd 16h 30th May 7th 21st 16th June 4th 18th 27th July 2nd 16th August 6th 20th September 3rd 17th October 1st 15th November 5th 19th 7th December 3rd 17th 3rd

2015 Monthly Meeting Program Presentations (topics and times are subject to change) January = “ Aquariums In China ” February = “ The Amazing Mangrove Killifish ” March = “ All About Characins “ April = “ Nano Fish & Nano Aquariums In The U.S. Marketplace “ May = “ Fish Nutrition “ June = “ Killies “ July = “ Koi & Goldfish “ August = “ Cichlids “ September = “ Bettas “ October = “ BAP Breeding “ November = “ Plants “

Proposal Status By Michael V. Maieli

The latest RAS board meeting was held at 7:30pm on 4/16/15 at the NCSU CVM library. Any club member can attend any board meeting at any time to provide any input on any item of business. Board meetings normally occur on the 3rd Thursday of each month (same time/location as club meetings), but check with the club secretary for exact schedule details as these meetings do change.

Proposals/actions discussed or general FYI items include: x RAS stream cleanup on 4/30/15 (contact = M. Maieli). x RAS VP election on 6/4/15 (contact = RAS board). x RAS picnic on 6/27/15 @ confirmation # 217829489 (contact = M. Maieli). x Club donations (contact = J. Haddad). x Name tags at meetings (contact = F. Montillo). x RAS 2015 meeting presentations schedule (contact = T. Wenzel). x RAS Saturday meetings and/or 7:00pm meetings start time (contact = F. Montillo). x “Mini” weekend workshop on Saturday 11/14/15 – Sunday 11/15/15 (contact = C. Smith).

Proposals/actions passed include: x Treasurer’s report (contact = L. Jinks). x New format for RAS auction paddles (contact = C. Smith). x 2016 Workshop tentatively planned for Friday 3/11/16 to Sunday 3/13/16 (contact = C. Smith).

Proposals/actions denied include: x Use of WWW.MYGROUPAUCTIONS.COM at the monthly auctions.

Proposals/actions pending include: x RAS Website updates (contact = M. DeGroodt). x RAS online survey updates (contact = J. Haddad). x New RAS membership cards updates (contact = M. Maieli).

Fish & Trips:

May Roadie – Ripley’s Aquarium By Jeremy Maciejewski

In May, we’re thinking of traveling down to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to visit the Ripley’s Aquarium, which turns out to be a very pleasant surprise to those who haven’t been there before. It would be a day trip and we’d meet at the Vet School to carpool down on Saturday May 16 at 9am. If you are interested in joining us, please send an email to the club ID and we’ll send you the details.

We’re always looking for fun places to go (aquariums, pet shops, fish conferences), neat things to do (collecting trips, ark projects, community volunteering), or interesting people to meet (parties, socials, meetups). If you have any suggestions, contact Jeremy at (919)7404067 or [email protected].

April 2015 Silent Auction (SA) Report By Larry Jinks

The April monthly auction was a wild event with 15 members bidding on 24 lots with an additional 13 lots returned to sellers as they did not generate the high minimum bids. The animal lots included new and old world cichlids, catfish, livebearers, cyprinids and shrimp. The highest bids went to a breeding group of Vietnamese white clouds (Tanichthys micagemmae), a wild caught South American catfish (Acanthius adonis) and wild caught Peruvian shrimp. The plant lots included many Cryptocorynes, giant Vallisneria, floating water fern (Salvinia), African water fern (Bolbitis) and susswassertang. The highest bids went to Cryptocoryne mohlmanni and Bolbitis huedelotti. Through the monthly auction quality livestock and plants are provided to the membership at reasonable prices which enables the membership to try working with new species of fish and plants that they won’t see at local shops. If you have any extra fish, plants or aquatic items, please consider a donation to the auction to help build our treasury. The auction form will be posted on the website to allow members to save time by downloading the forms and filling them out before the meeting. See Rick and Maggie Poole at monthly meetings to enter items in the auction and be sure to check the tables in the back of the meeting room for more aquatic treasures.

April 2015 Breeder’s Award Program (BAP) Report By Larry Jinks

The April meeting had 4 BAP entries from 3 regularly participating members. Dan Koenig provided 2 entries to move into a tie for eighth place in the cumulative standings and a tie for third place in the “Breeder of the Year” standings. Frank Montillo entered kribs to inch closer to second place in the cumulative standings and a tie for third in “Breeder of the Year”. BAP chairman Larry Jinks had one entry of a species of jewel cichlid. Dan Koenig: Aequidens pulcher (blue acara) 15 points, Xiphophorus variatus (platy) 10 points; Frank Montillo: Pelvicachromis pulcher (kribensis) 15 points; Larry Jinks: Hemichromis stellifer (jewel cichlid) 10 points. The Breeder Award Program revisions can be seen on our new website along with the restructured submission form. Webmaster Matt DeGroodt is working on an electronic submission of the BAP form to eliminate the paperwork and make filing easier. See BAP chairman Larry Jinks to join the fun of the BAP!

The Breeder Award Program (BAP) provides quality livestock to the membership at reasonable prices and enables the membership to work with new species of fish that they won’t normally see at the local shops. Anyone who would like to join the BAP can contact chairman Larry Jinks at a monthly meeting or email him at [email protected]. The BAP standings are posted on our website along with rules and an entry form. Members don’t have to have anyone come to their house for inspection, but can bring six fry at least 60 days old to a meeting with a completed form. There are 4 options to get credit: (1) enter the fish in the silent auction weekend auction, (2) donate the fish to the raffle, (3) write an article on the spawning for the newsletter, or (4) do a presentation at a meeting.

Annual BAP Standings (as of 5/1/15) Cumulative BAP Standings (as of 5/1/15) 1. Larry Jinks = 155 1. Larry Jinks = 1500 2. Matt DeGroodt = 70 2. Todd Wenzel = 695 3. Frank Montillo = 35 3. Frank Montillo = 685 Dan Koenig = 35 4. Neil Frank = 300 5. Jon Haddad = 15 5. Eric Hanneman = 250 6. Allan O’Briant = 10 Elvin Eaton = 250 Elvin Eaton = 10 7. Gerald Pottern = 230 8. 8. Dave Herlong = 120 9. Dan Koenig = 120 10. Matt DeGroodt = 70 11. Ben Guardiola = 55 12. Phil Lamonds = 30 Lauren Layton = 30 14. Jon Haddad = 25 15. Allan O’Briant = 20 16. Justin Ho = 10 Sam Jenkins = 10 Joe Magura = 10

x FOR SALE: RASlogo’ed apparel; various types of shirts, hats, jackets, towels, soft briefcases, etc. Contact Queensboro Apparel Company [http://raleighaquariumsociety.qbstores.com/]. {never expires}

x FREE: RAS logo’ed items bumper stickers & pens; black print on white background, show your support! Contact Michael Maieli or Frank Montillo [at the monthly meetings]. {never expires}

x FOR SALE: Blackworms; @ $15.00/pound or $8.00/half pound. Delivery mechanism varies (call or send email). Contact Gerald Pottern [(919)5568845 or [email protected]]. {never expires}

x WANTED: Back issues of assorted tropical fish, plant, pond, or aquarium hobbyist magazines and literature. Contact Todd Wenzel [(919)7917352 or [email protected]]. {never expires}

x WANTED: Unwanted aquarium fish; don’t flush, rehome! Contact NC Fish Rescue in Winston Salem. [http://www.facebook.com/pages/FishRescueOfNC/261786897257532]. {never expires}

x FOR SALE: Colored/white LED fish bottle nightlights; $20.00, never burns out, samples on meetup workshop page. Contact Michael Maieli [(919)6243053 or [email protected]]. {expires 5/31/15}

x WANTED: Red cherry shrimp; any local breeders out there? Contact Anna Li [(919)5995828 or [email protected]]. {expires 5/31/15]

x FOR SALE: 5 Betta bowls; must sell as a set, each are a similar hexagon shape, $25. Contact Beatrice Smith [(919)3891197 or [email protected]]. {expires 5/31/15}

x FREE: Redeared slider turtle; mature and 5”, to a good home since I’m moving. Contact Jason Green [(919)2335254 or [email protected]]. {expires 6/30/15}

x FOR SALE: 2 planted tanks with fish and equipment. $120.00 for 20 gallon and $80.00 for 10 gallon. Contact Chris Jones [(919)5799939 or [email protected]]. {expires 6/30/15}

x FOR SALE: 150 gallon tank setup; all accessories. $450, but 5% off for RAS members. Contact Jason Green [(919)2335254 or [email protected]]. {expires 6/30/15}

x WANTED: Angelfish; any size, style, or color in the hopes of starting a local RAS colony. Contact Maggie Poole [(919)5562638 or [email protected]]. {expires 7/31/15}

x FOR SALE: 55 gallon tank and all supplies (filter, heater, pump, etc.). $95.00. Contact Craig Pender [(919)6162121 or [email protected]]. {expires 7/31/15}

x FOR SALE: 26 gallon tank; loaded with everything. $175.00. Contact Cindy McMullen [(919)949 3527 or [email protected]]. {expires 7/31/15}

x US Directory (for all national clubs and societies) = http://www.ifocas.org/usstates/unitedstates.htm or http://www.fishchannel.com/fishcommunity/fishclubsandsocieties.aspx x Aquarium Enthusiasts of the Triad (located in Winston Salem, NC) = webpage in progress {only FACEBOOK page available} x Aquatic Ponds (located in Warrington, PA) = www.aquaticponds.com x Atlanta Area Aquarium Association (located in Atlanta, GA) = www.atlantaaquarium.com x Brooklyn Aquarium Society (located in Brooklyn, NY) = www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org x Capital Cichlid Association (located in Silver Spring, MD) = www.capitalcichlids.org x Carolina Fishtalk forum (located in Durham, NC) = www.carolinafishtalk.com/forum x Charlotte Area Aquarists Society (located in Charlotte, NC) = www.aquacharlotte.org x Columbia Marine Aquarium Club (located in Columbia, SC) = www.columbiamac.org x Duke University Marine Laboratory (located in Beaufort, NC) = www.nicholas.duke.edu/marinelab x Durham Regional Aquarium Society (located in Durham, Ontario, Canada [not in North Carolina!]) = www.dras.ca x East Tennessee Reef Club (located in Knoxville, TN) = www.easttnreefclub.com x Gold Coast Aquarium Society (located in Fort Lauderdale, FL) = www.gcaquarium.org x Greater Pittsburgh Area Aquarium Society (located in Pittsburgh, PA) = www.gpasi.org x Greater Washington Area Aquatic Plant Association (located in Washington, DC) = www.gwapa.org x Heartland of America Aquarium Society (located in Kansas City, MO) = www.kcfishclub.org x Iowa Aquaria Association (located in Waterloo, IA) = http://www.iowaaquaria.com x James River Aquarium Society (located in Richmond, VA) = www.jamesriveraquariumsociety.org x Jersey Shore Aquarium Society (located in Freehold, NJ) = www.jerseyshoreas.org x Kingfish Services (located in Boston, NY) = www.kingfishservices.net x Marine Aquarium Society of the Carolinas (located in Raleigh, NC) = www.reefkeeping.com x North Carolina Aquarium Society (located in Roanoke Island, Pine Knoll Shores, & Fort Fisher, NC) = www.ncaquariums.com x North Carolina Koi & Watergarden Society (located in Raleigh, NC) = www.nckws.net x NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine (located in Raleigh, NC; (919) 513 6218) = www.cvm.ncsu.edu x North Jersey Aquarium Society (located in Lynhurst, NJ) = www.njas.net x Potomac Valley Aquarium Society (located in Fairfax, VA) = www.pvas.com x South Carolina Aquarium Society (Greenville, SC) = www.scaquariasociety.com x South Jersey Guppy Group (located in Griggstown, NJ) = www.guppysa2z.com x UNC Wilmington Marine Biology Laboratory (located in Wilmington, NC) = www.uncw.edu/career/marinebiology x Western North Carolina Aquarium Society (located in Hickory, NC) = webpage in progress {only FACEBOOK page available}

NC Catch – Real Local Seafood By Staff Writers, www.nccatch.org

© 2015 RAS (All Rights Reserved) www.raleighaquariumsociety.org Page 10 of 24 Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Volume 34, Issue 5 May 2015 2015 American Livebearer’s Association (ALA) Convention Posted by Norm Waaks, RAS member

Pictures from the AdoptAStream cleanup of Leadmine Creek in north Raleigh on April 30. RAS wishes to express its appreciation to Jennifer Niemuth, PhD candidate, and her Conservation Health Selective of 30 students (29 from the class of 2018 and 1 from the class of 2017) of the NCSU Veterinary School in Raleigh for their generous donation of time and assistance. As might be expected, this was the largest assemblage of trash collected by the Society in a stream cleanup.

The new club website is now ready for use @ www.raleighaquariumsociety.org. The site autoadjusts nicely to mobile so check it out on your phone/tablet too. A fun feature of the new site is that we will be displaying pictures taken by our own RAS members of their fishes, plants, inverts, etc. as page heading images. I will be changing these pictures on a regular basis to keep things interesting. An index of the pictures with credits is at the bottom of the "About" page. Please send in your original pictures to me at: [email protected]. Checkout a couple other cool new features: The Fish Market on the Meeting page a real time way to communicate for buyselltrade; The BAP page has a revised BAP guide and both paper and online report forms.

Clean Water Hints Mailed by the City of Banner Elk (NC), Water Utilities Department

[COLOR KEY TO REFERENCES: BOOKS CATALOGS CORPORATIONS MAGAZINES NEWSPAPERS WEB SITES] 1. About Fish Online website = http://www.aboutfishonline.com/ 2. Age Of Aquariums website = http://www.aquahobby.com/age_of_aquariums.php 3. Aqueon Corporation = http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/aquariums/ 4. Aquaarticles website = http://aquarticles.com/articles/index.html 5. Aquatic Community website = http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/ 6. Bailey Brothers Aquarium Fish website = http://www.aquariumfish.net/ 7. Daily Tarheel newspaper = http://www.dailytarheel.com/ 8. Dennis Bangerter’s “Know Your Stuff: Cichlids” = http://freepdfbooks.tripod.com/downloads/cichlids.pdf 9. Doctors Foster & Smith Aquarium Supply catalog = http://www.drsfostersmith.com/fishsupplies/pr/c/3578 10. Durham Herald Sun newspaper = http://www.heraldsun.com/news/localnews 11. Fish website = http://www.fish.com/ 12. Fish Channel’s website = http://www.fishchannel.com/ 13. Fishlore’s website = http://www.fishlore.com/ 14. Hagen Corporation = http://usa.hagen.com/ 15. New Aquarium Information website = http://www.newaquariuminformation.com/index.html 16. Pet Solutions Sales catalog = http://www.petsolutions.com/ 17. Raleigh News & Observer newspaper = http://www.newsobserver.com/news/ 18. Tetra Corporation = http://www.tetrafish.com/Splash.aspx 19. Tim’s Tropical Fish & Aquariums website = http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/ 20. Tropical Fish Data’s website = http://www.tropicalfishdata.com/ 21. Tropical Fish Hobbyist magazine = http://www.tfhmagazine.com/ 22. Tropical Tank’s website = http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/fishindx.htm 23. Wardley’s Corporation (a Hartz Company) = http://wardley.com/ 24. Wildlife In North Carolina magazine = http://www.ncwildlife.org/Learning/MultimediaCenter/WildlifeinNorthCarolina.aspx 25. William Berg’s “Tropical Fish Beginner’s guide” = http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/Tropical_FishA_Beginners_Guide.pdf

The Black Molly (Poecilia latipinna) By staff writers @ www.liveaquaria.com

The Black Molly is a shortfinned hybrid variation of Poecilia latipinna, the Sailfin Molly. The Black Molly is all black in coloration with short fins. They may have patches of a slight gold or silver coloration when a juvenile, but will outgrow this with age. Mollies have the ability to adapt to a variety of salt levels in the aquarium. With a gradual acclimation, these fish may be maintained in either a freshwater or saltwater aquarium. In the freshwater aquarium, a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon is recommended for optimum health. The Black Molly prefers a tank of at least 30 gallons with plenty of strong plants such as Java Fern, Sagittaria, Vallisneria, and Anubias. They require a good filtration system because of their hearty appetites and resulting waste products. The Black Molly is well suited for the community tank because of its peaceful nature, and is compatible with other peaceful, large fish that can withstand similar water conditions. The pointed anal fin and much larger dorsal fin on the male, and the rounded anal fin and pregnancy spot on the female differentiate the two. The Black Molly is a livebearer that requires a spawning box in a 25 gallon, or larger breeding tank. The aquarium should be planted as densely as possible or have a thick algae mat. Having a group of floating plants in the corner of the aquarium will promote rearing outside of the breeding tank. Every 6070 days the female give birth to 1060 young that are already approximately onehalf inch long. The Black Molly is omnivorous and that prefers both meaty foods as well as algae. Provide these fish with an algaebased flake food, as well as freezedried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp.

© 2015 RAS (All Rights Reserved) www.raleighaquariumsociety.org Page 18 of 24 Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Volume 34, Issue 5 May 2015 Magnificent Mollies By Bill Allen, TFH Magazine contributing author “Da lady at da fish sto’ tol’ me dat da big black one is pregnant and gonna have babies soon,” so said my Cajun uncle Bobby from Lafayette, Louisiana, when he presented me with a few fish right after Christmas more than 50 years ago. Uncle Bobby had seen the 10gallon aquarium that I received as a Christmas present and wanted to buy a few fish for my new hobby. My parents were less than thrilled by this news. They wanted only male fishes for my new tank so it wouldn’t be overrun by additional fishes. But, just as promised, the “big black one,” a robust female black molly, soon delivered about a dozen tiny, plump babies. They were removed from the aquarium and placed in a small plastic container, and the rest, as they say, is history. So began my relationship with livebearers in general and mollies in particular, which has lasted over 50 years. Mollies are among the most common fishes in any local fish store, and for good reason. They come in an astonishing array of colors, sizes, and fin shapes. Some of the wild varieties are a bit finicky and can be a challenge to find and keep, but many of the domestic varieties are very hardy and can stand quite a few of the mistakes that beginners might make. Two Types of Mollies The name “molly” is derived from their previous scientific name, Mollienisia. Mollies are now lumped into the genus Poecilia, which includes guppies and limias (a relatively uncommon Caribbean livebearer), among other lesserknown fishes. You can still find references to Mollienisia as the genus in which all mollies belong in some of the older aquarium literature. SailFin Mollies Mollies can be separated into two groups: sailfin mollies and shortfin mollies. The sailfin mollies consist of three species: Poecilia velifera, P. latipinna, and P. petenensis. P. latipinna is native to the southern United States, from South Carolina to Texas along the Gulf Coast. My hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana is home to wild sailfin mollies, although this area is not cited in any of the standard references and we are hundreds of miles from the coast. The wild green sailfin molly was among the first small fishes kept in captivity. The other two species of sailfin mollies, P. velifera and P. petenensis, are both from Central America and are not native to the US. Pure examples of these species are difficult to find; they are usually available only from specialized breeders. The males of these species have beautiful high, broad dorsal fins that they display during their elaborate courting dance. Unlike the finnage of hifin swordtails, platies, or fancy guppies, these big, beautiful fins are a natural trait and not the result of domesticated breeding programs. Watching several male sailfin mollies vie for the attention of a female in a welllit tank is a thing of beauty. An even greater treat is to see the males do so in the wild. Males will also spar and chase one another, but permanent damage is seldom done. Being a flashy dancer and dresser for the ladies has a high cost, however; it also attracts predators and raises the fish’s chances of being eaten by them! So, some male mollies never develop the beautiful broad dorsal but instead keep a low profile, schooling with and mating with the females. These are called “sneaky” males. In the wild, all three of these species have a greenishgray body color. When courting, the males will flash brilliant blue and their bodies take on a gold overcast. But in the wild, sometimes the occasional fish can be caught with black markings. One reference cites an aquarist named “Crescenty in New Orleans” as breeding the first black mollies. However, I don’t believe that a man named Crescenty ever existed. Instead, several breeders worked on the project independently in the late 20s to early 30s, one of the first being Bill Schomberg of Crescent Fish Farm (see the similarity?) in New Orleans. Contemporaries of Mr. Schomberg remember him having black mollies “as big and fat as Polish sausages.” Schomberg also caught and sold wild sailfin green mollies. Other commercial fish farmers breeding black mollies included Florida fish farmers Jack Beater and Bill Sternke. ShortFin Mollies The second group of mollies is shortfin mollies. The males of these fishes never develop the broad, high dorsal of the other three species. Even the females have a shorter dorsal fin base than the females of the sailfin species. At one time, most shortfin mollies were collectively called “Poecilia sphenops,” but in the last few years, the scientific splitters have been at work dividing the shortfin mollies into several different species, including P. mexicana, P. latipunctata, P. salvatoris,

© 2015 RAS (All Rights Reserved) www.raleighaquariumsociety.org Page 19 of 24 Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Volume 34, Issue 5 May 2015 and more. Fancy Domesticated Varieties All of the mollies in both of these groups readily hybridize with each other, yielding possibilities for the dedicated selective breeder. Mollies have occasionally hybridized with their close relatives, the guppies, although the offspring appear to be sterile and thus not useful as breeding material. To the best of my knowledge, mollies have not been crossed with swordtails or platies. It is very doubtful that any of the fancy types described below have swordtail genes in their pedigrees.

Colors Even in nature, mollies are sometimes found with black blotches. The blackest fish were bred to each other until a solid black fish was developed. In the process, quite a few mollies were found with varying amounts of random black blotches. These mollies are called “marbled mollies” and are available as a color form today. I have also seen marbled mollies sold as “saltandpepper” or “Dalmatian” mollies. When the black coloration is arranged as streaks rather than blotches, the fish is often designated as a “harlequin.” Marbling can also be found on many of the other colors described below, so you can find marbled gold mollies, marbled 24carat gold dust mollies, and so forth. The amount and placement of the blotches varies tremendously from one fish to another, and when these fish are bred to each other, babies ranging from solid black to no black and all variations in between are produced. Albinism is a trait expressed when no color pigment is produced. True albinos are a goldenyellow color. The hallmark of a true albino is pink eyes. Some of these fish also retain bright iridescent flecks, which give them a truly wonderful appearance. These flecks, called iridophores, differ from normal pigment cells and are thus not affected by albinism. A Florida fish farmer once told me that albino mollies are difficult to raise in outdoor ponds because their bright color, combined with poor eyesight, makes them easy prey for wading birds, the scourge of outdoor fish farmers. This story may be apocryphal, but it makes sense. Although true albinos have pink eyes, some fish display a reduced but not total lack of pigment. These fish are called “leucanistic” or semialbino. My favorite of these fish is the gold molly, which has the beautiful yellowgold coloration of an albino but still has dark eyes. Some gold mollies appear to have scales edged in red. This unusual but very beautiful color is called “sunburst.” I’ve seen sunburst mollies with golds that are almost cream in color. A similar color is called “creamsickle,” which is almost identical to that of the frozen confection. Sometimes all pigments except one are eliminated. This appears to be the case of the silver molly. Since the natural form of the molly usually has a silvery background with green and some other colors, eliminating all pigment except the silver results in a fish with a pure silvery color. Another beautiful goldcolored variety is the 24carat gold molly. Most of these I have seen appear to be of the shortfinned, possibly the P. sphenops, variety. This is a very bright, almost shiny, gold color that appears to be quite different from the gold molly previously described. The dark black eyes on this fish stand out remarkably against the shiny gold body. Many 24carat gold mollies that I have seen have varying amounts of marbling, which is very attractive against the gold background. I have also seen mollies with a brown, not black, coloration that is almost identical to a chocolate Labrador

© 2015 RAS (All Rights Reserved) www.raleighaquariumsociety.org Page 20 of 24 Raleigh Aquarium Society (RAS) Volume 34, Issue 5 May 2015 retriever. Not surprisingly, these fish are called “chocolate mollies.” There are even some mollies with red in them, which is very unusual. I am not sure how this color variety originated. Fancy Finnage As magnificent as a sailfin molly is, the sailfin trait is found naturally in wild mollies. There is great variation in the size of the sail fin, but it is still a natural trait. In much of the older literature, mention is made of the difficulty of obtaining really nice sailfin mollies in captivity, but it can be done. It appears that the mollies need uncrowded conditions and good water quality. Dr. Joanne Norton once recommended six to eight in a 30gallon tank. Good male sailfin mollies also need a longer time to mature. In addition to the natural sailfin trait, there are several finnage varieties that have been produced from “sports,” or mutations, that have been carefully fixed and bred into other mollies. In the lyretail, the top and bottom ends of the caudal fin extend beyond the middle of the fin, similar to a lyretail swordtail. The best specimens display a wide, clean arc with no broken, bent, or damaged fin rays. But although lyretail swordtails are usually unable to breed because of deformities in the gonopodium (modified anal fin that constitutes the male sex organ of most livebearers), lyretail mollies generally are able to breed. Also available are veiltail mollies that have a large, wide tail similar to the tail of a veiltail guppy. In a really fine specimen, the tail can be as much as 2½ inches wide. I have also seen the word “guppytail” applied to veiltail mollies but am uncertain as to whether this is a separate trait or simply another word for the same trait. In a 1973 issue of Livebearers, Dr. Norton published a handdrawn chart illustrating these different fin types, which has remained similar since then. Color and finnage are inherited separately, so just about any color can be bred into just about any fin shape, thus increasing the number of possible molly varieties. Balloon Mollies An unusual manmade variety of molly is the balloon molly. This is a small molly with an extremely distended abdominal cavity. Some aquarists treat these fish as deformed freaks and state that keeping them is cruel. The balloon mollies I have seen are as healthy and lively as any other mollies. It might be wise to be careful placing them with other aggressive fish, as their distorted body shape may limit their ability to feed. Simply keep an eye on them and be sure they are getting their share at meal time. Once again, the balloon trait can be bred into other molly finnages and color traits, once again increasing the number of molly varieties. Mollies for All If you are a beginning aquarist, you will be fascinated by the colors and varieties of the mollies at your local pet store and will surely find one that can pique your interest. If you are a seasoned old hand, you can keep one of the more exotic wild strains of molly or try developing and fixing your own unique fancy strain. Wherever you are in this hobby, there is definitely a molly for you!

“Fishing is boring, unless you actually catch a fish; then it is disgusting.” Dave Barry

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