The Journal of the Catfish Study Group
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Journal of the Catfish Study Group Underground Catfish . Far\owell vittata spawntn9 Volume 10 Issue Number 1 March 2009 Honorary Committee for the Catfish Study Group President: Trevor (JT) Morris Website Manager: Allan James vice-President: Dr Peter Burgess [email protected] AquaticsDoctor@ao 1. eo m Cat Chat Editor: Keith Jackson Chairman: Ian Fuller [email protected] [email protected] Print Manager: John Toon vice-Chairman &Treasurer: [email protected] Danny Blundell [email protected] Breeders Award Secretary: Mark Waiters Secretary: Adrian Taylor bap .secretary@catfishstudygroup. org secretary@catfi sh s tudygro up. org Publicity Officer: Lee Fearnley Assistant Show Secretary: [email protected] Ann Blundell Show Secretary: Brian Walsh Scientific Advisor: [email protected] Professor Isaac Isbrucker Auction Manager: Roy Barton Membership Secretary: Floor Member: Bill Hurst Bob Barnes [email protected] Where We Meet: The Group nonnally meets at the High field Working Men's Club, 1 Ratcliffe Street, Darwen, Lanes, BB3 2BZ on the third Sunday of each month from 1p1n. The exceptions are the Decetnber 1neeting, which is held on the second Sunday at the usual place, and the annual Convention, held in the Spring at the Britannia Hotel, Ahnond Brook Road, Standish, Wigan. Volume 10 Number 1 Contents Fro1n the Chair. ... .... ................ .... ...... .... ... .. ... ... ..... .... ... .. ...... .... .. ..... .. ..... .... ... ... .... .. ..... .... ....... .... .. .. ........ .............. 1 Edi torial .... .. .. .... ... ... .... .. ...... .... .. ... ... .... ....... .. .. ...... .... .... .......... ..... .... .... ..... ..... ... ......... ... .... ..... ... .... ........ ................. 2 Underground Catfish ....................... ..... .............. ... ...... .. ..... .. .... ... .. .... .... .... .... ..... .. .... ............... .. .. .... .. ...... ... ...... .. .. 3 Breeders Award Programme- December 2008 .... .. .... ... ... .. ...... ... ............. .. .. .. .... ....... ... .... ... .. ...... .... .. ..... ... ...... .. .... 8 Breeding Far/owe/la vittata - The Twig Catfish .... .. .. .. .. ... .. ........ ... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .... .... .......... .. .. .... .. .... .. .... .... .. .. .... .. .. .9 CSG Auction Rules .... ... ... .. .......... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ......... ... .. ... ..... .......... .. .. ........... .. .... ...... ... ...... .... .. .. .. .. ........ .. .... .. ... .. I! Oaks From Little Acorns Grow .. ...... ... ..... .. .. .... .. .. .. .. ... .. .......... .. ...... ... .. ... .... .... ....... .. .... .... .. ..... .. .. ..... ...... ... ... .. .. .. l 2 Dwarf Corydoras .. .... ... .......... ..... .. ...... ...... ..... ................................................... ........ ......... ... ...... .......... ... .. ...... ... l 2 On the identity of Pseudomystus stenomus, (Valenciennes in Cuvier and Valenciennes, 1840), with comments on some related Bagrids .... ........ .... .... .... ... .... ........ .... ... .. .. .. ............. ....... ... .... .. ... .. .... .......... ... .... .. .......... .... ... .... ... l6 What's New - March 2009 .... .. ... ..... ..... .... .. ... .... ... .. .... .... .. .. ........ .. .... ..... .. .. ..... ........ .. .. ... ...... ... ...... ..... .... .. .... ... .. .. 25 Fishes of the genus Platydoras Bleeker, 1862 .. ............ .... .. ...... ..... ..... .. ... ..... ..... ... ...... ..... .. ..... ... ... .... ............. .....26 Dates for Yow· Diary ..... ... ...... .. .... ....... .. ... ...... ... .. ... ..... ... .. .. .. .......... ................. ... .... .... ....... ...... ........ ... .. .... ... ... .... 29 Magazine Closing Dates ... ... ... .. ...... .... ......... .... .. .......... .... ....... ...... ..... .. .......... .......... .. .. .. ......... ... ..... .... ..... ... ... .... .29 AQUALIFE_ _ Wyevale Garden Centre, 338 Southport Road, Ulnes Walton, Leyland PR26 8LQ Tei/Fax: 01772 601777 OVER 100 TANKS - WIDE RANGE OF CORYDORAS AND CATFISH Visit us online at www.northtrop.co.uk Volume 10 Number 1 From the Chair Ian Fuller Welcome to this our our 2009 30th anniversary event will be over. There ann iversary year. In fact will be reports of how things went in the forums on our we are actually celebrating web site , in the aquati c press and in depth in the next a double anniversary. It issue of Cat Chat. However, the best way to know how was thirty years ago, in it was would be to be there and I hope many of you wi ll 1979, that the group be saying, "Yes I kn ow it was good, I was there". formerly known as the Northern Area Group was At the AGM Mr Bob Barnes was duly elected as our fo rm ed as an area group of new membership secretmy and I am sure he will get all the now-defunct Catfish the problems we have been having in that department Associati on of Great sorted and back on an even keel. To those members Britain. In the early 1990' s, that have been affected I can only apologise and after the demise of the CAGB, the name was changed endeavour to see that the problems do not happen again . to Northern Area Catfish G roup. In the year 2000 the At the February meeting the topic of the day was name changed aga in and became the Catfish Study ·'Feeding Catfishes" and Danny Blundell put on a Group UK but changed again, to reflect the programme, in which he explained and demonstrated intern ational interest, when it was decided to remove some of the foods and feeding techniques he uses. 'UK' from the name. Afterward the break, the members then went on to Sin ce the re-naming of the group in 2000 the group has discuss in depth the w id e variety and diversity of the gone from strength to strength and expanded into a dietary needs of many of our favourite Catfish species. truly worldwide group. Our activities, especiall y the Not very much from me this time, but I am quite busy conventions, have developed from a Sunday afternoon with convention bookin gs and the mass of things that affair with one or two talks, into a full weekend need to be pl anned and sorted before the event takes extravaganza, with five or six internationally place and hopefull y without a hitch. renowned speakers. By the time you read this issue . ' T tll next t1me, Happy Catfish Keepmg. CfiTFISH STVO'I GROVP OPEN SHOW NDAUCTION 20th SEPTEMBER 2009 Highfields Working Men's Club 1, Ratcliffe Street, Darwen Lancashire, BB3 2BZ C'A\f' CHA\f' Volume 10 Number 1 Editorial Keith Jackson Here we are at issue five of my stint already, with the Increasing my water changes to twice a week seemed 3 0111 Anniversary Convention upon us, if not past us. to improve the fish but I was still seeing the pH fall Let's hope it will be/has been a good one! between changes, although the bacteria seemed to have re-established themselves, thank goodness! In the However, at the distinct risk of sounding like a broken end, though, I couldn't get things right again fast record. it's my unhappy duty to say that this issue has enough and I lost a small Panaque, a Scobiancistrus been the hardest to get ready so far. I had very little and several long-established Otocinclus. I was not copy in reserve and nothing in the offing. Luckily for happy. - you, a few stalwarts responded to my pleas in the Group's forum and we have a decent-sized Cat Chat My tanks and my pond have always been rock steady, after all but, if more of the membership don 't write with a pH around 6.5-7.0, KH=3 and GH=lO. When things for the Journal, before long an issue will be just fish in other tanks started to show signs of illness I got a few pages long. Special thanks to everyone who really worried and did a mass water-testing run. All the contributed but particularly must go to Steve Grant tanks were running low on KH and the pH was lower who came up with two excellent pieces. than usual in most of them so what was the common factor? As I write this, the AGM took place a few days ago and it was a good one. Business was conducted quickly My first response was to add coral sand to every tank and efficiently and, believe it or not, it wasn 't boring! to improve the buffering but I was at a loss to explain We saw three new faces arrive - well, two new faces why these very stable tanks had turned so sour. It was and one returnee if truth be told- and two of them were only when I realised that the one tank I keep that isn 't volunteers. That was the shock of the decade! Q in my fish-house was absolutely fine that the possible culprit presented itself. The tank in the house had So I'd like to welcome Bill Hurst back to the always had its change-water treated chemically for Committee as a Lay Member, Bob Barnes as chlorine, etc. For several months, however, I'd been Membership Secretary and Lee Fearnley as Publicity using a charcoal filter in the fish-house that I'd bought Officer. to use with my pond and thought it could save money I'd like to remind members that they are welcome to on de-chlorinator indoors, too. attend our Committee Meetings as observers and may Now I couldn't say for sure whether the charcoal filter speak , though only at the discretion of the Chairman, is to blame but I stopped using it and reverted to but may not vote. We hold our meetings after most chemically-dosing the change-water in the fish-house. Group meetings, the two exceptions being the Whether it was that or the addition of coral sand I don't Christmas Social and the Convention. Come and