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Why you should make
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Y 2019 £4.50

ETHICAL
CONUNDRUM
ARE YOUR
SHOAL SIZES
BIG ENOUGH?

Predatory Project The long and long of it

catfish
Three BIG eaters
GO RETRO The wriggly world of Spiny eels

with unique
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Welcome
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See page 70 for details

THE EXPERTS

STEVE
BAKER
This issue Steve has
been getting to grips
with slippery customers. Find out what
he has to tell us about the spiny eels
on page 12.

TAI
STRIETMAN
Tai is still on location
in South America,
and this time he’s been out looking for
special strains of Black neon tetras.
Read what he discovered on page 38.

MARK
BEESTON
Mark has been strolling
down memory lane
to reclaim a fish from his youth that
deserves more credit. Find out what’s
special about Medaka on page 22.

GABOR
HORVATH
Gabor likes to emerge
from his vast fish
house with updates of his many
successes. This month its the turn of
the Red chin panchax on page 72.
JONNY
ARCHER
Jonny has been busy
explaining the science
on stunted fish growth – see page 32.
He’ll also help you brush up your skills
for an aquatic job on page 92.
TRISTAN
LOUGHER
Tristan is obsessed
with scooters this
month – Scooter blennies, that is! Learn
more about the fickle but stunning
Dragonets on page 78.
Stay in touch
Email us at editorial@
practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
FOR CHRISTMAS back in the
late ‘80s I got an aquarium
book, and that started a chain
of events that led to me being,
30 years later, the editor of a
fishkeeping magazine. Ours is
an obsessive hobby if we feed it,
and my own obsession was
nurtured from the start by little more than a wedge of
paper with pictures and words.
My father bought me a subscription to PFK, which I
read religiously. Even then I knew that one day I wanted
to write for this title, and told my dad so.
It’s been a long journey, through college, public
aquaria, retail, teaching, writing and now editing, but
now I can look back on 12-year-old me and my younger
dad and say ‘we did it’. For 2019, if you see that ‘spark’
in a young fishkeeper you know, then encourage it. Buy
books. Watch videos together. Years from now, that kid Which fish decided
might thank you. Happy New Year everyone!
that the safest place
to live was inside
the anus of a Sea
Nathan Hill, Associate Editor cucumber?
Find out on page 46
Watch us on youtube.com/ Follow us at www.facebook.
user/practicalfishkeeping com/PFKmag/

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 5
 s FEBRUARY

72

86

INSPIRATION 32 SLOW GROWERS

ROCKPOOLER’S
08 DELIGHT!
This fellow might not be one
for your tank at home, but it’s
a real treat when you spot a
Worm pipefish at the seaside.
SWIMMING SNAKES
Why do most species of
72 THROATS OF FLAME
Epiplatys dageti is a Panchax
fish stunt in captivity, never
reaching anything like their
by name, but not by nature.
It’s the ideal red-chinned fish
potential size in the wild? We for a community tank.
take a long, hard look at the
Editor’s
science of stress. Pick 78 VINTAGE SCOOTERS
Colourful Dragonets and
BLACK & GOLD
38 Mandarins, scooting along

12 Tai Strietman, our roving

reporter in Brazil, goes on the
trail of the Black neon tetra –
and strikes gold.
EXTREMISTS
Meet the fastest fish, the
biggest, the smallest, the most
ve
w
th
BACK TO THE FUTURE
22 They were a firm favourite in
of
br
the 1980s and the first fish to fis
be bred in space. So why have
we never heard of Medaka?
the substrate or burying
themselves up to their eyes in
it, are very easy fish to love.
FISH-EATING CATS
Read editor
Nathan’s favourite
86 Not all catfish are peaceful,
article this issue contented, sweet little souls.
about predatory Some, literally, are killer cats…
fish
SO YOU WANT TO
86
92 BE A PROFESSIONAL
FISHKEEPER?
From working in aquatics retail
to teaching, conservation
and more, here’s how to start
getting paid for your passion.

6 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
5
Which fish is the How to keep Learn Jonny’s
THINGS 1 fastest d 2 control of the Lea 5 rule of thumb for
YOU WILL how that
compares
numbers in your
tank and stop fish
4 to I
your ee
working out what
tank size you need
for the maximum
LEARN IN to the properl size of
speed of How to breed
THIS ISSUE Usain Bol 3 Corydoras
which
are tox
your
fish

46

22

78

NEWS & VIEWS 105 GEAR GUIDE

The latest fishkeeping products
keeping Silver dollars, set-ups
for Anthias and a ‘whirling’
AQUATIC NEWS Practical
10 Pollution in the Amazon, the
tried and tested, including the
BiOrb Cube 30 tank, AquaEl Fishkeeping
goldfish, to name just a few.

largest Skate ever caught, and
conservationists’ fears about
the soaring price of Wrasse.
20 ETHICAL DEBATE
PFK associate editor Nathan
Hill and staff writer Steve Baker
go head to head over whether
it’s right to keep shoaling
species alone or in small groups.
29 LETTERS
Where to find African cichlids,
public aquaria, distance learning
and praise for Bug Bites food.
GEAR & REVIEWS
ROADTRIP
delivered to KNOW-HOW:
Ultramax filter, an All Pond
Solutions skimmer and cute, your digital 66 HAVING KITTENS
squishy fish from Greenpleco. device All you need to know about
PAGE 70 breeding Corydoras catfish.
READERS’ POLL 2018
108 Our round-up of the top SUBSCRIBE TO PFK
aquatics shops in the UK and 70 Get your first three issues of
Ireland – as voted by you. Practical Fishkeeping for just
£5 – and never miss an issue.
109 MANUFACTURERS POLL
NEXT MONTH
Vote for your top fish food,
aquarium, lighting, filter, water 97 Pretty pencilfish, the PFK big
treatment and more. Some wood guide, and a look at the
great prizes up for grabs too! unexpected hybrids swimming
around your tank.
REGULARS
FISHKEEPING ANSWERS 114 TAILPIECE
57 Nathan looks back at 2018 and

98 PFK visits three varied aquatics

PFK’s crack team of aquatics
experts are on hand to answer
wonders if this was the year
that ethics in fishkeeping flew
stores in London. all your questions. This month: out of the window?

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 7
FASCINATING FISH
Worm pipefish

Rockpler’s
DELIGHT! Small, enigmatic and locally grown. While the Worm pipefish isn’t
a species you’ll be taking home, it’s a treat to find one in the
flesh at your nearest seaside.

I
T CAN be easy to dismiss the
sea surrounding the UK as
murky, with few obvious signs
of life, but reduced visibility
doesn’t automatically
constitute a lack of
CHRIS biodiversity. The waters
SERGEANT around our coastline boast an
abundance of native marine life, with
Chris works in
conservation reseach a host of creatures usually
and regularly associated with tropical reef habitats
writes for aquarium calling our shores home.
ALAMY
real rockpooling oddity – the Worm When your prey hangs around the
pipefish, Nerophis lumbriciformis. substrate and seaweed edges of
Bearing a striking resemblance to rockpools, chances are that’s where
their seahorse and sea dragon you’ll spend your time too. Keep an
cousins, they all hail from the family eye out for densely packed
Syngnathidae, meaning fused jaws. macrophytes and look
Unlike other native pipefish species, among the
Worm pipefish are characterised by
their stubby snout complete with
an upturned mouth. This oral
orientation restricts the size of their
prey, with harpacticoid and

publications. A forage along the intertidal zone cyclopoid copepods

reveals a host of critters perfectly being their dish of
adapted to live in this fluctuating the day.
and demanding environment.
While shannies, gobies and the odd
scorpionfish flit between hiding
spots, look a little harder among
the stones and seaweed
and you might be
rewarded with a

8 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

holdfasts – their brown, worm-like
bodies blend in perfectly with
the cylindrical algal branches.
Possessing only a dorsal fin, they
are relatively poor swimmers,
manoeuvring slowly and deliberately
so to mimic the seaweed with which
they’re associated. In the absence
of an overhanging seaweed canopy,
safety is sought under loose
rockwork and boulders instead.
As with other Syngnathids, Worm
pipefish switch up the gender roles
when it comes to courtship and
brooding their young.
Engaging in a lek mating system
– whereby multiple individuals
gather together to pick a mate – the
larger, more ornate females take up
a prominent position in the group
as they compete to woo the
congregating males. Once a male is
suitably impressed and the female
ALAMY
transfers the eggs to him, her
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK
MAIN IMAGE:
A homeland curiosity
to look out for
INSET: Find me if
you can – steady
movement and
camouflage make
it tricky to spot.
involvement in her offspring’s
upbringing ends, and the male’s
paternal instincts kick in.
After fertilisation, the male must
find a safe haven for his eggs to
develop. Rather than glue the eggs
to the underside of a rock or shell
like most rockpool regulars, the
Worm pipefish carries them around
in a specialised groove on the ventral
surface. With his unborn brood in
tow, he will spend the next month
protecting them before releasing the
free-swimming young to join the
plankton in the water column.
Water temperature is key to the
pipefish breeding season, with
pregnant males most likely to be
seen between June and August.
While we love our hobby,
sometimes it can be refreshing to
put down the syphon and test kits
once in a while, and engage with
the nature on our own doorstep.
9
NEWS
Aquatic News
Bob Mehen gathers the latest news and events from the world of aquatics.
PLASTICS
POLLUTION IN
THE AMAZON
Scientists uncover first evidence of plastics contamination in
freshwater river-dwelling fish in South America.
Plastic destined
for the Atlantic
Ocean.
Y
OU MAY well imagine that
the mighty Amazon River and
its tributaries are some of
the last great untouched aquatic
wildernesses, but new research
paints a sad and depressing picture
of plastic pollution among the
immense aquatic diversity.
Scientists from the Federal
University of Pará in Brazil examined
the gut contents of 172 freshwater
fish from 16 different species, with
sizes between 4cm and 30cm, and
weighing from 2g to nearly 1kg.
The fish were caught in the Xingu
River, a tributary of the Amazon.
Worryingly, they discovered
plastic fragments in the guts of
46 of the fish from 13 different
10 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
species. The plastic was present
regardless of whether the fish
were vegetarian, omnivorous
or carnivorous. It’s thought the
vegetarian species eat the plastic
by accident, mistaking it for plant
FROM matter, while the other species
LAND TO consume it when they eat fish that
OCEAN have already ingested the rubbish.
The dozen distinct polymers
About 66,000
identified are used in the manufacture
tons of plastic of plastic bags, bottles and more.
are thought to Some of the plastic debris made
be carried by up to 37% of the fish’s gut content.
the Amazon This will have a major impact on
River into the them physiologically in terms
Atlantic Ocean of how they process their food,
every year. not to mention the possible
toxicological effects.
AQUASCAPING
GEORGE AT
THE RHS
PFK contributor and
internationally renowned
aquascaper George Farmer
showcased the aquascaping
hobby at the Royal Horticultural
Society’s Urban Gardening Show
in late October. The event took
place at the RHS Lindley and
Lawrence Halls in Westminster.
George displayed several
completed aquascapes and also
ran workshops where visitors
could create their own miniature
underwater landscapes.
SEA LIFE
REFURB NEARS
COMPLETION
Refurbishment of the Sea Life
centre in Brighton, the oldest
operating aquarium in the world,
is close to completion. The grade
II-listed structure, which opened
as Brighton Aquarium in 1872,
has been undergoing a long-term
restoration project since 2012.
By the time the works are
completed this spring, the
popular seaside attraction will
have had £7.5 millon spent on it,
helping to ensure its long-term
future. The latest phase of work
includes a remodelling of the
venue’s popular ocean display, as
well as building vital new
quarantine facilities.

HEATWAVE BLAMED FOR JOB LOSSES
The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth, the
UK’s largest public aquarium, has blamed the
hot summer for the need to cut up to 15 jobs. The York. Baldwin says aquarium chain owner
aquarium made a loss of over £500,000 in 2018.
Rhys Roberts, chairman of Visit Devon, said many
indoor businesses were affected by the summer
heatwave, despite beach resorts being crowded.
. from bringing his “cruel and
RECORD BREAKER
SHUTTERSTOCK
World’s largest
skate caught
A Scottish fisherman fishing off
the coast of Northern Ireland has
caught a common Skate, Dipturus
batis, that’s smashed the world
record. Hamish Currie, who is 59,
was fishing in 40m-deep water
off the coast of Portrush, County
Antrim, when the massive ray
took his bait.
The monster fish took over an
hour to land and weighed in at
over 136kg (300lb), smashing
FISH FARMING
WORRIES OVER WRASSE
You won’t find one at your local
fishmongers, but conservationists
have raised concerns for Wrasse
stocks around the UK as their price
soars to record levels.
Reports of the species fetching
over £50,000 per ton may seem odd
as it’s not a food fish. However, the
high price is related to their use in
the salmon farming industry where
they are added to the sea pens to
help control parasites. The helpful
ACTOR’S PROTEST
Actor Alec Baldwin is urging officials to
block proposals by SeaQuest Aquarium SEA CREATURES GO TO SCHOOL
A former school in Muroto in the Kochi Prefecture
to open a new site in Oyster Bay, New of Japan has become an aquarium after sitting
derelict for 12 years. Some of the school facilities
Vince Covino “has left untold animal have been reused, with a former hand-washing
suffering in his wake” and urges the sink becoming a touch-pool where visitors can
interact with sea cucumbers and starfish, and a
permit be denied, stopping Covino
25m swimming pool now used to house turtles.
deadly operation to our
lovely hamlet.”
GENETICS
HOPE FOR
HEART DISEASE
Research into the Blind cave tetra, Astyanax mexicanus,
A big help could help in the fight against heart disease in humans.
for skate The blind fish are a distinct population of the more
conservation. conventional-looking Mexican tetra that were washed
into caves around 1.5 million years ago. Apart from
losing their eyes and colouration, scientists have noticed
that they also lack the ability to repair damaged heart
tissue the way their daylight dwelling cousins can.
Scientists linked the heart repair to two genes in the
tetra. They then used this knowledge to switch off the
same gene in Zebra Danio, Danio rerio, which can also
heal damaged heart tissue, and found the danio were
now unable to repair their heart tissue without scarring.
the previous record by almost Both genes are also present in humans, and it’s hoped
100lb. The majestic specimen research may eventually allow treatments that will help
was 251cm (8ft 3in) long with a people with damaged hearts to regenerate heart tissue.
‘wingspan’ of 213cm (7ft).
Estimated to be at least 30
years old, the Skate was tagged
and released within four minutes
of its capture to help with
conservation.
The species is listed as critically
endangered on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
wrasse clean the salmon in much
the same way as their better-known
tropical reef-dwelling cousins.
Single fish now cost as much as
£17.50 and at least half of those sold
are wild-caught, with shipments
being taken from as far afield as
Cornwall to supply the industry in
Scotland. It’s feared that by removing trade in Wrasse is unregulated.
these fish from the wild in such Commercial farming of Wrasse has
numbers, the balance of natural increased, but the fish take up to six
ecosystems may suffer. As yet, the years to reach breeding maturity.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 11
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Spiny eels

SWIMMING
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

Spiny eels often

lurk in the
shadows.

12 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
SNAKE
If you’re looking for an oddball fish with
pots of personality, you won’t go
far wrong with a spiny eel.
WORDS: STEVE BAKER
O
DDBALLS CAN
be divisive fish.
They don’t tend to
be pretty, many
have a face only a
mother could love
and some even
make people’s skin
crawl, but to those fishkeepers
who are attracted to something
a bit more individual and
interesting, oddballs are where it’s
at and it doesn’t take long to be
smitten by their charming, quirky
or feisty personalities.
So-called eels are possibly the
most commonly sold oddball in
the hobby. They tend to mix well
with other fish, and some stay
manageable enough in size that
they can be added to the larger
community tank without upsetting
the peace. I’m going to say that
some of them are pretty little
things too, but then I’m biased.
My most-loved and most-missed
fish of recent years came from the
group we call spiny eels and I
can’t wait to keep another – they
are very personable fish.
The scientist in me needs to get
something off my chest before we
go any further, though. Fire eels
are not eels, Peacock eels are not
eels, Zebra eels are not eels. In
fact, none of the freshwater spiny
eels are eels. It would be just as
accurate to name them swimmy
snakes or wormy wigglers.
True eels descend from ancient
ancestors, go through a larval
stage of life, are predatory and
have a continuous
fin from
what would
normally be a
dorsal fin to the
position of an anal fin
(non-differentiated
caudal) with no spines.
If you concentrate on
the head, you will see
more similarities to loach
than to eels. This led me to
call my Tanganyikan spiny
eel Izzy (Aneel Ornot).
The spiny eel family
The family of
Mastacembelidae is
now made up of
two main genera –
Macrognathus, with 24
members, and Mastacembelus,
with 61 members.
Aethiomastacembelus,
Afromastacembelus and
Caecomastacembelus are old,
outdated genera, now synonyms
of Mastacembelus.
There is huge variety in this
family with adult sizes varying
from 7-100cm, and characters
ranging from peaceful and shy to
bold and aggressive. Habitats also
vary wildly from dark, lowland,
acidic backwater streams, to
giant, hardwater rocky lakes, so
it’s important to research an
exact species before purchase
rather than thinking all spiny eels
need similar care.
Identification can be a tricky
game with Mastacembelidae
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 13
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Spiny eels
members. There are a few commonly
traded species that are easier to ID,
such as the Fire eel, Mastacembelus
erythrotaenia, with its black body
and red to yellow stripes and spots,
but many of the spiny eels are
mottled browns and blacks, and
markings on younger specimens
can be very confusing.
The Tyre track eel is commonly
seen in aquatics shops, but which
fish is it? Fishbase.com lists the
Tyre track eel as Mastacembelus
favus, but Seriouslyfish.com says
it’s M. armatus. The subtle difference
is in the positioning of the markings,
as the markings themselves look
so similar. In M. armatus, markings
are concentrated on the top half
of the body, leaving the belly
marking-free, but with M. favus
the markings extend down
to the belly.
Now, I know a subtle
difference like that won’t
upset most fishkeepers,
but those looking for
authentic biotopes
may have their
nose put out as
the two species
don’t share areas
of distribution.
The bigger
potential issue is
that M. favus tops out
at 70cm, whereas
M. armatus continues
growing to 90cm.
So macro
Although there are fish in the
Macrognathus genus that grow to
over 60cm, they are generally far
smaller with the largest commonly
available species growing to about
30cm. This genus contains the
Peacock eel, Macrognathus siamensis,
an easy fish to come across. The
common name draws attention to
the collection of eyespots at the
base of the dorsal fin, which recall
the eyespots on the feathers of a
peacock. This pattern can be seen
in several other species in the
genus, one of which is the largest
member M. aral (which you’re
unlikely to find in shops). It grows
up to 63cm, whereas the common
Peacock stops growing at 30cm.
The Zebra spiny eel, Macrognathus
14 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
BELOW: zebrinus, isn’t hard to come across in given the overall mass, not all that
Tyre track eels the hobby and it’s a real stunner big either. It’s certainly not going to
are aptly named. – fine, dark markings adorn the produce anywhere near the bioload
length of its long, thin body from top of a 20cm catfish or cichlid for
to bottom. From images I’ve seen, argument’s sake.
the definition of these markings All of the aforementioned species
seem to improve with age, but it’s hail from Asia, where the bulk of
one for a decent-sized tank as it Mastacembelidae come from. These
grows to around 46cm. common Asian species appreciate
If size is your main concern, look similar, middle-of-the-road
out for the Half-banded spiny eel, conditions with a pH of near neutral
Macrognathus circumcinctus. It’s not (pH 6.5-7.5) and a medium hardness
particularly common, but it’s not – somewhere around 10-15°H
NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY
a rarity either, so a few calls to a will keep them happy.
selection of good shops should
see a result. At full size it reaches African cousins
20cm – so not a small fish but, Now we come to the family
members from Africa, all of
which are classified in the
Mastacembelus genus. These are
much harder to come across in the
shops and are generally dearer to
buy than the Asian spiny eels.
The Africans are the smaller but
more diverse group, inhabiting
hardwater, softwater, river rapids,
flooded forest basins and vast lakes.
However, it’s very, very rare to
NEIL HEPWORTH
come across African river species in
aquatics shops. That’s a shame, as
the eels that cruise the river rapids
Fire eels are
deservedly
popular.
FACTFILE
TYRE TRACK EEL
6Scientific name: Mastacembelus armatus
6Pronunciation: Mast-ah-sem-bel-us arm-aye-tus
6Size: 90cm
6Origin: Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam,
Indonesia
6Habitat: Highland streams to lowland wetlands and coastal
marshes in the dry season. In the wet season they move into
canals, lakes and flooded plains to avoid fast-moving water.
Usually found in rocky sections with sand or fine gravel
substrates and heavy vegetation
6Tank size: 150x60x45cm
6Water requirements: 6.0-7.0 pH, 5-12°H
6Temperature: 23-27°C
6Temperament: Peaceful, though they
will consume small fish just as they do
in the wild. Possibly aggressive
towards conspecifics
6Feeding: Mainly carnivorous – sinking
400 l+
pellets, frozen Mysis, Krill, prawns,
mussels, Lance fish, earthworms. Some
will accept vegetables, though that’s rare
6Availability and cost: Commonly
available; around £10 for small specimens
Fire eels are by
far the easiest
spiny eel to
identify.

Be careful handling Fire eels.

The spines aren’t venomous but
their mucus is mildly toxic. If
bitten/stabbed, apply
antiseptic
cream.

FACTFILE
A head poking out
FIRE EEL from a hide is a
6Scientific name: Mastacembelus common sight.
erythrotaenia
6Pronunciation: Mast-ah-sem-bel-us
Erith-roe-tain-ee-ah
6Size: 100cm
6Origin: Asia: Widespread from Myanmar
to Indonesia (inc Borneo and Sumatra)
6Habitat: Sluggish waters, flooded fields
and slow-moving rivers. Enjoy
burrowing in muddy substrates
6Tank size: 150x60x45cm
6Water requirements: 6.0-7.0 pH,
5-12°H
6Temperature: 24-28°C
6Temperament: Peaceful, but will
consume small fish. Possibly
aggressive toward conspecifics
6Feeding: Mainly carnivorous – sinking
pellets, frozen Mysis, Krill, prawns,
mussels, Lance fish, earthworms. Some
will accept vegetables, though it’s rare
6Availability and cost: Readily available;
from £10 for
small specimens
NEIL HEPWORTH
NEIL HEPWORTH

400 l+

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 15
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Spiny eels

are small (around 16-17cm in length Mastacembelus plagiostomus, a

fully grown), and I would love to
see an eel in fast-moving water at
home – it would be a completely
different dynamic.
The African spiny eels you do see
from time to time tend to be
those that inhabit the great Lake
creamy coloured eel with many M. moori are
pots of fun.
thick bands of dark brown-black
covering the body but fading out
before reaching the belly, and
Mastacembelus moori, a heavily
spotted eel with a brown-olive
coloured body and white-yellow

MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

Tanganyika. If you know anything
about Tanganyikan cichlids, you’ll
know the water there is hard. In
areas of the lake the pH rises as high
as 9.2 and hardness up to 18°H, but
a good average for keeping most
Tanganyikan fish is 8.0-8.2 pH, a
hardness of 12-16°H, with a
temperature of 26-27°C – and it’s
no different for the eels.
The two you’re most likely to
come across in aquatics shops are
It wasn’t long before my eel
would bolt up to the surface as soon
as my fingertips hit the water, and
Izzy would swim through wiggling
fingers and come to rest if I created
a tunnel with my hand
The author’s own
M. plagiostomus.
spots. They grow to 30cm and
44cm respectively.
Mastacembelus ellipsifer is another
Tanganyikan eel you may possibly
come across with its beige body
and lots of light brown ‘saddles’
down its back.
The thing is, these wormy wonders
of the watery world aren’t just nice
to look at. To me, their descriptions
don’t mean half as much as their
incredible characters…
FACTFILE
TANGANYIKAN SPINY EEL
6Scientific name: Mastacembelus plagiostomus
6Pronunciation: Mast-ah-sem-bel-us plag-ee-os-toe-mus
6Size: 30cm
6Origin: Africa – endemic to Lake Tanganyika
6Habitat: Normally shallow, rocky areas around the shoreline
of the lake
6Tank size: 120x45x45cm
6Water requirements: 7.8-9.2 pH, 9-25°H
6Temperature: 25-27°C
6Temperament: Peaceful, slightly 240 l+
competitive with conspecifics
6Feeding: Sinking pellets, frozen
brineshrimp and Mysis shrimp, Krill,
chopped mussel. Avoid bloodworm
6Availability and cost: A real rarity; from
around £65

STEVE BAKER

16 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Once settled in, an
Personality plus eel’s personality
I’d always had an interest in will shine through.
spiny eels, but it wasn’t until I
kept Mastacembelus plagiostomus
in my Tanganyikan set-up that
I realised just what it was to keep
these pseudo eels.
For a start they can be
endearingly nervous for the first
night or two, burying their body in
the sand or creeping between
rocks and poking their heads out
just enough to see what’s
happening. After about a
fortnight, the growing confidence
at feeding time was obvious, as
Izzy began scouring high-level
rocks for frozen Mysis and
brineshrimp, and eating pellet
food with no hesitancy.
Not long after that, I started
holding a few pellets between my
fingers in open water, which
instantly got attention. It wasn’t
long before my eel would bolt up
to the surface as soon as my
fingertips hit the water, and Izzy
would swim through wiggling
fingers and come to rest if I
created a tunnel with my hand.
This playfulness and affection(?)
extended to anyone I would allow.
My niece and nephew were
amazed by it all.

Harry Houdini
Not only do spiny eels have
oddball looks, diversity of size
and of habitats, but they also
have an endearing, pet-like
quality. Oh yes, and an ability
to escape that Houdini would
have been proud of!
To keep an eel successfully,
first you must keep an eel in
water. That might sound easy,
but it’s not just a case of keeping
the tank lid shut. There aren’t
many off-the-shelf tanks that
will be secure enough for a
spiny eel – I can’t actually think
of any – so you need to adjust,
modify and stuff things in holes
to make it secure.
If your tank is open-topped,
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

you’ll either need to forget it and

buy yourself a brand new one, or
lower the water level – at least
15cm from the top for smaller
species, and more like 25cm for

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 17
SPECIES SHOWCASE
Spiny eels
the larger ones. Tanks that do have
lids will need a thorough going over
– pushing sponge into cut-outs for
cables, and resting weights on any
panels that push up.
With large Fire eels and Tyre track
eels, you might even need to place a
brick on the covers. If they can
get a purchase against a rock or
piece of wood in the tank, there’s a
good chance they can push or lift
surprisingly heavy glass plates, let
alone flimsy plastic flap sets.
No fuss-feeding
When it comes to feeding time,
spiny eels are no trouble. They’re
rarely fussy about food and normally
attracted to anything that hits the
substrate. High-protein and high-fat
menus are ideal for these omnivores.
In nature, most Mastacembelidae
feed on a mixture of small fish,
insects and crustaceans. Some also
consume an amount of plant matter
18 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
and detritus, though it’s rare for them
to eat fresh veg in the aquarium.
Dried diets containing a small amount
of spirulina, kelp or vegetable
extracts will supply all the greens
they need, and with either fish or
insect-derived protein suiting them
to the ground, you won’t be stuck for
choice when buying dried food.
A good variety of foods will boost
vitality, health and colour, so have a
few different pellets and granules to
hand, and also some meaty frozen
foods. Bloodworm is great for
smaller specimens and to encourage
newly introduced eels to feed, but
moving on to more substantial fare
will reap rewards. As your spiny eel
grows, you can feed Mysis shrimp,
Krill, Gammarus, prawns, mussels,
cockles, earthworms and lance fish.
And, as I did with Izzy, why not
make feeding a nurturing and
entertaining occasion too. It’s the
perfect time to bond with your eel.
Odd eel out
The odd one out of the spiny eel family
is Sinobdella sinensis, the only species
in the Sinobdella genus and the only
subtropical species to be included in
the Mastacembelidae family. It’s found
in China, Taiwan and Vietnam, where
it inhabits rivers and feeds on insects,
larvae, worms and crustaceans, but it’s not
collected for the aquarium trade.
FACTFILE
HALF-BANDED SPINY EEL
6Scientific name: Macrognathus circumcinctus
6Pronunciation: Mac-ro-gan-thus sir-come-sink-tus
6Size: 20cm
6
Origin: Asia – South-eastern Thailand, Malay peninsula, Sumatra
and Indonesia
6
Habitat: Flowing rivers and streams, with sandy to pebbled
substrate and heavy vegetation
6
Tank size: 90x38x38cm
6Water requirements: 7.0-7.5 pH, 5-15°H
6Temperature: 24-28°C
6
Temperament: Peaceful. Pose a slight 125 l+
threat to very small fish
6
Feeding: Micro predators – sinking pellets,
frozen bloodworm, Mysis shrimp, Krill, plus
more meaty foods as they grow
6
Availability and cost: Not so common; from
around £12
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS
 FACTFILE
PEACOCK EEL
6Scientific name: Macrognathus siamensis
6Pronunciation: Mac-ro-gan-thus sia-men-sis
6Size: 30cm
6Origin: Asia – Southeast Thailand
6
Habitat: Slow-moving and standing waters of lowland rivers and
river basins. Often found burrowed in silt or sand during the day
6Tank size: 120x45x45cm
6Water requirements: 6.0-7.5 pH, 6-15°H
240 l+
6Temperature: 23-27°C
nd shy. Pose a slight threat to small fish
– sinking pellets, frozen bloodworm, Mysis
re meaty foods as they grow
nd cost: Commonly available; from £12

NEIL HEPWORTH
With large Fire eels and Tyre track eels, you might
even need to place a brick on the covers
Macrognanthus

MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

zebrinus – a real
stunner.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 19
OPINION

NATHAN HILL & STEVE BAKER

When it comes to collecting, many fishkeepers have a
pick ‘n’ mix approach to their shoals, mixing dozens of different
species together. But is this fair on the species involved?

W
hat do you consider SB: From a serving point of view when I
the ‘right’ number of worked in retail, it would take 10 minutes for
fish in a shoal? I’m me to net, bag and serve a single tetra, and
talking about fish use one fish bag, one paper bag and a carrier
that are commonly bag. To catch six, it would take me roughly
found together in two minutes longer and use no extra bags.
large numbers in the I’ve always seen the discount as the saving in
wild, but are sold in time and bags, rather than a suggestion of
small groups or as individuals for aquaria. how many people should have, though it
seems that’s how many people perceive it.
SB: Wow, that’s a wide-spanning question. Going back to Cardinals, I think 12 is the
Picking a fish out of the air, I personally would minimum I would keep as a shoal – that
keep 12 or more Cardinal tetras together, but would work for me in a 60cm tank and I
it depends on tank size too. Twelve Cardinals wouldn’t keep them in a tank any smaller.
in a 500-litre tank would be rubbish – I’d want I’ve certainly had smaller numbers though.
more like 30 or 40 to give the effect of a shoal, I remember a 90 l tank I had with six Purple
and a larger environment would also require a emperor tetras and six Harlequin rasbora and,
larger shoal to make the fish feel confident. to be fair, they were always colourful and
Then there are ‘group fish’. Contributor Tai active. There was sparring between the male
Strietman reliably informs me he only ever Emperors, but never any damage, so I guess
sees Rathbun’s bloodfins they were happy. They were
in groups of roughly
eight, but we know them
But what about certainly healthy, but I really
don’t recommend the ‘pick
in literature as shoaling the numbers at the and mix’ approach to
species, which puts them stocking tanks.
in the same category lower end? At
as Cardinals. NH: I’m on the fence about
what point is a mixed shoals. Though they
NH: I’m with you on the
Cardinals. The more the
shoal not a shoal? do occur in the wild, they do
so through the choices of
merrier in my opinion. Eight fish? Six fish? fish latching on to similar-
I was speaking to sized species (this was
someone who had Three? covered in research by the
observed them in the likes of Krause, Hoare,
wild, who said they tended to live in large Lachlan and many others from the ‘70s
shoals that fragmented slightly into groups onwards). In a tank, many a fish is shunted
of roughly eight to 12 in the evenings. with species it wouldn’t pick in the wild, so
But what about at the lower end? At what there’s no reason to think it would benefit
point is a shoal not a shoal? Eight fish? Six? from any of the normal advantages of shoals.
Three? Retailers have a tendency to sell the Many shoaling fish grow faster in shoals than
likes of Corydoras cats either individually or singly, for example, suggesting that
in a bundle of three, and I’ve never somewhere along the line stress hormones
considered that to be enough. that inhibit growth rates are involved.
Likewise, volatile fish with a rigorous I’m particularly leery of assorted shoals of
JACQUES PORTAL

hierarchy like Tiger barbs often get sold in Corydoras, and especially undersized shoals
multiples of six. Surely that leaves them of them, as there’s some data to suggest that
nowhere to distribute their energy? in these situations they are worse off than
being kept in a shoal of similar-sized, matching
species. Research with Peppered corys, for
example, found they were happiest in groups
of 10 to 15 fish, loosely joining on to the
group if they found themselves isolated. If
they’re not choosing to set themselves up in
groups of three, then why sell them this way?
I think it’s always worth remembering that
shoals form for one of a few key reasons –
protection, mating, feeding and saving energy
(the last two aren’t really a consideration in
aquaria). Given that shoaling fish are quick to
release alarm substances – shreckstof – into
water, and given that they’re likelier to release
alarm chemicals if they’re feeling insecure, is
there not a possible welfare issue here?
SB: I once kept three cory species together in
groups of five. At times I would see them all
sitting together, but not often moving around
SHUTTERSTOCK
the tank together. The next time I looked, they
would be in three separate groups of each
species. As you say above, they
had the choice to mix, but
they were really never
properly intergrated.
A possible welfare
issue? Yeah, I’m with
you. If someone is
to keep an animal
in stressful
conditions, of
course that’s
violating the
Animal Welfare
Act... But if the
hobby was that
restricting, far fewer
people would participate.
Also, most well-meaning
fishkeepers will be in this situation at
some point. For example, what if someone
bought 12 Neon tetras eight years ago. Only
one of them is still alive, but the keeper
doesn’t want more, as they don’t fit in with
future plans. Do you stress the tetra by
catching it, take it to a shop to be caught
again and go to another new environment, or
leave it be to stress about being lonely?
NH: That’s something I’ve never been able to
resolve, and it’s an important angle to shoals.
Once you own a shoal, are you committed to
maintaining it? There’s research that suggests
shoaling fish aim to shoal with fish as close to
their own body size as possible, so once my
shoal of plump, adult, 4.5cm Harlequin
rasbora (for example) dwindles to one, do I
Do you have an opinion on shoal sizes that you would like to share, or perhaps
a topic you would like to see discussed? If so, you can find us at
www.facebook.com/pfkmag or email editorial@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
put in another 10 or so 1.5cm juveniles and
watch them ignore the giant? Or do I assume
that by this point, the remaining Harlequin
has learnt there are no threats to it in the
aquarium? There are so many options
besides, but none of them sits comfortably.
So, the question is, how do we as an industry
encourage folks to keep larger shoals instead
of the pick and mix approach? I think we’re
agreed that a mixture of 20 shoaling fish made
up of pairs or individuals of different species
is a bad thing, so how do we discourage it?
SB: You’ve got me there. In a world where it’s
socially unacceptable to tell your own kids off
for doing wrong, how can you force an adult
to do it your way, even if it’s the right way?
You know that if one shop starts laying
down the law, looking after fish welfare over
customers’ demands, they’ll lose customers
and go out of business while other shops
take the cash and give customers what they
want. I guess education is the answer, for
the industry as well as hobbyists. It
would be nice to think people
who read Jonny Archer’s
piece on page 32 will take
heed and spread the
word (both in relation
to shoal size and fish
size), but there are lots
of casual fishkeepers
that won’t seek
information and just
keep doing as they do.
NH: The only solution I
can think of here would be if
all retailers had an unspoken
agreement to operate a high
individual/cheap shoal pricing system. So a
single Neon tetra would cost £5, while a shoal
of 12 cost £12. But as we’ve seen in the case
of big fish, even though large and chain
retailers quietly made problematic fish go
away, mercenary or desperate shops sprang
up to fill the void with tankbusters. Down the
line, someone will be greedy and not get on
board with it, making cheap and miserable
individual fish from shoals available for all.
It all comes back to that great stumbling
block – research. That’s a problem in itself INSET: Cardinal
nowadays though, as what even is fish tetras are known
research in the current age? Try to search to thrive in
online for answers about a fish and you’ll be greater numbers.
hit with so many conflicting views from
dangerously fervent amateurs with blogs that
you won’t know what to believe.
TEMPERATE
Golden medaka

BACK to th
FUTUR
They were ubiquitous in the 1980s, kept as pets in
18th-century Japan and became the first fish to breed
in space. So why have we never heard of Medaka?

22 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 I
T’S POSSIBLY the most studied
vertebrate organism on the
planet, with a history of being
kept as a pet fish that dates
back over 300 years to Japan’s
early Edo period. Yet, quietly
and almost unnoticed, this once
common aquarium fish slowly
disappeared from Europe’s tanks and
these days is virtually unknown to
an entire generation of fishkeepers.
The perfect fish for beginners,
experienced breeders, nano set-ups,
planted tank enthusiasts, or even for
a summertime mini pond – it’s time
Medaka made a comeback.

Starting out
Walk into any aquarium store these
days and you’ll usually spot two
choices for the small, unheated
tanks generally bought by first-time
fishkeepers – the Zebra danio, Danio
rerio, which needs at least 60cm of
tank length to zoom around in, and
the White Cloud Mountain minnow,
Tanichthys albonubes, which is
happiest in tanks with high oxygen
and vigorous flow. Rarely are there
any species on offer that are actually
suited to those small tanks with no
heating, basic filtration and minimal
water movement.
Rewind to the 1980s, however, and
there was a third species as cheap
and ubiquitous as the WCMM and
danio – the Golden medaka, a xanthic
form of the naturally blue-grey-brown
Japanese rice fish, Oryzias latipes.
This tough little surface dweller
has a wide natural distribution and
has colonised any habitat it can
swim into, from brackish mangrove
backwaters and estuaries to cool,
slow-moving rivers and the tropical
swamps and rice paddies it’s named
after. They’ve even managed to
venture into space – in 1994, Medaka
on the space shuttle ‘Colombia’
became the first vertebrate animals
to reproduce in orbit, while today a

MARK Today a group

BEESTON
Former displays
of Medaka are
supervisor at Blue
Reef Aquarium, Mark
housed on the
has qualifications International
NATURE PL

in marine biology
and ecology.
Space Station
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 23
TEMPERATE
Golden medaka
NATURE PL
group of them are housed on the
International Space Station.
Back on earth, humans have used
Medaka as a model study organism
for over a century. Taking just 90
days from egg to reproductively
active adult, these were the first fish
in which the Mendellian laws of
inheritance were observed in 1916,
and by 1975 more than 1,000
scientific papers had already been
published on Medaka fish.
Used in research on embryology,
ALAMY
toxicology and genetics, Medaka,
like danios, were one of the first fish
to be modified to express different-
coloured or fluorescent proteins
to allow for easier study. These
transgenic (genetically modified)
glow-in-the-dark individuals have
sunsequently been sold across the
US and Asia for home aquariums,
but are still illegal in the EU.
Sorting species
Outside of laboratories, the 30-plus
fish species from the genus Oryzias
are found across a wide swathe of
24 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
SHUTTERSTOCK
been divided by geographic areas
into four different populations. It has
also been suggested that some
mainland Asian records may refer to
the Chinese rice fish, O. sinensis, or to
two other closely related species in
the Latipes complex.
To confuse things still further,
recent genetic comparisons of the
geographically separated northern
and southern Japanese O. latipes
populations revealed two distinct
species, with the northern type
subsequently described as Oryzias
sakaizumii. It is likely, then, that the
ABOVE: Asia, from India in the west to Timor two mainland Asian O. latipes
Egg clusters in the East and north into China and populations may also be genetically
are carried Japan. Ironically, considering how different, undescribed species,
until they are thoroughly domestic strains have leaving only the southern Japanese
deposited onto
plants. been studied, there is some debate population as the true O. latipes –
as to exactly where Oryzias latipes and therefore endangered in the wild.
TOP LEFT: itself is native. This theory is reflected in the
Inhabiting the While it has been recorded from study of related Oryzias from the
paddy fields Laos, Vietnam, eastern China, biodiversity hotspot of Sulawesi,
is where the Korea, Taiwan and Japan (although where each major lake and river
‘rice fish’ name
one reputable reference shows O. system is turning up a new, slightly
comes from.
latipes as no longer present in the different endemic rice fish species,
wild in Taiwan), these records have the most recent described in April

2018. (If anybody would care to
fund a PhD on rice fish genetics, I’m
available from early next year…)
First fish
But back to the home aquarium. In
addition to surviving and breeding in
space, six Golden medaka, bought
for a mere 80p each, were also the
first fish to survive and breed in the
slightly more challenging confines
of my first fish tank, a humble
45x25x25cm metal-framed tank
with a sponge filter powered by a
Whisper air pump and holding a
mere 28 litres of room temperature
tapwater – or less, after you account
for the rainbow gravel and classic
china bridge ornament. These days,
I would recommend no beginner
fishkeeper start with anything smaller
than 60 l. Small tanks are tricky!
Despite this tiny tank, though, and
the trial and error way I learned how
to keep fish, the washed-out yellowy
grey shade of these 2.5cm fish soon
deepened to a warm gold, with
occasional sparkling iridescent
The Japanese breed these tiny fish
with the love and attention they give
to Koi. There’s even an aquarium
devoted to them at a zoo in Nagoya
scales dotted along the back, and
bright, silvery-blue eyes.
After a few weeks feeding them a
diet of ant eggs, freeze-dried Daphnia
and basic flake, I was staring
through the glass in delight at the
grape-like cluster of eggs being
proudly carried around on the anal
fins of one of these tiny yellow fish.
Reading that the females deposit
their eggs on aquatic plants, I added
some bunches of Elodea and
Cabomba to the tank and waited.
As the weeks passed, occasional
juvenile fish began to appear at the
water’s surface without any further
intervention on my part. The adults
mostly ignored them, but still
I separated a few into a floating
breeding box where I could feed
them and watch them grow.
It was that easy.
Missing Medaka
Fast forward to the early 2000s.
I was ordering livestock for a large
chain aquarium store and Medaka
were no longer around. Tropical fi
FACTFILE
MEDAKA, JAPANESE RICE FISH
6Scientific name: Oryzias latipes
6Pronunciation: Or-eye-zee-as la-tip-eez
6Size: Up to 4cm
6
Lifespan: The record is five years in 30 l+
captivity. One to two years is more normal
6
Origin: Widespread across Southeast Asia.
(Or possibly only Japan!)
6
Habitat: Slow-moving fresh and brackish
waters, with lots of plants or overhanging
vegetation
6
Aquarium size: 38x30x30cm (30 l) for half a dozen; 12-18 fish in
a 60x30x38cm (60 l) tank would be better still
6Water requirements: 6.5-8.2 pH, 2.5-25 KH
6Temperature: 10-30°C
6
Temperament: Completely chilled out. Don’t mix with fast-moving
or larger fish that will intimidate them
6
SEOTARO, CREATIVE COMMONS
Feeding: Good-quality flake food. Live Daphnia and frozen Cyclops
will bring them into breeding condition. Will also graze on biofilm
i nally filamentous algae
 U common; from £5 for basic fish, £20
Super-high-grade types are
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.
 TEMPERATE
Golden medaka
NATURE PL
had got easier and cheaper to keep
than ever, heaters were more
reliable, and several previously
common fish for unheated tanks
were no longer legal in the UK.
Rumour had it that Medaka were
among them. And so, they slipped
away out of dealers’ tanks, and were
eventually pretty much forgotten.
In the UK, anyway.
Over in Asia, Medaka still enjoyed
a cult following. While garish,
glowing, genetically modified
versions were shipped to the US
from Taiwan, the Japanese were still
breeding these tiny fish with the
Rice fish carry
their eggs until
depositing them.
ALAMY
26 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
same love and attention th
Koi. From selective pairing
with larger numbers of refl
scales, or brighter colours i
and oranges, and the wild b
greys being line-bred in ou
tubs, new mutations chang
hands for hundreds or
sometimes thousands of ye
Such is the love for Medak
Japan that they even have
own aquarium devoted to t
a zoo in Nagoya.
And yet, over here, they are still
weirdly absent from fish shops.
Confusion over their legality may
part; however, I can
at there are no Oryzias
d on the 2014 UK white
Add to this an increase in
and drop in supply to the
ean market – after all,
ms aren’t going to produce
of cheap fish for UK
f nobody is ordering
more – and the reasons
ALAMY
sence become apparent.
wholesale lists showed
ABOVE:
e varieties available
Cabomba is an via Singapore and Taiwan, so I
ideal spawning imported a handful of each in 2017;
media. one batch pinky-orange, the other
sparking blue. The quality wasn’t
the same as the gorgeous photos
that had been circulating online,
but then neither was the cost – £6
and £12 respectively, if I remember
correctly. Not extortionate, but
enough that a new fishkeeper would
be put off by the price.
Yet, with the overseas Medaka
craze showing no sign of slowing,
it’s surely only a matter of time
before the coveted fancy varieties
begin to pop up in the UK
(enthusiasts are already sourcing
them via importers in Italy and
Germany) and I personally cannot
wait to look after them again.
Indoors and out

Other Oryzias species

If you’re inspired to hunt down
some Medaka for your collection,
you’re spoilt for choice as to how to
keep them. You won’t need a heater
as they are tolerant of fluctuating
temperatures, so much so they can
be kept outside in patio tubs or mini
ponds from spring to autumn. While
they will survive a frost or even ice,
at that point I would be bringing
them inside ASAP.
enough to suit almost any aquaria
you wish to imagine. Some online
sources state you can keep them in
unfiltered one-gallon jars or shallow
trays for top viewing. While they
may survive this kind of treatment, Oryzias nebulosus
it’s not in any way ethical and I
personally consider it animal cruelty.
Go instead for a filtered tank with
a slow flow and plenty of plants.
A cheap off-the-shelf beginners’
bundle is ideal or, if you’re
ALAMY

Remember too, fish that an experienced keeper,

are able to survive a Medaka are perfect
UK winter, and for an aquascaped Oryzias eversi
potentially Medaka are surface feeders nano.
become invasive so invest in a decent-quality For biotopers,
if dumped into a flake food to bring out a tank of 60-90 l,
waterway, are their colour. Sinking half-filled and
usually illegal to open-topped, with
foods may be
import, so I wouldn’t emerse plants growing
missed.
ALAMY

risk leaving them out all
year round.
The traditional way to keep
them outdoors is in wide ceramic
vases with floating plants, and many awesome contemporary display.
Medaka strains are bred to be
viewed from above for just such a
display. I’d opt for a mini pond with
a cheap fountain that doubles as a
filter and potted marginal plants for
above the rim of the tank, a
dark leaf litter substrate and
Neocaradina shrimps for the
lower levels, would make an Oryzias woworae
Biotope-correct plants are cheap
and easy to source with so many of
our common pond and aquarium
plants, including easy staples such
as Java fern, originating from
ALAMY

a stunning patio water feature. Southeast Asia. Not that I’ve already
Indoors, these fish are versatile got a tank planned or anything…

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 27
Photo by © Rodo

TUNZE
®

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Letters
Your letters, your thoughts and your
experiences shared.
AFRICAN VOGUE?
I was hoping you could tell me if
African cichlids are in fashion/season
again or not? I want to set up a
Malawi or Tanganyika tank, nothing
too elaborate, but a nice mix of fish.
I tried to do one four years ago, but
was told nobody was buying Africans
any more and everyone was doing
marine tanks. Since then I’ve started
to see more and more of them in
shops, but I want to make sure
they’re going to be available before I
commit to a 5ft tank to keep them.
Keep up the great magazine,
by the way. Love reading
the Ad Konings stuff.
Brian Miller, email
NATHAN REPLIES: Hi Brian,
I think a lot of it depends on
where you’re based. Most retailers
I know tend to increase or decrease
their stocking levels based on
what customers want. If other folks
in your area want Africans, it would
be a foolish retailer who didn’t
cater for that.
Note that in the wake of so many
retailers ‘wobbling’ on stocking
Africans (they do tend to fly in and
out of fashion within the space of a
year), some specialist stores dealing
with only Rift Valley cichlids have
sprung up to exploit the uncertainty.
Two off the top of my head would be
Kevin over at Kev’s Rifts, and Ricky
at UK Aquatic Imports. Both have
websites, and can also be found on
Facebook. I’ve visited both too, and
the fish in each are exceptional.
Oh, and send me a picture of that
tank once it’s finished.
STARTING WITH CLUE 5 GUESS THE FISH USING AS FEW CLUES AS POSSIBLE
This fish is named after the man
5 who discovered it – a naturalist who
was once shipwrecked in New Zealand
and hooked up with Maori tribesmen.
Later he moved to the Americas and
became chief inspector of schools.
The writer of our Letter of the month will win a 250ml pot of their
choice from this quality range of Fish Science food, which uses
natural ingredients. Email: editorial@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
BELOW: EASE MY POST-DIPLOMA
Whether African BLUES
Cichlids are in or I really enjoyed the PFK Diploma
out of fashion, you ran earlier in 2018, and passed
specialist dealers with flying colours.
will have some Now I’ve an itch to learn more, but
great stock. I’m not in a position to drop my
career and go back to college just to
learn about fish! I’ve tried searching
online, but I can’t find anything that
can be done as distance learning.
Have you any suggestions?
Steve Hoare, email
NATHAN REPLIES: Hi Steve, if you
want something accredited (which
Leer of would always be my recommendation)
then I suggest you hold fire for now
the Month and keep an eye on the OATA
website. I know OATA’s been working
on a fully accredited City & Guilds
Because it’s so easy to breed, there Though the fish originate from
4 are now hundreds of variants of this
fish, and specialist shows have been
3 Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua,
Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Brazil,
2 the world to sex. They are livebearers
set up in their honour. Specific breeds they’ve become invasive on every
can command incredibly high prices. continent except Antarctica. In many
cases they were deliberately introduced.
Win
FISHSCIENCE AQUARIUM FOOD
TANK COMMUNITY
course with prices that start at just
over £150 for a foundation course to
just over £450 for an advanced one
(for non-OATA members, estimated
prices at this time).
Keep checking the website at
ornamentalfish.org, or follow the
OATA Facebook page for updates on
when it’ll be available to sign up to.
BUGGY LOVE
I just wanted to write in and say how
much I love using the Bug Bites food
from Hagen. I used to use a mix of
different flake foods, but on the
strength of the reviews you gave it in
the magazine, I picked up a few tubs
and tried it out on my own fish.
The results have been incredible. I
keep and breed south American fish,
U
These fish are among the easiest in Other common names for this fish
and the males have a pronounced
1 include ‘millions fish’, ‘rainbowfish’
and ‘mosquito fish’. Among the
gonopodium, bright colours and usually scientific names given to it have been
an enlarged tail. Females are larger, Lebistes, Girardinus, Acanthocephalus
but drabber, with small tails. and Poecilioides.
(Answer on Tailpiece, page 114)
 Letters
TANK COMMUNITY
mainly Corydoras and Apistogramma,
which I have plenty of success with,
but also lots of tetra types that I
don’t. Since I started using this food,
my tetras have been non-stop
spawning! I’ve had success with
Coffee bean tetra, Hyphessobrycon
takasei, Serpae tetra, H. eques, and
even my Phoenix tetra, Hemigrammus
filamentosus, have started laying
eggs. I hadn’t had any activity from
these fish at all until I tried Bug Bites.
It’s not like me to write a letter
praising something, but this food
has made such an obvious
difference that I can’t help myself.
Other manufacturers take note –
this stuff is amazing!
Paul Newsom, email
NATHAN REPLIES: You’re one of
several people who have observed
increased spawning after using Bug
Bites, Paul! Our own staff writer
Steve Baker had his
cichlids getting frisky
after only a short trial
of it. I’ll pass on the
good news to Hagen!
WE ASKED...
Do you fishless cycle or use
fish and bacteria?
º FISHLESS CYCLE
º FISH & BACTERIA
YOU SAID...
52%
FISH AND BACTERIA
SUPPLEMENTS WIN!
30 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Email us at editorial@ Follow us at www.
practicalfishkeeping.co.uk facebook.com/PFKmag
Diseased fish, dirty tanks,
geographical imposters.
Not what we want to see.
PUBLIC APOLOGIES
I’ve just read your December edition
‘Tailpiece’ on public aquariums and
can completely relate. This summer
my wife and I took our two children
to a well-known UK aquarium, hoping
to show them some exciting behind-
the-scenes stuff as well, so
I bought special VIP tickets.
For the four of us, this cost over
£120, so I was expecting a lot.
It was disappointing from the start.
The staff member on reception was
trying to do five jobs at once and
would only give blunt answers to my
questions while trying to deal with
other customers at the same time.
The aquaria were a mess. I realise
the outside of tanks get handprints
and scratches, but the insides were
worse – covered in algae, dirty
substrates and terrible lighting that
could barely cope. The fish were all
wrong, too, like gouramis in South
American set ups, and guppies in
African rift lake displays. I could
look in every tank and see something
that shouldn’t be there, and worse,
48% my 10-year-old son was spotting
even more of them than I was.
Then there was the health of the
fish. I’ve never seen so many with
hole in the head disease in all my
life. Tangs in display tanks were
ravaged with it. There were deformed
fish all over the place, and loads that
looked like they had been bullied.
Write to us at Practical Fishkeeping, Bauer
Media, Media House, Lynchwood Business
Park, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE2 6EA
SHUTTERSTOCK
I could go on. The water was cloudy,
the drinks were so expensive we
almost went without, and the only
tidy, well-organised part of the whole
experience was the gift shop. The
less said about the behind-the-
scenes tour the better.
In ‘Tailpiece’, you said that for a
moderate outlay, most people could
do a better display at home than
they’d find in a public aquarium.
When I add up the cost of our day
out, including travel, food and drink,
and souvenirs for the kids, I spent
over £200. For that I could have set
up a planted aquascape with
healthier fish and far more interest
than anything our day out offered.
What I don’t get is how they think
they can get away with it. It’s just
costing them customers. I’d ask for
my money back, but I’d rather they
spent it on hole in the head treatment.
Name withheld on request
NATHAN REPLIES: The number of
people who’ve spoken to me since I
wrote that piece has been shocking.
Shocking because everyone says the
same thing – that their experiences
have been bad. Maybe I’m looking
at it with rose-tinted glasses, but my
childhood memories of public
aquaria weren’t like they are now.
Either way, I’m sorry to hear you
had such a bad time, and I can only
hope that someone in the industry is
reading this and taking note.
ADVERTISING FEATURE
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F
ISHSCIENCE IS proud
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The company was formed with the
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made from natural ingredients.
It was obvious that most of the fish
kept in aquariums and ponds are not
fish eaters, and yet most of the
foods they are given are based on
‘fish meal’. FishScience wanted to
produce foods that recreated the
diet fish would eat in the wild and so
replaced most of the fish meal with
insect meal made from black soldier
fly larvae, Hermetia illucens.
What are the benefits of
insect meal?
6 It’s what fish eat. Fish have evolved
over millions of years to consume
insect larvae and adults. This means
they are able to digest and process
insect meal very efficiently, resulting
in good food conversion rates and
less waste, which in turn leads to
healthier fish and healthier water.
6 They like it. Whether it’s the taste
or the smell, there’s something about
foods made with insect meal that
triggers a great feeding response
from most fish. Even species known
to be finicky feeders quickly take to
FishScience foods with insect meal.
6 It’s environmentally
friendly and sustainable.
The insect meal used in
FishScience foods is
produced in Europe, with
the black soldier fly larvae
being fed on a diet of waste fruit
and vegetables, together with other
waste organic materials. They are
very efficient, with 1kg of insect
larvae produced from only 1.5kg of
food – and even the waste from this
process is used as a soil fertiliser.
Compare this to fishmeal – in many
cases sourced from the sea with a
host of environmental issues.
Natural ingredients
The commitment to natural
ingredients in FishScience foods
goes beyond the use of insect meal.
Fish can’t make their own colour, but
have to consume the pigments as
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FishScience foods also include that are fed on FishScience foods.
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Input from
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WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 31
AQUATIC BIOLOGY
Stunted growth

32 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Slow growers
We’ve all heard of the fish that never outgrew its tank. What’s the
science behind it, and was the fish healthy or headed for an early grave?

JONNY
ARCHER
Jonny has 21 years
of fish experience,
including retail
NEIL HEPWORTH

and an aquaculture
degree.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 33
AQUATIC BIOLOGY
Stunted growth

The importance of exercise

S
TUNTED GROWTH a hormone that regulates fat BELOW:
is usually down to When fish have plenty of swimming metabolism. But if the liver Pangasius cats
hormones. In a space and an adequate amount of becomes too fatty, then production should not be
nutshell, hormones flow, they have the chance to get of IGF-1 is inhibited and reduced captive – what
tank can keep
are molecules that plenty of exercise. hormones mean reduced growth.
an active
tell cells what to do. Exercise stimulates the fish’s In turn, obesity can, and will, 100cm fish
Growth Hormone pituitary gland to produce GH, cause diseases and abnormalities healthy?
(GH), also known as telling the cells to replicate more, that reduce your fish’s lifespan –
somatotropin, tells the cells to which in turn leads to beware that short, fat fish
replicate more, and the more the growth. When fish are are not healthy and will
cells replicate, the more the confined in too small likely succumb to a
organism grows. an aquarium there is premature death.
Hormones can also stimulate the very limited space
Scientific studies have shown Exercise is known
production of other hormones. in which to to be an important
that in aquaria, most species
For example, Growth Hormone exercise, and with factor in both
stimulates the production of little exercise, the
of fish only reach around growth and health.
‘Insulin-like growth factor 1’ (IGF-1), pituitary gland is
66% of their maximum A big fish keeper
produced in the liver, which helps not stimulated to potential size. may well be thinking,
regulate fats in the fish’s adipose produce GH, leading to “But what about my
tissue. The ‘freeing up’ of fats also reduced growth. shovelnose catfish? They
helps with fishes’ further growth. Lack of exercise and overeating like to just sit about.”
Production of hormones can be can lead to obesity in fish, just as That’s a very good question, and
SHUTTERSTOCK

either stimulated or inhibited. One in humans. Some bodily fats will be it’s all relative to the species you
of the main stimulators of these deposited in the liver, which is where keep. For example, while a Neon
hormones is exercise. the IGF-1 is produced – IGF-1 being tetra in a 60 l aquarium may be OK,

34 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
a Zebra danio that loves to swim,
while similar in size and weight,
would be better in a 100 l or more
aquarium, due to its need for
additional swimming space.
A shovelnose catfish like a
Brachyplatystoma sp. will live in
areas where the flow rate is going to
be hundreds of thousands of litres
per hour – the human equivalent of
a perpetual treadmill. Although a
shovelnose might not travel far in
terms of actual distance, in their
natural habitat they would constantly
be facing powerful currents.
The dangers of stress
To understand the effects of chronic
stress on fish in confinement, you
need to know the sequence of
events of stress.
The first stage of stress is termed
the ‘stressor’, which is a stimuli from
one of three categories – chemical,
such as incorrect pH; perceived,
such as when people bang on
aquarium glass; and physical (or
physiological), such as confinement.
If the fish experiences a stressor,
this causes stress, which has three
physiological responses – primary,
secondary and tertiary.
stress hormone. You’ll be aware of
cortisol if you’ve ever been stressed
yourself – it’s the hormone that
makes you lose your appetite, lowers
Minimum six
your immune system and generally Here at PFK Towers, we’ve long held to
makes you feel run down when the ‘minimum six’ rule, which states
something bad happens in life. the length of a tank should be at least
six times the full-grown length of a fish.
So, in a 60cm tank, the largest fish you
6 Secondary response
could have would be 10cm.
Hormones like cortisol then bind to
Unfortunately, this is only a guide in
cells and cause them to release
the loosest sense, and with so many
glucose and lactate into the blood. different fish, what works for one will be
This gives the animal the energy catastrophic for another. Always take into
needed to enact a flight or fight account the likes of activity levels when
response – a critical survival tool deciding the size of a tank for fish.
which, in the case of fish, enables an
individual to swim away from bigger
fish. While helpful short-term if
Starving social
fish of company
takes its toll.

6 Primary response
When subject to a stressor such as
being in a confined space, a group
of organs – the brain, pituitary and
adrenal glands, also known as the
the hypothalano-pituitary internal
(HPI) axis – produce catecholamine
SHUTTERSTOCK

and corticosteroid hormones.

One of the hormones produced is
cortisol, commonly known as the

Stunting versus balloon fish

Some fish are farmed to be deliberately squat in shape. While these fish generally have a range of health problems of their
own (such as displaced organs and spinal curvature), they are in a different situation to those being stunted by stress
hormones and inadequate care.
NEIL HEPWORTH
SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK

Normal silver shark Stunted silver shark Balloon silver shark

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 35
AQUATIC BIOLOGY
Stunted growth

you’ve just had a big fish lunge at

you, prolonged production of
cortisol has a devastating effect in
reducing immune systems.

6 Tertiary response
Tertiary responses are whole body
responses. Some are observable,
such as rapid breathing, swimming
ability, behavioural changes, obesity
or weight loss. Others aren’t as
immediately obvious, like reduced
growth rates and a decreased
disease resistance.
Being confined can be a constant
stressor that causes chronic stress.
This causes the fish’s body to

constantly produce hormones such
as cortisol, which in turn fuels the
ongoing release of glucose and
lactate. This will then lead to stunted
growth, obesity and reduced
resistance to disease, ultimately
resulting in premature death.
Cortisol as an inhibitor
Adding insult to injury, cortisol and
other catecholamines also inhibit the
production of GH, in turn inhibiting
production of IGF-1. Add to this a
lack of exercise, and it can appear a
stunted fish has grown to the size of
its tank – and in the most unhealthy
and life-threatening way, it has!
Social isolation
There are more stressors than just
confinement. There’s reduced water
quality, for example, and behavioural
stress like forced isolation. The
Clown loach, Botia macracanthus, is
highly sociable but can easily reach
30cm, meaning that many are
bought singly. To house them in a
good-sized shoal, you’d need a giant
tank. Instead, many Clowns are kept
singly, stressed in isolation in
cramped quarters. Captive Clown
loaches rarely reach the lengths
found in the wild, as they always
ALAMY
stunt in aquaria – they then become ABOVE:
obese and almost always die Skeletal
prematurely. Social interactions are deformities
just as important as water quality are common
in stunted
and space for proper growth. fish.
Even now, you may be thinking
stunted growth doesn’t sound all that
bad. But where you have fish with
stunted growth, it’s near guaranteed
you have a fish with a weak immune
system, destined to die prematurely.
Goldfish are a perfect example.
Out of the millions sold yearly, how
many actually reach 20 years plus?
Stunting kills, so avoid it.

Jonny’s rule of thumb for a good quality of life

In a standard rectangular aquarium, where the length is double the For cube tanks, the maximum length should
width, the maximum size of fish should be one quarter the size of be one-eighth the size of the width. So, in a
the width. So, in a 60x30cm tank, the maximum fish size should be 30x30x30cm tank, the largest fish should
one quarter of 30cm, making the biggest fish 7.5cm long. be no bigger than 3.75cm.

7.5cm
3.75cm
30

m
30c
cm

60cm 30cm

36 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Any long-term
stressors will
lead to an
unhealthy and Will water changes
shortened life.
make a difference?
As well as hormone changes inside
the fish, there are metabolites and
other chemicals in the water that
can inhibit growth rates. Much like
hormonal stunting, none of these
constitute a healthy way to keep
fish small.
Ammonia salts, a part of the
fish’s everyday metabolism, build
up in the water, and studies on
carp and danios have clearly
indicated that dilution of these
through water changes will lead
to higher growth rates than in fish
constantly exposed to them.
Another little known chemical
is ‘shreckstoff’. This is an alarm
chemical released by fish in
distress (for example, to indicate
to other fish of the same species
when a predator is about – the
smell basically says ‘keep down!’).
The presence of shreckstoff is
itself a cause of stress to fish,
which will produce elevated levels
of the stress hormone cortisol by
way of response.

Fish can get fat too. Deposits of

fat build up around the organs
(and especially the liver) of fish
that don’t get enough exercise,
and this can lead to ill
health.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 37
HABITAT
MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL
Continuing his dispatches from Brazil, Tai Strietman goes on the
MAGINE WALKING into an
aquarium shop, whether a
family-run business or a large
chain, and think about the
species you’re most likely to
encounter. Two groups will no
TAI doubt spring to mind – the
STRIETMAN livebearers and the tetras –
and among the latter, what would
Formerly an aquarist
at ZSL London Zoo, you expect to see? Well, you
Tai is a freshwater probably wouldn’t think much of
habitat specialist. the shop if they didn’t have any
Biotope aquaria are Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi,
his passion. better known as Black neon tetra.
38 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
This species has been a popular
aquarium staple for decades and is
produced by the hundreds of
thousands in fish farms in South
East Asia, going on to adorn the
tanks of aquarists around the world.
For many of us, a few slightly
skittish Black neons may have been
the first tropical fish we ever kept,
and we soon learned that, given
the right conditions, these fish
would become calm, yet dynamic
and charming members of our
aquarium communities.
A large shoal of these fish, with
their orange eyes and silvery lateral
lines giving them a slightly electric
feel, is a joy to behold. Although they
lack the primary red and blue colours
of Neon tetras, Paracheirodon innesi,
or Cardinal tetras, Paracheirodon
axelrodi – whose colours combine
so well with the green of aquatic
plants – adding Black neons to a
tank rich in greenery will give
the set-up a cool,
calm ambience.
 & GOLD
trail of an aquarium classic, the Black neon tetra – and strikes gold.
Natural habitat
Recently, I was lucky enough to
participate in a research trip to a
series of waterways near the town of
Coxim, in the state of Mato Grosso
do Sul, Brazil. I was accompanied
by my friend Heriberto Gimenes
Junior and his team from the State
Environmental Agency (IMASUL),
and two visitors from Norway, Tengil
Elstein Kryhlmann and Ole
Paulsen. Tengil’s passion is
for poison frogs but it
turned out he was
also an accomplished fishkeeper.
Ole is well-known within the hobby,
especially within Loricariidae circles,
and full of insights and knowledge.
The area we went to is the original
type locality for Hyphessobrycon
herbertaxelrodi and I was excited
about the chance of seeing them in
the wild. The landscape is a mix of
savannah scrub-forest and hills, with
dry woodland clambering the slopes.
The main river is the Taquari which,
like a broad brown snake, lethargically
winds its way east to west across the
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 39
state. The river’s lower reaches have
been drastically modified by farming
practices and deforestation, leaving
them clogged with sand and
becoming a wide, shallow, barely
moving sheen of water, eventually
dispersing into the Pantanal
wetlands west of the Paraguay River.
Near to Coxim, several small
clearwater tributaries pour down
from the hills into the Taquari and it
was to one of these we journeyed,
our cars caked in yellow dust from
the dry dirt road. Stepping out of
ALAMY
The sun sets
over Mato
Grosso do Sul.
HABITAT
MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

the cool, air-conditioned interior of

the car into the arid heat was a
shock, but the sight of the clear
stream before us brought cool relief,
at least psychologically!
We donned our snorkelling
and entered the water which,
around 23°C, felt like ice comp
with the 34°C air temperature. I
glad I’d brought my wetsuit,
while the others shivered in Glass knifefish,
swim shorts and sodden t-shirts. tus Eigenmannia trilineata
The stream varied between four
and eight metres wide; at its deepe
it was 2.5m, but was mostly around Jupiaba acanthogaster Mesonauta sp.
1m deep, with shallow edges of only
a few centimetres of water. The
substrate was sandy and the margins
contained leaf litter and aquatic
plants, including Ludwigia species,
Echinodorus tennellus, Eleocharis sp.
and Mayaca fluviatilis. The current
was strong and in deeper parts it
was a struggle not to be swept away.
I was exploring the base of a
Carandá palm – a distinctive tree
that grows in shallow water – when
from the corner of my eye, I saw
them. Two Black neons, flitting
among the vegetation. If it hadn’t
been for the snorkel in my mouth I
would have shouted in excitement.
As it was, my colleagues on the bank
just heard what sounded like a the
deep, anguished cry of a wounded
elephant emanating from my snorkel.

Close encounters
I observed the fish, while holding on
to a root to stay in position, as they
picked at detritus among the plants.
I was surprised at their tolerance of
the high flow. They were joined by
Glass bloodfin tetra, Lipstick leporinus,
several other species, including the Prionobrama filigera Leporinus arcus
attractive Hemigrammus machadoi
and Jupiaba acanthogaster.
A metre or so closer to the bank, in
only an inch or two of water, a troop Needlefish, Two-spot pike cichlid,
of Corydoras areio raced over the Potamorrhaphis eigenmanni Crenicichla lepidota
sand. I tried to follow them but they
fled in a frenzy. Instead, I stopped
moving and simply lay still. Within a
few minutes, they were swimming
about me, rummaging through the
substrate, pausing to eye me up with
what I could only imagine was deep
suspicion. When I began to move,
they burst into frantic zig-zaggin
handy technique to avoid
Later, I spotted several
polystictus shuffling over the

40 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Detritus settles FACTFILE
in areas of
slower flow. BLACK NEON TETRA
6
Scientific name: Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi
6
Pronunciation: Hi-fess-oh-bri-con herbert-axel-rod-eye
6
Size: 3-3.5cm
6
Origin: Brazil: Rio Paraguay and Rio Taquari basins
6
Habitat: Flowing, heavily vegetated tributaries, oxbow lakes and
seasonally flooded plains
6
Tank size: 60x30x30cm
6
Water requirements: 5.0-7.5 pH, 3-15°H
6
Temperature: 20-28°C 60 l+

ALL PHOTOS: TAI STRIETMAN

6
Temperament: Peaceful, shoaling fish
6
Feeding: Flake foods, micro granules, small
frozen and live foods
6
Availability and cost: Very common;
from £1.80+

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 41
HABITAT
MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL

and at night we found lots of of species already in the trade). The

Wolf-fish, Hoplias malabaricus, in the
shallows, stalking any prey unlucky
enough to get too close.
On the far bank of the river,
I explored submerged leaf litter
habitat on a raised sandbank, where
Pike cichlid, Crenicichla lepidota,
darted about, and we glimpsed a
stingray, Potamotrygon falkneri,
gliding through the shallows.
Small shoaling tetras swam against
the current while minute catfish,
Anadoras weddellii, grubbed around
the decaying leaves. Nearby, an inlet,
narrowing into an overgrown channel,
was full of aquatic vegetation –
Ludwigia sp., Mayaca fluviatilis and
Heteranthera zosterifolia.
With dip nets we began to search
for fish and found Apistogramma
borelli and Apistogramma trifasciata,
the latter’s beautiful blue bodies
glistening in the sun. Characins
including Black neons and Serpae
tetras, Hyphessobrycon eques, along
with Hemigrammus marginatus,
Hemigrammus machadoi,
Hemigrammus ulreyi (another
favourite of mine!) and Curimatella
dorsalis appeared in our nets, their
colours vibrant as only those of
wild-caught fish can be.
Several Needlefish, Potamorrhaphis
eigenmanni, were caught among the
dense stands of vegetation. The
water was warm in this still lagoon
and stained yellow by tannins.
ABOVE: shipped back to Europe, what would
Tai, Ole and have remained of its legend?
Tengil making The beauty of these specimens
memories.
struck me not only because I had
BELOW: never seen them before, but because
The Taquari river I was seeing them in the wild. I tried
– the original to picture them in an aquarium and
type locality of somehow, the image saddened me.
the Black neon. Like that of caged birds, their charm
and uniqueness would be lost within
the confines of four glass walls.
I realise this might be heresy for
some aquarists and hypocrisy on my
part, but the more I see species in
the wild, the more I feel we should
work with what we’ve got (in terms
selfish ideals of the collector should
be balanced with an understanding
that these habitats and species are
fragile and under immense pressure.
In the moment, however, I returned
to the simple joy of observing these
glorious gems picking at items in the
current, and weaving between roots
and hanging branches.
Diversity of species
Further upriver, sitting on the bank
eating biscuits, I scattered a few
crumbs onto the surface and the
water began to boil with the frenetic
energy of hundreds of tetras. No
longer interested in food, I grabbed
my snorkel and dived in.
Interestingly, among the plants I
found only a few fish – the odd
Jupiaba acanthogaster and a few
charming Characidium laterale
perching on sunken logs.
Along the margins however, there
was a rich diversity of species. Both
Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae and its
heftier cousin, Moenkhausia oligolepis
were joined by Serrapinus kriegi and
Serrapinnus calliurus. Cichlasoma

Golden treasure
Further along the bank of the main
river, I encountered a real delight, a
shoal of Black neons, except they
weren’t all black… Several appeared
to be infected with a similar bacteria
to that found in the Gold tetra,
Hemigrammus rodwayi, from the
Amazon River basin.
I’d seen other species in the region
showing this infection, principally in
Serrapinus kriegi, Jupiaba acanthogaster
and even in the Red-eye tetra,
Moenkhausia sanctaefilomenae.
However, seeing it in Black neons
was something else! My aquarist
mind instantly thought of the impact
they would have in European shops,
but I caught myself… perhaps it was
best to leave this fish here, in this
amazing place. If El Dorado had
been discovered, and its treasures

42 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
dimerus cruised about and small
shoals of Hemigrammus marginatus
picked at items near the surface.
I crossed to the opposite bank
where I found Hemigrammus Ulreyi
and Hemigrammus machadoi
swimming together, and more Black
neons. From above the waterline,
Helianthum sp. and Eleocharis sp.
descended beneath the surface,
whipping to and fro in the current. ‘Gold’ Black neon tetra,
Below me, the dark mass of a obrycon herbertaxelrodi Satanoperca pappaterra
shoal of Prochilodus lineatus flowed
upstream into the forest,
disappearing into shadowy waters.
Bryconops melanurus Corydoras areio
Next to the far bank, a mini oxbow
lake had formed, a sort of lagoon
connected by two channels to the
main river. It was around 1m in
depth and choked with Ludwigia. Its
margins were swampy and I sank
knee deep into thick, glutinous mud.
Here I found several large Wolf-fish
lying in ambush, while tetras and
Apistogramma flitted between the
stands of emergent plants.
Slipping into the lagoon, I was met
by a surreal world full of orange and
red glows, the sun reflecting on the
plants through the tannin-rich water.

Spotted pimelodus,
Hemigrammus marginatus Pimelodus maculatus

Hemigrammus machadoi Curimatella dorsalis

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 43
HABITAT
MATO GROSSO DO SUL, BRAZIL
Roots, leaf litter and branches
formed a tangled mass on the
bottom. A shoal of Satanoperca
sp., several of them quite
large, grubbed in the
substrate, kicking up
clouds of silt. Serpae,
Machadoi and
Ulreyi tetras
zipped about,
picking up
morsels uncovered
by the activities of the
Ludwigia sp.
cichlids. Large shoals of
the cryptic Phenacogaster
tegatus moved close to the
banks, poised to flee into crevices
and aquatic plants. I spent over an
hour exploring and observing,
resting on a sunken branch, as the
fish went about their lives.
That evening, using bamboo rods
and worms for bait, we caught
several Wolf-fish and a large
Tetragonopterus argenteus. Shoals of
Dogfish, Acestrorhynchus pantaneiro,
filled in the middle of the river, but
they refused to bite.
The following morning I tried to
catch one of the trout-like characin,
Brycon hilarii, which were lounging
under the overhanging branches of
44 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
several trees along the bank. My
bait was expertly removed from the
hook by hundreds of smaller
tetras before the Brycon even
got a look-in.
Meadow
water world
Next day, we
explored
another habitat
nearby, a flooded
meadow, inundated at
one end by the waters of
a narrow clear stream that
cut a path through the waist-
high grass. The stream widened
into a pool, at the top end of which
another wider, shallower stream
flowed over open sand.
Using dragnets and dip nets, we
began to discover the various
species that inhabited the pool and
streams. Our nets were filled with
The beauty of these specimens
struck me not only because I had never
seen them before, but because I was
seeing them in the wild
Wolf-fish and tetras including Black
neons and the beautiful Astyanax
marionae. The widely distributed
Astyanax lacustris appeared too, along
with Serpae tetras, Leporinus sp.
Jupiaba acanthogaster, Bryconops
melanurus, Corydoras areio,
Satanoperca sp., Aequidens
plagiozonatus, Apistogramma
trifasciata, both Hemigrammus ulreyi
and H. machadoi, Glass knifefish
(Eigenmannia trilineata), Needlefish (P.
eigenmanni), Curimatella dorsalis,
Crenicichla lepidota and killifish, plus
several Loricariidae, including
Hypostomus sp. and Rineloricaria sp.
Among the hundreds of specimens
were more of those simply stunning
‘gold’ Black neons and, again, my
conscience pulled at me. I yearned
to present these to the hobby, to
bring these creatures into the lives
of the many passionate aquarists
out there, but then I thought, “I’ll do
One of the
Hypostomus
cochliodon
types.

just that – but by writing about them.” captivity either, despite careful
I discussed my thoughts with acclimation and loving and
Heriberto and he pointed out that, meticulous care from Heriberto’s
despite numerous efforts to add live team. Other local species didn’t
specimens of these fish to the present this problem, but the wild
aquarium facility run by the State Black neons appeared to be very
Environment Agency, they sensitive. Even when caught gently
simply didn’t travel well. in a hand-net, they became stunned
Their survival rate, and needed a long time to recover,
however carefully they affirming my feeling that it was best
were transported, with MORE INFO to leave them in the wild.
air pumps, poly-boxes Find videos of the Black
and regular small water neon tetra habitat at What a privilege
changes for the three- youtu.be/JBbdC-yuQ90 After three days of exploring these
hour journey, had been youtu.be/A1xxHiH1tns amazing habitats, we drove home,
consistently low. knowing we’d had the privilege of
They didn’t do well in seeing both well-known and obscure
species in the wild. Ever since first
Auchenipterid visiting the region three years ago,
driftwood cat. and learning Black neons were found
near Coxim, I’d been desperate to
see them in the wild. I’ve now
accomplished that dream, but am
already pestering Heriberto to take
me on his next expedition to the site.
Back at my house in Campo
Grande, I have shop-bought Black
neon tetras living in the garden in
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 45
Stocky loricariid
catfish abound.
500-litre tubs full of aquatic plants.
I brought cuttings of the Ludwigia
sp., but it promptly lost its rich red
colouring, turning an attractive soft
orange. The tubs get hefty water
changes in the form of regular
tropical downpours.
For those of you interested in
setting up a biotope for Black neons,
I’d suggest the following:
A 90-120cm tank or larger would
be ideal. Along the back, I would
attach the kind of 3D ‘rock’ panels
produced by Juwel (and others), and
into these panels I would stick and
silicone a number of twiggy
branches, perhaps tying some Java
moss to them and, if using an
open-topped tank, I’d have
terrestrial plants like Philodendron sp.
hanging at the surface. A substrate
of silver sand and leaf litter would
be ideal. Flow could be set higher
than you might expect, with a water
temperature of 21°C and a pH of
6.5. Standard lighting is fine.
Now add your Black neons and
maybe some Ulreyi tetras and enjoy!
BIOLOGY
Record breakers

EX
TR
The
one W
wit hat
h t ’s t
he he
str wo
an rld
ges ’s f
t s ast
tra es
teg t fis
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r s The
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he

uly us?
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res
reg er.
for
ALAMY

pu

46 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 RECORD
HOLDER
Largest bony fish
Oarfish

TS The Oarfish is thought

to have inspired
sea serpent myths.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 47
BIOLOGY
Record breakers

Y
OU DON’T need to
be an ichthyologist, or
even an aquarist, to
appreciate fish. From
deep ocean trenches
to high elevation
lakes, the bone-
chilling waters of
Antarctica through to scalding
desert springs, fish species have
adapted in ways that not only allow
them to survive, but to thrive.
From the primitive Ostracoderms
that roamed the waters of the
Cambrian period over 450 million
years ago, fish have split and
evolved into myriad shapes and
sizes with a remarkable and diverse
set of attributes and abilities.
Some generate electricity while
others farm their own food; some
communicate through hidden
biofluorescence displays while
others live above the waterline. In
their own right, every fish has a trait
worth exploring and a tale to tell.

All species great and small

When it comes to size, one fish
stands head and fins above the rest
– the whale shark, Rhincodon typus.
Reaching an average 10m in length,
the largest of these ocean behemoths
on record was 12.65m, only a couple
of metres shy of the middle Jurassic
Leedsichthys problematicus, the
biggest fish ever recorded.
By comparison, the honour of the
largest bony fish is split between the
Oarfish, Regalecus glesne, and the
Oceanic sunfish, Mola mola. The
mythological appearance of the
8m-long Oarfish is thought to have
inspired many a sailor’s tale of sea
monsters, yet, since they inhabit the
ocean depths, few people have ever
seen one alive. Oarfish are capable
of autonomy – self-amputation to
you and me. Much in the same way
a gecko will shed its tail, Oarfish can
shed any amount of their caudal fin
past the vent in response to danger.
While not as long, Mola mola takes
the title of heaviest fish, with the
largest individuals purported to weigh
over two tonnes. They also have the
distinction of being the species to
carry the most eggs – one female
was found to be carrying 300 million.
Determining the smallest fish isn’t
quite so straightforward, and
The largest of
all living fish is
beautiful and
majestic.
depends on the metric used. For
minimum standard length, the
parasitic male Anglerfish,
Photocorynus spiniceps, measures in
at 6.2mm, but to class them as the
smallest is misleading, as females of
the species grow far larger.
A better way might be to use
maximum known length instead, in
which case, Paedocypris progenetica,
a relative of the Carp from the
peat-swamp jungles of Sumatra,
would take the crown, with females
reaching just 7.9mm and males
10.3mm. But others argue that
weight should be the deciding factor,
in which case a third contender
emerges. The Stout infantfish,
Schindlera brevipinguis, is longer at
8.4mm, but is comparatively thinner
and weighs less – a whopping 1mg.
Whichever classification route you
choose, these are truly micro fish.
Old bones
Other fish categorisations are a little
more clear cut – age for example.
The eldest known captive fish on
record, a Japanese-based specimen
known as Koi Hanako, died aged
226 in 1977, but the record for the
longest-lived fish, and indeed
vertebrate, goes to the Greenland
shark, Somniosus microcephalus.
While many bony fish can be
aged via the rings on their ear
bones, or otoliths, Greenland
sharks are cartilaginous, so
ageing is done through
radiocarbon-dating proteins in HOLDER
the shark’s eyes. While not Oldest fish
exact, it’s believed they reach
sexual maturity at 150 years,
Koi Hanako
and one female shark was
identified as being between
272-512 years old, and estimated to
be around 400. Even the lowest point
of her age range makes her the
longest-lived vertebrate on record.
Conversely, the shortest-lived fish
is the coral reef Pygmy goby, Eviota
sigillata, which lives for an average
of 59 days, just pipping the
Turquoise killifish, Nothobranchius
furzeri, an annual species with a
lifespan of just 12 weeks in captivity.

48 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 The Mangrove
rivulus can produce
genetically identical
ALAMY

clones of itself.

Top speeds shepherd and slash shoals of fish.

Speed, or lack of it, has an undisputed
RECORD champion – the dwarf seahorse,
HOLDER Hippocampus zosterae, which moves
Longest fish at a measly 150cm per hour, or
0.0009mph. While seahorses might
Whale shark
lack speed, they have no delays with
digestion. Lacking a true stomach,
food passes straight through their
intestines, meaning they are
ALAMY
The Black marlin, Istiompax indica,
also lays claim to this title, but its
speed of 80mph is an estimate
extrapolated from the speed at
which they can unwind a fishing line
(120ft per second) when hooked.
Out of the deep
For some fish, their impressive

constantly on the hunt for food. records are set against the
The Sailfish, Istiophorus sp., is environments in which they live.
BELOW: considered the fastest fish, after The deepest dweller is the Mariana
Teeny tiny – the being clocked at 68mph. These snailfish, Pseudoliparis swirei,
shortest species RECORD pelagic hunters often work in recorded at a depth of 8,143m. They
of fish. groups, roaming the open ocean and are perfectly adapted to live under
HOLDER
using their speed, elongated bill and the extreme pressures of the
Smallest fish enlarged dorsal fin to pursue, deepest oceans, with the only bones
Paedocypris in their gelatinous bodies being
progenetica those in the inner ear structure.
In the oxygen-depleted heights,
Lake Qinghai is situated 3,200m
above sea level and is home to the
endemic Naked carp, Gymnocypris
przewalskii. But while these cyprinids
make their home at altitude, they
remain submerged. Flying fish from
the family Exocoetidae on the other
hand, can become airborne to
escape predators, using the larger
lower lobe of their unevenly forked
tails to break clear of the surface.
Spreading their enlarged pectoral
fins, they can then glide for distances
over 200m, reaching a height of 4ft
above the waves.
Just as the world’s water bodies
vary in depth, they also vary in
temperature. Icefish from the family
ALAMY

Channichthyidae can survive the

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 49
BIOLOGY
Record breakers

freezing 1.5-1.8°C Antarctic climate In water and out

by producing antifreeze proteins that
prevent the formation of ice crystals
in their blood. They are the only
vertebrates without red blood cells
and haemoglobin, instead relying on
an enlarged heart and network of
blood vessels to compensate.
Conversely, the El Pandeño hot
springs in Mexico experience water
temperatures of 45°C, but one
endemic little species – the Julimes
pupfish, Cyprinodon julimes – has
managed to make these waters its
home, feeding on snails that live in
the hot springs.
The Mangrove rivulus, Kryptolebias
marmoratus, inhabits waterways
from Florida to Brazil, where during
Not all fish even need to remain in
water to survive. It’s true that if you
remove most fish from their watery
home, their gills collapse, making
oxygen absorption impossible and RECORD
leading to asphyxiation and death. HOLDER
But some species have found
ways round this.
Shortest-lived fish
The Nopoli rock-climbing goby, Coral reef
Sicyopterus stimpsoni, uses its mouth pygmy goby
and suckers, formed from fused
pelvic fins, to haul itself out of the
water and scale huge vertical climbs
– earning itself the moniker
‘waterfall-climbing goby’. entering a lethargic state known as
Splash tetra, Copella arnoldi, aestivation and use their swim
leap clear of the water to lay and bladder to respire. Mudskippers,
fertilise their eggs on overhanging meanwhile, have taken terrestrial

periods of intense weather, water
temperatures can hit 38°C. Rather
than overheat, they’ve found a novel
way to avoid these temperature
spikes by jumping out onto land.
Air-chilling on terra firma enables
them to drop their body temperature
through evaporative cooling. These
fascinating fish are also vertebrate
hermaphrodites, meaning they can
self-fertilise to produce genetically
identical clones of themselves.
80
Graph showing speeds
for comparison
70
60
vegetation, flicking water onto them
to keep them damp, while the Pacific
leaping blenny, Alticus arnoldorum,
defends territories above the
waterline, happily hunting and
breeding out of water.
Lungfish from the subclass Dipnoi
have a modified swim bladder that
acts as a lung. During drought
conditions, they burrow into the
muddy riverbed and seal themselves
inside a mucus-lined burrow,
Weird
living to the next level. They engage
in cutaneous respiration through
but True their skin and mouth-cavity lining,
and possess enlarged gill chambers
If it’s a in which they trap air, much like a
super-taster you scuba diver. Modified pectoral fins
want, then incorporate a hinge joint, enabling
catfish are the them to ‘walk’ in a motion known
champions. With as crutching.
taste buds But the most bizarre example is
covering their the newly discovered Swamp eel,
entire bodies – Monopterus rongsaw, described in the
with up to journal ‘Icthyological Exploration
175,000 in some
of Freshwaters’ in August 2018.
larger species
– catfish are
Worm-like in appearance, it lacks
fins, eyes and scales, and probes
essentially giant
tongues, using through deep soil layers, away from
water or sunlight, using dense
their whiskers to
locate dinner. networks of blood vessels in its
mouth and skin to extract oxygen.

Warmer blood
gives Lampris
50
guttatus the
miles per hour

edge when
hunting.
40

30

20

1
ALL: SHUTTERSTOCK

0
African Usain Bolt Great white Greyhound Thoroughbred Sailfish Cheetah
ALAMY

elephant shark racehorse

50 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

Short and sweet:
the Coral goby
ALAMY
doesn’t live long.
Dinner time
Fish use a multitude of fascinating
ways to catch their prey. Pelagic
species inhabit the open oceans with
no cover for miles around. Many
rely on vision, speed and counter-
shading – a darker dorsal side to
match the lack of light penetration
from above, and a lighter ventral
surface to avoid being silhouetted
against the surface when seen from
below – to snare their prey. But some
fish like to get a bit more creative.
The warm-blooded Opah, Lampris
guttatus, keeps its core body
temperature consistently 5°C above
the ambient temperature, allowing it
to dive and hunt for longer, while
other fish just heat localised areas of
their bodies. Swordfish, Xiphias
gladius, have specialised heating
organs in the muscles behind their
eyes, increasing temperatures in the
surrounding tissues by 10-15°C. This
boosts the performance of the retina
and enables them to spot their
fast-moving squid prey in the deep.
RECORD
HOLDER
Fastest mover
Sailfish
SHUTTERSTOCK
The Dwarf
seahorse is in
Hunting in dark or murky waters no rush.
gives predators the element of
surprise. Sharks possess electro-
sensory pores called ampullae
of Lorenzini, which enable them to
detect the weak electrical fields
generated by their prey. They also
possess an acute sense of smell,
with some species like the Lemon
shark, Negaprion brevirostris, able to
detect their prey’s chemical
signature at one part per 25 million.
The other way to find a meal in the
gloom is to illuminate your
environment, but that obviously
comes at a cost – your prey can see
you too. One fish has found an
ingenious way around this. The
Stoplight loosejaw, Malacosteus niger,
is an ambush predator that hunts at
depths of 500-4,000m. As most
deep-sea creatures can’t see red
light, the Loosejaw takes full
advantage. A red-light producing
organ beneath each eye allows the
fish to pinpoint its quarry, much like
a sniper scope, while a multi-hinged
jaw allows for the quick consumption
of comparatively large prey.
If you locate prey in the dark, it
pays to hold on to it. The Fangtooth,
Anoplogaster cornuta, has teeth so
long it requires specialised grooves
in its jaws to ensure it doesn’t pierce
its brain when it closes its mouth.
Specialist skills
In the Amazon, there’s another fish
with a unique method for catching
prey. The Electric eel, Electrophorus
electricus, is a species of knifefish
that uses short, powerful shocks
RECORD
HOLDER
Slowest mover
Dwarf seahorse
Sailfish are faster
than the
fastest horses.
ALAMY
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 51
BIOLOGY
Record breakers
to incapacitate its target. It has
electrical organs that run four-fifths
of the length of its body, containing
specialised electrocytes that fire
simultaneously, delivering a
short shock of up to 600 volts to
stun its target.
Archerfish from Australasia are
skilled sharpshooters that pursue
invertebrate prey above the water’s
surface. By pressing their tongue
against a specialised groove in their
mouth, they create a passage much
like the barrel of a gun, and then
‘fire’ by closing their gills, forcing
water out at speed and with
remarkable accuracy.
The Banded archerfish, Toxotes
jaculatrix, can knock insects off a
terrestrial perch over 2m away.
Even more impressively, they
compensate for the refraction of
light as it passes from the air into
water, so only the fish’s lips br k
the surfac
ALAMY
Stoplight loosejaw
back to their home river, in order
The Ambon to breed. European eels, Anguilla
damselfish anguilla, make the opposite journey
attracts mates – a catadromous migration,
by calling.
leaving their freshwater river homes
and swimming over 5,000km to
their spawning grounds in the
Sargasso Sea.
A number of fish species have
developed specialist ways to catch
the eye of a mate. Some make nests,
like the Three-spined stickleback,
Gasterosteus aculeatus, which creates
a filamentous algae structure held
together with spiggin, an adhesive
synthesised in its kidneys.
Impressively, the White-spotted
pufferfish, Torquigener albomaculosus,
crafts an intricate, 2m-long sand
sculpture decorated with shells.
Other fish use ‘love songs’. The
tune of an Ambon damselfish,
Pomacentrus amboinensis, might
sound like a windscreen wiper, but
ALAMY
to another fish it’s irresistible. The
male Plainfin midshipman, Porichthys
in their targets, with species notatus, emits a low-pitch hum by
identified based on the animal vibrating muscles around its swim
their esca is mimicking. bladder. Not only does this entice the
Deep-sea anglers have females, but when a group of males
glowing photobacterium
on their lures, too.
Sometimes two fish
are better than one. Elsewhere in nature
Dwarf lionfish, Similar to the White-spotted puffer who
Dendrochirus zebra, engage attacts a mate by decorating her territory
in cooperative hunting, while with shells, the Bowerbird native to Australia
Groupers and Morays scour reefs collects shiny blue objects to decorate his nest
together for prey. Other fish make and attract a female.
use of their immediate environment.
The Sixbar wrasse, Thalassoma
Hardwicke, uses coral ridges to
crack open bivalves, while the
Dusky Gregory, Stegastes nigricans,
defends algal territories, weeding
out undesirable species to leave a
monocrop of preferred algae and
protecting it from competitors.
d your fill,
o great
d a mate
ses
mon
om
ALAMY
often
 Sharks also possess an acute sense
of smell, with some species like the
Lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris,
able to detect their prey’s chemical
SHUTTERSTOCK

signature at one part per 25 million

White-spotted puffers
build 2m-diameter
nests in the sand.
The Fangtooth, Anoplogaster
cornuta, can be found at depths of
5,000m but, unlike other
deep-sea dwellers, it still
retains and uses a
swimbladder.
ALAMY

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 53
BIOLOGY
Record breakers

are concerned, the noise can also

be heard by people on the shorelin
The problem with noise, as with
producing light, is that it advertises Weird

ALAMY
your position to predators, as well
as to potential mates. To combat but True
this, some fish have eyes containing At night, without
yellow filters that block out blue a visual stimulus,
light, enabling them to view Herring species
prospective partners in a whole new such as Clupea
manner – biofluorescence. By harengus use
absorbing certain wavelengths of another secret
light and then re-emitting it at a method of

ETRUSKO25
different, increased wavelength, contact
they take in light as one colour and – basically, they Star pearlfish.
emit it as another. fart. By expelling
The male Red-headed fairy wrasse,
Cirrhilabrus solorensis, fluoresces red
air through their
anus, they can The Star pearlfish, Carapus mourlani,
so that he can communicate with
communicate in
the darkness,
prefers a very specific hideout –
conspecifics in close proximity
while staying hidden. Black ghost
and as the
frequency of
a sea cucumber anus
knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, also
these sounds is
communicate in secret, but use outside the Gender fluid ensures a conveyor belt of
electrical signals instead. They hearing range Another alternative is to blur the successors to step up in the absence
produce a continuous wave-like of many fish gender lines. Many species, such as of the largest individual of the
electric organ discharge (EOD) from species, they Clownfish, start off male and dominant sex.
the organ in their enlarged caudal don’t offend the transition to female; others, like the But one group of fish, the Hamlets,
peduncle, with females emitting a rest of the ocean Asian sheepshead wrasse, have found another way – they are
higher frequency than males to while doing so! Semicossyphus reticulatus, begin as simultaneous hermaphrodites, both
allow for sex recognition. female and switch to male. This male and female. Barred hamlets,

SHUTTERSTOCK

Eels take a 5,000km

journey to spawn in
the Sargasso Sea.

54 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Hypoplectrus puella, engage in
elaborate courtship and can alternate
sex roles, with individuals releasing
eggs in one spawning encounter
before fertilising them in the next.
Caring for your progeny is
crucial too. Magellan plunderfish,
Harpagifer bispinis, engage in
guarded incubation and have been
observed caring for their eggs for
four to five months. Others keep
This Fairy wrasse
their brood close, like the Banggai

SHUTTERSTOCK
uses its head colour
cardinalfish, Pterapogon kauderni, to signal like a
which mouthbroods its eggs, while flashlight.
male Nurseryfish, Kurtus gulliveri,
carry their egg clusters around on a
specialised hook on their head. Archerfish – the best
Many fish engage in parental care sharpshooters
after hatching, with Discus, Midas in the wet.
cichlids, Cichlasoma citrinellum
Symphysodon sp. and Uaru, Uaru
amphiacanthoides, all secreting a
nutritious mucus to feed their young.

Safe house
When not feeding or breeding, a safe
retreat is a must for many smaller
fish. While some dig their own
burrows, certain goby species
engage in symbiotic
relationships with pistol shrimp,
which provide the fish with a
pre-dug residence in exchange
RECORD
for alerting the shrimp to any HOLDER
incoming danger. The Star Furthest jaculator
pearlfish, Carapus mourlani, Banded

SHUTTERSTOCK
prefers a very specific hideout
archerfish
– a sea cucumber anus. They’re
happy to share their
unconventional home too, with
14 pearlfish found inside one
Discus offer their
unlucky holothurian. young mucus to
Fish often rely on safety in numbers. feed on.
Schooling fish form highly structured
groups and engage in self-organising,
so they have no actual leader. The
school doesn’t need to act as whole;
instead, individuals coordinate with
their immediate neighbours through
a combination of visual cues and
using their lateral line. When one
fish turns in a particular direction,
those around it turn, followed by
those around them, and so on until
the whole school shifts direction.
Fish research is eternally fascinating.
SHUTTERSTOCK

With new species being discovered

all the time, and new adaptations
described on a regular basis, we
have barely scratched the surface
of what we know about them.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 55
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 ADVICE
Answers
Got a fishkeeping question? PFK’s crack team of aquatics
experts are on hand to answer whatever you need to know...
questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
Wi

THE EXPERTS
Not aggressive
TROPICAL but they can still
DR PETER
damage slow fish.
BURGESS
Peter is our disease
expert. Send questions
his way if you have pathogen problems.

BOB
MEHEN
Bob is a master of
fishkeeping general
knowledge and community tanks.

GEORGE
FARMER
Do these frogs
George is possibly
the world’s leading
have a nippy reputation?
aquascaper. Ask him about plants.
A friend of mine had a Betta and bought some treated like any other night-active bottom feeder
African dwarf frogs as tankmates, which I would with poor eyesight. So, in those situations where
STEVE have thought were fine. But they nipped his these frogs have been seen to ‘nip’ other fish,
BAKER tail and fins really badly and eventually he got it’s most likely accidental rather than genuine
an infection and died. Is this sort of thing fin-nipping of the sort we see with the likes of
Steve is PFK’s resident
common with these frogs? Tiger barbs or Serpae tetras. If there’s anything
fish expert and a
BASIL MANNING, EMAIL vaguely edible in front of them, these frogs will
master on all things freshwater.
snap at it, and if they do this too often to a Betta
NEALE REPLIES: African dwarf frogs, dragging its fins near the substrate, it won’t take
JEREMY Hymenochirus spp., are generally very peaceful long for fin rot or fungus to become a problem.
and placid animals, but they’re not reliable The best companions for African dwarf frogs
GAY tankmates for Betta. Sometimes it’s are midwater to surface swimmers that
Jeremy could write the Betta that causes problems, are too active to be eaten, but also
books on all the stealing the food before the too gentle to harass the frogs or
aquatic info he knows – and he has! frogs get to eat. You could steal their food. I’ve kept them
add extra food of course, but successfully with things like
NEALE any uneaten food ends up African dwarf frogs are sociable, Oryzias spp. rice fish, for
MONKS ruining water quality. And, and when kept in groups the males example. The main thing is
as you observed, sometimes that these little frogs can
Neale is the man for the frogs cause problems,
are more likely to sing – something comfortably feed themselves
your technical queries. though this is uncommon. that surprises many aquarists. on the bloodworms and other
He loves brackish fish, too. Like all frogs, they lack jaws They’re also more likely to small meaty foods they enjoy
well-adapted to chewing, and breed successfully. without competition. Avoid
DAVID at best just clamp down on bottom feeders that would take the
something and tug, hoping to pull a same food, such as Kuhli loaches and
WOLFENDEN morsel away. Wild frogs of all types try to Corydoras, but algae-eaters like Otocinclus
Dave’s so knowledgeable swallow prey whole, doing little chewing. would be fine.
ALAMY

in aquatics he used to Still, African dwarf frogs are notoriously short- Even better, of course, is simply keeping
teach it. Marines are his ‘thing’.
U
sighted, and for all practical purposes should be African dwarf frogs in a group on their own.

EXPERT AQUARIUM CARE WITH OUR DIGITAL Every question we receive gets a reply from our
experts. Include as much information as you
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ADVICE Answers

TROPICAL
Why is this loach shadowing my bigger fish?
I have a Kubotai loach that continually
pesters two of the larger fish in my
180cm/6ft community tank.
He swims close up alongside one of
the adult Red rainbowfish and also the
Siamese algae eater, virtually touching,
and copying their movement so that if
they turn, he turns with them and so
on. This must be really annoying and
they can’t seem to shake him off.
He doesn’t do it continually, but I see
it happening most nights and it can go
on for some time. He is one of a group
of six other Kubotai loaches, so he has
plenty of ‘friends’ of his own kind.
Is this anything you have come across
before? Do you know why he’s doing it?
KEV HYDE, EMAIL
fins, head-butts, tail swishes, and
side-by-side swimming are all features
of their behavioural repertoire, helping
each loach in the group to establish the
size and strength of its peers.
More subtle cues may be conveyed
that we can’t easily determine, given
that their bodies are covered in pressure
receptors and taste buds, and it may
well be they can figure out things like
health, sex and maturity just by
swimming closely alongside each other.
While six specimens usually provides
enough for everyone to be happy, you
should understand that in the wild they
will be living in groups that may be
much larger than that. So, if you can,
adding a couple more specimens might
Question of
the Month
reset the hierarchy, encouraging the
lone loach to mix back into his group.
Sometimes, removing the troublesome
fish – in this case, all of the loaches –
rejigging the decorations, and then
returning the fish is another way to
force the hierarchy to be rebuilt. The
loaches don’t recognise their
environment, so revert to schooling
together as a defence mechanism. They
then need to establish the pecking
order and, with a bit of luck, a more
amicable arrangement ensues.
Your Botia kubotai are river-dwelling
fish, and appreciate a complex
environment that includes brisk (though
not turbulent) water currents, plenty of
rocks and bogwood roots, and suitably

NEALE SAYS: Botia species are a

curious mix of sociability, belligerence
and simple high spirits, and your Botia
kubotai is no exception. In the wrong
aquarium Botia can be troublesome,
and the other fish in the tank may
indeed find them annoying, even
stressful. So, let’s review their basic
needs and work from there.
As you know, these are social fish.
Their social interactions are based as
much on touch as anything else, and in
groups you’ll see Botia doing exactly the
same things with each other as you’ve
seen between your Botia kubotai and its
tankmates. Nuzzling, mock nibbling at

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Botia species are a curious

MP&C PIEDNOIR, AQUAPRESS.COM

mix of sociability, belligerence

and simple high spirits

EVERYTHING YOU NEED Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers,

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 Social issues may stem TROPICAL
from group size or
the environment.
What is causing my smelly bottom?
I have a 34 l/7.5 gal aquarium housing the anaerobic levels of the substrate.
a male Betta, some Cherry shrimp and Different sorts of bacteria thrive here,
soft substrate that allows them to dig. an Assassin snail. The tank has live which don’t need oxygen for respiration.
Without these things, their swimming plants, with a sand substrate. Water These are anaerobic (or ‘denitryfying’)
and foraging instincts will be directed parameters are fine, but when removing bacteria, and some of them get the
into less helpful expressions. What they stones, I’ve noticed there’ve been some energy they need to survive by breaking
don’t want is an open tank with coarse smelly sand areas. Is this harmful? down nitrate into nitrogen gas.
gravel and a few rocks or plants I’ve netted out the dirty sand but Denitrification is perfectly possible
providing little cover or interest. should I change the substrate to gravel? in both marine and freshwater deep
Bottom line, your Botia kubotai might NICKI, EMAIL sand beds, and can help ensure good
need more friends, and he may need a water quality between water changes
more interesting world. If neither of NEALE ADVISES: In theory, you get two by removing nitrate. But there’s a
these helps, either move the loaches sorts of biological decay in a substrate. persistent idea that hydrogen sulphide
to a tank tailored to their needs, or At the top, where oxygenated is produced in anaerobic conditions.
else move the fish being harassed water sweeps past, you get This toxic gas has a distinctive
somewhere more peaceful. Botia are the same sorts of rotten egg smell, and if
rarely ‘easy’ community fish in the same aerobic bacteria as enough of it is produced,
way as, say, Corydoras, and finding you find inside a your fish can suffer.
tankmates that get along with them biological filter. In truth there’s little
often involves a degree of trial and error. Some will be Anaerobic bacteria work busily at evidence this happens
working alongside reducing the amount of nitrate in in typical freshwater
fungi to break the water – vital since marine systems, primarily
down dead because hydrogen
organic material fish and reef inverts are more sulphide is so reactive
(such as faeces and sensitive to nitrate than that it oxidises once it
uneaten food) into freshwater fish leaks into the water, long
smaller bio-chemicals, before it has a chance to
ultimately ending up with harm your fish. So, unless you’ve
ammonia. Other bacteria perform got a lot of organic muck decaying deep
nitrification, turning that ammonia first inside the substrate, it’s unlikely much
into nitrite and then into nitrate, the hydrogen sulphide is being produced.
last of which is relatively non-toxic. Still, anaerobic conditions can create
In an aquarium with a canister filter, odd colours where certain chemical
only the uppermost substrate will be reactions occur, and if you look at the
sufficiently well oxygenated for these substrate through the glass, it’s often
aerobic bacteria to thrive, but in the obvious where the anaerobic conditions
past, undergravel filters used airstones exist. The substrate often looks darker,
or powerheads to draw water through and may even contain bubbles of gas
the entire substrate, oxygenating it all. (usually nitrogen) where denitrification
While this worked as a biological filter, is occurring. True anaerobic conditions,
the flow of oxygenated water tended to though, are unlikely unless the substrate
make it difficult for plants to absorb is very deep and dense, and things like
mineral ions, so plant growth was often plant roots transport some oxygen into
lacklustre. So, while the substrate in an the substrate, helping to keep it sweet.
aquarium without an undergravel filter Best of all, burrowing snails and fish
will perform some biological filtration, will perform an excellent job of removing
the overall amount is relatively trivial organic materials before they have a
compared with a canister filter. chance to decay in the anaerobic part
So what sort of bacterial activity is of the substrate. Whether it’s a school
going on below the top few millimetres of loaches or a handful of Clea helena
of substrate? As the amount of oxygen snails, it really isn’t that difficult to
diminishes, you pass from the aerobic ensure a freshwater deep sand bed is
region into the dysaerobic and ultimately kept clean and working safely.
SHUTTERSTOCK

Clea helena
U

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ADVICE Answers

NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY

TROPICAL

What do I need to keep

We recommend...
Many of the tank-busting predators have smaller

this tankbuster?
I would like to get a Goliath tiger fish.
Which would be the best tank, filter
and heater and how much would all
of this cost?
SID WARD, EMAIL
NEALE ADVISES: Keeping very large
predatory fish is expensive and
demanding in terms of time, space,
and dedication. Something like a
ALAMY
heavier than a German shepherd dog,
so it needs an absolutely massive
aquarium. Realistically, and honestly,
it’s one for public aquaria only.
Even its smaller relative, the African
tigerfish, Hydrocynus vittatus, reaches
around a metre in length, so we’re still
talking about indoor ponds holding
several thousand litres minimum.
Put another way, unless you have
cousins that are far more suited to aquarium life.
The Rocket gar, Ctenolucius hujeta, is a
medium-sized (around 20cm) pike-shaped
characin that puts no real demands on the
aquarist beyond a medium-sized tank (180+ l/
40 gal) and a brisk, but not turbulent, water
current. It isn’t fussy about water chemistry, and
being a gregarious fish, you’ve got the fun of
watching a group of three or more specimens as
they interact with each other in amusing, but
generally harmless, ways.
Even better, while it looks every inch the

tens of thousands of pounds at your pocket-sized pike, it’s not an obligate fish-eater,
disposal, and can consequently afford and will happily consume frozen foods as well as
to commission a bespoke tank and
good quality pellets, such as Hikari Cichlid Gold.
filtration system, then these giant
predatory fish aren’t viable. Don’t
forget that as well as the
hardware, you’re
going to spending
a small fortune
on water
changes and
electricity –
doubly so if you
need to adjust water
chemistry by using an
ALAMY

RO filter first.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers,

Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough,
60 FOR HEALTHY FISH PE2 6EA. Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
 COLDWATER
The tank height is less important
What filtration is best for goldfish? for Ranchu goldfish than its
length/width, as they develop
Please cou
best filtrat
three Ranc
tank? At th
small at a
I’ll have to
There is a
rocks and
Also, at w
recommen
larger set-
GILL BRID

JEREMY S
three thing
mechanic
trapping o
filtration (
to less har
oxygen (to
goldfish h
requireme
more labo
the fleshy
around the
The best
your aqua

NEIL HEPWORTH
canister fi
amount of

PLANTS

Can I get decent plant growth with sand?

I read in the December issue of PFK
that investing in a plant substrate won’t
be much use if the lighting isn’t right.
I was wondering if that means it would
be possible to use sand with the right
lighting, and still get decent growth?
Less nutrients would be available to
the roots, but if either the water column
was dosed or root tabs were used, could
you grow a nice planted aquarium using
just sand? If so, what fertilisers would
you recommend?
JAKE HERON, EMAIL
STEVE SAYS: Other than small matters
like temperature, there are three major
things that influence plant growth –
light, nutrients and CO2. Think of it as a
chain – plant growth will only be as
strong as the weakest link will allow. For
example, if you have strong light, strong
CO2, but a low nutrient level, your plants
will grow to the availability of nutrients
and there’s a good chance that algae will
use the excess light and CO2 to grow (as
algae have lower needs than plants).
By all means you can have a plant
tank with low light, low nutrient and no
added CO2 if you use low-demand plants
like Anubias, Bucephalandra, Egeria,
some Vallisneria and most Cryptocoryne.
This can be done with a sand-only
substrate and a liquid nutrient additive.
If you want more choice of plant
species, you need to supply all three
requirements at a reasonably high level
but the three elements need to be in
balance with each other.
As for substrate fertilisers, I’ve struggled
using them with sand as I find lighter
soils work their way up and pockets of
stagnant substrate are common. I tend
to stick to heavier substrates – even the
finest gravel (1-2mm) is heavier and
allows more through-flow to aerate plant
roots and circulate nutrients around them.

EXPERT AQUARIUM CARE WITH OUR DIGITAL 61

WATER TEST APP, DOWNLOAD HERE:
ADVICE Answers

MARINE
What coral-safe treat ent can
I use for these fish?
I have a 180cm marine tank. My
Emperor angelfish and one of my Purple
tangs have developed spots, which I
thought at first was a marine whitespot
outbreak. I started to treat the tank with
Octozin, but after a couple of days they
don’t appear to be getting any better.
TEMPERATE
from the photos you supplied exactly
what these fish are suffering from,
although it certainly looks to be a
parasitic infection – whether that’s
whitespot (caused by the protozoan
Cryptocaryon irritans), velvet (caused by

the dinoflagellate Amyloodinium
Both are eating, but don’t come ocellatum) or perhaps something
into the open much anymore. else would need to be diagnosed
I don’t know what else to
do. I can’t add any copper-
by close visual examination
and a skin scrape, so
based treatments
because I have
consider contacting a
local vet for advice.
corals in the tank, The Fish Veterinary Society
and I can’t even has a list of vets able to treat pet
In general, ‘reef
safe’ treatments
catch the fish to can be decidedly
put them in my
fish and advise on specific hit-or-miss – both
hospital tank without problems. Visit in terms of treating
dismantling the reef. fishvetsociety. the disease, and in not
Nitrate is 5ppm and org.uk harming invertebrates.
phosphate just over 8ppm. I The most reliable treatment
have a nitrate reactor running for parasitic infections such as
with pellets, a UV steriliser and a white spot and velvet is copper, so
skimmer. There’s a 120cm/48in sump, Cuprazin would be a good choice here
with live rock pieces for the filter. I also (0.2ppm copper for effective treatment
have a deep sand bed. of velvet, for example), preferably
ALLY CLARK, EMAIL with an initial well-aerated formalin
bath of 0.05ml 37% formalin per litre
DAVE SAYS: Sorry to hear that you’re for six hours.
experiencing problems. It’s hard to tell Obviously, you will need to remove the
fish from the main aquarium for
this, but they look to be quite
heavily infested, so if you’re
going to stand a good chance of
treating them successfully, I’d
suggest that the best bet is
removal to a separate treatment
tank. Bear in mind that these
fish present a risk to their
tankmates, as dispersal stages
of various parasites can be shed
and infect other fish, so the
Treating in sooner you can get them out,
a reef tank is the better.
hit and miss. You’ll also need to keep a
close eye on any remaining fish
while the affected fish are being
treated (which can be several
weeks). The other fish may also
need to be removed and treated
if they show symptoms. You can
also assist the fishes’ recovery
by dropping the salinity in the
ALAMY
Why am I losing
only my Golden
minnows?
I have an 80 l/18 gal temperate set-up
containing White Cloud Mountain minnows –
eight of the normal colour and eight of the gold
version. While they all seem content to swim
together, I’ve lost four of the golden ones over
the six months since I set up the tank, and had
to replace them. They seem OK one day, then
the next they’re sitting away from the rest of the
group, and usually die within a few days.
My water tests have all been fine and I have
lost none of the normal-coloured minnows.
Are the golds more difficult to keep, or have
I just been unlucky?
SIMON HARDY, EMAIL
BOB RESPON White Cloud Mountain
minnows, Tani ys albonubes, are a brilliant,
hardy and col l choice for a temperate
aquarium – I keep them myself.
While I have no evidence to back this up, I
suspect that the ‘gold’ form is weaker than the
natural variety, due to inbreeding. To ‘fix’ a
desired particular trait in a fish requires a
reduction in the gene pool, often breeding closely
related fish together to make whatever attribute
the breeder is after more likely to occur. This can
lead to related health issues in much the same
way as pedigree dog breeds, such as Pugs and
Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, suffer from
severe hereditary health problems that a ‘Heinz
57’ mongrel generally won’t be affected by.
It seems likely that the golden form is more
susceptible to something, be it a disease, parasite,
water quality issue, or a congenital problem like
a heart defect, than the standard fish.
As long as the remaining fish seem healthy and
your water quality is good, then I would suggest
SHUTTERSTOCK

treatment tank over a few days sticking to the wild-coloured version. To my eye,
to around 20ppt, maybe even it’s a gorgeous little fish that can’t be improved
a little less. just by being a bit ‘yellow’.
That would seem to be the
Treat in best course of action, as I’m
isolation for not convinced that reef-safe
better results. treatments are going to
cut it in this case.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers,

Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough,
62 FOR HEALTHY FISH PE2 6EA. Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
 TROPICAL

What do I need to keep Silver dollars?

I’d like to set up a tank for Silver dollars
or one of the other Metynnis species as
I think they look amazing.
What size tank would you recommend
for a reasonable group and which is the
best species? Also, what would be a
good bottom feeder tankmate choice?
OLIVER HUMPHRIES, EMAIL
NEALE ADVISES: Silver dollars are
lively fish, and though they are quite
easy to keep, they’re relatively large,
and a definite step up from the average
community tank barb or tetra. So, when
it comes to housing, they’re better
suited to jumbo community tanks.
I would suggest upwards of 350 l/
77 gal for the smaller Silver dollar
varieties, which still measure around
10cm in length, and 450 l/100 gal or
larger for the bigger varieties, which
may exceed 15cm once mature.
When it comes to care, it’s important
to remember these are Serrasalmine
fish, which means they belong to the
same group as Pacu and Piranhas. All
these fish are omnivores, though they
differ in the degree to which they
prioritise meat over plant foods.
Piranhas, for example, are largely
carnivorous through most of the year,
but at certain times will eat fruits and
seeds too. Pacu are less carnivorous,
eating mostly plant foods, particularly
fruits and nuts, but will eat smaller fish
given the chance. In captivity they
sometimes even bite at the fins of other
fish, as do some of the Piranhas. Silver
dollars are even less carnivorous, and
largely consume green plants and algae,
but they’ll take also small invertebrates
such as insects and crustaceans.
While they are inept predators and not
especially nippy, it’s best not to keep
them with either very small or slow-
moving and long-finned tankmates.
With all this in mind, the best
tankmates for them would be
medium-sized fish that feed primarily
or entirely on plant foods. Such fish
should either be equally active, or else
so retiring or well-armoured that they’re
unlikely to be pecked at by a
hungry Silver dollar.
L-number catfish are the
classic choices, and as long
as you avoid the strictly
carnivorous species that
need a richer diet than
rocky crevices,
Silver dollars
are active
midwater
fish that
swim about
in the open.
Several fish
are sold as
Silver dollars, and
identification can be
difficult. Metynnis hypsauchen
and Metynnis argenteus are probably
the default species in the UK trade, Spotted silver
both reaching about 15cm. A Spotted dollars reach
silver dollar is occasionally seen, and around 15cm
this is probably a species called in length.
Metynnis lippincottianus that gets to
about the same sort of size.
Various fish resembling Silver dollars
but with red anal fins are also seen
periodically, often sold as Red hook
metynnis, and loosely identified as
Myloplus rubripinnis. These get
substantially bigger, anything up to
25-30cm – so while undeniably
attractive, a school of them will require a
very large aquarium in order to do well.

AQUARIUMPHOTO.DK
would be good for the

Like these? Try these!

Silver dollars, you really
can’t go far wrong.
Something along the lines of
Panaque nigrolineatus or
Hypostomus cochliodon would be If you don’t have a large-enough tank to keep
ALAMY

good starting points. Opportunistic
unfussy catfish like Brochis splendens
or Platydoras armatulus will gobble up
any brineshrimp or bloodworm leftovers,
and happily take algae wafers as well,
though they would also need occasional
night-time offerings of catfish pellets to
round out their more omnivorous diet.
AQUARIUMPHOTO.DK
Silver dollars, there’s a very good alternative – the
Diamond tetra, Moenkhausia pittieri. This gem of
a fish has subtle, but beautiful, colours that
include not just metallic silver scales but purple-
grey fins and a bright red flash over the eye. In a
dark tank with water that isn’t too hard, this fish is
peaceful and undemanding, and reaching just

Some aquarists do keep Silver dollars
with medium-sized carnivores, such as
the excellent Pimelodus ornatus,
switching the night-time feeds from
pellets to things like Krill, cockles and
strips of white fish fillet.
Anostomus
Medium-sized characins can also
anostomus
work well, particularly when they
6cm, it’s well worth keeping.
Other good alternatives include the Discus tetra,
Brachycalcinus orbicularis, which
reaches 9cm, and the Silver
tetra, Gymnocorymbus
bondi, at 5cm. While
less commonly seen in
MP&C PIEDNOIR, AQUAPRESS.COM

shops, you can find

have similar dietary requirements.
Anostomus anostomus would be a
these two at more
good example, and their different specialist outlets.
ecological niches would provide a All these fish need
lot of interest. Where Anostomus to be kept in groups
swim head-downwards and pick at of six or more.
U
M. pittieri –
ALAMY

algae and invertebrates collected from Diamond tetra

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63
PINTEREST: TETRA UK
ADVICE Answers
HEALTH
What’s causing this whirling behaviour?
I really don’t know what to do for my
goldfish and I hope you can help me.
At first, I thought that he had a
swimbladder problem, but now he’s
started erratic whirling and spinning
behaviour in the tank and he ends up
hitting the walls and decor. Other
than that, both he and his tankmate
look completely normal.
I have the two goldfish in a 37 gal/
168 l tank and I clean the water once
a week. All tests have been fine and
both fish are still eating. The affected
fish usually does his spinning at night.
I would really appreciate any
advice that you can give me.
KELLY COSTELLO, EMAIL
PETER REPLIES: I don’t think we are
dealing with skin or gill parasites such
as Ich, flukes, and so on here, so I
would be inclined to cease parasite
treatment. I think it’s far more likely
that this fish has developed a
neurological disorder that’s causing it
to sporadically
spin uncontrollably.
There are several causes of brain
damage and other neurological
problems in fish, notably:
6Exposure to chemicals that harm the
brain and central nervous system,
such as fly-sprays, weedkillers and
other pesticides and herbicides. Is it
EVERYTHING YOU NEED
64 FOR HEALTHY FISH
possible that a fly-spray, or
something similar, could have been
used in the room that houses your
aquarium?
6
The drug Flubendazole (sometimes
sold for clearing worms from fish)
has also been linked to neurological
problems, including spinning.
6
Exposure to ammonia – for example,
a build-up of ammonia wastes in the
water, caused perhaps by a problem
with the bio-filter.
6
Certain viruses and bacteria (such as
Streptococcus) produce toxins that
affect the fish’s central
nervous system.
6
Some internal parasites (such as
Myxobolus) can cause whirling or
spinning in fish. Fish may contract
these parasites from eating live
Tubifex redworms (mud worms) that
harbour the infective stage of the
parasite. However, we don’t tend to
see live Tubifex on sale for pet fish
these days, so this is unlikely.
6
Some sort of tumour that may be
affecting the fish’s brain or central
nervous system.
It’s tricky to say which, if any, of the
above possibilities is to blame in your
case. If it were a chemical toxin in the
water (such as a pesticide or
ammonia), then we might expect both
Send your questions to: Fishkeeping Answers,
Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough,
PE2 6EA. Email us at questions@practicalfishkeeping.co.uk
SHUTTERSTOCK
Going round
the bend?
goldfish to be affected. So,
we may be dealing with an internal
infection (bacterial or viral) that is
affecting only the one fish, or possibly
some sort of brain tumour.
Assuming the two fish have lived
together for some time (many weeks
or more), then I don’t see any need at
this stage to isolate the spinning fish,
unless the problem gets worse or he is
hassled by his tankmate.
If it’s a viral infection or brain
tumour then, unfortunately, there’s
nothing we can do. If an internal
bacterial infection is causing the
spinning, then such infections are
problematic to treat using remedies
bought over the counter (instead,
antibiotics may be required, but this
means a trip to your vet and we’re not
at all sure that bacteria are
really to blame).
So, as frustrating as it seems, I’d be
inclin Could
now, fly-spray
and m be the
updat culprit?
with a
you fe
Also
on th
ALAMY
 TROPICAL
How can I stop these fish from breeding
This might sound a silly question, but
is there any way I can stop my Platies
breeding? I was recommended them as
an easy first fish, but they have taken
over my tank. I started off with four in
my 90cm community tank with Neons,
corys and Harlequins, but over the last
12 months they have bred so much
that I am now seriously overstocked.
I’ve given some away to friends, but I
don’t want to set up a separate tank
just to fill it full of Platies again. Please
could you advise in any way?
HEATHER BABBS, EMAIL
BOB REPLIES: Platies are almost too
easy to breed. Basically, if you have
males and females, you’ll soon have fry,
and often, even if you just have females,
you still get fry as the females are able
to store sperm for several months after
mating. The only way to reliably stop
them reproducing is to keep only males.
MARINE
Colourful Lyretail
anthias have a
harem system.
Another way, followed by many
fishkeepers, is to add a larger species of
fish to predate the fry and keep the
numbers down – usually something like
one of the mid-sized gourami species
(such as Dwarf, Thick-lipped and Pearl),
which are not big enough to eat the
adults as well. Whether you follow this
course is down to your own opinion of
the rights and wrongs of doing so.
But clearly, if left unchecked you will
end up with hundreds of increasingly
inbred Platies. Most
shops won’t take
them, and your Small problems
friends’ tanks
soon grow.
will soon have
the same
problem as
ALAMY
yours, which
can’t be a
good thing
either.
Can I keep Anthias in this set-up?
Please could one of your experts tell
me whether it would be possible to
keep any type of Anthias in my 1000 l/
450 gal reef system?
Right now, it only houses live rock, a
few reef janitors, polyps and a couple
of bubble corals, along with three
Peppermint shrimp to keep on top of
the particularly troublesome Aiptasia
– they’re doing a really good job so far.
The tank was set up during the
summer, but before I start proper
stocking I’d like to know more about
Anthias as I would really like to keep
them if possible. Is there an easier
species to try, and is it true they need
to be fed several times a day?
The system includes a 200 l/44 gal
sump containing the equipment,
skimmer and will also eventually have
a refugium once I start stocking. The
system will be mainly LPS corals.
KARL DAVIES, EMAIL
NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY
DAVE SAYS: With this sort of volume,
you’ll definitely be able to keep
Anthias. There are several species
available, but you’re right that some
are very demanding, needing multiple
feeds throughout the day. One of the
EXPERT AQUARIUM CARE WITH OUR DIGITAL
WATER TEST APP, DOWNLOAD HERE:
SHUTTERSTOCK
ost of the commonly sold
bearers are very fecund
fish – it’s no coincidence
guppies are also known
as ‘Millions fish’!
MP&CPIEDNOIR_AQUAPRESS.COM
Platies + water
= breeding.
most straightforward species is the
Lyretail anthias or wreckfish,
Pseudanthias squamipinnis, and I’d
recommend you go for this species.
They are very attractive fish, and
readily available at an affordable price.
As they have a harem system, you
could look to keep a single male
(males are predominantly red) and
between three and five or so females
(females are orange). While they are
one of the least challenging Anthias,
they will still appreciate frequent
feedings – an absolute minimum of
twice a day, but more frequently would
be preferable. Provide really brisk
water movement, and the fish will
appreciate rocky crevices, plus an
outcrop that fulfils the role of the coral
heads they live on in the reef. This can
help them establish a defined territory.
Anthias can jump, too, so just bear
this in mind – this can be a problem
with rimless tanks if the fish are
startled or harassed.
They make take a little while to
settle in but, overall, Lyretails are
pretty hardy fish. With regular feeding
and optimal water quality, you
shouldn’t have many problems.
65
ADVICE Know-how
HAVING KITTENS
One of the biggest issues
when breeding any fish is to
ensure you can find homes
for the young. With Corydoras
cats, that’s rarely a problem.
WORDS: STEVE BAKER
HE CORYDORAS
T
family is huge and,
although they share
a common physical
design, there can be
quite a difference
between species.
Nothing highlights
this more than breeding. Some
common species will accidently
spawn in mixed community tanks
quite regularly, while others prove
to be a real headache to breed,
let alone raise.
To breed Corydoras you want a
simple set-up, so use a separate tank
of 60x30x30cm or more. An
everyday heaterstat and a simple
air-driven sponge filter are all the
equipment you need. Lighting is of
little importance, but if you do
provide it, keep it relatively dim.
It’s a good idea to add some
furniture in the tank to give your
corys confidence – floating plants, a
terracotta pot, half a coconut shell
and a 0.5-1cm layer of sand will all
help – but don’t add so much stuff
that it hinders cleanliness. If your
cats are still a little nervous, the
introduction of diminutive dither fish
like Boraras spp. can work well too.
66 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Conditioning counts
Immature Corydoras aren’t very
easy to sex. However, it will take
at least a couple of months to
condition the fish for breeding, so
place a group of six in your tank
and you’ve got a good chance of
getting a mix of sexes.
When mature, the females are
quite obviously more full-bodied
than males, with a slightly larger
structure overall. If you manage to
obtain mature fish (or already have
some), conditioning them to breed Water essentials
may take as little as a fortnight. Basically, it’s all down to seasonal
For your first foray into breeding, change, the coming of the wet
the common varieties are good bets season. Imagine the tail end of the
– Peppered (Corydoras paleatus), dry season – the sun heats declining
Bronze and Albino (both C. aeneus) streams, oxbow lakes and pools to a
and Panda (C. panda), all are warm 28°C, and pure water
undemanding, confident and may evaporates, leaving built-up levels
even breed with no other input than of nutrients and minerals in the
a few high-protein meals and a remaining water. Food is scarce.
water change. For species that In the aquarium, 26°C should be
aren’t so forthcoming, we need to high enough to be effectively warm;
look at environmental issues – what anything hotter is out of most
conditions encourage breeding in species’ comfort range. Any
nature, and how we can recreate increase in temperature should be
these in the aquarium. done steadily – 1°C per 48 hours is
 ALAMY

A female Corydoras
elegans clutches eggs
in her pelvic fins.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 67
ADVICE Know-how

about right. Lowering the water level So, to bring the Breeding
to only 8-10cms (as long as the filter wet season to behaviour
still runs) imitates receding waters, your tank, first Once your
so try this over a course of five to you need to drop corys are
seven days for most corys, five to the temperature on conditioned,
seven weeks for trickier species. the heaterstat slightly you should start
You can also increase the level of – again, 1°C per 48 hours to see some courtship
minerals and nutrients slightly. The aiming for 22-23°C (but check behaviour. Females
way to achieve this depends on the requirement for each species). slightly swollen with eggs will be

JACQUES PORTAL
your tapwater – if it’s medium-hard, This should coincide with water followed closely around the tank
use it as is (adding a dechlorinator changes using cool, soft water to (sometimes pestered) by the males,
of course); if it’s soft, use a mineral top up (soft tapwater, RO or who are attracted by the females’
additive commonly used to buffer rainwater), bringing the water level pheromones. The males may dance
reverse osmosis (RO) water. Aim back up too. Leaves such as oak or around them and generally become
for something like KH 5°, GH 9° Indian almond leaves can be more active and excitable.
with a roughly neutral pH. added at this point, but Spawning starts with the
they’re not essential. ‘T-position’. The female nuzzles the
As nature Lowering the hardness centre of the male’s body, waiting
intended and pH are for him to release his milt. When he
In the wild, Some cory species spawn at important now, does, she draws it into her mouth,
when the wet night, some in the day. Some like but what’s at the same time releasing one to ABOVE: The
season arrives, flow, others stillness. If you essential at this four eggs, which she clasps with her deposited eggs
it’s a real time of stage is to feed up pelvic fins. She swims off, followed are strong and
can’t find the info, easy to collect.
change. Waves of your corys. You can closely by a male (often two!) and
experiment.
low pressure cool the get away with frozen looks for a place to deposit her eggs. BELOW: Tubifex
atmosphere slightly, but foods for many species, but This is often on a flat, upright worms – slightly
the falling rain cools bodies of some do require live foods surface like the glass of the aquarium, controversial,
water more rapidly. As the rain and this will lead to better though some species prefer to use but many cory
washes in from the surrounding conditioning. Tubifex is a favourite plants, so a spawning mop or clump breeders swear
mountains and floods though the with seasoned breeders. of Java moss may be useful here. by them.
forest, it brings with it fallen leaves, One thing we can’t imitate easily To date, it’s unclear when the milt
muddy sediment and an abundance at home is the change in air meets the egg. It could be as soon
of forest floor insects. Rainwater pressure. With most Corydoras as the eggs are released, when the
not only cools, but also dilutes species, it’s not an issue – there are eggs are placed, or during the swim
mineral and nutrient content, enough environmental cues going in between, but we do know the milt
softening the water. Add to this the on to encourage spawning is released from the female’s mouth
leaves and fallen wood that release behaviour anyway – but for trickier or operculum (gill covers) and finds
tannic and humic acids as they soak, species it can be a real help to its way to the clasped eggs.
and the hardness falls to negligible concentrate your efforts around the Spawning may take an hour or
levels, resulting in pH readings as great British weather, using the two and can be a rather infectious
low as 4.5. Some species require changeable and sometimes stormy behaviour. One group spawning
very low pH, but most will spawn conditions of spring and autumn to often encourages another, even if
given a pH of 6.0-6.5. your advantage. they’re seen from a separate tank.

Small shoaling fish

can give confidence
to your corys.
SHUTTERSTOCK

ALAMY

68 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

Egg care
Now the eggs are our focus, and
you have a choice. You can either
remove the eggs from the tank
using an old credit card and place
them into a small tub of clean but
aged water, or you can remove the
adult fish and care for the eggs in
the spawning tank.
Corydoras eggs aren’t as delicate
as you might think. Handling them
rarely causes damage, but the
parents will start to eat them if
they’re not removed quickly
enough. If you continue using the
spawning tank, it’s a good idea to
syphon the sand from the base of
the tank before any eggs hatch,
The female on the
left is more heavy set
than the male.
leaving a clear, clean base that will
be far easier to keep hygienic.
Flow, aeration and clean water are
important when caring for the eggs.
Whether in a tub or a tank, the
addition of an air stone and daily
water changes are good
practice and will help lower
the risk of ‘egg fungus’
(initially a bacterial infection).
To lower that risk further, a
toxin when
preventative treatment against
bacteria and fungus is
recommended – some cory
keepers use hydrogen peroxide;
others use traditional aquarium
products such as acriflavin,
methylene blue and so on.
Culture your own
microworms – an
ideal first food.
JACQUES PORTAL
Kitten caboodle
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS
Hatching occurs in three to 10 days,
depending on temperature and
species. Sometimes eggs from the
same spawn will hatch over the
course of several days too. Once
they start hatching, don’t give any
more preventative treatments and
remove the air stone because the
larvae (little more than egg sacs
with a tail at this stage), will struggle
with strong water movement.
The yolk sac is absorbed in three
to five days, so be ready with
some first foods. Growing
microworms and/or hatching
Most cory species release a brineshrimp are the best ways
stressed. Be wary to provide good nutrition, but
of this when catching and frozen baby brineshrimp,
moving them, as it can Repashy paste foods and liquid
wipe a tank out. fry foods are useful. Variety is key.
The young catfish will grow quite
quickly initially, but then slow down.
Within about a year, they’ll reach the
size of most shop-sold Corydoras.
ALAMY
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 69
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TROPICAL
Epiplatys dageti

GABOR
HORVATH
A Hungarian
aquarist now living
in the UK, Gabor is a
prolific fish breeder,
project undertaker
and writer.

72 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Throats of
FLAME
When is a Panchax not a Panchax? When it’s the
oft-misunderstood Red chin panchax, who really
shouldn’t be confused with his voracious golden cousin.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 73
TROPICAL
Epiplatys dageti

P
REJUDICE, SADLY,
is everywhere, and it
can happen in the
world of aquariums
too. If a fish looks like
a Panchax, and it’s
called a Panchax,
then it must be a
Panchax. Which is rather an
unfortunate situation for the Red
throat panchax, Epiplatys dageti – a
species that’s often overlooked as a
top-layer fish for community tanks
due to the unfortunate association
with its large and aggressive
namesake, the Golden panchax,
Aplocheilus lineatus.
This is a real pity, as the Red throat
has plenty going for it – intriguing
body markings, interesting
behaviour, easy care… And all
packed in a moderately sized body.

Fish of many names

Also known as the Red throat killi
and the Red chin panchax, among
others, the species originates from
West Africa, where it inhabits a
range of swampy areas, including
those with brackish conditions.
The populations at different
localities can have different looks.
Interestingly, not all of the Red chins
have a red chin – this is a special
feature of the form first imported
from Monrovia, often referred to E. dageti enjoying
as Epiplatys dageti monroviae. The the roots of
black-chinned form goes under floating plants.
the name of E. dageti dageti. To
further confuse the issue, breeders from above, though. Red chins also would do. Quite the contrary; Red
often label their special strains actively hunt in the lower regions of throat killis can be easily intimidated
based on the place of collection to the water, eating everything that by boisterous tankmates.
keep the bloodlines pure. moves, including plankton, worms
What’s common in all these and even small fish fry. True colours
forms is that their natural You shouldn’t condemn These are beautiful little fish, but
habitats mainly consist Red throats or put because they don’t really show their
of waters with dense them on a blacklist true colours in shop tanks, Epiplatys
vegetation, and for this though, as dageti is often overlooked by those
these fish are Many killifish eggs require almost every searching for an interesting addition
perfectly adapted a dry season to mimic community fish to a community set-up. When they’ve
for living in the the regular wet/dry cycles would do the same, settled in at home, however, the
frequently changing they experience in given the chance. situation can change quickly.
conditions of the the wild. The key is not to From the insignificant-looking
shallows. The scientific house them with tiny silvery white fish with some pale
name Epiplatys, meaning fish, as they may consider vertical markings on their sides, the
‘flat back’ in Greek, relates to the anything less than half-an-inch long males will turn into a dazzling visual
flattened dorsal area, which allows to be dinner. Kept with similar-sized feast of charcoal black bars,
the fish to stay close to the surface, fish species, like tetras, barbs or sparkling blue scales and yellow-
GABOR HOVARTH

hunting down fallen insects with livebearers, Red chins are perfect marked fins with turquoise edges.
their upturned mouths. companions. They won’t harass the Add in the bright red chin, and you Breeding them
is not difficult.
Their diet is not restricted to food other fish the way a ‘true’ Panchax have a fish your friends will envy.

74 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 FACTFILE
RED-CHINNED PANCHAX
6Scientific name: Epiplatys dageti
6

Pronunciation: Ep-pee-plat-iss
dag-ett-eye
6Size: 4.5cm
6Origin: Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia
6
Habitat: Freshwater swamps, some
reportedly found in brackish water
6Tank size: Minimum 60x30x30cm
6
Water requirements: Variable –
5.5-7.5 pH, hardness 5-15°H
6
Temperature: Ideally 21-23°C, but
tolerates 18-29°C
6
Temperament: Peaceful and gregarious
6
Feeding: Takes dried, live and frozen
meaty foods, especially brineshrimp,
Daphnia, Cyclops and bloodworm.
6
Availability and price: Shop around
some well-stocked retailers and you
should find some; from £4.50 each

54 l+

The key is not

to house them
with tiny fish, as
they may consider
anything less than
half-an-inch long
GABOR HOVARTH

to be dinner
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

E. dageti monroviae’s
red chin is distinctive.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 75
TROPICAL
Epiplatys dageti
The females remain somewhat
muted, but with their brownish-
silver body and black markings they
have a beauty all of their own.
To bring out their colours, you
should provide them with conditions
SHUTTERSTOCK
similar to their natural environment.
Although they’ll happily live in a
community setting with similarly
peaceful companions, to
bring out the best
from them and
enjoy their
interactions to
their full, a
species-only tank is
the way to go.
Home from home
A 60cm-long tank, with lots of roots
and dense vegetation, including
some surface cover plants such as
Water lettuce, Pistia, can easily
accommodate a group of 10. The
water temperature should be kept at
around 21-23°C, but they will have no
problems surviving at temperature
extremes of 18-29°C. They’re not
fussy regarding water chemistry
either – a pH of 5.5-7.5 and low to
medium hardness (5-15°H) will suit
them just fine. Good filtration –
INSET: Pistia,
Water lettuce
GABOR HOVARTH
Males spar by showing
off – rarely anything
worse than that.
76 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
either an internal power filter or an
air-driven sponge filter – is essential,
but the flow should be kept at
moderate to light level.
With the stocking, I would aim for
a 1:2 or 1:3 male-to-female ratio, as
this will divide the males’ attention
between their harem and
competitors, resulting in fewer
serious confrontations. Males
are territorial, guarding and
defending their preferred
spawning spots – a
bunch of Java moss,
Anubias roots or an
artificial spawning mop
– against intruders. When
other males trespass on
GABOR HOVARTH
their territory, they rush to the scene
Fry are tiny
to show who’s boss. Mostly their when they
sparring only consists of a bit of fin hatch.
and gill-cover flaring, as well as
flashing their best colours, and ends
with the weaker male retreating to a Red throat killi females spawn almost
refuge. That’s why a rich vegetation continuously, releasing a couple of
is so important. eggs every day. In community tanks
the eggs and the fry will almost
Serious spawning surely be eaten, and even in a
Males also use their brilliant colours species-only tank there’s only a
to entice females to the spawning slight chance of raising fry naturally.
area and persuade them to lay eggs. Very dense surface vegetation can
This happens frequently, as well-fed help the fry to survive, but if you

want a sure-fire result the best way
is to set up a breeding tank. It
doesn’t have to be large, a 10-15 l
aquarium will suffice. Place an
air-driven sponge filter in the corner,
add a spawning mop, fill it with clear
water and you’re ready to go.
Heating is normally not necessary,
as these fish will keenly spawn even
at normal room temperature (21°C).
Higher temperatures can lead to a
shift in gender of the offspring,
resulting in more males. In one of
my recent breeding attempts, which
happened at 26°C, I ended with 12
males and four females.
I usually place a small breeding
group – a male and three or four
females – into the tank. Before
breeding, the genders are separated
for a fortnight, receiving plenty of
quality food to improve their
conditions. Once in the breeding
tank, spawning occurs quickly,
sometimes within a few hours.
Some breeders leave the spawning
mops in the breeding tank for days,
only collecting them at the end of
the breeding cycle. As the parents
tend to consume the eggs laid, I
prefer to take them out and replace
the spawning mop every day. The
mops with the eggs are then moved
to a hatching tank, which has plenty
of Java moss.
The eggs, as opposed to those of
several annual killi species, don’t need
a dry rest period. They hatch in
eight to 14 days, depending on the
temperature (higher temperatures
mean quicker hatching). The
MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS
Calm and collected –
unlike its namesake,
the Golden Panchax.
emerging fry are relatively tiny, but
can feed on liquid fry food or, even
better, on the micro-organisms
growing on the Java moss. Within a
day or two they’ll take microworms
and newly hatched Artemia nauplii.
From that point on, the juveniles
grow quickly and can soon be
weaned onto a range of foods.
Varied diet
GABOR HOVARTH
Feeding the adults shouldn’t pose
many problems either. They will
happily snap up anything and
everything edible, from dry goods
ABOVE: (flakes, granules) through to frozen
A pair using a fare (bloodworm, Daphnia, Cyclops),
spawning mop and on to live foods (Artemia,
to lay eggs on. Grindal worm, mosquito larvae).
Variety is the key, especially when
breeding is on the cards.
The Red throat panchax is a
perfect fish for those wanting a
breeding project. It’s hardy, relatively
long lived for a killi (I have some
specimens over three years old) and
easy to care for. Give them a try –
I’m sure they won’t disappoint you.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 77
MARINE
Dragonets

TRISTAN
LOUGHER
Tristan is an aquatic
author who has The Mandarin
worked on various
dragonet –
research projects.
a contender for
His day job is at
the world’s most
ALAMY

Cheshire Aquatics.
colourful fish.

78 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Vintage
SCOOTERS
Some ‘scoot’ along the substrate, others bury themselves up to their
eyes in it. Either way, cute and colourful Dragonets are easy fish to love.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 79
MARINE
Dragonets
I
N THE wonderful world of
marine aquarium fish, there
are some species that are just
stunning to behold, and there
are some with fascinating
behaviours that endear them
to aquarists. Occasionally, you
come across fish that do both
in the same package, and this is
certainly true of the Dragonets from
the family Callionymidae.
Little dragons
Callionymids are represented by
around 20 genera comprising nearly
200 species and are global in
distribution. Typically, they have
splayed pectoral fins that they can
rest on when not swimming in
their characteristic hops, and are
ALAMY
commonly referred to as ‘scooters’.
A young Moyer’s scooter
starts off pale before
developing its adult
colour and patterning.
80 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Occasionally Callionymids are
called ‘blennies’, but the two groups
of fish are not particularly closely
related; in fact, the family has closer
affiliations with the Gobiidae.
Dragonets tend to have eyes
located on the top of the head and
narrow, almost tube-like mouths for
picking up food from the substrate.
Some species bury themselves in
the substrate and the eyes can be
the only thing visible to the trained
eye. They also possess a pair of
sharp spines located on the front of
the gill cover – the shape and
position of these can often be used
to identify the particular species.
Most Dragonets are modest in
size – many popular aquarium
species don’t even reach 10cm, but
there are relative giants out there,
Callionymids have splayed
pectoral fins that they can
rest on when not swimming
in their characteristic hops,
and are commonly referred
to as ‘scooters’
such as the superb 15cm Fingered
dragonet, Dactylopus dactylopus, and
some members of the genus
Callionymus grow up to 30cm.
The commonest Dragonets in the
hobby belong to the genus
Synchiropus, although many of this
genus are deep water species that
are seldom, if ever, seen. However,
 The Fingered dragonet
has subtle markings to
body and head.
ALAMY

various shallow water species are On the menu Pink scooter,

available and are often sold under a
single name, Scooter blenny.
The key to correct identification
of similar species is often down to
the structure of the elaborate first
dorsal fin, which has characteristic
patterns and shape. Some fin rays
end in filaments, others are more
rounded. Some contain spots, while
others have stripes or a combination
Dragonets have relatively small S. stellatus.
mouths that have evolved for
precise feeding from the substrate.
Their typical diet consists of benthic
invertebrates – in particular, small
crustaceans such as isopods,
amphipods and copepods.
Many will accept frozen fare in an
aquarium, and it’s well worth finding
specimens that are already accepting

SHUTTERSTOCK
of the two. Identifying females to something like frozen brineshrimp
species level is trickier still. before committing to a purchase.
There are also a number of live diets
Home ground
Given the diminutive size of most of
the popular aquarium species of There’s simply
stunning finnage
Dragonet, housing them rarely on the Fingered
presents a challenge. Recreating the dragonet.
sand or rubble-based substrates of
their natural environment isn’t too
problematic, and some, such as the
Mandarin dragonets, Synchiropus
splendidus and S. picturatus, are
generally far more interested in
scouring the rockwork for tasty
morsels than hanging out on the
base of the aquarium.
It’s perfectly possible to keep the
smaller species of Dragonet in
aquaria of less than 100 l, and they
will have plenty of space in which to
thrive. However, the difference
between success and failure isn’t
due to space, but whether or not
ALAMY

they can be fed adequately.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 81
MARINE
Dragonets

available in the hobby, including

brineshrimp, their nauplii and packs
of copepods sometimes marketed
as ‘mandarin packs’.
However, making food available to
Dragonets is only part of the battle
as they will often face competition
from their tankmates for food. Some
Scooters and even Mandarins will
swim into open water to feed, but
they are less mobile than many other
popular marine fish. This means
they’re either outcompeted for food,
or you overfeed to ensure they’re
getting enough, with ramifications
for the health of your aquarium.
Paradoxically, Dragonets often do
well in larger mature aquaria, as
their naturally occurring crustacean
fauna is correspondingly large. The
same is true for aquaria with sumps
or remote refuges where populations
of copepods can develop
unmolested and top-up those being
removed from the display aquarium
by hungry Dragonets.
Many aquarists who have
long-term success with Mandarin
dragonets never see them take food
that has been added to the tank, yet
they always look well fed.

Colourful courtship
One of the great things about the
more commonly available Dragonets
is that they can be easily sexed. This
means aquarists can maintain pairs
or even harems and, if they’re lucky,
witness some fascinating courtship
and spawning behaviour. A pair of Mandarins
ALAMY

mid-spawn.
Of course, where a male and
female are kept, there’s twice the
pressure on the natural fauna of the scooter, Synchiropus ijimae. Others Simply fabulous fish
aquarium (and therefore the have little more than a spike-like, Dragonets are superb fish and, in the
nourishment of the fish), so elongated, first fin ray. right aquarium, present a fabulous
give some serious thought Courtship and spawning display. The main barrier to success
to whether your system tend to take place at with them is the question of
is capable of dusk when the male providing sufficient nourishment.
supporting more A refugium used to breed and female swim Some systems will have sufficient
than one. upwards into naturally occurring benthic
copepods will deliver a slow
The majority the water invertebrates to sustain them, but in
of Dragonets can
and continuous food source column, their small aquaria, aquarists may
be sexed by looking to a tank of hungry bodies touching in a struggle, particularly if their
at the first dorsal fin Dragonets. spiral dance with eggs specimen declines frozen diets.
– in males, it is elongated, and sperm being released Occasionally captive-bred fish
often highly coloured and/or at the top of the ascent. may be available at a (deserved)
patterned, and is held open by Several species of Dragonet premium price, and despite the
the male to show off to females and have been successfully bred in challenges that keeping them brings,
intimidate other males. In some captivity, and some authorities Dragonets are well worth going the
species, the dorsal fin is almost suggest Mandarins are easier than extra mile for. These are special fish
ludicrously large, as in the Japanese Scooters to raise from larvae. that it’s very hard not to love.

82 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Courtship and spawning tend to take place
at dusk when the male and female swim
upwards into the water column, their bodies
touching in a spiral dance with eggs and sperm
being released at the top of the ascent

We Recommend...
Tankmates
The benign nature of the smaller Dragonet
species and their compatibility with corals makes
them ideal for peaceful reef aquaria. However,
many Dragonet species are also able to thrive in
busy systems containing dwarf angelfish,
Centropyge spp., and tangs (Acanthuridae)
because they don’t appear to attract the
attentions of these often territorial fish.
In addition, Mandarins and some other species
of Dragonet exude a noxious mucus from
specialised skin cells, which is dangerous to
predators if ingested or if it comes into contact
with an open wound. It’s thought the Dragonets’
spectacular patterning and colouration advertises
this fact, and so many fish know to avoid them.

Dwarf angels

Neosynchiropus
ocellatus – the
common Ocellated
scooter.
SHUTTERSTOCK

Tangs
SHUTTERSTOCK
NEIL HEPWORTH

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 83
MARINE
Dragonets

SHUTTERSTOCK

SHUTTERSTOCK
FACTFILE FACTFILE
RUBY DRAGONET PINK SCOOTER DRAGONET
6
Scientific name: Synchiropus sycorax 6
Scientific name: Synchiropus stellatus
6
Pronunciation: Sin-key-row-puss sigh-core-axe 6
Pronunciation: Sin-key-row-puss stell-ah-tuss
6
Origin: Only found around a single island in the Philippines 6
Origin: Indian Ocean
6
Size: Around 4cm 6
Size: 7cm
6
Tank size: 90x30x38cm at least 6
Tank size:90x30x38cm at least
6
Water requirements: 8.1-8.4 pH, 8-12°H, SG 1.020-1.025 6
Water requirements: 8.1-8.4 pH, 8-12°H, SG 1.020-1.025
6
Availability and cost: Infrequent but available; £30-45 6
Availability and cost: Very common; £20-35

This tiny, recently described and completely gorgeous fish is a species that was
well-known in the hobby even before it was formally named by ichthyologists.
It was finally given its scientific name in 2016 and named after a red-robed
Doctor Who baddie! It’s unlikely this fish will be confused with other members of
Synchiropus due to its intense red colouration with brilliant yellow highlights.
The areas where the Ruby dragonet is found have abundant coral growth, and
a peaceful reef aquarium is the ideal destination for this treasure.
Named after the white star-like markings on its flanks (‘stellate’, meaning star-
shaped), the Pink scooter blenny shares its common name with a group of similar
species. Depending on origin, some can be correctly identified to species level,
while others are lumped together under the ‘Pink’ heading. The true S. stellatus
is from the Indian Ocean; the others seen in the hobby tend to be from the Pacific.
Try to obtain specimens that will pick at frozen copepods, small Mysis and
brineshrimp in the dealer’s tank, as it means they’re less likely to be malnourished.

SHUTTERSTOCK
ALAMY

FACTFILE FACTFILE
MOYER’S SCOOTER DRAGONET OCELLATED SCOOTER DRAGONET
6Scientific name: Synchiropus moyeri 6Scientific name: Neosynchiropus ocellatus
6Pronunciation: Sin-key-row-puss moy-err-eye 6Pronunciation: Nee-oh-sin-key-row-puss oss-ell-ah-tuss
6Origin: Western Pacific 6Origin: Western Pacific
6
Size: Around 7.5cm 6Size: Maximum 10cm
6
Tank size: 120x50x50cm at least 6Tank size: 90x30x38cm at least
6
Water requirements: 8.1-8.4 pH, 8-12°H, SG 1.020-1.025 6Water requirements: 8.1-8.4 pH, 8-12°H, SG 1.020-1.025
6
Availability and cost: Uncommon find in stores; £20-35 6Availability and cost: Common; £18-35

Moyer’s scooter is a lesser-known Dragonet species, and one of the less
common scooters seen in the hobby. Its dorsal fin is large and rounded, with
long first and second fin rays with stripes only – in this species, there are no
spots in the pattern. It often has highly attractive patterns on the body and
head, with combinations of pink, white and red.
You might also come across the similar S. morrisoni, Morrison’s scooter
dragonet, with its shield-shaped, vertically striped first dorsal fin.
This is a relatively large and robust-looking Dragonet that’s very common in the
hobby. Some individuals may be less colourful than many of the other species
listed here, but its overall appearance and behaviour still make it a favourite
among aquarists. It gets its name from the circular markings located on the
male’s large first dorsal fin.
This species is one of the easier Callionymids to feed in aquaria, making it a
good choice for novice Dragonet keepers.

84 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 SHUTTERSTOCK
ALAMY
FACTFILE FACTFILE
SAND DRAGONETS MANDARIN DRAGONET
6 Scientific name: Callionymus spp. 6 Scientific name: Synchiropus splendidus
6 Pronunciation: Kal-ee-oh-nee-mus 6 Pronunciation: Sin-key-row-puss splen-did-uss
6 Size: 8-15cm 6 Size: 8cm
6 Origin: Western Pacific 6 Origin: Western Pacific
6 Availability and cost: Uncommon; £20-40 6 Availability and cost: Widely available; £20-35

The genus Callionymus is huge, with over 100 species that include temperate
types from the Atlantic, as well as tropicals. They do find their way into the
hobby sporadically, but there’s little information out there on how to keep them.
Many are collected away from coral reefs – silty and sandy substrates are their
natural habitats and they demonstrate a fondness for burying themselves so
only their eyes are visible. Their bodies are strongly compressed dorso-ventrally.
They can be tricky to care for in the aquarium as they’re often too nervous to
compete at feeding time. Provide fine sand substrates and don’t keep them
with boisterous fish.
NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY
This iconic little fish attracts many aquarists with its extravagant colouring and
patterning and, given abundant food, often proves very hardy. There’s also a red
morph with a slightly different distribution of colour, including red pelvic fins.
You can pair this species in the aquarium, but take care when selecting fish as
males often lose their first fin ray during collection and shipping and can look
like females. Two or more males will also fight furiously in aquaria (sometimes
to the death), and to further compound the problem, females are more scarce in
the hobby than males. Get a pairing right though, and there could be frequent
courtship and spawning. Twice nightly is not uncommon in well-fed fish!

SHUTTERSTOCK

FACTFILE FACTFILE
SPOTTED MANDARIN DRAGONET FINGERED DRAGONET
6
Scientific name: Synchiropus picturatus 6Scientific name: Dactylopus dactylopus
6
Pronunciation: Sin-key-row-puss pick-tur-rah-tuss 6Pronunciation: Dact-ee-lo-pus dact-ee-lo-pus
6
Size: Around 7cm 6Size: Around 15cm
6
Origin: Indo-West Pacific 6Origin: Weastern pacific
6
Availability and cost: Relatively common; £20-40 6Availability and cost: Uncommon; £25-£40

The other commonly seen Mandarin in the hobby is, in my experience at least,
more likely to accept alternatives to live food. Their chunky appearance is
endearing and they feed in the same methodical way as their psychedelic
cousins, scrutinising every square inch of substrate for the tiniest morsel. Sexing
them can be tricky as the male’s rather modest first dorsal fin spike can be
damaged in transit. However, the largest individuals offered for sale tend to be
male, and females turn up with reasonable regularity.
You can target feed this species with brineshrimp or small Mysis in a pipette.
Supplementary natural fauna in the aquarium is still strongly recommended.
The largest species available with any regularity in the hobby, this is a very
special fish. Given its size potential – 20cm is average, although larger
specimens have been recorded – and need for a decent surface area of sand
substrate to bury into at night or when stressed, it’s not one for the average
fish-only or reef aquarium. However, where peaceful, slow-feeding tankmates
exist or target feeding is an option, this fish can thrive.
Rather than having the short, hop-like swimming character of the Scooters,
the Fingered dragonet ‘walks’ along the substrate, using the finger-like
projections of its pelvic fins. For this reason alone, it’s a brilliant fish to care for.

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 85
TROPICAL
Predatory catfish

Fish-eating cats
So you think catfish are peaceful, laid-back, contented souls who
spend their lives shoaling amiably around the bottom of your tank?
Think again. Here come the killer cats…
WORDS: STEVE BAKER

T SUS
ALL: NEIL HEPWORTH

GULPER CATFISH BLUE WHALE CATFISH FROGMOUTH CATFISH

86 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Before fd
After fd
T
HERE ARE many
different reasons
for getting into
fishkeeping and many
different tastes to
cater for. If you’re in
it primarily to watch
and enjoy pleasant,
colourful and active little fish, then
these next few pages might make
you feel slightly nauseous.
But if you’re into fishkeeping for
cryptic, camouflaged oddities, then
read on. And if you’re into it for
cold-blooded, targeted killers, then
you’re going to love some of the
monsters on these pages…
We’re focusing on catfish here, and
not the easy to care for shoaling
species, but the ones that lie in wait,
ABOVE:
No teeth, chase down or ambush live fish in
no problem. their natural habitat – the mean guys.
As an animal
that sits at the
top of the food
chain, humans have
always been interested in fellow
predators. Our interest was first
documented in ancient cave
paintings; more recently it’s spawned
countless documentaries, books and
top trump card games on sharks,
bears, wolves, big cats, crocodiles
and co. So, it makes perfect sense
that some aquarists are head over
heels about aquatic predators, even
though we don’t see many outline
drawings of tooth-wielding fish
adorning the walls of our homes.
A common mistake is to instantly
think big. Classically, the predatory
catfish that shoot to mind are hard-
to-handle big boys, like the Red-
tailed cats and the Tiger shovelnose,
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 87
but there
are plenty of
smaller, very
capable predators in
the world of wet cats that
can be kept in sensibly sized aquaria.
Whale of a time
To begin, here’s one that has a
devastating effect on its prey. With
the common name of Blue whale
catfish, you might expect something
that would take a juggernaut to lift,
but that’s far from the case. Cetopsis
coecutiens actually tops out at 26cm,
but that’s not to say you don’t need
a good-sized tank. It’s a fish that
spends its time in deep, dark water
in the large rivers of northern South
America where it’s constantly
swimming into strong currents and
occasionally taking a bite out of any
TROPICAL
Predatory catfish

hapless large fish that comes along. of dissolved oxygen, which goes
Nope, they’re not looking for hand in hand with the flow. Now I’m
bite-sized Characins down there; not talking about pointing a standard
they’re looking to tear a chunk of external filter flow into the middle
flesh from the flanks of larger, of the aquarium. I’m talking serious
stronger fish that swim through the flow, like turning your tank over 10
main channel – even other predatory times an hour so they can constantly
catfish such as the larger Pimelodids. swim into it, to support them.
When they’re younger, Blue Specimens in tanks with
whale catfish shoal. Large inadequate movement
shoals have been known plummet to lie on the
to consume most of a base of the aquarium
big fish carcass in a and gasp heavily to
time that would Especially at first, use tongs pass water over
rival a pack of or tweezers to add movement to their gills. FACTFILE
voracious an inanimate food item – These cats GULPER CATFISH
Piranha – just and keep your don’t want to 6Scientific name: Asterophysus
look at videos of hunker down in caves batrachus
fingers safe 6Pronunciation: As-ter-oh-fi-suss
them feeding on the or dark tunnels. An ideal
internet. They’re able to too. set-up would be a large, bat-rack-uss
6Size: 20-28cm
bite with a serious set of open tank with dim lighting
6Origin: South America: Venezuela,
gnashers, before twisting to tear and that all-important flow. Brazil. Orinoco and Rio Negro basins,
the flesh like an alligator. When you Amazon River
see several specimens feeding on a Wide-mouthed frog 6Habitat: Sluggish blackwater streams,
fish, it looks like they’re boring their If one catfish can be the opposite of hunting in shallow areas at night
way straight through. another, then the Frogmouth catfish 6Tank size: 150x60x45cm minimum
As Cetopsis coecutiens mature, it’s is the opposite of the Blue whale cat. 6Water requirements: 5.5-7.0 pH,
1-10°H
uncertain whether they continue to The Frogmouth, or Chaca chaca,
6Temperature: 24-29°C
shoal or become solitary in the wild. lives in small habitats of slow- 6Availability and cost: Not common;
In aquaria, they must be the only moving to still waters of southern prices starting around £50
species kept in the tank as they will Asia, including sluggish rivers,
eat fish smaller than themselves canals, ponds and peat swamps.
without hesitation. Anything of Here it sits on the bottom, in among
similar or greater size will likely be a layer of leaf litter, where it goes
bitten (and not just a little nip…),
but they are far less likely to turn on
unseen by its prey. The Frogmouth’s
winning formula is its combination
400 l+
one of their own species. of camouflage, a cavernous mouth
One essential element of keeping and simply staying put.
Blue whale catfish is flow – they like The lifestyle of Chaca chaca is so
lots of it. They also need high levels sedentary that it can even be touched

gently and you’ll see no movement

from it. It’s well known for causing
injuries in its native lands when
accidentally stepped on – in fact, the
Frogmouth is considered poisonous
by the local people. Maybe there’s
some kind of chemical reaction or
mechanism at play here – it would
make sense of such an inactive fish,
but no evidence has been put
forward to support this.
Chaca chaca is known to acidify
aquarium water somewhat more
quickly than other similar fish.
Messy, predatory fish can deplete
carbonate hardness far faster than
most omnivorous fish, due to the
NEIL HEPWORTH

amount of high-protein waste

produced. The bacterial action
needed to deal with such an amount

88 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

The Gulper catfish,
Asterophysus batrachus, of waste has the
can swallow prey twice by-product of
the size of its reducing buffering
own body capacity (and oxygen
levels) and down goes the
pH. All quite normal, but tanks
that house C. Chaca experience a
quicker decline in pH than others.
One theory suggests that fish
which swallow their prey whole, as
the Frogmouth does, need stronger
digestive juices to break the food
down, and it’s been suggested an
excess of these acids could have a
direct effect on the Frogmouth’s
environment. However it occurs, the
answer to avoiding dangerously low
pH levels is water changing and
FAR LEFT:
Frogmouth filter cleaning. I would suggest
catfish. changing 40-50% of the tank water
weekly, along with a filter clean as a
minimum, and ideally two 40%
water changes per week.
Some people may know C. chaca
as the Angler catfish – a less popular
common name given to it after seeing
movement in the short barbels either
side of its mouth. As the moniker
suggests, the Frogmouth can move
these barbels to imitate small worms
or insect larvae among the leaf litter
– luring prey towards its vast mouth
just as the Angler fish does.
It’s at this point that the Frogmouth
moves, and it moves with lightning
speed, lunging at its prey while a
vacuum is created in its vast mouth.
Once its mouth is opened, water
floods in, bringing an unsuspecting
fish with it – ambush complete.
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SHUTTERSTOCK
Big gulp
Talking of vast mouths, the Gulper
cat, Asterophysus batrachus, takes this
to another level. It leads a similar
lifestyle to the Frogmouth cat in
slow-flowing, blackwater streams,
and uses submerged wooden
structures and leaf litter for cover.
It’s a rather ungainly looking beast
before feeding, with a large,
salmon-like lower jaw that doesn’t
meet the top jaw very well.
Breathing looks to be a struggle,
because the mouth doesn’t close
efficiently. Normally, the mouth
helps to form the branchial pump
(a combined movement of the gill
covers and mouth to form a
vacuum that passes water over the
gills), but this fish has extra skin
TROPICAL
Predatory catfish
membranes inside its mouth instead.
After it has fed, it can look in even
more trouble as meals can be very
large – even fish of twice its size can
be tackled and find their way into
the Gulper’s expandable stomach.
Then it looks like a bloated fish
struggling to breath or swim – a
sorry looking sight but, in reality, the
fish is happy and well fed.
There are countless videos on the
internet of A. batrachus consuming
live fish (illegal for the most part in
the UK, but allowed in the US, Asia
and some other countries) and they
look awkward – nuzzling and
mouthing their prey and following it
around before slowly placing their
mouth over the prey’s head.
Some of the videos out there show
a quick movement – a snap of the
head to catch a fish by its side – but
on the whole, it doesn’t look like an
effective strategy. If they weren’t in
a tank, you’d think the prey would
easily be able to get away. Maybe
the stained water of their Brazilian
and Venezuelan habitats is key,
Living in deep,
dark waters,
the Blue whale
catfish’s eyes
have receded.
90 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
giving them a ‘cloak’ to hunt over.
The Gulper cat also shows a
preference to hunt in shallower
waters, and anyone who regularly
nets fish will know it’s so much
easier to do that in the shallows.
In the aquarium, the only
tankmates that will be safe are those
more than twice the size of the
Gulper, and with the cat reaching a
maximum size of 25cm, that means
tankmates must be the best part of
60cm in length. That’s a big tank.
Without tankmates, the Gulper
cafish will need a tank of at least
400 litres, and more than one
specimen can be kept together.
Feeding is easy, with pieces of fish,
prawns, earthworms and similar
foods, which may need waving in
tongs initially until the Gulper learns
to instantly recognise them as food.
With gorge feeders like these,
meals don’t need to be so frequent.
Younger specimens can be fed
several times a week, but slow this
down as they grow; mature fish will
only require one big meal per week.
One theory suggests that
fish which swallow their
prey whole, as the
Frogmouth does, need
stronger digestive juices to
break the food down
FACTFILE
BLUE WHALE CATFISH
6Scientific name: Cetopsis coecutiens
6Pronunciation: Set-op-sis coh-kew-tee-enz
6Size: 20-25cm
6Origin: South America: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru,
Brazil, Bolivia. Amazon, Orinoco and
Tocantins river basins
6Habitat: Large, deep rivers with high flow,
found at depth in the main channel 240 l+
6Tank size: 120x45x45cm mimimum for
one fish (240 l)
6Water requirements: 6.0-7.0 pH, 2-15°H
6Temperature: 22-26°C
6Availability and cost: Rare; £35+
SHUTTERSTOCK
 It’s easy to see why
the Frogmouth can

NEIL HEPWORTH
be accidentally
stood on in the wild.

On the menu meats that don’t contain thiaminase. FACTFILE

Feeding predatory fish always poses These include Perch-like fish such as
some risk to the aquarist, so it’s Tilapia, salmonids like Brown and FROGMOUTH CATFISH
6Scientific name: Chaca chaca
advisable to keep your hands out of Rainbow Trout, Common smelt, Cod,
6Pronunciation: Chak-ah chak-ah
the tank as much as possible (also Haddock, Pollock, Mackerel and 6Size: 18-20cm
avoiding contamination). In the early more. Ones to avoid are cyprinids 6
Origin: Asia: India and Bangladesh,
days of keeping these catfish, they
may be stubborn to feed or just not
like Carp, Roach and Rudd, catfish,
Tuna, Herring and Sardine. Often
Ganges/Brahmaputra drainage basin
6
Habitat: Sluggish streams, oxbow lakes,
120 l+
recognise food items. Using tongs or shellfish, such as mussels, prawns, ponds and peat swamps
long tweezers can be useful – not shrimp and scallops contain the 6Tank size: 90x45x30cm minimum
6Water requirements: 6.0-8.0 pH, 4-25°H
only keeping your hands safe, but enzyme too. Irregular feeding of
6Temperature: 22-24°C
also allowing you to add movement these items is fine, but the bulk of the 6Availability and cost: Rare; £25+
to an inanimate item of food, which diet should be free from thiaminase.
adds interest for the intended diner.
If little or no interest is shown, don’t
A fish that bores
be scared to leave them hungry for a into its dinner.
few days to build up their appetite.
Live river shrimp can be fed in the
UK, and ideally these should be
gut-loaded before feeding. Gut-
loading simply means feeding the
shrimp with a quality food within an
hour of feeding them to your fish.
This adds to the shrimp’s nutritional
value, but beware that feeding live
shrimp too often may spoil your fish
and put them off static food.
When it comes to fish, there are
good meats and bad meats. Thiamine
is important to assist an active
NEIL HEPWORTH

metabolism, but thiaminase is an

enzyme that breaks down thiamine,
rendering it useless. It’s destroyed by
cooking, but so are certain nutrients,
so it’s best practice to feed raw

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 91
CAREERS
Getting a job

Want to be
PROFESSI
Working in aquatics can be rewarding
but challenging. Here are some pointers
to set you off in the right direction.

92 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
 Now that’s what
we call being
immersed in

W
HAT IS better
your work. than fishkeeping
as a hobby?
Getting paid to
do it, of
course! Getting
a job in an
aquatics store
is accessible to nearly everyone, and
the only prerequisite is enthusiasm
– most shop managers hire staff
based on this above all else.
Before you send off your CV and
covering letter though, you should
know a little of what the job
requires, what you’re going to be
expected to do, and what you could
possibly gain from this career path.

GETTING THE JOB

Basic knowledge
While enthusiasm will get your foot
in the door, a strong knowledge of
water parameters, filter cleaning,
basic fish compatibility and
especially the nitrogen cycle will
make you a strong candidate.
Everything else can be taught on the
job and picked up as you go along.
Numeracy skills are essential
(you’ll be working out things like
water volumes and pond liner sizes),
but being able to communicate
clearly may be most important of all.

Areas of interest
If there are several candidates for
the job, then having an area of
interest such as marines, rift valley
cichlids, or aquascaping can give
you a competitive edge. Make sure
your experience in your specific area
comes through on your covering
letter and in your interview.

FISHKEEPER?
Most shops are generalised, but
they might need someone with your
specific knowledge to cover a gap in
what they offer. Expressing your area
of interest will never go against you.

JONNY ARCHER KEEPING THE JOB

Jonny has 21 years of
fish experience, including
retail and an aquaculture
degree.
ALAMY
Get scrubbing
Customers will base their first
opinions of the shop on how tidy
and clean it is. Once customers are
served and fish are fed, pick up an
algae scrubber, gravel cleaner,
brush, duster or vacuum and get

cleaning. When customers walk into

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 93
CAREERS
Getting a job

Tidy shops
nail good first
impressions. understand. This way you can spot
any potential problems early.
In a nutshell, don’t just assume the
person you’re serving is entirely
competent, because often they
aren’t (which is why aquatic stores
need so many sales advisors!). As a
retailer, you need to be constantly
on your guard for mistakes people
are making in their purchases.

Be humble
The mainstay of the job is serving
customers and giving advice. But
like most hobbyists around the
country, you can probably think
back to a time you overheard a
sales assistant giving out the wrong
advice. It happens a lot.

the shop and the tanks are dirty, that
suggests staff don’t have the time –
or worse, the desire – to look after
tanks and livestock. While not
always the case, the general trend is
that tidier the shop is, the healthier
the livestock. Not only that, but your
boss will love you for it!
SHUTTERSTOCK
If they are beyond reasoning on this
point, always work the transaction
up the line of authority – in this case,
to the manager, who will be in a
position to explain the store’s policies.
Don’t assume anything
Often, you’ll get a customer who will
NATHAN HILL
Usually, this occurs either because
the shop assistant genuinely thinks
they are right, or is too nervous to
say, “Sorry, I don’t know, but I’ll go
INSET: Be and find out for you.” It’s always
prepared to better to admit that you don’t know
hear the name something and seek out the right
‘Nemo’ more answer, than to wing it. In a worst-
times than case scenario, if a customer follows
your own.
your advice and subsequently kills
their fish, you could find yourself
liable for their losses. Never wing it.

walk in and ask for something like a

Customers or fishes’ needs?
At some point – possibly on your
very first day – you’ll get a
customer who wants to keep a
fish in an aquarium it’s not
suitable for. While there’s
no ‘right’ way to
address this
issue, politely
educating the
customer
normally changes
their mind.
In some cases, you may
be obliged to refuse a sale.
If a customer is deliberately
trying to buy a fish for which they
have entirely the wrong set-up (for
example, someone with a freshwater
tank may try to buy marine fish and
refuse to take no for an answer),
they need to be told clearly of the
ramifications – that they will be
violating the Animal Welfare Act
2006 by willfully placing an animal
into a situation that will harm it, as
well as immediately voiding any kind
of warranty by buying an item to
use outside its designated purpose.
Clownfish and won’t ask for a shred
of advice – there may be hardly any
talking at all. In cases where
there’s little or no interaction,
be wary. There’s a chance
this person has watched
‘Finding Nemo’ a few
days before, bought
a bowl, filled it
with tapwater,
and is hoping to
drop in a Clownfish
and hope for the best.
Fishkeeping is a
surprisingly knowledge-
dependent hobby and
sometimes customers simply don’t
know what they don’t know.
If you find yourself in this situation
– as you invariably will – broad
‘small talk’ about the customer’s
aquarium will come across as chatty
and less like an interrogation. Open
with everyday questions like, “How
long has the tank been set up for?”.
Ask what tankmates the fish will go
in with, what the water parameters
in the tank are – questions that even
a slightly experienced aquarist will

94 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Working weekends
Weekends and bank holidays are the
busiest times for aquatics stores, and
that’s when they’ll need all hands on
deck. If you’re precious about those
days off, this job won’t be for you.
As you work up the ranks, you’ll be
expected to come in on Christmas
Day and Boxing Day too, because
those fish still need looking after.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
Knowledge
By the sheer power of immersion,
you’ll become a more knowledgeable
fishkeeper. You’ll see hundreds of
species of fish, shrimp, plants and
corals and you’ll be required to learn
about each one and advise people
on them. As your knowledge
accrues, you’ll find yourself more
and more valuable to the company.
Interpersonal skills
When I started my career, I was shy
and terrible at public speaking. Now,
after talking to thousands of total
strangers for 11 years, I’m a much
more confident person and can
comfortably speak publicly.
Springboard
Once you’ve spent some time in
retail, familiarised yourself with
different species, and possibly found
your own niche of expertise, you
can look at transitioning to a
different role in the industry.
Perhaps you have a gift for
breeding – there’s a possible career
in conservation. Maybe you can
convey information so well that
there’s a career for you in writing,
blogging or videos. A wealth of jobs
are available to you once you’ve
served your time in the field.
Pay
Aquatics retail is a thankless task in ABOVE:
OTHER JOBS TO CONSIDER
many ways and, unfortunately, one Maintaining
of those ways is monetarily. Jobs Tank installation and private aquaria
start at the national minimum wage maintenance and ponds is
(£15,269 at time of writing) moving If you have experience in setting up one option to
consider.
up to a typical £18,500-£22,000 for aquariums, are familiar with
a managerial position. plumbing, have aquascaping skills
To offset this, many aquatics stores and have a clean driving licence,
have a generous discount policy for then tank installations and
the staff, meaning that while you maintenance could be for you.
might not be taking home ‘Wolf of Work might be sporadic if you go
Wall Street’ money, you can be a independent, but salaries at the
whole lot closer to that dream tank high-level installation companies
you’ve always wanted! start around £20K.
Being a specialist
in something like
African cichlids
may help your
prospects.
SHUTTERSTOCK
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 95
CAREERS
Getting a job

Tips to get you there

1 Construct an up-to-date CV, highlighting
your major achievements in the hobby.
Employers will be keen to see what makes
you stand out.

2 Consider voluntary work. Many jobs

require you to have experience, and
then you’re in the paradox – you can’t get
experience unless you have the job!
Volunteering will help you gain essential
skills that make you valuable to employers.

3 Network. In an industry like aquatics

where most folks know each other,
being a recognised face or voice can count

NEIL HEPWORTH
Fish farming or for as much as your talents. If others are
wholesale may recommending you to employers, half of
require relocation. the work is already done!

Lecturer/teacher
Once you’re a treasure trove of
fishkeeping knowledge, why not
teach it?
Colleges offer salaries in the region
of £17K upwards for qualified staff
to look after their fish houses and
teach students all about aquarium
NEIL HEPWORTH
volunteers! – and the competition is
fierce, but there is no better platform
to the world of conservation and
scientific research.
Journalist/author
Despite being told that books no
longer sell, the UK sold a record
4 Be prepared to relocate. If you’re in a
small town with one aquatics store and
high unemployment, chances are you’ll be
waiting a while for your dream job to come
up. Search far and wide for the job you
really want, and be prepared to up sticks
if you get it.

care. Additional teaching breaking £5.7 billion of them in

qualifications may be required, 2017. Fish books are a tough pitch,
though you may get these as part admittedly, but specialist titles
of the job. are still sought.
Magazines are alive and well,
Fish farming/breeding as are blogs, and people
You’ll not be doing who have a gift for
much breeding of writing and a
ornamental fish knowledge of fish
in the UK, will always find
although someone
increasing willing to publish
numbers of their work. Most
SHUTTERSTOCK

companies are starting roles in this area are Show off your
to culture marine fish on freelance, and probably specialism and stand
our local shores. shouldn’t be relied upon for out from the crowd.
If you’re prepared to travel, full-time income.
and if you have skills, then a future
in either the Far East or Eastern Fish vet
Europe could await you. You’ll need to choose this career
path early in life and you’ll face a
Public aquarist/zookeeper minimum of five years of specialist
If you’re qualified to degree level in training to be a vet.
something like Marine biology, then You’ll then have to put in
you might want to look at a public additional work to gain the expertise
aquarium job. to be a fish vet, but at that point you
The hours are usually long, the will be one of a very select few.
pay is usually minimal – you’ll find Expect to start on around £25K,
Fish vets are
ALAMY

folks with upper class honours but as you work up to partnership

degrees working for minimum wage, level, you can expect a salary of financially
and many more working just as £70K or more. well rewarded.

96 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
NEXT On Sale CONTACT US
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MONTH
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16th EDITORIAL
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In the March iue

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Practical Fishkeeping magazine is published 13 times a year by
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MP&C PIEDNOIR AQUAPRESS

6 Reader Mike King’s fabulous Corydoras collection

6 The PFK big wood guide
6 All new Fishkeeper Fry for young aquarists!

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 97
GEAR & REVIEWS

to Lon

98 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
This month PFK heads TOTAL JOURNEY TIME: 5 HRS. MILES: 215
to the capital to check
out the regional winner Visit 1
and runner-up of the PFK Aqua Depot
Readers’ poll 2018, and November 27th
visit one of the city’s STEVE SAYS: Last time I visited
Aqua Depot, it was heaving with
up-and-coming people! Sometime in October 2017
I attended a casual scape-off event
held here, featuring George Farmer
aquatics retailers. and Joey Mullen. At that time the
shop was very new; it featured an
8ft iwagumi display tank scaped by
George Farmer, a hastily put
together plant sales tank, some
hardscape creations and the bare
bones of sales-tank systems. I could
see potential, but at the same time
it could have gone the other way.
Little more than a year on, I’m
back, curious to see how the place
has developed. It’s not a traditionally
placed shop – there’s no garden
centre in sight; instead it’s boxed in
in the middle of a maze of industrial
units on a one-way road. During the
week, you’ll struggle to park in the
industrial estate as it’s full of cars
and vans, but buying something
cheap from a nearby supermarket
gives you three hours of parking and
is only a 5-minute walk away. At the
weekend, the area’s like a ghost
town and parking’s no problem.
Walking up to the shop, you see
broken cars and a pile of damaged
bumpers from a neighbouring
business before finding Aqua
Depot’s door and walking up a flight
of stairs. To this point, you just
wouldn’t imagine what you’re going
to see when you reach the top. The
first thing might be a modest-sized
edgeless display tank that’s currently
in need of a final fettle before
setting-up, or your eye might
immediately be drawn to a huge and
impressive central marine display
tank. A central rock formation hides
all the necessary pipework, and it
displays all kinds of colourful corals
and many different, good-sized
ALL PHOTOS: NEIL HEPWORTH
tangs with plenty of space.
Visit the shop now and the next
thing you may notice is that it’s still
a work in progress. There are still
many plans and lots of work going
into 2019, but the change is
obvious. If this was an everyday
aquatics shop, I’d be a bit
disappointed to see it’s not fully up
and running and polished by now,
but Ryan, the store’s owner, has got
a lot going on. A major part of the
business is a subsidiary, Aqualogic
Ltd, which deals in aquarium
installation and maintenance
contracts of the high-end variety.
Tanks are fully designed and made
to high spec (three large display
tanks in the shop are evidence of
the quality results), installed and
maintained internationally.
Marine fish and corals have been
available, but currently there’s a
shift of focus. The marine tanks
have no lights on, and the little
livestock there is isn’t for sale right
now. The focus has gone towards
creating an aquascaping gallery –
tank after tank of crystal clear water
and beautiful layouts of pristine
plant growth – all there to inspire
you and show off the abilities of the
equipment used.
Jean-Michel Touche is a real asset
to the store and he has the best of
aquascaping credentials. When he’s
not at Aqua Depot’s building or
maintaining displays, he works as a
horticulturalist/aquarist at the Royal
Botanical Gardens in Kew. He’s
been trained in Niigata, Japan, by
ADA and is well on the scene with
his own aquascaping.
You can see his work in the shop
and he’s held workshops here too,
to inspire and educate others.
There are future plans for other
aquascapers to hold workshops here
as well, and the likes of Stu Worrel,
Ste Rhodes and Piotr Kwiatkowski
are on the cards for 2019.
Don’t worry though, marine fans.
There are salty plans, which involve
being supplied by a high-end German
Tank after tank
of crystal clear
water and beautiful
layouts of pristine
plant growth
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 99
 Roadtrip: London
GEAR & REVIEWS

coral and frag company. Focus will
AT A be directed at the marines sometime
GLANCE in January, so watch this space.
AQUA DEPOT Also for next year, Aqua Depot has
Address plans to expand to include a larger
Unit 2, Minerva dry goods area, as well as develop
Road, London space to house plants, cultivate new
NW10 6HJ strains and grow its own stock.
Telephone Freshwater fish-wise, you’re
07940 982827 looking at a modest but good
Website
selection of aquascape-friendly fish,
aquadepot.co.uk
Number of tanks so there are lots of peaceful
54 Tropical shoaling species here such as
75 Marine Threadfin rainbows (£3.75),
Parking Glowlight danio (£3), Skunk
Restricted during corydoras (£4) and Emperor tetra.
the week, easy at There are also a few feature fish like
the weekend
Electric blue rams (£10.50) and
Bolivian rams (£4.60), plus a
decent selection of shrimp.
ABOVE: Lots Plans are in place to increase the
of styles and numbers of freshwater livestock
influences.
once the shop settles down slightly
BELOW: A nice to include more desirable species
low-energy – fish such as Mortenthaleri
aquascape. pencilfish and Apistogramma were
mentioned – but aquascaping will
still be at the heart of the livestock
selection, so popular fish such as
plecs, Central American cichlids
and so on won’t be offered here.
I can’t imagine you would ever find
a tankbuster here unless things
change drastically and that makes
me very happy.
Dry goods are aquascape-inspired,
of course, so tools, additives,
substrates, quality light units and
CO2 kits are all present, with a
strong showing from ADA and
Evolution Aqua. The dry goods that
steal the show for me though is the
hardscape – the selection is vast
and superb.
Ryan aims to be different with
what he offers. When most shop
owners say the same thing, it’s easy
to quietly scoff, but there’s evidence
here in the edgeless tank – a small
prototype vivarium he’s trialling.
There’s plenty going on now, and
plenty planned for the future.
Visit 2
Aquarium Design Centre
November 27th
STEVE SAYS: I never got to see
the original Aquarium Design
Centre. Although it wasn’t really
my ‘thing’, I was always interested
in what was a new style of aquatics
shop bringing high-end fishkeeping
to a London high street. I knew it
had moved, but I didn’t know what
to expect – would the new store be
carrying on the trend?
Pulling up to the shop, it has a
similar feel to Aqua Depot. The
surroundings are called a trade
park, but industrial estate fits the
bill. Again, parking during the
week can be tricky, but it’s much
easier at the weekend as most of
the nearby businesses are closed.
The frontage is deceiving – walk
inside and the shop looks a decent
size, then you realise there’s as
much space again on your right.
Aquarium Design Centre is now a
very different business from what
it was in Great Portland Street,
and is far more of a mainstream
aquatics shop. Rows and rows of
fish sales tanks line the walls,
dry goods are stacked in every
spare space, there are low ceilings,
warm, humid air and the
constant background noise of
bubbling water. It’s like home for
The plant
selection is vast.

100 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

me – this is much more my style!
Whatever you’re into in terms of
livestock, there’s lots of choice.
In fact, there’s such a variety that
I didn’t get the impression of any
specialism, but as a lover of
Tanganyikan cichlids, I was delighted
with 22 tanks of fish and four species
I’d not seen before, including
Aulonocranus dewindti (£24.95)
and lovely little Neolamprologus
kungweensis (£16.95).
Sections are quite equally divided,
with 22 tanks of Malawi cichlids,
including Lethrinops albus ‘Kande
Island’ (£11.95), and 22 tanks of
South American cichlids (not
including the dwarf cichlids).
The trend continues with a block
of barbs including Narayan barbs
(£4.95), rasboras, Central American
cichlids, danios, fancy goldfish and
so on. There’s also a good selection
of male fighters (£6.95 to £19.95)
in a rack of individual tanks, and an
area of well signed up softwater
tanks housing fish such as
killifish, Amazon puffers
(£19.95), Manuel’s
piranha (£150),
Blue rice fish
(£4.95),
Hemigrammus
rubrostriata
(£3.95) and more.
Catfish are dotted
about here and there, so
keep your eyes open. I saw
wild Sturosoma aureum (£40);
a favourite of mine, the Flagtail cory,
Corydoras robineae (12.95); and
King Tiger Plecs L66 (£69.95),
among others.
One or two fish did upset me –
mostly a tank of Leucistic giant
gouramis (£14.95) – but by
today’s standards, one or
two tankbusters in a
shop isn’t too bad
comparatively.
For those of
us into our
plants, there are
three tanks full,
which might not sound
impressive until I tell you
the tanks are something like
200x75cm footprint each! It’s a
big selection, even though I’m told
there were lots of sales at the
weekend, so the tanks are a bit bare
until the weekly delivery turns up.
Staying on livestock, salty fans
have a very good choice, and there
are small and larger reef-friendly
fish aplenty. For me, it’s the
specialist marines that appeal and
my eye was caught by a Regal angel
(£120), a Blue-lined trigger
(£29.95) and some stunning Black
ribbon eels (£85).
The coral selection doesn’t
disappoint either. Several 120x60cm
tanks are filled with all sorts of
colours, textures and sizes. This
really is a place to seek out.
Whatever your tastes, there’ll be
something here to get you excited.
This is another business that offers
a full design, build, installation and
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING. WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 101
FASCINATING FISH
DEWINDTI FEATHERFIN
Sensory pores on the head allow this Tanganyikan cichlid to search
out sand fly larvae and small crustaceans from just below the
sand’s surface. The males dig pits in the sand as nests, and the
females mouth-brood. In nature, they can be found in groups of
several hundred. In tanks, it’s best to have just one male with
three or more females unless the tank is 600 l plus.
6 Scientific name: Aulonocranus dewindti
6 Pronunciation: Aw-loo-no-cran-us de-win-tie
6 Size: 13cm
6 Origin: Africa: Lake Tanganyika, Rusisi and Lukuga rivers
6 Habitat: Semi-open water roamers over sandy substrate
6 Tank size: 120x60x60cm for a small group
6 Water requirements: 7.8-9.0 pH, 10-25°H
6 Temperature: 25-27°C
6 Temperament: A mildly aggressive shoaling fish
6 Feeding: Omnivore – drifting plankton feeders. Flake, small
granules, frozen and live foods (avoid bloodworm)
6 Availability and cost: Rare; £24.95
maintenance service for high-end INSET:
aquariums. Some of its handiwork From frags to
can be seen in store – all of the specimens, the
sales system and some of the coral selection
is excellent.
display tanks (plus the 150
tank-strong quarantine facility) are ABOVE: Not
bespoke units the company has a species that
built and installed. I’d seen before
Most of its installation work – Dewindti
though, involves vast measurements featherfin.
and impressive systems for private
clients (check out the website’s
portfolio gallery), as well as
installations on international
film sets, for commercials, music
videos and so on.
Aquarium Design Centre also
worked with artist Damien Hirst to
 Roadtrip: London
GEAR & REVIEWS
do all things watery for his ‘Love
Lost’ installation.
As you look around the dry goods
offered, the occasional tank is set up
and running with a heavy bias
towards aquascaping and plant
keeping – the only thing that really
harks back to the old shop. The
selection of dry goods are not going
to leave you wanting. Some areas
are branding heaven, with blocks of
quality ranges by the likes of
Seachem, Dennerle, ADA, Evolution
Aqua, Eheim, Oase, Kessil, D+D,
Ecotech and more. Other areas are a
real mixture with the pick of the
products from certain brands.
I think the new Aquatic Design
Centre is a well-deserved regional
winner of the Readers’ poll 2018.
The wide and interesting selection
of livestock is what makes this shop
worth travelling to for me, but that’s
not the only trick here. The dry
goods selection is great, all the staff
I spoke to were friendly, obviously
experienced and enthusiastic,
and you can meet the unexpected
star of the show too – a handsome
red Macaw.
102 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Visit 3
Maidenhead Aquatics @
Morden
November 27th
STEVE SAYS: Finding this
Maidenhead store was much
trickier than finding most of the
chain stores. There’s a small sign to
be seen from the road if you know
FASCINATING FISH where to look, but I missed it.
I’d suggest it’s best to look for the
WHITE-MARGIN MORAY EEL National Trust emblem of the
The White-margin moray eel is a stunning specimen fish. garden centre. The thing is, the
Colours range from beige to white in the body, with a white garden centre doesn’t really want
highlight running along the fin margin from head to tail.
huge signage for the aquatics shop,
Its bite is venomous, and like all eels they are great escape
artists, so care is needed when housing and handling. However, so even walking through the garden
they are very rarely aggressive to the fishkeeper and often centre, it’s not all that obvious
interact well, becoming something of a ‘pet’ fish. where the store is.
On a dull, damp day, looking out
6 Scientific name: Gymnothorax albimarginatus the back of the garden centre, we
6 Pronunciation: Jim-no-thor-ax al-bee-margin-aye-tus
could just about make out the fishy
6 Size: 105cm
6 Origin: Widespread in the Indo Pacific posters on a distant shed and came
6 Habitat: Lives on the sandy slopes of coastal reefs up trumps. In hindsight it would
6 Tank size: 150x60x60cm have been far easier to go through
6 Water requirements: 8.0-8.2 pH, 12-14°H the turnstile you’ll see on the right
6 Temperature: 24-26°C of the car park as you enter – go
6 Temperament: Peaceful, but will consider small fish as food straight ahead from that and you’re
6 Feeding: Predator – in nature, small fish and invertebrates; in
heading in the right direction.
the aquarium, live river shrimp, frozen seafoods and fishmeat
6 Availability and cost: A rarity; £65 The main reason I chose to visit
this Maidenhead store is because it
made the London regional runner-
up in our 2018 Readers poll and
LEFT:
Nannostomus that’s a recommendation I can’t
mortenthaleri ignore. After visiting the store, I
can’t say I’m surprised. It’s neat
and tidy, supplies all the necessary
products, and the staff are keen to
AT A talk and help out – the makings of
GLANCE a pleasant shop visit.
AQUARIUM Is there any excitement to be had
DESIGN CENTRE here? I’d say the answer is a solid
There’s a good Address
selection of yes for the majority of fishkeepers.
26 Zennor Road
Bettas There were fish here that I’ve
Trade Park, Ballam,
London SW12 0PS coveted for years but never kept,
Telephone such as Empire gudgeon (£17.50)
020 7580 6764 and Banjo catfish (£4.50). There
Website were also recent newcomers to the
aquaticdesign. industry like the Black line tetra,
co.uk Moenkhausia costae (£4.50) –
Number of tanks
which were really tempting me to
224+ Tropical
165 Marine take them home – and the Phoenix
54 Coldwater tetra (£8.50).
Parking Any fishkeeper without a honed
Restricted during speciality will find something to
the week, plenty at excite them with the selection that
the weekend was present on our visit. If you’re

an experienced Mbuna keeper for
instance, you’re unlikely to start
hopping up and down on the shop
floor, but there’s a selection of better
known Mbuna cichlids here to
satisfy those with an interest or just
getting into Malawi algae eaters.
They’re doing well here when it
comes to avoiding tankbusters. I saw
a handful of fish that would grow to
around 25cm – a few Central
American cichlids, some Hujeta gars,
and the resident pet Flowerhorn, but
nothing more space demanding,
and nothing that I would consider a
problem fish. That deserves a double
thumbs up from me.
It was pointed out that this store
has recently had to take on livestock
from another nearby Maidenhead
shop that’s closed down. This meant
the normal stocking level had been
thinned down, and the store was
carrying more ‘bread and butter’ fish
as a result, but I couldn’t see much
of a problem in that respect.
The coral tray is
presented well, like
the rest of the shop
Moenkhausia
costae
Granted, most of the fish were
community friendly, but then that’s
what most fishkeepers keep. There
were some lovely community fish too
– fish like Apistogramma nijsseni
(£18.50), African glass catfish,
Pareutropius debauwi (£6.50),
Blue diamond tetra, Alestopetersius
smykalai (£5.50), Threadfin
rainbows (£4.50), Southern green
cory (£12.50) and Croaking gourami
(£3.50). Even the livebearers
included one little gem – Panda
guppies (£5.50). I say most of the
stock is community based, but there
is more specialist fare here too –
fish like Geophagus cichlids,
Pike cichlids, Crenichicla lepidota
(£15) and more.
One thing was fairly obvious when
checking out the spread of fancy
goldfish, and that was that prices
are quite high. I was looking at a red
and white Ryukin of roughly 5cm
that was priced at £12.50, and
some nice calico Ranchu of around
FASCINATING FISH
BLACK LINE TETRA
Moenkhausia costae is a very active shoaling fish. When kept in
low numbers it often becomes nippy and belligerent, so keep a
good pack of them. They are known to be very strong feeders, even
when freshly imported, so don’t mix them together with shy or
subdued species – especially not with anything that has flowing
fins. Offer them a strong flow and watch them go nuts!
6 Scientific name: Moenkhausia costae
6 Pronunciation: Monk-hows-ee-ah cost-aye
6 Size: 5.5-6cm
6 Origin: South America: eastern Brazil
6 Habitat: Vegetated margins of the Sao Francisco rivers
6 Tank size: 90x30x38cm
6 Water requirements: 6.0-6.8 pH, 3-10°H
6 Temperature: 25-28°C
6 Temperament: Feisty shoaling fish
6 Feeding: Omnivore – flake, granules, small live and
frozen foods
6 Availability and cost: Becoming a more common sight; £4.50
4cm at £12.99. Then I spent some
AT A time looking at the fish. If you’re
GLANCE enthusiastic about quality fancy
goldies, you’re not likely to argue
MAIDENHEAD@
about the price – these were nice
MORDEN
Address examples and in good condition. But
Morden Hall thinking about it later, I bet it puts
Garden Centre, people off keeping them (badly…)
Morden Hall Road, in small tanks. It’s a good move,
Morden, Surrey I think, although I don’t know if this
SM4 5JG was part of the reason for them
Telephone
buying high-grade examples.
020 8646 1066
Website Then there are the salty tanks,
fishkeeper.co.uk/ which again looked tidy, clean and
store/morden filled with fish that were active and
Number of tanks colourful. I can’t say I’m at all a fan
264 Tropical of the fancy Clownfish that have
43 Marine become so popular, but there was
24 Cold/temperate
one here that stood out for me and it
Parking
Garden centre went by the name of Lightning
car park maroon clownfish (£145).
More down-to-earth marines
included Midnight coral gobies
(£15), File fish (£24) and the
slightly fancier Kamohara blenny
(£60). While the vast majority of
the marine fish were reef and
BELOW: community safe, there were also a
Lightning few specimen fish – a stunning Blue
maroon clown face angel really stood out for me.
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 103
 Filtration expert

edi ltration
rm af dfi
DOUBLE
Advance
BUILT IN

sys
ENERGY CRYSTAL
PRE SAVING CLEAR STOP
tem
FILTER ng ENGINE WATER VALVES
Pr

100 150 200 250 50 600 650 700

ULTRAMAX 1000
ULTRAMAX 1500
ULTRAMAX 2000
High performance Ideal living conditions for
Prevents filter media at a low power freshwater animals and Advanced ONE
from clogging consumption plants PULL priming

Prefilter Driven by a High filtration Easy start

modern motor capacity

Ready Efficient Ease Practical

to use of use
Fully equipped Carefully Integrated Flexible filter
selected cut-off system configuration
filtration media

ULTRAMAX 1000 1500 2000

Wattage [W] 10 15 24
Max output [l/h] 1000 1500 2000
Filter capacity [l] 11 13,5 16
Number x capacity of baskets [l] 3 x 1,9 4 x 1,9 5 x 1,9
Tank volume [l] 100 - 300 250 - 450 400 - 700
Max head [cm] 160 180 250
to find your local stockist please email sales@alfltd.co.uk www.aquael.com
 GEAR
New gear put through its paces by PFK’s experts. How did it perform?
BIORB CUBE 30
First look: Steve Baker
RRP: £259.99
More info: oase-livingwater.com
I’ve heard a lot of stick thrown at
BiOrb over the years and it’s nearly
always been to do with the shape.
‘Glorified goldfish bowl’ is a common
accusation, but this is why they’re
here in the first place. Goldfish bowls
didn’t have filters, so the BiOrb was
designed to tackle that problem.
More constructive criticism was
aimed at the surface area of a
sphere – as the water level increases,
the surface area decreases, limiting
the amount of life the tank could
FIRST
GEAR & REVIEWS
LOOK
colour options (black, white or clear).
One downside is practicality. With
just the light unit and its surround
GREAT
FOR... removable from the top, there is
THE STYLE
CONSCIOUS limited access for maintenance, and
although many other countries
support. But BiOrb spheres continue embrace acrylic aquariums, here in
to sell, and if you’re aware of the Blighty we don’t seem to like them.
limitations they work fine. If you’re sometimes drawn to style
These issues are addressed, over function, then this tank might
however, by the BiOrb Cube. Available be for you. It certainly looks good
in a 30 l and 60 l volume, this is when set up and running, but I do
basically a small conventional tank wish BiOrb would do something
with a multi-stage air-driven filter neater with the lights cable.
finished off with BiOrb flair.
The highlight of this tank (and Nice styling, low running cost.
other BiOrb tanks) is the design – Less practical than many cheaper tanks.
curved corners, slimline lid,
flush-mounted light unit and three
LIGHTS
The 12v 2.8w max MCR LED light unit is a major highlight,
and a fair chunk of this tank’s overall cost. It’s remote-
controlled and gives you the option of 16 different colours
for atmosphere but, more importantly, four different
time-cycle options to give a nice dawn/dusk feel, avoiding
any light shock for your fish. It shares the 12v
transformer with the airpump, meaning
the tank needs just one plug socket.
The cube is also available with a standard
LED unit (RRP £189.95).
FILTER
Water is pulled through the high surface area
substrate to use it as biological media,
continuing to flow through a sponge in the
central housing, before passing a mixed
absorbent media (to mop up excess nutrients).
AIRPUMP
The 12v 0.2w
airpump isn’t the
poshest on the
market, but it’s of
ample strength
and not too loud.
It shares the single
transformer plug.
❯
WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 105
 GEAR USED & ABUSED
GEAR & REVIEWS
Want to know how the goods on sale really perform? We put them
through their paces so you can sort the good from the bad...
RRP: Ultramax 1000 £140.69; Ultramax 1500 £157.39; Ultramax 2000 £194.89
The basic canister filter concept –
get a bucket, fill it up with filter
media and attach a lid with a
built-in pump – hasn’t changed
much. Most manufacturers play safe
by sticking to this classical set-up,
while others come up with frequent
add-ons and small modifications,
with more or less success.
AquaEl has always been at the
forefront of doing something
unconventional or even surprising
– just think about their Midikani
filter with the external inline pump
unit, or the unbreakable fish tank
showcased at Interzoo 2018.
Ultramax filters are designed for
larger tanks and come in three sizes
– 1000 lph, 1500 lph and 2000 lph.
106 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
AQUAEL ULTRAMAX
Tester: Gabor Horvath
More info: aquael.pl or alfltd.co.uk
I tested the most powerful of the
Ultramax trio. Using only 24w it
was capable of pumping up over
1500 lph to 1m height, thanks to
PUMP HEAD the relatively large diameter tubes.
24w for an This excellent performance means
in-situ flow of
it can easily cope with up to a
1500 lph (max
2000 lph) is 500 l heavily stocked tank, or 700 l
very efficient. with moderate bioload – with
Also includes 16 l internal volume it can easily
an automatic deal with the mess produced.
priming pump. AquaEl has returned to a
The flow taps traditional square box design, which
seal the
pump head. I prefer to the oval shape of its
Flexibility is predecessor, the Unimax. Another
maximised with change is that there is no room for a
independent built-in UV light, but an AquaEl
pipe fittings. add-on in-line UV unit is available.
A very useful addition – and my
favourite feature of the Ultramax – is
the pre-filter unit. It’s basically a tub
filled with a sponge bigger than
regular internal filter media. The
dirty water flows through this first,
so debris and other particles are
trapped and can’t block the
biomedia. The whole unit can be
removed and cleaned without
disturbing the main filter media or
even moving the main canister filter
out from the aquarium cabinet.
Washing the pre-filter weekly or
fortnightly could significantly
increase the time between large
filter cleans, meaning less impact on
filter bacteria. A thoughtful touch is
the small valve at the bottom of the
pre-filter tub, which prevents the
My favourite feature of the Ultramax is
the pre-filter unit. It’s basically a tub filled
with a sponge bigger than regular internal
filter media. The dirty water flows through
this first, so debris and other particles are
trapped and can’t block the biomedia
dirty water dripping out and ruining
your living room carpet.
Below the pre-filter you will find
the usual set of filter media,
including various sponges and
bio balls. If you want to add your
own, the basket system would allow
you to use any of the extra media
offered by AquaEl.
The handling of the filter is very
easy. The double clip closing system
makes sure that the filter is airtight.
Priming is also simple, and the
small starting pump unit works
smoothly and efficiently. Once the
filter is filled, it runs quietly.
For more tech-savvy aquarists, the
Ultramax is also available with Wifi
connection, so you can integrate it
into AquaEl’s new smart system.
VERDICT
AquaEl is well known for offering
good value aquarium equipment
with a moderate price tag. The
Ultramax filter is no exception.
The overall quality of the product
is very good and it certainly has
lots of features. I’m sure it won’t
disappoint anyone, except perhaps
the competition.
EASE OF USE: 
FEATURES: 
VALUE: 
OVERALL: 
BIOMEDIA
Bioceramax 600
is AquaEl’s porous
ceramic media.
You get a whole
tray’s worth.

ALL POND SOLUTIONS

FINAL BASKET
A finer sponge is
positioned to polish
water and protect
the impeller from
any particles.
AQUARIUM SURFACE SKIMMER
Tester: Steve Baker
Prices: £9.98
More info: allpondsolutions.co.uk
I’ve been using this skimmer for about five weeks
now, long enough to notice its strengths and
weaknesses. The 5w motor pushes a stated 300 lph
and is suggested for tanks up to 350 l. I’ve been
using it on a 120x37.5cm (200 l) tank and am
sceptical of it managing a much larger surface area.
The flow coming from the pump is ample, but the
draw of surface water to the skimmer is just about
adequate in my tank.
When set up perfectly it does do a great job, but
with a part-open top and associated evaporation my
water level fluctuates a lot, and with a less-than-
smooth movement to the float basket, it often needs
encouragement in the form of a daily knock. Another
BASKETS SPONGES weak point is the sponge. The floss suppied is too
Alhough sponges Three sponges are fine, so it needs cleaning every other day. I added a
are supplied, you supplied. These are coarse sponge first, which extends cleaning to weekly.
can pull these out of mid-coarseness However, the cheapest stand-alone skimmer I’ve
and swap for other and form the bulk
used previously was nearly three times the price,
media if you w
so I can’t really expect the same performance.

PREFILTER
My favourite feature. It’s
easy to remove and limits
more in-depth maintenance
GREENPLECO
very effectively. It can even
be removed without turning
CUDDLY FISH
First look: Steve Baker
off the filter.
Prices: £10.99-£14.99
More info: greenpleco.com
When a dog or cat-loving partner says “fish are silly pets,
you can’t even cuddle or stroke them”, shoving one of these
plush, fabricated fishies in their face isn’t likely to win them
over. However, they may help to comfort you when you’re
huddled in a dark corner after losing another battle.
From plecs and corys to shrimps and cichlids, these are

GREAT
FOR...
STOCKING
FILLERS!

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 107
 Scotland
READERS’ POLL

North
East
Northern
Ireland North

THE
West
Yorkshire &
Humberside READERS’
Republic of
Ireland
East
Midlands POLL 2018
WINNERS
East
Wales

TOP 40
West
Midlands
London

ROLL OF HONOUR
6 RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Emperor Tropicals, Devon
6 SMALL RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Aqua Design Aquatics, Skegness
Runner-up: FishCove Aquatics, Dorset
6 CICHLID STORE OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Lincs aquatics, Alford, Lincs
6 CATFISH STORE OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Emperor Tropicals, Devon
6 ODDBALL STORE OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Wharf Aquatics, Pinxton
6 DISCUS RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Ferrybridge Aquatics, Wakefield
6 MARINE RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Lincs Aquatics, Alford, Lincs
6 PLANT RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Emperor Tropicals, Devon
6 POND RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Lincs Aquatics, Alford, Lincs
Runner-up: Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
6 ONLINE RETAILER OF THE YEAR
Charterhouse Aquatics
Runner-up: All Pond Solutions
Retailer of the year
, Dublin
Sea horse Aquariums Ltd.
South
West
REGIONAL WINNERS
6 SOUTH EAST
Crowders Aquatics, Hampshire
Runner-up: Reefkeeper Windsor, Berkshire
6 SOUTH WEST
Emperor Tropicals, Devon
Runner-up: The Aquatic Store, Bristol
6 WALES
Newport Aquatics, Gwent
Runner-up: Fur and Fins, Caerphilly
6 LONDON
The Aquatic Design Centre, London
Runner-up: Maidenhead Aquatics @ Morden
6 EAST MIDLANDS
Lincs Aquatics, Alford, Lincs
Runner-up: Aqua Design Aquatics, Skegness
6 NORTH EAST
Tropical Supplies North East, Co. Durham
Runner-up: Fish Alive, Durham
6 SCOTLAND
Discovery Aquatics, Dundee
Runner-up: Fishkeeper Inverness
6 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
Runner-up: Carrick Aquatics, Co. Monaghan
6 NORTHERN IRELAND
Maidenhead Aquatics @ Belfast
Runner-up: Clearly Aquatics, Co. Down
6 NORTH WEST
quahome, Leyland, Lancashire
A 6Pier Aquatics, Wigan, Lancs
Runner-up: Maidenhead Aquatics @ Wigan
6 EAST
The Waterzoo, Peterborough, Cambs
Runner-up: Amwell Aquatics, Soham, Cambs
6 YORKS AND HUMBER
Octopus 8, Brough, East Yorkshire
Runner-up: South Yorkshire Aquatics, Doncaster
6 WEST MIDLANDS
Henlan’s Aquatics, Sandwell
Runner-up: Maidenhead Aquatics @ Mere Park
South
East VOTED ONE OF THE TOP
40 SHOPS
TOP 40 ALPHABETICALLY
6The Aquatic Design Centre, London
6Aquahome, Leyland
6Aquatic Finatic, North Yorkshire
6Bow Aquatic centre, Devon
6Carrick Aquatics, Co. Monaghan
6Crowders Aquatics, Hampshire
6Cuddra Aquatics, St. Austell
6Discovery Aquatics, Dundee
6East Lothian Aquatics, Tranent
6Emperor Tropicals, Plymouth, Devon
6Ferrybridge Aquatics, Wakefield
6FishCove Aquatics, Wimborne, Dorset
6Fishkeeper Braehead
6Fishkeeper Coatbridge
6Fishkeeper Inverness
6Fishkeeper Leith
6Fur and Fins, Caerphilly
6Henlan’s Aquatics, Sandwell
6Kraken Corals, Lancashire
6Lincs Aquatics, Alford, Lincs
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Ascot
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Morden
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Birmingham
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Gosport
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Mere Park
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Wigan
6Maidenhead Aquatics @ Wimbourne
6Newport Aquatics, Gwent
6Octopus 8, Brough, East Yorkshire
6Queni Koi, Wanlip, Leicester
6Reefkeeper Windsor
6Riverside Aquaria, West Lothian
6Seahorse Aquariums Ltd, Dublin
6South Yorkshire Aquatics
6The Aquatic Store, Bristol
6The Trop Shop, Grays, Essex
6The Waterzoo, Peterborough
6Tropical Supplies North East, Co. Durham
6Wharf Aquatics, Pinxton, Notts
 MANUFACTURERS POLL
Vote for your favourite
manufacturers in our
online poll and you could
win a great prize from
Maidenhead Aquatics!

How to vote

T
HE VOTES are flooding in
for our first ever Practical
Fishkeeping Manufacturers
Poll, so if you haven’t voted
already, head on over to the
PFK website to have your
say on who will be
nominated ‘best of the
brands’. We’re asking you to tell us which
products you consider the best of the best.
And, just for getting involved, we’re
offering you the chance to win one of
several great prizes from our poll sponsor,
Maidenhead Aquatics – see below for details!
To streamline things, we’ve created a
shortlist of products that we at PFK and
our sponsors mutually feel are most
deserving of recognition for innovation,
reliability or ingenuity through 2018.
It’s not all new faces – many known and
loved products make an appearance.
The polls opened online on November
21st, and you have up until February 6th
2019 to cast your votes.
Simply go to the PFK website at
practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/manupoll.
You’ll be asked to leave your name and
email address (so we can contact you if
you win a prize!), and then you’ll be taken
to the different categories and asked to
pick your favourite manufacturer in each
of eight different categories.
6 Full terms and conditions can
be found at the polling page –
practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/manupoll

WHAT YOU COULD WIN!

AQUATROPIC ASSORTED MICROBE-LIFT OCEAN FREE HYDRA

65 LED AQUARIUM
RRP £109.99
The AquaTropic 65 LED Aquarium
contains all you need to start up
an easy to maintain 60x30x40cm,
65-litre tropical aquarium.
Its edge-framed glass, removable
lid with feeding flap and high
specification equipment creates a
beautiful underwater world for you
to enjoy. The AquaTropic 65
comes with an Easy Care Filtration
system, providing clear and
healthy water and includes foams,
carbon and bio media and an
algae prevention pad.
The Aquatropic 65 comes with a
heater and a tri coloured LED
1ST
PRIZE
WATER TREATMENTS BUNDLE INTERNAL FILTER
RRP from £88 to £95
Microbe-Lift produces a range of superb water AND DEPURATOR 30
treatments including biological start-ups, filter RRP £49.99
boosters, immune system boosters, water The Hydra Internal Filter and
conditioners, liquid vitamins, phosphate removers Depurator is no normal internal
and so much more. One lucky winner will receive filter, and uses ‘Hydro-Pure’
a choice of one MicrobeLift bundle for either technology that is capable of
Tropical, Marine or Coldwater. enhancing the natural filtration
The Tropical bundle comprises one each of: Special processes in aquariums by as
Blend 236ml; Xtreme 236ml; Nite-Out II 236ml; much as 50% when compared to
Plants Green 236ml; Bio CO2 236ml; Vitaminos conventional systems. With the
118ml; Carbopure 500ml; and Zeopure 500ml help of the Cata-Pure Cartridge
The Marine bundle comprises one each of: Special the traditional nitrogen cycle is
Blend 473ml; Xtreme 473ml; All-In-One 236ml; sped up as several stages are
Calcium 236ml; Complete 236ml; Vitaminos bypassed and rendered
236ml; and Coralline 118ml. unnecessary.
The Hydra converts 3RD
The Coldwater bundle comprises one each of: PRIZE
Special Blend 236ml; Thera P 236ml; Xtreme ammonia in the
236ml; Nite-Out II 236ml; Vitaminos 236ml; and aquarium straigh
to nitrogen in
Zeopure 500ml.
one process,
2ND
eliminating
PRIZE
reliance on
traditional
nitrifying bacter
his results in
most instant
aturing of tank
d ongoing
ntrol of
mmonia, nitrite
d nitrate.

TUR ERS POLL CATEGORIES!

MANUFACTURERS POLL

Category 1 Aquarium kits Category 2 Heaters

Chances are that if you’re a fishkeeper, you’ve got an aquarium The aquarium workhorse for decades, the heater
in the house somewhere. The market for aquaria is huge, but and thermostat has remained in pretty much
then they do comprise the greatest single spend that most the same form for 40 years. But with the addition
hobbyists make. Most of the major brands are eager to put of digital displays, increasingly efficient shapes
their name to a tank, but which from our shortlist do you and more accurate settings, which brand do
consider a cut above the rest? you think has done the most towards aquarium
climate control?
THE SHORTLIST
6Red Sea for the Reefer and Max THE SHORTLIST
ranges of marine aquaria. 6
Juwel for the AquaHeat range of automatic
6Fluval for the Flex 34 and 57L heaters. (1)
aquaria. (1) 6
Fluval for the E-Series range of heaterstats.
6Evolution Aqua for the 6
Eheim for the Jäger thermocontrol range of
eaFreshwater and eaReefPro range (1) heaterstats.
of tanks and cabinets. (3) 6
Interpet for the Deltatherm range of heaterstats.
6TMC for the Signature range of 6
Hydor for the ETH 200 and 300 external
tanks and cabinets. aq
6Superfish for the Home 40
aquarium.
6D-D for the Reef-Pro aquariums
ran

(1)
(2) (3)

Category 3 Lighting Category 4 Filters

Unless you’ve been in a cave on Mars for the last 10 years,
you’ll have noticed that the most active area for fishkeeping
with regards to research and development has been lighting –
the LED changed everything! In a marketplace dominated by
rapidly-evolving designs, which manufacturer do you think
deserves the most recognition?
The heart of any aquarium, a competent filter is the difference
between a thriving tank with healthy fish, and a catastrophic
swamp of death. Filters can be innovative and advanced, or
they can be simple tried and tested units that have stood the
test of time. The question is, in a world of so, so many types,
which company do you rank as the master filter maker?

THE SHORTLIST THE SHORTLIST

6
Kessil for the Ocean Sun and Ocean Tuna range of LED lights. (1) 6Fluval for the ’06, FX and U ranges of filter. (1)
6
Ecotech Marine for the XR15 and XR30 LED lights. 6Tetra for the EX range of canister filters.
6
Fluval for the Aquasky, Marine and Plant 3.0 Bluetooth app 6Ocean Free for the Hydra internal range of canister filters.
controlled LED light ranges. (2) 6JBL for the CristalProfi range of external canister filters.
6
TMC for the AquaRay range of LED lights. 6Oase for the BioPlus Thermo and BioMaster Thermo ranges of
 internal and external canister filters. (2)

(3)

(1)

(1)
(2) (2)

110 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING

Category 5 Circulation pumps Category 6 Planting supplements
As we came to understand the importance of flow in our tanks, a Who would have predicted the ascension of the planted tank?
new market evolved out of the spaces that powerheads and Aquatic gardening became as much a hobby as fishkeeping,
airpumps couldn’t fill. Soon, circulation pumps became a with an ardent and loyal fanbase. From early days of trial and
multi-million pound global industry and no self-respecting reef error, we now have ranges of products that are guaranteed to
owner could be seen without a cutting edge array of pumps bring the lushest growth to the most novice aquascaper. But
creating tidal surges and eddies in their tank. So who gives the who has been the biggest influence on your planting antics?
best flow for your buck?
THE SHORTL
THE SHORTLIST 6Easy-Life for
6Tunze for the Turbelle range of flow pumps. 6Seachem for
6
Ecotech Marine for the Vortech range of 6
Evolution Aq
flow pumps. (1) Aquascaper
6
Hydor for the Koralia range of flow Complete Pla
pumps. (2) Food. (1)
6
Fluval for the Fluval Sea range of flow 6
Aqua Design
pumps. (3) Amano for th
6
Maxspect for the Gyre range of circulation Power Sand a
pumps. (4) Aqua Soil ran
(3)
6TMC for the Ree

(4)

(1)
(2)
(1)

Category 7 Water treatments Category 8 Food

Potions and lotions are big business. And why not? Water is Like the petrol we put in our cars, the food we feed our fish is
the medium in which fish live, and so we all want to make that the fuel that keeps them ticking. We’ve come a long way from
water as safe and as habitable as possible. There’s so much the early days of biscuit crumbs and dried ant eggs. Nowadays
more to water treatment than ‘just’ dechlorinators, too. There fish foods boast the finest ingredients, devised from countless
are sludge eaters, filter supplements, vitamins and immunity hours of research in dedicated labs. Which of these brands do
boosters, all to be poured into your tanks. Which water you trust to deliver for your fish?
treatment brand do you put your trust in?
THE SHORTLIST
THE SHORTLIST 6Fish Science for the Tropical Fish Food range. (1)
6NT Labs for the Aquarium Treatments 6Fluval for the Bug Bites range. (2)
and Medicines range. 6Vitalis Aquatic Nutrition for the Flake, Pellet and Grazer ranges. (3)
6Microbe lift for Nite-Out II and the 6Tetra for the TetraMin, TetraPro and Micro ranges.
Home Aquarium range. (1) 6King British for the Aquarium Food and Treats ranges. (4)
6Fluval for the Water 6Repashy for the Superfoods Gel range
Treatments range. (2)
6JBL for the Care
Products water
conditioning and
treatments ranges.
6Tetra for the Water
Care range.
(3)

(1)
(4)
(2) (1)

(2)

WWW.PRACTICALFISHKEEPING.CO.UK 111
 BRISTOL KENT

From plants to ABACUS AQUATICS

Voted one of the Best shops in
Cichlids, Stingrays the UK for the last 6 years
14
to Snakeheads Now open on Sundays
For more details about the
The Aquatic Store shop and our opening hours
please visit our website
Really does have it all!
www.abacus-aquatics.co.uk
www.theaquaticstore.co.uk 01179 639120 168 Halfway Street, Sidcup, Kent, DA15 8DJ
28 North Street Bedminster Bristol BS3 1HW 020 8302 8000 / enquiries@abacusaquatics.co.uk

CAMBRIDGESHIRE LINCOLNSHIRE

AQUAT LINCOLNSHIRE EAST SOUTH

S
CLASSIFIED To advertise here please call the sales team on 01733 366410

Hangar1 YORKSHIRE YORKSHIRE

LINC

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Strubby Airfield Hedon Road Great North Rd

S
Woodthorpe Nr Burstwick Doncaster
Alford East Yorks DN10 6AB

Tropical LN13 0DD

01507 451000
HU12 9HA
01482 898800
01302 711639

Marine
Cold Water
Open 7 days a week 01954 214530
www.nuttyaboutpets.co.uk sales@nuttyaboutpets.co.uk
175 St Neots, Hardwick, Cambridge, CB23 7QJ

To all our customers – thank you for your support with the PFK Awards
All fish are packed to
www.lincsaquatics.co.uk travel anywhere in the UK
COUNTY DURHAM LANCASHIRE

Retailer of Reef & River Aquarium LONDON

Fish Alive the year
North East
MORECAMBE
The only true aquatic Superstore, with over 250 stock tanks Tropicals, marines, coldwater and pondfish.
specializing in community, rare and unusual cold water, tropical
and marine fish inverts and corals. Largest range of aquariums,
Wide variety of aquariums and dry goods in stock.
dry goods, frozen and live foods and Tropical plants. Pond pumps, liners, U.V’s and plants in season.
Opening hours weekdays 10.00 - 18.00, Saturdays 10.00 - 17.00, Sundays 10.00 - 16.00, Closed on Wednesdays
Units 10 & 11, Dragonville Retail Park, Durham DH1 2YB Mon 2-6 • Tues 10-6 • Wed 2-6 • Thur 10-6
Phone and fax: 0191 3843590
Fri 12-8 • Sat 10-5 • Sun 1-5
95-97 Lancaster Road, York Bridge, Morecambe
01524 419371

DORSET

aquatics
3 Kings Court,
Wimborne, BH21 1HS
The Fish Bowl Ltd
133 Dawes Road,
elephone 01202 883065 London. SW6 7EA

www.fishcove.co.uk Tel: 020 7385 6005

www.thefishbowlltd.com
email: thefishbowlltd@tiscali.co.uk

To advertise in the Practical Fishkeeping OFFICIAL JUWEL STOCKISTS PLUS SPARES

classified section please contact
James Belding on 01733 366410 or Aquatic and Pet Shop.
email: James.Belding@bauermedia.co.uk Open 5 days a week 10am to 6pm. Closed all day Thursday and Sunday
LONDON WALES MISCELLANOUS

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AQUASCAPE FISH IMPORTS SIMPLY RIP TIP
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sales@aquascape.co.uk Trade enquiries welcome
livestock in more
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TROPICAL - MARINE - POND & COLDWATER - REPTILES
INTERNET
Six-time winner of top UK aquatic retailer
www.wharfaquatics.co.uk
Tel: 01773 861255
Open 7 Days - 65-67 Wharf Road, Pinxton, Notts. NG16 6LH (near M1 J28)

SUSSEX

MARINES ) CORALS ) TROPICALS ) GOLDFISH ) KOI

To advertise here please call the sales team on 01733 366410

EASTBOURNE AQUARIUM
& REPTILE CENTRE
19/21 SEASIDE ROAD, BN21 3PP

01323 730635
Celebrating 50 years in Eastbourne in 2019
Fishy.mission@btinternet.com
Face book: @EastbourneAquariumCentre
Trip Advisor
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www.aquariumgardens.co.uk
SCOTLAND 01480 450572 info@aquariumgardens.co.uk
UNIT 20C , UPLANDS INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, MERE WAY, WYTON, CAMBRIDGESHIRE PE28 2JZ

House of Pisces ~ Scotland’s largest aquatic superstore by far

With over 1000 aquariums full of tropical, marine and cold water fish
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WALES
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UK MAINLAND ONLY
OPINION
NATHAN HILL
Traditionally, this is the time to reflect,
Janus-like, on the past 12 months
and look ahead to the next. And it’s
scary – have fishkeeping’s ethics gone
one step forwards and 10 steps back?
W
AS THIS the year
that ethics went out
of the window? I
hate to say it, but
after a year of writing
relatively upbeat
op-eds, I’ve decided
to reflect on the year,
and I’m narked off about a lot of it.
Return of the giants
The big fish are back. Well, not quite. ‘The’
big fish that were a problem a few years ago
have mainly gone away – I don’t see many
Pangasius, Osphronemus or young Pacu
anymore. In their place has arrived a convoy
of new, somehow socially acceptable
beasts. You only need to look at the
comments under any social media post to
see just how accepted they now are. Gone
are the noble few who would decry such a
sight. We do have more bigger tanks than
ever, for sure. But do we have more Mother
of Snails catfish-sized tanks? I doubt it.
Because we all
need a 90cm+
catfish...
114 PRACTICAL FISHKEEPING
Nathan Hill
is Practical
Fishkeeping
magazine’s
associate editor,
biotope fancier,
aquascape
dabbler and
part-time amateur
skateboarder.
Call of the wild
‘That’ Iceland advert has done the rounds.
Everyone is outraged at palm oil
production, between huge mouthfuls of
palm-based snacks. We’re all about
protecting the wild animals now, right?
Nada. Just five minutes back I was
spluttering my disdain as a retailer proudly
bragged about their latest import online.
A whole box of endangered fish. Fish that
I thought an indigenous government had
banned from collection and export. Looks
like someone found a loophole then.
We have somehow made an idol out of
the idea of a wild fish. ‘Wild’ is superior,
and to hell with the ramifications. So what
if there are only 12 left in the jungle – that
makes them even cooler right? Well, no. It
just means you’re paying through the nose
for something that would be better off in a
conservation programme. I wonder how
this even differs from those guys who used
to collect rare birds’ eggs. If you’re not
buying to breed and conserve, why bother?
SHUTTERSTOCK
Easy feeders
I see that live feeding has emerged from its
seedy burrow once more. Not just emerged
but become a ghoulish spectator sport
online. Goldfish are fair game, it seems.
Gulper cats, Piranhas and heavy-set, hulking
cichlids the entertainers. And what’s worse
is the whole scene is spurred on by folks
with the damndest and most vacuous
forms of reasoning. ‘It’s what would happen
in the wild!’ they cry, as though the brutally
amoral Darwinism of the wilderness should
be the template for our ‘civilised’ activities.
Tetanus is the kind of thing that happens
in the wild, old chap. Tetanus without
treatment and an agonising death. But you
don’t see me in the hospital, live-streaming
your lockjaw and spasms for the
entertainment of others and shouting ‘It’s
what happens in the wild’ to anyone who
turns up and tries to help you. ‘It happens
in the wild’ is a non-argument and one we
should have discarded decades ago.
Is it just a fish?
I never imagined – but internally feared –
that the dismissive phrase ‘it’s only a fish’
would make such a return. I’ve heard it a
few times this year. As someone who only
sporadically visits aquarium retailers, that’s
a terrifying number of times. I shouldn’t
hear it at all, even if I worked in retail and
spoke to every single customer.
It seems the hobby has hit a regressive
phase. Our technology is better than ever,
but our moral compass has misaligned as
some perverse compensation for that.
I have a horrible suspicion that 2019 is
going to be more of the same. I fear that
too many good fishkeepers have gone
silent on issues that really matter, while
the bad ones are being all too vocal.
Guess the fish answer from page 29: Guppy, Poecilia reticulata
 POWERED BY

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