Modern Aquarium by Dan Radebaugh

July 2015 volume XXII number 5

Series III ON THE COVER Our cover this month features Xiphophorus variatus, the variegated platy. A longtime favorite in the aquarium hobby, I'm sure most of us have kept these attractive and peaceful fish at one time or another. For more information on this deservedly popular livebearer, see Susan Priest's article on page 9. Photo by Susan Priest

Vol. XXII, No. 5 July, 2015

In This Issue From the Editor G.C.A.S. 2015 Program Schedule President’s Message June’s Caption Contest Winner Pterophylum scalare by Tommy Chang

GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETY BOARD MEMBERS

President Dan Radebaugh Vice-President Edward Vukich Treasurer Jules Birnbaum Assistant Treasurer Ron Wiesenfeld Corresponding Secretary Sean Cunningham Recording Secretary Tommy Chang MEMBERS AT LARGE

Pete D’Orio Ben Haus Jason Kerner

Al Grusell Emma Haus Leonard Ramroop

COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Bowl Show Leonard Ramroop Breeder Award Warren Feuer Mark Soberman Early Arrivals Al Grusell F.A.A.S. Delegate Alexander A. Priest Membership Marsha Radebaugh N.E.C. Delegate Joe Gurrado Programs Mark Soberman Social Media Sharon Barnett Technology Coordinator Warren Feuer MODERN AQUARIUM Editor in Chief Copy Editors Exchange Editors

Dan Radebaugh Sharon Barnett Susan Priest Alexander A. Priest Stephen Sica Donna Sosna Sica

Cartoon Caption Contest For the Love of Variatus by Susan Priest

Wet Leaves Aquarium Care of Livebearers by Susan Priest

Fishy Friendsʼ Photos I Still Like Duckweed! Lemna minor by Stephen Sica

Pictures From Our Last Meeting by Susan Priest

Our Youngest Winner Dr. Louis Agassiz The Names You Know, the People You Donʼt by Derek P.S. Tustin

G.C.A.S. Classifieds Our Generous Sponsors and Advertisers An Aquaristʼs Journey Chapter 15 by Rosario LaCorte

Whatʼs the Difference? by Horst Gerber

G.C.A.S. Member Discounts G.C.A.S. Happenings The Undergravel Reporter True Blue Watercolors

Fin Fun (Puzzle Page) Know Thy Cory!

2 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 13 14 16 18 19 22 22 23 28 29 32 33 34

From the Editor by Dan Radebaugh

like this issue! Not that I haven’t liked others of course, but this one just sort of came together unexpectedly well, is a little different, and offers something for nearly everyone. There’s even a poem! Susan Priest’s article on platies threw me back to my youth. The first fishes that I kept successfully were goldfish and some corydoras in an outdoor pond. I ultimately brought those inside when the pond became no longer available. One of my sisters had mentioned to her junior high school art teacher that we had an aquarium, and the teacher offered her some surplus platies (and maybe some guppies as well, though I’m not certain about the origin of the guppies). Anyway, the platies were a delight to keep! They’re large and colorful enough to be seen from a distance, friendly to all, easy to feed, not fussy about water parameters, and readily reproduce! What’s not to like? You do have to use some judgement about tankmates. I had to move my betta to solitary confinement after he killed a few platies, for instance. Anyway, these are fish that I like a lot, though I haven’t kept any since those days, and it’s nice to read an article about them. Synergistically, Sue then follows up with a glowing Wet Leaves review of Dr. Ted Colletti’s book, Aquarium Care of Livebearers. In the same aquarium I mentioned above, I also from time to time tried to keep duckweed, along with other floating plants intended to shelter platy fry. I sort of liked the idea of duckweed, but the reality just never seemed to live up to the concept, so I knowingly nod my head when reading Steve Sica’s “I Still Like Duckweed,” though I must say that his photos show more success than I had with this plant. I never caught them at it, but maybe my goldfish were eating it. We also have some fish hobby history—from two different centuries, no less! Three, if you count Pictures From Our Last Meeting as history. The first is a piece by Derek Tustin, reprinted from the Durham Regional Aquarium Society’s publication, Tank Talk, on Dr. Louis Agassiz. I’m sure most of us have seen fish bearing his name in their Latin binomial; this piece tells us about the man as well. The second is Chapter 15 of our ongoing autobiography of Rosario LaCorte. I’m sure you’ll enjoy both! The Undergravel Reporter celebrates Independence Day by introducing us to a red, white, and blue crayfish, while our Fin Fun puzzle takes note of the subject of this evening’s speaker, Mark Soberman. You’ll also come across a couple of bonus surprises that I’ll let you find by yourselves.

***** Remember, we need articles. We always need articles! Modern Aquarium is produced by and for the members of Greater City Aquarium Society. Our members are our authors, and with ten issues per year, we always, always need more articles. I know several of you are keeping and/or breeding fish, or working with plants or invertebrates that I would like to know more about, and I’m certain other members would be interested as well. Share your experience with us. Write about it! If you’re a little unsure about the state of your writing technique, don’t worry – that’s why there are editors. If you don't share what you know, who will? If you have an article, photo, or drawing that you’d like to submit for inclusion in Modern Aquarium, it’s easy to do! You may email it to gcas@earthlink. net, fax it to me at (877) 299-0522, or just hand it to me at a meeting. However you get it to me I’ll be delighted to receive it!

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

GCAS Programs

2015

t is our great fortune to have another admirable cast of speakers who have so graciously accepted our invitation to join us throughout the coming season, bringing us their extensive knowledge and experiences. You certainly wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wish to miss a moment of our prominent guests, not to mention the friends, fish, warmth, and camaraderie that accompanies each meeting. March 4

Joseph Ferdenzi A Beginner's Guide to Aquarium Equipment

April 1

Jules Birnbaum The Building of a Dream

May 6

Richard Pierce Seahorses, Seadragons, and Pipefish

June 3

Jeffrey Bollbach How to Get Rich Breeding Fish: My Obsession with Aquabid

July 1

Mark Soberman Keeping and Breeding Corydoras Catfish

August 5

Silent Auction

September 2

Tom Keegan How Fish Get Here, There, and Almost Anywhere

October 7

Steve Lundblad TBA

November 4

TBA

December 2

Holiday Party!

Articles submitted for consideration in Modern Aquarium (ISSN 2150-0940) must be received no later than the 10th day of the month prior to the month of publication. Please email submissions to gcas@earthlink.net, or fax to (877) 299-0522. Copyright 2015 by the Greater City Aquarium Society Inc., a not-for-profit New York State corporation. All rights reserved. Not-for-profit aquarium societies are hereby granted permission to reproduce articles and illustrations from this publication, unless the article indicates that the copyrights have been retained by the author, and provided reprints indicate source, and that two copies of the publication are sent to the Exchange Editor of this magazine For online-only publications, copies may be sent via email to donnste@ aol.com. Any other reproduction or commercial use of the material in this publication is prohibited without prior express written permission. The Greater City Aquarium Society meets every month, except January and February. Members receive notice of meetings in the mail. For more information, contact: Dan Radebaugh (718) 458-8437 or email gcas@earthlink. net. Find out more, see previous issues, or leave us a message at our Internet Home Page: http://www.greatercity. org or http://www.greatercity.com. Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015

President’s Message by Dan Radebaugh Dear Members and Guests: The QBG has asked that we remind everyone of the following: • Parking is available in the small parking lot, against the fence only. Please do not park anywhere else in the lot. Spaces are limited, so if you must park in the lot, please arrive early to ensure availability. If there are no approved spaces available, additional parking is available on the street. • The Meeting Room: Please be considerate of the property. If you spill something, please clean it up! • Schedule: We have use of the room until 10:00 PM, after which setup for the next day’s program begins. We’ve been pushing that 10 PM finishing time quite a bit. To help meet that time requirement, we’ll need to get the meeting rolling a little closer to our scheduled 7:30 PM starting time. I know many of you are bringing numerous auction items, which of course is great! However, let’s all try to get our items catalogued and set up early enough to begin the meeting on time. Here are a few other general points of etiquette that may help the meeting move along more smoothly, as well as continue to make our meetings the great experience that they have been: • AUCTION TABLE: Please do not block access to the auction tables by those who need to place items there. And please leave the auction table area once the meeting begins. You will have another opportunity during the break to check out what’s there. Also, once the auction begins, please leave this area clear so the runners can have unimpeded access to the items. • SEATING: Although our increasing attendance has made seating a little tighter, there are usually enough chairs for everyone. Don’t be shy about squeezing in front of people to get to a chair (but please do so quietly once the speaker’s program has begun). And if we don’t keep packages on the chairs or leave gaps in the row, more people could be easily and comfortably accommodated. • NOISE: If you need to engage in conversation during the speaker’s presentation, or during the auction, please do so in the coffee area, in a low voice. The acoustics in our meeting room are such that voices carry even at a whisper. You may believe that because you’re at the back of the room, or you are whispering, that you can’t be heard, but I promise you, you can! And add your conversation to those of others, and the room becomes a cacophony, making it a struggle for the speaker or the auctioneer to be heard, and of course it delays progress of the auction or raffle drawing to have to stop and quiet the room. All of these requests and suggestions are intended to keep our meetings as enjoyable as possible for everyone, and to preserve our good relationship with the venue. Your cooperation will help everyone continue to enjoy participating in our meetings each month.

.Dan

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

Juneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Caption Winner: Susan Priest

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jasontech1@verizon.net July 2015

Pterophylum Scalare by Tommy Chang

Majestic Freshwater Angelfish dactylic rhythm for movement through the water invisible eddies from your powerful fins Majestic Angelfish saccades could not outwith the stillness of your momentary stance frozen in time Majestic Angelfish in flight, soaring through water like an ancient pterodactyl above us angel in a fish tank

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

The Modern Aquarium Cartoon Caption Contest Modern Aquarium has featured cartoons before. This time though, you, the members of Greater City get to choose the caption! Just think of a good caption, then mail, email, or phone the Editor with your caption (phone: 347-866-1107, fax: 877-299-0522, email: gcas@ earthlink.net. Your caption needs to reach the Editor by the third Wednesday of this month. We'll also hand out copies of this page at the meeting, which you can turn in to Marsha before leaving. Winning captions will earn ten points in our Author Awards program, qualifying you for participation in our special â&#x20AC;?Authors Onlyâ&#x20AC;? raffle at our Holiday Party and Banquet. Put on your thinking caps!

Your Caption:

Your Name:

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015

There is a Bowl Show at every GCAS meeting, except our Silent Auction/fleamarket meeting (August) and our Holiday Party and Awards Banquet meeting (December). These shows are open to all members of GCAS. Rules are as follows:

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

by Susan Priest, photo by the author on’t you just love the monthly auctions at the GCAS? You never know what you might find. You could score a fish which is extinct in nature, such as an albino cherry barb. You could go home with enough home-bred angelfishes to fill a tank. Sure, you could get them off of Aquabid, but if you get them at a meeting you won’t have to pay for shipping! In my kitchen there is a “home bred full moon female betta with black genes from the father” (that’s a quote from the bag it was in), which I got for $3.00. If you wanted to go looking for one, you would have to go to an IBC convention with crossed fingers and high hopes. And what about those platies? (Huh, did she just say platies? You can find them in every store that sells tropical fish. They’re nothing special.) I don’t remember how much I payed for a bag of five or six platies, but they were special to me. My group of brilliant rasboras from a few years back had dwindled considerably in number, and there were a couple of leftover tetras playing hide-and-seek among the Amazon sword plants. I was looking for something to liven up my 90 gallon community, and they were exactly what I needed.* I got mine at the auction during our November 2014 meeting. I asked Stingray Bill to bring more to the holiday party, which he did, and I bought them too.

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

There are several species of platies. The one I will be discussing is Xiphophorus variatus. The females are more colorful than the males, and grow to be slightly larger. Every source which I have consulted in the preparation of this article has recommended Xiphophorus variatus as an ideal community fish. Based on my own experience with them, I can add that they are hardy, healthy, and long-lived. This fish is very often suggested as a good choice for b e g i n n i n g hobbyists, and indeed, it probably is. If you are new to fishkeeping, then you will find satisfaction on many levels by adopting this fish. If you are an experienced fishkeeper and have never kept them, don’t turn your nose up at them just because you think they are too easy. They are colorful, frisky, non-combative, and will eat any and every variety of fish food. What’s not to love? Livebearers in general will tolerate, and indeed prefer, cooler temperatures than most other tropical fishes, and may not need a heater in their aquarium. Xiphophorus variatus fall into this group. The cooler the water (see the text box on the next page), the more colorful these platies will be. There are many varieties of color among them (thus the name variatus). Most of mine have a tuxedo pattern, as in the photo above.

July 2015

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In the course of reading your fish Anyone who is seeking a breeding experience with these livebearers will need hobby magazines, I’m sure you have to take a different road than I have, as any occasionally come across mention of a fry born in a community tank will quickly fish which is “no longer available in the become food for all of the other occupants. hobby.” In my mind’s eye, this could be You will need to give your variatus a tank the outcome for any or all aquariumof their own. Breeding these fishes can be suitable fishes. The possible causes for more of a challenge than you might think. such an outcome are far beyond the scope The two main considerations are of this article. Anyway, the point I want to make is that the day may come when hybridization and cannibalism. If your variatus platies are sharing an even these charming fishes will no longer aquarium with other livebearers, let the be available through commercial channels. If breeder beware! they have stolen These fishes Scientific name: Xipophorus variatus even a small will interbreed Common name: Variatus platy piece of your (i.e., hybridize) Natural range: Southern Mexico heart, then make with guppies, Spawning strategy: Livebearer sure you always mollies, other Sex: Male gonopodium, female gravid spot have a tank or species of platy, Length: Male 2", female 2.5" and pretty much two set aside for Temperament: Peaceful community fish any livebearer the love of Feeding: All types of live and prepared foods with the same variatus! Temperature: 59-77EF (Breeding tank 68physiology. In 82EF) some cases, this *For a complete Water parameters: pH 7.0-8.3, 15-30EdGH may be part of accounting of your plan for the occupants of them. If you are this tank, see the trying to either article entitled extend or develop a particular color morph, “Angelfishes Don’t Eat Broccoli,” which just bear in mind that the females store can be found in the December 2014 issue sperm from prior fertilizations, and the of Modern Aquarium. results may not be what you expect. The span of time from the fertilization REFERENCES: of the female to the birth of the fry is about 30 days. It is unlikely that you will be Aquarium Atlas, Vol. I, Baensch, Hans nearby to observe the fertilization, and A., and Riehl, Dr. Rudiger, Baensch equally unlikely that you will be nearby to Publications, 1991. witness the birthing of the fry. If you are not there to intervene, the aforementioned Aquarium Care of Livebearers, Coletti, cannibalization will be taking place soon Dengler Ted, Ph.D., TFH Publications, thereafter. There are a variety of breeding 2008. traps and nets available to separate the parents from the new fry. The secret to Http//www.Fishbase.org success is knowing when to isolate the Platies, Mix, Donald, TFH Publications, female. Watch for the dark gravid spot! 1996. 18 10

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

the most part his long tenure as a hobbyist is the basis for this very reader-friendly text. At first glance you might think this is a book for beginners. It is, however, one of those rare books which has something to offer hobbyists of every a Series On Books For The Hobbyist level of fishkeeping experience, including by SUSAN PRIEST children. I have been keeping wet pets for any of you, the readers of more than twenty years, and have read Modern Aquarium, know Ted countless books on the subject. Within Coletti either personally, through the pages of this one I have found ideas and information which his many writings, or I had never come by reputation. If you Aquarium Care of Livebearers across before, detailed do, then you know that by Dr. Ted Dengler Coletti, PhD. discussions of subjects his expertise can be TFH Publications, Inc. August 1, 2008 of which I have relied upon. We are in previously had only a very good hands! s u p e r f i c i a l “This book was designed to fill a long overdue need in the understanding, and descriptions of fishes which are new to aquarium hobby, me. where dated and For example, often inaccurate our author has information classified the persists.” For Amazon molly example, on page (Poecilia formosa) 49 Dr. Coletti as the “coolest debunks “the salt livebearer.” Why? myth.” He tells us It is an all female why we might not species! It lures want to add salt to a males from other livebearer tank, and species of molly to then offers us an mate with it. The alternative choice. sperm does not This is not an c o n t r i b u t e atlas-style book. In chromosomes, but chapter seven, rather it triggers a which is entitled cloning process. “Who am I,” you You can learn more will find twenty six pages of fish bios. The rest of the text, as about this on page 81. Special attention must be brought to described in the title, is dedicated to the aquarium care of this fascinating group of bear on the chart of “Livebearer Species at fishes. Our author tells us that fully one Risk” on pages 60-62. This list is forever third of the fishes sold by fish farms are in flux. Unfortunately in the case of livebearers, while in nature livebearers livebearing fishes, this list will forever be make up only two percent of freshwater expanding. fishes. Dr. Coletti’s PhD. status emerges in his writing style from time to time, but for

18 Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) Modern

July July2015 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

Every chapter has a “Small Fry” text box to help children make good choices, and there are color photos throughout which will be enjoyed by readers of all ages. There are excellent descriptions of the leapfish phenomenon (page14), vegetative filtration (page 21), and superfetation (page72). You will find the detailed and cross-referenced index to be of great usefulness. If you want to acquire your own copy, then read the accompanying note for tips on where you can (and can’t) get it. I would have told you about this book eight years ago if I had been able to find it! Author’s Note Do you remember how disappointed you were on that fateful day when you walked into Barnes & Noble only to make the discovery that the entire CD department had been replaced by toys, games, and puzzles? You quickly approached the nearest sales person to ask them “WHAT HAPPENED?” The reply was that the CDs are only available on their website now. No longer could you enjoy the tactile experience of browsing your favorite categories and musical artists. No longer could you compare the merits of one CD to another by holding one in each hand. No longer could you listen to that newest discovery in your car as you took the long way home. AND there will shipping fees. Aaarrggh! Although it is far more subtle, and much less obvious, the same phenomenon has occurred when it comes to shopping for books of the tropical fish genre. Sure, Barnes & Noble still has shelves full of books. However, the last time I checked I found exactly five choices suitable for fish hobbyists, and all of them were at least ten years old. I have had similar experiences in pet stores which sell books as well as tropical fish. Even an antiquarian like me knows how to avail myself of the internet shopping experience known as Amazon. You can 12

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

click on “books,” and type in “tropical fish.” Literally hundreds of titles become available for your “browsing pleasure (ha!).” Having been involved with the world of fish lit for a very long time, I find that I am disappointed even by this array of choices, as they are mostly generic and outdated titles. A couple of months back I was on the prowl for something to augment the article I was writing about variatus platies (Xiphophorus variatus). After several minutes of skimming the list, I was about to switch to the CD section when I had what turned out to be a “lightbulb moment.” While still in the book section of Amazon, I typed in the word “platies.” A much smaller, but dedicated selection appeared, none of which were on the expanded list. Aha! I ordered three of them, one of which was the book by Ted Coletti that I have been reviewing here. (The person who was categorizing these books must have known that platies are livebearing freshwater fishes, as this word was not in the title.) If I had had the opportunity to hold the other two books in my hands and thumb through their pages, I would not have purchased either of them. It was by pure serendipity that I was able to find Dr. Coletti’s book! I’m sorry for being so long-winded on this subject. (I’m sure you have noticed that it is a sore spot for me!) The conclusion to be drawn here is that when you are book shopping on line, which is your only real option any more, be as specific as possible in your search. P.S. My apologies to Barnes & Noble. It was not my intent to single you out. It’s just that, through no fault of your own, you are the only brick and mortar bookstore left in my area.

July July2015 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City 19 A.S (NY)

Fishy Friends’ Photos H

by Greater City Aquarium Society Fishy Friends ere is another installment of our newest ongoing column. These are photo submissions to our “Fishy Friends” Facebook group. I’ve left the species unnamed, but not the photographer. If you see a shot you like, and want more info, ask the photographer about it! I’m sure he or she will be delighted!

Pino Augello

Tamer Altan

Joseph Gurrado

Jeff Bollbach Mario Tito-Carabajo

Mario Roberto Tito

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015

I Still Like Duckweed! (Lemna minor) Story and Photos by Stephen Sica

ccording to the Miniencyclopedia of grow without burning it. It was illuminated for about Aquarium Plants by Peter Hiscock, six hours into the night on a daily basis. “Duckweed is adaptable, fast growing, After a seventeen day car trip in September, I came hardy and has no specific requirements, but is often home to a mushy mixture of duckweed. I skimmed considered a pest. In good conditions it spreads the dead duckweed and allowed the remainder to make rapidly…” Well, a further mess, I have been trying then discarded it to grow duckweed all before Donna for quite some could smell time. I just wanted anything funny. to grow a little; She has an uncanny I didn‘t want to bloodhound-like cover the whole ability to smell surface of an everything. I have aquarium. About been accused of five years ago I making smells that set up a twenty I had nothing to gallon aquarium in do with. In fact, my backyard, but I have difficultly instead of growing smelling anything! duckweed I Women probably decided, without smell better than my knowledge, men—both ways. to specialize in Close-up of subject duckweed. A two-week car trip and my covering the open I try to be top with a sheet of clear plexiglass are the prime suspects in the demise of another plant the plant. It was all my fault, but I might give it another try when my local modest, because form—algae. I pond produces another crop this summer. I’m not very good guess I wasn’t in many things that sufficiently into duckweed at the time. I didn’t think I try to do. I know that my skills as a cultivator of that I’d be so good at growing algae either, but I guess aquarium plants leave something to be desired. My the sunny summer weather had a mind of its own, even improvement as a fish and plant hobbyist moves at the though I thought that I had found a nice, shady place speed of glaciers. for the tank. It seemed that my career in duckweed After my encounter with the Alley Pond Park had ended. duckweed, I became fixated upon growing it, or at least Last summer we were dog-walking by one of having it live for a while with a few fish in my very three ponds in Alley Pond Park in Queens. It was own tank. While this goal may not seem difficult to our routine walking course. My interest in duckweed most hobbyists, I have already stated that my learning was piqued once again when I gazed at so much of curve leaves much to be desired. it growing on the water surface just a couple of feet In the spring of 2014 I decided to downsize my from shore. I had seen water plants growing on the thirty-six gallon bow front tank and replace it with a surface for years but last summer I was taken over by smaller seventeen gallon open top tank. I purchased a strong attraction for duckweed. In fact, I purchased two twelve inch LED fixtures that hung over the tank a butterfly net in the local dollar store, and on our next like a gooseneck lamp. There is a space of about six walk to the pond, I brought home a sample. I deposited inches between the fixture and the water surface, with it in a small tank in my basement that I placed on a all open space because the tank has no cover. In the bench low to the floor. I had a long fluorescent light fall I purchased fish at a Greater City auction. There illuminating a ten gallon tank. I moved the fixture so was some duckweed in the bag, so I added both fish that it also hung above the small duckweed tank and and plants to my new aquarium. illuminated both tanks. It was about two feet above the There wasn’t much duckweed, and I am unsure duckweed. I hoped that it would help the duckweed to how much it had grown floating on the water’s surface, 14

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

A few small clumps of Duckweed (Lemna minor) swirl around the surface of my open top, seventeen gallon aquarium. Lighting is provided by two clip-on white and red light LED fixtures on a flexible arm. Red is supposed to encourage photosynthesis. Each fixture has a five watt output.

Sponge filter in the left rear of the fish tank moves the duckweed around on the surface. I never encouraged sufficient growth to cover the whole surface. Some duckweed was lost during water changes and miscellaneous cleaning.

because I never bothered to measure it. It must have the result of heat and humidity rising from the water. multiplied, because it would swirl around the surface It had moistened the drum and turned the food into a and adhere to me whenever I put my hand in the water. soggy mess. This had disabled the feeder. I would meticulously remove every speck and place it I looked through a fish supplies catalog, and back into the tank. noted that each feeder had an explanation that its My photos show it floating on a very small food drum was air-tight and enclosed to prevent this portion of the surface, problem. I guess that they maybe ten percent, which only donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work for me! My was sufficient to please me. feeder had ceased releasing I concluded that an open top any food. tank was optimal to grow I wondered for how floating aquatic plants even long this had gone on. with my limited success. Were the fish hungry? In April we drove to They all seemed in good Florida to visit the family. shape, but a week later We would be away from five Harlequin rasboras home for at least two weeks, (Rasbora heteromorpha) so I visited our basement to began to expire one by look around for something one. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t figure out if that I might use to cover there was a connection. Of the top of my aquarium to The duckweed has swirled into a neat little pod as a much lesser importance, the lessen evaporation. I found result of minimal water flow created by a small sponge top covering did not do my a thin piece of plexi-glass, filter. Note the white and red LED light reflections on the small group of duckweed surface of the water. so I cut it to size, with a any good. Just about every notch on one side for my fish feeder. Everything fit last bit was dead or had been absorbed into the biotope, and worked perfectly. Off we went on our trip. thus ending my brief career with duckweed. Fifteen days later we drove into our driveway in I decided to remove the top. I hope my fish the late afternoon. We were home! Eventually I got and plants are happy to smell fresh air again. Still, around to checking my fish tank. Very little water had I wonder when this summer the local pond will have evaporated, but the food in the automatic feeder had another batch of duckweed ready to go? coagulated into a semisolid mass. It must have been

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015

Pictures from our

Tonight’s program is presented by Jeff Bollbach

Speaking on everyone’s favorite topic — money!

Welcome to our newest members:

Arthur Platt

Two pals, Bill Adams and Elliot Oshins

16 18

Nicholas Caputo

Jacob Coleman

Bob Hamjie must have just gotten a bargain

Our two hard working treasurers

July July2015 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater (NY) Modern Aquarium - Greater City City A.S.A.S (NY)

Last Meeting

Photos by Susan Priest

What could possibly be so interesting?

Our caption contest star, Denver Lettman

Door Prize Winners:

Steve Sica

Bill Amely

Bowl Show Winners:

1st place: Mario Bengcion

Modern Aquarium - Greater City City A.S (NY) Modern Aquarium - Greater A.S. (NY)

2nd & 3rd place: Rich Waizman

July 2015 2015 July

19 17

Our Youngest Winner Zachary Hammerman!

achary Hammerman holds aloft his plaque and winnings from his 1st-place efffort in the NEC's 2014 Publication Competition. Congratulations, Zachary. I hope this marks the beginning of many great accomplishments! â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Editor

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

The Names You Know, the People You Don’t: Dr. Louis Agassiz Derek P.S. Tustin

uring my presentation in January 2011, some people indicated that the Latin names I was so used to dealing with in my interest with Rainbowfish, weren’t necessarily known to them. (“Now you are all familiar with Dr. Gerald Allen, right? … No? Okay, he is…”.) The fish that captivate their interest have different discovers, describers and honourees associated with them, and as they were not related to Rainbowfish, I had never really looked at those names. At the January 2011 meeting George had once again asked me to lend a hand with the auction and in doing so I ended up auctioning a bag of Apistogramma agassizii, named in honour of the next gentleman I would like to introduce you to. th

On May 28 , 1807 Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was born in Môtier, Switzerland to the Reverend Louis B.R. Agassiz and his wife Rose. The eldest of four surviving children, Louis (as his family always referred to him, and as he would always be known) was seen as special – charming, exceedingly bright and with an inquisitive approach to the world around him. He was initially educated at home by his mother and father, but at the age of ten he left for formal schooling at the College of Bienne where he studied until he was fourteen. Then, deciding that he did not want to be a clerk for his uncle, he managed to obtain a placement at a college in Lausanne, Switzerland where he studied for another four years. Both the schools in Bienne and Lausanne Dr. Louis Agassiz emphasized languages, especially the classic ones – Latin, French, Greek, German and Italian. Seeking to further his understanding of the natural sciences, and leveraging his skill with languages, he was able to find a place at a school in Germany, the University of Zurich. The next five years were a period of intense study that saw Louis at the aforementioned University of Zurich, the University of Heidelberg, the University of Erlanger-Nuremberg and the University of Munich. During this time he received a Doctor of Philosophy degree from Erlanger-Nuremberg (1829) and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Munich (1930). Fully endowed as a Doctor, Louis left Germany for Paris, France. There he continued his studies under the tutelage of Alexander von Humboldt (a noted German naturalist and explorer whose work on botanical geography laid the foundation for biogeography) and Georges Cuvier (a French naturalist and zoologist who was the first to establish extinction as a fact). From von Humboldt he was taught geology and from Cuvier, zoology. Also during this time he was hired by Carl Friderich Phillip von Martius, a noted German botanist and explorer. From 1817 to 1820 von Martius and Johann Batist von Spix undertook an expedition to the Amazon River. The expedition gathered 6,500 plants, 2,700 insects, 85 mammals, 350 birds, 150 amphibians and 116 fish. While these specimens were to become the basis of the collection of the Natural History Museum in Munich, Germany, von Spix died in 1826 before he could complete classification of the fish. This resulted in von Martius hiring Louis to assist in the classification and description. In 1932 Louis was appointed a professor of natural history at the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Around the same time he married his first wife, Cecile (Cily) Braun. He continued to study, publishing mainly on fossil ichthyology but also on various aspects of geology. In 1937, the same year he was elected a member of the Royal Swedish

Tank Talk – April 2011 / Volume 38, Number 8 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

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Academy of Sciences, he published a paper in which it was first scientifically proposed that Earth had been subject to previous ice ages. In 1942 Louis was invited to the United States of America to present a lecture on The Plan of Creation as Shown in the Animal Kingdom. During and after his twelve lectures, Louis found that both the scientific and financial advantages presented were great, and he decided to spend an extended time in the United States and Canada where he could indulge his curiosity and interest in both ichthyology and glaciology. Sadly, in 1948, Louis received word that his wife Cecile, who had remained in Switzerland with their three children while Louis was in America, had passed after a prolonged illness. After a brief return to Switzerland, he came back to America, this time to stay. Shortly thereafter he was offered the positions of both professor of zoology and professor of geology at Harvard University. Later in 1849 his fourteen year old son, Alexander would join his father in America. Also that year he would announce his engagement to a college teacher, Elizabeth Cabot Cary, the sister-in-law of one of his fellow professors. They would marry the following year, and in August of 1850 Louis’ thirteen year old daughter Ida and nine year old daughter Pauline came to live with him, his new wife and their brother Alexander. Although all his previous teachings in Europe and all his previous scientific theories and discoveries were extremely successful, it was at Harvard that the scientific legacies of Louis became permanent. The next ten years of his life were filled with teaching, publications and scientific lectures, and they culminated in his being one of the best know scientists in the world. But the frenetic pace that he kept wore on him. In the mid-1960’s, suffering from ill health, he forewent academia to return to active collecting. In early 1865 he lead an expedition to Brazil, returning home in late 1866. His account of this, A Journey in Brazil, was published in 1868. In December 1871 he joined the Hassler Expedition to South America alongside his wife Elizabeth. th

Just under two years after returning from his last expedition, Louis died on December 14 , 1873 at age sixty-six in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Criticism For all that Dr. Agassiz’s work was deemed extremely successful, it must be noted that there is also a stigma associated with him. As the son of a pastor, Dr. Agassiz was deeply religious. He believed in God and believed that God created Earth and all its inhabitants. He was adamantly opposed to the Theory of Evolution as being presented by Charles Darwin and the theories of Dr. Agassiz always allowed for the work of God. The major criticism of Dr. Agassiz’s work is in relation to his theory that has come to be known as “scientific racism”. Basically the theory that he espoused posited that the different races of humanity came from separate creations, and that they therefore possessed separate and unequal attributes and abilities. In recent years, there have been those who have sought (and in some cases succeeded) the renaming of institutions and landmarks that had formerly been named in his honour based on what they see as his scientific racism.

Legacy The work of Dr. Agassiz was so far reaching that many places, geographic features, and species have been named in his honour. A partial list includes;

Places • • • •

Agassiz – A neighbourhood north of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts) Agassiz Crater (Mars) Agassiz Glacier (Montana) Lake Agassiz – An immense prehistoric glacial lake located in the centre of North America. Fed by glacial runoff at the end of the last ice age, it was greater in size than all of the modern Great Lakes combined, and held more water than all the lakes in the world today.)

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Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

Mountains • • • •

Mount Agassiz (4,236m/13,899ft – California) Agassizhorn (3,946m/12,946ft – Switzerland) Agassiz Peak (3,766m/12,356ft – Arizona) Mount Agassiz (3,733m/12,248ft – Utah)

•

Non-Fish Species

• • • • • • • • • •

Anolis agassizi (lizard) Astrotoma agassizii (Antarctic invertebrate) Berthella agassizi (sea slug) Chelonia agassizi (sea turtle) Cyphastrea agassizi (coral) Exoprosopa agassizi (bee fly) Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise) Isocapnia agassizi (stonefly) Publius agassizi (beetle) Xylocrius agassizi (longhorn beetle)

Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise)

The Fish • • • • • • • •

Alepocephalus agassizii (Agassiz’s slickhead [Marine]) Ambassis agassizii (Agassiz’s olive glassfish) Aphyocharax agassizii Apistogramma agassizii (Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid) Cathorops agassizii Chlorophthalmus agassizi (Shortnose greeneye [Marine]) Corydoras agassizii (Agassiz’s cory cat) Cratinus agassizii (Threadfin seabass [Marine])

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Foetorepus agassizii (Spotfin dragonet [Marine]) Forbesichthys agassizii (Spring cavefish) Ipnops agassizii (Grideye fish [Marine]) Leporinus agassizii (Agassiz’s leporinus) Leptochilichthys agassizii (Agassiz’s smooth-head [Marine]) Liparis agassizii (Agassiz’s snailfish [Marine]) Monomitopus agassizii ([Marine]) Orestias agassizii (Andean pupfish) Pomacentrus agassizii (Creole damsel [Marine]) Rioraja agassizii (Rio skate [Marine]) Salvelinus agassizii (Silver trout) Scorpaena agassizii (Longfin scorpionsifh [Marine]) Xenichthys agassizii (White salema [Marine])

Apistogramma agassizii (Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid)

Corydoras agassizii (Agassiz’s cory cat)

The species we are familiar with in our hobby are Corydoras agassizii and Apistogramma agassizii. I actually have a small school at home of C. agassizii, but DRAS members, especially the cichlid orientated ones, would be most familiar with A. agassizii, a species that has been in the aquarium hobby since 1909 when they were first imported to Germany. They were first described in 1875 and were first gathered by Dr. Agassiz during his aforementioned expedition to the Amazon in 1865 – 1866. Next time I have the chance to auction some Apistogramma agassizii, I’ll be sure to remember Dr. Louis Agassiz and I hope you will as well.

Reprinted from Tank Talk ̶ April, 2011 / Volume 38 No. 8, published by the Durham Regional Aquarium Society, Ajax,

Tank Talk –Canada. April 2011 / Volume 38, Number 8 Ontario,

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July 2015

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Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

AN AQUARISTʼS JOURNEY Story and Photos (unless noted) by Rosario LaCorte

Chapter 15 aving made my first trip in 1958, and now my second in 1977, my urge to return for more collecting was great. Once you’ve made such a journey, it becomes almost an obsession to return— always feeling there are so many more discoveries to be made! Despite the expense of the six-week expedition, I still had some money left over from the funding I had received from National Geographic. By careful planning, I was able to budget another trip to Brazil. I now had some contacts with Brazilians whose interests corresponded with mine. The biggest expense would be the round-trip ticket to São Paolo. The main force behind my intense desire to return to Brazil was a visit to my home by Stan and Marilyn Weitzman. Stan gave me a scientific paper written by Carlos Cruz in 1973, concerning the rediscovery of Cynolebias constanciae, one of the annual killifish discovered by General (then Major) White in 1941, and named for his wife Constance. I thought that if I contacted Cruz and Rosario Carlos and obtained his Carlos Janeiro. assistance, it would be a great opportunity to add this species to the small group of annuals available here in the United States. Stan supplied me with Carlos’ address at the Federal University, and Carlos responded by offering to assist in collecting constanciae. I arrived in São Paolo on July 10, 1978, and again rented a room in the home of Donna Antonetta. I was on my own, and the first few days were difficult, as one of my contacts had promised to open some doors for me, but had not come through. I began to worry, as I had three weeks to accomplish the main purpose of my trip, but after one week I had no results to show. I met Persio de Souza, a student of Drs. Haraldo Britski and Naercio Menezes. The son of two college professors who had once taught in Pittsburgh, Persio’s English was perfect, and he agreed to accompany me to Rio and the Federal University. Persio had a lively interest in cyprinodonts, and had gone to the Mato Grosso to collect Neofundulus paraguayensis, another annual fish that had not been seen in the United States. He had taken a series of photos showing their reproductive behavior as they

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

dove into a bed of peat moss, burying their eggs. This is behavior typical of many annual species. The eggs lie dormant during the dry season, then hatch when the waters return, to begin the cycle again. Most aquarium hobbyists interested in these type of fishes have by now pretty well mastered this cycle of annuals. Persio had a few personal matters to take care of, and I was getting pretty nervous. Eventually we left, on Saturday afternoon, July 18, by bus. The ride had some scenic areas as we traversed the mountain range. The highway was heavily industrialized, and the center lane was planted with thousands of hibiscus. Arriving in Rio about 7 PM, we took a taxi to Praça Tiradente, a suburb of Rio. We stayed in a rather seedy place, the Hotel Rio. The bathroom was communal for the 5th floor— not what I was used to, but I had to accept the situation. The price was 100 cruzeiros (about $10 U.S.), which included breakfast. As high up as we were, we were still besieged by hungry mosquitos all night. The following at Federal University, Rio de morning we met another contact, Ricardo Macedo Correā e Castro, an ichthyology student. He didn’t speak English, but he seemed to be upset about the hotel Persio had chosen. An argument ensued, and I thought, wow, this is going to explode! Ricardo was quite ill, and appeared to have hepatitis, but despite his weakened condition he was nice enough to arrange our meeting with Carlos Cruz. The dispute settled down as I attempted to soothe the ruffled feathers. (As a side note, Ricardo today is an ichthyologist, has learned to speak English, and studied with Stan Weitzman at the Smithsonian. I spoke with him by phone several years ago.) The following morning we went to the Federal University, some distance outside of Rio. There we met Carlos Cruz, with whom I had been corresponding. Though Cruz was interested in fish, his field of study had been herpetology. He was gracious and charming, and showed me around his lab, where he had some large tanks. In one of them, he showed me a characin he had collected in the state of Bahia, a long distance north of Rio. It was a very handsome tetra, and resembled Rachoviscus crassiceps. He felt that it July 2015 23

might be a Glandulacauda, but I disagreed, pointing out that it lacked the gland in the caudal area, and had all the characteristics of a Rachoviscus. I had some advantage in this conversation, as I had a long history with characins, and had a pair of R. crassiceps that had been given me by Stan Weitzman, who had collected them in southeastern Brazil in 1975. There was no question that Cruzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fish was new and undescribed. Before leaving Brazil I posted a letter to Stan, informing him of Cruzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fish, and suggesting that he contact Carlos and take a look at them. In 1981 Stan and Carlos described the new species as Rachoviscus graciliceps. I would have liked to bring home some specimens, but he only had a few.

Rachoviscus graciliceps

My main goal while collecting with Cruz was to locate some of the annual fishes that General White and his wife Constance had found in 1940-41. Since it was now July, and the dry season, our chances of finding locations were slim, but not impossible. Carlos arranged for Persio and me to stay at the university, where visiting scientists and students were lodged. Carlos had to leave, but we were placed in the able hands of Dr. Eugenio Izecksohn. Eugenio drove us to an area about five miles from the university, where he said that during the rainy season there were pools in a forested area that contained large numbers of Cynolebias (now Leptolebias) minimus.

Photo of small pool in last stages of the approaching dry season. Habitat of Leptolebias minimus. Male in preceding photo was captured in that pool.

of the grasses made netting difficult, but by pushing down on the grasses we were able to capture a few livebearers. Finally, Persio captured a single male L. minimus, and with renewed determination we gathered a total of three females and four males. Upon our return to the university, we checked the pH of the water, which measured between 6.1 and 6.6. The following day we left the university, to head north on the Roadovia Amaral Peixoto. As we left the university grounds, we came upon an accident. The driver side door was completely open, and a middleaged man was dead behind the wheel. There were about forty or fifty people milling about, just staring at the unfortunate scene. When we returned later in the day, nothing had changed at all. For me, as an American, it was a rather strange situation. No police, no ambulance, nothing. As we drove north, we stopped at a pool with much cane grass growing in it. Pushing through the cane, we collected quite a number of L. minimus. The water, shaded by the cane, was quite cool. We captured a single female Cynolebias (now Nematolebias) whitei, then across the road in another pool we captured a male of the same species.

Nematolebias whitei

Leptolebias minimus

The spot that Eugenio led us to was dry, but we crossed the road and found a marshy area that had a few inches of water and an abundance of cane grasses. The water was extremely turbid, and the thickness 24

We drove another 50 or so miles, when I noticed a pond alongside the road, where we collected some young Hyphessobrycon flammeus (trade name Von Rios), as well as some Phoxinopsis typicus, Cichlasoma facetum (chanchito), Mimagoniates microlepsis, and Phallocerus. From this collection site, we traveled toward Rio dos Ostros and stopped

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

Professor Eugenio Ezecksohn of the National University of Rio.

Chanchito (Now Australoheros Cichlasoma facetum) with fry.

facetus,

formerly

at a large pool completely overgrown with cane. After several probes, we collected more minimus types, whose pattern was different from those we collected on the Federal University grounds. We also finally found some juvenile Cynolebias (aka Simpsonichthys) constanciae, the fish that was the main purpose of my journey. A short time later, Carlos captured a magnificent, large male constanciae with exquisite finnage and a rich, brown color throughout. We were all elated! I photographed it immediately, using a small photo tank that I always carried with me. After about an hour at this site, we had managed to collect four large pairs of constanciae, and a number of juveniles. The fact that there were numerous juveniles indicated that a period of diapause or desiccation was not necessary to produce healthy juveniles.

One of the problems with many annual fishes from both South America and Africa is newly hatched fry having a defective abnormality of their swim bladders, resulting in difficulty swimming due to erratic buoyancy. This can occur when the aquarist either over-extends their period of desiccation or attempts to hatch eggs too quickly, without a proper resting cycle. I learned as far back as 1957 that Nematolebias whitei could be reproduced normally without going through a period of desiccation. The collection sites were as follows: • Leptolebias minimus was collected July 10, 1978, at Horto Forestal de Santa Cruz, Municipo de Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro. • Leptolebias minimus was collected July 11, 1978, along with Nematolebias whitei at KM 16-17 of Rodovia Amaral Peixoto, Rio de Janeiro. • Cynolebias constanciae was collected July 11, 1978 at Barra de Saõ Joaõ, Rio de Janeiro. • Characins collected near Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro. Some of the minimus types collected turned out to be new species, according to Wilson Costa, being later described as L. cruzi and L. fractfasciatus.

Simpsonichthys constanciae -- 5 minutes after capture

Leptolebias fractfasciatus

S. constanciae -- offspring of fish shown above Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

After our successful journey we were taken to the bus terminal in Rio, to make our return trip to Saõ Paolo. Arriving late at night, we found it quite cold. Saõ Paolo is on a plateau, and the evenings in July (their winter) can be quite chilly. I was concerned about the fish being chilled, but all was well, and the following morning I took them to the Museu de Zoologio, where I had a battery of aquariums that Stan Weitzman and I had purchased the previous year. The July 2015

Carlos Cruz collecting constanciae

tanks had been necessary for our collections made in the south, and they served their purpose once again. On this journey I was well prepared to care for the fish during my stay in Saõ Paolo. Leaving the U.S., I brought Artemia eggs to hatch and feed collected fish. Tubifex worms could be purchased in Saõ Paolo at Roberto Takase’s retail fish store. Stan and I had met Roberto in 1977, and had purchased the aquariums and accessories from him. On July 18, Jose Lima Figueredo, one of the ichthyologists I had become friends with the previous year, came to my rescue when I needed some assistance for a journey to Registro, a small town in the southeast corner of Saõ Paolo state. Jose made some calls, and learned that some students from the Institua de Peixas went weekly to the river in Registro to gather water samples. I would need to depart at 5:30 AM. The crew was composed of Carlos the driver, Silvia R. Destro, and two young Japanese women, Elza and Mithine Takino. None of them could speak more than a word or two of English. My purpose for the trip was to find a man named Joaõ Batista de Barros Aranjo, who was the owner of a banana plantation. In 1972 Carlos Cruz had discovered a population of Cynolebias (now Leptolebias) aureoguttatus on the plantation of Sr. Aranjo. I had Cruz’s recently published scientific paper, which described a gaudy miniature fish that had never been in the U.S. My Portuguese was much better than it had been the previous year, and I was able to carry on a decent conversation and make my wishes known.

Joaõ Batista de Barros Aranjo and son

The students were dropped off in Registro, and Carlos and I began our search for Sr. Aranjo. The town of Registro was not large, so by simply asking around, we were able to locate him fairly quickly. He remembered Cruz from six years earlier, and took us to the area where L. aureoguttatus had been found. We searched for a small body of water, but the area was dry, and none could be found, except for a ditch about 20 inches wide and perhaps 18 inches deep. The water was so black from the humic acid that you could hardly see more than a couple of inches below the surface. A banana plant lasts for a year and bears one stalk of bananas. Then a new shoot begins to form from the root, and becomes the mother of the next bunch of bananas. The expended plant is then cut down. This continues year after year. The ditch was made wider and deeper by Sr. Aranjo to drain the area. This action may have destroyed that particular habitat for L. aureoguttatus. Using a long-handled net, I decided to investigate the blackwater ditch. I made several probes with the net, but came up empty-handed. The water was so black I could not see below the surface; I could not even be certain there was anything alive in that environment. Determined to make a thorough search, I walked along the edge and continued making quick thrusts into the water. Finally, I caught some tetras, which at first fooled me as to their identification. They were blood-red, and at first I thought they might be a new species. I had a pretty thorough knowledge of characins in the southeast part of Brazil, and could identify most of them. It wasn’t until a few days later, as I housed them in the aquariums at the Museu de Zoologia, and the brilliant red coloration was subdued in the clear water, that it became obvious to me that these were Hyphessobrycon griemi, a close relative of H. flammeus, also known in the aquarium trade as the von Rio flame tetra. Well, the trip to Registo was not a completed success, but I was nevertheless able to return with some species of interest to me. I mentioned earlier a fish store in Saõ Paolo owned by Roberto Sikuro Takase. Roberto’s father was an immigrant from Japan, arriving in Brazil in 1924. There is a large Japanese community in Saõ

Roberto Takase holding bag of M. inequalis. Brazil July 2015

Santos,

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Mimagoniates inequalis

Mimagoniates microlepsis

Paolo, and many were doing wonderful things in the field of agriculture. Their love of nature is obvious, and so it was with Roberto’s father, who was one of the pioneers in the tropical fish industry in Brazil. Roberto’s exposure to fish was through his father, and they did a lot of collecting together. His father discovered the coffee bean tetra (subsequently named in his honor Hyphessobrycon takase) in the Amapá territory in 1961. Meeting on several occasions, Roberto and I became good friends. He volunteered to take me to the seaport of Santos, where he knew several good collecting habitats. Roberto was a good businessman, and he knew how to circumvent problems. One of these was not being able to purchase gasoline on Sundays. The government wanted to reduce unnecessary driving to slow the outflow of money to the oil producing countries. It could of course be circumvented by carrying extra gasoline in metal or plastic containers, which is what Roberto did with his van. Our trip to Santos was very successful. In one blackwater stream we collected well over a hundred Coelurichthys microlepsis, a beautiful Glandulocauda. Roberto was able to gather many species for his retail shop; this was a good way to overcome the expense of purchasing gasoline, which was quite expensive. My trip to Brazil was drawing to an end, and I needed to prepare for my flight home. I felt it had been a successful expedition, the prize being Cynolebias constanciae. For years it was thought to

have been extinct, and had never been imported into the United States. I felt especially elated to present it as an addition to the list of new fish to the American Killifish Association. Upon returning home, I began an intensive breeding program to make them available to American aquarists. In addition to a nice assortment of characins and Corydoras, I also returned with wild stock of Cynolebias whitei. The strains I was used to seeing in the U.S. were lacking in finnage and color. The degradation of the appearance of many fish species is often referred to by the remark, “I need some new blood in my stock.” My view is that the feeding regimen is inadequate, and the resulting nutritional deficiency is responsible for the poor quality of color and finnage. I returned from Brazil with a single male C. whitei and three females. Surprisingly, the wild stock did not produce a single fertile egg. Using the wild females with males from my own stock, egg fertility was nearly 100%. The resulting offspring were magnificent! As to the C. constanciae, I returned with four pairs, and was highly successful, reproducing large numbers of offspring. In 1958, I had reproduced a number of C. whitei soon after they had been first imported. I discovered that their eggs could go through the complete developmental cycle in water rather than requiring a period of desiccation. I used the same method in reproducing C. constanciae.

Copyright 2015 Rosario S. La Corte and the Greater City Aquarium Society. No duplication in any medium is permitted without express written permission.This prohibition includes not-for-profit aquarium societies.

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015

Whatʼs the Difference? by Horst Gerber

How observant are you? This is a feature that used to run in Modern Aquarium back in the 1990s (or so I'm told — I was of course much too young then to remember). There are several subtle differences in the two drawings below. How many can you find? Email or fax me with the differences you find (See my column on page 2 for those addresses). We'll post results next month. — Editor.

July 2015

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GCAS Member Discounts at Local Fish Shops The fish shops listed below offer discounts to members of Greater City Aquarium Society. To take advantage of these generous offers, just present your Greater City ID before checking out.

10% Discount on fish.

20% Discount on fish. 15% on all else.

10% Discount on everything.

10% Discount on fish.

10% Discount on everything.

10% Discount on everything except 'on sale' items.

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July 2015

The Boston Aquarium Society is looking to Borrow, Buy, or Rent a 100-year old Antique ue Aquarium.

Next year will be the 100th anniversary of our club and we would like to celebrate it by exhibiting an authentic 1916 aquarium. If anyone has any thoughts or ideas and would like to contribute to this project please weigh in. Please email: Bill Gill at bostonbreeder@bostonguppyclub.com

or Russ McAndrews at marksdonnam@hotmail.com

Call for ….. Listings for “Wants to Buy, Sell &/or Trade” in the NEC Newsletter

CORAL

Rules & Disclaimer: If you would like to advertise a AQUARIUM Swap Shop listing please forward information to Barbara Romeo at bromeo1234@optonline.net by the tenth of each month. Be sure to include all pertinent information in your announcement. NEC reserves the right to deny a listing for any reason. Users of the Swap Shop should understand that they do so AT THEIR OWN RISK. Both parties understand and agree to complete the transaction independently of the NEC. The NEC is in no way responsible for any Fish portion of these transactions andCorals cannot be held inGoldfish any way liable for any •Freshwater •Saltwater Fish •Live •Fancy loss incurred by either party in the transaction. Furthermore, participation in the Swap Shop serves as acceptance of these rules. •Live Plants •Food & Supplies for All Pets

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Open Monday-Friday 10 am – 8 pm Saturday 10 am – 7 pm & Sunday 12 pm – 6 pm ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

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WHALE WATCHING TRIP Scheduled for Friday, July 24

From Noon – 4:00 PM From Breezy Point, Rockaway Queens. Aboard the American Princess. We have a group rate of $38 for adults, $25 for 5 to 12 years of age. We need to have a definite count and all paid, no later than July 10.

If we have 90 people we can have the entire boat for our trip! The boat can take up to 150 people. There is a snack bar on board so you cannot bring coolers or beverages, although you can bring sandwichs. There’s free parking at the dock. Brooklyn members contact – Joe Graffagnino Queens members contact – Dan Radebaugh New Jersey members contact – Frank Policastro Nassau County members contact – Harry Faustmann Lancaster members contact – Kurt Johnston The boat web site is

WWW.AmericanPrincessCruises.com

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July 2015

GCAS Happenings

July

Last Monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bowl Show Winners: 1 Mario Bengcion 2 Richard Waizman 3 Richard Waizman

Black & White Koi Blue Acara Red Koi

Unofficial 2015 Bowl Show totals: Mario Bengcion

19 Richard Waizman

A warm welcome back to renewing GCAS member Roderick Mosley! A special welcome to new GCAS members Nicholas Caputo, Jacob Coleman, Basil Holubis, and Arthur Platt!

Meeting times and locations of some of the aquarium societies in the Metropolitan New York City area: GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETY

EAST COAST GUPPY ASSOCIATION

Next Meeting: August 5, 2015 Speaker: None Event: Silent Auction/Flea Market Meets: Meets the first Wednesday of the month (except January & February) at 7:30pm: Queens Botanical Garden 43-50 Main Street - Flushing, NY Contact: Dan Radebaugh (347) 866-1107 Email: gcas@earthlink.net Website: http://www.greatercity.org

Meets: 2nd Tuesday of each month at at 8:00 pm. Alley Pond Environmental Ctr.: 228-06 Northern Blvd. Contact: Gene Baudier (631) 345-6399

BIG APPLE GUPPY CLUB Meets: Last Tuesday each month (except Jan, Feb, July, and August) at 7:30-10:00pm. Alley Pond Environmental Ctr.: 228-06 Northern Blvd. Contact: Donald Curtin (718) 631-0538

BROOKLYN AQUARIUM SOCIETY Next Meeting: September 11, 2015 Event: Rick Borstein Topic: 60 Tips in 60 Minutes Meets: 2nd Friday of the month (except July and August) at 7:30pm: NY Aquarium - Education Hall, Brooklyn, NY Call: BAS Events Hotline: (718) 837-4455 Website: http://www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org

LONG ISLAND AQUARIUM SOCIETY Next Meeting: September 18, 2015 Speaker: TBA Topic: TBA Meets: 3rd Fridays (except July and August) 8:00pm. Room 120 in Endeavor Hall on theState University at Stony Brook Campus, Stony Brook, NY Email: Margaret Peterson - president@liasonline.org Website: http://liasonline.org/

NASSAU COUNTY AQUARIUM SOCIETY Next Meeting: September 9, 2015 Speaker: TBD Topic: TBA Meets: 2nd Tuesday of the month (except July and August) at 7:30 PM Molloy College - Kellenberg Hall ~1000 Hempstead Ave Rockville Centre, NY Contact: Mike Foran (516) 798-6766 Website: http://www.ncasweb.org

NORTH JERSEY AQUARIUM SOCIETY Next Meeting: September 15, 2015 Speaker: Larry Jinks Topic: Breeding Fish Meets at: Quality Inn, 10 Polito Ave, Lyndhurst NJ Contact: NJAS Hotline at (732) 332-1392 Email: tcoletti@obius.jnj.com Website: http://www.njas.net/

NORWALK AQUARIUM SOCIETY Next Meeting: August 20, 2015 Speaker: Larry Jinks Topic: MAINTAINING AND BREEDING CATFISH Meets: 8:00 P.M. - 3rd Thursday of each month except for July & December at: Earthplace - the Nature Discovery Center - Westport, CT Contact: Sal Silvestri Call our toll free number (866) 219-4NAS Email: salsilv44@yahoo.com Website: http://norwalkas.org/

July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

True Blue Watercolors A series by “The Undergravel Reporter”

In spite of popular demand to the contrary, this humor and information column continues. As usual, it does N O T n ecessarily rep resen t the opinions of the Editor, or of the Greater City Aquarium Society.

ince this month’s column is in our July issue, I figure that introducing you to new a red, white, and blue aquatic species is appropriate. So, I present for your amusement and edification, Cherax pulcher, the blue crayfish from West Papua, Indonesia.

Christian writes that while this crayfish is collected for sale as part of the global aquarium trade, the bigger threat to its existence is that it is very popular as a food item for people across the island, and, of course as in many other areas of the world, pollution is also a concern.2 As the photo on this page demonstrates, it is quite beautiful (“pulcher” means beautiful). However, it is already considered to be at risk for extinction in the wild. Christian also states that local collectors in the area have told him that the populations of the species have been decreasing in the last few years. He is of the opinion that the continued collection of these crayfish for the trade is not a sustainable practice, and he is hoping that identifying them as a new species will

Cherax pulcher This is a newly described species (German researcher, Christian Lukhaup, described it as a new species and published his findings in the journal, ZooKeys only just this May)1..

force someone to devise a conservation management plan that will help to preserve them. Maybe it’s just me, but “Save the Crayfish” does not sound like a very popular rallying cry.

References

1 2

ZooKeys 502: 1-10 (04 May 2015) doi: 10.3897/zookeys.502.9800 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/new-species-crayfish-might-red-5763877

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY) Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

July 2015 July 2015

17 33

Fin Fun There are many species of Corydoras. Can you correctly match the scientific names on the left with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;commonâ&#x20AC;? name associated with it (at least according to fishbase.org)? Scientific Name

Common Name

Corydoras acutus

Skunk corydoras

Corydoras ambiacus

Sailfin corydoras

Corydoras aeneus

Spotback corydoras

Corydoras arcuatus

Peppered corydoras

Corydoras barbatus

Pinkthroat corydoras

Corydoras blochi

Pretty corydoras

Corydoras macropterus

Banded corydoras

Corydoras paleatus

Spotted corydoras

Corydoras pulcher

Blacktop corydoras

Corydoras spilurus

Bronze corydoras Source: http://fishbase.org/

Solution to our last puzzle:

July 2015 July 2015

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)

The Cichlids are Coming!” The Cichlids are Coming!” Coming this summer to

Where Cichlids are Revered

The Sheraton Hotel - Springfield, Massachusetts July 30 — August 2, 2015 Hosted by

Vendor Room Show Competition Hospitality Suite Kids’ Tank Decorating Boston Day Trip Old Sturbridge Village Banquet Giant Sunday Cichlid Auction Speakers: Wayne Leibel Laif DeMason Oliver Lucanus Ad Konings Dr. Paul Loiselle Rusty Wessel Al Sabetta Jaap-Jan de Greef Charley Grimes Dr. Hubert Kuerzinger To register, reserve a room, become a sponsor, or volunteer to help, go to:

ACAconvention2015.com Proudly sponsored by