October 2007 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

Serving Hobbyists in the KW and surrounding areas since 1960 

Volume 47 Issue 8 

October 2007 

www.kwas.ca 

Inside 

Breeding 

Altolamprologus 

Compressiceps 5 

The Internet & 

The Tropical Fish 

Hobbyist 

7 

Altolamprologus 

Compressiceps 

The Benefits Of 

Being A KWAS 

Member 12 

Loaches From A 

to Y Not Z 15 

Oktoberfish 2007 

Don’t Miss It! 

Our Next 

Meeting is 

October 2nd 

7:30pm 

Getting Ready To 

Show Your Fish ! 

Anthony McAslin 

Zenin Skomorowski 

Official publication of the Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society


—OUR MISSION STATEMENT— 

—KWAS OFFICIALS — 

Fins & Tales 

The Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society KWAS is a non profit 

organization whose primary goals are to: 

• Further the hobby and study of tropical fish and related 

endeavors 

• Inspire the preservation of aquatic life 

• Maintain a meeting place for its members 

• Develop and maintain a library on aquatic life 

• Promote fellowship among its members 

• Seek out and establish a kinship with other clubs with similar 

objectives 

KWAS is a charter member of CAOAC 

The Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs 

Fins & Tales is published 10 times each year between the months 

of September and June for KWAS members. Opinions expressed 

in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily 

those of Fins & Tales or KWAS. The mention of any product does 

not constitute an endorsement by Fins & Tales or KWAS members. 

Reprint Policy — Articles from this publication may be printed in 

a not for profit publication provided credit is given to both the 

author and KWAS. Copies of the reprint must be sent to both the 

author and KWAS. Any other use is prohibited without the written 

consent of KWAS. 

Executive 

President Kevin Reimer 

Vice President Geoff Money 

Treasurer John Van Rompu 

Secretary Lezley Smith 

Past President Al Ridley 

Board of Directors 

Editor/Publisher Phil Maznyk 

Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski 

Membership Chair Miecia Burden 

Auction Chair Charity Gilmore 

Librarian Stephen Crawford 

Lunch Committee Brad McClanahan 

Programs 

Rob Pixner 

Heather Coleman 

Raffle Chairs 

Bob Brown 

Joe Kopachinski 

B.A.P Chair Miecia Burden 

H.A.P Chair Bob Brown 

kevin.reimer@sympatico.ca 

gmoney@golden.net 

canarias@sympatico.com 

ssmithc403@rogers.com 

pyrofish@sympatico.ca 

editor@kwas.ca 

zenin@golden.net 

miecia@rogers.com 

char_n_jenn@rogers.com 

crawfordx@execulink.com 

nasfan@3web.com 

rob.pixner@sympatico.ca 

phishyfish@hotmail.com 

bbrown@golden.net 

jkopachinski@kevtron.com 

miecia@rogers.com 

bbrown@golden.net 

Submission of Articles — Images and any articles can be 

submitted for publication in Fins & Tales in any form. Please mail 

or e-mail them to editor@kwas.ca 

Exchange Program — KWAS exchanges newsletters with clubs 

across North America. If your club is interested in becoming a 

part of this program please contact our exchange editor by mail 

or e-mail zenin@golden.net 

Correspondence — Please send all correspondence to the 

Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society, PO Box 38037 King Street 

North Waterloo Ontario Canada. N2J 4T9. 

Advertising Rates — The following rates apply for one year (10 

issues) 

Business Card 25.00 1/4 Page 60.00 1/2 Page 100.00 

Full Page 150.00 Back Cover 225.00 Advertising of any hobby 

related items in Fins & Tales is free to KWAS members. Please 

Note: Free space limitations vary from issue to issue. 

B.A.P/H.A.P Committee 

KWAS Executive 

CAOAC Representatives 

Stephen Crawford 


Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski zenin@golden.net 

Jar Show Zenin Skomorowski 


Webmaster/Forum Administrator 

Phil Maznyk 

webmaster@kwas.ca 

Pet Store Liaisons 

Scott Smith 

ssmithc403@rogers.com 

Al Ridley 

pyrofish@sympatico.ca 

Zenin Skomorowski 


On the cover: Altolamprologus Compressiceps. Kigoma variant 

shown. Image courtesy of Peter Nyman . Oktoberfish images 

courtesy of Phil Maznyk and Zenin Skomorowski.. 

2 

Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

Fins & Tales October 2007 

Editor’s Notes 

D 

id any of you notice how many new members joined 

our club at the September meeting. Eight new members 

and a former member re-joined. This is fantastic! Our 

club just continues to grow. From the feedback I have received 

so far, the new layout of our newsletter seems to 

have gone over well. I am currently looking into the print 

quality of our publication. Our club has grown by leaps and 

bounds and I believe our readers deserve to see better 

graphics and I strongly believe it’s time we moved on and 

found a print house capable of giving us the quality we 

want and also one that will fit into our budget. Remember 

this is your club and your newsletter. Samples of new 

printed material have been shown to the executive and 

B.O.D. A questionnaire will drafted and will be distributed 

at an upcoming meeting to get your feedback on this matter. 

As of today I still haven’t received any questions from any 

of our younger members. I really want to hear from the 

younger members or KWAS Kids as I call them. Parents, 

this is an open invitation to have your child’s questions appear 

here in Fins & Tales. Send me an e-mail or come talk 

to me at one the general meetings if there is something on 

your mind or your not sure about, just ask. There are so 

many interesting areas that our hobby covers. I also know 

there are several members thinking of writing an article 

and I would just like to encourage you to send me whatever 

you have. Don’t worry about the fine details I would be 

happy to clean up the file once it’s in my hands. So this call 

goes out to all club members. Share your experiences with 

your club! 

Inside Fins & Tales 

Editor’s Notes 3 

Aquatic Calendar 3 

From The President’s Desk 4 

Breeding Altolamprologus compressiceps 5 

The Internet & The Tropical Fish Hobbyist 6 

November Guest Speaker 8 

Green Thumbs 9 

The Minimalist Aquarist 10 

The Benefits of Being A KWAS Member 12 

Show Jar Competition 13 

Name That Fish 13 

Loaches From A to Y But Not Z 15 

Meeting Minutes 19 

South American Corner 21 

Exchange Report 22 

Upcoming Club Events & Calendar 

October 2 

KWAS General Meeting 


KWAS Business Meeting 


HDAS Show & Auction 

October 21 KWAS Presents Oktoberfish 2007 


CAOAC Meeting 

Lastly, our clubs biggest single annual event Oktoberfish is 

now almost upon us and Sunday October 21st is the day 

when hobbyists descend upon Kitchener Waterloo to attend 

our remarkable event. You’ll hear this from our President 

but ‘your’ club really needs ‘your’ support and help at 

our annual big event. No amount of help is too little or to 

small, help Oktoberfish succeed once again and continue 

to be known as ‘The event’ to attend. Come over and say 

hi...See you there! 

Phil Maznyk KWAS Editor 

November 6 

November 10 

November 13 

November 18 

December 4 

December 9 

December 11 

KWAS General Meeting 

BAC Auction Only 

KWAS Business Meeting 

CAOAC Meeting 

KWAS Christmas Meeting / Social 

CAOAC Meeting 

KWAS Business meeting 

Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society 3


From The President’s Desk 

H 

ello everyone and 

welcome to KWAS! 

Summer is now officially 

behind us now that September 

has passed. It was 

great to see so many new 

and also many familiar 

faces at the last meeting, 

welcome to all of our new 

members. Our club and hobby is back at full speed, and 

Oktoberfish coming. 

Thanks to Geoff Money for chairing the business meeting 

in my absence and also to Brad for assisting as Treasurer 

last month in John Van Rompu’s absence. I’m writing this 

October’s ‘From the President’s Desk’ early, prior to our 

September business meeting. I’ll be heading up north for 

my annual fishing mission. (Hoping for good weather and 

catching more than just the one big one). 

Our club’s newsletter has gone through quite the evolution. 

Phil’s dedication and volume of work is evident in this 

newsletter. Wow > this should make us all want to submit 

an article …eh?? 

The presentation by Rein Breitmaier on ‘The Minimalist's 

Guide to South East Asia’ last September was amazing. 

Thank you Rein and Char for sharing your experiences exploring 

Asia with us. Remember Rein’s closing…he would 

greatly appreciate us communicating with him during any 

future travels. Send him an email at mrrein@gmail.com 

Well my friends this is our big month and Oktoberfish 

2007 is almost here! Everyone, please join us Sunday October 

21 at the Waterloo Inn. Details of this event and a printable 

map can be found on our website. Thanks to all those 

club members who assisted in maintaining the fish tank at 

the Waterloo Inn this past year. This endeavor allows us to 

have a location to host our annual event – Oktoberfish. 

Our annual show and auction is our number one fundraiser 

for KWAS. Oktoberfish allows us to provide our members 

and guests with: a monthly meeting room, guest speakers, 

programs, trips, this newsletter and so much more. Spread 

the word around and come out to help support our won- 

Fins & Tales 

derful club! Al Ridley has been organizing for Oktoberfish 

with the committee and working on getting sponsors and 

donations. Let’s all pitch in and do what we can to make 

this our best event ever. If you can help us out in any way 

please contact Al. The KWAS Toronto Zoo trip will finally 

happen this year. 

Sunday November 18 is the date. Seating is limited so if you 

want to be on the bus you need to be on the list. Connect 

with Robin Pixner as soon as possible if you plan to join us. 

Details on how to contact Rob can be found on page 23. 

This long awaited field trip will be here before you know it. 

Further details will be published on our website and in the 

November Issue of Fins & Tales. 

Our club Library continues to grow steadily with additional 

new books and DVDs. Check in with Stephen Crawford at 

the meeting to find what you’re looking for, or to see 

what’s new. You can also support our Library by purchasing 

some draw tickets from Bob and Joe at our meetings. If 

you have a suggestion for a new book or DVD, please let 

Stephen know. 

Remember that a portion of any purchase from Amazon.ca 

can now go to our club library fund if you clicked through 

our website first. Go to our website and navigate to our 

Library here http://www.kwas.ca/library.htm just click 

through to Amazon.ca through a KWAS library author link 

or book description pop up window. Thanks to Cam 

Turner and Phil Maznyk for their hard work and dedication 

in putting this together and making this work! 

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting 

and of course at our club’s premier event Oktoberfish. 

Kevin Reimer KWAS President 

Welcome to our newest members 

Tom Kessel, Lee-Anne Johnson & Dave Henderson, Bill & 

Marianne Boulton, Corey Spencer, Ivan Bermudez Family, 

Michael Robinson-Hidalgo Family, Catherine Salmon and 

Don Taylor. Bob Channen also re-joined our club. 

We’re glad you chose to be a part of KWAS! 

4 



Breeding and raising 

Altolamprologus compressiceps 

SPECIAL KWAS BAP REPORT 

By Amanda Radtke KWAS charliebear22@hotmail.com 

everal months ago our “comp’s” finally bred. The species 

we keep are wild caught Altolamprologus Com- 

S 

pressiceps sp. ‘Nakondwe’, though there are many different 

variants available. 

day while feeding our fish, an odd piece of debris was noticed 

floating around the one shell. Upon closer inspection 

we found that it was a fry! (not a French fry). There was 

still a small yolk sac attached to the fry which caused it to 

swim erratically. 

Photo by Amanda Radtke 

Adult sp. Nakondwe - photo courtesy of Amanda Radtke 

We were slightly taken by surprise because we had seen the 

‘dancing’ (also known as spawning behavior) for quite 

some time, with no results previously. We had assumed 

that the fish just didn’t like their tank set up. The tank contains 

a sand substrate, and several pieces of flagstone arranged 

in an upright position. 2 large conch-type shells 

were added for breeding caves. The tank is filtered by a 

sponge filter, as well as a Cascade 250 HOB filter. We rarely 

have the lights on in this tank, as the room it’s in gets 

plenty of natural daylight. 

There is also no heater in this tank. The water maintains a 

pretty constant temperature in the mid 70’s Fahrenheit. 

The tank is a 30 gallon cube manufactured by Oceanic. 

Regular weekly water changes were done and the fish were 

fed 1-2 times daily with a variety of flakes. These fish don’t 

seem to enjoy pellet style food. For about a week, the female 

fish would quickly disappear into a shell as soon as 

the male approached or anyone for that matter came near 

the tank. She would only come out to cautiously feed. One 

Because compressiceps are notorious fry stealers, we immediately 

hung a breeder net on the inside of our tank and 

tried to empty the shell into the net. Several babies came 

out, but not all. Compressiceps can have anywhere from 2- 

300 fry in a single hatching! We put the shell back in the 

tank to let the fish settle again, and we would try in a little 

while. 


The free-swimmers that had escaped the shell were caught 

using a turkey baster. The female fish jammed herself into 

her shell, and wouldn’t come out of the opening. After 

waiting for ages, she finally came far enough out of her 

shell for us to get a net over the shell and between her and 

the shell so we could pick it up. We emptied a few more 

babies into the net, and used the turkey baster (who would 



have thought how multifunctional those contraptions 

would be!), to rinse the babies out of the shell. This whole 

procedure was repeated for the next couple of days to get 

all the babies out of the shell. We knew we got them all 

when the mother stopped returning to the shell to protect 

the fry. 


The fry were kept in the breeder net in the main tank. At 

this time our water change amount was cut by half for the 

next month or so. We still did the weekly change, just not 

as much water. The fry were fed crushed flake and decapsulated 

brine shrimp and Hikari First Bites. We fed them 2- 

3 times daily and when they started to look like actual fish 

(and we could see them clearly), we moved them to a 2.5 

gallon grow-out tank. This tank is filtered only by a small 

sponge filter, and weekly water changes are performed. 

There is no heater for this tank either, as the room is 

heated. These fish don’t grow very quickly, and they are 

still in their 2.5 gallon tank, and now get fed once a day. 

KWAS Membership Fees *SPECIAL* 

Adult 

Family PAY FOR 4 

1 Year 25.00 30.00 YEARS AND 

2 Year 48.00 58.00 GET THE 5TH 

3 Year 71.00 86.00 YEAR FOR 

4 Year 92.00 112.00 FREE! 

The following people were guests at our 

September meeting! 

Alf and Tiffany Svensson were guests at our last meeting. 

We hope you enjoyed yourselves and perhaps consider 

joining our club real soon! 

Fins & Tales 

The Tropical Fish Hobbyist and the 

Internet…Destined for Success! 

By Phil Maznyk KWAS pmaznyk@rogers.com 

N 

ot to that long ago anyone who wanted to keep and 

raise tropical fish and plants had to rely solely on 

either reading a magazine or library book when it came 

time to do research. Some were fortunate to have a close 

friend involved in the hobby or even better, they may have 

been a member of a local enthusiasts club such as KWAS. 

So what did this mean? Well, either you waited patiently to 

see what the next month’s magazine published or you 

called upon your friends in the club for suggestions and 

guidance. 

The real problems facing those individuals was time and of 

course the extremely limited resources available. Do not 

get me wrong, there will always be a place for the local library, 

the monthly magazine publications and your friends 

in the hobby. However what if you could have instant access 

to literally thousands of articles and an online community 

of several hundred thousand people all with very similar 

interests to you! Yes, you read correctly. Today the 

internet touches virtually every single corner of our world. 

As a youngster, I can recall wandering the Pet sections at 

the local department stores, visiting the K-W bookstore 

and our own public library looking for that special fish or 

plant book and wanting to know more about it. There is 

absolutely no doubt in my mind that those days were challenging 

to say the least. Often if the weather did not cooperate, 

you simply did not get out. I was one of the lucky 

ones because at that time there was a real local gem of a 

Tropical Fish store very nearby where I lived. 

Bridgeport Aquarium owned and operated by our own late 

Bob and Dorothy Daniells. I often found myself leaving my 

bicycle in their driveway then opening their side door and 

going downstairs to see what new fish or plants they had 

for sale. Little did I know that some 30 years later I would 

be a part of KWAS who has many members that remember 

these two very special people and their very special store. 

Finding people and even stores like this today is becoming 

increasingly difficult. People, often through no fault of 

their own simply do not have the time it seems to spend 

6 



with us. Fortunately, in our area we still have some retailers 

and staff who will take the time to talk to their customers 

and along the way pass along their help and knowledge to 

fledgling hobbyists. The advent of online communities all 

over the globe like our very own KWAS Forum have made 

it possible for us to gather invaluable knowledge in the 

blink of an eye. Popular search engines such as Google allow 

us to simply type in a few key words and have hundreds 

if not thousands of results appear instantly right 

there in front of us on our computer monitors. 

Answers to all 

these questions is 

a now a click 

away! 

How did I find out about 

KWAS? A quick search on 

Google using the keywords 

‘Tropical Fish’ and ‘Kitchener’ 

returned the link that drew 

yours truly to come out with 

my family to a monthly meeting. If you have been to a club 

meeting lately, the same is true for the majority of our 

guests. Their research either led them to our website or 

forum. Search engines have become our friends. What does 

a person do if it is early Sunday morning and you wake up 

to find your prized fish acting odd or showing the signs of 

sickness? Well we could wait until the LFS (short for Local 

Fish Store) opens or perhaps hope a hobbyist friend is 

awake and had breakfast. A much easier and often better 

choice is to turn on your computer and do your own quick 

research. 

What if you’ve just picked up a real nice piece of driftwood 

and you’ve got a few questions such as; how to keep that 

wood from floating, how to avoid introducing contaminants 

and or disease into the tank. A more common concern 

is how to avoid having your tanks water turn a dark 

murky colour after putting new driftwood into the water. 

Answers to all these questions is a simple click away! Today, 

it’s almost a given that we do our online research 

ahead of any purchases or decisions. LFS’s are most impressed 

when we arrive at their stores having already done 

our homework. 

There will at sometime no doubt be someone, somewhere 

who is or has already gone through the exact same trouble 

or concern you are currently experiencing. I myself have 

found the internet to be an invaluable tool to have at my 

disposal 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. Do I want to know 

what others find helpful? On the other hand, do I want to 

read another hobbyists review of a product? Absolutely I 

do. I have even become a member on so-called specialty 

hobbyist websites devoted entirely to a single species. Yes, 

the sole focus of these websites and their communities is 

on a single species of fish or plants. Talk about a custom 

tailored experience! As you peruse the myriad of websites 

and online forums you will at one time or another be presented 

with conflicting information. This is no different 

from having a chat at a local coffee shop with your friends. 

We do not all think alike, we all have our own opinions and 

that is a good thing. 

This is what keeps our hobby so interesting. What worked 

for one person may not necessarily work for you. The important 

thing to remember is that these experiences are 

what worked for those individuals. He or she is simply 

sharing what worked or did not work for them. It is a safe 

bet that if you pick up any publication from your local library 

and you finish reading it, and then go on the internet 

you will likely find someone who has tried something that 

completely contradicts what you just read. 

What I am saying is that we have so many options available 

to us. If one recommended solution does not work, we continue 

our search or we join a forum and ask for suggestions. 

Help is never that far away. We are so fortunate today 

to have all these tools at our disposal. When I first 

joined our club, I found a devoted 

group of individuals 

whom collectively had so 

much to offer their fellow hobbyists. 

There were people who 

specialized in aquatic plants 

and others who focused entirely 

on a particular species of 

We are so 

fortunate today to 

have all these 

tools at our 

disposal. 

fish. Getting to know people in the club and listening carefully 

to what they had to say is a great thing to do. 

I decided it was time to put my ideas and thoughts to use 

and thus I found myself offering to help develop the KWAS 

website to help better promote our hobby. Doing so has 

been one of the most rewarding things I could do to help 

our club and the hobby in general. My desire to share the 

wealth of knowledge that I learned existed within our club 

did not stop there. A few years ago at one of our business 



meetings, I tabled an idea that KWAS should take things to 

the next level and have our very own online community 

forum. Today we are there my friends! 

My suggestion was answered by a resounding yes vote and 

today you see the fruits of that collective desire flourishing 

on our KWAS Community forums. Today our own forum 

has over 665 members and is growing steadily from month 

to month. Members are not only from Ontario but also 

from the United States and even overseas. Together our 

very own online community has so far accumulated over 

34,000 posts spread across the various specialized sections, 

which range from South American Cichlids to Aquarium 

Photography and others. We continue to grow daily! 

Our forum members like those found on many other forums 

are always eager to help and offer their very own experiences 

to those seeking that information. One unique 

aspect about our KWAS forum is that at a fundamental 

level we are about our club and the hobby. We encourage 

the younger members to post and they do. Our rules are 

very simple and clear and this has helped KWAS avoid 

some of the not so desirable comments posted on other 

public forums. 

So is the marriage of the Tropical Fish Hobbyist and the 

Internet destined for success? In my mind there is no 

doubt it already is a success. Where do we go from here? 

The sky is the limit as literally hundreds of thousands of 

hobbyists like you and I continue to use the internet to 

better not only our own knowledge of the hobby but to 

help others as well. You can find us here www.kwas.ca/ 

forum 

Did you know our club has over 150 books, several VHS 

tapes and DVD’s all available to it's members. KWAS has 

also recently joined the Amazon.ca book referral program. 

View our online library for more details on this great program 

designed to help our library grow! 

November Guest 

Speaker 

Announcement 

Fins & Tales 

im Robinson will be visiting with 

J 

KWAS in November to present 

’Sex with Scissors’. Now before you start calling your 

neighbours and telling them our club has gone off the deep 

end, here is a little history on Jim. He holds a BA MSc ED, 

has been married for 36 years with 3 children (Julie, Cam 

and Danny). 

He also has 3 grandchildren (Christopher, Joshua and 

Logan). Jim is a retired teacher and has been involved in 

our hobby for 37 years. He has successfully spawned over 

800 species of fish and propagated over 180 species of 

aquatic plants. Currently Jim works with over 600 aquariums 

in a specially constructed underground ‘bunker’. He 

has also written many articles for local, national and international 

clubs. 

Jim has also written articles for TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist) 

on spawning Synodontis Catfish and also for FAMA 

(Freshwater and Marine Aquarium) on spawning the ever 

popular Altum Angel. He is also the Canadian distributor 

of Aqualog books on fish and plants. Jim has lectured all 

over the United States and Canada at club meetings and 

National conventions including (AKA, ALA, OCA, CRLCA, 

ACA, CKA and FAAS). He has also lectured as a Keynote 

Speaker at many of these events. Jim also is a senior judge 

for AKA, CAOAC and ALA. 

Jim is also an auctioneer who knows the value of fish, gets 

good prices, is humorous & speedy. I think we need to talk 

to Jim about next years Oktoberfish event. His other interests 

include adding to his enormous aquarium book collection, 

orchids, Bonsai, Nepenthes, Poison Dart Frogs, tennis 

(a fanatic), volleyball & coaching kids. So there you have it. 

Obviously Jim has probably got more accomplishments under 

his belt than most of us combined. So make sure you 

mark the November 6th meeting down on your calendar. 

Bring your notepads and pencils this is one guest speaker 

you don’t want to miss! 

8 



Green Thumbs 

By John Skerrett KWAS jrs@kwic.com 

F 

issidens fontanus 

Aquatic mosses are being discovered and 

introduced to the hobby on a regular basis. 

One of the newer ones that I really like is 

Fissidens fontanus; the particular species I have is U.S. Fissidens. 

This moss is slow growing even with high light and 

CO2 injection. 

on US aquatic sites for around $15-$20 for a golf ball sized 

portion. It is recommended to initially tie the pieces to 

driftwood or a porous rock with sewing thread. After a period 

of a month or two rhizoids will begin to anchor the 

Photo courtesy of aquaticquotient.com 

I have found it interesting however that its growth rate is 

not significantly different whether it is in a high tech setup 

or simply in a separate container off to the side of my 

tanks. The primary difference appears to be colour, high 

light and CO2 injection will bring out a much lighter green 

appearance. Temperatures, within reason, do not seem to 

have a significant impact either. 

Photo courtesy of aquamoss.net 

moss to the wood or rock and will essentially become 

maintenance free. Cherry and Amano shrimp will be immediately 

attracted to this moss when introduced to the tank. 

My Amano shrimp spend most of their day tending to and 

"fiddling around" with the moss. In fact I strongly suggest 

that shrimp be kept with Fissidens because it is prone to 

the build-up of thread/hair algae. Spot treatment with 

Flourish Excel is not advised because the moss will react 

adversely to it and die off; unfortunately I had this experience 

and almost lost my entire sample a few weeks after 

receiving it. If one is looking for species to replicate a bog 

or aged environment this is definitely a species to consider. 

When taking into consideration the aquascape of such an 

environment, do not underestimate the slow growth of this 

moss. 

Fishy Fact 

Photo courtesy of cheepang05 

I first acquired this moss from a fellow hobbyist in B.C. and 

paid $12 for 40 leaves; each single leaf was one half the size 

of the nail on your small finger. Since that time it has become 

more widespread in the hobby and can be picked up 

Fish secrete a type of mucus from their skin. This slime 

coating is important because it provides protection against 

parasites and diseases. It also covers wounds to prevent 

infection and helps fish move through the water faster. 

Some species release toxins in their slime which ward off 

attacking creatures while others even use their slime to 

feed their young. 



Fins & Tales 

The Minimalist Aquarist 

‘Doing more with less and keeping it simple’ 

Lake Maninjua Fish Farming 

By Rein Breitmaier KWAS mrrein@gmail.com 

L 

et’s talk fishing! To begin with, fishing isn’t the same 

pursuit everywhere you go. If you were thinking of a 

fancy fiberglass boat, two motors, thousands of dollars in 

rods, reels and lures, then this may differ from your experience. 

Part one this month is about fish farming. 

Picture yourself on the shores of a lake; one that is big 

enough that 27 kilometres are consumed driving once 

around its ring road. Surrounding this lake to add power to 

this vision is a small fertile donut of land which itself is 

then embraced by a ring of mountains. The image is rather 

like a flooded volcanic cone. The sun shines, and oh man 

does it shine. We’re on the equator you know and by high 

noon your body casts no shadow, except on your shoelaces 

if you have sufficient girth about the middle. 

Shoelaces of course brand you as a tourist in these parts as 

the national footwear of South East Asia is what we would 

call the ‘beach flip flop’. It is worn by bus drivers, children 

heading to school, motorcycle riders, and of course fishermen. 

I’ll get back to that part in a bit. Sit back under a coconut 

palm and enjoy the view while the cooling mountain 

breezes cascade over your shoulders. Sip from a cup of 

fresh dark roast native coffee and sense these details. 

We are on the Indonesian big island, Sumatra, the home of 

rainforests, mountains, red mucky soil that washes out 

roadbeds and where enough tsunamis and other disasters 

both manmade and heaven sent make life exciting. We are 

on the fault line and near the epicenter of an earthquake 

that will shudder this tranquility only a few weeks after our 

visit; this is Lake Maninjau. 

All the world it seems has Tilapia and Sumatra is no exception. 

You know those prolific African fishes that breed like 

crazy, tolerate almost all water chemistry and make a darn 

fine meal. They grow them here much as we raise Salmon 

0n Canada’s east and west coasts. Here however the fry are 

spawned in the rice fields that abound in the fertile ring of 

land about the lake, and are later transferred into weirs in 

the lake itself where a ten inch specimen is readied for the 

barbeque. Let’s walk that path together today. 

The fields are terraced with mud banks and are stream fed 

constantly to facilitate the growing of rice crops. The 

mountains cascade an endless supply of fresh water, the 

mud banks erode and the fields are reordered and rebuilt 

in a perennial back-breaking exercise. A water buffalo grazing 

nearby provides the muscle to plough these fields prior 

to planting season. Each field has an overflow that spills 

into its next lower field and so it continues on until the 

10 



land runs out at the edge of the lake. Periodically a farmer 

will leave one field flooded but without crops. Several adult 

Tilapia are added and in short order a breeding program is 

begun. I imagine the 

adults are removed at 

some point but TMA 

was not able to confirm 

this as English is not 

spoken here and gestures 

and dumb looks 

only get you so far. The 

overflow outlet from 

this pond is screened to 

contain the valuable 

cash crop of baby Tilapia. 

The fry are reared in 

these shallow ponds and 

fed a dry pellet food until 

they reach about an inch and a bit in size. The water 

throughput is sufficient to keep the silt in suspension and 

the fish well hidden although simply walking by on the 

mud banks was enough to launch a Pavlovian response. 

The water literally boiled with the youngsters showing 

their appetites and the density of their numbers. A seine 

net is drawn through the pond when the sizing is right and 

large plastic bags are used to move the fry by motorcycle to 

the lake based operations where the grow-out happens. Yes 

I said motorcycle and that means a 124cc (or less) machine 

that serves as family transportation for up to 2 adults and 

three kids, or as in this case a load carrying workhorse. Notice 

how the concept of barely adequate water but ample 

air is practiced in the bagging of the fishes. Someone 

taught them well. Next in line are the weirs that line the 

edge of the lake, where the fry continue on their pellet diet 

until a market ready 

size is achieved. The 

fish farmers either walk 

a bamboo boardwalk or 

paddle a canoe out to 

the netted enclosures 

several times daily to 

provide the optimal 

feeding regimen. Notice 

the little outbuilding 

with extended 

eaves perched on the 

weir. The tropics have 

two seasons, wet and 

hot and dry and hotter. 

When the rainy season arrives it rains big time and the 

farmers need to seek shelter as much from the blistering 

equatorial sun as from their monsoon storms. They also 

need to keep the fish food pellets handy and dry of course. 

Lastly the Tilapia are plastic bagged once again, in even 

bigger bags and this time honest to goodness trucks are 

used, open topped stake trucks loaded higher than the slatted 

sides. Live delivery is the expectation in the markets 

and restaurants of Indonesia. My tilapia on the other hand 

only needed to make it about 3 metres from the edge of the 

lake to the charcoal fire that had been ready set and later a 

few metres more to my dinner plate. Tilapia is a very white, 

very light tasting fish. Ours were gutted, seasoned and 

sandwiched into wire baskets for grilling. Hands down this 

was TMA’s favourite fish meal of the entire trip and there 



was some stiff competition I can tell you. Curiously we 

never saw anyone fishing the deep waters out in the middle 

of the lake. We saw no power boat of any sort in fact. One 

might expect to find escapees out there in the lake, having 

evaded the call to market, or perhaps one of the other indigenous 

fishes listed on the banner we spotted. 

The fish marked ‘Nila’ by the way is the Tilapia, they pronounce 

it Nee-lah, and it is included here as naturally occurring 

in the lake albeit I would argue as an introduced 

species. Notice also the familiar fish at the top right of the 

banner. They spelled it ‘Gurame’ in their language but that 

will be the subject of another meal, at another lake. Part 

two next month continues with the ‘fishing’ theme here at 

Lake Maninjau and will feature what TMA found lurking in 

the drainage ditches between the rice fields. TMA 

TMA is an honourary member of KWAS. He has been involved in 

our hobby for 35 years and has held the position of President with 

both our club and CAOAC. If it swims or breathes underwater 

Rein has probably kept it. When not travelling the world on another 

TMA adventure Rein can be heard hosting the ever popular 

Q&A sessions at KWAS meetings. 

The Benefits of Being a KWAS 

Member 

Fins & Tales 

By Phil Maznyk KWAS Editor editor@kwas.ca 

F 

rom time to time I find myself being asked ‘what are 

the benefits of belonging to your club?’ There are so 

many but I’ll give it my best shot. Below I’ve listed some of 

the things that I think qualify. Let me begin with friendly 

meetings where we talk and learn about our hobby. Special 

guest speakers and presentations help further our knowledge 

on aquatic life both fish and plants. Monthly auctions 

with plenty of goods brought in by fellow members and the 

occasional donated items. It seems we’re always filling up 

our auction table and keeping Charity and Todd busy. 

Monthly Raffles & Library draws. The sales of tickets by 

Bob and Joe at each meeting help generate income for the 

club and our library. There’s always lots of goodies on their 

table and seeing the look on the kids faces when their 

number gets drawn is priceless. Discounts at participating 

local aquarium and pet shops. Presenting your KWAS 

Membership card at any of our supporting retailers will 

save you on your next livestock or dry goods purchase. Retailers 

like to see our club members showing their support 

by displaying our Membership card at the time of your purchase. 

An interesting & informative official club newsletter. 

It’s great to sit down with your favorite cup of tea or coffee 

and read the clubs monthly publication either online in 

colour or black and white in print. Occasionally we get together 

as a group and might do a shop hop tour or even 

visit an aquarium or Zoo. 

Getting together with your club friends always turns out to 

be a fun day. Our club library has lots of books and other 

media all available for signing out. Many of these are simply 

not available through our local LFS unless they are special 

ordered. Our Jar show encourages all members to bring 

in a particular monthly species where they are judged by an 

‘esteemed’ panel of fellow hobbyists. Points are collected 

and at the end of the year a special award is handed out to 

the winner. One of the most fun challenges each month 

especially for the kids is the ever popular Name That Fish 

contest hosted by Zenin. The kids and even the adults have 

a blast trying to guess what’s in the bag or even bags! Convinced 

yet...come see for yourself. 

12 



Show Jar Results Name That Fish September 2007 

September 2007 Judged by Stephen Crawford 

Livebearers Species Points 

Anthony McAslin Lyretail Sword 4 

Geoff Money Red Lyretail Sword 3 

Rob Pixner Pineapple Sword Male 2 

Geoff Money Black Molly 1 

Rob Pixner 

Pineapple Sword Female 

1 

Anthony McAslin Gold Dust Molly 1 

Jonathon Samson Swordtail (Black) 1 

AOV 

Geoff Money Red Lyretail Sword 4 

Anthony McAslin Royal Gramma 3 

Jonathon Samson Golden Wonder Killie 2 

Jonathon Samson Betta 1 

Zenin Skomorowski Congo Tetra 1 

Zenin Skomorowski Black Skirt Tetra 1 

Geoff Money Snakeskin Guppy 1 

Jenna Pixner Green Tiger Barb 1 

Rob Pixner Marble Angel 1 

Anthony McAslin Altimira Orange Pike 1 

By Zenin Skomorowski KWAS zenin@golden.net 

T 

his month’s first “Name That Fish” was a couple of 

Crossocheilus siamensis guessed by Jordan Potter. 

People's Choice 

Rob Pixner Pineapple Sword Male 2 

Year To Date Totals 

Anthony McAslin 62 

Geoff Money 53 

Jonathon Samson 27 

Zenin Skomorowski 16 

Rob Pixner 13 

John Van Rompu 10 

Griffin Quigley 7 

Charity Gilmour 6 

Taylor Kipfer 5 

Renee Trottier 5 

Jenna Pixner 4 

Renee Ballard 3 

Kent Hunter-Duvar 2 

Rebecca Quigley 2 

Cam Turner 2 

Diana Daigle 1 

Todd Henry 1 

Show jar classes for October are Large American Cichlids 

such as Severums, Angels, Firemouths, Discus and Terrors 

and AOV. 

Jordon Potter holds his pair of SAE’s - photo by Zenin Skomorowski 

These cyprinids are commonly called Siamese Algae Eaters. 

They are from Thailand and Malaysia in South East Asia. 

They will grow to 10cm (4 inches) in the home aquarium. 

In their native habitat SAE’s will grow to over 15 cm (6 

inches). These algae eaters are best kept in groups of 3 or 

more. They do not bother any other fish. Make sure you 

have your aquarium covered, since they are known jumpers. 

There is no obvious difference between males and females. 

There are no reports of this fish breeding in home 

aquariums. Preferred water conditions are fairly soft, neutral 

or slightly acidic pH of 6.0 to 7.5 in a planted aquarium. 

The special feature of this species, is its preference for eating 

algae that is normally ignored by other algae eaters and 

other fish. Most notably, red beard and brush algae are 

consumed when these fish are young. As they get older, 

they still keep plants clean of most algae, but sometimes 

wait for feedings of flake foods and pellets. This algae eater 



Fins & Tales 

is sometimes confused with the flying fox and other similar 

algae eaters. For a complete description of these similar 

Bob Brown holds his pair or Shell Dwellers - photo by Zenin Skomorowski 

These shell dwelling dwarf cichlids are originally from Lake 

Tanganyika in east Africa, but they are readily bred in 

home aquariums. They like the hardness and high pH alkalinity 

of Kitchener-Waterloo tap water at around 25 to 27C 

(77 to 80F). The ideal substrate is sand with a selection of 

shells. Males grow to a maximum of about 5 cm (2 inches), 

females about 3.5 cm (1.5 inches). A pair can be kept in a 10 

gallon tank. Since the ocellatus are a harem breeder, a larger 

tank must be used to house a male and several females. 

All must have a shell to defend as it’s territory, and extra 

shells are recommended. 

Siamese Algae Eater - photo by Zenin Skomorowski 

species, please see the following web pages. http:// 

www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/saes.htm and 

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/cyprinid.html 

T 

his month’s second “Name That Fish” was a couple of 

Lamprologus ocellatus donated by Phil Maznyk and 

guessed by Bob Brown. 

Golden Ocellatus guarding its shell - photo by Victor Sundberg 

Eggs are deposited in the shell and the fry emerge after 

about 10 days looking for food. Give them baby brine 

Ocellatus sp. ‘Gold’ - photo by Estelle 

shrimp, daphnia and cyclops. Despite their small size, the 

ocellatus are very persistent in defending their territory 

from any intruders, a very impressive behaviour to witness. 

14 



Loaches...From A to Y but not Z. 

By Phil Maznyk KWAS pmaznyk@rogers.com 

ne of the most successful and most popular fishes 

O ever to come out of Asia has to be the Loach. This 

species spans the alphabet from A to Y but not Z. With this 

many variants available it’s easy to see why loaches are 

considered one of the hobby’s long time favourites. Many 

loaches are an excellent fish for both the beginner aquarist 

and also the more experienced hobbyist. Most species of 

Loach are considered to be excellent substrate cleaners as 

they are constantly rooting through an aquariums substrate 

looking for a missed tasty morsel or two. 

to defend themselves quite handedly should the need arise. 

They have a unique way of doing this. A very sharp spine 

lays flush with their skin just below the eye. When highly 

stressed or agitated these loaches can extend this extremely 

sharp spine in a defensive gesture. The spine is certainly 

capable of causing a sharp nick to any fish foolish enough 

to mess with them. Any hobbyist who has ever purchased 

the ever popular Clown or Yo-Yo loach will tell you that 

they have often just got the fish home as the bag they were 

being transported in had been pierced and was leaking water 

profusely. This has happened to myself on more than 

one occasion. 

Most Loaches especially the ones I have kept and the others 

that I will be focusing on today have very small eyes. 

This is typically indicative of a species of fish that enjoys 

low light or nocturnal conditions. This is not to say, that 

you will not see these fish in your tank during normal 

lighted periods but they certainly are the most active in low 

light or nocturnal light conditions. As I mentioned earlier, 

loaches are extremely social in their behavior and when 

kept in the right conditions and with several others of their 

own kind, they can be seen all day long frolicking in the 

tank. Amongst their own kind, light does not seem to 

bother them at all. 

Clown Loach Botia macracanthus - photo by Phil Maznyk 

Loaches not only look interesting but they have some of 

the most odd and bizarre behaviors seen in any freshwater 

aquarium fish. Almost all the Loaches in the hobby today 

are native to south eastern Asia. There are however a select 

few species that are found in Russia and North Africa. 

Some loaches available to the hobbyist today can grow to 

between 4 and 12 inches. Obviously the larger of these are 

best kept in a very large aquarium, probably in the range of 

125 gallons or more. Loaches are relatively slow growing 

and can live for quite a long time. 

A fully grown mature 10 inch or larger Clown Loach Botia 

macracanthus could be housed in a 125 gallon tank however 

this species is best kept with some of it’s own kind as 

they are extremely social in their behavior and thus a very 

large tank is desirable for several of this fish. Many of the 

most common loaches seen in the hobby today are all able 

Clown Loaches amongst Cyphotalapia frontosa sp. ‘Ikola’ from Lake Tanganyika 

- photo by Phil Maznyk 

Loaches also use their barbels as a sensory organ to help 

root out food bits from between the substrate. Almost all 

species of Loach will do very well in any community tank 

setup provided they are not constantly harassed and the 



tank has several hiding spots. They love clean water with 

lots of current and are not very particular of pH. I have successfully 

kept loaches in a fully planted tank with a pH of 7 

and then later kept these same loaches in with Cichlids 

from the Rift Lakes of Africa which enjoy pH values of 8 

and higher. Probably the most well known and popular of 

all Loaches is the Clown Loach Botia macracanthus. As juveniles 

and young adults their bodies are a bronze/dull 

orange colour with jet black wide vertical curved banding 

that runs from the eye area all the way to the tail. Their 

pectoral and ventral fins can be a brilliant orange to bright 

red. Almost all Clown loaches found in the LFS are very 

Fins & Tales 

sometimes pointing straight up and then the next time 

straight down. Again, often they can be mistaken for dead. 

Loaches acclimatize quickly to many common commercial 

foods, however they should also be fed Tubifex, Black and 

Bloodworms. Clowns have extremely small mouths and 

watching them trying to eat sinking worms is hilarious. 

Make no mistake though, once that worm hits the substrate 

it’s history. If you’re worried about an infestation of 

worms or dreaded snails. Fear not because with a crew of 

loaches in your tank you can go to sleep at night knowing 

full well your loaches will be out and about keeping things 

well under control. 

YoYo Loach Botia lohachata - photo by Phil Maznyk 

Botia macracanthus being social - photo by Phil Maznyk 

young fish, generally between 6 months and a year in age. 

Young loaches should most certainly be kept in a small 

group of several individuals. This will permit the fish to 

relax amongst its own kind and secondly in groups their 

behavior is nothing short of clown like. They truly have 

some of the oddest behavior you will ever witness. Clown 

loaches from juvenile to adults often scare their owners 

with one of their favourite past times. This of course is the 

well documented behavior of simply stopping some place 

in the aquarium and then very peacefully laying over completely 

on their sides and looking for all intents and purposes 

to be dead. 

The very first time I saw this behavior I could not believe it. 

All 5 of my Clowns were in a small huddle all laying on 

their sides oblivious to what was going on around them. 

Even though I had read about this behavior I just had to 

get up close to make sure they were all still breathing. 

Sometimes they would lay like this for nearly an hour then 

once one got up and moving, the possy would quickly follow 

suit. Often you will find them suspended in a plant 

Many a night I would be sitting on the sofa with the lights 

subdued on my tank when I would hear a very loud clicking 

sound. When I say loud, I really do mean loud. Clown 

Loaches and a few other species make a very loud sound 

when they are both happy and eating snails or any other 

favourite snack. 

YoYo loach resting quietly on a rock - photo by Phil Maznyk 

The very first time I heard this I was certain one of my 

tanks was cracking. It really can be that surprising to hear. 

Another extremely popular loach is the YoYo Loach Botia 

lohachata. Both myself and my stepson have kept this 

16 



loach. YoYo loaches are a little different in shape when 

compared to the Clown. Their body is more elongated and 

they do not have the distinct rise in the middle of their 

body near the dorsal fin like Clowns. YoYo loaches unlike 

Clowns only grow to about 5 inches. 

from the definitive and distinct Y and O markings on the 

fish. YoYo’s are extremely good diggers and can be found 

burrowing in sand and finer substrates. I have also witnessed 

this loach laying on it’s side just like the Clown. 

This species will eat the same food as the Clown loach and 

they too can be kept together without any 

Orange finned blue loach Yasuhikotakia modesta resting on a leaf - photo 

by Zenin Skomorowski 

They absolutely love to have numerous hiding places and 

like Clowns like to play their own version of tag. Some have 

called this fighting but I’ve never seen a YoYo get hurt from 

this behavior and it certainly looks like more fun that 

scrapping. It’s quite funny to watch these guys as they will 

go on little rampages around the tank playing this game of 

Kuhli Loach Pangio kuhli - photo by Zenin Skomorowski 

Close up view of the unique barbels on the Kuhli Loach - photo by Benny 

Ng 

Tiger loach Syncrossus helodes - photo by Zenin Skomorowski 

tag. In the process they can be seen swimming through the 

narrowest of passageways and even some areas you would 

not think the fish could fit into. The name YoYo was coined 

problem. Zenin from our club keeps several species of 

Loaches together without any trouble. Some other common 

loaches are the Weather Loach Misgurnus angullicuadatus, 

Tiger Loach Syncrossus helodes formally Botia 

hymenophsa, Horse Faced Loach Acantopsis choirorhynchus, 

Skunk Loach Yasuhikotakia morleti and a favourite of 

many hobbyists the Kuhli Loach Pangio kuhli. All of these 

species are quite popular and generally readily available at 

most LFS. Probably the oddest and most unique of these 



would have to be either the Weather Loach or the Kuhli 

Loach. Both species share a long slender snake or eel like 

body. Weather loaches can grow to about 10 inches while 

Kuhli’s stay much smaller and reach adult size at between 4 

and 5 inches. Both species love burrowing completely under 

the substrate and will thrive in planted aquariums. The 

Weather loach received that moniker due to its erratic behavior 

when the barometric pressure changes. It can show 

quite extreme behavior depending on the approaching 

weather front. 

Photo courtesy of www.aquahobby.com 

Kuhli loaches on the other hand are much smaller when 

fully grown and are beautifully banded. Their ability to get 

into the most awkward and tiny cavities in ones aquarium 

is legendary. This little guy is very common among the 

younger hobbyist due to it’s unique appearance and behavior 

and the fact that it can be easily kept in smaller aquariums 

makes it desirable. 

All loaches have very soft sensitive barbels or whiskers as 

they are sometimes called that they use for foraging in 

amongst the substrate. A very soft sandy substrate is best 

for them but they will also do fine when smaller smooth 

pea size or smaller river rock is used. These barbels if worn 

down from foraging will very quickly grow back if the fish 

is moved to a tank with soft sand or no substrate. The trouble 

with this is moving a fish out of it’s habitat is always 

stressful. So keep this in mind as Loaches need their barbels 

for sensory perception. If we can avoid having them 

wear them off from having a sharp edges substrate then 

lets do it. Earlier I mentioned some of the foods that 

Fins & Tales 

loaches enjoy and that they are forever routing in the substrate 

for leftovers. Loaches contrary to what some people 

think are not scavengers, they are just very good at finding 

little bits of food that didn’t get eaten as it sank through 

the water column. Any successful hobbyist will tell you this 

is a great asset for our tanks. How many times have you 

deep vacuumed your gravel only to see a steady stream of 

decaying food going up your Python. Not only is that 

wasted food but more importantly it is contributing to an 

unwanted higher nitrate level. As far as looking after most 

loaches, they are for the most part extremely hardy and 

very easy to keep. I mentioned earlier they are not really 

pH sensitive even though they come from generally warm 

softer acidic water in their native Asia. 

Keeping the tank’s filter clean is a given and must be done. 

Most loaches and even the ones I have kept really enjoy a 

good current in the tank. This can come from a properly 

mounted spray bar or even a powerhead or two. It should 

be noted that I have seen many loaches doing absolutely 

fine in a calm, planted tank environment. One last thing to 

remember is that most loaches, including the ones mentioned 

here can be very sensitive to aquarium medications. 

This is due to their extremely small scales. If you are using 

any type of dyed medicine such as Malachite green or Methylene 

blue you must reduce the dosage by half. Coppersafe, 

Melafix and Pimafix are all safe to use when keeping 

loaches. 

Many fish keepers will often move their loaches to a separate 

tank if available just so they can avoid having the loach 

exposed to these chemicals. It has been said that if a loach 

or any other fish for that matter becomes sufficiently 

stressed they can be susceptible to Ich. I have not experienced 

this myself. Even after chasing them around with a 

net for close to 30 minutes simply to move them and once 

having all 5 of my clowns crowd into a tiny cavity in an artificial 

log. To look at this opening one would thing perhaps 

only 2 fish would fit in, let alone all 5. 

One of the best ways to help heal a loach if afflicted with 

Ich is to simply raise the water temperature to the mid 80’s 

and use plenty of quality fine or course sea salt with lots of 

water movement to provide high levels of oxygen. Next 

time you visit the LFS, give loaches a second look. It is easy 

to see how one can come to really enjoy Loaches. 

18 



General Meeting Minutes Sept 4, 2007 

President Kevin Reimer welcomed everyone & started the meeting at 7:30 

P.M. There were 63 people present, including 8 new guests. 

Executive present: Kevin Reimer (President), Geoff Money (Vice President), 

Lezley Smith (Recording Secretary) and Al Ridley (Past President). 

Brad McClanahan (Past Treasurer) filled in for John Van Rompu. 

Announcements: We are looking for someone to host our October business 

meeting. 

September 15 Sarnia Aquarium Society Show and Auction 

Sept 15 -16 Tropical Fish Club of Erie Auction 

Sept 30 London Aquarium Society Show and Auction 

Oct 14 HDAS Show and Auction 

Oct 21 KWAS Presents Oktoberfish 

Al Ridley spoke briefly on Oktoberfish (looking for runners and class 

sponsors). Cam Turner and Phil Maznyk have created a linking system to 

Amazon.ca check the library page on our website. Nov 18 Zoo Trip is confirmed. 

Details to follow. Kevin showed a thank you card from a friend of 

Dorothy Daniells. Limited number of tickets on sale as of now for a Xmas 

meeting raffle on a Fluval 304. $2 each or 3 for $5. Brad Smith from HDAS 

spoke about new software his club is now using which should alleviate the 

problems at check out. He also mentioned KWAS accounted for 76 percent 

of the winning fish shown at the HDAS event last year. 

BAP Certificates Presented 

Zenin Skomorowski Pseudotropheus estherae 

Taylor Kipfer Haplochromis sp. 44 

Taylor Kipfer Labidochromis caeruleus 

Taylor Kipfer Pseudotropheus acei 

Taylor Kipfer Labidochromis perlmut 

Kevin Reimer Aulonocara baenschi 

Kevin Reimer Neolamprologus brevis 

Kevin Reimer Neolamprologus multifasciatus 

Kevin Reimer Aulonocara hueseri 

HAP Certificates Presented None at this meeting 

Board of Directors 

Auction Chair Charity Gilmore 

BAP Chair Miecia Burden 

CAOAC Representative Stephen Crawford 

Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski 

HAP Chair Bob Brown 

Show Jar Zenin Skomorowski (Sep to Dec) Anthony McAslin (Jan to Jun) 

Librarian Stephen Crawford 

Lunch Committee Brad McClanahan 

Membership Miecia Burden 

Newsletter Editor Phil Maznyk 

Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski 

Oktoberfish Chair Al Ridley 

Program Chairs Rob Pixner, Heather Coleman 

Pet Store Liaisons Al Ridley, Zenin Skomorowski, Scott Smith 

Raffle Chair Bob Brown, Joe Kopachinski 

Webmaster/Forum Administrator Phil Maznyk 

Name That Fish: The first Name that fish was Crossocheilus siamensis 

guessed by Jordan Potter. The second name that fish was Lamprologus 

ocellatus guessed by Bob Brown donated by Phil Maznyk. 

Question & Answer: Hosted by Rein Breitmaier. Discussed: Outdoor 

Ponds regarding heating, algae and how to get rid of it, why some neon’s 

have buoyancy problems , how long have people had their fish, have many 

people named their fish 

Our program: Rein Breitmaier - The Minimalist's Guide to South East Asia 

Show Jar Results: There were 6 people showing 17 fish in 2 classes. Results 

are published in this newsletter. Classes for October will be Large American 

Cichlids including Angels, Discus, Nicaraguense, Convicts, Firemouths, 

Terrors, Severums and so on. Also includes AOV. 

Library Draw: Won by Brad McClanahan $15.50 

Raffle Draw: Our large prizes were Gift Certificates to Pet World and Super 

pet won by Frank Berkin 

Auction: Charity auctioned a full table of fish & plants. 

Submitted by Lezley Smith (Recording Secretary) 

Business Meeting Minutes Sept 11,2007 

Attendance: Geoff Money (Vice President), John Van Rompu (Treasurer), 

Miecia Burden (Membership, BAP), Lezley Smith (Recording Secretary), 

Charity Gilmore (Auction Chair), Scott Smith (Pet Store Liaison), Phil 

Maznyk (Webmaster, Newsletter Editor), Al Ridley (Past President, Pet 

Store Liaison), Zenin Skomorowski (Exchange Editor, Jar Show), Stephen 

Crawford ( CAOAC, Librarian), Brad McClanahan (Lunch Committee), 

Rob Pixner (Program Chair) 

Regrets: Kevin Reimer (President), Joe Kopachinski (Raffle Chair), Bob 

Brown (Raffle Chair), Anthony McAslin (Jar Show), Heather Coleman 

(Program Chair) 

Guests: Kent Hunter-Duvar, Katie McClanahan 

June Business Meeting Minutes: Motioned by Al Ridley, Seconded by Scott 

Smith. Voted and carried. 

Sept General Meeting Minutes: Motioned by Miecia Burden, Seconded by 

Brad McClanahan. Voted and carried. 

Future business Meetings 

October - Al Ridley - 224 Laurel Springs Court, Kitchener 

November – Charity Gilmore - 85 Stirling Ave N, Kitchener 

December – Joe Kopachinski - 90 Mayfield Ave, Waterloo 

January - Doug & Amanda Radtke - 410 Lexington Rd, Waterloo 

Treasurer’s Report: Read by John Van Rompu. As John just received the 

books at this meeting there is no report this month. Brad mailed our PST 

taxes $41.84. Kevin gave John the ‘Vendor’s working copy prior to the 

September general meeting. John is moving our bank account to Presidents 

Choice because it is easier for him to get to. 

Correspondence: Brad Smith (2nd Vice President of HDAS) e-mailed 

Kevin asking if KWAS would sponsor a class for their show in Sept. Kevin 

spoke briefly with Miecia about sponsoring classes for other clubs prior to 

the business meeting. Miecia and Al confirmed KWAS has never done this 



Fins & Tales 

in the past. It was suggested by Al Ridley that we do not. Al will be looking 

after this. Edey from the Animal Inn Pet Shop e-mailed Kevin regarding 

a possible donation. Al Ridley said he will follow up with Edey on this. 

A family membership in return is a possibility. Lisa Borden ECAS President 

e-mailed Kevin asking if KWAS has specific policies regarding vendors 

& sponsors. Kevin & Al responded that we don’t. 

Oktoberfish 2007 (Al): Show classes e-mail sent as we are still looking for 

sponsors. Tropical Fish Room will sponsor Best In Show. Aquarium Services 

will sponsor all junior classes. We need more runners to assist for 1 

hour periods. Letters for donations have been sent. Al stated that donations 

appear to be on par with past events. Rein will help with the main 

auction and Rob will assist with calling the auction, we still need confirmation 

from 2 other auctioneers. 

Fish room judges have been contacted by Miecia. Classes are the same as 

2006. Water and coffee will be supplied to all runners and auctioneers. 

Sound system has been reserved. Phil will help re-bag fish and plants 

when needed. Kent needs to make changes to the Auction Registration 

Form (Formerly bidder registration form). 

Kent to send this to Miecia, Al and Phil. Phil will add this form to the 

download package on the website once he receives it. Pre-registration 

labels will be forwarded by Oct 11. Kent says our software still has glitches. 

Phil has again offered to take a look if he receives the software in time. 

Renee Ballard has agreed do all media relations. Assistant Mayor of Waterloo 

and the Mayor of Kitchener will hand out awards. Al will have a 

layout of the room for the next business meeting. Due to the length of Al’s 

Oktoberfish report Geoff mentioned that in the future this should be 

looked after prior to the business meeting, everyone agreed. 

Committee Reports 

NL Editor/Publisher (Phil): Going well. 

Exchanges (Zenin): Going well, Brant club are now doing a newsletter. 

Membership (Miecia): 8 new memberships. 4 family, 4 adult and 1 renewal. 

Auction (Charity): Going well. Concerned BAP & HAP are not being met. 

Library (Stephen): Going well. Stephen to fix the locks on the cabinet. 

Prior to our Sept general meeting Kevin gave John Van Rompu a $30 donation 

from John Skerrett toward our library fund. Rob suggested we promote 

selling of library 50/50 tickets more efficiently. Miecia suggested Joe 

mingle in the room to help sell them as we have done in the past. 

Program (Rob/Heather): 

October Anthony & Zenin on showing fish, Al Ridley to demonstrate how 

to properly bag a fish for the auction. 

November Jim Robinson presents sex with scissors. 

December Xmas party & social and pot luck. 

Raffle (Bob/Joe): Both absent 

HAP (Bob): Nothing to report 

BAP (Miecia): Nothing to report. Phil asked Miecia if it was okay that a 

new member who recently moved to the area from London can immediately 

enter the BAP contest. Miecia said this was fine. 

CAOAC (Stephen): Rob Pixner attended the last CAOAC meeting. Sarnia 

Auction Sept 15, Erie auction Sept 23. London Auction & Show Sept 30 

Edmonton club will host the 2008 Convention. 

NTF (Zenin): Going well. See report on page 13 

Show Jar (Zenin): Going well. See report on page 13 

Webmaster (Phil): Going well. Amazon.ca linking complete and working 

on our Library page. Website has reached 30 million hits. Oktoberfish info 

has been on website for over a month already. Around K-W has waived 

our hosting fees again for 2008. 

Lunch (Brad): Coffee sales are down. Brad wants to see us make a bit more 

revenue. Donut prices to rise to .75 each. 

Pet Store Liaison (Al/Zenin/Scott): Zenin confirmed Petsmart will honour 

the remaining Superpet gift certificates. Zenin has a new flyer holder for 

the Waterloo Inn. Ocean Aquarium formerly Planet Aquarium has moved 

to Victoria Street near Lackner Blvd in Kitchener. 

Old Business: Scott has 2 quotes for a new KWAS 3’ x 5’ banner digitally 

printed. We need to have a vector graphics logo for whomever prints 

them. New club logo needs to ironed out before we can proceed. Rob will 

have our web address put on the existing banner prior to Oktoberfish. 

Toronto Zoo trip is on Nov 18. Pickup at Homer Watson Car Pool lot. Bus 

leaves at 8:30am. We should be at the Zoo by 10:15am. 

Rob voiced his concern over having a backup plan for a bus driver. He will 

try and connect with Bob. We are still waiting to hear if Bob was able to 

price out a new key or lock for our PO Box. Heather Coleman’s Specialized 

Breeder Program is still in progress. Al Ridley has still not forwarded 

his contact list to Kevin. Al said he will have a CD copied and put in the 

library cabinet by October. Miecia will put a KWAS plaque on the Waterloo 

Inn tank. 

New Business: John Van Rompu is going to contact Brad McClanahan for 

information on the KWAS Summer picnic for 2008. A tentative date of 

July 20 or 27th has been reserved depending on what is available. The first 

Tuesday in January 2008 falls on New Years. We will push our general 

meeting back to January 8th and our business meeting back to January 

15th. John will follow up with the city. 

Phil gave a presentation on improving the visual quality of our newsletter 

for the club. He has shown 5 samples with quotes. It was recommended 

that a questionnaire be drafted by Phil. This will be reviewed by the Executive 

and BOD and then shown to the general membership at a future 

meeting. 

January 2008 Keeping and Breeding Sea Horses. 

February John Van Rompu on Peru. 

Geoff Money & Phil Maznyk have backup programs. Charity offered the 

Planet Earth DVD’s. 

20 



South American 

Corner 

on rare occasions, a spot on the flank and belly with a narrow 

tapering cheek stripe. The basic yellow coloration of 

the female will intensify during courting, breeding and 

raising of fry. 

Distribution 

By Stephen Crawford KWAS 


Apistogramma sp. ‘pandurini’ 

(Blue sky dwarf cichlid) DATZ # A183-185 

Species Description / Sexual Differences 

A 

pistogramma sp. panduro is a medium sized Apisto 

with males reaching a standard length of about 50 

mm and females rarely growing more than 30 mm. A. panduro 

can be distinguished from all other known species by 

its unique large black triangular spot that extends from the 

point between the back edge of the dorsal and anal fins to 

At this time there are few reports to the exact area’s to 

which this species reside. They have been found in the forest 

streams of the Ucayali drainage east of Jenaro Herrera 

at the Peruvian/Brazilian border. Future expeditions to this 

area will contribute to further knowledge of the surroundings 

and more extensive information on ecological conditions. 

Breeding/Care 

the centre of the caudal fin. The caudal fin is usually round 

with a black edge and a completely red sub marginal stripe. 

Both sexes have this red stripe but it is more pronounced in 

the male. This species bares a resemblance to A.nijsseni 

and A.payaminonis due to the fact that they belong to the 

nijsseni-group/cacatuoides-complex. Males show a yellowish 

to brass yellow tone on the throat, breast and belly. 

Blue glimmering irradiances can cover the posterior part of 

the body. Females display a highly variable black band or 

I first had the pleasure of keeping this species 3 years ago 

with mixed results when it came to care and breeding. Of 

the 10 pairs I purchased I was left with only 2 viable pairs in 

a very short time. Some losses were from shipping and the 

others from their aggressive behavior ‘females in courting 

mood will attack anything that moves’. Of the two remaining 

pairs only one pair bonded to give me the opportunity 

to watch them breed. 

This pair was given a 20 gallon long tank to themselves 

with a PH of 6.2 – 6.4. Driftwood, clay caves and a sand 

bottom were also added to the tank. Filtration was two air 

driven sponges and one air driven corner box filter, the box 

filter was filled with peat to help keep the PH down . The 

water used was a mixture of 3 parts RO to 1 part tap with 



additional water changes made with pure RO as my RO 

unit gives me water at 35 ppm TDS. After 3 unsuccessful 

batches where the fry had fallen prey to fungus I thought I 

may have a pair that would not breed ‘unfertilized eggs’ but 

after adding 3-4 almond leaves to the tank and treating my 

RO water with alder cones to bring the pH down some 

more to a very low 5.8-6, the next batch hatched 30-40 wigglers. 

At this time I had to remove the male as the female was in 

no mood to have him around the fry and the repeated attacks 

were showing significant signs of stress on the poor 

guy. After the fry became free swimming I started to feed 

them with vinegar eel for the first week and started to introduce 

micro-worm and BBS along with the occasional 

Daphnia. 

The latter being more for the females enjoyment as she 

loved to hunt these little guys down always returning to 

her fry to protect them. I love to watch their parenting 

skills. After 8 weeks of watching the fry grow I moved the 

female out as most of the fry/juvies had started to wander 

the tank looking for food on their own as they were now ½- 

¾ of an inch in length. 

At 4 months these guys had grown very well and I started 

to look for new homes for them and to spread the beauty 

and pleasure of keeping these little Cichlids to others. For 

those wanting to try A.panduro I would say that this species 

is not the hardest but far from easy where Apisto’s go. 

One would have to consider the stringent water requirements 

before trying them but like myself I hope everyone is 

up for the challenge as you will not be disappointed. 

Reference material “Mergus Cichlid Atlas 1, South American Dwarf 

Cichlids Verlag and DATZ South American Dwarf Cichlids“ 

Exchange Editors Report Oct 07 

by Zenin Skomorowski KWAS zenin@golden.net 

Fins & Tales 

T 

he newsletters featured in this column and others are 

available to you. Please let me know by email, or at 

the monthly meeting, which ones you would like to read. 

Bill Bruce wrote “Feeding your fish on $35 a year” in the 

February/March issue of Tank Topics from the Greater 

Akron Aquarium Society. He describes preparation of a 

healthy, well-balanced batch of food. He includes the supplies, 

ingredients, and the procedure in detail so anyone 

can do it. 

If you would like to keep and breed Killiefish, then check 

out the Spring 2007 issue of The Bulletin from the Montreal 

Aquarium Society. “Killies – The Plant Spawners” by 

Gary Smith, “Aphyosemion vs Chromaphyosemion” by Hans 

Behr and “Killies of the Genus Cynolebias”. The last article 

was written by our current KWAS treasurer, John Van 

Rompu, in 1980. 

A recently discovered fish from Myanmar has become very 

popular and well known. The Microrasbora sp. “Galaxy” is a 

small but brightly coloured cyprinid. Michael Pham has 

written about his experience breeding these rasboras in the 

April issue of Aqua Babble from the Aquarium Club of Edmonton. 

Hopefully, more breeding in captivity will reduce 

reports of over collecting in the native habitat. 

If you have a 15 or 20 gallon tank and are looking for an 

interesting fish, try Lamprologus leleupi. Wayne Toven 

writes about his experience keeping and breeding these 

Tanganyikan cichlids in “Through the Leleupi Loophole” in 

the April/May issue of Tank Topics from the Greater Akron 

Aquarium Society. Wayne also writes about an interesting 

livebearer Goodeid that prefers hard alkaline water. 

Find out more about the Speckled Sawfin Goodeid in 

“Skiffia multipunctata”. 

The May issue of Aqua Babble from the Aquarium Club of 

Edmonton features “Breeding Malaysian Golden Arowana in 

Concrete Tanks” by Mohamad Zaini Suleiman of Malaysia. 

This program has been introduced to interested farmers in 

Malaysia as a small scale and backyard industry. The responses 

from farmers are very promising with first harvests 

after two years of operation. Also in this issue, Andrea 

22 



Watts writes about ‘Our friend (fiend?)’ Algae. She describes 

the types of algae and suggestions for control. Have 

you heard of Diatom Filters? If you are not sure what they 

are or how they are used, check out the article by Dr. 

Adrian Lawler in the June issue of Aqua Babble from the 

Aquarium Club of Edmonton. Diatom filters are not only 

used for aquariums, but also to filter wine, beer, fruit 

juices, and water supplies. 

Hemichromis lifalili is a cichlid from the Congo River System 

in Zaire Africa. These riverine cichlids like softer 

slightly acidic water. Find out more about “The Red Jewel 

Cichlid” in a breeding report by R.M. Blubaugh-Brown in 

the July issue of All Cichlids from the Michigan Cichlid Association. 

The Altolamprologus family from Lake Tanganyika contains 

calvus, compressiceps and fasciatus. Read about these 

unusually shaped, specialized fish in an article by Jason 

Jenkins in the July-August issue of Cichlid Chatter from 

the Greater Chicago Cichlid Association. 

Surf’s up! Here are this month’s web sites to explore: 

My wife loves to play Insane Aquarium. The download is 

available here http://www.popcap.com/gamepopup.php? 

theGame=insaniquarium 

Quotes from their website: “Feed fish and fight aliens in the 

craziest aquarium around! Work fast to keep the friendly 

fish fed and happy”. Collect the coins they drop to buy better 

food, new fish species and awesome weapons. Make 

sure to use those weapons on all the alien intruders, or 

you'll be sunk! Get all this when you download Insaniquarium: 

Colorful aquarium settings with fantastic fish 

and sea creatures. There are 4 ways to play. Adventure, 

Timed, Challenge and Virtual Tank. Enhanced sound effects 

and original score. Ruthless new extraterrestrial boss 

beasts!” 

KWAS Toronto Zoo 

Bus Trip Nov 18th 

KWAS will be hosting a bus trip to the Toronto Zoo on Sunday 

November 18th. Members need to make sure they have given 

their name and a 20.00 deposit to Rob Pixner so a spot is reserved 

for you. Your deposit will be returned to you once you 

board the bus. Rob can be reached by e-mail at 

rob.pixner@sympatico.ca. Our bus departs from the Car Pool lot 

located on Homer Watson Blvd at the 401 overpass at 8:30am. 

We expect to arrive back in Kitchener at approximately 5:30pm. 

Don’t miss out on this great trip. We will be given a behind the 

scenes look at their special food preparation area and the day to 

day operation of the aquariums. 

KWAS meets on the 1st Tuesday of each month from September 

until June at the Adult Recreation Centre 185 King 

Street south. We are located on the corner of King and 

Allen Streets in Waterloo, Ontario. The meeting room 

opens at 7pm with the meeting starting at 7:30 pm sharp. 

Please feel free to come out at any time and learn more 

about KWAS and the many benefits of belonging to our 

club. 

Q&A, Guest Speakers, Name That Fish, Raffles, Show Jar, 

Members Library, Auctions and much more… 

Invite your friends to come see what 

your club is all about! 


KWAS Presents 

Sunday October 21 

Waterloo Inn & Conference Centre 

475 King Street North, Waterloo Ontario 

www.thetropicalfishroom.ca 

Thank You For Supporting 

KWAS 

Did you know 

Freshwater Trumpet Snails have spiral 

shells and are usually found on the glass 

just below the water line in the morning 

when you turn the lights on. They rarely 

eat plants. They burrow in the substrate 

during the day and come out to feed at 

night. One method of control for these 

guys, is to simply collect them from the glass in the morning. This won't eliminate 

them but it will keep the population under control. By eating debris on the 

substrate, these snails can help maintain the water quality. These snails are live 

bearers! Image courtesy of rybicky.net 

P.O. Box 38037 Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2J 4T9 

Fins & Tales is the official publication of the Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

October 2007 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society

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