June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society
June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society June 2009 - Kitchener Waterloo Aquarium Society
J U N E 2 0 0 9 Fins & Tales Serving Kitchener-Waterloo and the surrounding area since 1960 In This Issue: Volume 49, Issue 6 The Minimalist Aquarist in London - page 5 PlantED Tank: Fish Store Selections - page 14 HAP and BAP Details - page 13 Moonlighting in your Tank - page 12 Help out some great Fishy Science! - page 13 Official Publication of the Kitchener-Waterloo Aquarium Society Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 2 nd at 7:30 pm SUMMER SOCIAL Complimentary Copy Welcome to our club! Visit us at http://www.kwas.ca
- Page 2 and 3: J U N E 2 0 0 9 In This Issue... CA
- Page 4 and 5: J U N E 2 0 0 9 Hi All, From the Pr
- Page 6 and 7: J U N E 2 0 0 9 So what did I learn
- Page 8 and 9: J U N E 2 0 0 9 asking for the fish
- Page 10 and 11: J U N E 2 0 0 9 Receiving the first
- Page 12 and 13: A recent trend has been to provide
- Page 14 and 15: J U N E 2 0 0 9 The PlantED Tank: I
- Page 16 and 17: J U N E 2 0 0 9 are looking for and
- Page 18 and 19: J U N E 2 0 0 9 Re-Scaping a Show T
- Page 20 and 21: Meeting Minutes Submitted by Al Rid
- Page 22 and 23: Calendar will go to print the first
- Page 24: J U N E 2 0 0 9 Join our forums @ w
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Fins & Tales<br />
Serving <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong> and the surrounding area since 1960<br />
In This Issue: Volume 49, Issue 6<br />
The Minimalist Aquarist in London - page 5<br />
PlantED Tank: Fish Store Selections - page 14<br />
HAP and BAP Details - page 13<br />
Moonlighting in your Tank - page 12<br />
Help out some great Fishy Science! - page 13<br />
Official Publication of the <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong><br />
Next Meeting:<br />
Tuesday, <strong>June</strong> 2 nd at 7:30 pm<br />
SUMMER SOCIAL<br />
Complimentary Copy<br />
Welcome to our club!<br />
Visit us at http://www.kwas.ca
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
In This Issue...<br />
CAOAC 50 th Highlights<br />
TMA writes from<br />
London (Ontario, that<br />
is) to document the<br />
highlights of the 50 th<br />
CAOAC Convention for<br />
those of us who missed<br />
out. Zenin also<br />
contributes a few extra<br />
photos for us.<br />
Pages 5 & 9<br />
Moonlighting<br />
Zenin documents his<br />
quest for the ideal<br />
(made in Canada)<br />
moonlighting system<br />
for his tank and his<br />
fishes reaction to the<br />
new blue lights.<br />
Page 12<br />
PlantED Tank: At the LFS<br />
Ed provides a summary<br />
of all the information<br />
you’ll need to take with<br />
you to the LFS on your<br />
next trip to make sure<br />
you come home with<br />
the right plants for your<br />
tank.<br />
Page 14<br />
Aquascaping by Chance<br />
Ed’s geophaus spawned<br />
and re-scaped the tank.<br />
Find out why<br />
geophagus are also<br />
known as “earth<br />
eaters”, and the results<br />
of the not-so-tidy<br />
reaquascaping.<br />
Page 18<br />
From The VP’s Desk &<br />
From The Editors’ Desk<br />
May Jar Show Results<br />
Page 4<br />
Page 11<br />
Help out with Fish Science &<br />
BAP and HAP<br />
<strong>June</strong> Exchange Editor’s<br />
Report<br />
Minutes<br />
Page 13<br />
Page 19<br />
Page 20<br />
Can We Bribe You?<br />
Page 22<br />
May Name That Fish<br />
Page 23<br />
Upcoming Fishy Events<br />
• <strong>June</strong> 2nd - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• <strong>June</strong> 9th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• <strong>June</strong> 28th - CAOAC Meeting & President’s BBQ<br />
• July 19th - KWAS Summer BBQ 1-6 pm<br />
• September 1st - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• September 8th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• September 12th - Sarnia Show & Auction<br />
• September 27th - London Show & Auction<br />
• October 6th - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• October 13th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• October 25th - CDAS Show & Auction<br />
• November 1st - OKTOBERFISH!<br />
On the front cover<br />
This photo of a Volitan Lionfish by<br />
Will Hayward. This photo won<br />
May’s Fish of the Month contest on<br />
our forums.<br />
On the back cover<br />
This photo was taken by Zenin<br />
during the February cross-border<br />
shop hop and appears as part of<br />
PlantED tank this month. Great shot<br />
Zenin! Love the colour contrast.<br />
• November 3rd - KWAS General Meeting<br />
• November 10th - KWAS Business Meeting<br />
• December 1st - KWAS General Meeting<br />
Get your cameras out! Your fish or tank could be featured in an upcoming<br />
edition of Fins & Tales! Simply email your high-res photos and a description<br />
to us at editor@kwas.ca. Photos must be at least 2400 pixels wide by 1800<br />
pixels tall to be printable. Bigger is better. Questions? Email us.<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
KWAS Mission Statement<br />
The <strong>Kitchener</strong> <strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong> (KWAS) is a nonprofit<br />
organization whose primary goals are to:<br />
• Further the hobby and study of tropical fish and related<br />
endeavours<br />
• Inspire the preservation of aquatic life<br />
• Maintain a meeting place for its members<br />
• Develop and maintain a library on aquatic life<br />
• Promote fellowship among its members<br />
• Seek out and establish a kinship with other clubs with<br />
similar objectives<br />
KWAS is a charter member of CAOAC:<br />
The Canadian Association of <strong>Aquarium</strong> Clubs<br />
Fins & Tales is published 10 times each year between the<br />
months of September and <strong>June</strong> for KWAS members. Opinions<br />
expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not<br />
necessarily those of the Fins & Tales editors or KWAS. The<br />
mention of any product does not constitute an endorsement by<br />
Fins & Tales or KWAS members.<br />
Reprint Policy — Articles from this publication may be printed<br />
in a not-for-profit publication provided credit is given to both<br />
the author and KWAS. Copies of the reprint must be sent to<br />
both the author and KWAS. Any other use is prohibited without<br />
the written consent of KWAS.<br />
Exchange Program — KWAS exchanges newsletters with other<br />
clubs across North America. If your club is interested in<br />
becoming a part of this program please contact our exchange<br />
editor by mail or e-mail zenin@golden.net<br />
Correspondence — Please send all correspondence to the<br />
<strong>Kitchener</strong> <strong>Waterloo</strong> <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>, Box 38037 256 King<br />
Street North, <strong>Waterloo</strong>, Ontario, Canada N2J 4T9.<br />
Submission of Articles<br />
Cover images and articles can be submitted for publication in<br />
Fins & Tales by all hobbyists and must be submitted digitally.<br />
Priority is given to KWAS members and to topics that have not<br />
been recently covered. Not all submissions will be printed in the<br />
month they are submitted. The editors of Fins & Tales may be<br />
required to edit your submission for length, spelling, grammar<br />
and/or clarity. Please indicate if you would like to proof read<br />
the edited version prior to official publication.<br />
Submissions are due via email to the editors (editor@kwas.ca)<br />
by the 15 th day of the month for publication in the upcoming<br />
issue of Fins & Tales. Please contact us if you have any<br />
questions or would like suggestions or feedback on possible<br />
article topics.<br />
KWAS Officials 2008 - <strong>2009</strong><br />
Executive<br />
President Geoff Money (gmoney@golden.net)<br />
Vice President Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)<br />
Treasurer Brad McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)<br />
Secretary Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
Past President Kevin Reimer (kevin.reimer@sympatico.ca)<br />
Board of Directors<br />
Editor/Publisher Cameron Turner, Tanya Morose<br />
(cam.turner@gmail.com)<br />
Exchange Editor Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Membership Chair Mary Lynne Lucier (marylynnel@yahoo.ca)<br />
Auction Chair ***** Open *****<br />
Oktoberfish Chair Al Ridley with Ed and Geoff<br />
Librarians Dianna Daigle (daigledianna69@hotmail.com)<br />
<br />
Beth Graham (zagraham@rogers.com)<br />
Lunch Committee Katie McClanahan (nasfan@3web.com)<br />
Programs Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
Raffle Chair The Quigley Family<br />
B.A.P Chair Ryan Barton (rabar10@yahoo.com)<br />
H.A.P Chair Ed Koerner (edkoerner@sympatico.ca)<br />
CAOAC Reps Phil Maznyk (and one position open still)<br />
Name That Fish Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Jar Show Anthony McAslin (mcspetworld@sympatico.ca)<br />
Webmaster Phil Maznyk (webmaster@kwas.ca)<br />
Pet Store Liaisons Al Ridley (pyrofish@sympatico.ca)<br />
<br />
Zenin Skomorowski (zenin@golden.net)<br />
Advertise in Fins & Tales<br />
Please contact the newsletter editor if you are interested in<br />
advertising in KWAS Fins & Tales. Rates apply for ten (10)<br />
consecutive issues (one year).<br />
Business Card, B&W$25/yr<br />
1/4 Page, B&W $60/yr<br />
1/2 Page, B&W $100/yr<br />
Full Page, B&W $150/yr<br />
Full Page, Full Colour$35/issue<br />
Advertising of any hobby related items in Fins & Tales is free to<br />
KWAS members in good standing, space permitting.<br />
Join KWAS<br />
<strong>2009</strong> Membership Fees<br />
Adult Family<br />
1 Year $25 $30<br />
2 Years $48 $58<br />
3 Years $71 $86<br />
4 Years $92 $112<br />
5 Years $100$120<br />
Junior Members (under the age of 18) $10 per year<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Hi All,<br />
From the President’s Desk<br />
Hello All,<br />
From The Editors’ Desk<br />
Well where has the time gone? We now have a new Executive<br />
and Board of Directors, and although some of the faces are the<br />
same, we have some new people.<br />
I would like to thank the previous BOD for your effort and<br />
contributions to running the club, also a big thank you if you<br />
are returning. I would also like to welcome Beth Graham and<br />
Dianna Daigle for taking over the Library, Ryan and Kelli<br />
Barton for taking the BAP, Ed Koerner for taking the HAP. I<br />
expect all our programs will be up and running again, and we<br />
will see certificates awarded at our meetings.<br />
We have started planning for “Oktoberfish”, if you would like<br />
to play a leading role contact Al Ridley the Oktoberfish Chair.<br />
This is the last meeting before summer, so I would like to wish<br />
you all “fun in the sun”, I’m looking forward to those nice<br />
warms days and long evenings, and I plan to use my newly<br />
acquired motor home a great deal this summer. I may have to<br />
take up fishing again!!!!<br />
The club has been contacted by the University of <strong>Waterloo</strong> to<br />
participate in a research project regarding fresh water filtration<br />
systems, so we should know more at the meeting (page 13).<br />
<strong>June</strong> is pizza night, tank giveaway night and an evening of<br />
fellowship and friendship, so be there or you miss out.<br />
See you at the meeting,<br />
Geoff Money<br />
President, KWAS<br />
First, we’d like to wish you all a happy, safe and prosperous<br />
summer. We’ve already started our vegetable garden. Have<br />
you?<br />
Second, we’d like to announce a new policy for the covers. In<br />
recent months it’s been hard to print some of the entries from<br />
the online contest due to the small resolution of the winning<br />
images. At the same time there have been some fantastic shots<br />
by non-regular contributors who lost out by just a hair on the<br />
forums. So, to encourage a wider set of people to submit their<br />
photos and to enable a wider variety of fish, we’re going to take<br />
submissions directly. Send any photo you wish to be considered<br />
for printing in the newsletter (or on the cover) to<br />
cam.turner@gmail.com. The minimum dimensions for the front<br />
cover are 2400x1800 pixels but send any image along and we<br />
may use it somewhere else inside an upcoming edition. Thanks!<br />
Lastly, on page 22 you’ll find our latest plea for more articles.<br />
We’re willing to bribe you for them now. Not having enough<br />
material for each newsletter and scrambling for content at the<br />
last minute is very stressful. Help save us from an early grave<br />
and write something.<br />
Have a great summer and hopefully we’ll see you at the <strong>June</strong><br />
social, the picnic in July or at the general meeting in September<br />
if you’re back from summer vacation by then.<br />
Take care of each other,<br />
Cam Turner & Tanya Morose<br />
Newsletter Editors, KWAS<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
The Minimalist Aquarist<br />
Doing more with less and keeping it simple: TMA Visits the 50 th CAOAC Convention<br />
— Article and Photos by Rein & Char Breitmaier, KWAS (mrrein@gmail.com)<br />
It was in March of 1976 that TMA received a KWAS newsletter<br />
as a fledgling member of the club and it was two years<br />
following, that CAOAC’s 19th Convention became a possibility<br />
for this hobbyist from <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong>. Conventions have<br />
perennially blessed our calendars with TMA taking in stops<br />
from Buffalo to Calgary.<br />
Our opening photo shows this year’s convention speakers from<br />
the left, Gary Lange of St Louis Missouri, TMA, Bob Fenner<br />
from California and Heiko Bleher. Presenting is CAOAC<br />
President Tony Bernard and Speaker Coordinator Ken<br />
Boorman.<br />
To everyone’s utter amazement CAOAC turned 50 this May.<br />
KWAS was there from the outset and our own Dave Boehm and<br />
Miecia Burden stepped forward to join the ad-hoc committee<br />
struck to host this golden anniversary event. Truth be told,<br />
Miecia conspired with Mrs TMA to orchestrate my appearance<br />
as the after dinner speaker to the convention. The formal<br />
invitation came from Co-chair Carl McCleary but I knew who<br />
wanted a front row seat to hear the tales of our Mediterranean<br />
Expedition. Sadly Miecia was unable to fulfill that ambition in<br />
person but her customary Black Russian cocktail and a striking<br />
bouquet of flowers graced the seat kept vacant in her honour<br />
directly at the center of the convention head table this night.<br />
The convention began with a grab bag of free-bies that should<br />
keep your fishes fed for the next little while, courtesy of the<br />
legion of suppliers and friends of the hobby that stepped<br />
forward to support this milestone convention.<br />
Friday night began in earnest with headline presenter Heiko<br />
Bleher. Heiko flew 10,000km from his home base in Italy and<br />
started off with his expedition to the upper Jutai river<br />
(pronounced Jew-tye-ee) which is in the upper reaches of the<br />
Amazon basin of South America and which is populated by 21<br />
indigenous tribes who have never seen the white man. Heiko<br />
proved to be a font of aquarist knowledge and his credits<br />
include collecting in 164 different countries of our world. (Do<br />
the math, there aren’t that many more!) The target area was a<br />
known green discus habitat.<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
So what did I learn? Heiko normally collects Discus at night<br />
when they float up nearer the surface and can be scooped up by<br />
flashlight. In the light of day they may dive to 4 and 5 metres of<br />
water where they hover in schools for protection. Eighty species<br />
were collected in the Jutai river including a new and interesting<br />
Angelfish, a myriad of characins and catfishes, and the smallest<br />
needlefish in the world, the Belonion.<br />
Next up, Heiko returned with a unique trip to North Eastern<br />
India. Nagaland as the area between the Himalayas and the<br />
waters of the Bay of Bengal is called, is off-limits even to many<br />
of India’s citizenry. The Brahmaputra River winds down 4000<br />
km from Tibet into this indigenous region. An interesting<br />
revelation was that two familiar genera share an identical<br />
habitat but on two very different continents. A biotope shot<br />
from South America’s Apistogramma family could easily be<br />
confused for one where India’s Badis fishes can be found.<br />
A diverse collection of fishes from Aplocheilus (killifishes), to<br />
dwarf Channa (snakeheads) jumped to the projector screen as<br />
did Heiko’s challenge to find the fish in an image of a dip net he<br />
had lifted from a Nagaland stream. The projection screen may<br />
have been huge but not sufficient for any among us to spot a<br />
fully grown Darion, which at breeding size is a mere 9 mm in<br />
length.<br />
Gary Lange got the coveted ‘first speaker of the day’ spot<br />
Saturday morning and led with how to photograph your fish<br />
and embarrass your friends (translation blackmail perhaps?)<br />
Aside from the usual primer on what Fstop and ISO should<br />
mean to the wannabe fish photographer, Gary suggested a few<br />
tips for those early risers who caught his opening act. Firstly<br />
you need a digital camera with a manual focus feature to be<br />
truly successful – now he tells me after I’ve replaced both of our<br />
cameras already. Next, shoot fishes at the higher Fstop settings<br />
(16-22) as you will enjoy more of the fish being in focus and<br />
always, always, always focus on the eye of the fish. Nothing<br />
else will save your photo if the eye is out of focus. Lastly you<br />
cannot spend enough time on acclimating the fishes and<br />
cleaning the glass before hand. There is always Photoshop but<br />
imagine cleaning up the accompanying photo. Lastly if you’re<br />
doing digital – shoot lots of shots, says Gary, digital film is free.<br />
Bob Fenner made his debut with a slide that teased ‘Algae can<br />
be your friend’. Bob proved a consummate entertainer and<br />
teacher as he drew his audience through an understanding of<br />
micro and macro algae, from diatoms to kelps and from<br />
phenomena known as red tides to aegagropila balls which<br />
themselves are an algae but are purchased by hobbyists to outcompete<br />
lesser algaes and thereby suppress them from our<br />
display aquaria.<br />
Bob’s hints during this session were to understand the specific<br />
algae in order to plan its demise. Frozen foods for example can<br />
release unwanted nutrients into the aquarium while prethawing<br />
and rinsing those brine shrimp is a simple<br />
preventative. Bob also advocated having a duplicate set of<br />
sponge filters so that a fresh filter can be inserted to the<br />
aquarium while the used one is cleaned and permitted to air<br />
dry between uses.<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
construction as waterways become muddied. What also<br />
‘muddied’ Gary’s experience on his recent trip as compared to<br />
his 2005 visit to the same area, was rivers completely void of<br />
fishes. Rotenon poisoning was suspected as this pesticide is<br />
known to be used by some natives to flush out the fishes for<br />
food.<br />
With a wry sense of humour Gary explained how he came to his<br />
passion for Rainbow fishes, and this accompanying slide says it<br />
all – its hot, its humid and I’m muddied and bloodied<br />
particularly where I ought not to be, and I’M HAVING A<br />
GREAT TIME. It is all about the pursuit of the fishes after all.<br />
TMA took an opportunity for a quiet walk through the fish<br />
room which this year sported an amazing 306 entries between<br />
the novelty classes through photography and to the wonderful<br />
array of individual fish classes. Also on view were commercial<br />
displays and a tank populated by freshly caught native<br />
minnows, darters and crayfishes caught Friday morning by<br />
Dave Boehm and company. The green side darters were a big<br />
hit with the guests coming through the display.<br />
Just to prove that judging is something we individually may<br />
disagree with and while still giving all due to a wonderful fish<br />
which ultimately garnered that ‘best in show’ nod from the<br />
judges, it was interesting to watch Heiko Bleher in the fish room<br />
and yes, he privately chose a different fish for his ‘best in’<br />
honour.<br />
Heiko returned one more time with an examination of<br />
Geophagus species which are found east of the Andes in South<br />
America. Some interesting DNA research has been done<br />
recently which suggests that elephant and mice relatives<br />
Geophagus brasiliensis and Mikrogeophagus should be<br />
brothers, and yet visually similar fishes like Geophagus and<br />
Satanoperca are in fact only the most distant of relatives.<br />
One species, the Retroculus have been seen hauling half<br />
kilogram rocks around their environment to get their breeding<br />
nests just right. Interestingly the Gymnogeophagus fishes come<br />
from more southerly locales in the area of Uruguay and gave<br />
pause for TMA to consider whether they might be ideal fishes<br />
for a garden pond having a greater tolerance for cooler<br />
temperatures? Hmmm?<br />
Gary Lange returned to the microphone with ‘Rainbowfish<br />
Heaven, a tour through New Guinea’. Unbeknownst to TMA,<br />
this island if superimposed onto North America would stretch<br />
from New York City to Denver Colorado. Sadly habitat is being<br />
destroyed in the pursuit of better roads and general<br />
After a great meal prepared by the College’s chef “Turbo” and<br />
his staff, introductions were made and TMA lead the<br />
conventioneers through a tour of the Mediterranean starting<br />
with the Iberian peninsula, crossing the top of Africa, once<br />
through the Middle East and ending up in Greece. Regular<br />
readers of this column will have followed this route with TMA<br />
already, but new stories aplenty were introduced.<br />
As a bonus, Bob Fenner returned with a discourse on a little<br />
known catfish with a rather nasty propensity. He started by<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
asking for the fish which could proudly bear the mantle of<br />
‘most feared fish in the Amazon’. There were lots of takers from<br />
piranhas which bite to marine sharks which may travel<br />
thousands of km upriver, and from electric eels with hundreds<br />
of volts to rays with those nasty barbs. Bob gave his designation<br />
however to the lowly, ugly, skinny little catfish which is reputed<br />
to follow urine streams up into the male urethra and painfully<br />
lodge itself therein. About here most of the men in the audience<br />
leaned back and crossed their legs tightly. Enough said.<br />
Best fish in the Show was a magnificent Black Molly male which<br />
coincidentally also won best fish at the recent Brant <strong>Aquarium</strong><br />
<strong>Society</strong> show, owned by Shawn and William Austin. Congrats<br />
gents. To finish off the show a calculation is always made to<br />
determine the competitor with the highest aggregate, meaning<br />
the most points garnered with entries that date. At the<br />
convention show the adult leader was Anthony McAslin but<br />
beating him out in points was the high aggregate Junior, again<br />
our own Jonathan Samson. Wow! Great competition and well<br />
done both!<br />
But we’re not done yet – KWAS gold continued at this golden<br />
anniversary convention. Jr Hobbyist of the year went to<br />
Jonathan Samson, Sr Hobbyist to Zenin Skomorowski, Betta<br />
Champ of the year to Zena Ng, Jr Champion of Champions to<br />
Jonathan Samson (best results over all the shows in the season)<br />
and last but not least Phil Maznyk took honours for Best<br />
Newsletter and Best Website. UNBELIEVABLY GREAT folks !!!<br />
The next morning, the bleary-eyed who stayed too long in the<br />
hospitality suite the night before, missed CAOAC’s annual<br />
general meeting and elections which were by the way ably<br />
handled by KWAS’ own Phil Maznyk. Special congratulations<br />
to our Dave Boehm who was re-elected to the position of<br />
Treasurer.<br />
The awards brunch followed and several friendly rivalries came<br />
to the fore. The Samson clan showed dad’s single award and<br />
son Jonathan’s entire cluster of awards, most of them competing<br />
in the adult classes. Fierce competition also emerged between<br />
Jonathan and our friend Griffin Quigley who this time around<br />
competed under the new Cambridge club banner. Well done to<br />
both of you and keep it happening lads!<br />
KWAS President Geoff Money gave justice to our latest club<br />
initiative, the Miecia Burden Ambassador’s Award for<br />
Outstanding Promotion of the <strong>Aquarium</strong> Hobby. There wasn’t a<br />
dry eye in the room least of all mine, as Dave Boehm accepted<br />
the inaugural award as given posthumously to Miecia. The final<br />
presentation to husband Brian Burden will follow.<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
The weekend closed as Leigh Woods and Bob Wright mugged<br />
their awards in competition and as Bob and Jerry Draper<br />
handled the auction of fishes and related items. Did you miss it?<br />
If you did, you missed a beauty! Pure Gold. - TMA<br />
CAOAC 50 th Convention in Photos!<br />
Convention Photos by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net). Show results from CAOAC.<br />
Zenin Skomorowski<br />
2 nd - Angels<br />
2 nd - Large Cichlids (non rift lake)<br />
3 rd - Rift Lake Cichlids<br />
3 rd - Corydoras or Brochis Catfish<br />
2 nd - Barbs<br />
1 st - Characins<br />
1 st & 3 rd - Rainbows<br />
3 rd - Kilifish<br />
Phil Maznyk<br />
2 nd & 3 rd - Photography<br />
Jonathan Samson<br />
2 nd - Rift Lake Cichlids<br />
2 nd - AOV Catfish<br />
3 rd - Betta Splendens Female<br />
2 nd & 3 rd - Mollies<br />
1 st - Barbs<br />
1 st & 2 nd - Goldfish & Koi<br />
1 st - Kilifish<br />
1 st & 2 nd - Any Other Aquatic Animals<br />
1 st & 3 rd - Any Other Variety Fish<br />
3 rd - Junior Livebearer<br />
3 rd - Junior Egglayer<br />
Geoff Money<br />
1 st - AOV Catfish<br />
1 st - Sharks & Loaches<br />
2 nd - Rainbows<br />
2 nd - Kilifish<br />
Anthony McAslin<br />
2 nd - Any Other Variety Fish<br />
Susan Money<br />
1 st - Novelty, Art and Crafts<br />
Congratulations to the joint members of CDAS and KWAS who also won many awards under the CDAS banner. Please see the CDAS<br />
newsletter for those results.<br />
Geoff and Rein representing KWAS at the CAOAC Annual Meeting<br />
Jonathan Samson receiving Junior High Aggregate Award<br />
9
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Receiving the first Miecia Burden Ambassador Award for Miecia<br />
Biotope for local Native Fish<br />
Griffin and Jonathan did well<br />
Biotope for Rainbowfish<br />
Display of CAOAC awards and Club Badges<br />
Amazon Biotope for Discus<br />
10
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
<strong>June</strong> Tank Draw<br />
for KWAS Members<br />
• Free draw for KWAS members<br />
• Your membership card is your raffle ticket,<br />
no card, no entry<br />
• Max two cards entered per family<br />
membership<br />
• You must be present to win<br />
There will be one Marineland C220 canister<br />
filter and two Hagen Waterhome 21 Euro Kits<br />
each containing the following:<br />
• Rimless Allglass <strong>Aquarium</strong>, 79 L (21 US G)<br />
• Double Fluorescent Canopy with 1 Aqua-Glo<br />
Fluorescent Bulb and 1 Sun-Glo Fluorescent<br />
Bulb<br />
• AquaClear 150 Filter<br />
• Thermal Compact Pre-Set Heater, 100 W<br />
• Digital Themometer<br />
• 2 Plastic Plants<br />
• Fish Net<br />
• Nutrafin Max fish food<br />
• Combo Pack (Cycle, AquaPlus, Waste<br />
Control)<br />
• Basic <strong>Aquarium</strong> Guide and Video<br />
May Jar Show Standings<br />
Judged by Anthony McAslin<br />
Loaches<br />
SpeciesPoints<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Clown Loach4<br />
Tony Gibbons<br />
Horse Face Loach3<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Dojo Weather Loach2<br />
Juniors<br />
Jonathan Samson Golden Dojo loach4<br />
Johnathan Samson Khuli Loach3<br />
Killie<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Gardeneri4<br />
Juniors<br />
Johnathan Samson Golden Wonder4<br />
Griffen Quigley Red Gularis3<br />
Johnathan Samson Cuban2<br />
Griffen QuigleyBlue Gularis 1<br />
AOV<br />
Zenin Skomorowski Long Fin Black Skirt Tetra4<br />
Juniors<br />
Jonathan Samson Golden Sail fin Molly4<br />
Griffen Quigley Mustard Betta3<br />
Jonathan Samson Plakat Betta2<br />
Griffen Quigley White Mantle Betta1<br />
Peoples Choice<br />
Johnathan Samson Golden Wonder Killlie2<br />
Tony Gibbons<br />
Horse Face Loach2<br />
Totals<br />
Zenin Skomorowski 45<br />
Geoff Money<br />
33<br />
Tony Gibbons<br />
8<br />
Al Ridley<br />
7<br />
Alan Smiley<br />
5<br />
Ryan Barton<br />
1<br />
Juniors<br />
Johnathan Samson 56<br />
Griffen Quigley<br />
52<br />
<strong>June</strong>’s class is Cyprinids and AOV. For future classes visit:<br />
http://www.kwas.ca/jar_show.htm<br />
11
A recent trend has been to provide moonlight in aquariums. In<br />
an effort to try to recreate lighting patterns in nature, a blue<br />
light system can be used to transition between your full lighting<br />
system and total darkness. Some aquarium keepers feel this is a<br />
more natural and less stressful method of lighting, especially in<br />
a salt water marine tank where the lighting systems are quite<br />
bright. I thought I would try something similar for my 100<br />
gallon freshwater aquarium.<br />
There are several options to provide moonlight in the aquarium.<br />
The first option I considered was to use a canopy with<br />
moonlighting built in along with the regular fluorescent tubes.<br />
I already had two 4 foot light canopies and did not want to<br />
spend the money for a new canopy.<br />
Another option is to use blue Christmas lights, preferably with<br />
LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes), rather than incandescent bulbs.<br />
The LEDs are more energy efficient because they give off less<br />
heat, and can give more hours of service than the traditional<br />
bulbs. I found a string of blue LED Christmas lights, but the<br />
lights seemed too far apart and the string was too long to use<br />
without modification. Also, there were “rope lights” but these<br />
also seemed to be too long to use without cutting them to fit in<br />
the existing 4 foot canopy. My quest continued.<br />
An option I found in Cichlid-Forum was to use cold cathode<br />
tubes www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_moonlight.php<br />
These tubes distribute the blue light evenly across the<br />
aquarium. I usually like do-it-yourself projects, so I looked in<br />
K-W Surplus and Orion Electronics, both in <strong>Kitchener</strong>. They<br />
had 12 and 18 inch cold cathode tubes. Along with an adapter<br />
and some other small parts mentioned in the article, the total<br />
cost would be between 20 and 30 dollars. Another D-I-Y option<br />
is to purchase LEDs and other components to make light tubes.<br />
You can calculate the value of limiting resisters required to wire<br />
up your LEDs at edcalc.com This option came in around 30<br />
dollars as well, but I could not readily find my soldering iron,<br />
so I continued my search for options.<br />
A member on our forum mentioned that a manufacturer in<br />
nearby Brampton had LEDs already mounted on circuit board<br />
strips inside tubes ready for shipping. I surfed to their website<br />
at www.pcboard.ca They had a 4.75 inch tube with 6 LEDs for<br />
$18.95 and a 10.5 inch tube with 9 LEDs for $24.95. Each had<br />
end caps for the one inch diameter tubes and a power adapter<br />
with 6 feet of connecting wire. I can’t remember what the<br />
shipping charge or taxes were at that time. Since they were all<br />
made up and ready to ship, I ordered a couple of each. They<br />
arrived within two days.<br />
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Moonlighting a Tank<br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).<br />
To install, I simply lifted my light canopy a bit and placed one<br />
of the long tubes on the glass with the LEDs pointing down into<br />
the tank. Mounting clips are available at an extra cost. I<br />
plugged into a timer set to come on a few minutes before the<br />
other timer for the canopy turns off the large fluorescent lights<br />
at 10 pm. This particular moonlight strip lit up about one third<br />
of the tank, with the other areas a bit darker, and the corners<br />
were the darkest. The sun gradually lights up my fish room in<br />
the morning, so no blue light time was required before the<br />
fluorescent lights come back on around 11 am.<br />
For a few nights, I watched the behaviour of my fish for about<br />
15 minutes before the canopy lights went out leaving the blue<br />
moonlight. I made the following notes regarding the behaviour<br />
of my fish during the hour or so of moonlight:<br />
• all of my plecos, including my very shy L354, were<br />
immediately out looking for food<br />
• most of my loaches retreated to hollow logs or to the branches<br />
of leafy plants<br />
• the African Red Eye Characins formed a very tight school just<br />
above a leafy plant, contrasting their usual constant motion in<br />
all directions<br />
• the iridescence on the Colombian Tetras was pretty intense in<br />
the blue light<br />
• all the various species of tetras pulled into tighter schools<br />
hovering just above rock piles or near plants<br />
• the larger Severum cichlids began to settle into their night<br />
time spots in the corners or beside large rocks<br />
12
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
• the Denisoni barbs began to drift with their faces pointed<br />
down to the bottom of the tank<br />
I had noticed some of these behaviours years ago when I used a<br />
flashlight with a piece of red cellophane over the light, to look<br />
into an aquarium that had been dark for a few hours. It was an<br />
interesting comparison, some things the same, some different.<br />
The moonlighting option does seem to make the fish more<br />
comfortable when the canopy lights are turned off, no more<br />
sudden darkness. I have not yet put similar moon lighting on<br />
other tanks, but I do have 3 more strips of LEDs, I just have to<br />
get some more timers.<br />
BAP and HAP<br />
Submitted by Ed Koerner and Ryan Barton<br />
(edkoerner@sympatico.ca & rabar10@yahoo.com)<br />
Hey folks, just a friendly spring reminder that the club has<br />
some fun programs available to all members at an unbeatable<br />
price. That’s right – it won’t cost you one extra dime (or even<br />
a penny) to take part in the KWAS Breeder’s Award and<br />
Horticulturist Award Programs. It’s simple, too — if you<br />
happen to find babies swimming in your tank or extra foliage<br />
under your lights, you can take part.<br />
Breeder’s Award Program (or BAP) points are given to<br />
members for spawning their fish and successfully raising the<br />
fry for a two month period. There are various point<br />
classifications based on the type of fish (or non-fish) and the<br />
relative ease or difficulty in breeding. Certificates of<br />
recognition are handed out at club meetings for each success<br />
story. For those with a green thumb, The Horticulturist Award<br />
Program (or HAP) operates in the same manner, except it is<br />
based on propagating aquatic plants. Both programs also<br />
recognize and award specific levels of success and<br />
accomplishment, both within our own club and also in the<br />
Canadian Association of <strong>Aquarium</strong> Clubs (CAOAC).<br />
Wow, actually Made in Canada ! - Zenin<br />
Please Help with Fish Science!<br />
Dr. Josh D. Neufeld is a faculty member in the Department of<br />
Biology at the University of <strong>Waterloo</strong> and is beginning a research<br />
project investigating the microorganisms involved in freshwater<br />
nitrification.<br />
Until now, the understanding has been that<br />
chemolithoautotrophic bacteria (e.g. Nitrosomonas and<br />
Nitrobacter) are responsible for most environmental nitrification.<br />
As it turns out, another newly discovered group of<br />
microorganisms from the Archaea are more abundant and likely<br />
more active in this process by an order of magnitude in marine<br />
and terrestrial environments. The relative importance of these<br />
two groups in freshwater environments is almost completely<br />
unknown. Dr. Neufeld and a student are investigating the<br />
relative abundance and diversity of bacteria and archaea in<br />
freshwater and marine aquaria this summer.<br />
They need your help.<br />
Dr. Neufeld will be at the <strong>June</strong> meeting to explain the details and<br />
sign up volunteers. If you're interested please attend, or at least<br />
send a friend who can sign up for you.<br />
These programs are made available to any and all club<br />
members in good standing. All the specifics, including rules,<br />
classes, awards, and current standings, are available on the<br />
club’s website at http://kwas.ca/downloads.htm. Both<br />
programs use an inspection process to count fry or examine<br />
plants, and these make for great excuses (rather, opportunities)<br />
to hang out with fellow fishy friends. To have a fish or plant<br />
inspected, just contact any member of the club executive or<br />
BOD, and they will help make arrangements for a viewing.<br />
After you qualify your entry and submit your form, you will<br />
be presented with a certificate at a future meeting.<br />
The BAP and HAP programs are a great way to let people<br />
know what you are breeding and growing. You may find that<br />
members are looking for those fish or have questions on how<br />
you were successful. It is a great way for the club to<br />
communicate and share knowledge of the hobby. It also helps<br />
make a statement in CAOAC on what our club is doing and<br />
our club members’ achievements.<br />
The club may have the summer off, but don’t let your tanks sit<br />
idle till September. There’s a lot of time before the next<br />
meeting to breed fish, grow plants, earn certificates, and enjoy<br />
our common hobby!<br />
- KWAS BAP and HAP chairs<br />
13
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
The PlantED Tank: Is Your LFS Green?<br />
A Regular Column by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca). Photos by Ed, Phil & Zenin.<br />
Okay, it’s the last issue of Fins & Tales before the summer break<br />
and I’m looking for words of wisdom to fill these pages to carry<br />
over till the fall. Okay, I’m always looking for some words of<br />
wisdom, but I’m stuck with what I have to work with so please<br />
take that into account and be kind to me as you read on. I’ve<br />
been filling this column with chats on my experiences with<br />
various plants. There are some that have not tried real live<br />
plants yet, or have and have found that they’ve had better luck<br />
trying to grow plastic ones. Don’t give up, because it gets easier<br />
on the third, fourth or maybe thirteenth try. But I know that<br />
some of you will decide to buy a plant or two over the summer<br />
and for those brave folk we are talking about buying plants at<br />
your local fish store.<br />
that is key. Unless the salesperson just happened to sell you<br />
every piece of equipment that you have and remembers you<br />
and each of your purchases, they will not know what you have<br />
at home. Also, any credible and respected LFS wants to do more<br />
than just sell you something once. They want to develop a<br />
relationship with you that will keep you coming back to that<br />
store over time because you trust the service and advice you<br />
receive. Having the proper information will go a long way in<br />
establishing a good groundwork for many happy purchases.<br />
Doing Your Homework<br />
Most LFS will sell various and assorted plants for your<br />
aquariums. There are choices to make and there are often<br />
several questions to ask yourself before putting your money<br />
down and bagging something up. Lets go over some of the first<br />
few and see where we end up. This will also help the staff serve<br />
you and help you make the best choices for your needs.<br />
Remember when you walk into a store, an employee is there to<br />
give you service and steer you in the right direction but they<br />
can’t do that unless you come in with some basic information<br />
One of the first questions to ask yourself is “What kind of<br />
lighting do I have?” This will help determine the basic<br />
parameters of plants that you can keep right off the bat. Most<br />
lighting found today is fluorescent, but there are still<br />
incandescent fixtures to be found. The latter are quite limiting to<br />
the amount of light that can be used due to the heat produced<br />
by the bulbs. Newer compact fluorescent bulbs can be used<br />
safely in these screw in fixtures and will offer much more light<br />
at a much lower temperature and can be quite effective. If the<br />
lighting is fluorescent then you should know the size of the tube<br />
as this will often determine the wattage of the bulb and whether<br />
it is a single or double tube. Also, what is the width of the tube?<br />
Older florescent bulbs were T12 or 1.2 inches in diameter. These<br />
are being phased out. Some fixtures handle T8 bulbs but the<br />
newer and most efficient bulbs are high output (HO) T5 bulbs.<br />
These will give up to 50% more light per bulb than an old T12,<br />
so that will also be a big difference to how much light your<br />
plants will get. If you have gone out and spent money on metal<br />
halides then you likely are more advanced or have switched<br />
over from salt water. If that is the case, don’t worry because if<br />
you are using MH bulbs you likely have enough of a light<br />
14
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
source to grow anything in the way of aquatic plants. So,<br />
knowing your light source will now give you some choices of<br />
what plants can be grown in your tank. Most plants are<br />
considered low, medium or high light. Low light is usually<br />
considered anything less than 1.5 watts per gallon (wpg) of total<br />
light source compared to the size of your tank. Medium light is<br />
between 1.5 and 2.5 wpg and high light would be anything<br />
more than 2.5 wpg. Also consider that you will lose some light<br />
if you have a glass top over your tank and the deeper the tank<br />
the less light will penetrate to the bottom. The amount of time<br />
that you have the lights turned on each day will also be a<br />
determining factor.<br />
the LFS staff might ask to help you in selecting your plants.<br />
“What kind of substrate do I have?” This can make a difference.<br />
Many people have gravel in their tanks but the size can make a<br />
difference when choosing plants. If the gravel is too coarse, fine<br />
or shallow rooted plants will have a difficult time establishing<br />
themselves and may not survive. If your substrate is too<br />
shallow, deep rooted plants will not have enough room to be<br />
planted and stay in place. If you want to grow plants at<br />
optimum conditions you may even want to change your<br />
substrate to some of the newer products such as fluorite or<br />
“Eco-Complete”. Water quality can also be a factor. Some plants<br />
need soft water to grow properly while others don’t care. Other<br />
plants need fertilizers or CO2 added to the tank to flourish.<br />
These are things that you may or may not want to invest in so<br />
will also determine whether you want to spend money on some<br />
varieties of plants. Even the size of your tank can be a factor. If<br />
you have a 10 or 15 gallon tank that is 12 inches high, it doesn’t<br />
make a lot of sense to buy a plant that will grow 20 inches tall.<br />
The second question to ask is what kind of fish are you<br />
keeping? If you have silver dollars for example, the answer is<br />
easy – go look at the plastic plant section because silver dollars<br />
will eat most plants. If you are keeping large Central or South<br />
American cichlids, you may find that they love to tear up and<br />
uproot pretty much any plant you get. African cichlids can be<br />
tough on some plants as well. Goldfish and koi are also known<br />
for uprooting or chewing plants down to nothing. It doesn’t<br />
make a lot of sense in trying plants in tank settings that may be<br />
doomed from the start, but there is no hard and fast rules that<br />
say that rules can’t be broken and experiences can differ. Even<br />
silver dollars which are notorious plant eaters can live in a<br />
planted tank if you chose the right species of plants. Java fern<br />
actually produces a substance within its leaves that makes it<br />
unpalatable to fish and can be grown in the same tank with<br />
herbivores. The type of fish you have may also steer you to the<br />
type of plants you might want as well. If you are keeping<br />
livebearers you might want floating plants with bushy leaves to<br />
protect new fry. If you are keeping tetras you might want fine,<br />
soft leaved plants that will still allow the fish to show off their<br />
colour. If you are looking to set up a bio type you may want to<br />
match fish and plants from the same geographical region. These<br />
are things to consider.<br />
You will have been able to whittle down your initial choices a<br />
bit but there are a few more questions that you can ask – or that<br />
Now, you have some answers to help make your plant<br />
purchases much easier. You are primed and ready to go. What<br />
comes next? Well, a trip to your LFS is in order. You have likely<br />
made many purchases there before and hopefully staff will<br />
remember you and you have established a rapport with<br />
someone. Hopefully they keep fish and plants themselves. Ask<br />
them what they keep to find out a bit of their experience. Look<br />
over the selections of plants in the store and discuss what you<br />
are looking for and what your needs and limitations are. If you<br />
see a plant that you like and you aren’t sure if you want to buy<br />
it, take down the name. You can do some research and find out<br />
whether it is for you or not.<br />
Things To Look For<br />
As you are shopping for your plants there are some basic things<br />
to look for that could help. Take notice at how long plants have<br />
been in the store. This should help tell you if plants are moving<br />
or not. A good store should replenish their stock to replace<br />
plants and bring in different species. If there is something you<br />
15
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
are looking for and you don’t see it you can ask if it might be<br />
ordered. There may be limiting factors involved such import/<br />
export regulations or what their main suppliers themselves<br />
carry or have available. Sometimes demand can lead to stock<br />
being ordered. Communication never hurts. Look at the<br />
lighting and tank conditions that the plants are growing in. If<br />
plants are under very high light and are being fertilized or<br />
injected with CO2, don’t expect the plants to look as lush and<br />
healthy after a few weeks in your tank unless you can provide<br />
similar conditions.<br />
leaves may die off in the process. The plant may not look like<br />
the one you purchased, and I have experienced some that have<br />
a high rate of expiry while acclimating. Cryptcorynes can often<br />
be grown in an emmersed state. They are also sometimes sold<br />
as a stock with most of their leaves removed to avoid the “crypt<br />
melt” that often befalls them when acclimating.<br />
Check and compare the maximum size of the plant you are<br />
interested in. Is the plant being offered a full grown specimen?<br />
How large will it get in your tank? Will it grow out of control<br />
was acclimated? How fast will it grow? You might want a nice<br />
foreground plant and later find out that the 3 inch plant you<br />
bought is growing 12 inches or more high. Or you might put in<br />
a nice grassy plant only to find that the runners and roots have<br />
taken over half of your tank and nothing else will grow in the<br />
dense tangle of weeds.<br />
Choose good healthy specimens. Look at the roots – they<br />
should be white and strong. Blackened roots are not a good<br />
sign. Leaves should be solid and lush. Avoid plants that seem<br />
slimy or weak with stems that are soft and mushy. Check for<br />
brown dying leaves. Sometimes these occur naturally and can<br />
be simply trimmed but if the majority are looking like last<br />
week’s old salad, then you should probably pass. Look at the<br />
tank the plants are in. If there is a lot of mulm or residue it<br />
might be from leaves shedding from plants. Fine leaved stem<br />
plants will often drop their leaves like Christmas trees in<br />
January if they are unhealthy. Bunched stem plants are often<br />
bunched close together and may not be getting enough air<br />
between them. Check the bottom of the bunch for rot and decay.<br />
Often these can be simply trimmed off a bit and planted with<br />
fresh stems and they will start to root.<br />
If you are looking at plants with red colouration then consider<br />
your lighting source. Most plants with red in them require at<br />
least medium light to do well. Some may grow in low light<br />
conditions but will turn green and lose their brighter colour.<br />
Green plants should have a consistent solid colour pattern<br />
Some plants are grown on farms in an “emmersed” state. This is<br />
a means to grow plants quickly and in larger volumes partially<br />
out of water. If you see a plant labelled as something familiar to<br />
you, but the plant seems to have thicker, heavier leaves, then it<br />
may have been grown emmersed. The plant will have to<br />
acclimatize to being fully submerged again and the original<br />
Many plants are sold as bulbs. Some lotus, lilies and<br />
aponogetons are sold as leafless bulbs. Choose solid, heavy<br />
feeling bulbs. They should be somewhat hard. If they are soft or<br />
mushy or smell a bit off, they are not healthy specimens.<br />
Remember that most aponogetons go through a dormant phase<br />
in which they lose their leaves and seem dead for a few months.<br />
Many people will think they have died and throw them out but<br />
they can sprout back to life if given the chance.<br />
There is also the ever so popular snail to consider. This little<br />
creature seems harmless at first sight but from one little rascal<br />
piggybacking his way into your aquarium on a plant you can<br />
end up with hundreds of them and they may be unwanted.<br />
Some people hate them, some people work to get rid of them,<br />
going to various lengths, while some people don’t really care if<br />
they are there or not. If you do not want any snails in your tank<br />
then you should be wary on each and every plant purchase. You<br />
may wish to dip plants in a bleach bath for 15 minutes (and<br />
rinsing well) before adding them to your tank. You can inspect<br />
the plant for snails or eggs and remove them by hand, but this<br />
is tough to do with fine leaved plants.<br />
16
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
found that some parts of the GTA seem to have a higher price<br />
structure than others.<br />
Pricing<br />
One of the all important factors in your decision making when<br />
you are buying anything is price. If money were no object most<br />
of us would have a Mercedes instead of an Escort or Chevette<br />
(do they still make those or am I dating myself?) and the same<br />
can be said in a much smaller scale when it comes to plants.<br />
Most LFS will set prices based on the market but there are other<br />
factors. Sure, the more that can be charged for a product the<br />
more profit that can be made which is the basic principle of<br />
capitalism, but most LFS will try keeping prices fair and at a<br />
level that will keep their product moving. Plants are a<br />
perishable item and pricing has to cover losses in shipping and<br />
handing over time. Seasonal growing conditions may affect<br />
prices that suppliers charge which in turn have to be charged by<br />
local stores. Even the original source of a supplier makes a<br />
difference. Plants shipped from Denmark will normally incur<br />
more costs than shipping from North America or certainly<br />
finding product from local hobbyists. Many aquarium plants<br />
are restricted by various government regulations or bans which<br />
means they are harder to find or acquire which drives the price<br />
up. Even the local market trends seem to affect pricing. I have<br />
Now, I will say that there are other places to find plants besides<br />
your LFS. Most club auctions have a good variety of plants to be<br />
found and there can be some good buys. I have also seen prices<br />
go through the roof and be double what you would pay at your<br />
local shop. There are also hobbyists that are keeping and<br />
growing plants and as room runs out people need to do<br />
something with them. Many people will sell, trade or give away<br />
extra plants and it is often a great way to meet other fish<br />
keepers.<br />
Well, that brings to an end this season’s shopping trip and plant<br />
talk (Okay… those people silently cheering, I will hunt you<br />
down) and enjoy your summer break. I have some topics<br />
planned for the fall that I hope to follow up with such as a<br />
beginner’s guide to planting your new tank for those that took<br />
the summer to decide on taking the plunge and hopefully a<br />
recap of some experiments I want to work on with some<br />
outdoor ponds and flowering aquarium plants.<br />
Take care all. - PlantED<br />
Calling All Junior Jar Show Enthusiasts...<br />
Hi to all you Junior Fish Hobbyists,<br />
Here is some encouragement for you to take part in our monthly show<br />
jar competition.<br />
If you show your fish this year, you will have a chance to win this 16<br />
gallon Tetra Water Wonders Kit.<br />
So come on out to our next meeting and show off your fish.<br />
Looking forward to Seeing You,<br />
An"ony, Jar Show Chair for KWAS<br />
17
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Re-Scaping a Show Tank<br />
BAP Submission by Ed Koerner, KWAS (edkoerner@sympatico.ca).<br />
Or……. What happens the first time you are spawning<br />
geophagus. That’s right, I have now experienced what happens<br />
when you have a somewhat tidy and planted tank and geos<br />
decide to spawn. You end up with a tank that looks very little<br />
like what you started with. A bit of floating salad, a new level to<br />
the substrate, and many nervous fish that aren’t quite sure<br />
where they are allowed to wander.<br />
This all came about in my 120 gallon South American<br />
community tank. There are about 20 various plecos, some<br />
nymnogeophagus, anostomus, Columbian and serpae tetras,<br />
corys and a few other odds and ends. There are several swords,<br />
crypts and other plants in the tank and a substrate of peat moss<br />
covered with kitty litter and fluorite. There are several pieces of<br />
Mopani driftwood and I do add a bit of “black water” extract or<br />
alder cones every once in a while. The pH in the tank is about<br />
6.5 and there nothing but rain water that goes into the tank. The<br />
temperature in the tank is 77-78 F. I have had pretty good<br />
success with this set up for my SA’s and the general health and<br />
activity of fish has been quite good. For anybody wanting to try<br />
the peat approach, be aware that sediment will filter through<br />
the substrate over time and there will be a bit of a mess when<br />
planting or moving your substrate around later. There is<br />
definitely a steeped tea look to the water that some people may<br />
not like over time, but as I say, I have had very healthy fish in<br />
these conditions. The tank has an Eheim and a small HOB filter<br />
to add some circulation.<br />
Getting back to the fish, I had a few fish given to me by a friend<br />
to add to my nymnogeophagus. I was not sure what they were<br />
at the time or their sex. Over time it became apparent that there<br />
was a dominant male in the mix as he was growing quicker and<br />
larger than the others and started marking his territory a bit or<br />
at least asserting his will in the tank. There were a few other<br />
geos in the tank that I still wasn’t sure of but as the male<br />
coloured up and chose a female the colour patterns could be<br />
differentiated and I found that I had a pair. They also made it<br />
easy to tell they had paired off, swimming together, nuzzling up<br />
to one another, and starting to keep the 6 other geos in the tank<br />
clustered in one half of the tank. Soon they began re-arranging<br />
my/their tank. First they started making pits in the substrate.<br />
They didn’t care what was where – they just started digging. It<br />
became very easy to see why they are called “earth eaters” (the<br />
translation of geophagus) as soon the bottom of my tank looked<br />
like a construction zone. My slate caves were exposed almost to<br />
the bottom of the tank and they didn’t stop when they found<br />
the peat moss so things became a bit messy and cloudy. They<br />
even made cave areas larger by pulling out any extra bits and<br />
pieces they could. Next came plants that were not located to<br />
their liking. Several swords and one huge crypt were uprooted<br />
and left floating in the cloudy water, but after a few days I<br />
noticed that the smaller female was huddled in one back corner<br />
of the tank in a pit and not leaving it. Having some other SA’s<br />
breed for me I thought maybe there was a clutch of eggs but I<br />
couldn’t see anything in the murky water.<br />
Sure enough, a few days later there was a small cloud of fry that<br />
were swimming with the parents. As is normal for most SA’s,<br />
the parents moved the wigglers several times to new pits and<br />
both parents were very good parents guarding the young and<br />
chasing any would be predators away. I was very surprised that<br />
the entire brood was not eaten as the tetras and anostomus can<br />
be quite fast and daring when it comes to picking off easy<br />
meals. The parents though kept a diligent watch over them and<br />
seemed to pay more attention to the other geos. These seemed<br />
to get their attention more often than other fish and the male<br />
would chase them about as far as the tank would let him. The<br />
fry grew and seemed to find a lot of food in the mulm on the<br />
bottom but I also fed them frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen<br />
daphnia and micro pellets. There were about 50 fry. They are<br />
now about half an inch long, growing slowly (I had kribs spawn<br />
at the same time and they are twice their size now) but are still<br />
doing fine in the community tank. Although they have<br />
increased their range that they venture, the parents are still<br />
loosely guarding them and the fry do not seem to be harassed<br />
or targeted by the other tank residents. I now have a tank to<br />
move the fry to so I should be doing that soon.<br />
The geos in question are Geophagus sp. “Red Bahia” and take<br />
on some very nice reds in their fins and coloured up over all<br />
very well with blues and iridescence. The male is only about 5<br />
inches long with the smaller female not yet hitting 4 inches. The<br />
adults are fed with flake once or twice a day (earthworm,<br />
spirulina or cichlid) and conditioned with black worms, frozen<br />
brine shrimp and a bit of beef heart. They also like to go after<br />
veggie wafers. They are generally quite peaceful and a good<br />
choice in a SA community in my opinion. -ED<br />
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18
The newsletters featured in this column and others are available to<br />
you. Please let me know by email, or at the monthly meeting, which<br />
ones you would like to read.<br />
Let’s start with a Rainbow. Regina Spotti wrote about<br />
Melanotaenia sp. “Kiunga” in the March <strong>2009</strong> issue of<br />
Finformation from the Greater Pittsburgh <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>.<br />
This 10 cm ( 4 inch ) fish has pastel colours of mostly blue,<br />
with some green, yellow and pink. They like a high pH and<br />
hard water, a perfect companion fish for Rift Lake cichlids in<br />
the tap water of <strong>Kitchener</strong>-<strong>Waterloo</strong>.<br />
Think you know about Mollies ? Neale Monks’ article on<br />
“The Truth About Mollies” was reprinted in the March <strong>2009</strong><br />
issue of Below The Waterline from the London Aquaria<br />
<strong>Society</strong>. He talks about the naming of the various species of<br />
Mollies, their habitat and habits in nature, breeding, using<br />
salt, and the appropriate aquarium set up.<br />
Springtime brings thoughts of goldfish and koi in ponds.<br />
Read more about breeding Goldfish and Koi Basics in the<br />
April <strong>2009</strong> issue of Pisces Press from the Nassau County<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. Goldfish require a cycle of cold and then a<br />
warming period to trigger breeding. Koi require a large<br />
volume of water and space to thrive.<br />
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
<strong>June</strong> Exchange Editor’s Report<br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).<br />
edged sword extends only a short distance from the tail fin.<br />
There are two or more red lines along the middle of the body<br />
and red spots on the dorsal fin. The male has a turquoise blue<br />
body, whereas the female is silver grey, but also has the red lines<br />
along the body. Dave Unruh wrote about these undemanding<br />
fish in the May <strong>2009</strong> issue of The Scat from the St. Catharines &<br />
Area <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>.<br />
Surf’s up ! Here is this month’s web site to explore:<br />
Cichlids of Central America, including descriptions and photos:<br />
http://mycichlidtank.oneinfostop.com/CAmerica_cichlid.htm<br />
Backyard ponds contain not only fish but plants as well.<br />
Charlie Drew details spring duties required for lily and lotus<br />
plants in the April <strong>2009</strong> issue of The Monthly Bulletin from the<br />
Hamilton and District <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>. Work done now will<br />
encourage growth and flowering in the summer.<br />
In Lake Tanganyika, there are very large schools of a slender<br />
blue fish with a yellow tail. Cyprichromis Leptosoma “Utinta” is<br />
one of many such mouth brooding species. Males usually<br />
maintain a territory of about a metre ( 40 inches ) so a large<br />
aquarium is required to keep more than one with a harem of<br />
females. Roberto Prati wrote about his experiences breeding<br />
these fish in the April <strong>2009</strong> issue of Finformation from the<br />
Greater Pittsburgh <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong>.<br />
The April/May issue of Tank Topics from the Greater Akron<br />
<strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong> contains three articles I want to highlight<br />
for interesting reading. Wayne Toven wrote about the Spike<br />
Tail Platy Xiphophorus xiphidium. There is a reprint of a BAP<br />
report from 1978 for the White Cloud Mountain Minnow<br />
Tanichys albonubes by Rick Johnson. Bob Miller wrote about an<br />
attractive, relatively small, non-aggressive cichlid from<br />
Panama called Cryptoheros nanoluteus.<br />
A very beautiful live bearing sword tail is the Uplander or<br />
Chiapas Swordtail Xiphophorus alvarezi. The yellow black<br />
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• Japanese & Malaysian Koi<br />
• Arrange to visit the fish farm to see one-of-a-kind,<br />
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19
Meeting Minutes<br />
Submitted by Al Ridley, KWAS<br />
General Meeting on May 5th, <strong>2009</strong><br />
President Geoff Money called the meeting<br />
to order at 7:37 pm using the microphone<br />
and sound system provided by the Adult<br />
Recreation Centre. There were 41 people<br />
present.<br />
Executive Present: Geoff Money (Vice<br />
President), Brad McClanahan (Treasurer),<br />
Al Ridley (Past President)<br />
BOD Present: Cam Turner (Newsletter),<br />
Phil Maznyk (Webmaster/CAOAC),<br />
Mary Lynne Lucier (Membership),<br />
Quigley Family (Raffle), Anthony Mc<br />
Aslin (Jar Show) Ed Koerner (Auction),<br />
Zenin Skomorowski (Exchanges/Name<br />
That Fish), Katie McClanahan (Lunch)<br />
Absent: Lezley Smith (Secretary), Filipe<br />
Martin (HAP)<br />
Geoff welcomed our guests and invited<br />
them to sign the guest book with Mary<br />
Lynne and to help themselves to a<br />
complimentary newsletter. The members<br />
were also reminded to pick up their<br />
newsletters from Mary Lynne during the<br />
meeting.<br />
There were seven members present who<br />
will be attending the CAOAC Convention<br />
on the May long weekend. Geoff<br />
explained the award that will be<br />
presented in Miecia Burden’s name and<br />
what that award means to the hobby.<br />
The summer picnic will be held July 19 th<br />
at the picnic pavilion in <strong>Waterloo</strong> Park.<br />
Enter the park off of Westmount Road.<br />
Members are encouraged to bring a salad<br />
or dessert to share.<br />
BAP and HAP – nothing to hand out<br />
Geoff asked if there was anyone who<br />
wanted to forward their name to run for<br />
an Executive position. Nobody replied<br />
and a motion to close the nominations for<br />
KWAS Executive was made by Rein<br />
Breitmaier. Seconded by Jamie<br />
McDougall.<br />
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
None of the positions needed an election<br />
so by acclimation, the following people<br />
were appointed.<br />
Geoff Money – President<br />
Phil Maznyk – Vice President<br />
Brad McClanahan – Treasurer<br />
Al Ridley – Secretary<br />
Kevin Reimer – Past President<br />
Geoff thanked the previous Executive for<br />
their commitment and hard work and<br />
congratulated the new Executive.<br />
It was announced that anyone (including<br />
the current BOD) who wanted to be on<br />
the Board Of Directors needed to forward<br />
their intentions to Mary Lynne so that the<br />
Executive could appoint the BOD prior to<br />
the May Business meeting.<br />
Zenin hosted our “Name That Fish”<br />
event. The sweep from last month’s NTF<br />
was discussed as Griffin was not in the<br />
room.<br />
The Dwarf Neon Rainbows donated by<br />
The Tropical Fishroom in Brantford was<br />
won by Jamie McDougall after two<br />
questions.<br />
The TWO Red Calico Plecos were won by<br />
Terry Clements.<br />
Zenin advised of next months Tank Give-<br />
Aways at the <strong>June</strong> meeting. Everyone<br />
must bring their valid KWAS<br />
membership cards to use as the actual<br />
draw ticket. Family memberships will be<br />
allowed two membership cards in the<br />
draw.<br />
Half of the auction goods were sold.<br />
Our program was Bob Wright speaking<br />
on the American Livebearer Association<br />
convention. It was an excellent<br />
presentation and we thank Bob for being<br />
available at short notice after our<br />
scheduled speaker had to postpone. We<br />
will attempt to reschedule Kate (Shrimp)<br />
for later in the year.<br />
Geoff again plugged the CAOAC<br />
Convention using Bob’s presentation to<br />
show the camaraderie and quality of<br />
speakers.<br />
Zehrs tapes have netted us $86.00<br />
towards our library fund. Members were<br />
asked to submit ideas for books, DVDs or<br />
other items to the Executive for<br />
consideration.<br />
<strong>June</strong> meeting will feature our annual<br />
pizza night. All regular features will be in<br />
place but there will not be a program. We<br />
call it… “Friendship and Fellowship<br />
Evening”.<br />
There will be a slide show of people,<br />
places and things KWAS that will play<br />
throughout the evening.<br />
The balance of the auction goods were<br />
sold.<br />
Raffle was held with Geoff Money wining<br />
the Library Draw ($16.00), Diane Daigle<br />
winning the power filter and Ryan and<br />
Kelli Barton winning the starter kit and<br />
heater.<br />
Meeting was adjourned at 9:55 pm.<br />
Business Meeting on May 12th <strong>2009</strong><br />
The meeting was called to order at 7:30<br />
pm at the home of Geoff Money.<br />
Executive present: Geoff Money, Phil<br />
Maznyk, Brad McClanahan, Al Ridley<br />
BOD present: Zenin Skomorowski, Mary<br />
Lynne Lucier, Katie McClanahan, Ed<br />
Koerner, Ryan Barton<br />
Guests present: Kelli Barton<br />
Absent: Cam Turner, Quigley family,<br />
Anthony Mc Aslin, Diane Daigle, Beth<br />
Graham<br />
Motion to accept the April Business<br />
meeting minutes as published made by<br />
Ed, seconded by Phil… V&C<br />
Motion to accept the May General<br />
meeting minutes as emailed made by<br />
Zenin, seconded by Ryan… V&C<br />
Future Business meetings – <strong>June</strong> at<br />
Zenin’s and September at Cam’s.<br />
20
Treasurers’ report read by Brad. Accepted<br />
on a motion made by Zenin, seconded by<br />
Phil. V&C<br />
Signing authorities are currently Brad,<br />
Geoff and Kevin. We need to change them<br />
to Brad, Geoff and Phil. Minutes showing<br />
the new Executive (May General meeting<br />
minutes) and the letter for the bank<br />
(Geoff has) are needed to make the<br />
change. Brad to follow up.<br />
Correspondence – <strong>Waterloo</strong> Inn has<br />
emailed requesting new pleco(s) to<br />
replace the one that has died. Al has<br />
posted a request on the forum and will<br />
follow up.<br />
Committee Reports<br />
Newsletter (Cam) – Chair absent, no<br />
report.<br />
Webmaster (Phil) – traffic on forum is<br />
slowing down due to the nice weather<br />
(regular trend). Things have settled down<br />
and we hope that a positive focus<br />
continues through the summer.<br />
Our forum license renewal is due by May<br />
31 st , <strong>2009</strong>. Zenin motioned that the club<br />
spend the $40.00US to renew the<br />
vBulletin forum support license for the<br />
next 12 months. Seconded by Ryan. V&C<br />
Email from Tracey and Greg Riddell from<br />
Elmira looking to advertise on the<br />
website. Phil has responded suggesting<br />
our Licensed Vendor Section and Geoff<br />
has forwarded the contact information to<br />
Cam for newsletter considerations.<br />
Program (Al) – <strong>June</strong>; pizza evening,<br />
tank/filter draw, possibly a U of W<br />
researcher. Al will contact Pepi’s about<br />
pizza for 75 people delivered between<br />
7:30 to 7:45 pm. Zenin will bring photo<br />
slide show on a stick and Geoff will<br />
supply the laptop.<br />
September: Phil and Matt on aquarium<br />
photography, October: Kate Gallagher on<br />
Shrimp; November: Jamie McDougall on<br />
running and ordering stock for a LFS;<br />
December: our annual Awards night/<br />
Christmas party, January: Zenin has<br />
posted on the forum that he is looking for<br />
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
loach stories and pictures for his<br />
program.<br />
Phil to ask about a longer microphone<br />
cord.<br />
Sue Money announced that Geoff is an<br />
expecting Grandpa. Congratulations to<br />
both of you from KWAS.<br />
Oktoberfish (Al) – First meeting to be<br />
held <strong>June</strong> 16 th at Al Ridley’s.<br />
Sponsorships for fish show classes will be<br />
opened up on <strong>June</strong> 1 st . Class sponsorship<br />
will cost $30 per class and Geoff will<br />
maintain the sponsorship listing. Geoff<br />
has contacted the same judges as last year<br />
and they have agreed to participate. Carl<br />
McCleary CDAS has advised us that they<br />
are looking at October 25 th as a date for<br />
CDAS’s auction.<br />
Exchanges (Zenin) – Emailing newsletter<br />
to Canadian clubs and most American<br />
clubs and we are receiving more<br />
newsletters electronically also.<br />
CAOAC (Phil) – Convention reports 80<br />
rooms booked. CAOAC elections will be<br />
held Sunday morning and KWAS has two<br />
votes. Geoff will attend with Phil. We<br />
discussed all contested positions and our<br />
votes have been decided. NOTE – we<br />
have two available CAOAC Rep positions<br />
and only one rep.<br />
Auction (Ed/Jamie) – the split format has<br />
received no negative feedback.<br />
Auctioneers have been asked to use<br />
microphone.<br />
Membership (Mary Lynne) – two family<br />
and one adult renewal. One new family<br />
membership. Do we have a policy for<br />
NSF cheques? Do we get charged? MLL<br />
needs to keep track of number of<br />
members for CAOAC membership and<br />
insurance. We advised MLL of the<br />
elevator at the ARC for bringing all the<br />
newsletters upstairs. MLL asked to<br />
purchase a handcart for transportation of<br />
membership boxes. Approved, she will<br />
bring receipt into Brad. Discussion of<br />
who should receive the KWAS<br />
membership list. Should it go to all<br />
KWAS Executive and BOD members or<br />
just the KWAS Executive and<br />
Membership chair?<br />
Library (Beth and Diane) – chairs absent.<br />
Advise to display books and DVD’s.<br />
Advise of committed funds and keys.<br />
Geoff will email them with information.<br />
Raffle (Quigley’s) – chair absent. Geoff<br />
picked up the balance of items from<br />
Charity, There is not a lot of product<br />
available. We discussed the old policy of<br />
buying goods and a gift cards at different<br />
stores. We discussed a $40 budget per<br />
month if needed.<br />
HAP (Ed) – There is a huge backlog to be<br />
completed.<br />
BAP (Ryan) – Geoff has a box of BAP<br />
documents including a disc with many<br />
files on it. We also received a letter from<br />
the Ottawa Valley <strong>Aquarium</strong> <strong>Society</strong><br />
(Mark Warmington) asking our<br />
permission to use our BAP program as a<br />
guide in revamping their program.<br />
Name That Fish (Zenin) – In <strong>June</strong>, there<br />
will be one bag o fish and one bag o nonfish.<br />
Show Jar (Anthony) – Chair absent.<br />
Need to confirm the position with<br />
Anthony. A reminder that beanie boxes<br />
are available for $3 each or two for $5.<br />
Lunch Counter (Katie) – Donut crisis!!!<br />
The City of Wtaerloo has written us<br />
asking if we are selling food and drink at<br />
our meetings. We have received<br />
documentation about charges that will<br />
apply due to a conflict with their catering<br />
contract. A suggestion that we ask for<br />
donations for donuts and coffee rather<br />
than charging for it.<br />
Pet Store Liaison (Zenin and Al) – see<br />
Cam’s thread on the forum for pet store<br />
locations.<br />
Calendar (Mary Lynne and Phil) – MLL<br />
passed all responsibility to Phil. We will<br />
be moving forward with this project<br />
regardless of past issues. Phil is expecting<br />
a CD of photos from Brad Smith and<br />
Terry Clements. Phil made arrangements<br />
to schedule shoots of people’s fish.<br />
21
Calendar will go to print the first week of October.<br />
Old Business – The Miecia Burden Ambassadors Award is at<br />
Tomkar and will be picked up Friday in time to go to the<br />
CAOAC Convention. The committee will work on the criteria<br />
to be considered for this award in the coming months.<br />
The picnic will be held July 19 th . Geoff will be absent due to<br />
his work commitments at the Chip Wagon in Newfoundland.<br />
Al will look into getting a barbeque made and Geoff will look<br />
into renting one. Al will also post a request in the Members<br />
Section of the forum.<br />
New Business – Name tags were mentioned however MLL<br />
reports that they didn’t go over very well when we last tried<br />
them.<br />
Motion to close made by Zenin.<br />
Seconded by Mary Lynne. V&C at 9:50 pm.<br />
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
Pssst… Do You Take Bribes?<br />
Various KWAS club members have agreed to conspire with the editors of this newsletter to offer you a bribe...<br />
Fish Fry or Live Aquatic Plants<br />
in exchange for<br />
ARTICLES!<br />
So far we have various common Malawi fry like yellow labs and peacocks (but some F2s), a wide assortment of plants and mosses<br />
and some rarer Tanganikans like Paracyprichromis nigripinnis.<br />
Our goal is to create a big backlog of articles over the summer so that we’re not scrambling for content in the fall and winter<br />
months. So if you’ve been holding back, now is a great time to start writing. ALL contributions received by July 15 th are eligible<br />
for this bribe.<br />
Contact cam.turner@gmail.com to make a deal or to offer some of your own fish & plants for trade due to your extreme guilt<br />
about not writing articles yourself.<br />
22
J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
May Name That Fish<br />
Submitted by Zenin Skomorowski, KWAS (zenin@golden.net).<br />
Melanotaenia praecox - Photo by Zenin<br />
This month’s first “Name That Fish” guessing game featured<br />
three Dwarf Neon Rainbows Melanotaenia praecox. They were<br />
donated by Jerry Draper from the Tropical Fish Room in<br />
Brantford and won by Jamie McDougall.<br />
The origin of Dwarf Neon Rainbows is New Guinea in South<br />
East Asia. Commercial farms now produce most of the stock<br />
found in the retail stores. These fish have a silver grey body<br />
with a shimmering blue metallic sheen. Their fins are red, and<br />
like all Rainbowfish, have two dorsal fins. The females are<br />
usually a bit smaller and have less intense colours. On the<br />
males, the first dorsal fin overlaps the second. Reproduction is<br />
by scattering sticky eggs. The young are very small for a long<br />
time, so be careful when doing water changes. The water<br />
should be soft and have pH of around 7.0 for reproduction, but<br />
they will live in a wide range of pH and water hardness. They<br />
are an omnivore, which means they eat pretty well anything<br />
from flake foods and small pellets to live and frozen foods.<br />
Orange Calico Pleco - Photo by Kathleen Gallagher<br />
range of 5.8 to 7.2 for breeding, but they will live happily in the<br />
8.2 pH of <strong>Kitchener</strong> tap water. Softer water is appreciated, so<br />
add some rainwater. A male will encourage a female to lay her<br />
eggs in his lair, that could be a rock cave or a hollow part of<br />
bogwood. After fertilizing the eggs, the male will chase away<br />
the female and tend to the eggs himself. He will protect the fry<br />
for quite a while until they use up the egg sack and venture out<br />
on their own. Blanched vegetables, algae wafers and algae<br />
growing in the aquarium makes up their diet. Plants will not<br />
be eaten.<br />
These plecos are good community fish with tetras, pencil fish,<br />
livebearers, and most barbs, but avoid the larger aggressive<br />
cichlids as tank mates.<br />
The Dwarf Neon Rainbow should be kept in groups of 5 or<br />
more. They are an excellent addition to a small, peaceful<br />
community aquarium since they rarely get larger than 5 cm ( 2<br />
inches ).<br />
This month’s second “Name That Fish” featured two Orange<br />
Calico bristle nose plecos. They were won by Terry Clements.<br />
These dwarf plecos originally came from tributaries of the<br />
Amazon in South America. They are readily bred by local<br />
hobbyists. These plecos are also known as the Red Marble or<br />
the Orange Marble bristle nose. They are all in the genus<br />
Ancistrus, but no specific collecting location or breeding<br />
information is available.<br />
A good aquarium setup would have some bogwood for them to<br />
rasp on, and a few hiding places. Water pH should be in the<br />
Terry Clements won the second name that fish. Unfortunately we didn’t<br />
get a photo of Jamie McDougall and his new Rainbows.<br />
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J U N E 2 0 0 9<br />
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Come to our meetings. We love to have guests.<br />
KWAS meets on the first Tuesday of each month from September until <strong>June</strong> at the Adult Recreation Centre at 185 King Street<br />
South in <strong>Waterloo</strong> (at the corner of King and Allen). We meet on the second floor in the large multi-purpose room. Parking is at<br />
the rear of the building. The meeting room opens at 7 PM with the meeting starting at 7:30 PM sharp. Please feel free to come out<br />
at any time and learn more about your hobby, KWAS and the many benefits of belonging to our club.<br />
Guests are welcome any time.<br />
Bring your friends and show<br />
them what our club is all<br />
about!<br />
Meeting<br />
Parking<br />
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