I run a small basic project, and receive a great deal of mail each month from people with fish problems, and many are at the stage of packing the whole thing in due to their constant fish losses, or because everything they do just seems to add more problems to their ones they already have. Often the information they give is scant, to say the least, with few details of what they … [Read more...] about Getting Answers To Problems
Experience
Photographing Your Betta – 35mm with autofocus
I have been receiving questions from a few folks wanting to know how I take pictures of my bettas and what kind of camera that I am using. As a help, I will share what I have found to work for me. Taking pictures of your betta can be tricky but once you find a way to make it work for you it is a lot of fun! I am by no means a pro when it comes to picture taking, not at all. … [Read more...] about Photographing Your Betta – 35mm with autofocus
My Experience with Pelvicachromis subocellatus (The Yellow-cheeked Kribensi)
I purchased a sextet of half-grown Yellow-cheeked Kribensis at a DSAS auction. They turned out to be four males and two females. As with the garden variety Kribensis, P. pulcher, the females are more colorful, sporting the yellow cheeks for which they are named as well as more yellow on the end of the tail and the upper half of the caudal fin where there are also numerous black … [Read more...] about My Experience with Pelvicachromis subocellatus (The Yellow-cheeked Kribensi)
It’s Raining Cats and Fry
You know the old saying, “It never rains but it pours.” Boy! Sometimes it really does. It’s August and if you live in the Delaware Valley you know it has been raining forever (not really, but quite a bit). I have been phasing myself slowly out of the fish breeding part of the hobby, but do keep a few favorite Corydoras catfish to fool around with. At a couple of this Spring’s … [Read more...] about It’s Raining Cats and Fry
A Guide to Fish Compatibility
Fish compatibility is the most difficult subject in the industry, and the greatest topic of controversy among professional aquarists. Those of us at the Aquarium Professionals Group with many years of experience are still learning about the subject. The problem is that there are no definite right or wrong answers when it comes to deciding which fish we can keep together in an … [Read more...] about A Guide to Fish Compatibility
Hybrids
The rules for most typical society bowl shows as well as auctions usually have somewhere buried amongst them a simple statement that reads something like the following: “No Hybrids”. This rule is ostensibly placed there because there’s something in the club constitution about preserving natural species and being responsible aquarists and other such moral pronouncements that … [Read more...] about Hybrids
Fearless Steinem Builds a Nest!
We all know that it is the male betta, who builds the great bubblenest in high hopes that a lovely lady betta will by chance happen along, so that he can embrace her! During the embrace, he wraps himself around her to trigger the release of her eggs. He then rushes around quickly, gathering the eggs up into his mouth and then blows them into the nest, where they are safely … [Read more...] about Fearless Steinem Builds a Nest!
Lucky’s Story
This is the story of Lucky, that I sent to a betta list many years ago, when I was a complete newbie. This is a horrifying account of what happens when the peace lily vase with a betta is sold to unsuspecting people… "On Monday a colleague brought a vase with a peace lily to my office and said, "I think my fish is dying!" It was given to him as gift 5 weeks ago and the … [Read more...] about Lucky’s Story
Bettas & Filters. My experience – Negative Results.
Ruth wrote: This is a fairly long story here but I feel it is very important. Please bear with me. I am fairly new at this betta obsession. I have been at it a little over a month now. It was not something I decided to do on my own. I, in fact, am one of the people who received a betta in a bowl gift. Not having a clue on how to care for the little guy, I started … [Read more...] about Bettas & Filters. My experience – Negative Results.
Melanochromis johanni
I have two thirty gallon tanks in which I keep my "Africans" and I keep a variety of these cichlids. Among them were two pairs of Melanochromis johanni. The males were separated but the females were kept together. Since I had raised these pairs from half a dozen small fry given to me by a friend, I was wondering when they might spawn. The males changed colour after about one … [Read more...] about Melanochromis johanni