Modern Aquarium

December 2013volume XXnumber 10

1994 — 20th Anniversary — 2013

DANBURY AREA AQUARIUM SOCIETY

Serving the Hudson Valley Area, Westchester, Fairfield, and Litchfield Counties

29th Annual AUCTION - Winter 2014! SUNDAY, January 19, 2014

OF FISH (All Species), AQUARIUM EQUIPMENT AND RELATED DRY

GOODS,

TO BE HELD AT THE: The Melrose School 120 Federal Hill Road Brewster, NY 10509

No Pre-registration: 1 red dot, 1 add’l dot per 10 bags, 50/50 split, 60/40 for 6 or more

*lots, please label your bags (see auction rules)

*Acceptable lots will be determined by the auction committee

Vendors: TBD

Food & Refreshments will be available

AUCTION HOURS:

REGISTRATION.................................8:30 AM TO 11:15 AM

VIEWING OF GOODS........................10:00 AM TO 11:15 AM

AUCTION..................................................11:30 AM TO 5 PM

RAFFLE..........................................................................50 / 50

D.A.A.S. INVITES YOU TO ATTEND!

ON THE COVER

Our cover this month features Trichogaster microlepis, the “moonlight gourami.” For more information on keeping this strikingly attractive fish, see Sue Priest's article on page 15.

Photo by Susan Priest

GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETY

Board MeMBers

President Dan RadebaughVice-President Edward VukichTreasurer Jules BirnbaumAssistant Treasurer Ron WiesenfeldCorresponding Secretary Sean Cunningham Recording Secretary Tommy Chang

MeMBers at Large

Claudia Dickinson Pete D’OrioAl Grusell Ben HausEmma Haus Jason KernerLeonard Ramroop

CoMMittee Chairs

A.C.A. Delegate Claudia DickinsonBowl Show Leonard RamroopBreeder Award Warren Feuer Mark SobermanEarly Arrivals Al GrusellF.A.A.S. Delegate Alexander A. PriestMembership Marsha RadebaughN.E.C. Delegate Claudia DickinsonPrograms Claudia Dickinson

Mark SobermanTechnology Coordinator Warren Feuer

MODERN AQUARIUM

Editor in Chief Dan RadebaughCopy Editors Sharon Barnett Susan Priest Alexander A. PriestExchange Editors Stephen Sica Donna Sosna SicaAdvertising Mgr. Mark Soberman

In This IssueFrom the Editor

2G.C.A.S. 2014 Program Schedule

3President’s Message

4 November's Caption Contest Winner

5Cartoon Caption Contest

7Random Ruminations

8From a Fellow Fish Fanatic by Jules Birnbaum

Sea Life 9Of New Providence, Bahamas

by stephen sica

Unexpected! 12by Charlie Kuhne

The LFS Report 13House of Fish and Pets

by dan Puleo

Our Generous Sponsors & Advertisers 14

Moonlight Gourami 15The Fish of my Dreams

by susan Priest

Pictures from our Last Meeting 19by alexander a. Priest

Melanotaenia of New Guinea, Part II 21by derek P.s. tustin

GCAS Past Award Winners 28GCAS 2013 Awards 29

The G.C.A.S. Author Award Program 30

G.C.A.S. Breeders Award Program 2013 31

G.C.A.S. Breeders Award Totals 34

Member Classifieds 36

G.C.A.S. Happenings 38

The Undergravel Reporter 37Fluorescent Food

Fin Fun (Puzzle Page) 38An Angelfish in a Pear Tree

Series III Vol. XX, No. 10 December, 2013

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)2 December 2013

From theEditor by Dan Radebaugh

Welcome to the final issue of Modern Aquarium for 2013! December is always a special issue, where,

in addition to presenting articles on fish, fishkeeping, and other topics of interest, we honor members and others who have made special contributions to Greater City as well as to Modern Aquarium during the year that is now drawing to a close.

I know we celebrated Thanksgiving last week, but I must now give thanks to all of our authors, who each month make Modern Aquarium a pleasure to put together, as well as to read. This is a special issue for our authors, because we honor their contributions in the form of an “authors’ raffle,” where they earn chances to win prizes especially for them. If you peruse the Author Award Program totals for this year, you’ll see that we had quite a number of contributors this year, and a very closely contested race for Author of the Year. Only five points (one short article or one photo) separated the winner from the tied second-place winners. Wow!

Looking at the Breeders Award totals, you’ll see that Leslie Dick made quite a splash this year – congratulations, Leslie! Also, be sure and check out our Bowl Show and Aquarist of the Year award winners!

Unsurprisingly, our high scorers in the Author Awards totals each have articles appearing in this issue. Jules Birnbaum shares some “Random Ruminations” on fishy subjects, Steve Sica gives us another eye-popping series of photos from the waters around the Bahamas, Sue Priest tells us about her experience with the moonlight gourami, Al Priest provides us with “Photos From Last Month’s Meeting” and “Fin Fun,” and the Undergravel Reporter tells us about a new craze – “Fluorescent Food.”

Our other contributors this month are no slouches either. Dan Puleo’s “LFS Report” tells us about the “House of Fish and Pets,” Elliot Oshins presents us with another cartoon to puzzle over, former member Charlie Kuhne warns us of the “Unexpected,” and Derek Tustin gives us Part II of “Melanotaenia of New Guinea.” Happy reading!

* * * * *Remember, we need articles. We

always need articles! Modern Aquarium is produced by and for the members of Greater City Aquarium Society. Our members are our authors, and with ten issues per year, we always, always need more articles. I know several of you are keeping and/or breeding fish that I would like to know more about, and I’m certain other members would be interested as well. Share your experience with us. Write about it! If you’re a little unsure about the state of your writing technique, don’t worry – that’s why there are editors.

If you have an article, photo, or drawing that you’d like to submit for inclusion in Modern Aquarium, it’s easy to do! You may email it to [email protected], fax it to me at (877) 299-0522, or just hand it to me at a meeting. However you get it to me, I’ll be delighted to receive it!

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY) December 2013 3

GCASPrograms

2014It is our great fortune to have another admirable cast of speakers who have so graciously

accepted our invitation to join us throughout the coming season, bringing us their extensive knowledge and experiences. You certainly won’t wish to miss a moment of our prominent

guests, not to mention the friends, fish, warmth, and camaraderie that accompanies each meeting. I know I can barely wait to see you here! Enjoy!

Claudia

March 5 TBA

April 6 TBA

May 7 TBA

June 4 TBA

July 2 TBA

August 6 Silent Auction

September 3 TBA

October 1 TBA

November 5 TBA

December 3 Holiday Party!

Articles submitted for consideration in Modern Aquarium (ISSN 2150-0940) must be received no later than the 10th day of the month prior to the month of publication. Please fax to (877) 299-0522, or email to [email protected]. Copyright 2013 by the Greater City Aquarium Society Inc., a not-for-profit New York State corporation. All rights reserved. Not-for-profit aquarium societies are hereby granted permission to reproduce articles and illustrations from this publication, unless the article indicates that the copyrights have been retained by the author, and provided reprints indicate source and two copies of the publication are sent to the Exchange Editor of this magazine. Any other reproduction or commercial use of the material in this publication is prohibited without express written prior permission.The Greater City Aquarium Society meets every month, except January and February. Members receive notice of meetings in the mail. For more information, contact: Dan Radebaugh (718) 458-8437. Find out more, or leave us a message, at our Internet Home Page at: http://www.greatercity.org or http://www.greatercity.com


President’sMessage

by Dan Radebaugh

Well, here we all are, once again gathered for our annual Holiday and Awards Banquet. This is the time of year for

giving thanks, and we can celebrate having made it through another year! For some that was more of an adventure than for others. Best wishes to Gerry Domingo on his continued journey back from cancer, as well as to others whose situations we may not all be aware of.

Congratulations to all of this evening's award winners! By the time you read this, all our winners will have been announced, but for those of you who could not be here this evening in person, just look in your copy of Modern Aquarium for the complete listing.

2013 has been a good year for Greater City. Membership is up, attendance has been strong, we had a good roster of speakers, and the monthly auctions have been tremendous! They’ve been so large in fact that I wonder if they’re inhibiting participation in our monthly raffles. Maybe some

folks don’t want to sit through the auction to wait for the raffle. Too bad, because I see plenty of nice raffle items. If nothing else, everyone can use some food! It’s something we’ll keep an eye on next year.

A special thanks as always to all of our members who spend extra time taking care of all the things – large and small – that go into keeping this Society running. That very much includes our auctioneer and all the “runners” who help with getting your purchases quickly and actively delivered to you. Take a look at the Contents page of Modern Aquarium and see who is doing what to help make this a club worth belonging to. Would you like to help out? Do you have a suggestion? Let me know! Meanwhile, enjoy the banquet, and we’ll see you next year!

Dan

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November's Caption Winner:Dan Puleo

John's corydoras selective breeding program finally pays off!


CORALAQUARIUM

Your Holistic Pet Food CenterIn Jackson Heights

Open Monday-Friday 10 am – 8 pmSaturday 10 am – 7 pm & Sunday 12 pm – 6 pm

ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS ACCEPTED

75‐05 Roosevelt Avenue, Jackson Heights7184293934

•Freshwater Fish •Saltwater Fish •Live Corals •Fancy Goldfish •Live Plants •Food & Supplies for All Pets

•Extensive Selection of Holistic Dog & Cat Foods

Support Fish in the Classroom!If you have any 5 or 10 gallon tanks, or any filters, pumps, or plants that you could donate to NYC teacher Michael Paoli's classrooms, could you please bring them in or email Rich Levy ([email protected]). If you'd like to donate larger tanks, be sure and email Rich so he can make sure Michael can accommodate it.


The Modern AquariumCartoon Caption Contest

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

Your Caption:

Your Name:

Cartoon by elliot oshins


Random RuminationsFrom A Fellow Fish Fanatic

by Jules Birnbaum

First I would like to discuss the GCAS auctions. Ideally, sellers should double-bag everything! It is hard to read wet auction tags, and no aquarist

likes dead fish. Also, if you are a regular seller of multiple bags, please ask for a few blank auction tags so you don’t have to waste time when you get to the next meeting. Finally, don’t ask sellers to sell their bags just before they are placed in the auction. This is unfair, both to other members who might like to bid on a particular bag, and also to the GCAS. I see nothing wrong with one member calling another member in advance to buy some of his fish privately. However, in my opinion bags brought to the meeting for the auction should not then bypass the auction.

Since I’m supposed to be a senior breeder, here are a few breeding tips that I’ve learned along the way. For cichlids and catfish, large water changes tend to trigger spawning. Other techniques include separating the pair for a few days and then placing the female in the breeding tank for a day or two before introducing the male. You can also use a divider to separate the pair while still allowing them to see one another. Gradual temperature changes also might help. Having the correct pH for the particular fish is often important. Try a box filter to buffer the water. Fill it with either with peat or crushed coral covered by foam. You can leave the top of the box filter off so that fry don’t get caught, but can eat whatever gets trapped in the foam.

Cave-spawners should have plenty of hiding places, as well as a cave with a small opening for just the female to get in and out. For some species a clay flowerpot will do the job. My buffalo heads did not spawn until Ed Vukich told me that their cave must have a small opening so that only the female could enter. The male buffalo head then takes a position just outside, guarding the breeding cave.

Extra-large feedings, and using more live foods can also be helpful to condition the breeding pair. Dither fish will keep a male cichlid busy chasing these fish away, keeping him too busy to harass the female. If all else fails, try a new female or a new male. For egg scatterers such as tetras, try very heavily planted tanks with subdued lighting. Remove the pair after a few days together. There should be eggs in plants such as mosses or hornwort.

If you are fortunate enough to have the fish spawn, there is sometimes a problem finding a safe place for the fry. I like siphoning them out soon after they are free-swimming, then placing them in a clear filter-type arrangement attached to the outside of the tank where they spawned. There is one of these called ”Marina” which is marketed by Hagen. The cost is under $10. Any small air pump can be attached to a lift tube, which pumps the main tank water through this unit. The overflow is sent back into the main tank, assuring that the fry will receive freshly filtered water from the main tank, and that the fry’s water will not become fouled from the many feedings and crowded conditions. Since the unit is small, the fry have no

problem finding the food. If this unit is not available, I keep several tank dividers made of sponge-type material.

There are some cichlids that will spawn again while fry from the first spawn still remain in their tank. The fry are not considered a threat and are usually ignored. A case in point is Amphilophus robertsoni. The adult males are 4” to 5.” This Central American fish is sometimes called the false firemouth. I obtained the parents as juveniles from Rusty Wessel. He told me I would find their breeding habits and parenting very interesting, and I did. It is amazing how the parents will chase other tankmates, but ignore their own now 2” juveniles.

Try to read as much as possible about your hobby. You never stop learning, and I know that there are many aquarists that are smarter and more educated than I. I read Modern Aquarium and Tropical fish Hobbyist every month. I also follow educational websites on the internet, but I do check their accuracy whenever possible. Occasionally I watch videos on YouTube. Some of the ”how-to” videos are rather amateurish, but then there is Ted Judy and his visits to various fishrooms. I recommend attending all our meetings, where top speakers talk to you about exotic places, sharing their knowledge and ideas.

The time spent on this hobby varies. The other night, at another club, a member said he uses a stopwatch to calculate the amount of time he spends with his fish. To me this is extreme, because you should never put a stopwatch on your relaxation. No real baseball fan in the stands bemoans the fact that a game can take over 3 hours. They are there because they love seeing the game in person. I spend roughly 4 hours a week maintaining 25 tanks, which includes water changes as well as filter and tank-bottom cleaning. However, I spend many hours just watching what is going on in my fishes’ little world. Just like walking your dog, you must form the habits that make all these functions part of your life. If you find this unpleasant, try to find another hobby, or just watch all the horrible 24-hour TV and be miserable.

My last thought is about lighting. I recently switched to all Current LED lights made for planted tanks. They were installed a few months ago, and all my plants are thriving. In fact I have limited their lighting hours in order not to encourage algae. As prices come down these lights become more attractive because of the electricity savings and the 50,000 hours of bulb life. They are also lighter, and thus easier to handle.

Keep yourself open to new ideas and new fish. For instance, Mark Denaro and our own Alexander Priest having interested me in labyrinth fish, I recently purchased some dwarf and licorice gouramis for the first time. Stay curious, my friends!


SEA LIFE OF NEW PROVIDENCE, BAHAMAS

Story and Photos by Stephen Sica

Whenever we travel to Florida or the Caribbean we attempt to observe the lionfish situation, but I also keep my good eye—usually a

toss-up—on the lookout for anything unique, be it a fish, coral, sponge, or other invertebrate. Fortunately, Donna’s keen eye for anything underwater seems to illuminate her fingertip. She is always pointing out something to me that I have failed to see but is usually under my nose. Maybe I can blame my face mask.

There was the time in the Sea of Cortez that I was about to rest my hand on a large rock to steady myself in a strong current when Donna pushed it away and pointed to the exact place that my hand was going. ”What a beautiful specimen of a stonefish,” I thought to myself. Its poisonous spines were mighty big and impressive. ”That was a close call,” I thought as I counted all of my fingers to make sure that my hand was still intact.

I like to scan the sea in all directions in my search for uncommon, and hopefully rare, sea life. Hence, I rarely know where I am going. Regrettably, it’s very difficult to focus upon a specific subject during a typical dive. If a dedicated naturalist is interested in a special fish or subject, he or she will seek out local dive

guides who make sure that they know where the good subjects live. If not, they are adept at locating these animals. Nature photographers also station themselves in one place where a small area can be studied for a long amount of time. Photographers have been known to observe an area for one hour or more, and return to that area day after day in their attempt to photograph a subject. An expert naturalist thoroughly researches the subject prior to

the attempt to study or photograph it. Studying an animal’s habitat is strongly recommended, if you want to achieve success.

Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculates and cleaning goby, Gobiosoma genie. Bright markings on the two-inch goby attract other fish to cleaning stations where these fish gain a free meal of parasites. The trumpetfish prepares for its cleaning. A yellow v on its snout is its primary distinguishing mark. This little fish has a shark-like mouth. A slow approach by a diver’s hand may result in fingers being cleaned. These fish are found on shallow reefs where they are common in the Caribbean but rarely found in Florida.

Blue tang, Acanthurus coeruleus. This adult Blue tang lazily swam by a sea fan and I was able to take a clear and sharp photo. Tangs are in the surgeonfish family. The juvenile blue tang is completely yellow; it is the only fish of its genus in which the young differ completely from adults. These fish grow to an average of about eight inches and inhabit the reef. A good specimen is 15 inches. They are common on shallow reefs down to 60 feet, and abundant in the Bahamas.

Margate (white), Haemulon album. This member of the grunt family grows to over two feet. This small school lives on a large shipwreck for protection from larger predatory fish. Grunts are an important source of food. These fish were fully grown. When I swam towards them, they would move away in unison, keeping a safe distance away. They are uncommon fish in the Bahamas, but shipwrecks are attractive to most fish. This grunt can grow to just over two feet. It swims at about 50 feet.


Trumpetfish, Aulostomus maculates. Adept at blending into the seascape, this fish mingles itself into a soft coral on the reef to try to become invisible to both predators and photographers. Its long snout acts like a suction tube for feeding purposes. It can change its color, and can grow to three feet. It resides in water from 15 to 80 feet deep. It is very common in the Caribbean area.

Caribbean reef sharks, Carcharhinus perezil. This shark is uncommon to Florida, Caribbean and the Bahamas, but the dive company that we use has been conducting regular shark feedings for over fifteen years, which bring in the same sharks. They grow to lengths of five to eight feet and cruise reefs and shallows, but inhabit depths down to 150 feet. They are considered dangerous because most are sighted during spearfishing.

Blue shrimp. I found this colony of shrimp on a small brain coral. I was unable to determine the species, either in my reference books or during basic internet research. As a result, I conjectured that they might be lobster fry, but they do not fit the profile, and my references rejected this notion. I took this photo using no flash, so the bluish tint may be the result of the water’s filtering effect of sunlight at depth. The shrimp’s body shape did not match those in my references.

Ocean triggerfish, Canthidermis sufflamen. A dull silver with a black blotch at the base of the pectoral fin, the ocean triggerfish is common to uncommon in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean. I cannot recall the last time that I observed this species, if at all. The dive site where I saw this fish was home to innumerable specimens that can grow to eighteen inches and inhabit depths from 35 to 100 feet. Although they stay well above outer reefs and live near drop-offs, all of the fish that I saw were in and about the shallower reefs.

Southern stingray, Dasyatis americana. This large specimen is probably a female. They are much larger than males. Notice its stinger on the top of its tail. A description of this fish usually states that the stinger is at the tail’s base, but these large fish have their stinger well behind the base. A fully grown female can have a five foot span and weigh over four hundred pounds. They are usually encountered lying buried in a sandy seafloor near the reef or a wreck.

Creole wrasse, Clepticus parrai. This fish has blue teeth and bones with a darker purple or lavender snout. This is a schooling fish that prefers open water above the reef or the edge of walls. They swim in trailing schools up to 80 feet deep. They can grow to one foot but most adults are six inches. This school has fish that are in the initial phase, that is, a ”young adult.” The terminal phase is similar but older adults develop yellow to reddish brown areas on the lower rear body.


Unfortunately, most of our dives are of the ”tourist” variety. The dive guide will lead us in a specific direction, such as along the wall beneath a reef early in the dive, and back to the boat along the top of the wall or reef. It’s common practice to stay shallower when your air supply is diminishing. Go deep early, when you have a full cylinder of compressed air. Finish the dive in the shallows. Many dives, especially shallow ones, are unguided, or the divemaster might suggest a direction. Difficult dives require obeying instructions. We might be instructed to swim to a line and follow it down to a wreck. Sometimes, a safety diver will stay twenty feet below on the safety line to direct the divers down to the wreck, or assist a panicky

diver. No matter how experienced you are, sooner or later you find yourself in a difficult place where nerves take over. You must overcome the urge to panic. I usually notice my own panicky nerves when I catch myself breathing short breaths very fast. This can be

detrimental, inasmuch as you will deplete your air supply much more quickly.

The presence of a safety diver is fairly routine when divers are not familiar with the wreck or the water is turbulent with waves higher than four or five feet or if the visibility is poor. Of course a combination of these things is usually the order of a tough diving day. Deepwater wrecks combined with rough water and low visibility are a bit unsettling as you swim into the abyss, hoping eventually to see something below. If you don’t, then you missed the wreck. Nowadays this is a rarity because mooring lines are attached to wrecks.

Donna and I also dive alone together. No pun intended. Sometimes, if the water is cool and Donna is getting cold quicker than I am, she wants to swim faster to stay warm. She’s very thin, while I’m not. As the saying goes, fat equals warmth. The results are

obvious. I‘m swimming more slowly than Donna to try to take photographs, while she wants to swim fast to generate body heat. If she stays close to me, she points out my subjects. If she swims away into the blue and I have to scan the reef, wreck, or open water, then I am left to fend for myself when it comes to spotting unique sea life. Although Donna is extremely nearsighted, she has an uncanny ability to spot things that I never see, especially if they are small. In other words, I need her to be my spotter. It’s a difficult task. She’ll point to something while I’m trying to see it from a different angle. If you are bobbing in a surge or current, or if another diver gets in the way, either intentionally or because the diver cannot control his or her buoyancy, it is very difficult to find what Donna has found. On the surface she’ll say ”Wasn’t that a beautiful yellow seahorse under that coral head?” I’ll reply, ”You saw a yellow seahorse? Where was I?” She’ll give me that look that usually tells me where I should go.

Bluehead wrasse: Thalassoma bifasciatum. This small school of yellow fish are in their juvenile or initial phase. The fins are light blue with a dark spot near the front of the dorsal fin. Brownish markings are behind the eye. They are one to five inches in length, and usually swim in small schools on reefs. Abundant throughout the Bahamas, they keep several feet distance from divers.

Atlantic spadefish, Chaetodipterus faber. This school of adult spadefish was formerly considered an angelfish but spadefish now have their own family. Similar in body shape to angelfish, this species is not as colorful. As adults they tend to swim in schools and there are about eighteen fish in this school living around a large shipwreck. Any spadefish that grows to over eighteen inches long is exceptional. They are found in the shallows to approximately 70 feet deep.

Cleaning gobies, Gobiosoma genie, on brain coral. If you wish to photograph a cleaning goby, check out either the mouth and body of other fish, or a clump of brain coral. This group was resting on the coral. I often wondered whether they also ”clean” the coral of parasites. Large groupers and eels are favorite cleaning subjects.


UNEXPECTED!by Charlie Kuhne

I’m trying to get out of the fish business—honest! Unfortunately, my fish won’t let me. I had sold off all my breeders and all my adult fish, leaving

me with only six young cory catfish, but still scads of fancy guppies and assorted swordtails—all young. But little fish become adults pretty quickly, and with livebearers there is no stopping them. It was pretty much expected.

What was not expected was a clutch of catfish eggs on both sides of one corner of the tank. My babies have grown up. Do I save the eggs? I confess I’m a softhearted dumb-ass, so I get out a plastic shoebox (I’ve done all this before), and with a scraper blade transfer the eggs to the shoebox. It’s time-consuming, working a few at a time, and trying to save each and every one. Next, I put in several drops of methylene blue to achieve a royal blue color, and add a small airstone to get just a small stream of bubbles.

Now comes the big problem–food! I hadn’t raised egglayers in almost a year, and cory fry like microworms. I had no culture, nor any chance of getting one, so I start from scratch, cooking up a cup of oatmeal and placing it in a whipped cream container with holes punched in the lid. Now it’s going to take a week or more if I’m lucky, but the eggs will hatch in three days. I dug around in the back of my fridge and found a bottle of brine shrimp eggs, but there was only about a quarter-teaspoon left at the bottom. (What the heck had I been saving that for?)

I still had some kosher and some sea salt, and a hydrometer. I took a plastic fruit juice bottle, punched a hole in the cap, and inserted an airstone. Normally,

three tablespoons of salt would be enough, but I had to ”play with” the mixture to get it just right. At least I’d have something to feed the newborns if the eggs were any good.

Fortunately, everything turned out well. The fish survived, the brine shrimp batch hatched, and I siphoned and rinsed them and changed a third of the water daily. At first I used a magnifying glass to see them, but by the end of ten days they were easily visible crowding together along the sides of the box.

Uh-oh! There was a commotion in the parents’ tank, and as I watched they were spawning again. Two females were charging around the tank, each with two males clinging to their sides, culminating with the female mouthing a spot of the glass with the milt from the males, and with 8-12 eggs clutched

between her two anal fins like a fan, pushing her body flat against the glass and depositing her eggs, after which she was again pursued by the males to repeat the process. Well, once you save one batch of eggs you may as well save another, so I emptied the first batch of fry into a larger plastic sweater box equipped with a sponge filter (so no babies can be trapped) and a heater, as well as an airstone, and repeated my earlier preparations for this next batch of eggs.

It’s now three-plus weeks later, and the first batch are a good half-inch long, and the second batch, larger in number, are nestled in another wide-area plastic box. All are doing well, living on microworms and decapsulated brine shrimp. Let’s hope there are no more ”unexpectations” any time soon!


The LFS Reportby Dan Puleo

LFS in the spotlight:House of Fish & Pets

169-05 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica 11432(718) 739-3090

This month the LFS Spotlight shines on a store that is among the last of the old fashioned ”mom and pop” pet shops in the

city. This store, located in the downtown Jamaica business district since 1984, is owned by the husband and wife team of Bhasker and Chetna, two of the nicest people you could meet.

This warm and friendly couple came to own this shop almost by accident. They were looking for a business opportunity for Chetna’s brother, who was working at a pet wholesaler in Europe, and was planning to move to New York. The shop had become run down under the previous ownership, and Bhasker and Chetna felt that this presented a good opportunity to buy the building and turn the shop around. As it turned out, when her brother arrived he felt that it would be too much work. Luckily for us, they decided to take a chance and buy the property themselves, even though neither of them had ever worked in the pet business. They weren’t going in blind, though. Bhasker had recently become friends with a gentleman by the name of Chuck, who had worked in various aquarium and pet stores most of his life, and Chuck agreed to join them in the venture as manager. Together, this trio turned the store from one that sold mostly dogs (and smelled that way, I am told) into a very nice little aquarium and bird shop. To this day Chuck is given free reign to buy whatever he sees fit, and while he pays close attention to what his customers are interested in, his taste in fish definitely shows.

So where do Chuck’s interests lie? In the rivers of Africa. Over the three years I’ve been coming to ”The House” I’ve seen nearly every species of buffalo head cichlid—right now they have Steatocranus gibbiceps ($8 each)

representing the group. The African red eye tetras Arnoldichthys spilopterus ($8.50ea) look sharp and would make a fine dither fish for a regional biotope tank, as well as Alestes tetras, which they usually have on hand but are out of at the moment. Other additions could be the tire track eel ($15) or the red ctenopomas Microctenopoma ansorgii ($7ea.), and either Synodontis alberti ($15ea.) or Synodontis eupterus ($10) would nicely complete the scene. For those who go for a more aggressive tank you will find the six-point jewel fish Hemichromis hemichromis ($15) definitely will fill the bill. I also found African

leaf fish ($8) and rope fish ($11) were in the tanks this week to represent the oddballs. They also sell an extraordinary number of Polypterus of various species. According to their primary wholesaler of Africans, they move more of them than any other store he sells to. For whatever reason, people in his neighborhood love

their Polypterus and other aggressive oddballs.There are, of course, other regions of the

world represented. There is a fine tank of mixed rift lake Africans, and the dragon peacocks ($13ea.) particularly caught my eye this week. You can also often find representatives of the Lake Victorian cichlids that look spectacular. Seeing them, I can’t understand why more shops don’t carry them anymore. For lovers of the Amazon, right now they have red line pike cichlids ($9ea.) and two very nice large green severums ($27ea.) that have color you will rarely see elsewhere—brilliant emerald green iridescence covering both, and one is peppered with black spots! Team them up with a few of the 2-3” Geophagus brasiliensis ($6ea.), the spotted Raphael cats ($7ea), and a group of the extra-large Corydoras aenaeus ($6ea.), and you would have an impressive tank


indeed. Angels are of course mandatory in any aquarium shop, but to my reckoning the silver dollar-sized leopard zebra lace ($13ea.) are a cut above the common angel. Keep your eyes open and you might spot some oddball rasboras, and for a breeding project I don’t know of another shop where you can find female dwarf gouramis ($7ea.).

Have I piqued your interest? I hope so. I feel his is a great little shop that definitely deserves to be more widely known by our members. On that note, I want to thank everybody’s favorite fishy

jeweler and GCAS member, Sharon Barnett, for putting me wise to the House of Fish and Pets when I was preparing to have my office moved from Manhattan to Jamaica. Discovering this shop and the wonderful people who run it has definitely been one of the best parts of the move. Come on in and see why I keep coming back!

This month’s LFS Report was originally distributed in flyer form at our July, 2013 meeting.


SCIENTIFIC NAME: Trichogaster microlepisCOMMON NAME: Moonlight gouramiCATEGORY: Labyrinth fishDISTRIBUTION: Cambodia, Thailand, and MalaysiapH RANGE: 6.0-7.0 (slightly acid)HARDNESS: 5 to 20 DH (soft)TEMPERATURE: 75-86E F, 26-30E CADULT SIZE: 6" to 8" SLSEXUAL DIMORPHISM: Males have reddish pectoral fins, and a taller pointed dorsal fin. Both sexes have a red iris.BREEDING STRATEGY: Surface bubblenesterSOCIAL BEHAVIOR: Peaceful; best kept in a species tank, do not keep with fin-nippers.FEEDING: Omnivore, feed a varied diet AQUASCAPING: Heavily planted tank which is roomy and deep.

By Susan Priest

Whether it was in a store, in a book, orin my dreams, every time I saw amoonlight gourami I yearned to see

it again. Then one day, after 22 years offishkeeping, all of the pieces fell into place. Ijust happened to have a ten gallon tank full ofclean, aged water with a mature and slowlycirculating box filter, a couple of java ferns,and no fish inr e s i d e n c e . Clearly, the stagewas s e t fo rsomething specialto happen!

As life andluck would haveit, Al and I visitedan aquarium shopwhich we hadnever been tobefore,* and therethey were, aperfect two-some(both females) ofm o o n l i g h tgouramis. Theywere in a tankw h i c h w a sslightly above myeye level, so Iwas looking up at them. I felt as if they wereexpecting me.

Without knowing what the price wouldbe, I asked Rocky to bag them up for me. There were some other fishes on our tab, so Ididn’t realize until I got home that I had paid$36.00 for them. Even though that was morethan I usually spend on fish, I knew that I hadgotten a bargain.

They were each about two inchesstandard length, and the aforementioned tengallon tank was fine for starters, but with aprojected size of at least six inches, I knewthat they would have to be moved intosomething larger. Within a couple of weeks I

had transferred them into a 30 gallonhexagonal tank.

Let me just add at this point that I am notone of those fishkeepers whose only goal is tobreed every fish under their care. As is mostoften the case with me, my aspirations for thesemoonlights are simply to admire theiriridescent beauty, and to watch them grow.

My original“working title” forthis article was “AD r e a m C o m eTrue.” As I startedorganizing mythoughts, I realizedthat I would needto revise that a bit. When I describe toyou a couple of myp r e c o n c e i v e dnotions about themoonlights, youwill understandwhy.

The first thingI expected fromthese shimmering,g l i m m e r i n g ,heavenly bodieswas that they

would spend their time gliding peacefullythrough the water. I thought that whenever Ishowed up to look at them, they would beslowly and gracefully drifting along, with theelegance of a pair of swans in the moonlight. Well! Mostly, they just chase each otheraround, under, and in between everything inthe tank, occasionally pummeling one another. Sometimes they slow down long enough forme to enjoy looking at them, but rarely have Iseen them gliding peacefully, so that part of my dream hasn’t come true.

Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY) December 2013 17


18 December 2013 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)


At first I thought that I ought to separatethem, but they don’t seem to be hurting eachother. There are no ripped fins, missingscales, or bruises, so I have been letting themwork things out for themselves.

The next part of my dreams for these fish(or I should say, for their tank), included acouple of tall, broad-leafed plants for them to“drift” through. I started them out with atwelve inch Anubias barteri, and an eighteeninch Echinodorus ozelot “green,” whichactually has reddish splashes on the leaves,and sometimes makes a tall stalk of tiny whiteorchid-like flowers. There was also a shortfine-leaved plant contributed by Al. Its namehad something to do with an octopus. Well!! The first day after I introduced the plants tothe tank, there was an Anubias leaf floating. The next day there was another one. In hopesof giving the plant a chance of at leastsurviving in another tank, I pulled it out, butthe ultimate damage had already been done. Next came an octopus leaf, followed by a fewmore. I gave what was left of that one back toAl in hopes that he had a tank with no fish init where it could recuperate.

At this point I removed the Echinodorus,the one which I had had the highest hopes for,before it also fell victim to these highlyherbivorous hustlers. A Java fern lastedalmost a week before I found pieces of thatfloating on the surface. By now I was askingmyself “What kind of plants grow on themoon? Maybe I need some of those!” It wastime to give up on that part of my dream, aswell.

In my own defense, I can honestly saythat my expectations were not unfounded. Idid do my homework on these fish, and Ifound such descriptive words as “peaceful,”“shy,” and “timid.” When it came to theirdiet I found such terms as “omnivore,” “willeat prepared as well as live foods,” and “feedthem a varied diet.” Nowhere did I comeacross the words “salad bar,” or “herbivore,”but “heavily planted tank” showed up morethan once.

There are no longer any live plants in thetank. I have settled into feeding them a smallamount of Zoo Med “Spirulina 20” flakestwo or three times a day, along with twofeedings a week of live food.

Another thing which my research led meto believe is that they spend most of their timein the middle section of the water column. My experience with them is that they visitevery inch of their aquarium. This is not aproblem of course, and is probably evenexpected behavior within a closedenvironment.

Since my “twosome” will not be puttingon a display of breeding behaviors, I must fallback on someone else’s description. “It is abubble nest builder, usually building a largenest in floating plants. The actual spawning isthe “caress style” of the male enclosing thefemale in a crescent for the actual expulsionof the eggs. This fish in nature prefers slowmoving or quiet water, if one wishes them tospawn. Water should be slightly acid. Oncespawning has been completed, remove thefemale. When the eggs become wigglers themale can be removed as his work iscompleted.” (I took this quote from an issueof Modern Aquarium, Series II. See thereferences.) Other sources explain that thesevery tiny fry should be started out oninfusoria, and graduated to newly hatchedbrine shrimp as soon as their mouths are largeenough.

Moonlight gouramis were firstintroduced to the hobby in 1952. They are notamong the most commonly encountered ofspecies, but they ARE among the mostuncommonly beautiful! Just as you never tireof gazing at the moon, neither will you tire ofgazing at your moonlight gouramis.

*Pacific Aquarium was reviewed by DanPuleo in his October 2013 LFS column. Ourvisit was in August.

REFERENCES

Alderton, David, Bettas and Gouramis, BowtiePress, 2004.

Frey, Hans, Illustrated Dictionary of TropicalFishes, TFH, 1961.

Fryhover, Jay, “Moonlight Gourami,” ModernAquarium, Series II, May 1973.



GCAS President Dan Radebaugh

presents tonight’s program

2nd Place: Bill Amely

Leonard Ramroop judging the Bowl Show

Soon to be married,

Michael Macht

Door prize winner,

Ruben Lugo

Author of the LFS column,

Dan Puleo

1st Place: Jerry O’Farrell

3rd Prize: Rich Waizman

Pictures from our last meetingPhotos by Al Priest

Last Month’s Bowl Show Winners:

18 December 2013 M odern Aquarium - Greater City A.S. (NY)


Last month I wrote about the background of the Sahul rainbowfish, what Sahul is, how rainbowfish came to be in New Guinea, and the

division of Melanotaenia species between Australia and New Guinea. I concluded by briefly examining both the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the CARES Preservation Program Conservation Priority Species at Risk List, and mentioned the five species of Melanotaenia that appear on both. This month I’ll give you an in-depth examination of those five species, how they feature on both the IUCN Red List and in the CARES Preservation Program, and how we should be examining the conservation status of Melanotaenia species going forward.

A Bit About Each and Why They Are On The List

I’ll admit that I’ve looked at the CARES Preservation Program over the years, focusing mostly on the Melanotaenia species, but never really took the time to understand why the respective species are on the list. Having now done so, I think that understanding why a species is on the list is just as important as simply knowing that it is endangered. With that, let me give you a bit of information about the five referenced New Guinea Melanotaenia species.

Dr. Gerald Allen originally collected Melanotaenia arfakensis in 1989, having found them in the Prafi River, about 20 to 30 kilometers west of Manokwari, the largest (and now capital) city of the Indonesian province of West Papua. The following year he described them, giving them the name of “arfakensis,” or literally “From Arfak,” referring to the Arfak Mountains, which border the Prafi River and tributaries on the western side. The same year they were being described, Heiko Bleher collected live specimens and introduced them to the rainbowfish

community. Unfortunately, they have not become established in the North American hobby and are quite difficult to come by.

When available, they are commonly referred to as the “Arfak rainbowfish” and are considered to be a moderately sized rainbowfish, with males reaching a maximum size of 4” (10 cm) and the females around 3” (8 cm). They are a silvery colored fish, with a mauve tinge to the upper portion of the body and a whitish silver coloration on the lower half. They have a pronounced mid-lateral stripe, one scale in width and of a black/blue color that extends the length of the body. The second dorsal fin has a dark sub-marginal band that is edged in white on the edge of the fin. The caudal fin can range from yellow to white with a dark margin on the upper and lower surface of that fin. As is common with most rainbowfish, the male is more colorful and deeper bodied than the female.

Most often found in streams near sub-surface vegetation, they have also been located in lagoons and swamps. While initially discovered in the Prafi River, they have subsequently been found in the Warmare, Aimasi and Nimbai Rivers (all tributaries of the Prafi River), and also in the Kebar, Nuni, Asiti, Appi and Atai Rivers amongst others.

M. arfakensis on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Melanotaenia arfakensis is listed as Vulnerable on both the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the CARES Preservation Program Conservation Priority Species at Risk List. The IUCN Red List entry records that the habitat of M. arfakensis has been drastically altered due to the development of the oil palm industry, and that at least one exotic species (identified only as “walking catfish,” but which is likely Clarias batrachus) may pose a threat to the population.

For those of you unfamiliar with it, palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the fruit of the oil palm plant, usually the African oil palm, Elaeis guineensis. It is a very common crop in Indonesia, with over 1,500,000 small farmers growing the crop. It is up to ten times more productive on a per unit of area basis than soybeans or sunflowers. However, palm oil is also a very serious ecological concern. Deforestation to provide space for oil palm plantations

Melanotaenia of New GuineaA Crisis on the Horizon? Or One Already Here?

Part IIby Derek P.S. Tustin

Melanotaenia arfakensis1


is ruining habitats and ecosystems, and oil palm plantations are being placed in riparian areas, resulting in both the destruction of the habitat and pollution of the water in the area.

Without a doubt, the most recognizable of all rainbowfish is Melanotaenia boesemani. They were originally collected from Lake Aitinjo by the renowned Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman during the Swedish New Guinea Expedition of 1948/1949, and specimens were returned to the Swedish Museum of Natural History, where they remained unstudied.

Just over five years later, Dr. Marinus Boeseman participated in the Rijksmuseum van Natuulijke Historie (RMNH) [the National Museum of History] expedition to Netherlands New Guinea, which spanned the period of October 1954 to May 1995. Dr. Boeseman had received a request from the Netherlands New Guinea government to perform a survey of the freshwater fishes of western New Guinea, and in the company of Dr. Leo Brongersma (a noted Dutch zoologist and herpetologist) and Dr. Lipke Holthuis (a noted Dutch expert in carcinology, which is the study of crustaceans), and with the support of the Royal Netherlands Navy and various missionary groups (the Dutch Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Christian and Missionary Alliance), he surveyed numerous lakes and rivers, including Lake Aitinjo, Lake Ajamaru, Lake Jamoer, Lake Sentani, the Wissel Lakes (consisting of Lake Paniai, Lake Tage, and Lake Tigi), the Digul River, the Maro River, the Tami River, and Biak Island. In a relatively brief period of time a collection totaling 2,124 specimens was gathered and returned to the RMNH. Amongst the specimens gathered were 59 specimens of the fish we know today as Melanotaenia boesemani. But once again, the specimens remained unstudied.

In 1975 and again in 1977, Dr. Gerald Allen was preparing for a revision of the rainbowfish family, and as part of that preparation he studied the specimens gathered during the RMNH expedition of 1954/1955. During that examination, he found four species of rainbowfish that had never been scientifically described. In 1980 Dr. Allen, working with Norbert Cross, published a paper wherein these

species were named Melanotaenia ajamaruensis, Melanotaenia japenensis, Glossolepis pseudoincisus and… Melanotaenia boesemani.

Two years after they were described, Dr. Allen and Heiko Bleher gathered live specimens, which were transported to Europe and Australia and subsequently released into the hobby. Heiko Bleher made another collection in 1998, and those fish followed their predecessors into hobbyist aquariums.

Commonly called “Boeseman’s rainbowfish” or sometimes “Boesie’s,” the fish are visually different from all but one other species of rainbowfish. The front portion of the fish and the head is a blue color (ranging from bluish grey through to a dark blue), and the back half of the body is bright orange to red in color. (Another fish, Melanotaenia ajamaruensis, shares the bifurcated blue/orange coloration, but differs in soft ray counts for the second dorsal and anal fins, and has more prominent lateral stripes, especially the mid-lateral stripe and the one immediately below.) They are moderately large, reaching a maximum size of 5” (12 cm) in length, although in captivity they tend to reach a maximum size of approximately 4” (10 cm). Males are more colorful and deeper bodied than the females.

They are mostly found in Lake Ayamaru and the surrounding tributaries, but have also been found in Lake Hain, Lake Aitinjo, and possibly Lake Uter.

M. boesemani on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List records Melanotaenia boesemani as being Endangered (very high risk of extinction in the near future), but oddly the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List only lists it as being Vulnerable (very high risk of extinction in the medium term future). The CARES Preservation authority is listed as being Dr. Paul V. Loiselle. There is not much of a discrepancy, but seeing as it is the only Melanotaenia species not using the IUCN Red List as the primary authority, it is interesting to note, and I suspect that the IUCN Red List may have been updated since last reviewed by Dr. Loiselle.

One area of concern that is noted is that the water levels in one or more of the lakes where Melanotaenia boesemani is found are subject to broad fluctuations, with related changes in the habitat. But the IUCN Red List goes on to note that the main threat to the species is the harvesting and export of fish (mainly males) for the aquarium trade. It has been estimated that as many as 1,000,000 fish are caught per year. Personally I find this number a bit high. Other sources state that in 1989 approximately 60,000 fish were being caught each month (or 720,000 per annum), but that less than half were actually surviving export. It is reported that the Indonesian government eventually stepped in and placed some controls on the export of Melanotaenia boesemani, which likely has had a very beneficial impact in the short term.

Melanotaenia boesemani1


The entire island of New Guinea has undergone multiple foreign cultural invasions since the late 1800s. The British, the Germans, and the Dutch had at one time laid claim to parts, and at the outbreak of World War II the Japanese invaded the island. At the end of the war in 1949, the former territories of Papua and New Guinea were merged under the international trusteeship system of the United Nations and were placed under the administrative control of Australia. The trusteeship system was a method by which the United Nations sought to ensure that former colonies were looked after, with the intention that in the future they be returned to their inhabitants for self-government. In 1975, after 26 years of being under the care of the Australian government, Papua New Guinea gained its independence.

During the time of the administration of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea, the Australian government employed Patrol Officers to oversee the country. These officers were tasked with bringing “modern civilization” to the country in the form of governance, law and order, and the introductions of a postal system, radio communications, and infrastructure including the placement of roads and airstrips. As can be imagined, those who served as Patrol Officers were at heart adventurers, and such adventure included the exploration of the country they were safe-guarding. One such officer was Charles Edward Timothy Terrell, who served in the Lake Kutubu Sub-District of the Southern Highlands District from 1952 until 1956. In 1955 he discovered this species in the area where he was assigned, and forwarded preserved specimens to the noted Australian ichthyologist Ian Munro. Almost a decade later, in 1964, Ian Munro described the fish as Melanotaenia lacustris. “Lacustris” is derived from the Latin words “lacu,” meaning “lake,” and “ustris,” meaning “from,” giving a literal translation of “From a Lake.”

Another two decades passed, and in 1983 Dr. Gerald Allen, John Paska, and Barry Crockford travelled to Lake Kutubu and gathered approximately 40 live fish. Only 10% of the fish survived the return trip to Australia, and the only surviving male succumbed to hookworm shortly thereafter. It took another three years before Heiko Bleher successfully gathered living stock, and two years later, in 1988, he and Dr. Allen made another successful collection. It didn’t take long for them to be released into the hobby.

Occasionally referred to as “Lake Kutubu rainbowfish,” they are most often found in the hobby being referred to as “turquoise rainbowfish” in reference to the bluish green color of the fish. The coloration can actually vary from very dark tones of blue through to lighter shades of turquoise. Similar in size to Melanotaenia boesemani, males may reach 5” (12 cm) in size, but most often grow to 4” (10 cm). Again, males are deeper bodied and more vibrant in coloration.

Located about 50 kilometers southwest of Mendi, the capital city of the Southern Highlands province of Papua New Guinea, Lake Kutubu is the second largest lake in the country (Lake Murray being the largest). It has a surface area of just under 50 km2, and is known for being exceptionally clear. However, the most interesting fact about the lake is that it is home to at least 13 species of endemic fish, including Melanotaenia lacustris. In addition to being found in the lake proper, Melanotaenia lacustris have also been found in the Soro River, the only outlet stream of the lake.

M. lacustris on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Listed as Vulnerable on both the IUCN Red List and the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List, Melanotaenia lacustris is another species that it is endangered due to environmental changes being brought by increased development in the local area.

Oil Search Limited is the largest oil and gas exploration and development company incorporated in Papua New Guinea. In 1992 Oil Search Limited began production at the Kutubu Oil Project, which is located near Lake Kutubu. As a result of the production facilities being located there, the local population increased with migration to the area. This in turn lead to an increased demand for both resources and space, which then lead to forest destruction and loss of habitat to provide space for businesses and housing, pollution from the increased population, and increased demand for food. The increased demand for food resulted in both an overfishing of the species found in the lake, as well habitat destruction through the use of both gill nets and outboard motors in that overfishing.

We all have our “dream fish,” the one that we really want to keep, but will forever have difficulty in acquiring. Melanotaenia oktediensis is that fish for me. I’ve been lucky enough to have once imported eight fry from a fellow hobbyist in Europe, but was unable to get them to breed. Still, I hold out hope to get some more one day, and am working to see if I can get any exported from hobbyists in Australia.

This fish is endemic to the Ok Tedi River and associated tributaries in the western portion of Papua New Guinea. They were first collected in July 1974

Melanotaenia lacustris1


by Dr. Charles Boyden (who was participating in the University of Cambridge’s expedition to the Western District of Papua New Guinea) from Karamonge Creek, a small tributary of the Ok Tedi River. He returned with two females that at that time were an undescribed species, and deposited the preserved specimens with the Papua New Guinea Fisheries Department.

The next year Dr. Tyson Roberts, participating in the Smithsonian’s International Environmental Science Program, undertook a comprehensive ichthyological survey of the Fly River drainage network, of which the Ok Tedi River constitutes a part. On November 1st, 1975, he collected one sample of a female Melanotaenia oktediensis, but mistakenly believed it to be Melanotaenia vanheurni.

In 1980 Dr. Gerald Allen and Norbert Cross published Descriptions of Five New Rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) From New Guinea based in part on his examinations of the specimens preserved by both Dr. Boyden and Dr. Roberts. Included therein was the first description of Melanotaenia oktediensis. Two years later Dr. Allen returned to the area and collected live specimens, which were distributed into the global hobby. Unfortunately, they failed to gain a foothold, and today are extremely rare, with a small captive population in Europe and another in Australia.

Once again similar in size to Melanotaenia boesemani, the “Ok Tedi rainbowfish” has a coppery brown body coloration on the upper half of the body, a mauve to white coloration on the lower half, and a prominent mid-lateral line separating the two.

M. oktediensis on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Have you ever heard of the Ok Tedi Environmental Disaster? That is the cause, and the sole cause, of Melanotaenia oktediensis being listed as Vulnerable on both the IUCN Red List and the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List.

The Ok Tedi Mine is an open-pit gold and copper mine located near the headwaters of the Ok Tedi River. Situated in a remote area of Papua New Guinea, it is very close to the Indonesian/Papua New Guinea

border. Intense mineral exploration of the area began in the 1970s, and the following decade BHP Billiton secured a mining lease. They initially found a gold deposit, and after depleting the gold targeted a copper deposit (at the time was believed to be the largest in the world) located beneath the gold.

Since the mine was established until present, an estimated 2,000,000,000 (that’s two billion) tons of mine waste have been discharged into the Ok Tedi River. An estimated 579 mi2 (1,500 km2) of forest has died (greater than the area of New York City), and another 1158 mi2 (3,000 km2), or the equivalent of Rhode Island, may eventually be harmed.

Chemicals included in the mine waste have either contaminated fish or killed them outright. Fish that are only contaminated continue to be caught and consumed by the native inhabitants, passing the chemicals on to the human population. Further, the material dumped into the river surpasses the amount that can be transported away by the river, resulting in the river bed having risen an estimated 32’ (10 m). This in turn has turned a river that was once deep and fast flowing, into one that is shallow, slow, and that has developed rapids. The slower river is now inclined to flood, leaving behind deposits of contaminated mud on the river banks, which is where the native population plant taro, sago palms, and bananas for food crops. These food sources are then tainted by the contaminated mud, once again resulting in the toxins being ingested by humans.

While there is a counterbalancing effect on the local population when the quality of health care, education and infrastructure that accompany the mine are considered, there is no way to underestimate the severe devastation that has been wrought on the local environment, including Melanotaenia oktediensis.

During the same expedition that saw Dr. Allen discover Melanotaenia arfakensis, he found two other species of Sahul rainbowfish, Melanotaenia angfa (named in honor of ANGFA – the Australia and New Guinea Fish Association), and Melanotaenia parva. The latter has become another of the most popular and sought after Sahul rainbowfish.

It is found only in a small lake on the isthmus that links the Vogelkop Peninsula (commonly called

Melanotaenia oktediensis2

Melanotaenia parva1


the Bird’s Head Peninsula) to the rest of New Guinea. Sources cite the lake as being “Lake Kurumoi,” but very little information is actually available about the lake itself. (In fact, if you enter “Lake Kurumoi” as a search in Google, it isn’t until the 5th page that you get an entry that isn’t about Melanotaenia parva.) A little additional research reveals that the geographic coordinates of the lake are approximately 2°10’S, 134°05’E, and there is indeed a lake shown on maps at that location, measuring approximately 1,640’ (500 m) by 2,625’ (800 m). However, other sources identify the body of water as Danau Rundiepi (Danau being the Indonesian word for “lake”).

Regardless of the actual name of the lake (and with multiple languages being spoken, it is completely understandable as to why there are at least two names for the same body of water), it is agreed that Melanotaenia parva is endemic only to this body of water. The fish that Dr. Allen collected were noted to be “bluish to mauve with a black midlateral band, or silver with red specking and narrow red or orange lines between each scale row on the side of the body. Fins of both varieties were red.” However, in captivity the males tend not to appear blue, rather having a brilliant red coloration when mature. While the species name “parva” means “small” in Latin, they are actually a mid-sized example of the Melanotaenia genus, reaching a maximum size of 4” (10 cm). In the hobby you will occasionally (and only very occasionally at that) see them called “Lake Kurumoi rainbowfish,” “flame rainbowfish,” “sunset dwarf rainbowfish” or “dwarf flametail rainbowfish,” but will most often find them being sold as either Parva rainbowfish or Melanotaenia parva.

M. parva on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

During his initial visit to Lake Kurumoi/Danau Rundiepi, Dr. Allen found that Melanotaenia parva were very abundant. However, they are now listed as Vulnerable on both the IUCN Red List and the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List. The IUCN entry for M. parva informs that they are now listed as such due to “severe habitat alteration caused by an infestation of tilapia.”

For those of you unfamiliar with tilapia, they are a group of cichlid that are considered to be extremely adaptable and are able to thrive in a wide variety of habitats. Part of this is due to a proclivity to breed quickly, and a very fast rate of growth to a relatively large size. This results in them both preying upon and outcompeting native fish for resources.

Historically they have been introduced into foreign habitats as a control for invasive plants (which they readily feast upon), and as a food fish. When or why they were introduced to Lake Kurumoi/Rundiepi is not known, but now that they are there, their presence is being felt.

Melanotaenia, the IUCN Red List and the Future…

So that is the basic information on the five Melanotaenia species that are captured on both the IUCN Red List and the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List. However, if you do visit the IUCN Red List (and I strongly encourage that you do, if just to become more familiar with the program) and search “Melanotaenia,” you will not only see information on these five species of the Melanotaenia genus, but also information on three other genera where “melanotaenia” appears as a species name and a listing of 19 other species in the Melanotaenia genus.

One of these is the aforementioned Melanotaenia eachamensis, leaving another 18 species that do not appear on the CARES Preservation Program Priority Species at Risk List.

By IUCN Red List Classification Code and country of origin, they are:

Near Threatened:

New GuineaMelanotaenia pygmaea

AustraliaMelanotaenia gracilis

Least Concern:

New GuineaMelanotaenia catherinaeMelanotaenia irisMelanotaenia maylandiMelanotaenia misoolensisMelanotaenia papuae

AustraliaNo species listed

Data Deficient:

New GuineaMelanotaenia ajamaruensisMelanotaenia angfaMelanotaenia coronaMelanotaenia herbertaxelrodiMelanotaenia ogilbyiMelanotaenia pimaensisMelanotaenia praecoxMelanotaenia sexlineataMelanotaenia vanheurni

AustraliaMelanotaenia exquisita


As mentioned, there are currently 49 species of Melanotaenia known to exist in New Guinea (excluding Melanotaenia maccullochi). I have described five species, and the above listings contain an additional 15 species, giving us 20 species of New Guinea Melanotaenia species that appear in the IUCN Red List.

That leaves 29 species of New Guinea Melanotaenia that do not appear on the IUCN Red List. According to the IUCN Red List website, the Red List is “updated at least once each year.” But, to be generous, let’s assume that the list hasn’t been updated since 2010. There was one new species of New Guinea Melanotaenia described in 2010, two new species in 2011, four species in 2012 and one in 2013. So that’s eight species where, being generous, people conceivably haven’t gotten around to evaluating their status and entering it into the IUCN Red List.

But that still leaves 21 species of New Guinea Melanotaenia that do not appear on the IUCN Red List, and where their threat of extinction has not been evaluated. So approximately 40% of all known New Guinea species discovered between 1875 and 2008 have not even been evaluated for their threat of extinction. If you add in the nine species listed as being “Data Deficient” on the IUCN Red List, you have 30 species of 41 (considering the eight species described since 2010), or three quarters of the species, where not enough or nothing is known about their status.

Why?

“There are secrets still untouched in the heart of New Guinea – more gold to be found, more oil, rivers to be traced, unconquered mountains to be climbed, large areas of unknown country to be visited, where one may discover races and customs unlike any hitherto known to man…”

That’s why… and that quote, which was taken from an article written by Beatrice Grimshaw and published in The New York Times on February 4th, 1923, still holds true today.

Circling back to where I began, New Guinea is less than 0.5% of the surface of the Earth but has an estimated 5% to 10% of the total species in the world. Two countries, but both with thousands

of separate communities within their borders, and those communities divided by history—by language, by tradition, and by customs. Geography that is incompatible with easy exploration and that doesn’t have the infrastructure for people to easily move around. Politics, history, geography, and the lack of infrastructure combine to provide an island that is little known.

But for all it is a country where little is known about the ecosystem, we must all realize that it is a country that is in the process of destroying parts of itself through “development.” We can’t sit in judgment as we bask in the benefits of living in first world nations. We just can’t understand the benefits that a new and readily available source of food, a new school, or even a paved road can bring, nor can we begrudge people wanting to have a better life that can be given through the provision of those. But we can recognize that damage is being done, and take a small step to save a portion of that island for the future.

Back to Melanotaenia and the CARES Preservation Program

The CARES Preservation Program uses the IUCN Red List as a primary source for identifying fish that need to be part of a preservation or conservation program. Nothing on their website or in conversations with my local club’s CARES Preservation Program Coordinator has clarified how fish are added that do not appear on the IUCN Red List. By inference from the information available, it appears that there are individuals who are “Regional Coordinators” for the Priority Species at Risk List who oversee a specific geographical region (e.g. Madagascar, Lake Tanganyika, or Central America) and individuals who are “Group Coordinators” who oversee a family of fish (e.g. Anabantidae, Cyprinidae or Poeciliidae). It appears that these are responsible for the selection and inclusion of fish from a region or family onto the Priority Species at Risk List.

However, there is no Regional Coordinator for New Guinea, Australia or Sahul, and there is no listed Group Coordinator for Melanotaeniidae or Pseudomugilidae. In fact, the only name that appears on the CARES Preservation Program website that is strongly associated with rainbowfish is Gary Lange, who is listed as a “CARES Program Specialist.”

To me, finding an individual or individuals to fill this role is the first step required to ensure that the CARES Preservation Program includes fish from one of the world’s greatest at-risk regions. While it is tempting to suggest that individuals who are renowned within the rainbowfish community such as Dr. Gerald Allen (the aforementioned scientist and author of Rainbowfishes: In Nature and in the Aquarium) or Adrian Tappin (founder of the Home of the Rainbowfish website and author of Rainbowfishes: Their Care & Keeping in Captivity) be approached,


it makes more sense for the CARES Preservation Program to formally ally itself with the global authority on rainbowfish, the Australia and New Guinea Fish Association (ANGFA). Nowhere else is there an organization that includes some of the foremost authorities on the Sahul rainbowfish of the Melanotaeniidae and Pseudomugilidae families. In fact, ANGFA has implemented a Species Maintenance Group for Sahul rainbowfish, and being able to share that information between ANGFA and the CARES Preservation Program would provide a comprehensive base for including Sahul rainbowfish in the CARES Preservation Program Conservation Priority Species at Risk. I know that preliminary conversations have taken place between the two organizations, and it is my fervent hope that a formal alliance can be achieved to ensure that the unique and endangered fish of Sahul are fully included within the CARES Preservation Program.

But while waiting for a Regional Coordinator or Group Coordinator to be appointed, or for a formal alliance between CARES Preservation Program and ANGFA to occur, I would suggest to each and every one of you that you treat all species of Melanotaenia, Glossolepis, and Chilatherina that you encounter as likely CARES Preservation Program fish. With the majority of Sahul rainbowfish available in the

hobby being from New Guinea (Australia regulations make the export of native Australian species almost impossible), with the number of new species being released into the hobby that haven’t yet been evaluated for inclusion on the IUCN Red List, with the number of Melanotaenia (and Glossolepis and Chilatherina) species that are missing from the same list, and with the number of species that appear as “Data Deficient,” it is likely that some (many?) of the species will appear on the list in the future.

Melanotaenia are a passion of mine. Unlike a member of my local club (who is heavily involved in the CARES Preservation Program), I don’t believe that they are simply “cichlid food.” They are beautiful and unique species from endangered ecosystems in an unexplored part of our world, and deserve just as much conservation, awareness, recognition, encouragement, and support as any other family, genus, or species of fish. It is my hope that going forward, many of you will also recognize the need for them to be preserved, and find room in your fishroom for a tank of these beautiful fish.

1 Photos from Gary Lange.2 Photo from Rainbowfish.org.


GCAS Past Award WinnersJOSEPH FERDENZI ROLL OF HONOR Gene BaioccoJoe BugeiaMary Ann Bugeia Dan Carson

Claudia DickinsonCharles ElzerJoe FerdenziWarren Feuer

Herb FogalPaul HahnelBen HausEmma Haus

Jack OlivaAl PriestSusan PriestHerman Rabenau

Marcia RepanesNick RepanesDon SanfordMark Soberman

DON SANFORD BREEDER OF THE YEAR (Since 1981)1981-83 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ginny & Charlie Eckstein 1994-95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona 1983-85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rich Sorensen 1995-96 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Miglio 1985-86 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yezid Guttierez 1996-97 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Soberman 1986-87 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi 1997-98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeff George 1987-88 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia Piccione 1998-'00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Miglio 1988-89 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi 2000-01 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Soberman 1989-90 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Francis Lee 2001-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexander Priest1990-91 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eddie Szablewicz 2002-05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anton Vukich1991-92 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dominic Isla 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warren Feuer1992-93 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona 2007-10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeffrey Bollbach1993-94 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi 2011-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joseph Graffagnino

GENE BAIOCCO AQUARIST OF THE YEAR (Since 1990-91)1990-91 . . . . . . Diane & Harold Gottlieb 2001-02 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Kerner1991-92 . . . . . . Doug Curtin & Don Curtin 2002-03 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carlotti De Jager1992-93 . . . . . . Mark Soberman 2003-04 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Traub1993-94 . . . . . . Warren Feuer 2004-05 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Claudia Dickinson1994-95 . . . . . . Steve Sagona 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anton Vukich1995-96 . . . . . . Alexander & Susan Priest 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Vukich1996-97 . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Al Grusell1997-98 . . . . . . . Claudia Dickinson 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dan Radebaugh1998-99 . . . . . . Vincent & Rosie Sileo 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pete D’Orio1999-00 . . . . . . Pete D’Orio 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jeffrey Bollbach2000-01 . . . . . . Bernard Harrigan 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jules Birnbaum

WALTER HUBEL BOWL SHOW CHAMPIONS (Since 1983-84)1983-84 . . . . . . . . . Tom Lawless1984-85 . . . . . . . . . Tom Lawless1985-86 . . . . . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi1986-87 . . . . . . . . . . Joe Ferdenzi1987-88 (tie) . . . Mark Soberman

and Mary Ann & Joe Bugeia1988-89 . . . . . . . . . . . Jason Ryan1989-90 . . . . . Eddie Szablewicz1989-90 . . . . . Eddie Szablewicz1991-92 . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona

1992-93 . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona1993-94 . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona1994-95 . . . . . . . Carlotti De Jager1995-96 . . . . . . . . Mary Eve Brill1996-97 . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona1997-98 . . . . . . . . . Steve Sagona1998-99 . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Miglio1999-00 . . . . . . . . . . . Tom Miglio2000-01 . . . . . . . . . Pat Coushaine2001-02 . . . . . . . . William Amely

2002-03 . . . . . . . . Evelyn Eagan2003-04 . . . . . . . William Amely2004-05 . . . . . . . . Evelyn Eagan2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Vukich2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ed Vukich2008 . . . . . . . . . . William Amely2009 . . . . . . . . . . Mario Bengcion2010 . . . . . . . Alexander A. Priest2011-12 . . . . . Richard Waizman

GCAS PRESIDENTS (Post 1945 — number in parenthesis = consecutive terms)1946-49 Elliott Whiteway (4) 1968-70 Walter Hubel (2) 1981-84 Brian Kelly (3) 1950-51 Robert Greene (2) 1970-72 Dave Williams (2) 1984-86 Jack Oliva (2)1952-53 Robert Maybeck (2) 1972-73 Dan Carson (1) 1986-97 Joe Ferdenzi (11)1954-55 Leonard Meyer (2) 1973-75 Herb Fogal (2) 1997-99 Vincent Sileo (2)1956-57 Sam Estro (2) 1975-76 Richard Hoey (1) 1999-00 Jeff George (1)1958 Leonard Meyer (2+1) 1976-77 Ted Tura (1) 2000-08 Joe Ferdenzi (11+8)1959-64 Gene Baiocco (6) 1977-78 Gene Baiocco (6+1) 2009-13 Dan Radebaugh (5)1965 Andrew Fazio (1) 1978-79 Louis Kromm (1)1966-68 Charles Elzer (2) 1979-81 Don Sanford (2)



Greater City Aquarium Society— 2013 Awards —

To be awarded December 4, 2013

GENE BAIOCCO AQUARIST OF THE YEAR AWARDDAN PULEO

DON SANFORD BREEDER OF THE YEAR AWARDLESLIE DICK

WALTER HUBEL BOWL SHOW CHAMPIONJERRY O’FARRELL

AUTHOR AWARD PROGRAM (AAP) AWARDSOnly authors making contributions printed during 2013 (or who received AAP points as a result of NECand/or FAAS publication awards announced in 2013) and whose AAP levels changed are listed below.

Steve Berman . . . . . . . . . Author Dan Puleo . . . . . . . . . . . . AuthorJules Birnbaum . . . . . . . . Columnist Dan Puleo . . . . . . . . . . . . CorrespondentTommy Chang . . . . . . . . Writer Dan Radebaugh . . . . . . . LaureateWallace Deng . . . . . . . . . Correspondent Marsha Radebaugh . . . . . Journalist Denver Lettman . . . . . . . Correspondent Stephen Sica . . . . . . . . . . Grand Master Laureate Rich Levy . . . . . . . . . . . . Correspondent

Susan Priest is Author of the Year for 2013!

BREEDERS AWARD PROGRAM (BAP) AWARDSBreeders who achieved significant plateaus this year are:

Warren Feuer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Senior Grand Master BreederLeslie Dick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advanced Breeder



We are very pleased to welcome several new names to our member/author list. To be sure, some of these new names belong to

winners of our monthly cartoon caption contest, but hey – all contributors are valuable contributors! Several of our authors moved up in our overall Author Award points rankings: Congratulations are due Steve Berman, who achieved Author status, Wallace Deng, Denver Lettman, and Rich Levy, each of whom moved up from Author to Correspondent, Dan Puleo, who moved straight through Author to Correspondent, Tommy Chang, who moved up from Correspondent to Writer, Marsha Radebaugh, Essayist to Journalist, Jules Birnbaum, Journalist to Colmunist, and myself, who moved from Columnist to Laureate. Special mention goes to Steve Sica, whose 260 points moved him from Master Laureate to Grand Master Laureate. Thanks as always to Al and Sue Priest, whose massive contributions are so vital to the continuing excellence of Modern Aquarium. In a very close race, our Author of the Year for 2013 is Susan Priest! Our sincere thanks and congratulations go to all of our contributors. We hope to hear more from each of you in 2014!

Overview of the Author Award Program The GCAS AAP awards points for contributions to Modern Aquarium. Persons acquiring a specified number of points will receive additional recognition in the form of a certificate for having reached designated Accomplishment Levels. (See “Accomplishment Levels.”) Each person making a qualifying contribution to Modern Aquarium receives points, as well as chances for a Prize Drawing at the Annual Holiday Party. Eligibility Any member of Greater City who makes a contribution to Modern Aquarium is automatically a participant. Points Five points will be awarded for an original article of 500 words or less. Ten points will be awarded for an original article of 501 words and over. Five points will be awarded for an original photograph, drawing, or illustration submitted with, and as part of, an original article. If more than two photographs, drawings, or illustrations are submitted with a related article, only two will be given points (this is in addition to the points awarded the article, based on its size). Ten points will be awarded for an original color photograph that is used on the front cover. Photographs must be the work of the member submitting them, and

must not have been previously published, or submitted for publication, in any commercial or amateur publication. Two or more related photographs or illustrations submitted with captions, and occupying one or more pages, will be counted as two photos (10 points) and as an article over 500 words (10 points), for a total of 20 points. An example would be a photo spread with captions. An original article on a fish in the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program will receive double points (i.e., 10 points for an article of 500 words or less, and 20 points for an article of 501 words or more). Photos and drawings of a C.A.R.E.S. eligible species will also receive double points. Five points will be awarded for an original puzzle which is used on the “Fin Fun” page of Modern Aquarium. Ten points will be awarded to the winner of our Cartoon Caption Contest. Points are awarded only once for an article, drawing, puzzle, or photograph. No points are awarded for subsequent reprints, regardless of whether the original article was awarded points previously in the AAP. To be eligible for AAP points, a contribution must first have been submitted to Modern Aquarium. However, if an article previously published in Modern Aquarium is significantly revised by its author (as a result of new information or developments), and if such a revision is first submitted to Modern Aquarium, it will be treated as a new article. Points are awarded in the year the article is printed. Editorials and President’s Messages are excluded. An article deemed unacceptable by the Editorial Staff of Modern Aquarium for reasons of appropriateness of topic, suitability, or possible violations of copyright or libel laws, will be ineligible for participation in the GCAS AAP. Decisions of the Staff are final. Points credited to an author may not be carried over or credited to subsequent calendar years for the purposes of raffle prize chances or “Author Of The Year” designation.Bonus Points If, in the year following its publication in Modern Aquarium, an article is given a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award by the North East Council of Aquarium Societies (“NEC”) or by the Federation of American Aquarium Societies (“FAAS”), an additional 10 points will be awarded if the author is a GCAS member in the year the NEC or FAAS award is announced. This applies only to articles (not to drawings, columns, cartoons or photos). These bonus points are credited in the year that the award is announced, not the year for which it is awarded.


Prize Drawing For every 5 AAP points earned in a calendar year, the recipient is given one chance in our “Authors/Contributors Only” raffle. Author of the Year The person with the most points in a calendar year receives a certificate as “Author Of The Year” for that year. This is our most prestigious award, and the winner truly exemplifies the high value which they place on the contribution of experience and knowledge to the aquarium hobby at large.

Accomplishment Levels For the accomplishment levels specified below, points are cumulative over the life of the AAP program.

1Points are doubled for each article on a fish in the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program.2Points are doubled for each photo or drawing of a C.A.R.E.S. fish used on the cover.3Bonus points are awarded to participants for awards (other than Honorable Mention) received from the Federation of American Aquarium Societies (FAAS) Publication Awards, and The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies (NEC) Article Awards, in the year these awards are announced, not in the year for which they are awarded.4Modern Aquarium staff members are ineligible for the Raffle. Family members of staff ARE eligible.

Author Award Program ReportA Status Report - Points Awarded March to

December 2013


Author........................................................25 to 45 ptsCorrespondent..........................................50 to 95 ptsWriter....................................................100 to 145 ptsEssayist..................................................150 to 195 ptsJournalist ..............................................200 to 295 ptsColumnist..............................................300 to 495 ptsLaureat..................................................500 to 745 ptsSenior Laureate....................................750 to 995 ptsMaster Laureate ............................1,000 to 1,495 pts

Grand Master Laureate.................1,500 to 1,995 ptsSr. Grand Master Laureate.........2,000 to 10,000 ptsEditor Emeritus..................................over 10,000 pts

Here are the total AAP points for all GCAS members as of December 2013.

If you have questions, or feel that there are errors, please contact Dan Radebaugh.

William Amely.........................................................85Sharon Barnett........................................................30Fred Bellise..............................................................10Mario Bengcion.......................................................15Steve Berman...........................................................25Jules Birnbaum.....................................................460Tom Bohme..............................................................15Victoria Bohme........................................................25Jeff Bollbach............................................................15Roger Brewster........................................................10Tommy Chang.......................................................100Donald Curtin..........................................................10Doug Curtin.............................................................90Carlotti De Jager.....................................................30Wallace Deng...........................................................70Les Deutsch................................................................5Brad Dickinson........................................................20Claudia Dickinson..............................................3,195Al DiSpigna................................................................5Pete O’Orio................................................................5Rod Du Casse.............................................................5Evelyn Eagan...........................................................25Frank Fallon............................................................65Harry Faustmann....................................................50Anita Ferdenzi.........................................................15Francesca Ferdenzi...................................................5Joseph Ferdenzi..................................................1,370Marisa Ferdenzi .....................................................20Alison Feuer...............................................................5Warren Feuer.........................................................295Michael Foran.........................................................25Artie Friedman........................................................15 Peter Foster..............................................................10Mike Gallo...............................................................10Jeff George.............................................................145Horst Gerber..........................................................130Steve Giacobello......................................................15Joseph Graffagnino...............................................270Steve Gruebel...........................................................10Al Grusell.................................................................20Bernard Harrigan..............................................1,800Steven Hinshaw.......................................................75Jason Kerner..........................................................140Charlie Kuhne.........................................................10Denver Lettman.......................................................65Rich Levy.................................................................60Bill Luckett..............................................................10John Malinowski.......................................................5

Desiree Martin.........................................................45Tom Miglio...............................................................25Jackleen Minassi-Haftvani.....................................20 Temes Mo..................................................................5Jerry O’Farrell......................................................205Elliot Oshins..........................................................425Jim Peterson..............................................................5Margaret Peterson..................................................10Alexander Priest.................................................3,215Susan Priest........................................................2,820Dan Radebaugh.....................................................530Marsha Radebaugh...............................................275Jannette Ramirez..................................................220Leonard Ramroop...................................................30Mark Rubanow..........................................................5Charley Sabatino...................................................170Donna Sosna Sica....................................................10Stephen Sica.......................................................1,625Vincent Sileo............................................................50Danielle Soberman....................................................5Ilyssa Soberman......................................................15Robin Soberman......................................................10Mark Soberman......................................................75Jack Traub...............................................................20Undergravel Reporter........................................1,330Anton Vukich.............................................................5Edward Vukich........................................................55Michael Vulis...........................................................40Greg Wuest..............................................................25


GCAS BREEDER AWARD PROGRAM 2013

NAME SPECIES BRED Points 1st - GCAS CARES DATE

LESLIE DICK CERT #1862 HEMILORICARIA PARVA 25 U 6/5/20131863 XIPHOPHORUS XIPHIDIUM 5 6/5/20131864 XENOTACA EISENI 15 Ì 6/5/20131865 GIRADINUS UNINOTATUS 15 U 6/5/20131866 FUNDULOPANCHAX SJOSTEDI 25 Ì 6/5/20131867 GOODEA ATRIPINNIS ATRIPINNIS 30 U Ì 6/5/20131868 SKIFFIA BILINEATA 30 U Ì 6/5/20131869 TANICHTHYS ALBONUBES 15 Ì 10/3/2012

Number of species: 8 Total Points 160

JOSEPH FERDENZI1860 NANNOSTOMUS BECKFORDI 15 6/5/20131861 XENOPHALLUS UMBRATILIS 15 U 6/5/2013


WARREN FEUER1852 CORYDORAS SCHULTZEI 15 3/6/20131854 STEATOCRANUS TINANTI 20 U 5/1/20131859 EPIPLATYS(PSEUDOEPIPLATYS) ANNULATUS 15 6/5/2013


JOSEPH GRAFFAGNINO1853 POECILIOPSIS GRACILIS 5 3/6/2013


MARK SOBERMAN1870 XIPHOPHORUS NEZAHUALCOYOTL 5 9/12/20131871 CORYDORAS OIAPOGUENSIS 25 U 9/12/20131872 RACHOVISCUS CRASSICEPS 25 U 9/12/20131873 CORYDORAS SP. "C045" 15 9/12/2013


EDWARD VUKICH1855 TILAPIA SNYDERAE 20 Ì 5/1/20131856 GEOPHAGUS BRASILIENSIS 15 5/1/20131857 HAPLOCHROMIS SP. "RUBY GREEN" 15 5/1/20131858 LABIDOCHROMIS CAERULEUS 10 5/1/20131874 LEPIDIOLAMPROGUS HECQUI 15 10/2/20131875 VARIABILICHROMIS MOORI 25 U 10/2/2013


U indicates first recorded breeding of the species in the GCAS Breeders Award ProgramÌ indicates a species at risk that is listed in the C.A.R.E.S. Preservation Program


NAME POINTS # BRED NAME POINTS # BRED1 JEFF BOLLBACH 1,645 119 40 DICK MOORE 160 52 JOSEPH GRAFFAGNINO 1,200 85 41 JEAN BRAUDE 155 123 JOSEPH FERDENZI 935 61 42 BARRY LYNCH 150 184 ANTON VUKICH 910 70 43 SHARON MIRABELLA 135 105 MARK SOBERMAN 875 46 44 THADDEUS TURA 135 96 TOM MIGLIO 865 66 45 JOE CUCINIELLO 135 97 WARREN FEUER 815 54 46 JORGE RODRIGUEZ 135 98 EDWARD VUKICH 690 53 47 HARRY EVANS 125 119 STEVE SAGONA 655 47 48 KEN BRUST 120 15

10 JOHN STORA 540 47 49 FRANK GANNON 120 1611 JOSE ARANDA 505 47 50 JERRY SCHULTZ 120 1112 JOHN IANNONE 485 45 51 THE KELLYS 115 1213 THE ECKSTEINS 455 39 52 GEORGE MAROTI 115 814 CARLOTTI DE JAGER 440 33 53 JOE MANCUSI 115 815 CLAUDIA DICKINSON 435 27 54 HERB FOGAL 100 1316 RICHARD SORENSEN 420 33 55 JERRY MAYER 95 717 FRANCIS LEE 390 28 56 JOE FLANAGAN 95 1218 GERALD GORYCKI 370 41 57 DENNIS EGIELSKI 95 419 CHARLEY SABATINO 360 20 58 BRIAN KELLY 90 620 THE REPANES 355 27 59 PETE D'ORIO 90 921 JACK OLIVA 345 42 60 ROBERT MC KEAND 85 522 HAROLD KETTERER 335 30 61 EDWARD SZABLEWICZ 85 723 AL PRIEST 330 8 62 NOEL RODRIGUEZ 85 724 THE LOMBARDIS 325 32 63 BOB KUHLKE 80 725 GREGORY WUEST 310 30 64 LEONARD RAMROOP 80 1126 DON SANFORD 310 25 65 BRADLEY PLOTKIN 80 627 TED KURDZIEL 295 24 66 JOHN LEE 75 528 TONY FERRARO 275 23 67 DOUGLAS CURTIN 75 1229 THE BUGEIAS 270 31 68 JOSE PEREZ 75 630 DOMINIC ISLA 235 20 69 TOM BOHME 75 731 STEPHAN ZANDER 230 14 70 BOB RADAMACHER 70 932 YEZID GUTIERREZ 206 20 71 DONALD CURTIN 70 1033 PHILIP INGENITO 205 13 72 PAT PICCIONE 70 734 ROD DU CASSE 190 14 73 SARA MONHEIT 65 635 THE DONATONES 175 18 74 CHARLES KUHNE 60 836 JOHN MORAN 170 11 75 JOEL FORGIONE 60 437 LOUIS KROMM 170 16 76 BOB DU BOIS 55 538 JEFF GEORGE 165 17 77 HORST GERBER 55 439 LESLIE DICK 160 8 78 BOB WRANOVICS 50 4

GCASBreeder Award Totals


NAME POINTS # BRED NAME POINTS # BRED79 MIKE CASSANO 50 5 109 THE FERNANDEZES 15 180 WARREN BURKE 45 7 110 WILLIAM SADERA 15 181 BRUCE WEILER 45 3 111 DAN GAWIAK 15 282 WILLIAM BRANDOFINO 45 4 112 KATHY BUSBY 10 183 CHARLES SHATAKA 40 5 113 ABE COOPER 10 284 CHARLES BENEFATTI 40 7 114 BILL ARONNE 10 185 DAN RADEBAUGH 40 3 115 RICH LEVY 15 286 BRIAN STERN 35 4 116 DIANNE SPELLMAN 10 187 ARTHUR MAYER 35 3 117 JOHN MC CAFFERY 10 288 BARRY CENTER 35 3 118 JERROLD MEYER 10 189 THE MARTINS 35 5 119 HORST MIEHLBRAD 10 190 VINNIE RITCHIE 35 3 120 FRANK FALLON 10 191 AL PHANEUF 35 5 121 WALTER ROSTOWSKI 10 292 BRUCE WELLER 30 3 122 JASON KERNER 10 193 MICHAEL VILLANO 30 4 123 JAY LIEBOWITZ 5 294 ROGER BEAULIEU 30 2 124 ADAM KLEINROCK 5 195 THE STEGMANS 30 3 125 EDYTH MONSOUR 5 196 ROB ALTONEN 30 2 126 KATHY FERNANDEZ 5 197 GENE BAIOCCO 30 4 127 THE QUINNS 5 198 STANLEY WEGLARZ 25 4 128 WILLIAM STALZER 5 299 VINCENT BABINO 25 2 129 JAMES BROOKS 5 1

100 EMMA JORDAN HAUS 20 3 130 RICHARD WALSH 5 1101 DANNY SHEPARD 20 3 131 BILL SMITH 5 1102 GUNTER HORSTMANN 20 3 132 DANNY CIRNIGLIAR 5 1103 STEVEN MILLER 20 1 133 GEROLD COCH 5 1104 PETER SCHLEISMAN 20 2 134 BOB FUCHS 0 1105 ARNOLD FREED 20 4 135 PETER SAGINARIO 0 5106 STUART KRICHEVSKY 20 3 136 DEAN ABRUMSON 0 1107 JOE ARONNE 15 2 137 VINCENT MASCOLA 0 3108 IGNACIO ARENCIBIA 15 1 138 JOHN HILL 0 1

36 December 2013 Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)

Member Classifieds

WANTED: For Restoration Project: Does anyone have some pieces of bubble-edge glass? Perhaps from a broken or old tank? Need three pieces -- Will pay! Please contact Steve: shhinshaw@gmail.com.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR SALE: 75 Gallon Tank, custom wood stand, lighting, 2 filters.

Call Paul or Debbie: 718-908-8127------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR SALE: 210 Gallon Tank, wood stand, glass canopies. Tank & stand both need some repair.Call Dan: 718-458-8437------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FOR SALE: Fish Hobbyist’s Dream Home: $169,000!

Fishroom: 15 X 26 – almost 400 square feet. 10 Picture-window tanks, with built-in wall shelving underneath for storage. room for more tanks, with pressurized air system throughout the room. Full sink (hot/cold) with work space; ceramic tile floor.

Pond room: 12 X 16 – almost 200 square feet. 300 gallon indoor pond for tropical fish. Mag pump, ceramic tile floor, large cathedral windows, lots of light for growing plants. gorgeous views. great place to read the sunday papers.

rest of house: 2 Br, 2 Ba, hUge kitchen with 49 cabinets and drawers. all rooms huge, Lr/desk area. almost 2,000 square feet. Central a/C.

Climate: 340 sunny days last year. Mild winters with absolutely No snow shoveling.

Location: truth or Consequences, New Mexico. great name, huh? Was formerly called hot springs (and yes, we’ve got ‘em). Very friendly community. Cars actually stop for you to cross the street. rarely hear a car horn. two blocks from town.

house Location: on historic site for geronimo and his braves, where they ground holes in huge boulders (on the southern edge


of the property) for cooking maize. Evidence still there (placard next to property). Just 20 feet below us stands a fi sh pond stocked with trout, and another hundred feet down is the Rio Grande River, for rafting, tubing, and fi shing. For even greater bass fi shing, we’re only fi ve miles from Elephant Butte Lake, the largest lake in New Mexico, which also features water sports such as boating, swimming, fi shing, jet skiing, etc. There are two marinas.

View: Tremendous! From the front porch (completely tiled) you have the best view of Turtleback Mountain rising majestically above the park and river in front of you. Breakfast on the porch is breathtaking! Lunch too!

Taxes: Only $600 per year.

Summing Up: We’ve lived here for 19 years, and I both the fi sh pond and the fi shroom built for my hobby, but I’m now 83, and it’s time to retire from the hobby. We watched our grandchildren grow up as they spent all their summers here. Irreplaceable memories. You could have them too.

Charlie Kuhne: (575) 894-2957

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------FOR SALE: African Cichlids -- Fry to Adult size; plus fi lters heaters, etc.

Call Derek: 917-854-4405------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------NEEDS HOME: Beautiful young orange & white tabby. Neutered male with chip. Smart, loving, exhuberant. Needs to be your one and only kitty.Call Dan or Marsha: 718-458-8437


GCAS Happenings December

Here are meeting times and locations of some aquarium societies in the Metropolitan New York area:

GREATER CITY AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: March 5, 2014Speaker: TBAEvent: TBAMeets: Meets the first Wednesday of the month (except

January & February) at 7:30pm: Queens Botanical Garden 43-50 Main Street - Flushing, NY Contact: Dan Radebaugh (718) 458-8437Email: [email protected]: http://www.greatercity.org

BIG APPLE GUPPY CLUBMeets: Last Tuesday each month (except Jan, Feb, July,

and August) at 7:30-10:00pm. Alley Pond Environmental Ctr.: 228-06 Northern Blvd. Contact: Donald Curtin (718) 631-0538

BROOKLYN AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: December 13, 2013 Speaker: NoneEvent: Holiday PartyMeets: 2nd Friday of the month (except July and August) at 7:30pm: NY Aquarium - Education Hall, Brooklyn, NYCall: BAS Events Hotline: (718) 837-4455Website: http://www.brooklynaquariumsociety.org

LONG ISLAND AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: December 13, 2013Speaker: None Event: Holiday Party Meets: 3rd Fridays (except July and August) 8:00pm. Room 120 in Endeavor Hall on theState University at

Stony Brook Campus, Stony Brook, NY Email: Margaret Peterson - [email protected]: http://liasonline.org/

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

NASSAU COUNTY AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: December 10, 2013Speaker: NoneEvent: Holiday PartyMeets: 2nd Tuesday of the month (except July and August)

at 7:30 PM Molloy College - Kellenberg Hall ~1000 Hempstead Ave -

Rockville Centre, NYContact: Mike Foran (516) 798-6766Website: http://www.ncasweb.org

NORTH JERSEY AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: December 7, 2013Speaker: None Event: Holiday PartyMeets at: The Lyndhurst Elks Club, 251 Park Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 Contact: NJAS Hotline at (732) 332-1392Email: [email protected]: http://www.njas.net/

NORWALK AQUARIUM SOCIETYNext Meeting: January 16, 2014Speaker: TBATopic: TBAMeets: 8:00 P.M. - 3rd Thursday of each month except for

July & December at: Earthplace - the Nature Discovery Center - Westport, CT

Contact: Sal Silvestri Call our toll free number (866) 219-4NASEmail: [email protected]: http://norwalkas.org/

Last Month’s Bowl Show Winners:1 Jerry O'Farrell red albinO rainbOw

2 william amely betta

3 richard waizman betta

OFFicial 2013 bOwl ShOw tOtalS:Jerry O'Farrell 21 richard waizman 20 mariO bengciOn 12 ruben lugO 6

william amely 5 carlOtti deJager 5 leSlie dick 3


In spite of popular demand to thecontrary, this humor and informationcolumn continues. As usual, it doesNOT necessarily represent theopinions of the Editor, or of theGreater City Aquarium Society.

Photo from http://genomicgastronomy.com/work/projects/glowing-sushi/

FluorescentFood

A series by “The Undergravel Reporter”

The acronym GMO stands for "geneticallymodified organism," meaning an organismwhose genetic material has been altered using

genetic engineering techniques. GloFish® is apatented and trademarked brand of fluorescentzebrafish (Danio rerio) sold by YorktownTechnologies.

It is one of the first genetically modifiedanimals to become publicly available as a pet.While not originally developed for food, it is alsoone of the first genetically modified animals tobecome publicly available as “food.”1

Yes, you read that correctly, some people areactually eating raw, genetically modified, glowingzebra danios! The website of The Center forGenomic Gastronomy (“an independent researchinstitute that examines the biotechnologies andbiodiversity of human food systems”) has a videofrom “The Glowing Sushi Cooking Show” on howto make glow-in-the-dark sushi. The websitedeclares “Glowing sushi innovates one step furtherby making Genetically Modified ingredients morevisible (they glow!).”2

The reason that the group makes sushi, ratherthan a GloFish soup or stew is that heating candenature the proteins that make it glow in the dark.(The Glowing Sushi chefs do freeze the GloFish,though, to kill any parasites or pathogens, beforeeating the sushi.)

Even the Undergravel Reporter can't passsomething like this up!

References1 http://www.glowingsushi.com/2 http://genomicgastronomy.com/about/



Fin FunDespite stories about the “Climbing Perch” or the bush fishes, fish do not climb trees, and most certainlynot Greater City’s emblem, the angelfish, so, the little angelfish at the base of this tree needs your help toget it to the top.

Answers to our last puzzle :

1) The higher the temperature of the water in your aquarium, the more oxygen it can hold. True9 False :

2) The labyrinth organ in anabantoids is located in the fish’s buccal pouch. True9 False :

3) Turkiichthys transgrediens is a killifish native to Lake Aci in Southwestern Turkey. True : False9

4) Indian almond leaves and bog wood will harden the water in your aquarium. True9 False :

5) One gallon of water weighs more than 8 pounds. True : False9

6) Daphina are crustaceans commonly called “water fleas.” True : False9

7) A brackish-water aquarium is one where the water is always light to dark brown in color. True9 False :

8) Goldfish are the first tropical fish kept as domestic pets. True9 False :


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