Strange places fish live – BBC

Clownfish - via wikipedia

A nice piece from the BBC illustrating the wonderful variety of fish behaviour. Some of these fish are quite familiar to us yet much of their life remains to be discovered.

A Great Barrier Reef pearlfish has been filmed by the BBC living inside a sea cucumber‘s bottom. But it is not the only fish with a somewhat unusual home. Where are some of the other strange places fish live?

Read it here – BBC Nature.

Related articles

• BBC’s new Great Barrier Reef documentary serves up some serious eye candy [Documentaries] (io9.com)

Happy New Year

Aphyosemion bivitattum

Happy New Year from all at The Fair City Aquarist Society. My resolution this year is to add more content to the site more often.

Last year’s stats for the site can be read here – 2011 web site report.

How fish choose their mates

Guppies - from wikipedia

When male guppies choose females to mate with, it seems they can be quite choosy.

Males decide how much effort they put into courtship and which females to court based on how many others they have recently encountered and how attractive they were, according to a new study into the mating tactics of tropical fish.

Read more here.

Cichlid Male Nannies Help Out, Especially If They’ve Been Sneaking

Some species of cichlid form groups with younger fish looking after babies. Often these fish are unrelated to the larger , more dominant fish.

Cooperative breeding of this kind has puzzled evolutionary biologists for a long time as it is costly and often does not generate obvious fitness benefits to subordinates. In the case of Neolamprologus. pulcher, the main benefit for subordinates to stay in a territory of dominant breeders seems to be the protection gained against predators provided by the large group members.

This study shows a direct relationship between the relatedness of these helper fish to the offspring and the amount of care they provide.

More here.

Monogamy and pair bonding practiced among certain fish species

With some species of cichlid fish the male takes eggs into his mouth and nurtures both them and the developing young. Up until now it’s not been certain if he was the genetic parent of the young or had been fooled into looking after them by the female.

The study, led by a research team at Kyoto University‘s Graduate School of Science, has found a solution to the mystery of whether mouthbrooding females transfer their young to any male fish in their school or specifically to their mating partners, by proving that the male fish the females shift the young to are indeed the genetic fathers of the young.

More here.

 

Loaches (Balitorid family & Botiid family)

Loaches
Balitorid family & Botiid family
Mark J Duffill

Loaches by Mark J Duffill

Well-known enthusiast Mark Duffill has produced two colourful and informative books about his passion – loaches. There is renewed interest in this somewhat neglected group of fishes as more species of loaches, and Asian fish in general, appear in the trade. One book is devoted to the Balitorid family (the river loaches) and the other to the Botiid family (true loaches).

Both books are slim – running to 24 and 36 pages respectively. They are however jam-packed with information on loach biology and husbandry and both books are profusely illustrated with colour photographs. The decision to publish in paperback rather than hard cover has kept the costs down and both can be had for a combined price of just £16.

If loaches are your thing, or you just want to find out more about these lovely fish, then I heartily recommend these books.

Available from The International Loach Association website.

4 stars.

Laubuca dadiburjori – Dadio

Female dadio

Introduction

Laubuca dadiburjori, known as the dadio, orange chela or orange hatchetfish is an interesting little danionin. More commonly found under the old scientific name – Chela dadiburjori it is an under-rated fish that is ideal for a medium-sized community tank of peaceful fishes. L. dadiburjori was first described in 1952 by the grandly named Ambat Gopalan Kutty Menon it was named in honour of one of his assistants – Sam Dadyburjor.

Royal Society Journal Archive

Charles Darwin - Image via Wikipedia

Scientific papers can often be difficult to access without expensive subscriptions. This is especially true for non-scientists and those of us outwith academia. Well now some good news. The Royal Society Journal Archive has been made permanently free to access. This is a brilliant resource for research going back centuries and it’s now free. It includes papers by Charles Darwin, Ralf Britz, Tan Heok Hui and many others so well done to The Royal Society.

More details here.

The Catfishes of Africa (A handbook for identification and maintenance)

The Catfishes of Africa
A handbook for identification and maintenance
Dr. Lothar Seegers, English translation by Mary Bailey
English edition – 2008

The sucker-mouth and corydoras catfishes from South America dominate the catfish tanks in any pet fish store. Hundreds of varieties of these fish are available and many are familiar to even beginner aquarists. Other parts of the world are sorely under-represented with only a few Asian species routinely offered and (Synodontis excepted) almost nothing from Africa.

Image via Wikipedia

However the huge continent of Africa has much to offer the catfish fan and this book aims to throw some light on this fascinating group and at the same time promote them as a viable alternative.

Nannocharax fasciatus

Nannocharax fasciatus

Introduction

Nannocharax fasciatus is a highly unusual characin from Africa. Known as The African darter tetra it was described by the German born ichthyologist Albert Günther in 1867. It is notable for its engaging habit of sand-hopping.

Distribution & Availability

N. fasciatus is found across a wide area of West Africa from Senegal, Niger and Chad in the north to Cameroon in the South and includes all the countries along The Gulf of Guinea. Although N. fasciatus is the most likely member of the genus to be encountered in the hobby it is still a rarity. Specialist African importers may be able to order it in and it can turn up from time to time in imports of West African cichlids. When they do turn up they are not particularly expensive fish being rather plain and usually small. Expect to pay only 3 or 4 pounds per specimen