Tips to maintain your Arowana

Well here are some tips to maintain your Arowana and the Aquarium; the Arowana’s eating habits produce a lot of waste and you should therefore, pay extra attention to water conditions in your aquarium. Changing 25% to 35% of the water weekly is advisable, or better yet, 20% twice a week. You should maintain the pH neutral. Pay particular attention to the temperature and pH ranges suggested below on the various species, since if you have it too warm, it might cause them to age faster, look less Arowana, and even shorten their life. A to cold temperature might on the other hand kill them.

Generally, a good healthy Arowana Fish will grow to be at least 24 to 30 inches (60-75cm). Some varieties can become 48 inches (120 cm) in the wild. They may be aggressive (definitely not good community fish), and Arowana fish can sometimes be best kept alone in an aquarium. Remember that other smaller fish in the tank may become their dinner.

Arowana fish will often swim in the top of the aquarium, and are capable of jumping from the aquarium. Keep the aquarium well covered to avoid coming home to a dead pet. Silver Arowana Fish in the wild have been known to jump at insects in trees as read in a comic J.

Arowana Fish may live for many years, and if well cared for Arowana fish may live longer than 20 years in captivity. If you keep the aquarium temperature towards the lower end, they may look young longer than they would in a higher temperature. Please pay particular attention to each Arowana Fish’s needs below.

The Asian Arowana or Golden Arowana (Scleropages formosus) is considered an endangered species. Care should be taken to follow the law in purchasing and transporting them. Asian Arowana fish generally can grow to about 36 inches, and are often much more expensive then the other Arowana species. These are well known and popular South East Asia where they are believed to bring luck. Feeding them healthy Guppies, Gold Fish, Frogs, or Shrimp makes a good stable diet. The temperature is best kept between 75 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit (24-30 C), and a pH level between 7.0 and 7.5 are advisable.
Well about their Vastu value:
Generally people say that by growing these kind of fishes, we get mental relaxation, by and large its true because When we watch the movements of these colour fishes our mind gets relaxed.
When we try to attach the Vastu element to these fishes, they are seen as a balancing element, When these live colourful fishes are grown in houses, it brings prosperity and happiness in one’s life and I have been experiencing it too...

How to care Yellow Labido

This is one of the most commonly kept African Cichlids and is THE most common Malawi Cichlid to be kept in home aquariums. It is a Rock dwelling Mbuna and is a maternal mouthbrooder. The reasons for its popularity are primarily its looks, size and temperament but, fairly obvious sexing, and ease of breeding contribute to keep this in the Top Ten of African Cichlids!

Appearance:
The most popular and widespread form of Labidochromis Caeruleus is a Bright Yellow - hence its common names (Both Males and Females are Yellow with the Males having black pigment in their finnage). In fact it exists in Blue and White and in the wild the Yellow version is only to be found in the Northeast part of the lake between Charo and Lions Cove.

Size:
Yellow Labs are a dwarf species and can reach a length of 10-13 cm (4-5 in.). The females are commonly smaller than the male (2-3 in).

Temperament:
Lab. Caeruleus is a quiet and peaceful Mbuna, and is a perfect cichlid for Aquarists moving from Community fishkeeping to the colourful world of Cichlids. However, be warned, a quiet and peaceful Cichlid is still a Cichlid, Yellow labs are not suitable for adding to your community tank and doing so may well result in not only, rather fewer fish than you start with but also unhappy fish all around.

Sexing:
Adult dominant males are extremely easy to sex - They have Black Anal and Ventral Fins and a Black Dorsal Fin with a bright yellow top stripe, as they age they also develop more Black pigment leading to a jet black underside and Charcoal Stripes on its body, from the front they look as though they are wearing a Mask . Sub dominant males are harder to sex in that whilst they will usually also have black Anal/Ventral fins the black pigment is far less pronounced leading to easy confusion between sub dominant Males and Females.

Female Yellow Labs are a paler/pastel version of the Males - They tend not to have any black Anal/Ventral fins these instead being a pale yellow, The Females tend to be much smaller than the Males although this difference is not obvious as Juveniles when all the Fish are the same size.





Breeding/Reproduction:
Labidochromis caeruleus is one of the easiest mouthbrooders to breed. Either buy five or six juvenile fish (try for a ratio of at least two females to each male) and grow them on. They will breed from around six months of age or about 1-1/2 inches in length. Or buy Trios of Adults in the same ratio. Breeding occurs as for many mbuna. The Male will select a spawning site, it could be on a piece of Slate or on the bare bottom. He will flirt with all the females until one responds and follows him. The female deposits the eggs in the immediate area, and the male follows fertilizing the eggs. The female returns and picks up the eggs holding them in her buccal cavity (beneath lower Jaw/throat) and also deposits more eggs. This can go on for about an hour. The female will then hide out and begin to brood. (The male starts looking for the next female - his involvement at an end).
Females are generally good "holders" and will refuse food for up to four weeks. Because going for food for so long weakens the female it is a good idea to remove her from the Main tank into a separate tank anytime after you see her obviously "Holding". This means that after she has released the Fry you can feed her up before returning her to her often boisterous tankmates. Upon release of the Fry she will continue to care for them for about a week given the opportunity and providing she has plenty of food the fry should be in no danger. The actual time she will hold depends on a number of factors and Temperature plays a significant part with release times recorded of 25 days at 27-28° C (81-82° F) or 40 days at 23-24° C (73-75° F) so somewhere between these would be the average. The number of Fry is generally quite small with Young females producing 5-8 Fry and older more experienced fish producing up to 15.

Keeping Labidochromis Caeruleus in the home Aquarium

pH: 7.7 - 8.6 (This is the variation found in Lake Malawi) Aim for midpoint.
Hardness: Aim for 8-10 KH and a little higher ideally for GH (Most aquarists think all Rift lakes are extremely hard water-This is not necessarily so) Aim for Harder end of scale to achieve regular spawning.
Temperature: 73-82 F (23-28 C)
Minimum Aquarium size 120 Litres, Ideal size from 300 Litres upwards.
Décor: Provide Lots of Rock work/Caves and fine Gravel or Sand as substrate. Whilst they do not dig up plants they will often eat them so Plants happy in their environment would be those such as Java Fern.
Filtration: Lake Malawi is a lake so vast that there is no measurable pollution, in the wild, Malawi fish would never have to cope with Ammonia or Nitrite OR Nitrate, therefore you should aim at keeping your water conditions as close to perfect as possible. The only way to do this is via Efficient Filtration and regular water changes. Undergravel filters are not really suitable for any Mbuna due to their digging habits so I would recommend a Good quality External or Internal Power filter or two. Malawi fish require well oxygenated water achieved by good surface movement and are high waste producing fish. Therefore your filter should ideally turn tank water over at least 5 times an hour but bear in mind that it is not necessary to have white water rapids at the surface.

Feeding:
Labidochromis Caeruleus are Mbuna and Mbuna need vegetables (herbivores) while other Cichlids mainly feed in high protein, frozen and even live foods (omnivores, carnivores or piscivores). Providing Yellow Labs with too much protein may cause the Malawi bloat disease which is extremely difficult to be treated and usually fatal. Restrict food stuffs to good quality Flake food with a high vegetable content and pellets and alternate these with High vegetable content frozen food, Lettuce on a clip (Labs love Lettuce!), shelled peas and once a week or so Live brine shrimp. Avoid Tubifex and blood worms because although they will eat it with relish, tubifex worms should be avoided since they are reported to carry many microorganisms which may harm your fish. Leave them without any food at least once a week.

LABIDOCHROMIS CAERULEUS

L. caeruleus is understandably one of the more popular Cichlids in the hobby, always being in demand. This is due to its bright yellow coloring and its more docile temperment. This latter attribute makes this African Cichlid a compatable tank mate for virtually hundreds of other Cichlids. Dear to the hearts of many cichlidophiles, this mbuna gets housed with peacocks, featherfins, lamprologus, and of course other mbuna. Its omnivorous diet also makes it a versatile addition to just about any setup.

The "Electric Yellow" morph is just one of almost a dozen different morphologies seen in this species through out the lake. These other morphs go either unnoticed, ignored, or forgotten by most hobbyists because of the omnipresent availability of the "Electric Yellow". This color variant, while more rare in the lake, enjoys a distribution in the hobby that would easily out number the wild population by probably several hundred-fold. In fact, the "Electric Yellow" that is so popular today was only recently discovered (about 15 years ago). The discovery and subsequent public offering of this mbuna constitutes a very colorful tale.

L. caeruleus was first identified in 1956 by G. Fryer. He described this fish as normally being white, with a black stripe through the dorsal fin, which would become a pale blue cast in breeding males (probably the morph from Nkhata Bay, Malawi). Believe it or not, this species was named caeruleus (meaning "blue" in Latin) for this very reason. It wasn't until around 1980 that this xanthic color variant was discovered by Stuart Grant and his divers. Grant et. al supposedly discovered a small colony of "Electric Yellows" at Lion's Cove, Malawi.

Stuart Grant only collected a few specimens, but refused to mass-collect and export them because of the population's small numbers, fearing that they would be pushed into extinction. Then two Swedish collectors paying a visit to Stuart Grant noticed these beautiful, bright yellow mbuna in his tanks and requested that he collect and export some for them. The story is that when he declined, these two Swedes bribed some of his divers, who knew right where they were located. They then returned to Sweden with two yellow labs, unbeknownst to Grant

From what I have read, these two yellow labs were then given as a gift to Pierre Brichard, who was very impressed by them. This is where the story gets really interesting: Brichard then took them back to his fishing operation in Burundi, along Lake Tanganyika (of all places!) and bred some 20,000 fish, all related to that pair. Quite amazing. And he did this in less than six years time. Then, in 1986 he made them available to the public, selling them for a hefty price from what I hear. Brichard ended up making a good dollar off that pair, while Stuart Grant on Lake Malawi, who found the fish in the first place, was left holding the bag.

The story of the yellow lab doesn't end here, my friends. When Brichard put his yellow labs on the market in 1986, he called them "Labidochromis tanganicae", which caused immense confusion among hobbyists. Was this a Tanganyikan Labidocrhomis species, or had Brichard collected this "new" Labidochromis from Malawi and raised it in his ponds on Lake Tanganyika? Eventually the issue was settled, but it did cause quite a commotion. And to think, that most yellow labs in the hobby all descended from that single, illicit pair.

Stuart did capture 22 fish later on but had a bit of a spill and only a few were left. These were given to Gary Kratchovil in San Antonio, TX. You'll see him offer F1 stock from time to time. A couple of years ago, a friend of a friend bought some F1 yellow labs that had been pond-raised in Africa. Surprisingly, they were no better in quality than other good yellow labs that we have seen! There are plenty of bad strains out there - some with lots of black on the body and face. There is a morph with a whitish belly that is not as attractive. Don't be mislead into thinking that is a man-made strain. This is a naturally occurring morph that comes from Lion's Cove, along side the yellow lab we all know.

I mention this because I have heard a lot of people bag on yellow labs and breeders, suggesting that they have been over-bred. True, there are many breeders out there that are not patient or careful and put up for sale anything that hatches. BUT, a fish can be bred for hundreds of generations and still retain is beauty and fitness, as demonstrated by Pierre Brichard. In fact, some of the most spectacular fish you will ever see - you know, the ones that win all the shows - have been line bred. The best looking progeny from each generation are pulled out and then bred to each other. Sometimes, the best genes aren't those that come from the lake (F0), but from a carefully maintained line. This isn't unethical, in my opinion. These people are simply selecting the more desirable traits and retaining them. If you find this reprehensible, next time you see a black-barred yellow lab next to a clean one, ask yourself which you'd rather own, or purchase for that matter.

Before concluding, let me say a few words about this fish's behavior in both the wild as well as captivity. L. caeruleus is an omnivore, feeding primarily upon insects, snails, and mollusks; however, in the aquarium, this fish can be fed a wide assortment of foods. I personally recommend a good Spirulina based flake food with occassional frozen food supplements, or alternatively, The European Shrimp Mix. These insectivores wander through their rocky biotope, never lingering at any particular spot, and it seems they are tolerated in the territories of most other species.

L. caeruleus prefer dark caves, but they are always careful to inspect the ceiling for prey. Likewise, in the aquarium, rock work, and particularly honeycomb limestone (aka holey rock), is appreciated. Notice in the picture above how this female is hiding from the male, anxious to induce her to spawn with him. The hole is too small for him, but not for her! This provides her an opportunity to escape his aggressive entreaties when she is not interested or ready to spawn. And as already mentioned, L. caeruleus has a very wide distribution in the lake, with the yellow morph occuring between Charo and Lion’s Cove on the Malawi side of the lake, at a depth of 20 meters. Broods usually number between 15 and 20 fry, with incubation periods lasting typically 28 days. Males tend to have much more black on their pelvic and anal fins, and are usually 1/3 larger than females at adulthood.

Queen Angelfish

Queen Angelfish Overview


Scientific Name : Holacanthus Ciliaris

Origin : Western Atlantic Ocean

DIfficulty :Medium

Minimum Size Tank : 150 gallons

Temperament : Semi-Aggressive

Temperature : 72 - 82°F

Reef Safe : No

Maximum Size : 18 inches

Diet : Omnivore

Probably the most popular "large" angelfish in the hobby, the queen angelfish is a stunning blue and yellow all across its entire body body. It has a single electric blue crown on its head and dorsal and anal fins are elongated. This combination produces one of the most beautiful angelfish the marine hobby has ever seen. The other two popular angelfish are the Emperor Angelfish and the French Angelfish.

It is collected mainly from the Caribbean Sea but can be found in Florida and some parts of South America.

Its close relative, the blue angelfish (Holacanthus Bermudensis) is almost entirely similar in appearance and can be hard to tell apart.

Holacanthus Townsendi is the supposed scientific name given to their offspring as both fish have been known to interbreed in the wild.

Its worth noting that hybrids do not represent a new species. Therefore, Holacanthus Townsendi is not a valid angelfish species.

While both the queen and blue angels look alike, telling them apart is easy. Two things to look out for, a blue crown on their heads and the shape of their tails.

Only queen angelfish have a blue crown and the queens tail is also more rounded. Blue angels have tails that a re much straighter vertically.

As juveniles, queen angelfish along with most other large angelfish have different coloration compared to adults. They also often act as "cleaners" in the wild.

They will set up cleaning stations where fish go to rid themselves of parasites. This behavior is shared by almost all juvenile "large" angelfish.




Queen Angelfish : Temperament


As with all of its larger cousins, the queen angel is somewhat of a bully as adults.

Its aggression is mostly reserved for its cousins, other large angelfish. A surefire way to start a fight in your tank is to introduce two queen angelfish. As far as tank mate compatibility goes, the blue angelfish should always considered to be another queen angelfish.

It is peaceful towards members of other species of fish but always look out for trouble with similarly sized or shaped fish.

To the right i've added a video of a queen angelfish taking on a pair of Gray Angelfish (Pomacanthus Arcuatus) in the wild.

Queen Angelfish : Diet


All angelfish have the potential to consume corals in captivity, the queen angel is no exception to this rule. Although you may come across some reef aquariums that have these angels with little to no problems, its generally a bad idea. What happens when they start nipping one day? Tear down the tank to get it out? Becomes a huge mess in the end.

In the wild they feed on sponges, polyps, corals and algae. They should be offered a wide variety of foods like seaweed, meaty foods like krill or mysis shrimp and a good pellet from a reputable brand like New Life Spectrum.

Formula Two by Ocean Nutrition is a balanced food for herbivores like angels and tangs. You can either get them in pellet, flake or frozen form.

Angel Formula by Ocean Nutrition is by far the best, most complete food on the market for angelfish. Its ingredients consist of items they would normally eat in the wild. As such, it contains marine sponges (rare seen food item) as well as algae, vitamins and a good blend of seafood. Unfortunately angel formula only comes in frozen cubes.

Seaweed is a popular offering for angels. You have two options with regard to seaweed. You can buy a branded type like those produced by two little fishies (Julian Sprungs sea veggies) or you can save some money and get some nori sheets from your local supermarket. Not all nori found there is cheap, some are even more expensive than those found in the marine hobby so shop around.

Nori comes in many flavours, spiced etc. You want to stay away from those and get just plain nori. You can purchase seaweed clips or you can fashion one up yourself. Attach the sheet to the clip and stick the clip onto the glass.

Iodotropheus sprengerae

Iodotropheus sprengerae was first described in 1972 by Oliver and Loiselle. It is considered one of the classic fish in the hobby. Out of the enire Iodotropheus genus, the Rusty Cichlid is the only one that is generally available in the hobby.

Although the word "Rusty" does not seem like it would depict a colorful fish, adult males have a beautiful purple and rust sheen. Sexing Rusty Cichlids can be difficult. Males are larger than females, have more pronounced eggspots than females, and more of a purple hue. A male Rusty will top out at about 4 inches. Female get up to about 3-3.5 inches.

Habitat
Iodotropheus sprengerae is associated with rocks and is found at Boadzulu and Chinyankwazi Islands in Lake Malawi, Africa.

Care
Rusty Cichlids are very hardy and easy to keep. Like all Malawian cichlids, it likes hard water. A temperature of 76 to 80F is optimal.

Iodotropheus sprengerae is very peaceful for an mbuna. A group of 6 to 8 adults could easily be kept in a 40 gallon breeder, with very few issues. This fish can also be kept with some of the more peaceful Malawians with no problem. The only time I observed aggression in this fish was during spawning, but even then, it was very minimal.

Feeding
Iodotropheus sprengerae is an herbivore, but will do okay if fed some food higher in protein. Keep the fish on a fiber-rich diet. I fed mine HBH graze, Dianichi Veggie deluxe, Spectrum, and baby brine shrimp.

Breeding
Rusty Cichlids are supposedly easy to breed. I know many people who had no problem breeding these fish. I, sadly, am not one of those people.


When I saw Iodotropheus sprengerae available, I knew I had to buy them. There were not any in stores near me that were for sale— this once popular fish seemed to disappear. I bought eight Rusty juvies so that I would get at least one of each sex. . . a good habit to practice if you want to breed fish.

The fish were small, but within four months started breeding. The first spawns were not fertile, but I was not surprised because the fish were young. After about eight spawns, I was getting angry.

I watched these fish spawn. They would hold for three days, and then drop. I eventually tried stripping the fish and the eggs would go bad within 24 hours.

One day while viewing the "Rusty Tank", I noticed that none were eating. All eight of my Rusty cichlids were holding, which is not right. This fish is not a bi-parental mouth brooder! Unable to obtain a male Rusty, I had to sell the group.

Chapter Two began. I purchased a bag of six full grown Iodotropheus sprengerae. It took me a while to get the fish a permanent home, as they bounced from tank to tank. I finally settled the group in my 58 with some West Africans. Everything in the tank was fine except the Rusty Cichlids would not breed.

Four months went by and still nothing, and by that point they should have spawned. This time I had all males! At this point, I was extremely ticked off and, due to my low patience level, these fish were about to get the boot.

Luckily this story has a happy ending. On the eve of the night the fish were to be shipped out to a friend Texas, they spawned. Only one of the six fish was a female.

Rusty Cichlids are good holders. Mine held for eighteen days before I stripped her of free-swimming fry.

Be careful when raising these fish as feeding too much baby brine tends to give these fry digestive issues.

Retail Price
For juvie Rusty cichlids, you are looking at about 3 to 4 dollars each. Adults will probably run you 8-10 dollars each at a pet shop.

Availability
In the mid-late 1990's this fish was very popular, but now are kind of difficult to find. Occasionally they will pop up in a pet shop or an auction or swap meet.

Aulonocara baenschi

Aulonocara baenschi (common name: "New Yellow Regal Peacock") is a classic Aulonocara. In nature it will reach 10 cm while in the aquarium it may become considerably bigger (even 15 cm is not rare for adult males in large tanks). Needs a substrate of small pebbles or fine sand. Some tough plants may be also used in the tank, such as Anubias, Vallinserias, Cryptocorynes and Saggitaria. They thrive in alkaline, moderately hard water (pH range 7.5 - 8.4, GH > 10). It is better kept alone (in species tanks) or in community tanks without any other Aulonocara females. Cross breeds very easily mainly because the females of all Aulonocara species are almost identical. This species sometimes poses a problem for the fish keeper. Too peaceful to be housed with similarly sized mbuna, it is too small to be kept with Malawi haps (especially piscivores). Very popular due to its spectacular vivid colors.

These spectacular close up photos were taken in April 2000 by hobbyist Dale Paulter, from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Dale has been a fish keeper for 2 1/2 years and is a member of CRLCA. He currently runs 13 tanks ranging in size from 10 to 60 gallons and this is his beloved species. This pair is housed in a 60 gallon tank (one male with 4 females). This photo was taken during the fourth spawning of this particular female while the male has already produced over 300 fry all thriving at various sizes. Tankmates include three Synodontis petricola and one sailfin marble pleco.

Aulonocara Benga - Aulonocara baenschi

Species name: Aulonocara baenschi


Common Names: Aulonocara Benga, Benga Aulonocara, Benga Yellow, New Yellow Regal, Nkhomo-Benga Peacock, Yellow Peacock

Family: Cichlidae (Cichlids) , subfamily: Pseudocrenilabrinae

Order: Perciformes (perch-likes)

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)

Max. size: 10 cm / 4 inches

Environment: freshwater

Origin: Lake Malawi: Chipoka, Maleri Islands, Nkhomo, and Usisya

Temperament: Relatively non-aggressive .

Company: Can be kept with other non aggressive species of the same size.

Water parameters: pH 7.0-8.5, temperature 22-26°C / 72-78° F

Aquarium setup: Requires stone formations that allows the fish good hiding places. Plan the Aquarium setup so that several territories can be formed with natural boundaries. Also make sure there is a lot of free space for these fish to swim on. Don’t use roots in your aquarium since they lower PH levels.

Feeding: Accepts all kinds of food.

Breeding: Mouth-brooder. The female will protect a batch of 4-25 fry in her mouth for up to 4 weeks. The females will not eat will they brood. You can tell if a female is brooding by her enlarged mouth. fry are quite small and fragile but will accepts most kinds of food. Brooding females are isolated for more productive breeding. It is recommendable to try to make the isolation as short as possible to avoid that the females loses their social status which may cause fights once they are returned. Stress to the female can cause her to eat her eggs and fry.