Table of contents for September 2023 in Practical Fishkeeping

ADVICE Fishkeeping Know-how Open-topped, braceless aquaria are undeniably pretty, though they aren’t without their challenges. Most of the pros and cons can be divided between ‘things going in’ (like cats and kid’s hands) and ‘things coming out’ (like fish), but there are some subtler issues to consider as well. Here are some of the key points before you go all out with a lidless set-up… Heat loss While your aquarium loses heat on all sides, the lion’s share comes out of the top. Without a secure hood trapping heat inside, you might find that your heater is working overtime as your aquarium’s warmth literally evaporates into the air. Glass screens can be retrofitted to the top of an open tank, held in place by simple brackets. These will help trap much…

TROPICAL Megalechis THERE’S A CATFISH out there for everyone, but you need to do your research before buying any cuties. For example, the red tail catfish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, looks adorable when small but will quickly outgrow any home tank. Other cats might look dinky and innocuous, but only after some mysterious disappearances of smaller tankmates will you realise that they have sizeable mouths. Knowing the adult size and feeding habits of any catfish should be the bare minimum before you purchase. The reason for I’m stating this early on is that the subject of this article-the hoplo catfish, Megalechis thoracata—can surprise the unprepared aquarist. When young they sport an eye-catching dark and light chequered and striped pattern, and seeing a shoal of long whiskered juveniles zooming around the tank is…

SPECIES SHOWCASE Four spot slash tetra WHEN WE THINK about tetras, our minds often turn to the likes of neons or cardinals (Parachierodon innesi and Parachierodon axelrodi, respectively) and other ‘mainstream’ tetras. But there's another, more obscure group that often gets overlooked—the splash tetras. These little South American fishes have some of the most interesting behaviours of any fish, from laying their eggs on leaves above the water’s surface, to males looking after their young, much like certain labyrinth fish. It's one of these fantastic dads that this piece is all about. The four spot splash tetras, Pyrrhulina spilota, are one of those fabulous fish that aquarists should be keeping, though the seldom do. They’re not seen in abundance in the hobby, but by no means are they rare in…

TAKE YOURSELF BACK to your first visit to your local aquarium shop; the sound of bubbling water and a distinct smell of goldfish flakes in the warm air floods you with nostalgia. The awe and joy it left you with feeling as you went from tank to tank, face pressed to the glass, with so many fishes you’d never seen before. No doubt there was one fish that caught your eye. A prehistoric, deep black feather which moves like a ribbon pulled through the sky—the black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons. An unusual creature from the rivers of South America, which was entirely alien to you. This is not how fish are supposed to look, right? Hello sparky! By now, we all realise that fish come in all kinds of weird-and-wonderful…

Floating plants are a blessing for those who don’t typically have green fingers. Even if you struggle with sturdy plants like Java ferns, it takes some real effort to kill off the hardiest surface dwellers. There are real benefits to floating plants, too. For one, they provide shade and shelter for both adult fish and fry. They can also strip unwanted nutrients from a tank in a way that submerged plants can only dream of. They can be a spawning medium for many different fish, and can keep jumping to a minimum. Best of all, they can reproduce at a rapid rate, meaning that once you buy a tub or two, you’ll likely never need purchase any more again. What a result! So, what do you need to know? Open…

SPECIES SHOWCASE Bristlenose WHEN WE THINK of ‘manufactured’ fish we tend to think of things like parrot cichlids. You wouldn’t think that an innocuous brown catfish, loved by millions, would be one of those undefinable species, but here we are. The common bristlenose. The small, algae munching catfish that has saved countless larger plecs from misery. There was a time when if you asked for an algae eater—a ‘sucky fish’—to help clean the glass, you’d leave the store with a Pterogoplicithys, a colossus of a fish destined to reach perhaps a couple of feet long. Then came the bristlenose, similar in appearance, just as ravenous for the green stuff (maybe even more, in fact), and easier to accommodate at just a few inches long. What a result. Truth is that…

NORMALLY, I’D WRITE an article that tries to keep things simple, to take the strain away from working calculations and making difficult choices. However, with the current rise in the cost of living—especially the cost of electricity—it’s time to get technical; to get super-efficient and save not just every possible penny, but some serious £££££££££’s. I’ve written before about choosing the right pump and design before. Years of time and effort goes in to designing a product that will deliver you performance, longevity and efficiency if used and installed properly. Don’t spend extra money on an efficient pump and then install it incorrectly. Work to the pump’s strengths and to how it was designed to reduce running costs and save money. Energy is saved in manufacture by thoughtful, well researched…

MARINE Hitchhikers ONE OF THE most enjoyable aspects of setting up a new reef tank has to be rock-watching. Once your tank is filled and the pumps switched on, it’s time to sit back and enjoy your handywork. It’s easy to assume that your tank is empty, but just because you haven’t intentionally added any livestock, it doesn’t mean that life doesn’t exist. Your live rock structures are often a bustling metropolis of micro-organisms. It’s not just microscopic fauna that’s likely to have hitched a lift, and there is almost certainly a vast ensemble of invertebrate life waiting to emerge and investigate tits new home. While many will be beneficial and should be welcomed with open arms, there are others with more sinister designs. Spongebob's home Some of the most…

PLECO POPS! Reviewed by: Nathan Hill Duration: 4+ weeks Price: £10 for 40g More info: inthebagtropicalfish.co.uk NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION read the bold letters on the back of my Pleco Pops! package, and true to form I ignored the brief and stuck some in my mouth. It was the greenest thing I’ve ever tasted, and I say that as someone who regularly takes algae tablet supplements. Pleco Pops are the brainchild of Alice Bignell (writer of this month’s feature on bristlenose genetics), founder of In The Bag Tropical Fish UK. She knows her catfish, and her nutrition, and spotted a gap in the UK market that she’s chosen to chloro-fill: dedicated algae-rich grazers for bottom dwellers. In a market where most manufacturers like to fill their ‘algae’ foods with fishmeal…