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EDITORIAL STAN McMAHON Welcome to our Autumnal Edition of “Fishy News”. It is also the autumn of our 60th. Anniversary celebrations and so far it has been brilliant. We were incredibly lucky with the weather for both our Bar B Q and Anniversary Dinner at the M.B.A., as it has been pouring it down ever since. In this Edition of “Fishy News” we have an excellent article from John Rundle on breeding Golden Australe, with some great pictures to illustrate the piece taken by John himself. Another Interesting article is on “Maintaining and Breeding of Edith’s Fighting Fish” which is written in a very accessible way by Simon Hartley. It is definitely a case of “more please Simon”. If you cast your mind back to April this year, our main speaker that evening was Jon Buckley talking about his visit to the Amazon to find and capture Discus (this was a brilliant and enjoyable talk) as part of his PhD studies at the University of Plymouth. Well, he is now breeding the Discus successfully and has some great pictures of the parents and their young, taken by the post doctorate also working on the project, Dr. Richard Maunder. I have used one of his pictures on the front of this magazine, I think you will agree that it is of high quality. A QI (Quite Interesting) fact, which does need more investigation, is the affects the hardness levels in the water is having on the viability of the Discus eggs. The Discus system at the University has a hardness level of around 1mg/l. This seemed to be resulting in eggs which were more vulnerable to fungus attack. On increasing hardness to 6mg/l. The eggs that were produced resulted in higher fertile broods with minimal fungal attacks. This is just an observation without any definitive scientific basis but an interesting adjunct all the same, and it gives me an excuse to use the pictures. Slainte Va until the Christmas Special.
CHAIR’S CHATTER JULIE RUNDLE
Well I hope you all had a lovely summer enjoying our ponds and your blooming gardens in our 60th Anniversary year! Certainly memorable from the weather point of view and not because of too much sun! We certainly had a great time earlier in the year with some special events such as the talks from Dick Mills and Ian Fuller. Then we had the barbecue and the “spectacular” firework display. Then, to top it all, we had the dinner at the M.B.A. and what a truly brilliant night that was. I think the most memorable thing about the whole 60th thing has been meeting some great people at the dinner and also working together with other Society members in organising these events. I must be honest though…………………………….Now what?! I have been so caught up in fireworks, fish balloons, door danglers and Shirley Bassey that I have now a great void in my life! So if you can all keep a secret (especially from the Treasurer) I think I may have to start planning our 61st Anniversary celebrations. Well I hope you all enjoyed sharing in the 60th celebrations and now let’s enjoy sharing the joys of fishkeeping. Best Fishes.
Dick Mills presenting a Trophy from the F.B.A.S. to commemorate our 60th year at our Anniversary Dinner
BREEDING THE GOLD AUSTRALE JOHN RUNDLE
I recently received a letter from a young reader who wished to breed a species of killifish; it was the one with the common name the Lyretail (Aphyosemion australe). This beautiful little fish has always been a favourite of mine; in fact I am breeding an aquarium strain of the fish at the moment. The letter gave me the idea for this article and with some luck will point some readers in the direction of this group of freshwater fish, which have such a diversity of colour. The fish that I am breeding has the common name of the Gold Australe it is a manmade colour variety of the original darker wild colour form. This gold form first occurred in Germany in the early 1950’s. Not only does it have striking colours it is ideal for a first time killifish breeding project. It is also not too difficult to find in fish shops with more dealers now stocking a few species of killifish. SEXING It is so easy to sex them; the male has a gold to orange main body colour with red spots. The fins are gold, edged with dark stripes and there are white filaments on the anal fin. The female on the other hand is quite plain compared to the male. Her body is light tan with red spots scattered over the flanks and fins. When fully grown the male can reach 6cm and the female somewhat smaller at 5cm.
Gold Australe Male
All photographs in this Article are by the Author.
WATER CONDITIONS The Gold Australe is seen at its best in water that is moderately soft and a pH that is slightly acid to neutral. I keep and breed mine in my local tap water that is very soft and has a neutral pH. FEEDING There should be no problem when it comes to feeding as it will readily take dry flake foods. I add to this frozen bloodworm, live grindal worm and live white worm. On this varied diet the fish will grow and females will be in breeding condition. BREEDING I first started breeding killifish in the early 1960’s and since that time have always had a species of killifish in my fish house or as it is now my fish room (I have moved indoors, no more going out into the cold to feed the fish). And since that time the breeding strategies of killifish have never ceased to intrigue me. Our Gold Australe in the killifish world is classed as a ‘top spawner’, that is to say that it will breed and lay their eggs in top and middle areas of the water column. In the wild the eggs would be deposited on plants or roots of plants, and when breeding it in captivity these factors must be considered. TANK SET UP At the moment I am using a 30cm x 20cm x 20cm (12” x 8” x 8”) tank to breed my Gold Australe. The tank has no gravel substrate but contains a sponge type filter and two wool spawning mops suspended on strips of polystyrene. The temperature of the water is 24ºC (75ºF) and the tank has a good fitting cover glass. Killifish are very good at jumping out of the tank, so good covers are essential. In a tank this size I keep one pair of fish to live and breed so this means they are fed in this situation. Because of this I clean the tank and change water once a week.
BREEDING METHOD Prior to placing the pair of fish in the tank I keep them separated feeding them on the varied diet of foods I have already mentioned. When the female is looking more rotund in the belly region, a positive sign she is in condition to breed, the pair of fish are placed together. It is possible that courtship will start within minutes, the male displaying to the female and driving her into the suspended mops. Here she will start to deposit a single egg which will adhere to the strands of wool by sticky filaments. This spawning procedure will continue over a period of days with the male and female coming together side-by-side quivering in the mops, spawning (see bottom right hand picture).
I tend to leave the fish together for two weeks, as there is no problem of egg eating with Gold Australe. After this period the fish are separated to give the female a rest and fatten up before the system starts again. EGG COLLECTION I use a method where the eggs are collected by hand and hatched in small dishes or tubs. Every five days the pair of fish is together I remove the mops to search for eggs. First I fill a small plastic container with water from the breeding tank that has been marked with the date of collection and the estimated date of egg hatching. When the mops are removed they are first gently squeezed to remove the surplus water, and then if you search through the mop strand by strand you can find the clear eggs, which can then be removed by hand. You will find that the eggs if gently rolled between your finger and thumb will not compress. All infertile white eggs must be discarded. The containers that hold the eggs are placed on the top glass covers of my fish tanks. This provides enough warmth to maintain the eggs until they develop. The eggs of Gold Australe should hatch in about fourteen days.
I do not use any anti-fungus agents in the egg containers; any eggs that do fungus up are removed with a pipette. The fourteen days that follow never fails to amaze me, you can observe the development of the embryo within the egg day by day. Even up to the final days using a strong eyeglass you can see the movement of the young fish. I have taken eggs to work and placed them under a very powerful microscope and observed the development of the internal organs including the heart. These eggs were hatched out and fry grown on. If on time the first tiny fry, about 1.5mm, should be seen darting around the container and these can be removed by means of a pipette or a teaspoon. I feel that the number of fry removed determine the size of their next home; small numbers can be held in plastic butter or ice cream containers but larger broods will need to go into a small fish tank. I add a small clump of Java Moss and a few grains of Aquazorb, which helps to keep the water sweet and the containers are again kept on top of my fish tanks. Do not panic if no eggs have hatched after fourteen days. I would leave them for another five days and if still no fry have appeared I place a few flakes of dry food in the container. The next day the fry will be seen in the container waiting to be removed. GROWING ON I find that few drops of my cultured infusora is enough to sustain the fry until they can take brine shrimp or micro worm, which can be as early as three days. Feeding brine shrimp can spell disaster if fed too heavily. Only drop in enough to match the number of fry in the container. I change the water in the fry containers once a week using water from the breeding tank.
As the fry grow and reach around 3mm in length I move them to a growing-on-tank, these are bare tanks with sponge filtration. Gold Australe can reach up to 12mm (½”) in size in about four weeks and they can be sexually mature by the time they are 12 weeks old. CONCLUSION I can hear the cry from some of you “Why is it that killifish are not often seen in dealers tanks?” Well it is true that the range of species seen commercially is somewhat limited compared to the total number of species of killifish. We are also told that it is not a commercial fish to breed in large numbers and that they are more suited for the specialist or advanced hobbyist. Well, no, you cannot breed killifish as you would Zebra Danios and it is true that some species are best left to the specialist. But the Gold Australe is available and it makes the ideal fish for anyone who wants to start keeping killifish.
MAINTENANCE & BREEDING OF EDITH’S SIMON HARTLEY FIGHTING FISH (Betta edithae) INTRODUCTION Edith’s Fighting Fish belongs to a group of Anabantids more often featured in aquarium literature than actually available to hobbyists, the mouthbrooding Bettas. A nature of southern Borneo, it is named after its discoverer, the German aquarist Edith Korthaus, who collected the original specimens several years before these were officially classified as a new species by Vierke in 1984. I was fortunate enough to obtain a small group of these fish in 2001, and have managed to breed and keep them going through at least two generations a year ever since.
Edith’s Fighter is small, averaging 2 ½ “ (6-7 cm) long, with the occasional specimen reaching just over 3” (7.5-7.8 cm), most of which are males, these being slightly larger than females. One account (Clark, 1988) emphasises the body shape as deep and stout by comparison with other fighters, and the photographs included show that, but my own stock are being described as being typical Betta. However, this just serves to illustrate the existence of variations in features between populations of fish and most other animals found in different parts of their range. Apart from the narrower dorsal, the fin shapes resemble those of the ‘standard’ female Siamese Fighter (B. splendens), with the B. edithae female’s caudal being slightly narrower. In contrast with that very familiar exotic species, the standard colouration is much more subdued, and is best described in the context of sexing the fish, which can sometimes be difficult unless it is fully mature.
Betta edithae (Photographs by author)
Males have slightly longer anal and caudal fins, which also have more pronounced whitish blue speckles than those of females. There is likewise a more pronounced patter of green tinted scales on a light medium brown background shown by males, whereas female background colouration is usually dull reddish brown. Both these latter features are much more obvious under certain lighting conditions than others. Not that the occasional smaller, poorly coloured male out of breeding condition can be mistaken for a brighter hued female. In general though, apart from the previously mentioned sizes, males can usually also be identified by their wider gill covers and the slightly drooping shape produced under these by the pouch characteristic of all male mouthbrooding Bettas situated in the lower section of the mouth. MAINTENANCE Like all Bettas, Edith’s will certainly fight amongst themselves, and as with their Siamese counterparts, females quarrel with each other almost as often as males. However, B. edithae is nothing like so aggressive as B.splendens posturing with fins and (in males) gill covers extended being much more a threatening display than a prelude to serious hostilities. The author has kept more than 20 adult males together with no problems in the same aquarium beyond the odd split fin, which will happen in any group of fish. Along with most other south-east Asian Anabantids, this fish does best at a temperature in the upper 70s to lower 80sF (26-29C), at which it readily breeds, but that is the only specific requirement in respect of water conditions. Despite a retiring and cautious nature in the presence of other, particularly larger fish, I have maintained them in tanks with the likes of adult Angels (Pterophyllum scalare), large Swordtails (Xiphophorus hellerii), various dwarf cichlids (Apistogramma) and a range of other Anabantid species more active, larger or more aggressively territorial than they are. Most of the last group and the cichlids have also spawned there, sometimes often, and this has created no greater problem for the Edith’s than the other inhabitants. On this evidence our subject would co-exist equally well alongside most commonly kept community fish. The Edith’s Fighter is not the most active fish, so in the community aquarium environment it does need well planted areas for cover, but it moves quickly enough to compete very easily with the above mentioned species, including those significantly larger than itself, when food is on offer. On the minus side, however, having both much quicker reactions and a more timid temperament than the Siamese combines to make the Edith’s notoriously difficult to catch in a well-planted set-up, and is also a very adept jumper (of those Bettas I have kept, only B. imbellis has been more liable to fly out of the water if frightened when close to the surface), so the aquarium cover needs to be secure. Finally here, feeding presents no difficulties whatsoever, as this species avidly takes all the usually available live foods and also any of the good quality flakes with equal relish.
BREEDING Without doubt the most satisfying aspect of keeping any fish is successfully breeding them, which I was able to achieve with my Edith’s Fighters soon after acquiring them. As with the widely bred bubble-nesting Anabantids, specific requirements for this are relatively simple. Only the temperature ranges previously mentioned, just enough plant cover to provide security for the spawning pair, and close packed surface growth similar to that utilised by bubble-nesters in sufficient quantity to offer hiding places for newly released fry are necessary. Aquarium size is entirely optional. In prime breeding condition females have a noticeably plump abdomen, and can now be moved to the spawning tank along with a male. The female’s body colouration soon become very pale except for two dark brown horizontal stripes through the middle a dark brown back, but unlike with bubble-nesting Bettas, this does not indicate submission or fright. Almost in reverse order to most bubble-nesting Anabantid strategies, an Edith’s female will actively seek out a male, using a mixture of displays and prodding to get one interested in spawning. Only then will that male (often more than one if several are present, clearly in response to what the pair are doing) respond with the typical Betta fin-spreading display. Its colouration becomes darker and the shining green effect of the scales intensifies. Both sexes retain these distinct colouration patterns throughout the spawning process. Mating features the typical Anabantid method of embraces, but instead of directly under a surface (or near surface) nest the Edith’s invariably takes place in mid-water, and depending upon plant cover available it may even be nearer the bottom of the aquarium. In each of these a limited number of opaque white eggs are released by the female along with the male’s milt, following which the former are collected in the female’s mouth. Being nudged on the mouth by the male then stimulates the female to blow the eggs out again for the male in turn to collect and store in the mouth pouch referred to earlier, which grows steadily larger as spawning progresses. This basic strategy is common to all mouthbrooding fighting fish, and certainly makes fascinating viewing. Once the actual spawning process is completed another departure from the behaviour of most bubble-nesters is observed. As is also the case with female mouthbrooding cichlids, the male Edith’s is unable to feed or use its mouth for fully effective defence. However, unlike either males of the above, which leave females to brood the eggs and young, or female bubble-nesting Bettas, which are driven away by the males, the female Edith’s Betta remains with the brooding male and defends it against possible threats for around two days before moving off, so does not need to be removed for its own safety, although this should be done after that to prevent it preying upon the fry. The occasional, usually younger male will eat the eggs or brood before the latter have even emerged, but I find this is invariably a response to stress caused either by other fish (as has happened in the community set-ups previously described where, surprisingly in view of the method they use, Edith’s have spawned quite often) or by being moved from one tank to another, neither of which apply in a separate breeding aquarium, and most individuals can be relied upon to complete the incubation process if undisturbed. REARING Fighting fish eggs usually hatch in 24-36 hours, depending upon temperature, but though it is impossible to see through the male Edith’s mouth or gills, the presence of hatchlings can be deduced from deepening of the pouch, which tends to become darker as these develop, notably after 5-8 days. The fry are released 5-7 days later, although this can be spread over two days. Like those of other mouthbrooding Bettas, the Edith’s fry are both free swimming and larger than any bubble-nesting Anabantids at the same stage. In contrast to one reference (Clark 1988) that up to 125 may be produced in a single batch, this is likely only from an above average sized female, as I find broods normally range from the upper 50s to the lower 80s. Development of the labyrinth breathing organ is complete in a further 20-23 days. In my experience these are one of the easiest of Anabantid fry to rear, and all except the inevitable small handful of weaker stragglers can be expected to come through successfully. This is obviously partly because their size makes them easier to feed than any newly-free swimming bubble-nesters, and partly the much smaller brood numbers are more easily managed. Again the same almost certainly applies to other mouthbrooding fighters. The size of rearing accommodation is relevant only to the number of fish. A batch can of course be left in the spawning tank, in which case the male must be removed, otherwise the youngsters will be eaten. For the most part (as has been my practice with many other fish and amphibians raised in recent years) I have caught up the newly-released fry and started them in Hagen type mini-aquariums 8” x6”x6” (20x15x15 cm) floated in the larger tank. This enables the greater space to be used for something else, and as the fry grow they can either be moved into a larger Hagen or another aquarium if one becomes available. More often, when the larger tank’s occupants become compatible with the young Edith’s, they are let out there. Unusual practice it may be, but keeping similar sized fry or juveniles of varying fish species together is actually little different from maintaining a typical community, and presents no serious problems if you get the species mix right. My most recent Edith’s batch was reared in the company of Agassizi’s Dwarf Cichlids (Ap. Agassizi) and Honey Gouramis (Colisa sota). One advantage this has, other than being a means of utilising limited space, is getting them used to living with other fish from any early stage.
Edith’s fry will grow very well from the start on a diet of newly-hatched brine shrimp (Artemia), and the likes of micro-worm (Anguillula silusiae) or grindal worm (Enchytraeus buchholzi) can also be offered if available. I have always found the shrimp a perfectly adequate staple diet until the fish are big enough to start taking fine flakes of dried food and smaller, preferably chopped, Tubifex or whiteworm (Enchytraeus albidus), usually at around two months old. In another month the largest juveniles will reach sexual maturity, though not full size, and begin spawning.
While the principle of keeping only the larger and more robust specimens from any numerous enough batch of young animals should still be applied, it must be noted that Edith’s Fighter invariably produces many more males than females in a single brood. I would thus recommend that a minimum of 20 or 30 individuals are retained to guarantee even 7 or 8 females. I have found no reference to such male bias in published accounts of breeding mouthbrooding Bettas, nor have I experienced anything like this when rearing similar numbers of any of 14 other south-east Asian Anabantid species successfully bred.
GENERAL REMARKS Keeping Edith’s Fighting Fish going through more continuous generations than all except two other fish I have ever bred has been achieved not only for the interest its spawning habits have provided, but also because if the stock were allowed to die out, replacements with this or any similar species would be extremely difficult to obtain, especially in this part of the country. Unfortunately its comparatively dull appearance will never make it an obvious candidate for the community aquarium, but as we have seen it is by no means out of place there. The Edith’s true appeal will mainly be to Betta and general Anabantid enthusiasts, particularly with the very small number of currently known strikingly attractive mouthbrooding fighter species rarely being made available, or alternatively to the aquarist who just seeks something unusual. Nevertheless, I can still recommend it as an undemanding and fascinating enough fish to be worth trying. REFERENCES Clark, S. (1988) ‘Edith’s Fighting Fish’, Aquarist & Pondkeeper Vol. 53 No. 6, p. 55-56. Clark, S.(1987) ‘The Fighting Fishes’, Aquarist & Pondkeeper Vol. 52 No. 2, p.38-42.
COMMENTS ON OUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER AT THE M.B.A. I have set out below some great comments, with pictures, on our celebratory dinner to mark the 60th year of our Society. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the dinner (Ed). “It was such a special evening and the room at the M.B.A. looked amazing. It was great to spend it with some lovely people. The Society has been part of my life since I was young, so for me it was more of a family celebration. Great company, great food, and overall a great night”. Julie Rundle
“What a night! It’s just a shame it took us 60 years to get it organised!! Let’s start with the venue: The old Aquarium on the Hoe, what a view over the Sound. As the sun sets, couldn’t ask for anywhere better to sit and chat with good friends. Talking of which, the company for the evening, it was nice to see people that I haven’t seen in years and chat about old times. It was also nice to meet fellow enthusiasts for the first time, and I also think that a vote of thanks should go to all our guests that travelled long distances to attend. Moving on to what is close to JR’s heart, the food!! I defy anybody to find anything better for the price we paid. I think the girls in the kitchen did a fantastic job, we will have to see how much they would charge to start teaching John R to cook!!? I have had the opportunity to listen to a large number of guest speakers, some of which have been very hard work and some that have had you falling off your chair with laughter, shame we had the first one (only joking)! What can anybody say about Pete Rendle? He gave us an entertaining history of the old Aquarium in a way only Pete could do, He was brilliant and must be counted as a very good friend of our Society.
I would be interested to hear the views of the membership if we tried to organise a Christmas party at the Aquarium, just a buffet, a few drinks and a chat. I will close now with a quick thanks to all that made the 60th celebrations possible, but most of all I think a big thanks should go to Ted Sparrow, our Treasurer, for letting us spend all the club funds”. Andy Cann
John and Pete impersonating members of Ryanair Cabin crew!
“It seems a very long time ago that the monthly ear bashing by Julie in reference to our 60th Anniversary year. I can remember at a planning meeting at my house when someone came up with the idea of holding a Society dinner during the year. The first consideration was where we could hold the event and members were asked for suggestions of venues. One of the venues suggested was the National Marine Aquarium (N.M.A.), when enquires were made it soon became obvious that it was way out of our remit. It was well into four figures and that was without the cost of the meals. I suggested that we try the Marine Biological Association (M.B.A.), because of the great view from the common room and I knew the quality of the food would be good. What I did not know was if we would be granted permission or the cost. My first move was to arrange a meeting with John Parr, the Faculties Director. I thought it was not going to be easy because the M.B.A. Common room is not normally used for private functions such as our proposed dinner. To my surprise, John Parr agreed to let us use the M.B.A. facilities free of charge. So that meant that all I had to sort out was the cost of the meal and make sure the Common room staff would be prepared to cook the meal. They agreed to supply me with a menu and a price to bring to the Society. This is how it started and from there it moved fast. It was decided to contact past members and invite them to the dinner, and Tom Williamson became the main co-ordinator of collecting names and money from people who wanted to attend. To me the highlight of the preparations was the enthusiasm of our Chair to make sure that the evening was going to be a success and her ideas for the decorations for the room was beyond belief, even to the point of flying in Shirley Bassey to sing “Diamonds are Forever”.
So on Saturday 28th June 2008 at 13.30 hours a small group of Society members met at the M.B.A. to decorate the Common room. Joyce Rundle had brought plenty of information on the history of the Society and there was even a board that held pictures of the Committee members when they were babies for a competition. Without doubt the room and table decorations were brilliant, this was down to Julie Rundle and Diana Andrews with Bill Rundle’s place cards and notebooks putting the finishing touches to the tables. Tom Williamson’s organisational skills came to the forefront with a board that displayed where we all sat and what each person had ordered to eat. In the evening it was good to see past members such as John Stevens from Bristol who was a founder member of the Society. Also attending was Charlie Cross, Peter and Jenny Cook, Honorary member Ron King and his wife Margaret and our own Derek Anning, looking so well. We had three people who came from the Ilford Society: Janet and Mario Germain and Roger Saltrick plus Dick and Janet Mills who was there as representatives of the Federation of British Aquatic Societies (F.B.A.S.). Last but not least were our own members and their families, making a total of 44 people attending the dinner. After a pre-dinner drink we all sat down to an excellent meal supplied by the M.B.A. Common room staff. After the meal the highlight of the evening was a speech presented by Peter Rendle on the history of the M.B.A. and other, various events that had caused embarrassment to me. Society Officers gave short speeches and
Dick Mills spoke on behalf of the F.B.A.S. and presented a trophy to Julie for the Society. It was a night to remember, well it was for me, for when I arrived home for some reason I was afraid of the dark, so I am told!” John Rundle The following gallery of pictures were taken by John Rundle and Tom Williamson.
View from MBA Common room Members preparing tables and display boards for the evening dinner Bill and Joyce Rundle with Barrie Kitchinman Plenty of wine on everybody’s tables The McMahon Clan Andrews, Williamsons and Sharps
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