ACA News, Volume 7, #4

April 23, 2021

| No Comments

ACA News

Volume 7, #4, April 2021

Editor: Alan De Angelo

Publisher: Daryl Hutchins

Contact: [email protected]

Greetings and hopeful salutations!

2021 CONVENTION

There is good news around the country as Covid-19 numbers begin to drop, vaccines continue to roll out and states are opening up. The Convention is in Missouri this year and that state is doing very well, so the Convention should be good to go! I am definitely not trying to influence your decision, I’m just bringing you the information that I read. Please, look on-line to see for yourself what the Covid-19 situation is like and decide on your own. As the Spring progresses, rates should fall even more. Refer to the Missouri Dep artment of Health to learn more.

SIZE MATTERS #1

Moss Balls

In the previous issue of the AN, I suggested to run any moss ball water that has zebra mussel contamination onto your driveway so it dries out. Well, I had a response from a member that he has a short driveway that led directly into a storm drain. I agree that it would be a bad idea to drain your tank in that situation. My driveway is 90’ long and empties into a large lawn with no way to reach a water way. Use some common sense in the disposal of the water.

Another member provided this web site to address the issue: fws.gov/fisheries/ans/zebra-mussel-disposal.html

I am also on well water and septic so the addition of 1/3 cup of bleach per gallon would destroy my septic field’s bacterial population, that would not be what I would choose. Whatever you do, err on the side of safety and dispose of the moss balls and infested water carefully.

SIZE MATTERS #2

In my office I have a heavily plastic-planted 90 gallon bow-front corner tank which makes a very nice decoration and a relaxing way for people to spend their time waiting for their appointments. In this tank, I had three male and two female Amatitliana nanolutea, the Yellow Convict.

These fish grew fast and bred with reckless abandon. I was always watching schools of fry being ushered about by the parents. Unfortunately, this tank is on a trickle filter that was left over from my foolish foray in to the realm of marine fish keeping so the fry were continually being swept into the filter and lost. There was also predation by a number of tetras.

So, I had the idea of moving these five full-grown cichlids into my 200 gallon tank at home. More room, no trickle filter, no predators, a few cardinal tetras, coral red pencilfish and hatchetfish as dithers, it should’ve been Yellow Convict Heaven. But, that was not the case. The fish stayed hidden and timid, never spawned again and failed to repopulate the world. The tank was just too big for them to be comfortable in. It was probably a bit more sparse on the plants and caves too. The fish noticed and didn’t like it.

BIOTOPES

Do you think that the biotope of a cichlid is more than a turned-over clay flowerpot, rocks, glued-down plastic plants and a piece of driftwood? If so, the Biotope Aquarium Contest may be what you are looking for. Check it out at: biotopeaquariumproject.com

The ACA is not a sponsor of, nor is it affiliated with, this contest. I just thought you may like to know about it in case you have a biotopian thumb.

BB

As usual, I must give a reminder that BB does not write itself and the ACA is always looking for contributors. We pay for articles, photos and illustrations so, while you are still cooped-up indoors, please sit down and write an article or two. It’s easy and fun to see your writing in print. Take it from me. (Not another “trust me” moment … in this case, we concur – Production Minions.)

Have a great Spring, keep healthy and safe, watch the goings on in the world and make plans to go to the Convention. It’ll be a great time for all.

Until next time,