the iconic Red-Cap Oranda! Exploring the Triggerf ishes! a new Rainbowf ish!

Redfish
Coldwater
Issue #4, October 2011
Tropical Marine
Venomous beauty
Lionf ish care and keeping!
Marine Tropical Coldwater
Freshwater Betta
1/6HP 1/6HP 300L 39x32x46cm
46x39x52cm
48x52x52cm
800-2200L/h
1/3HP 1/3HP 650L 1200-3600L/h
3/5HP 3/5HP 1000L 1800-4800L/h
HP MAX
L
WxDxH
Aqua One Chillers2.indd 1 11/10/11 9:39 AM
Redfish contents
Redfish is:
Jessica Drake, Nicole Sawyer,
Julian Corlet & David Midgley
Email: enquiries@redfishmagazine.com.au
Web: redfishmagazine.com.au
Facebook: facebook.com/redfishmagazine
Twitter: @redfishmagazine
Redfish Publishing. Pty Ltd.
PO Box 109 Berowra Heights,
NSW, Australia, 2082.
ACN: 151 463 759
This months Eye Candy Contents Page Photos courtesy:
(Top row. Left to Right)
Fish by belgianchocolate
Starfish macro by Damien du Toit
Breede jellyfish by Damien du Toit
Koi fish pond by Eustaquio Santimano
Copperband Butterfly Fish on blue by Jerry Frausto
(Bottom row. Left to Right)
Hawaiian Spotted Pufferfish by Laszlo Ilyes
Bottom Feeder by Dave Gough
Rock Beauty by Laszlo Ilyes
Oscars by Elma
Gullfiskur by Elma


4 About
5 Off the Shelf
6 Readers Tanks
9 Corydoras trilineatus
10 Rainbowfish in Outback Australia
15 Oddballs
20 Competitions
22 Choosing a substrate for the reef aquarium
27 Community listings
28 Tubastrea - The Sun Coral
29 Scorpionfish, Morays and Triggerfish
37 Classifieds
40 Red-Cap Oranda
41 Aquarium Basics: Part 3
redfishmagazine.com.au
About Redfish
Redf ish is a free-to-read magazine
for f ishkeeping enthusiasts.

At Redf ish we believe in the free exchange of information to
facilitate success by aquarium and pond hobbyists. Each month
Redf ish Magazine will bring you dedicated sections on tropical,
coldwater, marine and ponds.
Redf ish was founded in early 2011 by Jessica Drake,
Nicole Sawyer, Julian Corlet and David Midgley.
We hope you enjoy this, the four th issue of Redf ish.

Photo courtesy: (matt)

About Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 4
The Fine Print
Redf ish Magazine
General Advice Warning
The advice contained in this publication is
general in nature and has been prepared
without understanding your personal situ-
ation, experience, setup, livestock and/or
environmental conditions.
This general advice is not a substitute for,
or equivalent of, advice from a professional
aquarist, aquarium retailer or veterinarian.
Distribution
We encourage you to share our website
address online, or with friends. Issues of
Redf ish Magazine, however, may only be
distributed via download at our website:
redf ishmagazine.com.au
Opinions & Views
Opinions and views contained herein are
those of the authors of individual ar ticles
and are not necessarily those
of Redf ish Publishing.
Ownership and copyright
Redf ish Magazine is 2011
Redf ish Publishing. Pty Ltd.
PO Box 109 Berowra Heights,
NSW, Australia, 2082.
ACN: 151 463 759
Off the Shelf
Aqua Ones NEW Pharmaceuticals range is just
what the doctor ordered for your aquarium!
With the new extensive pharmaceuticals range
providing all the necessities to keep your aquar-
ium at optimum peak, nding what you need to
keep your occupants happy is now simpler than
ever!
The range includes:
Water Conditioner Health +
Ammonia & Chlorine Neutraliser
Clarify
Bio Starter
pH Up & pH Down
Plant Fertiliser
Iron Supplement
Calcium & Magnesium Supplement
Marine Iron Supplement
Iodine Supplement
Trace Element Supplement
Aqua One products are widely available at most quality pet re-
tailers. To nd your nearest retailer, visit www.aquaone.com.au
Aqua One
Pharmaceuticals
Off the shelf Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 5
Lighting is an important part of your aquarium and is
highly recommended for any aquarium set up.
Aqua One Ecolite LED Aquarium Light is a must for
all aquariums. Not only does it provide an aesthetic
appearance to your aquarium, but it is vital for
the life within the aquarium, from the shes to the
plants!
Features & Benets
Provides optimum outputs for most aquarium depths
dependant on reector to tank size ratio
Provides ideal light requirements for most popular plant
species
Comes with a 3 switch cycle that can alternate between
5W, 8W and both. This allows greater control
over brightness to suit the environment in your
aquarium, and also can save energy if used at a
lower watt
Sleek and stylish design
Mounting Kit provided
Energy efcient lighting option
Comes in 3 sizes
LED lighting lasts up to 50,000 hours
Aqua One products are widely available at most quality pet retailers.
To nd your nearest retailer, visit www.aquaone.com.au
Aqua One EcoLite LED
Aquarium Light
Readers Tanks
4x2x2 Custom background by Kristy-Anne Davies
Firstly, I would like to state that this background was built using an old school method. There
are newer products available, however, I wanted to build this background the way I had seen in
the past. I was warned when I started researching the con-
struction of this background, that the paint/sealer I used can
cause fin damage to some fish (particularly barbs). I have not
tested this out on all types of fish as I have only had a variety
of tropicals (of which I will list below). This was the first time I
have made one of these backgrounds.
Living in Cairns and often exploring Rainforest areas, I
wanted to design a showpiece aquarium for our living area for
which the design was based upon rocks & tree root systems
that I have seen in nature.
MAKING THE BACKGROUND
The background was built using scrap polystyrene (thicker
polystyrene is easier to work with). I glued it together with sili-
con then carved out the shapes using a sharp Stanley knife. I
then fine-tuned it with a wood shaver to sculpt the rock shapes.
Once I was happy with the design I cut the background into
manageable pieces. I then used a bitumen based sealer (Or-
monoid). I found I needed to paint in small sections as the
sealer can melt the polystyrene if used to cover a large area
too quickly. As I painted an area I then pressed sand into it to create the texture. I sourced a
variety of coloured sands including silver sand used for bird cages, red desert sand used for
Readers Tanks Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 6
Tropical Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:1 11
aquasonic sept 2011.indd 1 9/16/2011 1:37:53 PM
reptiles, grey sand used for gardening & yellow sand from Bunnings). Once it had dried, I
rinsed the background very thoroughly several times and left it outside in the rain & sun to
age before placing it in the tank. Once the background was aged I used silicone to seal it
to the tank.
Please see the following Facebook link for photos of the construction process of the back-
ground:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.430109542491.207518.620942491&type=1
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
* Filter: Pro Aqua CF 2200 Canister
* Light :Double T5 Light & tubes (HFL1200) on a timer for 15 hours per day (6am till 9pm). I
take my time with cycling & introducing fish. I use Prime as my neutraliser. I water change
roughly every two weeks and only reduce quantity by 1/3. Feeding is daily or every sec-
ond day with flake (Aqua One), discus pellets (Sera) & sinking algae wafers (Aqua One). As
we live in a tropical climate, the tank is heated only during winter. The heater is removed
in summer as it gets too hot in the house and this is also why I dont overstock the tank and
have an open hood. The only algae problem I have is a small amount of string/hair algae on
the val when it starts getting too long and is getting alot of light.
Please see the following Facebook link for photos of the setup of the tank:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.459530587491.258121.620942491&type=1
Got a great aquarium to share?
Email us a photo at:
enquiries@redfishmagazine.com.au
SUBSTRATE AND PLANTINGS
* Thin & Giant Val (which I have difficulty getting to throw runners , it tends to only
grow upwards)
* Amazon Sword (growing very happily) in substrate
* Aponogeton crispus (prefers to grow upwards so is a bit scraggly at the base)
* Various Anubius on logs
* Bolbitus on log (has since suffered a bit of die back since the photo was taken)
* Echinodorus ozelot (this took a long time before it started to take off)
* Gravel: mixture of 1mm, 3mm & 5mm red gravel mixed with laterite
FISH
* 2 x Discus - Both not the best quality. They came with a 3 foot tank I purchased. I think
the background may have caused a bit of fin damage on these guys. Both are very
personable fish though, eat well & seem reasonably happy.
* Tetras - Mixture of cardinals, rummynose, black tetras & rosy tetras . I initially had
about 6 of each, however, numbers have dropped to between 2-4 of each variety (I think
deaths were caused by aggressive gouramis)
* Catfish - Corydoras: Albino, Pepper,Julii & Schwartzii &Glass Catfish.
*Gouramis - Pair of Platinums (male was too aggressive so I removed him & housed him
in a smaller tank until the female had grown enough and only recently put him back in)
and a pair of Lace Gouramis.
*Kribensis - Currently breeding every 3 weeks or so (I have made no attempt to sepa-
rate or raise fry). Both parents do a magnificent job of schooling their babies and
keeping the entire rest of the tank herded away in a corner. At this point in time I have
no interest in trying to raise the fry or encourage the breeding (I amjust letting na-
ture take its course).
* Apistogramma Double-Red Cacatoides - I did have a pair of these in the tank for about
3-4 months. The male beat up & killed the female while we were away on holidays and
only recently the male has unfortunately disappeared. He was thriving, however, pos-
sibly the Kribensis have killed him off.
Please see the following Facebook link to some photos of the current fish (this album also
contains photos of other fish in our other tanks):
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150253360187492.348838.620942491
*Tank was initially set up in October 2010. Needed to pull apart and perform a repair on
the background (the centre piece detached from the back, I think due to being front
heavy and the polystyrene floated quite quickly).
*The tank was the re-set up in a matter of a week in March 2011.
Readers Tanks Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 8
Freshwater Tropical Redfsh Magazine 2011:3 9
Corydoras trilineatus
Keeping and breeding the Three-Line Cory
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 9
Habitat: C. trilineatus is widespread in the Amazon basin, occurring from the west in the Peruvian Ama-
zon, through the Central Amazon to drainages in coastal Suriname.
Misidentif ication: In the aquarium trade the species is frequently sold, wrongly, as Corydoras julii. C.
julii, however, has spots (not reticulation). Compared to C. trilineatus, C. julii is comparatively rare and
signif icantly less hardy. If youre looking to breed Corydoras, keep the two species separate as they can
hybridise.
Husbandry: Keeping Corydoras trilineatus is without problem for intermediate level aquarists. While
not as hardy as Bronze Corydoras (C. aeneus) or Peppered Corydoras (C. paleatus), the species
is quite tolerant under most aquarium conditions. Ideally, the species should be kept in a densely
planted aquarium with plenty of cover to allow hiding. Compared to the aforementioned Bronze and
Peppered Corys, C. trilineatus is a shy f ish that doesnt as readily venture into the open. Somewhat
counter-intuitively, cover in the form of dense plantings actually encourages the species to venture
out into the openwater. Similarly, the use of ditherf ish (tetras, small cherry barbs and the like)
makes C. trilineatus more bold. In small aquariums, the inclusion of suitably-sized dwarf cichlids
(such as Apistogramma, or Pelvicachromis species) should probably be avoided as they tend to
dominate these shy little catf ish. In
aquariums with suff icient f loor space,
however, theres no reason not to
mix the two groups. Aquarium water
should be relatively soft and acidic-
to-neutral in pH. If you have hard,
alkaline bore water then this probably
isnt the species for you. The species
should be considered an obligate
schooling f ish. The more inidividuals
you can house, the more naturally the
species is likely to behave.
Breeding: Suitably conditioned pairs
should be identif ied (females are
larger and broader in the body), then
removed to a specialised breeding
aquarium. Cues for spawning are
variable. Possible triggers include low
barometric pressure, rain (which
can be simulated by water changes)
and the like. The species is an egg-
scatterer without brood care, so once
spawning is complete the pair should
be returned to the display aquarium.
Fry can be fed newly hatched baby
brine shrimp, greenwater insuforia
and when a little larger powdered
f lake foods and microworms.
Looking for a Cory thats beautiful
and interesting? Look no fur ther.
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Scale 1:35,000,000
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in outback Australia in outback Australia in outback Australia
Collecting rainbowfish
Story and photos by Dave Wilson
http://www.aquagreen.com.au/
Collecting small native fshes in remote areas is a fantastic pastime. Combine that with a ride in a
Helicopter on Aboriginal owned land to a place where only a couple of non-indigenous people
have been before, as well as a different looking rainbowfsh and you have a recipe for a
good yarn.
Background
One of the advantages of living in the Northern Territory is the opportunity to work with
some very interesting people.The Charles Darwin University were doing research on
the fshes of our waterways and in particular the Daly River region and its tribu-
taries. This project has the acronym TRACK (Tropical Rivers and Coastal
Knowledge). Two Icthyologists, some technical offcers from NT Fish-
eries and Charles Darwin University hired a Jet Ranger helicopter
and went to the upper regions of the Katherine River where there are
no roads. They have been cataloguing the fsh species throughout the
area.
One of the members of the scientifc team sent me some photos of an interesting
gold and grey looking rainbowfsh with the message:
Your fsh keeping mates might like this one.
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 10
Freshwater Tropical Redfsh Magazine 2011:3 12
Planning activities commenced soon after and
about two years later a trip was organised. It was
a trip organised by and under the supervision of
the Traditional Owners of the area, The Werenbun
Association.
The Author has some arrangements with Tradition-
al Owners of various areas. These arrangements
include the collection of aquatic creatures for use
in an aquaculture project then a payment of a
percentage return from the farm gate sales back to
the Traditional Owners for them to use within the
Caring for Country projects.
This type of use of natural resources is a sustain-
able use of natural resources. That is, the natural
resource is exploited in a way that does not deplete
it from its natural range. The sale of the natural re-
source supplies an income to the producer and the
owner of the land where the natural resource origi-
nates. This gives it a commercial value, enhances
its environmental value and also has a social value.
A similar proposal has been put forward to Gov-
ernment as an extinction prevention method for
small species of fsh on the threatened species
lists. It has been suggested that a few specimens
We crossed over the South Alligator River on the way
At the Upper Katherine River looking for a good spot
The Upper Katherine River is mostly shallow but with the occasional deep pool
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 11
be brought into captivity, bred into large numbers,
sold with their story of the threats to their existence,
including habitat degradation due to urban sprawl
or invasive species.
The monies from sales of these species can be
divided between the land owner, the conservation
body responsible for the species recovery and the
fsh farmer. All parties concerned gain an advan-
tage, the species is spread around the aquarium
community with its story raising public awareness.
It has a commercial, an environmental and a social
outcome that is the triple bottom line the econo-
mists talk about.
On a chilly July morning in 2009 we loaded up a
Robinson R44 helicopter at the Mary River Road
House. Tony the pilot made sure all the gear was
secure and the weight was OK. We took off and few
about 110 km in a straight line to a spot described
to us by the fsh scientists, it was on the shallow
rocky section of the river with plenty of wide fat
areas for the helicopter to land.
Once on the river it took a couple of hours to fnd
about 40 or so of the rainbowfsh with the dark fns.
They were caught in a small mossy mesh net then
Ahead we spotted the clearing to land the helicopter
Coming in to land
Ready to start fishing
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 12
placed in a deep bucket with shallow water so they
could not jump out.
We kept them in a bucket, changing the water ev-
ery ten minutes or so until it was time to leave. We
packed them into several plastic bags and into the
bucket. All the gear was stowed in the helicopter
and we took off back to Mary River Roadhouse.
After our arrival back at the roadhouse we used the
water from the Mary River to conduct more water
changes before the three hour drive back to How-
ard Springs.
The little greyish rainbowfsh with the black fns
were only young, we did not fnd any large speci-
mens and put this fact down to not landing exactly
where the others did their survey.
They were put into a photographic aquarium back
at the fsh farm and allowed to settle into life in
captivity. Within a few days quite a few started to
develop a fungal infection that defed all the treat-
ments that were trialled. About half died from
this ailment.
After a few weeks the colours
Hunting for Rainbowfishes in pools on the Upper Katherine
Collections done and ready to go
The Mary River Roadhouse
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 13
started to change with the young males developing more orange on their bodies and darker fns.The
females were still light greyish with short fns. The fsh scientists suggested they may be Western Rain-
bowfsh but the molecular scientists have a slightly different idea. I call them the Upper Katherine River
Black-Finned Rainbowfsh.
A male Upper Katherine River, Black-Finned Rainbowfish
Another beautiful male
A pair investigate a spawning mop
Dave Wilson
In 1995 Dave and Robyn Wilson star ted a small business called Aquagreen. The aim was to produce a few
plants for a local Darwin aquarium shop. Aquagreen is a small licensed Aquaculture facility located at Howard
Springs in the Nor thern Territory producing common and native plants and f ishes for the aquarium Industry.
Dave is an exper t in Australian native f ishes and plants and was Manager of the Territory Wildlife Aquarium
Park, the largest freshwater public aquarium in Australia, from 1992-2001.
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 14
For a lot of f ishkeepers, choosing f ish for an aquarium often comes down to selecting colourful orna-
mental species of f ish. In this article were going to take a look at some tropical freshwater f ish species
that are a little bit different. They may not be brightly coloured but their unusual body shapes and
behaviours have made them popular as oddities that can really add some interest to the right type of
aquarium set-up.
Black Ghost KnifeFish
The Black Ghost Knifef ish (Apteronotus albifrons) is an intriguing member of a whole family of oddballs,
the ghost knifef ishes. There are many things that are unusual about this species, starting with the shape
of the body which is compressed laterally and is more like a knife than a f ish! These f ish have no dorsal
f in and have a highly developed anal f in that extends most of the length of their body. They are able
to use this f in in an undulating rhythm to swim backwards as well as forwards something most f ish
species cant do. Their jet black, smooth scaleless skin with distinctive white tail markings adds to the
mystique.
The natural habitat for this species is fast
f lowing streams in the Amazon Basin. They
are eff icient nocturnal hunters, mostly of
insect larvae which they f ind using a secret
weapon. If you look at a Black Ghost Knife-
f ish youll notice that their eyes are quite
small and dont appear to be particularly
well developed. Its likely that their eyesight
is quite poor, but then they dont use their
eyes to f ind their prey. Instead, these inter-
esting f ish are actually able to produce a
weak electric f ield around their entire body.
Sensitive electro-receptors on their skin pick
Oddballs
Because being Different is Better.
Photo by Per Erik Sviland.
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 15
up the minute changes in this electric f ield
which occur when live prey is near and thus
they can f ind food in pitch darkness. They
can also communicate with others of their
own kind and detect predators that may be
nearby. This electric f ield is not noticeable to
us you wont get any sort of electric shock
from these f ish.
This species is relatively hardy and fairly easy
to care for, but they are not a beginners
f ish and do have some special requirements
which need to be taken into consideration
before purchasing one. Youll usually see
them available as small and cute specimens,
but keep in mind that they do grow to about 50cm (20) in length so an aquarium with a length of at
least 120cm (4) is recommended. Their preferred pH range is approximately 6.5-7.5, and good water
quality is needed to keep them healthy. As they are nocturnal, they will of course be more active at
night, but keeping them in a set-up which is either dimly lit or has plenty of cover from bright lights may
tempt them to be more active during daylight hours. They particularly appreciate having a decent cave
or plastic tube to rest in during the day and may become stressed if theyre not given an appropriate
hiding place.
When it comes to tank mates they will get on well with most f ish but there are some rules. Firstly,
remember that they are predatory they will eat anything which will f it into their mouths. Fortunately
the mouth of a Black Ghost Knifef ish is relatively small compared to its body size, but if you keep small
f ish such as guppies or neon tetras with one of these you will f ind that they disappear at night time, one
by one. Whilst they are predatory, they are not generally aggressive towards other medium to large
f ish. They will generally get on well with Clown Loaches, Synodontis catf ish, Angelf ish and adult Bristle-
nose catf ish, to name a few potential tankmates. There can be problems however, with keeping them
with other Black Ghost Knifef ish. Its generally recommended to keep just one to a tank as when they
are kept in a conf ined space they can be territorial and aggressive towards others of their own kind,
although some do get on well with other Black Ghost Knifef ishes.
Most specimens are not particularly fussy eaters and will accept most types of food, but they do relish
live food such as blackworms and bloodworms and will be happier and healthier if offered live food on
a regular basis. When the basic conditions for keeping this species are met they can be quite long lived
and are a very rewarding and interesting f ish to keep.
African ButterFLy Fish
The African Butterf ly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi) is a very unusual and highly adapted f ish which is
unique enough that it is the only member of its family (Pantodontidae). Everything about this f ish is
designed to make it a very specialised surface predator. This f ish comes from areas of West Africa
where there are large bodies of stagnant, standing water. In these calm, very slow moving waters this
f ish hunts by hanging at the very surface of the water, often using f loating plants as cover, waiting for
insects and other prey to land close enough for the f ish to snatch them.
This patient stalker has everything it needs to lie in wait in the right spot for its prey. It has a specially
adapted swimbladder which helps it to stay suspended at the surface of the water and which also al-
lows it to breathe some atmospheric air. The eyes are turned slightly upwards and are always watch-
ing for small movements from above, while its upturned mouth is perfect for quickly grabbing anything
Photo by Owen Stickley.
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 16
which is within reach on the
surface of the water. The
elongated tail and anal f ins
stabilise the f ish in the water
and also act as a security
system, allowing it to sense
movement from below which
might come from the threat
of a larger predatory f ish. Its
well developed pectoral f ins
are wing-like and are what
give this f ish the butterf ly
name these f ins help the
f ish to glide smoothly and ef-
fortlessly around without any
disturbance to the surface
water, which might give it
away.
Although they may seem to be slow and ponderous f ish they are actually capable of quite a burst
of speed when threatened and are known to be able jump out of the water and even glide above
it for a short distance to escape predators. For this reason, tight-f itting aquarium lids are a must
when keeping these f ish, as they are known jumpers. They are generally very hardy f ish but do
have some special requirements which should be met. In their natural environment the water is
slightly acidic, in aquaria they are happy when kept in a pH range of 6.5-7.2 and prefer the water
to be slightly soft. As they are so highly adapted to f loating at the surface of still waters, this should
be replicated in the aquarium make sure that outf lows from f ilters or air pumps cause only mini-
mal surface water disturbance. Its a good idea to also provide some f loating plants too, as these
f ish do feel quite stressed if there is no surface cover at all. They do not get particularly large at
a maximum size of about 10cm (4) in length they may be kept in an aquarium of a minimum size
of 40L (10 gal) (if they are the only f ish present).
Tank mates should be carefully selected. This f ish generally does not like to share its top-dwelling
space with others and will also eat anything which f its into its mouth, which is certainly large
enough to f it neon tetras, guppies, rasboras and other small schooling f ish! It is best kept with me-
dium sized, non-aggressive mid-
water and bottom dwellers such
as Clown Loaches, Corydoras
catf ish or peaceful gouramis. Fin-
nipping f ish must be avoided as
they are likely to go for the long
trailing f ins of the butterf ly f ish.
Feeding can sometimes be prob-
lematic as some individuals will
only accept live food. Others may
be trained on to f loating pellets,
but food needs to be accessible
at the surface for these f ish to be
interested. Live food is accepted
readily by all specimens though
and can consist of live crickets
(some f ish may accept canned
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 17
Photo by Budi Lukman.
Photo by Budi Lukman.
Freshwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 18
Photos by Budi Lukman.
crickets), small feeder f ish
or a basket of live black
worms suspended at the
surface for accessibility.
Elephant
Nose Fish
Elephantnose f ish are
strikingly shaped and
instantly recogniz-
able oddballs from the
Mormyrid family which
are available in the
aquarium trade fairly
regularly. The species
usually seen for sale is
Peters Elephantnose
f ish (Gnathonemus pe-
tersii). Like the African
Butterf lyf ish, these are
also found in the West
and Central African
basin areas, where
they have a very wide
distribution.The El-
ephantnose f ish is found
in muddy, slow moving
rivers where visibility
in the water is usually
low. Thus, like the Black
Ghost Knifef ish, it has
become adapted to
f inding its food in these
conditions and does so in a similar way. Like the Knifef ish, it has poorly developed eyes and does not
really use visual cues to f ind food. It also has electroreceptors all over its body and produces a weak
electric f ield to assist in locating prey and for navigation and communication with others of its own
species. The wonderful nose is actually a f lexible extension of the lower lip and is used to probe
around in the substrate or under logs and stones to f ind small worms and other invertebrates.
One of the most important requirements for keeping an Elephantnose f ish is to use a soft nonabra-
sive substrate such as a f ine river sand. As these f ish constantly poke around with their noses in
the substrate coarse or sharp gravels should not be used as these quickly cause quite bad abrasions
of the nose which in turn cause the f ish to become stressed and have diff iculty feeding. Whilst
these f ish do adore being fed live worms they usually adapt quickly to dried foods such as sinking
pellets. Their mouths are relatively small so the food should be appropriately sized. Their preferred
pH range is around 6.5-7.2, with slightly soft, slightly acidic water being ideal. They are quite sensi-
tive to poor water quality, to the point that they have actually been used at some commercial water
treatment plants to measure water quality. Small changes in water quality cause a difference in the
Competitions Redfsh Magazine 2011:2 16
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electric f ield of the f ish and this can be detected with special equipment. From this use of the f ish
in the commercial f ield we know that they are easily stressed by poor water conditions, so in the
aquarium they should be kept with a properly functioning f ilter and a commitment to regular water
changes.
These f ish are most comfortable in a fairly dark and sheltered environment with plenty of cover and
hidey-holes. When kept in a brightly lit, bare aquarium they become quite stressed, but if given a hollow
log or two to shelter in and a variety of plants to provide shady areas they will actually be more active
and keen to venture out to explore. Elephantnoses are generally peaceful f ish which are unlikely to be
aggressive towards most other tankmates. Like the Knifef ishes though, they may be territorial towards
others of their own kind. This is not a hard and fast rule and depends on the individual. Some Elephant-
noses will get on well with others or even in small groups, others can only be kept on their own. They
may also not tolerate other weakly electric f ish (such as Knifef ish) and vice versa. However as peaceful
mostly bottom dwelling f ish they can be kept with the African Butterf lyf ish. If you do want to try to
keep more than one Elephantnose, or keep another weakly electric f ish with them, then the aquarium
should be at least 400 L (100 gal) in capacity, to allow the f ish to have their own territories.
Conclusion
These three species of oddball f ish are extremely interesting additions to the right type of aquarium.
All of these f ish have some special requirements which should be considered before purchasing the
f ish, but which are usually not too diff icult to achieve in many situations. Theyre not beginners species,
but are good choices for those who have some prior f ishkeeping experience and who are looking for
something out of the ordinary to keep.
PhotoContest2011
Redfish Magazine
Redfish Magazine Photo Contest. Oct 2011 - Dec 2011
Redfsh Magazine is pleased to announce the second of its quarterly Aquarium
Photo Contests for 2011-2012. Each month well
publish our favourite reader submitted photos,
and in January 2012, well announce the winners
for this round.
Te theme this quarter is:
My fsh and I
Tis quarter we are pleased to be able to ofer
Julian Sprungs excellent book: Corals: A Quick
Reference Guide as a prize!
Codeword: LIONFISH
Entering the photo contest
Entering the photo contest is simple.
Email your name, the codeword, postal address and a high res. version
of your photo to competitions@redfshmagazine.com.au.
Please check the rules and regulations prior to entry.
Waiting for Separation by Hamid Najaf.
Rules and Regulations
Photo must be your own work. Post processing of your own images is
allowed. You must be over 18 years of age to enter the competition.
Detailed rules and regulations are available at:
www.redfshmagazine.com.au/competitions/2011_photo_comp_1
Untitled by D. Sharon Pruitt.
Need Inspiration?
Here are some amazing
aquatic images from fickr!
Enoshima Aquarium by Kazunori Matsuo
wonder
by Markus Mindaugas Urban
Freediving the Ocean - Into the Light
by Jayhem
One girl in an aquarium by Antara
Competitions Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 20
Travel Redfsh Magazine 2011:1 37 Competitions Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 21
REDFISH WINNERS
Congratulations to our photo contest entrants
The staff of Redfish Magazine would like to thank ev-
eryone who submitted photographs for the first Red-
fish Magazine Photo Competition. Judging the entrants
wasnt easy but after much deliberation weve nar-
rowed down the field to our four winners.

They are:
Top left , Luis Gonzalez
Top right, Tomas Diaz
Bottom left, Hadrien Brassens
Bottom right, Adilson Borszcz
Congratulations!
The Redfish Team.
Competitions Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 21
to enter Our Next Photo Competition,
see details on page 20
TECHNICAL
Choosing a substrate for the reef Aquarium
by Sara Allyn Mavinkurve
Part I
One of the most impor tant decisions marine aquarists make before setting up a new aquarium is what
substrate to use (or if they will use substrate at all). This ar ticle is an introduction and overview of the most
popular choices aquarists make, the pros and cons of each, and what you should think about before deciding
what you want for your system.
Points to Consider
The subject of substrate choice has been met with a lot of heated debate amongst marine aquarists, causing
many aquarists to feel very strongly about deep sand beds (DSB) verses bare bottoms (BB). Friendships
have been tested, hear ts broken, cyber wars waged! Well, not to get too melodramatic, but its been a hot
topic to say the least. Before you get caught up in the politics of the matter, think about what you per-
sonally want. What looks good to you? What purpose do you want your substrate to serve? Will it be a
habitat for life? Will it be an additional source of f iltration? Will it server an aesthetic purpose? Then there
are the practical questions. Do you want something easy and low maintenance or do you enjoy spending a
lot of time with your aquarium? How big is the system you are planning? What kind of animals do you plan
to keep? One should consider all these questions before deciding on a substrate. As youll read below, each
choice has its advantages and disadvantages.
But before I begin this discussion of pros and cons of different substrates, I want to point out that, in my
opinion/observations, there are three basic types of points that tend to inf luence the decisions we make and
opinions we form about our aquariums and the world in general. Theres experimental evidence, anecdotal
(or empirical) evidence and theory. Aquarium keeping can be extremely frustrating in that what we might
expect to happen theoretically doesnt seem to happen actually or experimentally (and vice versa). Then
there are always those anecdotal experiences we have as aquarists for which we have no explanation at all
and appear to happen only to us. Thoroughly discussing all points made in science, theory and/or anecdote
on marine aquarium substrate choice could easily f ill a book. Since Im limited here to a few thousand words,
I can only give you a cursory review of these topics and hope that by the end of it Ive sparked your interest
and inspired you to do your own fur ther research and reading.
Bare Bottom
Bare Bottom Advantages:
Well star t with the simplest choice: no substrate. There are a lot of potential advantages to a bare bottom
tank. Firstly, they are low maintenance in comparison to substrate containing systems. Its always convenient
to be able to simply siphon up debris with every water change. Secondly, for reef or coral containing sys-
tems, its easier to get intense water f low without having to worry about sand storms or piles of substrate
gathering in one corner of the tank. Corals can suffer signif icantly from sediment damage. This happens
in aquariums when sand lands on or rubs against the delicate soft tissue of any coral. Not having to worry
about this problem alone is incentive enough for many reef aquarists to forego the use of substrate altogeth-
er (especially for many SPS coral keepers whove been dying to try out a 5HP Pacer SE2JL HYC supplied surge
device if only they could get the building permit).
Bare Bottom Disadvantages:
The disadvantage of a bare bottom system is that you wont have the additional niches for life that sub-
strates add to a marine aquarium. You wont be able to keep any animals that require a substrate to bury
and/or borrow in. In shor t, anything that you might gain from having a sand bed (or other substrate), you
wont have in a bare bottom tank. Aesthetically, some people f ind bare bottom tanks visually unappealing.
This writer disagrees with this last contention. There are some fun things you can do with a bare bottom
tank to make it just as visually exciting (or even more so) as any tank with a sand bed. Use of starboard
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 22
is one option. An even more intriguing look is to grow soft corals along the bottom. A carpet of star polyps,
xenia, and/or zoanthids can look very cool at the bottom of a reef tank. Having a hefty population of soft coral
polyps along the bottom of the tank might even provide some help with the clean up of uneaten food and f ish
waste.

Sand
There are several different ways to use sand as a marine aquarium substrate, but Ill focus on the few most com-
mon ways.
Deep Sand Bed
Def ining DSB
Before we can discuss deep sand beds, we have to def ine the term. Though the very def inition of Deep Sand
Bed can be a hotly debated issue in and of itself, Im going to give it what I perceive as the most common and
practical def inition. Commonly understood, a DSB is any layer of sand three or more inches deep, with a grain
size no larger than sugar f ine. If the grains of sand are much larger than granules of sugar, youre star ting to
get into crushed coral or crushed aragonite substrates that dont quite function the same way as f iner grained
substrates.
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 23
NH
3
/ NH
4
+

NO
2
-
NO
3
-
N
2
AEROBIC PATHWAYS ANAEROBIC PATHWAYS
N
i
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The Nitrogen Cycle Refresher Course
In essence, the Nitrogen Cycle is the infnitely complicated path, set of paths, overlapping and diverging paths,
twisted and sinister paths, etc. by which Nitrogen circles around and through the earth, air and water. Thank
goodness we dont need to know all that much about it. I painfully recall, and perhaps some readers of this article
do too, being required to memorize the basics of the Nitrogen Cycle in school. I can also remember rolling my
eyes thinking when am I ever going to need to know this? Huh, well, believe it or not, here it is again. The
breakdown of nitrogenous wastes (largely from animals), occurs via the Nitrogen Cycle. This is not unique to
aquariums. Im sure any self-respecting farmer could tell you just as much or more about the in-soil manifestation
of the Nitrogen Cycle as any DSB-loving reef aquarist could tell you about the in-aquarium manifestation of this
process. Grossly over-simplifed, its the pathways by which:
Ammonia is fxed (by nitrogen fxing bacteria) to make Ammonium. 1.
Ammonium is converted into nitrogen oxides (nitrites and nitrates) by nitrifying bacteria. 2.
Nitrogen oxides are converted into nitrogen gas and water. 3.
Aerobic bacteria accomplish the frst two steps. Anaer-
obic bacteria accomplish the third. Anaerobic bacteria
absolutely need an oxygen depleted space in order to
live and do their thing. In a DSB, the goal is to have the
top layer be aerobic (containing oxygen), with oxygen
concentration gradually declining to zero down into the
sand bed. In this way, a DSB can become an excellent
natural flter. Essentially, all biological aquarium flters
work this way (with an aerobic zone in juxtaposition
to an anaerobic zone). However, in all such flters, the
biological fltration capacity is limited by the surface
area available for bacterial colonization. In a DSB, this
surface area is truly immense. If you do the math, the
surface area can get up to an acre or more in the aver-
age DSB!

Of course, as with any over-simplifcation of a biologi-
cal process, Im leaving out countless side reactions
and other by products. For example, hydrogen sulfde
is a signifcant by product of denitrifcation which is
toxic to fsh if it doesnt exit the system in the form of
gas (which it is at room temperature). When hydrogen sulfde precipitates iron sulfdes, this is what turns areas
of sand substrate black. This phenomenon is why some zealous bare bottom advocates call DSBs ticking time
Looking for more impact?
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photo by Khantipol
Reefkeeping Redfsh Magazine 2011:3 24

The Signif icance of Grain Size, Grain Composition and Sand Bed Dimensions
Grain Size:
Arguably, even sugar-f ine is likely too large a grain size to get the full functionality of a sand bed as a source of
nitrogenous waste f iltration. The reason for this is, the functionality of a sand bed as a biological f ilter is depen-
dent on the existence of an anaerobic zone where anaerobic, denitrifying bacteria can carry out denitrif ication
(in large par t, the conversion of nitrogen oxides into nitrogen gas and water). The coarser the sand, the less
anaerobic space there will be. To understand this concept, ask yourself; would I rather be buried under marbles
or mud? Buried under marbles, you might stand a chance of survival since all the spaces between the marbles
allow at least some air to get through. Buried under mud, youd suffocate in a minute or so (depending on how
long you could hold your breath). By the same general principle, a sand bed of coarse sand is going to be more
oxygenated all the way through even if left undisturbed. With a sand bed of sugar f ine sand (i.e. a grain size of
~0.5mm), at the bottom of 4 inches, youll likely get at least some anaerobic zones, but not nearly as much as with
f iner sand. Ill note here that this might be the actual advantage of some mud products sold as substrates for
marine aquariums. Marine mud is, after all, just very f ine sand/substrate.
All this said about the theoretical impor tance of grain size for creating anaerobic environments, I must tell you that
some denitrif ication will occur even if you use marbles for substrate. But theres even more to this issue of grain
size. The truth is that a lot of benthic (sand dwelling) organisms are very picky about the range of sediment grain
size they will tolerate. Some of them are picky to an extreme such that they will not reproduce or live a normal
life span if stuck in sediment of a grain size even just 0.01mm outside of their preference. Some organisms will just
refuse to live in f iner or coarser substrate. And unfor tunately, you just cant make everybody happy. Dr. Shimek
opines that a sand grain size of 0.125mm is likely a good middle ground compromise for enough benthic organisms.
Alternatively, some equally intelligent aquarists recommend using substrate of mixed grain sizes, with grains occur-
ring across a range of 0.05mm to 0.5mm in size. For those who wish to know more about this topic of sand grain
size and the functionality of sand beds, I refer you to many ar ticles on the subject written by Dr. Ron Shimek, Dr.
Rober t Toonen and others.

Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 25
bombs. According to the ticking time bomb theory, the anaerobic layer of sand in a DSB accumulates toxins and
will eventually erupt in a sudden cataclysmic release of a myriad of denitrifcation by products (such as hydro-
gen sulfde), causing a total tank crash (sudden death of all live stock). While I suppose its possible for such a
thing to happen, I doubt that it often does. For one thing, as mentioned, hydrogen sulfde is a gas. Thus, so long
as the DSB is well populated with benthic organisms and the aquarium system employs good circulation and gas
exchange, hydrogen sulfde should bubble out along with nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide, etc. More poignant
for myself personally, I had an experience with one of my own systems that caused me to seriously question the
DSB time bomb idea.
ANECDOTE: The following is a mere anecdote and should not be taken more or less seriously than any other
anecdote. I once had the good fortune of watching my 250 L (65 gal) aquarium start to leak along the bottom
rim. It started as a drip, then a steady stream. Well, you know how this goes. In less than an hour, I was forced
to drain the tank (water, sand and all). Im embarrassed to admit that I was terribly unprepared for such an under-
taking and did not have nearly enough pre-mixed water or anywhere for the livestock to go except a few empty
aquariums of various sizes and plenty of spare Maxi Jet power heads. When I got down to my DSB (about 4
inches deep), I started to scoop it out in 20oz slushy-cup-fulls at a time. The rotten egg smell was room-flling and
noxious. The sand just an inch or two below the surface was black. There was every sign that at least parts of my
DSB had turned into an all-out hydrogen sulfde toxic waste dump. How long it had been this way, I dont know.
Regardless, all my fsh, corals and invertebrates had no choice but to sit in that same water and sand for at least 3
days before I could replace the leak tank. And yet, nothing died. Of course, this is, as forewarned, a mere anec-
dote. While I was happy to see that my sand bed had, obviously, a signifcant anaerobic zone, I was not happy to
see so much evidence of hydrogen sulfde (and iron sulfde). This is not ideal. Thus, having learned of what was
going on in my sand bed, I made a concerted effort to obtain more benthic organisms (worms, micro-crustaceans,
seed shrimp, etc.) which would provide the necessary subtle movement in the sand to allow hydrogen sulfde to
more readily exit the sand bed. So while Ill concede that a poorly maintained sand bed with insuffcient benthic
life can result in signifcant hydrogen sulfde production, Im not ready to concede that DSBs (even at their worst)
are ticking time bombs that will (or could) crash your tank and kill your animals at any time.
Reefkeeping Redfsh Magazine 2011:3 25
In shor t, the thought is that f iner the sand, the more effective the sand bed will be as a processor of nitrogenous
waste. Keep in mind though, that, no matter how f ine or coarse your sand might be, the f iltration capacity of your
sand bed will not appreciably increase beyond a depth of about 5 or 6 inches. In fact, theres likely not much to be
gained by having a sand bed deeper than even four inches.
Sand Bed Dimensions:
Generally speaking, the dimensions of the foot print (length x widthnot depth) of a DSB should be at least
~4.5 square feet (or roughly the footprint of a 40 gal breeder). Unfor tunately, this recommendation is routinely
given and taken without much explanation. Generally, its thought that this is the threshold dimension needed to
maintain a healthy population of benthic organisms. Empirically, for whatever reason, it looks like the f iltration
and other benef its of a DSB arent so apparent when the dimensions are much smaller than this. Also, again, if you
want to make your sand bed bigger, make it longer and/or wider (rather than deeper).
Grain Composition:
When it comes to substrate composition, marine aquarists often f ind themselves choosing between aragonite
and silica. Though aragonite is usually favored, marine substrate does not necessarily have to be aragonite.
Theres reason to believe, theoretically, experimentally and anecdotally, that aragonite provides *localized* alkalin-
ity benef its which might be advantageous for any number of reasons. For example, it might aid in phosphate pre-
cipitation and/or denitrif ication. However, any potential contribution (if any) it makes to the overall alkalinity and/
or pH balance of the system as a whole is not likely signif icant. Even with a sand bed of f ine aragonite, you will
still need to balance your systems calcium and alkalinity by some other means. If you want to use silica sand (or
quar tz sand) and youre worried about soluble silicates, I would advise rinsing the sand *a lot.* While quar tz
(SiO2) itself will not add silicates to your water (since pure quar tz is vir tually insoluble in water), you might be hard
pressed to f ind 100% pure quar tz sand. Less than pure quar tz sand will inevitably have some contaminates of
soluble silica compounds. However, it should be easy enough to rinse away any contaminate thats water soluble.
If space permitted, I could discuss different commercial sources for substrate of different grain sizes and composi-
tions in detail. Instead Ill just note here that there are places outside of your local aquarium store or pet store
where you can f ind cheap substrate suitable for marine aquariums. In addition to browsing your local aquarium
stores substrate selection, dont hesitate to venture into a hardware store and/or construction supply store.
However, do be sure you know what youre getting and what youre putting in your aquarium (potential con-
taminates and all).
Continued in Par t II: In Novembers issue of Redf ish Magazine. Sara discusses the advantages and disadvantages
of deep sand bed f iltration, brief ly discusses the plenum of the 1990s and its use in modern reef keeping. She dis-
cusses the use of shallow substrates and crushed coral rubble. Finally, she covers remote DSBs, for those aquarists
wanting the f iltration a DSB provides without some of the aesthetic issues.
O
x
y
g
e
n

g
r
a
d
i
e
n
t
Oxic zone (Abundant O2)
Hypoxic zone (Low O2)
Anoxic zone (No O2)
NO3
NO3
NO3
NO3
NO3
NO3
N2
NO3
NO3
Bacterial denitrif ication
SUMP OR AQUARIUM
Sara Allyn Mavinkurve is a WetWebMedia crew member who has authored a range of ar ticles on corals and
marine aquariums for international and US f ishkeeping magazines. Shes a special guest at the Marine Aquariums
of South Africa. When shes not writing about f ish, Sara is an attorney who SCUBA dives in her ever-shrinking
amounts of free-time.
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 26
Community Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 27
Community Directory
International
Advanced Aquarist http://www.advancedaquarist.com
Britain
Anglia Reef Club http://www.angliareefclub.org.uk/
Bracknell Aquarist Society http://bracknellaquarist.wordpress.com/
Bristol Aquarists Society http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/
Bristol Tropical Fish Club http://www.bristoltropicalf ishclub.org.uk/
British Cichlid Association http://www.britishcichlid.org.uk/
British Killif ish Association http://www.bka.org.uk/
British Koi Keeepers Society (BKKS)
See website for UK sections http://www.bkks.co.uk/
Catf ish Study Group http://www.catf ishstudygroup.org/
Dunstable & District Aquarist Society http://www.ddas.co.uk/
Federation of Nor thern Aquarium Societies (FNAS)
See website for list of associated clubs http://www.fnas.org.uk/
Greater Manchester Cichlid Society http://www.nekrosoft.co.uk/gmcs/
Hounslow & District Aquarists Society http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/hounslowf ish/
Ilford &District Aquarists & Pondkeepers Society http://www.ilfordaquarists.co.uk/
Preston and District Aquatic Society http://www.nor thtrop.co.uk/preston.html
Reigate and Redhill Aquarist Society http://www.networkclub.co.uk/rras/
Ryedale Aquarist Society http://www.ryedaleaquaristsociety.co.uk/
Southend Leigh and District Aquarist Society http://www.southendaquarist.co.uk/
Strood and District Aquarist Society http://www.stroodaquarist.co.uk/
Scotland
Federation of Scottish Aquarist Societies.
See website for list of associated clubs http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/scottish_aquarium_society.htm
Aberdeen Fish Keepers Club http://sites.google.com/site/aberdeenf ishkeepersclub/
Greenock & District Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/greenock&district_as.htm
Fair City Aquarist Society http://www.faircityaquaristsociety.co.uk/
Union of Scottish Aquarists http://www.f ishwebusa.co.uk/
Capital Aquarist Society, Edinbourgh http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/capital_aquarists_society.htm
Dundee & District Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/dundee&district_aquarist_society.htm
Glenrothes Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/glenrothes_aquarist_society.htm
Grangemouth Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/grangemouth_aquarist_society.htm
Lanarkshire Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/lanarkshire_aquarist_society.htm
Musselburgh & District Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/musselburgh_a_s.htm
Per th Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/per th_aquarist_society.htm
Poecilia Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/poecilia_scotia.htm
Workington & District Aquarist Society http://www.scottishaquarist.co.uk/workington_as.htm
Wales
Newpor t & District Aquarist Society http://kimnp19.tripod.com/
Ireland
Irish Midlands Aquatic Society http://midlandsaquatic.weebly.com/index.html
Be par t of our community!
Our current listing is primarily from Britain, if youre par t of
a f ishkeeping club or society on the Continent wed love to
add you to our list!
Email us at enquiries@redf ishmagazine.com.au
to get listed here.
Photo by Hobvias Sudoneighm
TUBASTREA
THE SUN CORALS
TAXONOMY
Sun corals are members of the family
Dendrophylliidae. Most species lack zooxanthel-
lae. Most trade specimens are likely to be Tubastrea
faulkneri or T. coccinea.
HABITAT
Widespread in tropical and cold oceans. Typically in
dark overhangs, cave mouths or in deepwater.
KEEPING
Not for the beginner. Despite their name, polyps open
during the night. Lacking zooxanthellae, the polyps
MUST be fed on a daily basis. The polyps are separate
so they must be fed individually. Failure to undertake this
feeding results in decline then death. Provided feeding is
undertaken, they can be kept by intermediately experi-
enced reefers. Their stings dont seem to be particularly
dangerous to other corals, placement can thus be quite
fexible. Ideally, youll want to choose somewhere eco-
logically relevant, thats also pragmatic. Youre going to
be feeding your sun coral all the time - so be sure its in
a position thats easy to access.
NEW SPECIMENS
Watch out for nudibranchs and
wentletrap snails on wild-
caught specimens. They
tend to be common hitch-
hikers.
On addition to the
aquarium many
polyps will refuse to
open. These should
be sprayed with
food on a daily ba-
sis to entice them
to open.
Provided enough
food is supplied
your sun corals will
reward you with
a spectacular nightly
show!
Reefkeeping Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 28
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 29
Predators
Scorpionfish, Morays and Triggers
by Aaron Sewell
Broadbarred f iref ish (Pterois antennata).
Photo by Christian Mehlfhrer.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 30
While there are few groups of f ish that are completely unsuitable for coral reef aquariums, there are several
that are generally considered more ideal for f ish only aquariums. This ar ticle will cover some of the most
common piscivorous f ish kept in marine aquariums, moray eels (family Muraenidae) and scorpionf ishes (family
Scorpaenidae) as well as the triggerf ishes (family Ballistidae) which are far more varied in their diet but are
well known for their aggression. The term predator is often used to describe such f ish but, while it is cor-
rect, the term technically covers most f ish so is not par ticularly useful in attempting to describe a small subset
of marine aquarium f ish. Predators are those animals (or f ish in this case) that feed on other animals. There-
fore, this group includes everything from gobies to sharks and just about everything in between; those f ish
that feed on zooplankton as well as those that feed on other f ish.
These f ish generally (and there are a number of exceptions) feed on small f ish and crustaceans such as
shrimp. This is a factor that often appeals to aquarists that want something different and a little bit more
interactive. While it is generally desirable to train piscivores onto frozen foods, many people still like to watch
their f ish hunt live f ish or shrimp. For anyone wanting to feed live f ish to their piscivores, it is impor tant that
goldf ish are avoided. The most common reason given is the high fat content but while this is a concern, the
more impor tant reason is that these f ish contain Thiaminase. Thiaminase is an enzyme that breaks down
Thiamin, more commonly known as vitamin B1, which helps to conver t carbohydrates into glucose which is
then metabolised to produce energy. Fish that are fed goldf ish over long periods tend to become lethargic
and lose their appetite.
One of the greatest considerations when choosing to keep these f ish is water quality and f iltration capacity.
Any f ish that is fed large amounts of meaty food will produce a higher amount of nitrogenous waste than
many other f ish. When looking at triggerf ish, this is exacerbated by their feeding method which involves
tearing chunks of food apar t meaning that there is a lot of food waste on top of the waste produced by
Ambon Scorpionf ish (Pteroidichthys amboinensis). Photo by Steve Childs.
the f ish. Many aquarists opt for more traditional f iltration methods such as bio balls or canister f ilters due
to their ability to rapidly reduce ammonia and nitrite to nitrate. This is f ine for aquariums where no corals
or anemones are being kept, but the resultant nitrate levels can be problematic for reef aquariums and this
should be considered before purchasing any large f ish with a diet that could lead to excessive nutrient levels.
Moray Eels (Muraenidae)
There are a few families of marine eels such as the conger and garden eels of the family Congridae as well
as the snake eels of the family Ophichthidae, but by far the most familiar to aquarists are the moray eels
of the family Muraenidae. Ranging in size from around 40cm (15) to almost 2.5m (8), there are some spe-
cies that are ideally suited to home aquaria while there are others that are best observed in public aquaria
or even better, in the wild. In general, given suff icient space, moray eels do quite well in captivity. They are
generally quite willing to accept prepared foods such as fresh or frozen f ish or shrimp/prawn. One notable
exception are the ribbon eels (Rhinomuraena quaesita), whose diet consists primarily of small f ish but they
are extremely reluctant to accept non-living alternatives. Whether this is due to captive stress which causes
the eels to be unwilling to feed or whether it is a lack of recognition of non-live f ish as potential prey items is
uncer tain, although the former is more likely due to many aquarists having little success with live food alter-
natives, but the vast majority of ribbon eels that make their way into the aquarium trade fare very poorly in
the average home aquarium.
One of the most impor tant considerations for aquariums that are to house a moray eel is ensuring that
all possible exits are covered. Moray eels have a tendency to f ind the smallest of gaps around lids or weirs
through which to escape. It is not uncommon for owners of moray eels to f ind their eel f lailing or even
worse, dried up, on the f loor in the morning after the eel has gone exploring overnight only to f ind itself
outside the aquarium. The other consideration is tankmates; not only are most moray eels oppor tunistic
predators and scavengers, they are also quite aggressive. Not only should all f ish and crustaceans (such as
ornamental shrimp) that are small enough to f it into the eels mouth be avoided but also any f ish that will
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 31
Honeycomb Moray (Gymnothorax favagineus). Photo by Dr. Holger Krisp.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 32
Blue Ribbon Eels, (Rhinomuraena quaesita) fare very poorly in the home aquarium and are best kept by
advanced aquarists, with a specialty in eel husbandry. Photo by Chika Watanabe.
The Snowf lake Moray, (Echidna nebulosa) is a hardy moray for the aquarium. Photo by Silke Baron.
occupy similar niches within the aquarium that are not suff iciently large to defend themselves. One excep-
tion to this is cleaner shrimp of the genus Lysmata which are not only tolerated by moray eels but in the wild
moray eels will seek out cleaner shrimp to remove ecto-parasites from the eels skin. Moray eels live gener-
ally live in crevices or caves within rockwork and once they have found a place they are happy with, they will
rarely leave with the exception of shor t foraging trips. They will aggressively defend their territory and will
not tolerate other f ish encroaching on their space.
There are a number of species of moray eels that are quite placid and as long as suff icient f iltration is in
place to counter the high waste load produced by any piscivore, they can be kept with other commonly kept
aquarium f ish such as angelf ish, clownf ish and
surgeonf ish. Snowf lake eels (Echidna nebulose)
as well as some of the smaller Gymnothorax
species are generally quite tolerant of most
other tankmates. These smaller eels, if kept well
fed, will live happily and peacefully in most home
aquariums.
Scorpionfishes (Scorpaenidae)
By far the most recognisable of the scorpionf ish-
es are the lionf ish of the subfamily Pteroinae.
These highly recognisable f ish are also some
of the most caution-wor thy f ish available to
aquarists. Like all scorpionf ish, lionf ish possess
a series of venom glands located beneath the
dorsal, anal and pelvic f ins. While the venom
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 33
The Jeweled Moray, (Muraena lentiginosa) is sometimes available in the aquarium trade.
Photo by Laszlo Ilyes.
Zebra Lionf ish (Dendrochirus zebra)
Photo by Jens Petersen.
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produced is not generally lethal, it does deliver a
very painful sting that is enough to deter potential
predators not only from the initial attack but also
subsequent attempts to consume other lionf ish. It is
also enough to make aquarists proceed with cau-
tion when transpor ting or introducing these f ish to
an aquarium, or even when putting a hand into the
aquarium for maintenance.
While scorpionf ishes are ambush predators and are
generally considered to be on the aggressive end
of the spectrum with respect to aquarium f ish, the
truth is scorpionf ish are generally very peaceful ex-
cept when it comes to f ish or crustaceans that will
f it comfor tably (or sometimes not so comfor tably)
into the scorpionf ishs mouth.
Without exception, scorpionf ish are safe with sessile
inver tebrates such as corals and anemones. Motile
inver tebrates such as crustaceans, however, are far
less compatible with scorpionf ishes. Even cleaner
shrimp, which often avoid the menu of f ish that feed
on shrimp, are fair game for lionf ish and their kin.
Like any ambush predator, scorpionf ish should not
The Leaf Scorpionf ish (Taenianotus triacanthus) is a
smaller scorpionf ish. Photo by Silke Baron.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 35
The Fu Manchu Lionf ish, (Dendrochirus biocellatus) can be harder to train onto frozen foods.
Photo by Jenny Huang.
The Weedy Scorpionf ish, (Rhinopias frondosa) is sometimes available in the aquarium trade.
Photo by Jenny Huang.
be mixed with any f ish that will f it into their mouth.
Many scorpionf ish can be trained to take prepared
foods such as whitebait, prawns or similar meaty
offerings, however some species are less willing
than others. Some of the smaller lionf ish, most no-
tably the Fu Manchu Lionf ish (Dendrochirus biocel-
latus) are quite diff icult to train onto non-live foods
but with some perseverance, even these f ish are
usually willing to accept frozen foods.

Triggerfishes (Ballistidae)
The family Ballistidae contains a number of com-
mon aquarium f ish ranging from the smaller
Rhinecanthus triggers, which include the Picasso
and Wedge-tail Triggerf ish up to the much larger
Clown Triggers (Balistoides conspicillum). There are
larger triggerf ish species, including the Titan Trig-
gerf ish (Balistoides viridescens) but these f ish are
not often seen in the aquarium trade. Triggerf ish
Stonef ish (genus Synanceia) are rarely encountered
in the marine aquarium hobby, though examples do
exist. All species are highly venomous.
Photo by walknboston. http://www.f lickr.com/photos/walkn/
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 36
The Common Lionf ish is a truly spectacular animal. Photo by Jens Petersen.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:2 32
Inverts Redfsh Magazine 2011:3 37
Redfish Classifieds
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Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 37
belong to the order Tetraodontiformes, this group
also includes the f ilef ish, pufferf ish and porcupine f ish
and their most notable common feature is their jaw
structure. All of these f ish have very powerful jaws
which are used to crush their prey which can range
from small f ish to crustaceans or molluscs. Most trig-
gerf ish are also quite oppor tunistic and will feed on
any meaty foods available, including corals. There are
exceptions to the rule but for the most par t, adding
a triggerf ish to a coral tank can be asking for prob-
lems.
Ideally, triggerf ishes should be kept with tankmates
that are of similar or greater size as even the most
placid of species may be tempted to feed on smaller
tankmates. Some species, such as the aforemen-
tioned Clown Triggers and Undulate Triggers (Balis-
tipus undulates) are notoriously antisocial and should
be kept either on their own or in a large aquarium
Titan Triggerf ish (Balistoides viridescens) are too
large for the average marine aquarium.
Photo by Leonard Low.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 38
1. Picasso Triggerf ish (Rhinecanthus aculeatus). 2. Clown Triggerf ish (Balistoides conspicillum). 3. Bursa aka
Blackbelly Triggerf ish (Rhinecanthus verrucosus). 4. Sargassum Triggerf ish (Xanthichthys ringens). Photo by
Brian Gratwicke. 5. Arabian Picasso Triggerf ish, aka Assasi Triggerf ish (Rhinecanthus assasi). Photo by Rob @
http://www.f lickr.com/photos/bbmexplorer/
1
2 3
4 5
Aaron Sewell
In 2004 Aaron completed a BSc (Marine Science) at the University of Sydney with majors in marine biology
and tropical marine science. Since 2001 he has been involved with the aquarium industry at hobbyist and retail
level and now works in aquarium product development. Aaron is a former committee member of the Marine
Aquarium Society of Sydney and has collected f ish and corals in Fiji for the US and European aquarium indus-
tries. Aaron has been writing for several local and international aquarium magazines since 2004.
Marine Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 39
with suitable tankmates such as large groupers or scorpionf ishes, but
there is even a risk of incompatibility there. With respect to compatibility
with inver tebrates, most aquarists will encounter issues when attempt-
ing to mix triggerf ish with crustaceans such as shrimp and while they
can be quite useful at eliminating mantis shrimp, they will also generally
consume other, more desirable shrimp. Crustaceans make up a large
por tion of the diet of most triggerf ish and should be avoided at all
costs. Corals can be more hit and miss though, with some species of
triggerf ish being somewhat more compatible with coral tanks. Some
species, such as those from the genera Xanthichthys and Melichthys, are
relatively safe when kept with corals and other sessile inver tebrates but
caution should always be used when mixing triggerf ish and corals.
While these f ish can make very interesting or unusual additions to an
aquarium, they all have attributes that make compatibility considerations
both with respect to f ish and inver tebrates somewhat more critical. For many of these f ish, aquarium
size is also an impor tant consideration as many of them can reach substantial sizes. Like any f ish, the
maximum size should be considered when selecting these f ish as small juveniles are often made available
that are only a fraction of their adult size which they can often reach in just a few years.
Your aquariums
made to order
0417 696 739
www.AquariumsToGo.com.au
Taenianotus triacanthus individuals are superbly camouf laged.
Photo by Steve Childs.
Coldwater Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 40
Red-Cap
Oranda
The Red-Cap Oranda is a fancy variety of
the Common Goldsh (Carassius auratus
auratus) that was developed around
1600 AD. It is very popular and widely
kept. Like all fancy Goldsh though,
they arent as straightforward as their
comet cousins.
Description: Red-Cap Orandas are an
ovate bodied variety with a deeply
forked, thin-lobed tail. The breed stan-
dard requires that they be deep bodied
(> 2/3 of their length in depth). All Red-
Cap Orandas should be white in basal
colour, with red limited to the rasberry-
textured wen (Hood or Cap) which should
occur on the top of the head (and not all over
the head of the sh).

Keeping: Red-Cap Orandas are relatively straight-
forward to keep. They should be housed in either well-
ltered, covered ponds or in aquaria. They arent as cold
tolerant as the Common Goldsh or Comets and should be
overwintered indoors in areas were frosts (or snow) occur. The
variety swims relatively slowly and should not be housed with fast-swimming varieties were it would
compete poorly for food.
Its important to stress that to be successful in the long-term, goldsh require a lter. All-in-one
style, modern aquariums, that come with lights and an inbuilt lter are ideal for their care - better
still they are easy to setup, maintain and look great! Dechlorinated water should be of neutral to
alkaline pH. Placing a few sea shells into the aquarium (or the aquarium lter, if you dont like how
they look in the tank!) with the goldsh can assist in maintenance of this pH.

In terms of stocking, as for all goldsh: a 60 x 30 cm tank (24 x 12) can house 30 cm (12 inches) of
goldsh length that is: 3x 10cm (4) sh or 2x 15 cm (6) shes. Experts should feel free to break
this rule, though beginners should be wary of doing so, as it will re-
quire other remedial action (improved ltration, more water
changes etc). All goldsh tend to be messy feeders and
its better to stock more sparsely as this yields better
health outcomes in your shes. Goldsh live a long
time, if yours dont - or they havent in the past:
poor water quality, due to overstocking, over-
feeding, or underltering are the likely cause.
Feeding is straightforward, as all Goldsh,
Red-Caps included, readily consume high-
quality ake and frozen foods. A good tip
is, unless you have many aquariums, to
buy your food in relatively small volumes.
Its fresher, and this ensures your sh get
the vitamins they need.
The Red-Cap is a beautiful goldsh variety
and ideal for the novice who has a little ex-
perience under their belt. Follow the guide-
lines here and you should have success.
Happy shkeeping!
Aquarium Basics
Part 3: Maintenance
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 41
Ammonia:
P
a
p
e
r

T
e
x
t
u
r
e

b
y

E
n
r
i
q
u
e

F
l
o
u
r
e
t
Now that weve set our aquarium up
and the fsh are happy we need to make
sure they stay that way, so of course
theres going to be maintenance to
do. This doesnt have to be onerous
a basic set-up such as the one weve
put together over the last two issues
should really be quite a low-mainte-
nance system.
Waste from the fsh is quickly bro-
ken down by the flter into ammonia,
then nitrite and fnally into the much
less toxic nitrate. This nitrate will
slowly but surely build up in the
water as there really isnt anything
in the tank which will remove it from
the water (it is possible to have a
system where nitrate gets removed
but this is quite complex and beyond
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
T
O
X
I
C
I
T
Y
N
i
t
r
a
t
e

i
s

m
u
c
h

l
e
s
s

t
o
x
i
c

t
h
a
n

a
m
m
o
n
i
a

-
-

b
u
t

c
o
n
c
e
n
t
r
a
t
i
o
n
s

o
v
e
r

4
0
m
g

p
e
r

l
i
t
r
e

c
a
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s
t
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l

e
f
f
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t

f
i
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h

h
e
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h
!
the scope of the average aquarium). Most hardy trop-
ical fsh will tolerate having some nitrate in their
water, but as the concentration of nitrate increases
so does the potential for it to start to cause harm
to the fsh, so at some point nitrate will need
to be removed from the system. This is done
through partial water changes a percent-
age of water is removed from the tank and
is replaced with fresh, nitrate-free water.
This dilutes the nitrate that remains in
the tank.
Water changes can be stressful on fsh the
new water going in to the aquarium is not
the same as the old water that the fsh are
used to. To avoid causing a great deal of stress
to the fsh only a small amount of the old water
is removed and replaced usually in the range of
10-30% of the volume of the tank and usually with
a frequency of about once a week or fortnight. Of
course, the new water going in needs to have been
treated with an appropriate water ager to remove
chlorine and/or chloramine which are present in most
tap water supplies and which are toxic to fsh.
If everything has been going well in the tank and
the fsh are eating well and behaving normally, then
theres really no need to regularly test for ammonia
and nitrite our flter is well cycled by now and we
would not expect there to be any ammonia or nitrite
Safe levels
0 ppm
0 ppm
under
40 ppm
present if the flter is working normally. It can be worthwhile testing for ni-
trate though, to make sure that our maintenance schedule is keeping things at
an acceptable level. The nitrate level will never be zero, since well never
remove and replace 100% of the water at any one time. In a well maintained,
basic set-up such as this one, having nitrate at around the level of < 40ppm
is fne and wont harm hardy fsh species.
Its important to check the pH of the water in the tank regularly. In most
cases it will stay the same for long periods of time and from results like
this its easy to become complacent and assume that the pH will never change.
However, even in very stable systems pH can slide one way or another and its
much better to catch it and correct it when it hasnt changed too much than to
try and fx it when you notice that the fsh are unwell. Most good pH test kits
will come with buffers which can be used to correct the pH up or down, depend-
ing on the problem. For most fsh its safest to aim for a neutral pH (7), but
of course there are exceptions to this there are groups of fsh which pre-
fer their water to be more alkaline or acidic, so it pays to make sure you get
good advice when purchasing fsh for the aquarium to make sure that theyll be
happy in the conditions that you have for them.
The flter itself will need a bit of TLC from time to time as well. For the
most part its best not to meddle too much with it its a living colony of
benefcial bacteria that are doing the real fltration work and once theyre
set up and happy the less theyre disturbed the better. Still, over time the
mechanical fltration part of the flter will accumulate gunk which can clog
up the flter and reduce the water fow through it, which in turn reduces the
amount of oxygen fowing through the bacterial colony, making the colony un-
able to exist at their full capacity. So its a good idea to regularly check
that the flter is not getting clogged in any areas such as the intake, outfow
areas or mechanical fltration areas. With the particular set up weve used the
flter doesnt necessarily need to be switched off to access these parts for
cleaning. If your flter does need to be switched off remember that when it is
off there is no water fowing through it and no oxygen getting to the bacte-
rial colony. Try to do any flter maintenance quickly the lack of oxygen will
soon cause the bacteria to start dying and if the flter is left off for too
long youll be back to square one with an uncycled flter, which is very bad
news for the fsh! As a guide its usually not too detrimental if the flter is
left off for 10 to 15 minutes, but best if its not left off for longer. If
any parts of the flter need washing its a good idea to use some tank water to
do this all parts of the flter will have some of the helpful bacteria living
there and rinsing in tap water will kill these bacteria, where rinsing in tank
water will not.
Over time its quite likely that algae will start to build up on most surfaces
of the tank, especially the glass walls, which will obscure our view of the
fsh. The most basic way to remove the algae is by using a scrubber and old-
fashioned elbow grease. If youre going to do it this way, note that some com-
mon kitchen scrubbers may contain chemicals which are toxic to fsh, and some
may scratch the aquarium glass. An easier way to clean the glass is to use a
magnetic glass cleaner. Theyre designed for aquarium use, so no nasty chemi-
cals are present and they should not scratch the glass. Best of all, you dont
have to get wet when using them! Just be careful when scrubbing down close to
the gravel if you accidentally trap some gravel between the cleaner and the
glass you can scratch the glass quite badly.
To make algae cleaning even easier, why not get a little helper to do it for
you? There are a few hardy and commonly available fsh species you can add to
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 42
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your tank which like to eat algae and
will do quite a good job of keeping
it down. Bristlenose catfsh, sucking
loaches, Otocinclus catfsh and Sia-
mese algae eaters are some of the more
useful species and are all interest-
ing fsh to have about as well. Theyll
help to keep algae off all surfaces
in the tank, including the leaves of
plants. Youll still need to do a lit-
tle cleaning here and there, but over-
all the job will be reduced.
One of the best things you can do to
keep the maintenance jobs to a mini-
mum is to be sensible when feeding the
fsh. Just about every fshkeeper actu-
ally overfeeds their fsh they need
less than you think. Its diffcult to
say exactly how much food to give,
since this will depend on how many
and what type of fsh are in an indi-
vidual set-up. However there are some
guidelines which can help you work
out how much to feed. Firstly, there
should never be any uneaten food in
the tank if there is then you are
feeding far, far too much! Most people
have a general rule to feed only as
much as the fsh can consume in about 30
seconds. Healthy adult fsh should only
need to be fed once a day, and giv-
ing them a break where one day a week
they get no food at all is actually
good for most fsh. By not overfeeding
there will be less waste in the water
which will lead to a slower build-up of
nitrate. This is in turn will result in
a more stable pH (large amounts of ni-
trate can cause the pH to become acid-
ic), less algae (nitrate is essentially
fertiliser for algal growth) and reduc-
es the frequency with which you need to
do water changes (as theres less ni-
trate to remove).
Cleaning and maintenance arent the
most exciting things to do for an
aquarium but theyre essential jobs
which are needed to keep everything
healthy and running smoothly. A few
quick checks and some regular but rela-
tively quick cleaning activities mean
that you can enjoy a great looking
aquarium without having to do too much
hard work!
Technical Redfsh Magazine 2011:4 43
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Algae
Cleanup Crew!
TOP: BRISTLENOSE CATFISH
the bristlenose is an excellent choice for
algae control and doesn't damage most
plants.
MIDDLE: SUCKING LOACH /
CHINESE ALGAE EATER
the chinese algae eater is a good choice while
small. Larger specimens eat less algae and can
be territorial.
BOTTOM: SIAMESE ALGAE EATER
the only fish known to eat "beard algae" this
is a must have for the aquarist with plants in
the aquarium. It's peaceful too, and rather at-
tractive in its own right.
We hope you enjoyed this issue.
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www.redf ishmagazine.com.au
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