Practical Fishkeeping June 2022

THE SUN has been out on force throughout the four weeks I've been working on this issue, and between editing copy I've been standing forlornly at the window overlooking my garden, trying to work out exactly where I want a pond. Ponds started getting popular again through the Covid lockdowns, so we invited aquatic store manager and new writer Emma Hill to offer some planting suggestions — you can find those on page 58. Emma is one of two new writers we welcome this month, along with Norwegian catfish expert Haakon Haagensen, who makes his grand entrance with an exploration of the Hypancistrus genus on page 22. Lately, I've been getting asked why I don't write as much as I used to, and so I've pulled my finger out and…

DANIEL KONN-VETTERLEIN GLYPTOTHORAX AREN'T the kind of catfish you see in stores often, which could be as much our loss as it is their salvation. Given the propensity of many new hobbyists to jam any old fish into a mixed community tank, at scorching temperatures and lacking in waterchanges, the glyptos are dodging a bullet. These are delicate fish, and high maintenance, but not without their charm. In fact, scrub that — they are packed with charm. Most of us have looked at a Goonch catfish, Bagarius yarrelli, at some point and thought it would be really cool to keep one. The problem, of course, is that we don't have room to house a 200cm, 100kg fish at home. In step their comparatively tiny cousins of Glyptothorax— assuming you can find…

SPECIES SHOWCASE Black ruby barb ALL PHOTOS: GABOR HORVATH When Gabor's not breeding fish in his luxurious Welsh fish house, he doubles up as PFK's chief product tester. IMAGINE THE scene: you're looking for a shoal of fish to liven up your mixed community tank. You want something active, eye-catchingly colourful but with a peaceful temperament. With a few larger fish in your tank — something like a pair of Ellioti cichlids, Thorichthys maculipinnis — you don't want anything too small, as you've had Neon tetras, Paracheirodon innesi, disappearing before. And because you have a limited budget you must choose wisely. You ask your pal, a seasoned aquarist, to accompany you to the nearest shop to help you select the right fish. He points at a tank containing some striped…

TROPICAL Hypancistrus ALAMY A pet store manager from Norway, aquarist since 1990 and international speaker and writer of catfishes. BACK IN the early 1980s, fishkeepers were not blessed with a wide selection of plecos to choose from in the aquarium trade. Little did they know that this was about to change drastically, and by the end of the decade major German importers were presenting new and exciting findings on a regular basis. Identifying all of these new plecos was not always easy, as they were typically not possible to assign to any of the known, scientifically described species. Because of this, the Germans decided to label them with numbers instead of creative and catchy names, and hence the L-number system was established. If you've ever wondered, the ‘L’ stands for…

ALAMY Despite not having a complete suite of scientific names, the trade has supplied many different names and L numbers for the various Hypancistrus forms (as recorded on the Planet Catfish website — for more information or to see images of these fish, visit planetcatfish.com). Look out for the following that may have turned up at some point or another… AngelicusplecoL004 L005, L028, L073, ZebraplecoL046 L098, ZombieplecoL070 SnowballplecoL102 Orinocopolkadotpleco ColombianzebraplecoL129, YellowheadzebraplecoL199, SpattedangelplecoLDA005, L136, LDA006, LightangelplecoL136C, BlackwaterstarplecoL158, WavyzebraplecoL173, SpottedzebraplecoL174, OrinocoangelplecoL201, CrackedzebraplecoL236, FragmentedzebraplecoL250, QueenarabesqueplecoL260, FinedottedplecoL262, ChocolatezebraplecoL270, LDA076, L307, CollarzebraplecoL287, HeadbandplecoL297 JarizebraplecoL316, AnapazebraplecoL318, MazezebraplecoL333, LunaAngelplecoL339, MegaclownplecoL340, LDA019, NosestripedzebraplecoL345, ElegantzebraplecoL399, DecoratedzebraplecoL400, RioCuruaplecoL401, PearlspottedangelplecoL404, Goldtouchzebrapleco L410, MontedouradoplecoL411, CuruazebraplecoL428, JatupuangelplecoL429,…

Michel is a cichlid expert who has spent considerable time collecting African fish in their natural habitats. SINCE 1989, I've been collecting my own aquarium fishes. First, I travelled throughout Central America where I searched mainly for cichlids. Since 2006 I've been travelling to Africa, and more specifically the west of Africa, looking for cichlids in Ghana, Guinea and Cameroon. Here I want to show you some of Cameroon. Knowing your way is an absolute must when visiting Africa. Because of the dry season — no rain and low rivers — I mostly visit Cameroon in February or March. There are a number of river systems, the largest being the Cross, Mungo, Sanaga, Nyong, and Ntem. These originate in the north, east or south of the country and all eventually…