 |
|
|
| Welcome to 2005 and another year of enjoying your cichlids. In an effort
to do our part to make this a great year, we’ve put together a fascinating
combination of articles for this issue. First, we start with an article
by Juan Miguel Artigas Azas — a name familiar to most of you for his great
web-site www.cichlidae.com
— on the so-called “thick-lipped eartheater”, Amphilophus nourissati,
a little-known species from southern Mexico and Guatemala. Reviewing the
natural history and husbandry of the species (based on his own broad experiences
in collecting and keeping cichlids), Juan Miguel offers the first of what
will be a — we hope long — series of such articles on Central American
cichlids, many of which are poorly-represented in the hobby. Secondly,
first-time contributor (but long-time cichlid lover) Pam Chin reviews the
“dos and don’ts” of keeping members of the genus Julidochromis.
As familiar as we all are with “julies,” Pam manages to convey her particular
knowledge and passion for these Tanganyikan substrate-spawners in a way
that should stimulate much new interest in these delightful fish. Next,
though things are relatively quiet on the Victorian front, Jason Selong
piques our interest in this area with a short note on keeping Pundamilia
igneopinnis, or the so-called “black and orange nyererei” from Tanzania;
these fish are still out there if you’re just persistent in your efforts
to find them. For more neotropical fare, Dan Woodland does his thing, as
only he can, in reporting on his “adventures” in bringing them back alive,
this time for Archocentrus cutteri, a charming addition to the hobby
from Honduras. And to round things out we have two (count them) offerings
from Ad Konings. Now don’t worry, I’m not working him too hard. He volunteered!
Now that’s what an editor loves. Freshly back from six weeks in Africa,
Ad has plenty of new tales to tell. First, he describes the curious hunting/feeding
behavior associated with one of Lake Malawi’s true beauties, Sciaenochromis
fryeri (or, as most of us know it, the “electric blue ahli”). Secondly,
he reviews the morphology, function, and behavior associated with hypertrophy
of the lips in many Malawi forms. Having evolved independently numerous
times within the family as a whole, “thick lips” are certainly more than
just another “oddity” that causes us to wonder over this fabulous group
of fish. The closer you look, the more you find there is an adaptive basis
for all that comprises our cichlid world.
As Ad would say, enjoy your cichlids!
|
| Jeffrey N. Taylor, Editor
|