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It’s July and time for the annual American Cichlid Association convention, this year in Indianapolis, Indiana. With a great line-up of speakers, fantastic cichlid show, and various fish and hard goods auctions, this is the place to be this July 11-15. For further information and to register for the convention visit http://www.aca2012indy.com/wordpress/. I’ll be there and hope to see many of you there too! This issue brings us an interesting mix of excellent articles. Intrepid traveler and explorer Lawrence Kent shares with us his recent experiences with the cichlids of ‘Idi Amin’s Lake’, Lake Edward in the western Rift Valley on the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). His collecting exploits turn up a rich trove of cichlids whose photos he shares with us. Unfortunately, Lawrence was unable to bring any of these wonderful fish home; the duties of his work and lack of time to secure permits and packing materials made this impossible. Nevertheless his photographic essay whets the appetite for these distinctive cichlids. Dr. Paul V. Loiselle reacquaints and updates us with the diminutive and beautiful West African cichlids of the genus Anomalochromis. He reviews the taxonomic history of the type species of the genus, Anomalochromis thomasi, and introduces us to some of the as yet undescribed species, some of which have been only recently introduced to the aquarium hobby. He also covers the husbandry and captive spawning of these beautiful dwarf cichlids. Willem Heijns finishes (Part 2) his exhaustive up-to-date review of South American cichlids of the genus Australoheros, commonly known as ‘chanchitos’. Willem concludes that there are currently 16 valid species, as of the time of our publication, with yet more on the way! The article is illustrated with perhaps the most complete gallery of accurately identified photos of the living fish as well as accurate distribution maps. His two-part account of the genus will surely become the authoritative ‘go-to’ reference for these fish for years to come. Cichlid News regular Thomas Andersen shares his experiences with the beautiful and interesting Lake Tanganyikan sand dweller Xenotilapia nasus. He concludes that this species, formally described in 1995, is conspecific with Xenotilapia sp. “fluorescent green” and shares the evidence for that claim. The article is, of course, accompanied by beautiful photos of the fish. The issue is rounded out by Steve Lundblad’s “My Favorite Six Cichlids”. Steve is well known as a purveyor of quality cichlids and other aquarium fish both as a wholesaler (The Cichlid Exchange) and retailer (The Wet Spot) in Portland, Oregon. His choices are surprising since he is best known for his interest in peacocks (Aulonocara sp.) and other Malawi cichlids. Finally, Laif DeMason contributes his regular “What’s New”. From the three of us at Cichlid News, Laif, Ad, and myself wish you a great cichlid summer. Enjoy your cichlids! |
Wayne S. Leibel, Editor  |
