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It is the end of August as I write this and the 2012 American Cichlid Association convention is now history. A wonderful time was had by all in Indianapolis. It was great seeing old cichlid friends and making new ones. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate Gary Bagnall owner of Zoo Med Laboratories who was recognized this year with the Ross Socolof Award (as was Laif DeMason two years ago) for his support of and contributions to the fish hobby and ACA. Well deserved Gary! This October’s Cichlid News contains a most interesting assortment of articles. The most common group of cichlids in the rocky habitat of Lake Tanganyika is Petrochromis, the largest and most aggressive herbivores in the lake. They are found on every rocky shore and are superbly adapted to feeding on algae. In this issue, Ad Konings reviews the various distinct geographic variants of the P. polyodon complex found in the lake accompanied by wonderful photos of them all. Hans van Heusden writes about his experiences collecting and breeding a new Orthochromis species from Tanzania, O. sp. ‘Sonjo’. This interesting fish is a maternal mouthbrooder, but most surprising of all, and unlike most other Orthochromis species, the males sport dummy egg spots on their anal fins which the females attempt to ‘pick up’ thus ensuring intrabuccal fertilization. Dr. Tim Hovanec, known to most cichlidophiles from his long, former association with Marineland product development (and his long-term contribution to the ACA), shares his knowledge on water quality and water conditioners for the cichlid aquarium. Ted Judy relates his experiences breeding two species of Parananochromis he collected in Gabon, P. brevirostris and P. gabonicus. One common problem which several aquarists who have spawned Parananochromis species in captivity have had, has been the highly skewed sex ratios in the offspring. Having collected these two species himself, Ted was armed with actual biotope data he could duplicate in the aquarium. This wonderful article details his successful efforts to reproduce these two species with resultant good sex ratios. Intrepid explorer Oliver Lucanus reports the discovery of two new species of Geophagus from the Brazilian Shield, specifically from the Mato Grosso. One of these, the ‘big spot’ Geophagus from Teles Pires shows remarkable sexual size dimorphism, but it is the second species from the Rio Aripuana which proved to be the true prize. You will love the photos and long to have this amazing new eartheater. Rene Krüter, from the Netherlands, well-known early (1990s) collector of Lake Tanganyikan cichlids, particularly of new species on the Zambian shores of the lake, shares his favorite six cichlids with us, and we close with Laif DeMason’s regular contribution on ‘What’s New’. As the weather trends towards colder days and more time inside, we hope you will enjoy your cichlids! |
Wayne S. Leibel, Editor  |
