Welcome to our summer issue. By the time you read this — for
all you lucky ones — you will be recovering from the annual ACA “blow-out”
in Cleveland. Hope all you attendees had a great time — and found
the fish you’ve always wanted. This sort of thing can and does happen,
as witnessed by Fred Potvin’s account on keeping and breeding Pseudotropheus
demasoni; he was able to obtain his original stock at the ACA convention
in Chicago in 1997 — two years after he had first seen and craved this
fish.
Elsewhere in the issue, we have an important contribution
from George Barlow who proposes standard terminology for mouthbrooding
behaviors shown in cichlids. He points out that cichlid hobbyists
can make valuable contributions to studies of patterns of evolution in
mouthbrooding, just by knowing what behaviors to look for and how to describe
them, using a consistent vocabulary. As an example, on our cover
we illustrate a pair of Chromidotilapia cf. finleyi from
Moliwe, Cameroon. Did you know that this species is both promptocavus
and cedocavus with the male leading? If not, you’d better read this
article!
It once again shows that one of the broader conclusions
that repeats itself with regard to cichlids is that things are almost always
more complicated — and more interesting — than they seem. This same notion
of complexity is further evidenced in Ron Coleman’s essay on feeding behavior.
Addressing as simple a question as “What do cichlids eat?” he describes
an example from Lake Tanganyika wherein over a dozen cichlid species are
divvying up a common resource (i.e., freshwater shrimps) in a very complicated
and subtle fashion.
As fascinating as it is to keep and observe cichlids in
tanks, there’s no comparison to the sense of amazement that results from
seeing the complex interactions that occur in real cichlid communities
in the wild. And, as another example, how about our next stop on
our tour of prime diving sites in Lake Malawi? Ad Konings takes us
to Taiwan Reef, home of the spectacular Protomelas “steveni taiwan”
among others. How do they find these places? It’s like, first
you cross the lake to Chizumulu Island, take a left and go about five miles
north, and then jump out of the boat — and voila, Taiwan Reef!
On the other side of the globe, we have more from Vinny
Kutty on Crenicichla, this time on so-called dwarf pikes — no more
excuses about not having the space to try this group, as some of these
little guys mature at around two inches in length.
Finally, check out What’s New — you might get some ideas
for your wish list for next year’s ACA convention! |
