Colin Dunlop discusses the use of dried leaf litter in the aquarium

The use of leaf litter in the aquarium is increasingly popular. © Ryan O’Donnell

For several years I have been using various species of dead leaves in my aquariums. It all started with a large brown leaf that I seen lying on the substrate of a dealer’s tank many years ago. Continue reading »

The dream, a superb-looking display full of healthy plants and fishes © Filipe Oliveira

Mark G N Ferguson breaks down an essential process.

1. Sources of Ammonia

2. Sources of Bacteria

3. How to Cycle

4. The Science Bit Continue reading »

It is often said that a tiger never loses its stripes, but what about its name? Matt Ford investigates…

Which tiger is this? The aquarium tiger barb appears of questionable identity. © Mike McGeoghegan

Cases in which a fish long thought to be one species turns out to represent something else are not especially unusual within the aquarium hobby. Notable examples include that of the ‘arulius barb’, for many years referred to as Puntius arulius (Jerdon 1849) but now confirmed as Dawkinsia tambraparniei (Silas 1954), and the ‘kuhli loach’, normally identified as Pangio kuhlii (Valenciennes 1846), a species which may never have been traded.
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A new ‘tiger barb’, Systomus navjotsodhii, is described by prominent ichthyologist Dr. Heok Hui Tan in the latest supplement of the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, the specific name chosen in honour of the late Professor Navjot S. Sodhi.

Live individual of Systomus navjotsodhii. © Heok Hui Tan

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Colin Dunlop

© Colin Dunlop

Some snakeheads in the Channa genus are real giants and some like Channa micropeltes, C. argus or C. maruliodes can get to about a meter long. Many of the giant species are easy to get in the aquarium hobby but might not be so suitable unless you have an equally giant tank. Channa orientalis however, is a dwarf by comparison and has an average size of a more manageable 10 cm. Continue reading »