ACE: Aquatic Flora, Fauna and other General Information

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Courtesy of Persephone from RFC:

Fauna #31: Bengal dario, Scarlet badis


COMMON NAME - Bengal dario, Scarlet badis

SCIENTIFIC NAME - Dario dario formerly known as Badis bengalensis. Not be confused with their slightly larger cousins, blue badis, Badis badis badis

DISTRIBUTION - West Bengal, India

HABITAT- They are found in densely planted, relatively shallow areas along the banks of small streams.

SIZE - They max out at 1 to 2 centimeters (1/2 to 3/4 of an inch).

TANK - Due to their small size, these fish are perfect candidates for small office, kitchen, office, bedroom aquariums. A pair or a trio can be kept in a 5 gallon tank. However, I do recommend keeping more of them, in larger thanks - they aren't schooling fish, but they obviously enjoy living in a social environment. They are not highly active fish, preferring to just hover among the plants, but they do frequently exert little bursts of energy interacting with each other. They are highly inquisitive and intelligent, and will make use of any space given to them. Due to the fact that females are rarely imported, most badis tanks are likely to be male-only. They will not fight if given adequate ground space to establish their own territories; each male should be allotted about 3 gallons or 35 to 40 square inches of territory. If females are also present, there should be as many females as males. They don't seem to pair up, and the males are not particularly over-amorous with the females, but a single female can be pestered by the rowdy boys and so more is better. Each female will also need her own territory. If you're going with a species tank, you could keep 5 in a 10gallon tank; 7 in a 15 gallon tank, 10 in a 30 gallons tank etc.
They can be kept in a community tanks, but because of their small size and relative inactivity, they should not be kept with any fish big enough to eat them. So, gouramis and angelfish would be out of the question as tank mates.

TANK DECOR - Scarlet badis really enjoy heavy planting, including floating plants. Plants like spiral vals and amazon swords (of rosé variety, perhaps) are great for the background; pygmy chain swords and anubias make lovely mid- to fore-ground plants; java moss, guppy grass, moss balls and java Fern should be liberally used as these little fish enjoy them; and floating plants like penny wart and amazon frogbit are ideal for a bright green, cozy upper-level planting. Driftwood is fine to use particularly if it has lots of ins-and-outs, and Texas holey rock is ideal because the scarlet badis seem to really enjoy swimming in and out of the holes in the rock. Personally, I find a white or light beige sand substrate is the nicest against the vibrant red of the scarlet badis - just use some Malaysian trumpet snails to keep the sand from accumulating toxic gases.

DIET - Most Scarlet badis will turn their little fish noses up at flakes and pellets. Some can be weaned onto flake or slowly sinking pellets, but most will eat only frozen foods such as bloodworms, mosquito larvae, small daphnia, krill, small mysis shrimp, cyclops and brine shrimp. A rare, finicky few will refuse to eat anything but live food. Care should be taken to offer a variety of foods.

CHEMESTRY - Water conditions: Scarlet badis are pretty hardy fish, capable of thriving in many water conditions, providing that extremes, and extreme fluctuations, are avoided. They are most active and most colourful at about 76F, but will do fine in as warm as 79F. 6.5 pH, and moderately soft water is recommended.
Maintenance: Scarlet badis are not messy fish, but care should be taken to clean their water frequently, as they are sensitive to water quality. I recommend small weekly changes, such as 10% ever 5 days; 15% every 7 days or 20% every 10 days.

TANK ZONE - Scarlet badis will make use of any and all space they are given, and don't seem to have any particular preferred level in the tank. Each fish requires a certain amount of ground territory, but many will spend most of their time among the floating plants, or above bushy plants, or within bushy plants near the substrate. I have observed no preference.

TEMPERMENT - Not aggressive towards other species, or each other if they have adequate space.

ACTIVITY PEAK & PHOTOPERIOD - Scarlet badis are diurnal, so you will see them out and about during the day. They sleep soundly at night, on a leaf or within java moss or within floating plant roots. Photoperiod is not crucial, anywhere from 9 hours to 11 hours per day.

HARDINESS - A very easy fish to keep, if their diminutive size and clean water requirements are taken into consideration and respected.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION - Male scarlet badis are like little rubies. They are easily identified by their bright red stripes. The head and back is bright red, and there are 7 bright red stripes on the body, interspersed with pearly white strips. The fins are also bright red, lined with iridescent blue-white. The females are slightly smaller and much, much duller. Personally, I find them very attractive, but compared to the males they are plain (this is why they are rarely imported). The body and fins are a pearly-pink, with sometimes very faint traces of pinkish stripes running into the fins.

COUSINS - Scarlet badis were formerly thought to be a dwarf cichlid, but this has been proven untrue. They are in the family of perch-like fish, gouramis and bettas being their distant cousins.

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Fauna # 38: Philippine Pond Turtle


Common name: Leyte Pond Turtle, Palawan Pond Turtle, Philippine Pond Turtle
Scientific name: Heosemys leytensis/Siebenrockiella leytensis/Panayanemys leytensis
Classification: Chelonia (Turtle)
Location/Origin: Palawan
Description:
The Philippine Pond Turtle (once considered as Heosemys leytensis now as either Siebenrockiella or Panayanemys leytensis (see Diesmos et al. 2005)), also known as the Leyte Pond Turtle, is an extremely rare turtle species from the Philippines.

Background:
Three specimens were obtained before 1920 from a shipment of mixed turtles said to originate from Leyte Island in the Philippines. Around 1988 a fourth specimen was found in the possession of a villager in Taytay municipality in eastern Palawan, who claimed to have collected it from a local stream. It was recently to shown to really occur on Palawan and since has even entered the pet trade.

The Philippine Pond Turtle is an enigmatic freshwater turtle species, it exerts great fascination for turtle hobbyists. Due to the inability to locate it in the wild, probable threats from habitat loss, and potential pressure from collectors, this turtle is listed as critically endangered.

The Philippines pond turtle has been found in some numbers in the northern part of the island of Palawan.

As late as 2004, a considerable number of these turtles (over 50) were to be found for sale in a Manila animal market, some of the buyers being overseas collectors. These animals had been collected from mud wallows in northern Palawan, and it is believed that they hide during the daylight hours. All of these animals were adult, both male and female - it is unknown if the collectors failed to find younger specimens, or found them less appealing for selling, or if youngsters were present.

Captive adults, provided a large outside pool with well planted islands and numerous underwater rock formations in Manila, proved to be very shy and retiring, spending considerable time hiding under rocks, both in and out of the water. They were omnivorous, favouring commercial turtle food, aquatic plants and they have been observed hunting small fish and crustaceans. They took some months to adjust to confinement.

They became active in the early morning and late evening, foraging for food, and moved about during the night. They were not observed to be keen on basking in the sun, but this may have been because they did not feel confident.

Additionally, many specimens (from Palawan) offered for sale had small holes bored in the carapace, indicating that some at least had been held captive as pets and tethered accordingly.

Local Palawan people are known to keep these animals in water troughs for domestic pigs, as these are supposed to bring luck for the household and the pigs, although it is not known if this luck is shared by the turtles.

In comparison the people of Samar and Leyte have a local belief that to touch any turtles will bring about loss of memory, and so they are not favoured as pets in these locations.

These beautiful creatures, shy and retiring, have a pronounced orange colour to their smooth carapace, and pink tinges to the head and foreleg areas.

Although some studies into their habitats have been commenced by several Philippines academic institutions, lack of funding has prevented full study, and they must be still considered endangered, especially from collecting, until further research had been carried out.

Some eighteen individuals have been donated to the Malabon Zoo north of Manila.

Recent legislation in the Philippines requires pet owners and traders to register their animals with the authorities, and pay for licences to keep the more "exotic" pets. It is hoped that this may prove to reduce the collection of various endangered species, including the Philippines Pond Turtle.

Reference:
Pond turtle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note: If you see this turtle being sold..contact DENR immediately..this is a highly critically endagered species..

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Courtesy of Dingo:

Fauna # 39: Amazon Molly
Our next entry is a fish species that's related to a very widespread group of live-bearers, the Mollies. The fish have survived thousands of years of naturally cloning itself because the 1 in every 10,000 male of it's kind is sterile or incapable of reproducing with the females.

The fish is called the AMAZON MOLLY and was named not because of It's distribution, but because It is likened to the fabled all-female tribe. By appearance, this Molly looks really like the feeder Mollies in Manalili.


COMMON NAME: AMAZON MOLLY
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Poecilia formosa

So how did an all-female fish species survived 70,000 years without being extinct?

The all-female fish interact sexually with males of other species to trigger a bizarre reproduction known as Gynogenesis.

This behavior was observed by Scientist and proved effective for the Amazon Molly's survival. The Female Amazon Molly will attract males of other species and may sometimes mix with them so the males will eventually identify them as species of their own and will mate with them.

The sperm of the males of other species will only trigger the development of the Amazon Molly's egg but none of the Genes from the Male are inherited by the offspring, only the Mother's genes are passed, It's as if the Offspring are CLONES of their own Mothers.

The Amazon Molly could have been extinct thousands of years ago without their bizarre breeding behavior. But exactly how did this species learned that the 1 in 10,000 Male Amazon Molly is sterile and how they developed the Gynogenesis breeding behavior, remains unknown.


But surely the Amazon Molly clearly demonstrates "life finds a way"................



source: Aquarium and Pond-fish

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Courtesy of Dingo:


Fauna # 40: Jumping Characin, Splash Tetra and Spraying Tetra

If some rich people can have their wedding underwater, our next amazing entry spends their honeymoon above the water. And our entry is none other than the Jumping Characin or Splash Tetra.


COMMON NAME: Jumping Characin, Splash Tetra and Spraying Tetra
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Copella arnoldi


BREEDING DETAILS:

During the rainy season, when the Amazon Jungle is flooded, this species will demonstrate a breeding behavior like no other tetra or any fish can. Both male and female, when ready to spawn will jump towards overhanging leaves of plants or even trees and press their bodies together, Once on a leaf, the female will then release her eggs for the male to fertilize, this process is repeated until about 150-200 eggs are laid. Once done, the male will constantly splash the eggs with water every 10-15 minutes to keep the eggs from drying out.




NOTES: This species can be found in South America; in Guyana, and the Rio Para. Known to do well with flake foods but will eat just about anything small enough to fit its mouth. A few hobbyist was successful in breeding them in captivity.



source: "The AMAZON" - River of the sun.

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Courtesy of Bluebubble:

Fauna # 42: Long Arm Shrimp

These shrimp, although they can become large in size, are usually quite peaceful, they can however be territorial and will compete for food, so shouldn't be kept with smaller or long-finned species of fish, like neon tetra and guppies. The larger species can cause damage with their claws, but, as long as their tank mates are of a suitable size, they are safe in a community aquarium. The smaller species of long arm shrimp are usually found in dealers tanks labeled as 'river shrimp', they are algae eaters and detritus scavengers, they are often sold as live feed. Given a little patience the large shrimp can become hand tame, taking pieces of prawn and smelt eagerly from your fingers. These shrimp should be fed a mixed diet, including sinking shrimp/crab pellets, supplemented with commercial frozen foods, like krill and mysis. They will hoard or guard any food that hits the bottom at feeding time, only allowing other fish access when they have finished eating.

Note: This could be related to Fauna # 46.

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Courtesy of Bluebubble:

Fauna # 43:Sri Lanka shrimp

Scientific Name: Macrobrachium sp.
Common Name: Sri Lanka shrimp
Origin: Sri Lanka
Size: 6 cm
Temp: 22-25C

These small shrimp are commonly used as live food, but are also available as a community fish. Often sold as river shrimp they are harmless omnivorous scavengers, suitable for any aquarium. They should have a lot of plant cover and will eat some algae. As they are simply seen as food to some larger fish, as always care should be taken when choosing tank mates. They should be fed algae wafers and shrimp pellets supplemented with some (organic) vegetables and commercial frozen foods like artemia.

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Courtesy of Bluebubble:

Fauna # 44: Palenque floating shrimp


Scientific Name: Natantia gen sp.
Common Name: palenque floating shrimp
Origin: Mexico
Size: 3cm
Temp: 22-25C
Source: Primitive Method of Breeding for Decapods

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Courtesy of Opti:


Fauna # 45: Cuckoo Catfish


COMMON NAME: Cuckoo Catfish
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Synodontis multipunctatus

Wouldn't it be nice if we can trick someone into doing our errands for us? Well, our next entry sure does like the idea as much as we do.

Our next entry belongs to the a group of catfish called Synodontis. It's breeding behavior also earned It's way to amACEng Facts. The catfish is called a Cuckoo Catfish, named after the Cuckoo bird who shares the same breeding behaviour.

BREEDING DETAILS:

Once impregnated, the female catfish ventures out to the sandy area of the lake looking for a pair mouth brooding cichlids (Haplochromis species ) that are in the process of mating. The female Cuckoo catfish patiently waits until the female cichlid drops her eggs in a sandy nest and then rushes in and deposits her eggs in the same nest. The male cichlid fertilizes all the eggs.

When it’s time for the female cichlid to scoop up the eggs and put them in her mouth for incubation, there are catfish eggs mixed in. She doesn’t know she has a mix of cuckoo catfish and her own eggs in her mouth.

Unfortunately, the catfish eggs hatch earlier and eat the cichlid eggs while still being held in the mother’s mouth. In the end, the female cichlid ends up releasing a mouth full of Cuckoo catfish babies, which are called kittens.



source: "Lake Tanganyika" the documentary

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Courtesy of Dingo:



This is to properly identify a "Shrimp" Species that we bumped into from time to time during our river and estuarine treks. This Species is large and has very long pincers that has a relatively painful pinch. I have kept this species before we got to see it on its natural habitat and as a matter of fact, It ate a lot of my fish including a Juvenile Spotted Gar, Imagine... A shrimp eating a Gar!. This species is also considered as eater of snails including Nerites.

Fauna # 46: Giant River Prawn, Giant Preshwater Prawn or Malaysian Prawn


COMMON NAME: Giant River Prawn, Giant Preshwater Prawn or Malaysian Prawn
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Macrobrachium rosenbergii
ORIGIN:
A native to countries in the Indo-Pacific Region including the PHILIPPINES. Also in Australia. This is a species of significance in the food industry and is being raised in ponds in the Midwestern region of the United States.
SIZE: Males can reach a body size of 32 cm;females grow to 25 cm.

MORE INFO:
This is not a Prawn but a species of Shrimp. While this species is considered a freshwater one, the larval stage of the animal depends on brackish water. Once the individual shrimp has grown beyond the planktonic stage and become a juvenile, it will live entirely in freshwater.

There are three different morphotypes of males. The first stage is called "small male" (SM); this smallest stage has short, nearly translucent claws. If conditions allow, small males grow and metamorphose into "orange claws" (OC), which have large orange claws on their second chelipeds, which may have a length of 0.8 to 1.4 their body size. OC males later may transform into the third and final stage, the "blue claw" (BC) males. These have blue claws, and their second chelipeds may become twice as long as their body.



Male M. rosenbergii have a strict hierarchy: the territorial BC males dominate the OCs, which in turn dominate the SMs. The presence of BC males inhibts the growth of SMs and delays the metamorphosis of OCs into BCs; an OC will keep growing until it is larger than the largest BC male in its neighbourhood before transforming. All three male stages are sexually active though, and females who have undergone their pre-mating molt will cooperate with any male to reproduce. BC males protect the female until their shell has hardened, OCs and SMs show no such behavior.

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Fauna #47:Spiny Hill Turtle



Com.name: Spiny turtle
Sci.name: Heosemys spinosa
Classification: Reptiles
Family: Turtles
Location/Origin:
The Spiny Turtle is known from Brunei, Indonesia,Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Singapore, andThailand.
Status: Endangered
Description:
The origin of its common and specific name is immediately apparent from the sharp, pointed, spiky-edged carapace, and spiny keel, of this unique turtle, also known as the ‘cog-wheel turtle'. There are also smaller spines on the pleural scutes, creating the effect of a walking pin cushion. It is thought that this spiny ‘armour' acts as a deterrent to predators, such as snakes. However, this unmistakable, strongly-serrated carapace edge and spiny keel become worn down and are lost with age, so that larger individuals are much smoother than juveniles. The carapace is brown with a pale streak down the central keel, and the head and limbs are greyish-brown, usually with a yellow to red spot behind the eye and similar-coloured speckling on the legs. This cryptic colouration helps camouflage the turtle amongst the leaf litter of its forest floor habitat. The plastron is buff coloured with an intricate pattern of dark radiating lines on each scute. Mating behaviour is apparently stimulated by rains, with males becoming excited when sprayed with water in captivity, chasing females in an attempt to mount. Nesting behaviour is unknown in the wild, but generally one or two eggs are laid per clutch (clutches containing three eggs have been recorded) in captivity, usually at night or in the early morning. Up to three clutches have been produced a year, and to enable the passage of these relatively large eggs, a hinge develops in the female's plastron to allow greater flexibility during egg-laying. There have only ever been a handful of successful captive breeding efforts of the spiny turtle, and those that have been successful have had incubation periods of 106 days, 110 days and 145 days.
Reference:
www.iucnredlist.org
Spiny Turtle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN
images and movies of the spiny turtle (Heosemys spinosa)