Search found 1395 matches

by Mike_Noren
31 Oct 2012, 10:35
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: speciation vs geographical variance
Replies: 15
Views: 5507

Re: speciation vs geographical variance

Geographical "races" in fish are nearly all un-named species. A species is any group of organisms who have embarked on their own evolutionary trajectory, i.e. are separate from all other groups of organisms. Usually, but not always, this separation is caused by geographical separation. Clo...
by Mike_Noren
28 Oct 2012, 16:15
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: Gut microbes in Panaque
Replies: 15
Views: 5487

Re: Gut microbes in Panaque

I have two big prolems with Plos one in terms of their review policies. First, Plos one is not in favor of reviewer anonimity. I find that a big problem. Second, they allow authors to exclude specific reviewers. * These are not issues with open access, but specifically with editorial decisions of P...
by Mike_Noren
28 Oct 2012, 10:12
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: Gut microbes in Panaque
Replies: 15
Views: 5487

Re: Gut microbes in Panaque

The conflict I see is how do readers know what in open access is quality information and what in open access is bad science. That is the same in also in the pay-walled journals: all journals, including the highest impact ones like Nature, Science and Lancet are brimming with bad science (ESPECIALLY...
by Mike_Noren
27 Oct 2012, 16:17
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: Gut microbes in Panaque
Replies: 15
Views: 5487

Re: Gut microbes in Panaque

Good video. The public should know how ridiculous and offensive the publishing situation is in science. Here's an article on the subject of how the publishing houses are raking in cash from scientists and libraries, with a 60% profit margin: http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/99/9/452.full It's fro...
by Mike_Noren
27 Oct 2012, 15:51
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Which Xingu species are being bred?
Replies: 15
Views: 5569

Re: Which Xingu species are being bred?

I'd say the only Volta Grande species which is being bred in captivity in sufficient numbers that it is "safe" even if the wild population is wiped out, is Hypancistrus zebra.
by Mike_Noren
25 Oct 2012, 20:57
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: Leech?
Replies: 22
Views: 6074

Re: Leech?

For what it's worth(tm) and I'm Not An Expert(c), many, perhaps most, species of leech are not parasites but small predators who scavenge and eat snails and worms. That said, I know of one documented case where a snail-eating leech attacked and killed guppies, so even the non-parasitic species may n...
by Mike_Noren
23 Oct 2012, 08:01
Forum: Tank Talk
Topic: Saltwater information for sea horses
Replies: 13
Views: 4365

Re: Saltwater information for sea horses

I was talking with a couple of marine aquarists somewhere in the spring and from what I gathered keeping sea horses successfully is right up there with getting the tricky l-numbers to breed successfully. Depends on species, but as a rule they're not particularly sensitive, and they're quite easy to...
by Mike_Noren
07 Oct 2012, 19:06
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: otocinclus?
Replies: 3
Views: 1585

Re: otocinclus?

Nannoptopoma has been synonymized with Hypoptopoma, so although they're still sold under their old name they're really .
by Mike_Noren
23 Sep 2012, 11:26
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Looking for your experience-reports about HARA JERDONI
Replies: 14
Views: 5658

Re: Looking for your experience-reports about HARA JERDONI

1. Unknown. Mine are still alive (one year). 2. I'm convinced it's not important. The few specimens in our collection database are listed as occurring in "very soft mud" in a shallow ditch, where they were collected by hand by fishermen for the aquarium trade. Mine are kept in an aquarium ...
by Mike_Noren
15 Sep 2012, 08:43
Forum: South American Catfishes (Callichthyidae - Corys et al)
Topic: Mulm in fry tanks?
Replies: 5
Views: 2597

Re: Mulm in fry tanks?

I suspect the answer depends on how much effort you're willing to put in to it, and whether you want to maximize fry survival or minimize work. If you're willing to change water and clean the aquarium daily, and perhaps also dose chemicals like methylene blue, acriflavine or antibiotics, then I expe...
by Mike_Noren
09 Sep 2012, 11:45
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: A hitchhiker from a recent Wild Brazil/Peru Import
Replies: 12
Views: 3893

Re: A hitchhiker from a recent Wild Brazil/Peru Import

They are not difficult to maintain in captivity, will eat pretty much any live food (earthworms, bloodworms, small crustaceans, and, yes, small fish), but may take up to a couple of years before it metamorphoses into an adult dragonfly.
by Mike_Noren
05 Sep 2012, 20:43
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Finally! The fishing season!
Replies: 85
Views: 20859

Re: Finally! The fishing season!

racoll wrote:Phoxinus phoxinus?
Yes. The picture shows a male in faded breeding dress.
by Mike_Noren
05 Sep 2012, 19:59
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Finally! The fishing season!
Replies: 85
Views: 20859

Re: Finally! The fishing season!

I managed to get some time off and go on a fishing trip in Lapland this summer. Great weather and lots of fish, but no photos unfortunately. However, being an aquarist I couldn't help myself and brought 20 of these guys with me home: http://i47.tinypic.com/2m6u2j4.jpg They're doing fine, though I do...
by Mike_Noren
25 Aug 2012, 17:46
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: L46 and the Belo Monte dam
Replies: 247
Views: 60691

Re: L46 and the Belo Monte dam

Well, it does seem a bit more hopeful than the last few times the dam was stopped. Maybe it can actually succeed this time. If anyone feels they'd like to contribute, International Rivers is asking for donations to fight the dam. I've donated. Disclaimer: I'm not affiliated with International Rivers.
by Mike_Noren
26 Jul 2012, 07:49
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Odd Hara jerdoni behavior
Replies: 5
Views: 2660

Re: Odd Hara jerdoni behavior

I would only worry about the O2 levels if the tank temperature is way up. Yeah, they don't seem particularly sensitive. No worries if it is spawning or eating ;-) -Shane Well, slight worries as I'm keeping them with endler's guppies and Biotoecus cichlids, both of which may eat eggs & larvae......
by Mike_Noren
25 Jul 2012, 22:43
Forum: Asian Catfishes
Topic: Odd Hara jerdoni behavior
Replies: 5
Views: 2660

Odd Hara jerdoni behavior

My Hara jerdoni typically stay hidden in the leaf litter, but the last few days they've been hanging around in the floating plants up by the surface. Oxygen shortage due to the warm summer weather, preying on some food source (guppy larvae?), or spawning?
by Mike_Noren
24 Jul 2012, 21:06
Forum: Taxonomy & Science News
Topic: The dangers of reconstructing evolution using mtDNA
Replies: 3
Views: 1701

Re: The dangers of reconstructing evolution using mtDNA

Sadly his point is rubbish. If you want to see truly ridiculous trees, brutally and obviously at odds with morphology, read studies using only nuclear genes. Exhibit A is this gem , which used six nuclear genes to give us the new superfamily Paedocypridoidea, a result so silly one of the authors con...
by Mike_Noren
24 Jul 2012, 17:30
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: killer snails eating my L134 eggs?
Replies: 20
Views: 10218

Re: killer snails eating my L134 eggs?

I've never had any problem with Red Ramshorn ( "Planorbis" rubrum ) snails either, although the jury seem to be out on these. I'm increasingly suspicious of these, I've never seen them eat any eggs but I also never seem to get any fish reproduction in aquaria with these snails. As an asid...
by Mike_Noren
22 Jul 2012, 08:08
Forum: South American Catfishes (Loricariidae - Plecos et al)
Topic: killer snails eating my L134 eggs?
Replies: 20
Views: 10218

Re: killer snails eating my L134 eggs?

Just curious what you mean by "regular ramshorns", this or this?
by Mike_Noren
21 Jul 2012, 08:51
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Monster Fishkeepers Sued by Monster Energy Drink
Replies: 18
Views: 6951

Re: Monster Fishkeepers Sued by Monster Energy Drink

Energydring has nothing to do with keeping fishes, so a Court would have to dismiss all charges - but the legal system in the USA is so complicated, so expensive, the owner of the website will indeed most likely be broke before the Court ruling appears. Also, and I may be wrong here, I think that i...
by Mike_Noren
17 Jul 2012, 23:02
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Monster Fishkeepers Sued by Monster Energy Drink
Replies: 18
Views: 6951

Re: Monster Fishkeepers Sued by Monster Energy Drink

So the makers of the undrinkable swill consider themselves to own the word "Monster"? Even in fields unrelated to beverages?

Like you say their claim is weak but their pockets are deep.
by Mike_Noren
24 Jun 2012, 09:01
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: What is the L# designated for this pleco?
Replies: 24
Views: 9319

Re: What is the L# designated for this pleco?

I can sell the fish I breed at one of my local clubs by their proper scientific name or I can put their L Number on the bag and get twice as much. This goes for all types of common names: any fish is much easier to sell under a common name than under its scientific name. I actually did a little exp...
by Mike_Noren
23 Jun 2012, 10:44
Forum: South American Catfishes (Everything else)
Topic: Can this be TSNxLeiarius pictus, vs. TSNxL.marmoratus?
Replies: 9
Views: 2919

Re: Can this be TSNxLeiarius pictus, vs. TSNxL.marmoratus?

Viktor Jarikov wrote:Does this alleviate your animal-rights concerns?
I'm not opposed to hybrids for "animal rights concerns", but because the end result is that the pure species are lost to the hobby.
by Mike_Noren
23 Jun 2012, 10:37
Forum: Speak Easy
Topic: Short-bodied fish in the aquarium trade
Replies: 5
Views: 1878

Re: Short-bodied fish in the aquarium trade

I suspect there is some way to produce some types of disabilities in fish, notably the "short body"/"balloon" shape, which does not rely on finding random mutations or inbreeding. I would guess the early stages of development is interfered with through chemicals or e.g. temperatu...
by Mike_Noren
23 Jun 2012, 10:12
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: What is the L# designated for this pleco?
Replies: 24
Views: 9319

Re: What is the L# designated for this pleco?

I would probably use Pterygoplichthys sp. "L083" for the Xingu population/species, seeing as it's distinctive enough. That's a taxonomical statement that this is a distinct but as yet unidentified or unnamed species. If you want to express that this is a distinct population of a named spe...
by Mike_Noren
22 Jun 2012, 18:33
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: What is the L# designated for this pleco?
Replies: 24
Views: 9319

Re: What is the L# designated for this pleco?

Just in case people are not aware of this: L-numbers are not scientific. L-numbers are placeholder names used by the German aquarist magazine Die Aquarien und Terrarienzeitschrift (DATZ) to get around the problem that there are so many undescribed (i.e. unknown to science and does not have a scienti...
by Mike_Noren
16 Jun 2012, 12:41
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: Is this Ancistrus claro LDA08?
Replies: 15
Views: 4193

Re: Is this Ancistrus claro LDA08?

Maybe I should explain my doubts... A couple of years ago I bought this nicely colored common ancistrus male: Ancistrus_male_DSC_0118.jpg At the time there was some speculation here on PC that my original male was a claro x common hybrid. He never grew very big, maybe 7 cm, but was a devoted & s...
by Mike_Noren
16 Jun 2012, 09:22
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: Is this Ancistrus claro LDA08?
Replies: 15
Views: 4193

Re: Is this Ancistrus claro LDA08?

AFAIK the distinguishing character for Ancistrus claro is the vermiculations (squiggly lines) on the face, and on old pictures I've seen it's as obvious they're not commons as in the Cat-elog photo. The claro I've seen sold in the last year or so are nearly indistinguishable from commons, with just ...
by Mike_Noren
05 Jun 2012, 19:34
Forum: What is my catfish?
Topic: If this is O. vittatus - from where does it come?
Replies: 2
Views: 815

Re: If this is O. vittatus - from where does it come?

Yes, that's O. vittatus . Fishes going by that name have an impossibly huge distribution, from Venezuela to Argentina, and in reality it's almost guaranteed to be a species complex of many similar species. It's impossible to say where your fish is from, but playing the collecting odds I'd say probab...

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