Tatia sp. "Marble"

This evening we found eggs from our Tatia sp. "Marble". Unfortunately this batch is infertile but it may lead to a fertile spawn. The eggs number right around 100-125. I did not collect them all. I would imagine a female in her prime would lay over 200 eggs as these fish are between 6-8" in length. The good news is that there appears to be another female that is gravid. Hopefully we will have fertile eggs soon! Stay tuned!

Geophagus

Recently I have really started to think about getting back into Eartheaters. In recent years, this group has found popularity all over again and with good reason. These fish come in a variety of sizes from smaller species like Biotodoma and Gymnogeophagus rhabdotus to the gentle giants of the Satanoperca and the ultra colorful Geophagus altifrons. I used to have 14 true Geophagus species along with a few other none Geos like Guianacara sp. "Rio Caroni", "Geophagus" sp. "Bahia Red", Acarichthys heckelii and even Retroculus xinguensis. A few moves required making some tough decisions and I parted with a lot of stock.

Now that all my fish are in my home. I see no reason as to why I should not go back to my roots so to speak and reacquire a few key species. I am currently keeping some rare Geos in the form of Geophagus megasema F-2 and G. mirabilis F-1. Soon I should have Geophagus sp. "Tapajos I/Redhead" back in my aquariums along with the newly named Geophagus sveni. I will certainly be on the lookout for some nice Geophagus altifrons in the near future.

With that in mind, some years ago I bought an extra copy of the Thomas Weidner book, South American Eartheaters. This is considered "the" book on Eartheaters and all things Geophagus. I bought the book in case the binding on my first addition ever gave out. The book is in very good shape minus the edge of the cover towards the bottom of the book (see photo below). I do not believe this hurts the overall value of the book as it is the content that everyone should be after.

At this time I do not think that will be as much of a concern so I would like to sell the book. The book is listed on Amazon at over $300. I do not really believe that is what people are willing to pay for this book but perhaps that is the case for someone. I know Mike Schadle sold a copy of this book recently but not for $300. Let's see what happens on Aquabid.com.

Loricaria sp. "Rio Atabapo"

A rare break in the weather is going to allow for some great shipping this week. So....how about offering a group of juvenile Loricaria sp. "Rio Atabapo" also known as the Crying Whiptail? This species is featured on our YouTube.com channel and have been one of the most requested Loricarrids in our fishroom. It is very neat lipbrooding Loricarrid found north of Villavicencio, Colombia. And now is your chance to buy some! I will offer six 1 1/4" F-2 juveniles with shipping for $100. The first person to email me at jeremybasch@gmail.com and sets up shipping before the weekend can have this fish in their fishroom for the holidays.

A Visit with Mark Sabaj Perez

The Columbus Area Fish Enthusiasts (CAFE) recently had a special guest speaker, Mark Sabaj Perez. Mark is currently studying the fish of the Rio Xingu. A worthy cause as many of the species could be endangered in the near future. This of course is home to Hypancistrus zebra, a species that likely will become extinct in the wild due to the building of the Belo Monte dam. Efforts to relocate this species have been met in vein. It is likely that this species developed due to the conditions within the Rio Xingu. Other species are also at risk such as Cichla, Teleocichla, Barancistrus, Pseudacanthicus, Pituna, Plesiolebias among many others. I encourage you to assist Mark and his efforts by donating to The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA.

CAFE just had their holiday party at Smokehouse Brewing. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Congratulations to our 2015 winners, Jay Shafer for Breeder of the Year, Cory Campbell for Horticulturist of the Year and yours truly, Jeremy Basch for Article of the Year. Special mention to Tony Helwagen, Kirk Immel and Andrew McFadden for reaching new categories within the BAP.

To catch some of Mark's talk, take a look at our YouTube channel. While you are there be sure to catch our videos of Liosomadoras oncinus eggs and Loricaria sp. "Rio Atabapo" courting.

Seasons greetings everyone!

Erie, PA

A big thanks to Ray Bierbower and all of the Erie Aquarium Society for having me out this past week. When I came in it was raining and as I was leaving, it was trying to rain. The good news is that Wednesday we had perfect weather! Just check out the great photos I was able to get below! If you ever get the change to go to Erie, PA, take it! I know I will be back at some point.

I can't close without reminding everyone that the Ohio Cichlid Association Extravaganza is next weekend. There will a lot of fellow hobbyists and fish of all sorts. This is perhaps the largest event in the Midwest & perhaps Nationally that deals solely with freshwater fish. If you are in the Cleveland area, be sure to check out this great event. For details, visit the Ohio Cichlid Association website.

Fall

Fall is a time for fish auctions and this year is no exception. So far this year we have attended the Pittsburgh, Columbus and Cincinnati auctions along with heading west for Cataclysm. For those that missed out on the first Midwest Catfish Convention, you missed something epic. The speakers were all top notch and the availability of catfish surpassed what I have seen even at CatCon. While in Wisconsin I was able to pick up some "Tatia" sp. "Marble" and another oddball woodcat, Tympanopleura piperatus. Both species may in fact be something new and undescribed. Hopefully in time we can get both species to reproduce. Be sure to mark 2017 for Cataclysm part II! I know I will be!

A few fishroom updates. Fish are all doing well. Our L-333s and Loricaria sp. "Rio Atabapo" just keep on producing! As a matter of fact, they are really the only fish that have produced on a regular basis since the move other than killifish. All of the fish are starting to settle back in and I expect a lot of fish reproduction in the coming weeks to months. Speaking of killifish, we just emptied a bunch of 2 gallon tanks in preparation for all of the eggs we wet below.

OCA is only a few weeks away! Be sure to get all of your preorders in asap. I will post an availability list sometime this weekend. See everyone soon for some fun in Cleveland! http://www.ohiocichlid.com/extravaganza

CAFE Fall Auction

The Columbus Area Fish Enthusiasts (CAFE) are working hard to put on a great Fall Auction. Everyone should take a look at some of the fish they are expecting for their auction! I have a feeling this will be an auction not to be missed. So far they have posted some rare catfish, cichlids and killifish. The auction takes place at the Courtyard Columbus West. Details for the auction can be found at: www.columbusfishclub.org. Updates on the New and Rare fish can be found on their Facebook page: CAFE Facebook Page.

The Big Move

We have been somewhat absent recently due to having to move our entire fishroom. It will be quite some time before things are back to normal. We hope to be able to work on things through fall and winter and be near 100% operational by spring. We will still have fish available but it may be in more limited quantities. As the fish settle back in, hopefully they will go back to reproducing. There is a lot of work to do and we hope to have air and water completed within a few weeks. For now, a few photos of the move and teasers for things to come.

 

August Availability

The dog days of summer have finally arrived! Below are a list of fish that are available and others that are on their way. A lot of fish should be ready come fall. For now, only pickup is available until summer temperatures calm down. Please contact us at: jeremybasch@gmail.com if interested in any of the fish that are available. I will try to get photos in the coming weeks.

Cichlid Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
(Amphilophus) festae Ecuador F-1	Festae Cichlid	1 1/2"	6/$40
(Amphilophus) festae Ecuador Wild	Festae Cichlid	6-8"	7/$200
Paratheraps bifasciatus "Rio Chacamax) F-1	Two Stripe Cichlid	3-4"	5/$80
Catfish Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
Hypancistrus sp. "L-136" F-1 (Lg. and Sm. Spot!)	L-136a, b & c	1"	2/$60 4/$100
Tatia intermedia F-2	Milky Way Catfish	1 1/4"	$12 ea 4/$40
Killifish Species Available	Common Name	Size	Price
Aphyosemion cognatum F-2 "CI 2011"	Red Spotted Killifish (Young Trio)	1"+	$20/trio.
Aphyosemion exigoideum "BBW 00/3"	Jewel Killifish (Youn Pairs)	1"+	$15/pr.
Aphyosemion ogoense "GHP 80/24"	Ogooue Killifish (Young Pairs)	1"+	$15/pr.
Aphyosemion primigenium "GBN 88/10"	Primitive Killifish (Young Pairs)	1 1/2"	$12/pr.
Aphyosemion sp. "Lobaye"	Lobaye River Killifish	1"+	$15/pr.
Epiplatys lamottei "Salayea"	Lamotte's Killifish	1 1/2"	$15/pr.
Fundulopanchax puerzli "Dibeng"	Purzl's Killifish	1 1/2"	$20/pr.
Procatopus similis "Kumba" F-1 Limited Qty	Royal Lampeye	3/4-1"	4/$20
Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum "Mbanga"	Two Stripe Lyretail (Young Pairs)	1"+	$18/pr.
Inverts and Plants	Common Name	Size	Price
Asolene spixi	Spixi Snail	1" shell	4/$10
Clea helena	Assasin Snails	1" shell	$3 ea 5/$10
Available Soon
Aphyosemion elberti "Diang Yellow"	Elbert's Killifish	1"+	$15/pr.
Aphyosemion campomaanense "ABK 07/181"	Campo Maan Reserve Killifish	1"+	$15/pr.
Chromaphyosemion splendopleure "Ekondo Titi"	Shining Killifish (Young Pairs)	1"	$12/pr.
Chromaphyosemion splendopleure "Moliwe"	Shining Killifish (Large Pairs)	1"	$12/pr.
Geophagus megasema F-3 Rare!	Large Spot Geophagus	1"+	4/$80
Hypancistrus zebra F-2	Zebra Pleco	1"+	$125 ea 4/$110
Hypancistrus sp. "L-333" Porto de Moz F-2	Yellow King Tiger Pleco	1"+	$40 ea. 4/$120
Loricaria sp. "Rio Atabapo" F-2	Crying Whiptail (Lipbrooder)	1"+	$20 ea 4/$60
Laetacara araguaia F-2	Purple and Gold Smiling Acara	1"+	6 ea. 4/$20
Nanochromis transvestitus	Lake Mai-Ndombe Dwarf	1"+	4/$40

100 Views in One Day!

100 views in one day! I guess you like your plecos! We will continue publishing updates in the coming weeks. After all, news and photos of fish are always fun to read about! Thank you to everyone who visited our blog yesterday!

Hypancistrus Update

Our zebra plecos are at it again! Our colony of F1 Hypancistrus zebra keep producing. We are making available some juveniles of this great fish through Aquabid.com. We currently have several available with more on the way! In addition, our F1 L-333, Hypancistrus sp. "Yellow King Tiger" Porto de Moz are also reproducing. We hope to be able to offer these again in the near future! Here is a link for the Zebra Plecos: http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwcatfishp&1437544387

Thank You Milwaukee Aquarium Society and Madison Area Aquatic Hobbyists

A special thanks to Rob McLure to showing us around the Milwaukee area. An additional thank you to Gary Greenwood, Jim Gasior and Jeff Michels for opening up their fishrooms to Bob Townsend and I. From the Madison area, Ted Judy and Randy Peterson for opening up Ted's Fishroom to us. Bob and  I had an excellent time. Both of us have our eye on Cataclysm in the fall. For more information about this event, visit their webpage at: http://catfish-cataclysm.com.

We couldn't leave Wisconsin without some fish! I was able to pick up a new woodcatfish species. Currently listed as a Tatia species it could very well be a Glanidium species. Other fish species we came back include: Crenicichla sp. "Rio Orinoco, Colombia" Wild, Bunocephalus verrucosus Wild, Hyphessobrycon sp. "Junior" Wild, Belonesox belizanus, Scleromystax barbatus F-1, Corydoras weitzmani, Chromaphyosemion bitaeniatum Wild (a lovely red/orange variety) and Foerschichthys flavipinnis Wild. More updates to come!

Central Aquatics where a lot of our aquariums are made

 

Photos by Bob Townsend of Jeff Michel's Fishroom

Photos by Bob Townsend of Gary Greenwood's Fishrooms

Photos by Bob Townsend of Jim Gaisor's Fishroom

Photos by Bob Townsend of a WI Fishstore

Photos by Bob Townsend of Ted's Fishroom

 

A trip to Wisconsin couldn't be complete without some beer and a wiener, the Oscar Mayer Mobile.

Tatia sp. "Marble" Wild, check out the view from above with the vivid pattern. A lot of the woodcats rival Loricarrids in color and pattern!