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!

 



Thank You Minnesota Aquarium Society!

A big thanks to Stephan Tanner for hosting me during my stay in Minneapolis, MN. The Minnesota Aquarium Society has a great group of hobbyists. Many are very knowledgeable and dedicated to such groups of fish as Bettas, Loricarrids, Corydoras and Killifish. I truly enjoyed my stay despite my luggage and fish being lost for four hours! Many thanks to those that opened their homes for me to share their fishrooms and fish stores.

A trip to Minneapolis is not complete without visiting the Mall of America. While I knew there was basically an amusement park inside of the mall, it is one thing to see it on TV and another to see it in person. I was completely overwhelmed in the amount of rides some of which include water and the amount of places to shop and eat. The Mall of America even has an aquarium (see photos below). The aquarium is kind of your typical collection of fish and inverts. It would have been nice to see the space used more properly but it was still worth seeing. If you are ever in Minneapolis, be sure to check this place out. You may need a few days to go through it especially for the shopper in your family.