What Was New, May 2001 to August 2003

WHAT WAS NEW
SITE DIARY CONTINUED FROM HOME PAGE
May 2001 to June 2005

June 2005: 913 articles now available
- Another well written fish profile by Joe Gallo, of Texas: Congo Tetra.
- Indian aquarist S. Naga Siddharth recounts his personal experiences Breeding Jewel Cichlids, with original photos.
- Madan Subramanian and his friends in Bangalore, India, went on an exhausting weekend trip to find the beautiful but elusive barb Puntius denisonii. A photographic report.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England, describes a seldom seen African catfish, Synodontis katangae,....and also updated his article on the Blue Reef Aquarium at Tynemouth.
- Bill Shenefelt of the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society contributed Shene's Beginners' Guide to Killies, from his website http://sheneskillies.com.

May 2005: 908 articles now available
- Colin Calway rears koi under natural conditions on his fish farm in Florida, and observes that as they grow older they display different social behaviour patterns.
- Eric Naus, of Holland, wrote to offer articles from his website in Amsterdam: Aquaworld. Added Breeding Corydoras.
- Added a new store to the Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada series: Big Al's Aquarium Services, Richmond. Have you ever seen a $6,000 arowana?!
- David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, sent an illustrated report on his visit to The Four Ponds of Burton Agnes Hall, in Yorkshire, England.
- Bill 'PegasusNZ' wrote to say that he is looking for somebody to take over his forum 'Aquaprobs Online', a New Zealand based discussion group about aquarium problems. See: http://aquaprobs.suddenlaunch.com/index.cgi?board=Bill .
- From Stefan vd Voort of Holland, a description of the newly discovered Betta aurigens, and how to keep and breed bettas of the Betta waseri group.
- Courtesy of Roland Seah of Singapore, added Introduction to the Cryptocoryne Genus, by Xema, of Spain.
- Ananda Menon, of India, contributed Setting-up a Community Tank.

April 2005: 900 articles now available
- Joe Gallo, of Texas, contributed a detailed profile of another of his favourite fish: Senegal (Cuvier's) Bichir (Polypterus senegalus), and also one about the African Butterfly Fish (Pantadon buchalzi).
- Tom Haupenthal, from his website fish2friends.com, answers the perennial question: How do I euthanize my fish?
- Added an article about keeping Dwarf Puffers, by Kaiwa, of Vancouver Canada.
- Brian Torreano of btdarters.com sent his latest article, about an accidental spawning of the killifish Fundulopanchax gardneri.
- From the archives of the Southern Colorado Aquarium Society, nine well-written articles by president David Ball, including Creating a Natural Zaire River Tank, The Lighter Side of Tropheus, Live Foods: Grasshoppers and Crickets and Earthworms, Confessions of an Mbuna Freak, and others in the Breeding and Management sections.
- and also, from Southern Colorado's webmaster Curt Dunaway: Lighting Terms, and Setting-up Your First Planted Tank.
- William Berg, a vastly experienced Swedish aquarist currently living in Moscow, submitted three more articles that he wrote for aquaticcommunity.com, his own website: Breeding Piranhas, Breeding Clownfish, and Feeding Bettas.
- Schuyler Sloane founded the Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society just over a year ago, and has added Parts 2 and 3 of his series of articles about how he did it: Fish Have Aquarium Clubs, Why Can't I?
- Mark Weierman wrote to offer a new collection of articles by the Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society. Added Mark's spawning report on the livebearer Xenophallus umbratilis, Mike Satkowski's Chalinochromis sp. "Ndobnoi", Mike McCartney's Altolamprologus calvus, and an impressive and detailed series of five articles about water chemistry by Lenny Llambi - start with: The Stuff That Water's Made Of, Part 1: The Molecule, Temperature, Saltwater, and Osmosis.
- Joe Lover, of the Iowa Aquaria Association, sent his species profile about the Lake Malawi cichlid Cyrtocara moorii.
- Doug Kamp, of Australia, contributed Marine Aquarium Do's and Don'ts for Beginners, from his website aquariumsonline.com.au
- Sam Davies, of Surrey, England, describes how he made a simple 5 Minute D.I.Y. Sponge Filter for his quarantine tank.
- Curt Dunaway, of the Southern Colorado Aquarium Society, sent Anatomy of a Crypt., an illustrated article he wrote for his website www.plantgeek.net.

March 2005: 867 articles now available
- Two more photographic articles about my recent visit to China: A Photographic Visit to Ocean Park Aquarium in Hong Kong, and The Goldfish Pagoda at Ocean Park, Hong Kong.
- During my visit to China I came across lots of live fish for sale, kept in fish tanks in restaurants. I took photos of them, at: Fish Seen in Chinese Restaurants. Some of the fish I couldn't identify. Can anyone help?
- Added another collection of 42 cartoons by Adrian Lawler: Tank Tales, Part IV
- And an article by Dr. Lawler about a way aquarium water can transmit diseases through the air: Fish Tank Aerosols Transmitting Infections to Other Tanks or Humans.
- The editors of FishLore.com have been adding articles from Aquarticles to their site, and have here contributed one of their own: Breeding Livebearers - Guppies and Swordtails.
- RR Sriram and Beta Mahatvaraj were part of a group of Indian aquarists who spent a long weekend studying ecosystems and collecting plants in the Western Ghats - Photo Feature: Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary.
- In our aquariums we keep tropical plants, but the cold arctic lakes of Greenland also have a rich variety of aquatic vegetation, as described by Ole Pedersen and Klaus Peter Brodersen of the University of Copenhagen, in: Spectacular Underwater Landscapes of Arctic Lakes. Illustrated.
- Some aquarium inhabitants ingest substrate for various reasons. Dr. Adrian Lawler discusses this and suggests ways to prevent it: Substrate Ingestion by Tank Occupants.
- Two different commercial website owners were recently found to have posted a large number of articles from Aquarticles without crediting the authors, their clubs, or Aquarticles. The sites were closed down. Authors are recommended to try a special search technique to find out whether any of their own works have been similarly misappropriated elsewhere: We Wuz Robbed!
- March 11: Page Views Cumulative Count updated. How many times has your article been read? Courtesy of our new site statistics service, 123count.com.
- Dr. Adrian Lawler contributed his "Knowledge Tree" - an organised list of things a person should study in order to become an aquarist: Some Items of Interest to an Aquarist.
- Schuyler Sloane founded the Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society just over a year ago, and here describes how he did it (Part 1 of a proposed 4 parts): Fish Have Aquarium Clubs, Why Can't I?
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in England, sent Majid Ali's latest article: The Spooky Looking Glass Worm and a report of his own, on The Mustard Catfish, Synodontis albolineatus.
- Bob Berdoulay, of the Diamond State Aquarium Society, sent his latest two articles, Saving Livebearers' Fry the Natural Way, and And the Winner Is...
- Joe Gallo, of Texas, contributed a comprehensive and well-written article about the Armored Bichir.
- Michael Lo spent part of his Chinese New Year holiday exploring a remote part of Sarawak, and collected a variety of fish and aquatic plants. See his latest photographic report, The Crypt. Hunting Trip.

February 2005: 849 articles now available
- February 17: Completed three more photographic articles about China: The Space-Age City of Shanghai (tourist sights - no fish), A Visit to the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium (lots of fish), and Jiangyin Road, a Street of Aquarium Shops in Shanghai (almost as many fish).
- February 3: Two more articles about my recent visit to China: The Spectacular Scenery of Guilin, followed by A Visit to the Guilin Ocean Aquarium. This series is about the tourist sights, public aquariums, and aquarium shops of China. China is an amazing country. If you haven't seen any of this series yet, start with: A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1a: Introduction and the Tourist Sights of Beijing.
- Added another article about large catfish, sent by David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England: Synodontis notatus.
- More for the Travel Section, by Holger Windel�v and Claus Christensen of Tropica Aquarium Plants (Denmark) - an illustrated account of their collecting trip to Thailand: The Search for New Aquarium Plants.
- An original article by 'fish doctor' Adrian Lawler, Ph.D., Hyperplasia in Fishes. (Hyperplasia is increase in cell numbers, resulting in new growth or tumors, caused by various irritants).
- Jackie Shor, of West Virginia, wrote three romantic poems about her pet bettas, and has now written about her new companion: Here's Rusty.

January 2005: 841 articles now available
- January 7: I have just returned from my annual winter holiday, and this year I went to China. I visited four large public aquariums and saw various other aquarium related sights, and shall write about them in due course....
- January 26: First four articles about my China trip posted - The Tourist Sights of Beijing, A Visit to the Beijing Aquarium, An Arcade of Aquarium Shops in Beijing, and The Beijing Museum of Natural History. Lots of photos. Start with :
A Tour of China in Winter, Part 1a: Introduction and the Tourist Sights of Beijing, by Howard Norfolk.
More articles to come soon!
- January 28: Two more about China: Xi'an and the Army of Terracotta Warriors (not about fish), and An Aquarium Market in Xi'an. More to come.
- DeWayne L. Duff of San Antonio contributed an article original to Aquarticles: Instant Corydoras paleatus (just add water), wherein he explains what triggers his corys to breed.
- John Chapkovich, editor of Wet Pet Gazette, Norwalk Aquarium Society, sent Barry Lynch's detailed article about the African labyrinth fish Ctenopoma ansorgei, and also Breeding Dicrossus maculatus, by Sal Silvestri.
- Added a new original and authoritative article by retired professional aquarist Dr. Adrian Lawler: Natural Cooling and Circulation of Water in Ponds.
- And two more by Dr. Lawler, one about the use of bamboo around ponds: Bamboo for Ponds, and one about the most common viral infection in fish: Lymphocystis Disease of Fishes.
- David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England, sent three new articles about the large catfish he favours: Clarius - the Walking Catfish, The Clown Squeaker, and The Ivory Synodontis, and an article by Majid Ali: My Story on the Weather Loach.
- Was pleased to receive an email from Claus Christensen, Managing Director of the Tropica Aquarium Plants company, of Denmark. Claus wrote:
"I saw your webpage and I do like it! It is a very good idea and I do agree that it is important to spread good information to the clubs and others interested." Claus offered the use of articles he and his friends have written for the Tropica Aquarium Plants website - "As long as it is for non-commercial use they are all free!"
Added two landscaping articles: The Open Aquarium, by Claus Christensen, and Water Bowls, by Ole Pedersen, and will add more in due course.
Also added Ranunculus limosella, a foreground cover plant from New Zealand that Tropica has recently started propagating.
- In India, power outages are sometimes planned and notified of in advance. Madhu Soodnahan writes about how to deal with these and also unplanned power cuts: Tackling Power Failures.
- Colin Calway sent another installment for his Diary of a Florida Fish Farm. Some fishes did well during a cold snap, others didn't.
- Diane Plasko has started using some Aquarticles articles in Shoreline, newsletter of the Jersey Shore Aquarium Society, and in return has sent some articles by her club members; Emperor Tetra and Callochromis pleurospilus by Larry Jinks, Black Neon by Bill Loesch, and Cyprichromis leptosoma by Len Reback.
- Over the years Ron Brown, of Liverpool England, has fed his fish many commonplace things that he has found in his kitchen and garden. See: Foods for Thought.

December 2004: 815 articles now available
- From Muskego Wisconsin, Tom Haupenthal runs a website and message board fish2friends.com, and has contributed an article that answers the questions people often ask about the use of driftwood: Driftwood Dos and Don'ts.
- William Berg, of Sweden, submitted two more articles that he wrote for aquaticcommunity.com, his own website: Growing Adult Brine Shrimp, and Clown Loaches.
- Jacqueline Shor loved her pet betta, Joshua, and wrote two poems in his honour - an upbeat one when he was alive, and a heartrending one when he was dying. Go to: My Fish Joshua.
- By Dr. Adrian Lawler, an original article that discusses how to naturally cool and circulate pond water by adding shade: Shading to Increase Water (and Oxygen) Circulation during the Summer.
- Dr. Lawler is retired Supervisor of the J L Scott Aquarium, and in 1995 wrote a handout that explains some technicalities of how a public aquarium is run: The J L Scott Aquarium and Living Displays.
- On his fish farm in central Florida, Colin Calway was surprised to find Hoplosternum littorali (armored catfish) breeding naturally.

November 2004: 808 articles now available
- Michael Lo is an aquarist and naturalist who lives in Sarawak, a Malaysian state in the equatorial island of Borneo. He regularly goes on collecting expeditions into the jungles, and has written a series of articles, illustrated by his wonderful collection of photographs of familiar and lesser known fish and plants and their habitats. Start with: Kuhli Loaches Cast a Magic Spell on Me!!!
- Benny Ng and friends flew across from Singapore to Sarawak and met up with Michael Lo. They spent several days collecting tropical fish and plants, and took lots of photographs of bettas, barbs, rasboras, snakeheads and other fish. See: Sarawak Adventure.
- Michael Lo also put Aquarticles in touch with Zhou Hang, a Chinese aquarist who until recently was living in Singapore (he has recently returned home to China). See his fascinating series of photographic field trip reports, starting with Field Trip to Terengganu, Malaysia.
- Madhu Soodhanan, of India, sent his latest article: pH: To be or not to be considered?
- Also from India, Biju Uthup contributed a photographic feature about how he made his own inexpensive aquarium filtration system: An Improved DIY Sump Filter for My Aquarium.
- William Berg is a Swedish aquarist currently living in Moscow. To while away those long cold Russian evenings he has created a website aquaticcommunity.com and has loaded it with articles from Aquarticles. In return he submitted seven articles, including Freshwater Moray Eels... Spawning the Chinese Algae Eater... Keeping Gars... Breeding Crayfish.
- Schuyler Sloane, Founder and President of the The Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society, regularly uses articles from Aquarticles in his newsletter, The Tank. The November issue had the following:
On the net - Mr. Sky
If you are like me you are always looking for something fishy on the net. I have a favorites folder with hundreds of sites that at all about fish. In this new section of The Tank we will be reviewing some of them. This month will be dedicated to a site that without it we wouldn't have some of the great content we have.
Aquarticles.com is a great site created by Howard Norfolk of Canada. The site is full of articles that have become invaluable to all aquarium society newsletter editors. The site is also a treasure trove of information that any aquarist can find helpful. From tank maintenance to collecting trips in other countries, there is enough reading material on this site to keep people like you and me up and brewing another pot of coffee for hours.
So visit aquarticles.com often and remember if you submit an article for The Tank, we will post it to aquarticles for you. Just wait and see how many people read your work.
Thankyou Mr. Sky!
- Schuyler also contributed another article to Aquarticles: Water Wisteria by Bill Gehan, which, as well as describing this beginners' plant, contains a discussion of the benefits that plants in general bring to an aquarium.
- Dr. Adrian Lawler had 31 ponds on his personal property at one time. He describes how to construct a pond and discusses the various materials that may be used to line them: Pond Liners. He is also an expert on fish health and diseases, and has contributed an original article about parasitic flatworms: Monogenea of Fishes ...and another article about a new way of controlling mosquitoes and using them as fish food.
- The group of aquarists in Chennai, India went on another collecting trip, to a nearby tropical hillstream. See their latest report: Tada, by R.R. Sriram, with many photos by Beta Mahatvaraj and Ravi.

October 2004: 780 articles now available
- There is an active and friendly group of local aquarists in tropical South India. Beta Mahatvaraj is one of them, and he recently went on a day's collecting trip with friends in Bangalore. They caught rosy barbs, flying barbs and other fish including a snakehead (Channa). Lots of great photos of fish and biotopes: The Hunt for Channa.
- R.R. Sriram of Chennai India, reports on a similar trip where tilapia, orange chromides, Indian glassfish, sleeper gobies, shrimps and weather loaches were caught: Cauverypattnam.
- Beta Mahatvaraj also contributed an article about his experiences breeding the Lake Tanganyika cichlid Neolamprologus brichardi and one about Selecting Discus.
- S.N. Nagendra writes how aquarists in India use almond tree leaves as a water conditioner for sensitive fishes, and another article: Salt Baths for Fishes.
-Last month Colin Calway wrote about a routine day in the life of his Florida fish farm. He's had a busy month since then, since Florida was devastated by four hurricanes in a row. A side effect was that a holding pond was invaded by walking catfish. See Hurricanes and Walking Catfish.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England, contributed his new article - Pacu - A Giant Characin of the Amazon.
- Added six more articles written by Brett Fogle for Pond Stuff, newsletter of MacArthur Water Gardens of Boca Raton, Florida, including a timely series of tips about Your Pond in Winter.
- Writing from India, Madhu Soodhanan argues that flowerhorn fish, as man-made hybrids, are an abomination to the hobby and devastating when released into the wild: Flowerhorns, alias Nightmares.
- Schuyler Sloane, Founder and President of The Northeast Philadelphia Aquarium Society, regularly uses articles from Aquarticles in his newsletter, The Tank. He returned the favour by submitting an article by his Vice President, Bill Gehan: The Cardinal Tetra.
- From the latest Monthly Bulletin of the Hamilton & District Aquarium Society: Charles Drew, Breeding the Florida Blue Crayfish.

September 2004: 763 articles now available
- Aquarium history article. In the 1870s there was a boom in the construction of public aquariums in England and elsewhere. How did it start? What happened to them? What were the principles of aquarium keeping at that time? See: Aquariums and Public Aquariums in Mid-Victorian Times, by Howard Norfolk.
- With permission from Splash editor Naomi Gettler, posted ten articles from some of the prolific writers in the Milwaukee Aquarium Society: Kevin Korotev, Dave Lorbeske, Jeff Michels, Chuck Rambo, Eric Rogne, Woody Tews, and Tom Wojtech.
- Added Synodontis angelicus, about how to care for the polka-dot catfish from Zaire. Another contribution by David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England.
- And also by David Marshall, an account of his experiences in keeping a strain of guppies going for ten years: The Russian Cobra Guppy....And again, his experiences with Ancistrus claro, a rare bristlenose plecostomus.
- Jennifer Lioto sometimes uses Aquarticles articles in the Reflector, newsletter of the Central New York Aquarium Society, and has returned the favour by donating an article about Julidochromis ornatus, the 'Julie', by Winnie Pitzeruse.
- Colin Calway sent an account of the daily routine at his fish farm in Florida.
- Milton Toal, of Australia, submitted two articles about live foods: mosquitoes and brine shrimp.
- Posted four articles by Bob Krampetz, who writes regularly for Fish Flash, the Greater Portland Aquarium Society newsletter: Automated Water Changing....The search for the elusive 'marmalade cat,'....How I raised killies after a fruitless year of trying (humour), and a fascinating account of his 50 years in the aquarium hobby.
- Paul McFarlane, of the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society in Canada, adds a new article to his club's website just about every month. Added four more to Aquarticles: Geophagus steindachneri (red hump eartheater) by Tony Bernard, Hemigrammus hyanuary (Costello tetra) by Charles Drew, Metriaclima mbenji and Pseudotropheus flavus (both Lake Malawi cichlids) by Larry Johnson.

August 2004: 736 articles now available
- Changed the Aquarticles banner at the top of this page to include Bringing together aquarists of the World.
Aquarticles is becoming a world-wide site:
* It includes articles from authors in Australia, Bermuda, Canada, England, India, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, and USA.
* The Travel Section contains articles about fishkeeping and fish collecting in these and other parts of the World.
* Articles from Aquarticles have been translated into Croatian, Dutch, French, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, and Spanish languages.
* Aquarticles currently receives over 80,000 individual visits per month, and nearly one million hits. Visits this month so far are from, in order: USA, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands, Singapore, UK, India, Mexico, Sweden, New Zealand, Argentina, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Turkey, Japan, Belgium, Brazil, Philippines, Norway, US Military, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Israel, Switzerland, France, and many others.
*** We're always looking for more articles. If you have written an article about fish or aquaria for your website, your aquarium club's newsletter, or for that matter any other reason, we'd love to hear from you! For the conditions and how to do it go to: Submit Articles.
- Added another article to The Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Series: Part XIV, Hawaiian Botanicals, by Howard Norfolk. Hawaiian Botanicals specialises in water lilies and aquatic plants, and also stocks a variety of tropical, carnivorous and exotic plants that are interesting in their own right. Lots of photos.
- In early July I visited the Seattle Aquarium in the Northwest Pacific State of Washington, USA., and took lots of photos. Go to: A Photographic Visit to the Seattle Aquarium by Howard Norfolk.
- Marshall Davis, of Pittsburgh, sent his article about breeding Tropheus sp. "Black" location point Kiriza.
- 'Tom', in France, has translated eleven articles into French for his website about livebearers: Passion Vivipares.
- Brian Torreano, of Wisconsin, catches and sells native North American darters and other fish through his website btDarters' World . He has written a series of three articles about how to keep them. Start with: Creating a Tank for Natives, Part 1: Still- or Slackwater Species Tank.

July 2004: 732 articles now available
- Received notice from Jan Bukkems that his team has translated more than twenty articles into Dutch language for his fish and plant database website in Holland, Dutch Aquarium Society AquaVISie. It is always gratifying to find that someone thought it worthwhile to translate one's writings into another language. Congratulations to all the authors.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England, has written a number of articles about uncommon fish species. His latest is about plecos: Panaque species 'Bruno'.

June 2004: 731 articles now available
- Added twenty-one articles from the archives of Tank Talk, Canberra Aquarium Society, Australia, courtesy of Richard Brown. Many topics and fish are covered, but of particular interest might be: The Trouble with Hybrids, by Andrew Boyd; Rainbowfish Problems? by David Wilson; and Sam Nonnan's article about how he made an aquarium stand from an old television - The Telly Tank. Go to Aquarticles' SEARCH feature and search for "Canberra" to find the whole list.
- An aquarium guide for beginners, by Rajendra Kumar G.G. of Bangalore India: Essence and Essentials of Your First Aquarium
- Brett Fogle, owner of MacArthur Water Gardens in Boca Raton, Florida, sent in seven articles, six for the Ponds Section, and a collection of people's Funniest Pond Stories for the Humour Section. Through his website (which contains lots of information and photos) Brett offers a free pond newsletter and pond guide, and sells pond and water garden supplies.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, England, sent his latest article: The Fairy Cichlid, Neolamprologus brichardi, and also a report on his recent visit to Kilnsey Park trout farm and aquarium in North Yorkshire.
- Added an article by Bob Allen, President of the Great Salt Lake Aquarium Society: Mother's Milk, which points out that baby brine shrimp are very similar to a common natural food found in Lake Tanganyika.
- Also, by Ron Brown of Liverpool, England: The Aliens are Here!, an interesting list of fish species that have been introduced to England over the years, starting with the Romans bringing common carp.

May 2004: 702 articles now available
- Aquarticles regularly receives a large number of visits from the keen aquarists in Singapore, so I was pleased to correspond with Roland Seah, who entered some articles from Aquarticles onto his comprehensive web site and forum in Singapore - AquaticQuotient.com. In return, Roland donated three very well written articles by Marcus Ng: We Are Not Alone! A Rumination on Biodiversity and the Raffles Museum of Diversity..... New to Planted Tank? and..... A Low-tech, Low Maintenance Approach to Mini Planted Tanks. And later; Budak's great collection of Photographs Taken at the Raffles Museum of Diversity, and an article by Xema, of Spain: Chocolate Gourami Breeding.
- Roland put me in touch with Loh Kwek Leong, also of Singapore, whose web site is www.killies.com . Added nine articles, most of them illustrated with excellent photographs: Why are Killifish Names so Long and Complicated? .... Collecting/Incubating Nothobranchius Eggs .... How I Incubate Lyretails' Eggs (using a ghost shrimp), How to Make a Spawning Mop ....Brine Shrimp Hatchery , a discussion about aquarium Mosses.... How to Grow a Moss Wall, L.K.'s photographic tour of Oriental Aquatics of Singapore, which is "perhaps the biggest aquatic plant importer/exporter in the World", and an article by Nid aka Tarepunda of Bangkok: Little Star, Aqua Star - The Magnificent One - her experiences with the plant Pogostenum helferi.
- With permission from SWAM editor Vickie Coy, added nineteen new articles from the archives of the SouthWestern Michigan Aquarium Society. They are about a variety of subjects and by many different authors, and as with other clubs, an easy way to locate these articles is by searching for the club or the editor on Aquarticles' SEARCH feature. Of particular interest to newsletter editors might be Mike Schadle's A Few Words About Selling at the Auction; a thoughtful and original article about what fish and paraphernalia to bring to a club auction and how to present them.
- David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in the U.K. sent his latest public aquarium report, about the Scarborough Sea-Life Centre.

April 2004: 669 articles now available
- Jack Wootton of Hawaiian Botanicals and Water Gardens in Richmond, B.C. Canada, contributed his article about a plant much revered in the Orient: The Sacred Lotus. I shall be writing an article about Jack's water garden operation soon.
- Added 25 more cartoons by prolific cartoonist Adrian Lawler, to his series Fish Have Aquarium Clubs Too...
- David Marshall wrote earlier about his visit to The Aquarium at Flamingo Land Zoo and Theme Park (in England), and mentioned an unknown species of large catfish found there. He has done some research and may have found the answer: On the Trail of the Identity of the Arius at Flamingo Land.
- Jose Vasquez, Director of the Freshwater Public 'Aqvarium' in Havana, Cuba, wrote with some valuable additional information about the Aqvarium, which I have added to my article.
- Added another store to The Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada series: Oscar's Aquatics, a small-town general pet shop with a 12' display aquarium in the window.

March 2004: 663 articles now available
- Last Christmas-time I drove all around the tropical island of Jamaica. I met three Jamaican aquarists and also saw other things that relate to fish and wildlife. Go to the photographic report: My Drive Around Jamaica, by Howard Norfolk.
- Paul McFarlane of the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society, adds a new article to his club's web site each month, and gave permission for them to be posted on Aquarticles. Latest additions are Charles Drew: Spawning Rummynose Tetras, and Wingless Fruit Flies; and Tony Bernard: Heterandria formosa.
- With permission from Andy Gordon of England, and Michelle Stuart of Ontario Canada, added 17 articles from their web site fishtanksandponds.com . 'Fishtanksandponds' covers many aspects of the aquarium hobby, and articles were added mostly to the Management and Saltwater sections of Aquarticles. Particularly notable are Michelle's account of her troubled beginnings with a saltwater aquarium - Michelle's Diary, and Andy's illustrated account - Treating Wounds on Large or Medium Sized Fish.
- Since the posting of his article Diseases Transmitted to Humans, Dr. Adrian Lawler has received a number of reports of people's experiences with water-borne infections: Some Infection Details of Aquatic/Fish Tank Infections.
- Paul Moratto discovered a design flaw in his heater, whereby it can short-circuit and not turn itself off. His solution? - see Fish Heater Safety Modification.
- David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, forwarded an article by his colleague Gerry Hawksby, who tells some stories about his early days: Some Reminiscences About How Large Aquarium Fish Arrived in Our Hobby.

February 2004: 639 articles now available
- During my recent visit to the Caribbean I met three leading Jamaican aquarists, and found out how easy it is to keep and breed tropical fish in a tropical country. To see how they do it, with lots of photographs, start with: The Aquarists of Jamaica, Part One, Noel Swaby.
- Dr. Adrian Lawler recently retired from his position as Aquarium Supervisor at the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium, in Biloxi, Mississippi. He wanted somewhere to archive some of his various writings about fish and aquaria, and has honoured Aquarticles with that task. In the 90's he wrote an Aquarium Management Operational Handbook for the guidance of staff at the J.L. Scott Aquarium, which contains much authoritative information that equally applies to home aquaria. Sections of the Handbook have been here reproduced as articles: eight in Aquarticles' Aquarium Management section, and also one in Saltwater: Stocking and Compatibility, and one in Travel/Collecting: Collecting and Handling Aquarium Specimens. Adrian plans to supply some more articles soon.
- Later, Adrian Lawler sent an article about a live food not too commonly written about by fishkeepers: Raising mealworms for animal food, and also an article about a problem that can occur for quite mundane reasons but which can be serious to fish and even humans: Toxic Algae.
- In response to an enquiry about how to set up a public aquarium, Adrian Lawler wrote a detailed paper about how they did it in Biloxi. Much of the information could be of interest to those considering a large aquarium, a series of display tanks, or a state-of-the-art fish room. See: Aquarium Ideas Sent to Another Country.
- Dr. Lawler updated his Diseases Transmitted to Humans with an article about dangerous bacterial infections: Tank Safety/Fish TB.
- Multi-talented Adrian Lawler is not just an expert on fish diseases. To my surprise he sent a collection of 35 unique little cartoons about what really goes on in aquariums: Tank Tales...Reading the Minds of Fish.
- And then some more: Tank Tales...Part Two. These collections of simple line drawings cover many aspects of the aquarium hobby. Look for one to add a finishing touch to your article or announcement! ....And with this in mind, Adrian contributed yet another series of cartoons, this time with aquarium clubs in mind: Fish Have Aquarium Clubs Too...
- Armando Olaechea, the marine biologist I met at the National Aquarium of Cuba, liked my recent photographic tour of the National Aquarium, and translated it into Spanish language for Aquarticles. See the Spanish version at: Una Visita al Acuario Nacional de Cuba.
- Added an article submitted by Duane Clark of Mobile, Alabama: Aquarium Maintenance Services...Who Should Start One? Duane runs a web site: www.aquaserve.com and a forum www.fishbizforums.com
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in England, sent an illustrated report on his visit to Flamingo Land Zoo and Theme Park, in Yorkshire.
- Les Pearce, who is Public Relations Officer for the Federation of British Aquatic Societies, submitted his article for goldfish beginners: Buying and Housing Your Goldfish.
- With permission from editor Pat Tosie, added a varied collection of ten articles from The Darter, Missouri Aquarium Society, in the Management, Breeding, Travel, Humour and Saltwater sections. My favourites are: Patrick Tosie Sr., The Drive for Fish, Mike Hellweg, A Rough Ride with a Tiny Horse and Bits o' History, and Reet Thomas Jr., X-Files and What is a "Fish Nut"?
- Andrew Collins has posted from Aquarticles to his web site in the UK www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk , and in return sent an article by Nick Gardner, who runs the UK Piranha Club www.piranhaclub.co.uk about his favourite fish: Piranha Keeping for Beginners.
- Allan James of catfish specialists www.scotcat.com was an early contributor to Aquarticles. He presents his latest illustrated article about a South American sea catfish whose skull and bones resemble religious symbols: The Crucifix Catfish.
- Lisa Englander, of the Cleveland Aquarium Society, regularly uses Aquarticles articles in her newsletter The Wet Thumb, and has returned the favour by contributing her latest humorous piece: Yet Another Top 10 Signs Someone is an Aquarium Hobbyist.
- Dick Mills, former editor of The Aquarist & Pondkeeper, wrote that Derek Lambert, current editor of the magazine, (now called Today's Fishkeeper), passed away suddenly on February 20th, 2004:
Derek Lambert, A Memorial.
- Dr. John Lednicky, who when not breeding fish is Assistant Professor of Pathology at the Loyola University of Chicago, sent an original and detailed article about his experiences with the bumblebee goby: Bumblebee Goby: Effective Maintenance and Breeding, and Raising of Fry.

January 2004: 602 articles now available.
- January 11th. Editor's note: I just returned from my annual winter holiday. This time I spent two weeks in Jamaica and a week in Cuba. I met three aquarists in Jamaica and had some other interesting experiences, and visited two public aquariums and an aquarium store in Cuba. After I've looked after my neglected fish (!) and sorted out all the photos, I shall be writing about what I found in the Caribbean (see below). Meanwhile a number of interesting articles were sent in by several contributors, as follows:
- Two articles submitted by Indian aquarists: Nimish Mathur's excellent account of an easy inexpensive plant substrate, Practical Use of Garden Soil as a Rich Plant Substrate, and S. Naga Siddharth's humorous Conversations Overheard in Aquarium Shops.
- Mike Duffy is stepping down as editor of The Underwater News, PVAS, but took the time to contribute three articles by fellow member Michael McKinney: about the goodeid Ilyodon furcidens, and the Lake Tanganyika cichlids Aulonocranus dewindti and Chalinochromis brichardi. Hopefully new editor Ted Guglielmo will have as much success in collecting articles from his members as Mike has had.
- Anita Macchio wrote to say that she has translated eight articles from Aquarticles into Italian for her website in Italy, www.vergari.com . Authors thus honoured have been advised.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in England, has contributed articles about a number of unusual fish. His latest is about an African labyrinth fish, The Leopard Bushfish, Ctenopoma Acutirostre.
- Pia, the daughter of Raj Kumar in Bangalore India, sent nine more cartoon drawings of fish, which I have added to her Fishy Cartoons 2.
- January 20th. Finished my first report on my travels in the Caribbean - A Visit to the National Aquarium of Cuba. Lots of photos of Cubans having an enjoyable outing looking at their local saltwater fish.
- January 22nd. There is also a small freshwater aquarium in Havana. See My Visit to the Freshwater Public Aquarium in Havana, Cuba. Another photographic tour.
- January 24th. It was hard to locate an aquarium store in Havana, but I finally did. See photos of The Aquarium Store in Havana, Cuba.

December 2003: 593 articles now available.
- Completed Behind the Scenes of the Vancouver Public Aquarium. Much goes on behind the scenes that visitors don't normally see. Lots of photos.
- Added another store to the Aquarium Stores of Vancouver series, North America Pet Store, a Chinese owned shop that imports goldfish, koi and other fish directly from China, and caters to the Chinese philosophy of Feng-Shui.
- Mike Duffy, editor of The Underwater News, Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society, sent three new articles by his colleague Ted Guglielmo, about Jack Dempseys, Ilyodon lennoni (a goodeid), and the cichlid Archocentrus septemfasciatum, and also three by Michael McKinney: Neolamprologus sp. 'Caudopunctatus kipili,' the West African cichlid Stomatepia pindu, and the goodeid Xenoteca eisseni.
- Ed Katuska, President of the Norwalk Aquarium Society, forwarded an article for advanced aquarists about selective breeding: Barry Lynch - A Swordtail Breeding Program
- Was pleased to hear again from Bob Berdoulay, of the The Diamond State Aquarium Society. He sent three articles, including his experiences in breeding the Diamond Tetra and the Hump-backed limia, Limia nigrofasciata.
- Bob later provided the remaining three articles in Marty Ziegler's Setting Up a Reef Tank series, and Marty's two detailed descriptions of Moving an Established Reef Tank. Also Preston Becker's account of how he made a ten hour international flight with two angelfish in his backpack, and five articles about keeping fish: Kribs and Bettas by Bob himself; Yellow-cheeked Krib by Joe Solge; and Gertrude's Rainbow, Golden Tetra and Green Fire Tetra by Joe Kaznica.
- Bill "Pegasus NZ", who is based in New Zealand, runs a website Fishy Types Aquarium Help, where he offers to answer aquarium related questions. Here is an article covering the two most common problems he is asked about: new tank syndrome and introducing new fish
- Bill also advises that in connection with his web site he has just (Dec.13th, 2003) opened a brand new forum to discuss aquarium problems more widely. Should you wish to join a new forum run by a very experienced moderator, go to http://aquaprobs.suddenlaunch.com/

November 2003: 568 articles now available.
- The Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre is the largest public aquarium in Canada, and is one of the top five in North America. Take a pictorial tour of the Vancouver Aquarium. Lots of photos!
- Mike Duffy, editor of The Underwater News, Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society (of Massachusetts) recently used some articles from Aquarticles, and in return contributed two articles of his own: Schwetzochromis stormsi, a West African cichlid, and Thorichthys aureum, a Central American cichlid.
- With permission from editor Mark Weierman and the members, added thirteen articles from Fincinnati, the official newsletter of the Greater Cincinnati Aquarium Society. They are in the Breeding, Management and Ponds sections. Some are illustrated with sets of original photos, particularly Mike Satkowski Tropheus duboisi and Tropheus brichardi, Steve Smith Royal Farlowella, and Fred Hamilton Saving the Longeared Sunfish.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in England, likes to visit public aquariums on weekends and holidays, and Aquarticles is getting a good collection of his reports. He recently visited the Aquarium at Chester Zoo.
- Added an article by Michelle Stuart of Ontario Canada, in the Salt Water section: Colt Coral Propagation, from the very informative new web site fishtanksandponds.com

October 2003: 549 articles now available.
- Added three more articles to the series Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada: Big Al's Aquarium Services, Vancouver's largest all-aquaria store; Aquariums West, a downtown store; and Petcetera, a big-box pet superstore. Start with Big Al's, or view the whole series starting with the Pet Boutique.
....And on October 10, two more: Fishworld, followed by Fin-omental.
....And on October 26, one more: Kevin's Aquatic Visions (in Langley).
- Loren E. Willis II submitted an article about a new water supplement he is experimenting with and selling, "Aquahumic." It replaces natural fulvic and humic acids that are often removed from city water supplies.
- Naomi Gettler, Editor of Splash, Milwaukee Aquarium Society, sends copies of her newsletters to Aquarticles. Added four recent articles, in Fish Breeding/Keeping.
- Four more articles from the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society, Paul McFarlane's Bleeding Hearts, and Charles Drew's Black Emperor Tetras , Spawning Cynolebias constanciae, and Getting My Pond Ready for Winter.
- Making your own custom built all-glass tanks has various advantages. Madan Subramanian, of Bangalore India, contributed an article about how he does it: Constructing Your Glass Aquarium.

September 2003: 533 articles now available.
- In the month of August I decided to visit my favourite aquarium shops in the City of Vancouver, Canada, and take photos of what I found there. This series of articles is not written just for local aquarists and visitors to Vancouver, although hopefully they will find them useful, but rather they are intended to show readers from other cities and countries what the retail aquarium scene is like in Canada and Vancouver in particular. How do our stores compare to those in your home town? Start with The Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada: Introduction and the Pet Boutique.
- Three more articles from regular contributor David Marshall of the Ryedale Aquarist Society of Yorkshire England: a report on his visits to two public aquariums in the Lake District, an article on Ctenopoma ocellatum, the Zulu Perch: a predatorial labyrinth fish that is becoming increasingly available in Europe, and an article by Gerry Hawksby on the culturing of White Worms.
- Naomi Gettler, editor, regularly sends Aquarticles copies of Splash, the journal of the Milwaukee Aquarium Society. In the latest issue I noticed a unique article by Jerry Michels: A Plastic Plants Primer, which answers everyone's questions about plastic plants - Do they grow? Do they reproduce? Can they be killed? A 'must read' for every aquarist, on a subject not often attempted.

October 2003: 549 articles now available.
- Added three more articles to the series Aquarium Stores of Vancouver Canada: Big Al's Aquarium Services, Vancouver's largest all-aquaria store; Aquariums West, a downtown store; and Petcetera, a big-box pet superstore. Start with Big Al's, or view the whole series starting with the Pet Boutique.
....And on October 10, two more: Fishworld, followed by Fin-omenal.
....And on October 26, one more: Kevin's Aquatic Visions (in Langley).
- Loren E. Willis II submitted an article about a new water supplement he is experimenting with and selling, "Aquahumic." It replaces natural fulvic and humic acids that are often removed from city water supplies.
- Naomi Gettler, Editor of Splash, Milwaukee Aquarium Society, sends copies of her newsletters to Aquarticles. Added four recent articles, in Fish Breeding/Keeping.
- Four more articles from the Hamilton and District Aquarium Society, Paul McFarlane's Bleeding Hearts, and Charles Drew's Black Emperor Tetras , Spawning Cynolebias constanciae, and Getting My Pond Ready for Winter.
- Making your own custom built all-glass tanks has various advantages. Madan Subramanian, of Bangalore India, contributed an article about how he does it: Constructing Your Glass Aquarium.

August 2003: 524 articles now available.
- To Leslie Keefer's article on Fish Tuberculosis, Clara Brentwood added her personal story of how she nearly lost a finger after cleaning a tank with a cut on her hand.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society in England, has contributed several articles about less common fish. His latest is about the Rainbow Snakehead, Channa bleheri. David also sent another article by his colleague Gerry Hawskby, about the confusion caused when fish are re-classified and re-named.
- From the Ilford and District Aquarists and Pondkeepers Society in England, added Mike Shadrack's report on his visit to the Denver Aquarium, and some down-to-earth truths from "A Long Suffering Wife": Marriage and the Aquarist

July 2003: 520 articles now available.
- Added three articles by regular contributor Bill "Pegasus NZ" - his answers to that perennial question "How Many Fish?" (can I put in my tank), an article on Goldfish for Beginners, and a humorous poem about a beginning aquarist. Bill has his own web site in New Zealand, Fishy Types Aquarium Help, where, in the "Contact Me" section, he offers to personally help readers with questions about their aquariums.
- David Marshall, of the Ryedale Aquarist Society, Yorkshire, England, sent two articles by Gerry Hawksby: notes on his experience with Poecilia sp. "Endlers" (Endler's Livebearer), and tips on the maintenance of Airstones.
- Kfir Alfandary of the Israeli Fish Forum in Tel Aviv has translated five more articles into the Hebrew language: Forrest/Inbreeding, / Greco/Power Outage, / Greenfield/Activated Carbon, / Kim/Protein Skimming, / Rude/Loaches. Kfir appears to have done a good job and has added illustrations of his own. I have added a link in each article's Article Information, but good luck in reading them!
- Added five more articles by Francine Bethea and Don Kinyon of the Potomac Valley Aquarium Society, all in the Fish Breeding section.

June 2003: 510 articles now available.
- Steve Coach, of San Diego, believes that plastic plants are most convenient for display aquariums, and submitted an original article about how he modifies their bases for use with a thin substrate.
- Alan Ruben, of the Boston Aquarium Society, sent his article about the nitrogen cycle, written in a lively and easy-to-read way.
- Nischint Sohal, of India, had more ideas about constructing landscapes using silicone, which complement Raj Kumar's Imaginative Ideas for Your Aquarium.
- From Pam Spencer, Secretary of the Calgary Aquarium Society, I received a number of back issues of The Calquarium, in which nine different Aquarticles articles had been used. Calgary A.S. has an excellent highly literate web site, and I am adding a few more articles from it, including Elaine and Randy Rude on Loaches, Dale Speirs on the Fathead Minnow , Birgit McKinnon on the livebearer Cardinal Brachy, Grant Gussie's Filters For Dummies, Don Marentette on Belenesox belizanus<