Search Results for ‘conservation’

The American Cichlid Association 2018 convention is just a month away. Hosted by the Houston Aquarium Society and the Houston Cichlid Club, it's no surprise that the convention will be held in Houston, TX area. The ACA 2018 convention will take place in the Hilton NASA Clear Lake on July 4th...

The Canadian Association of Aquarium Clubs is having their annual convention next week in Burlington, Ontario. Founded in 1959, the CAOAC is an association of member aquarium, reptile & amphibian, pond & water garden, and similar clubs or societies from across Canada. Through the CAOAC, member...

Pundamilia nyererei from Lake Victoria. Photo by Kevin Bauman (CC BY 1.0) . A new report put out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) has some bad news about Lake Victoria. The lake's native species are no strangers to mass extinctions. The...

A short video introducing the Wild Caught Project fundraiser. The Wild Caught Project is a documentary film detailing the benefits and costs of the wild-caught fish industry. This film will document everything and everyone that is involved from the fishing communities to our aquariums. The...

Coptodon bakossiorum. Photo by Dave Hansen Coptodon bakossiorum, formerly known as Tilapia bakossiorum, is a rare cichlid endemic to the crater Lake Bermin. Like other crater lakes in Cameroon, Lake Bermin is one of the many in the region susceptible to CO2 "burping". CO2 releases like in Lake...

Virginia Aquarium Red Sea Habitat exhibit Located in Virginia Beach, the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center offers great activities and attractions for anyone looking to do something fun. As a special bonus for the locals, Hampton Roads residents can receive 50% off admission for the...

Satellite image of Amazon River. Photo by NASA A new study published in the journal Fish and Fisheries has linked fish population to the amount of forest surrounding the body of water in the Amazon River basin. Although the study isn't cichlid specific, it can be assumed that cichlid...

Mbipia sp. "porthole". Photo by Greg Steeves Originally collected from Yala Swamp on the northeast shores of Lake Victoria, Mbipia sp. "porthole" made its appearance in the hobby over 10 years ago. References to this Mbipia species variant go back even further. It gained some popularity among...

The sequel to the British nature documentary The Blue Planet (2001) will be airing in less than two weeks. Anyone who hasn't seen the original series has really missed out on some spectacular footage. Blue Planet II is expected to be even better. Just like the original, the follow up series is...

Lates niloticus (Nile Perch). Photo by smudger888 (CC BY 2.0) The introduction of the Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) into Lake Victoria resulted in the devastation of the local ecosystem. The native Haplochromine species became food for the large, fast growing and aggressive new species...

An amazing video of the Liquid Rainbow River of Colombia by Ivan Mikolji. The Liquid Rainbow River, or Caño Cristales, runs through an isolated mountain range in the center of Colombia. For a brief period each year the river explodes with colors ranging from reds, pinks and yellows thanks to...

A video showing the first release of Melanochromis chipokae at Chidunga Rock. The video shows Pierre le Roux releasing 68 Melanochromis chipokae he raised into waters where they have almost disappeared. The video was taken by le Roux's son, Jean. The release was made possible by donations to...

A short video of a pair of Paretroplus maculatus digging out a pit. The video come from the africancichlids2010 Youtube channel. The video was taken at the San Antonio Zoo. Paretroplus maculatus, with its distinctive black spot, was originally found in several locations in northwestern...

Haplochromis (Harpagochromis) vonlinnei. Photo by Greg Steeves Haplochromis vonlinnei, sometimes referred to as Harpaglochromis vonlinnei, is a predatory species originally found in and around the Mwanza Gulf of Lake Victoria. Due to the introduction of the Nile Perch in the 1950s, H...

Some of the many haplochromine species An interesting article by Les Kaufman on the importance of biodiversity for an ecosystem's resilience. Kaufman is a professor of biology at Boston University. He has been interested in cichlids since he was a student at Johns Hopkins University. Les...

An article on Nature.com titled Damming the rivers of the Amazon basin details the far-reaching consequences of dams along the Amazon River. Although this blog has covered other articles about the impact of damming the Amazon River, new research has shown that the impact goes far beyond the...

Platytaeniodus degeni. Photo be Greg Steeves Platytaeniodus degeni, aka Haplochromis degeni, was originally collected in Lake Victoria. This species was thought extinct in the wild but some specimens were found about 10 years ago. This species is also alive and well in captivity at zoos and in...

Lake Tanganyika. Photo by Francesca Ansaloni (CC BY 2.0) The cichlids of Lake Tanganyika were spared from the introduction of the Nile Perch which decimated Lake Victoria's native species beginning in the 1950s. Despite that bit of luck, Lake Tanganyika has become stained by other human...

April marks the publication of the second issue of the CARES Exchange. The CARES Exchange a publication by the CARES Fish Preservation Program. The purpose of the CARES Program, with the help of hobbyists, is to create a stock of conservation priority species. Hobbyists simply devote some tank...

Benitochromis ufermanni. Photo by Dave Hansen Benitochromis ufermanni can be found in various rivers and streams around Korup National Park in Cameroon. B. ufermanni is a small cichlid. The largest males rarely reach 4 inches in length. In the wild B. ufermanni feeds on both plant matter...