The floating gardens of Benjamin Graindorge & Duende is an interesting proof of concept installation which is part aquarium and part planter. For the life of us we cannot figure out if this is a fish tank with a planter for a filter or a planter with an attached aquarium for the fish to provide a source of natural nutrition. Judging by the sparse (read: nonexistent) aquascape in the aqueous portion of the tank, we’d guess the designers conceived this project first as a planter. The Floating Garden was designed to instill some introspection as to how the world is a balanced ecosystem. Don’t expect the BG&D Floating Garden to show up at your local fish store as this project was really more of an art exhibit than a prototype aquarium product. Even though the concept of using vegetative biology to absorb nutrients from aquarium water, we still think that these guys pulled off it in a very stylish way and that the Floating Garden could be an inspiration for aesthetic continuum from the aquarium to the external vegetative filter.

[via Duende Press]

Fluorescent Cichlids are really the last thing this hobby needed but that hasn’t stopped Taiwanese researchers from doing to cichlids what they’ve done to zebra danios. Fluorescent angelfish and fluorescent convict cichlids are the first unfortunate casualty of the Asian desire for freakish fish like flowerhorns and blood parrots. We’re actually kind of surprised that the freak show didnt start with those triploid and hybrid mutants but our guess is that their genetic makeup is already too corrupted to accept any more genetic errors. Although the Fluorescent cichlids began their existence by injection of the fluorescent gene(s) into fertilized eggs, the fluorescent angelfish and convicts now have bred several generations while successfully passing on the fluorescent traits. These genetically modified organisms will be regulated in some countries but like the Glofish before them, it will be a matter of time before fluorescent angelfish adn fluorescent convict cichlids are a mainstay in many aquarium shops around the world. Follow the break for another video of the Fluorescent Convict Cichlids

[via PFK]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyHV3gPIGPY

Although we’ve never been much of a fan of the marimo moss balls, there is a certain quaintness to these new Nano Marimo balls from Hokkaido Japan. The Nano Marimo balls are little clumps of Cladophora algae which have somehow become tamed into growing extremely slowly. Originating from Lake Hokkaido in Japan, it is said that these Nano Marimo balls grow at a rate of 5mm per year, making each nano marimo ball about one year old. It would be interesting to see what could be done with these nano marimo balls in a nano aquascape, perhaps they’d tumble around like little Cladophora tumbleweeds or maybe someone could adapt them to grow on twigs and make them look like a tree out of a Dr. Seuss book. Freshwater aquatic moss and fern specialist Aquatic Magic is currently offering the Nano Marimo balls for sale, five pieces of Nano Marimo for about $5 before shipping or you can still get a “giant” marimo ball for $5 each.

The super white panda cory is not an albino strain, but another color morph which is more similar to the “blue eye” bristlenose plecos. Although the blue eye L144 bristle nose is more yellow in body color voerall, the super white panda is distinguished by a stark white body coloration and a black iris. There are no markings visible and if it weren’t for that well rounded nose and body shape, we’d be hard pressed to slap a definite ID on this fish even withing the frequently bred species. The fish were sold from Aquashop before we had a chance to glance the price but since only a pair was offered and this is the first time we’ve ever seen them, it is possible that they sold for a hefty sum. Albino fish really are not our thing but the starkness of coloration on the super white panda is something we could learn to appreciate in a darkly lit, blackwater tank. This guy knows what I’m talkin about!

L450 is the newest L number for the Hypancistrus genus which last year added one more known species. Hypancistrus L450 was previously known as Hypancistrus sp.”Santarem” because it was first reported from that vague area of Brazil although it is now known that L450 comes from the tapajos river which is not far from Santarem. The new L450 number was designated in a recent issue of DATZ, the German publication which originally started the L-number naming convention. Early reports of keeping this fish in aquarium pegs it to be a typical Hypancistrus species with preference for meaty foods and well oxygenated, warm water. A few lucky Europeans may have had sporadic access to this species but unfortunately we have yet to see Hypancistrus L450 offered in the U.S. Hopefully the increased usefullness of the new L-number will help collectors and fish slingers better identify this fish so we can see this species for sale, although Brazil is still reticent about shipping out Hypancistrus species.

Two new Hypostomus species have just been described from Brazil and they are H. weberi and H. kopeyaka. The two new Hypostomus species belong to the H. cochliodon group of species. Hypostomus weberi is covered with attractive large spots all over the body which are larger on the flank yet smaller and more numerous on the face. H. weberi comes from rapids and flooded forests of the middle Rio Negro river basin and it is named after pleco expert Claude Weber. Hypostomus kopeyaka is so named after the common name for this species by the local indians who call it “kope yaka” which means “pleco from holes”. H. kopeyaka has a unique color pattern consisting of dark dots and dashes which are more like dots on the face and fins but which align into attractive dashed lines along the flanks of the body. Hypostomus kopeyaka was collected from rapids to slow flowing waters of the upper Rio Negro river drainage. Both of the new Hypostomus species are described in the latest issue of Neotropical Ichthyology by Carvalho, Lima and Zawadzki. Follow the break for more shots of the dorsal and ventral sides of these two new species, Hypostomus weberi and Hypostomus kopeyaka.

[via Practical Fishkeeping]

Elatine hydropiper is a small leaved carpeting foreground plant that is widely distributed throughout Europe. Although Europeans have been one of the most progressive regions for freshwater planted aquaria, it is only recently that Elatine hydropiper has begun to be grown in freshwater aquascapes. Since Elatine hydropiper occurs throughout Europe from Spain and Italy to the British Isles and Scandinavia, perhaps it has just taken a long time to find a strain that could grow and prosper in warmer water temperatures and we believe the strain from Anubias.com is originally from Italy. What is particulalry exciting about E. hydropiper is that it’s leaves are small, as in tiny, like 1/10th the size of Glossostigma elatinoides and half the size of baby tears, Hemianthus micranthemoides. At the moment not much is known about the specific requirements of this exciting nano leaved carpeting plant but once it is more widely available, Elatine hydropiper is sure to become a favorite among nano and full size aquarium aquascapers. Photos from Anubias.com, more of which can be seen after the break.

Eheim’s Aqualife Nano Aquarium is a new line of small aquariums with included LED lighting and internal filtration. The Eheim Aqualife Nano aquariums will be available in three sizes, 4, 6 & 9 gallons (16, 24, 35 liters) which are made from glass and on two of the corners the glass is bent instead of having joined glass panes. The Aqualife Nano tank from Eheim will be equipped with a single 7 watt multichip LED spotlight and a small corner mounted 4 watt internal filter that is prepacked with Eheim’s biological and chemical medias. The cute LED spotlight is elegantly suspended in the center of the tank by a bracket made from two bent rigid wires. The starting color temperature of the Aqualife Nano LED light is geared towards growing some of the lower light freshwater plants and it should work well for mosses, ferns and Anubias species. If our memory serves us correctly the pricing of the Eheim Aqualife Nano worked out to the equivalent of $150 for the larger kit and it worked it’s way down from there. Follow the break for a closer look at each size of the Eheim Aqualife nano aquarium with and without water.

The longfin neon tetra is a new strain of freshwater aquarium fish which is unwelcome in our fish store. If we had to put together a list of freshwater fish species that least needed tampering with, the neon tetra would of been near the top of that list. Sure diamond /diamond head neon tetras are kind of neat, replacing some of the blue with a blue spot at the head. Albino neon tetras are a curiosity but we see no redeeming qualities in the longfin neon tetra. The flowing finnage of the longfin neon tetra hampers their neat schooling behavior and it obscures the outline of their nice classic fishy body shape. Furthermore, the longfin neon tetras we spotted at InterZoo may have been somewhat stressed out but they were showing some mighty muted coloration. Both the blue and red colors seemed to have been bred out of the fish when on the quest to lengthen their fins. We don’t know if the longfin neon tetra strain will every become widespread but we’ll definitely pass.

The zebra pleco, Hypancistrus zebra, is one of the flashiest and most memorable freshwater fish in the world. Although they have a very striking pattern, the fish has not become widely popular because it’s not exactly the type of fish you plop into a community tank. Zebra plecos are a very cautious species which quickly retreat from sudden movements of fish and people, making them unable to compete with common aquarium species. Many aquarists complain that they never see their zebra plecos even in tanks dedicated to L46 and we believe that is because the aquarium has to fulfill some requirements to make Hypancistrus zebra feel most comfortable. Probably the most overlooked need of zebra plecos is the need for moderate light; it doesn’t have to be very dark but they can see bright lights shining overhead so we recommend just one fluorescent tube or LEDs. Also, although it is well known that shy fish need dither fish to feel comfortable coming out, if you want to dither your zebras you should use species that make sense to zebra plecos like corydoras and ottocinclus.  Finally, it goes without saying that zebra plecos need hiding spaces and cover to feel comfortable. If you give L46 an endless matrix of caves and holes of course your viewing experience will be impaired. The zebra plecotope above tries to provide areas of cover which are still visible to the aquarium viewer such as the large overhanging ledge. If you provide Hypancistrus with moderate light, the right kind of dither fish and creative hiding places your colony will reward you with plenty of time roaming around out in the open places of your aquarium where they can easily be seen.