August2008

CONTENTS Articles GHAC Auction p.1

NEWSLETTER

Meet a fellow GHAC member p.2

August 2008

Fish of the Month p.3

GHAC Auction 2008

Tank of the Month p.4 Plant of the Month p.5

Items of Interest

GHAC Officers p.2 How to contact the GHAC p.2 Sponsors p.3 Useful Websites p.4

By: Raul M. Turner

From the moment the GHAC came into existence, local fish-enthusiasts began to expect great things. One of the most highly desired events: a GHAC sponsored auction. It’s taken GHAC almost a year to grow enough in size and stability to host such an event—but the time has finally arrived! The date and time have been set and the hall has been rented. Supplies are being procured and details worked out. It’s going to happen! Yes! I’m at a loss of words to describe how excited some of us are about this auction. The location itself—The Hall on Hammerly—is perfect. It has lots of room and plenty of parking. We are thankful to the Club Treasurer, Mary Beth Petranek, for finding it. …Continued on Page 6…

“All men are equal before fish.”

David looking like he knows what he is doing.

-Herbert Hoover

…and this is the first person who beat David at Air Hockey that night.

Meet a Fellow GHAC Member This Month: Mickey Carroll (tattoo) I first got into fish when my wife was pregnant with our first child. I was looking for some sort of hobby that I would do inside the house. Up until then, all of my hobbies involved lots of activities that took me outside. With the baby on the way, I wanted to be able to spend more time closer to my family. A couple friends were pretty big into the fish hobby r (John and Eric) and seemed to really enjoy breeding fish and selling the fry. It interested me, and I figured I would give it a shot. So that is how it started. As with most everyone else when first starting out, I tried a bunch of different types of fish. Right now I have settled on pretty much keeping only Tanganyikan cichlids. Current inhabitants in my tanks include Benthochromis tricoti, Cyprichromis leptosoma, and Eretmodus cyanosticus. Soon I hope to add either a colony of Petrochromis or Tropheus. I have four tanks – a 210, 125,120, and a 20 gallon tank. The small tank is for fry. ☺

We want to hear from you. After all, you are the reason that we are here. Email any suggestions, comments, or questions to [email protected]

Your GHAC Officers are: Raul Turner (rrocket2002) President

Tim Bell (armthehomeless) Vice President

David Abeles (Tiapan) Co-Vice President

Mary Beth Petranek (Mzungu) Treasurer Megan’s Tropical Emporium Hours Monday 11:00 - 6:00 Tuesday - Friday 11:00 - 8:00 Saturday 10:00 - 6:00 Sunday 12:00 - 6:00

Fish Gallery Store Hours Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm Sunday 12pm-5pm

Fish of the Month The Lemon Cichlid Neolamprologus leleupi By Tim Bell

General: Neolamprologus leleupi, also typically referred to as Lamprologus leleupi, are slender cichlids native to Lake Tanganyika in Africa. Males will achieve a size of about four inches with most females topping out between two to three inches. The most common form of this fish is yellow, but many varieties are occasionally available including the orange variety. There are even gray, tan and near-black varieties, but they are rarely seen in the hobby. You'll most likely see some of these at the upcoming GHAC auction. A “show quality yellow” leleupi should exhibit a uniform yellow color with the least amount of black on the lip. I have observed quite a variation in color depending on both the substrate/background of the tank and diet. Keep Neolamprologus leleupi over white sand and feed them a large amount of color enhancing food, and you'll have bright yellow fish. Keep them over a black substrate and the fish will appear quite muddy. They will change coloration when switched over different substrates, though it may take a month or so.

Habitat: Neolamprologus leleupi is found from 5 to 30M deep around rocks and rubble in Lake Tanganyika. Lake Tanganyika has very hard and alkaline water— pH range of 7.6 to 8.4 and a dH around 15.

Feeding: In the wild, Neolamprologus leleupi feed on zoobenthic organisms; fish eggs, insects, copepods, etc. From a hobbyist perspective, however, they don't present many problems. I fed mine a variety of flake foods, frozen brine shrimp, Spirulina flake, whatever is closest... Neolamprologus leleupi have surprisingly large mouths for such a small fish. I’ve seen them swallow some pretty big pellets. In addition, mature adults have some impressive fangs when viewed from the front.

Tank of the Month We want to see your tanks! Send us a photo of your tank along with a brief description of the flora, fauna, water parameters, equipment used, and anything else you want to include. We will post a new tank each month!! Let us see what you are working with…

Check out our great new website…

www.myghac.org

August TOTM Jesper’s 75 Gallon Malawi Tank

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Decoration: Texas Holey Rock Substrate: Pool Filter Sand Inhabitants: Iceberg Electric Blue Cichlids (Sciaenochromis fryeri), Electric Yellow Labs (Labidochromis caerulus)

Roy and Heidi Flis’ Home 9426 Laurel Wind Court Houston, TX 77040 August 15th 7:45pm-??? 9426 Laurel Wind Court Houston, Tx 77040 August 15th, 7:45pm to ???

July Pictures Plant of the Month

Java Moss Vesicularia dubyana By Tim Bell This was one of the first plants that I had success with mostly because it is a plant that is tolerant of all types of water conditions. Native to Asia this plant can grow in almost any condition. It will grow under low light as well as high light. I’ve seen this plant thriving in both hard and soft water. I’ve even seen java moss used successfully in terrariums with high humidity and in lightly brackish tanks. This plant does not need any sort of substrate to be planted into. If left alone, java moss will eventually find something to attach itself to. Many people attach java moss to wood using either fishing line or some sort of twine. In order to has this stay aesthetically appealing, you will need to trim the moss with some degree of frequency. I have used this plant in most of my fry tanks to absorb some of the nutrients in the water and to decrease the nitrates. The fry usually pick microorganisms off of the plant as well. A word of caution: once in a tank, it can be tough to get rid of. I thought I gave all of mine away a couple years ago. I was wrong. ☺

GHAC Auction 2008 (continued from page 1) Start time: 11am Location: The Hall on Hammerly 10644 Hammerly Blvd. Houston, TX. 77043 http://www.saintjosephorthodox.org/hallrental.html A key factor in selecting this location was that it is on the north side of Houston, since other similar auctions have always been on the south side. There are many hobbyists on the north side that would welcome this location, and for those on the south side—well, it is still relatively close. Another highlight of this auction is that it is more seller friendly than other auctions. GHAC is only subtracting 10% of the sale, so you keep 90%. Our philosophy is that since you’ve done all the work, you should keep most of the sale. This is just another for GHAC to say thank you. We are a club for the members! Is this auction just for members? Not at all, anyone is welcome to sell, buy or just come hang out. Does it cost to me anything to be able to bid on an item? Not if you are a GHAC member. Nonmembers can purchase a bidder card for just $5. Now check this out…become a member at the auction or before for $5 and register for your bidder card for free. Sounds easy? Well, it is! What will be at the Auction? Anything and everything that is apart of the hobby: livestock of every kind, plants, tanks, filters, heaters, food, drift wood, holey rock…etc. GHAC is a social club. We encourage the hobby of keeping aquatic life and just having fun. We encourage learning more about the hobby, and welcome members of all fish clubs. We certainly hope to see you there. Please tell a friend. More information can be found on the GHAC website. www.myghac.org

Pictures inside the Hall on Hammerly See you here on September 13th!!