Last year your club started up an endangered species program which was designed to keep track of members who are keeping these fish. Well there has been some interest in this idea and I would like to give you an update as to who is doing what.
I had a call from Mr. Barry Hertz from St. Mary’s High school downtown about this program and he asked if I could come and give a one-hour talk about it. So I gathered my thoughts and he gathered the students and off we went. To my surprise, I had 16 eager students (about equal male and female) who were willing to give this a try! I helped them set up five tanks, with two to three students per tank (not necessarily all in the tanks at once). One group is raising and breeding peat-spawning killies (Cynolebias bookermani). Other tanks include peacocks, South American cichlids, Lake Victoria cichlids, and such. These tanks are part of their science classes and they will be graded on the results. They have to monitor water quality, spawning habits, feeding habits, etc. So far all is well and except for a few minor mistakes the students are well under way.
Now here is the current list of species that I know are being raised and kept by our club members:
- Characodon audax
- Ameca splendens
- Chapalicthys encaustus
- Xenotaca eiseni
- Xiphophorous clemenciae
- Xiphophorous montezumae
- Zoogoneticus quitzeoensis
All of these are in some sort of stressed mode in their natural habitat.
All of these species are certainly a challenge with regard to water quality and food. I’m sure that there are other members in the club both here in Calgary and in other cities that have more species that we could add to our list. Remember that the idea of this program is to keep these fish alive and breeding for as long and as well as you can. It can also be beneficial when you might need stock from others to help replace lost fish or to introduce newer blood to your line.
So take a moment or two to look in your tanks and see if you might have some species that are from any of the threatened or stressed-out areas of the planet. Give me a call, or send e-mail, and I will put your name and stock on the club records. I should say that these records are only for member’s use and info and will never be given out to any store, organization, or individual without your permission. ?