With this article I hope to encourage FNZAS members to have a try at breeding one of the most popular tropical fishes worldwide – the cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi. Cardinals have been spawned in NZ but, to my knowledge, this has not been maintained on a regular basis. From time to time since obtaining my first cardinals about 1960, successes have been obtained in my fish room but not continually such as with other tetras including neons, rummy-noses etc. More ...

The Archerfish, Toxotes jaculatrix, is famous all over the world for its shooting capabilities. In fact, Toxotes means ”bowman” or ”archer”. Because they are so ”famous” many people will see them in their local aquarium shop and say ”Ohhhhhh, look at those cute little archerfish, I bet a few of them will go well in that spare 2ft tank we have.” We all want to care for our fish properly, so lets take a closer look at this intriguing species. More ..

Why is it that the fancy guppies you see in magazines or books are so much nicer than the ones we see in the local pet shops or even in our own tanks? The fancy show guppies are invariably larger, more colourful and display more vitality than the average common guppy. At international shows you will be able to see extremely beautiful guppies produced by a select group of breeders who manage to produce these wonderful guppies year after year. Why is this, and is it possible for us to achieve the same level of quality? Part of the answer lies in the breeding plan or scheme used to produce the next generations.
Read more about the breeding a fancy guppy ...

This lovely cichlid is bright yellow all over with blue eyes. In the wild, it lives in very deep water and is not commonly found above 40 metres depth.
Read more about the lemon cichlid .....

The dwarf rasbora (Boraras maculatus), also known as the pygmy or spotted rasbora, is a small (adult size of 2.5 cm) member of the cyprinid family. It is reputed to be the smallest known member of this family, although there are other species, such as the Mosquito Rasbora (Boraras brigittae), Somphong's Rasbora (Boraras somphongsi) or Axelrod's Rasbora (Boraras axelrodi) that could equally claim the title. In addition to being the smallest cyprinid, they are about the 10th smallest vertebrate.
Read more about the dwarf rasbora ...

When setting up a tank you must be careful which fish you buy. Not all of them are suitable as tankmates. Not all fish sold as ‘community fish’ are necessarily suited to others.
Read more about fin nippers ...

As the old saying goes, to make a rabbit stew you must first catch a rabbit. Likewise before you can spawn your Chaetostoma you must first get a pair of Chaetostoma. Obvious perhaps but sometimes the obvious is the hardest part.
Read the full spawning account of Chaetostoma cf. thomsonis ...