CONTENTS

Articles
A Christmas
Party for Fish
Geeks! p.1
NEWSLETTER
Christmas Party January 2008
Pictures p.2

Meet a fellow
GHAC member
p.3
A Christmas Party for Fish Geeks!
Fish and Plant of
the Month p.4 Loretta Mitchell (GHAC Secretary)
Christmas came with a great deal of fervor at the home of Roy and Heidi this
Tank of the year as they hosted the first annual GHAC Christmas gathering. There was
Month p.4 enough food to feed an army of guests, as well as Yule-tide camaraderie to
garnish it all. There wasn't an "official" meeting per say, but the atmosphere
Items of Interest was so enjoyable no one really missed that part of it. The swimming pool was
enjoyed by several people, including our own CichlidFan, who couldn't resist
Useful Websites. the temptation of the climate controlled aquatic environment. There were a
p.2 large number of people snatching and grabbing gifts for the White Elephant
GHAC Officers. exchange—it was amusing to watch. After all was said and done, each person
p.2 ended up with a nice gift. Then, lo and behold, Santa took time out of his busy
How to contact holiday schedule to visit the kids, young and old. He even told secrets to
the GHAC. p.3 Fishlady as he was making his exit. Yes, a fun time was had by one and all.
The first annual GHAC Christmas Party was a total success. I hope everyone
that didn't make this one will set aside the time for the one next year.

If having an aquarium helps relax an individual, then what is wrong with

possessing a twenty aquariums? Shouldn’t one be VERY relaxed?
- Unknown
 Christmas Party Pictures

Your GHAC Officers are:

Raul Turner
(rrocket2002)
President

Tim Bell
(armthehomeless)
Vice President

David Abeles
(Tiapan)
Co-Vice President

Loretta Mitchell
(fishlady)
Secretary
The Home of Roy and Heidi Flis
9426 Laurel Wind Court
Houston, Tx 77040
Email: royflis@ntbmail.com Mary Beth Petranek
Phone: (713) 291-1138 (Mzungu)
Time: January 18th at 7:30PM Treasurer
 Meet Your Fellow Useful Website:
www.houstonfishbox.com
GHAC Member The HoustonFishBox is an online community for
This Month: Tim Bell
freshwater fish. Be sure to check out the GHAC
forum on the Box. Sign up today!
My father got a family aquarium when I was eight. It
was a twenty gallon aquarium that he had stocked
with guppies, platies, and mollies. Shortly after
having set up the tank, little swimming dots started
appearing. They were fry! My dad purchased a
rectangular fish breeding net to raise the fry. I
remember sitting and watching the aquarium for
hours (as opposed to watching television). All good
things had to come to an end though. My dad’s job
was relocated from West Virginia to Houston, TX.
That meant that we had to get rid of all the fish.
After we moved to Houston, the aquarium was set
back up with guppies and platies. I started asking my
dad if we could get other types of fish. His response
was, “Sure, as long as they don’t cost more than a
dollar.” We ended up with a couple kuhli loaches
and tetras in the tank. I took a brief hiatus from fish
during my high school years. Things like girls and
music took precedence during that time period. My
first year of college ignited my passion for fish
keeping. I purchased a 10 gallon aquarium to put in
We want to hear from you. After all, you are the
my dorm room (the largest allowed). It quickly
reason that we are here. Email any suggestions,
became an aquarium owned by the entire floor of
comments, or questions to Raul_GHAC [at] yahoo [dot]
people that lived in the dorm. com.

The 10 gallon aquarium started out with swordtails, but a group outing to a chain pet store changed the type
of inhabitants in the tank forever. My roommate wanted something called a Jack Dempsey, a type of “chich-
lid”. I had never heard of a cichlid before. I thought that it was a pretty fish, so into the tank he went.
Eventually the Jack Dempsey was the only one in the tank. “Killer” seemed to be an appropriate name for
him, and so my roommate and I kept him even after we moved out of the dorms.

“Killer” started my fascination with cichlids. He eventually settled into an 80 gallon tank with two Oscars
and a clownefeg
knife. At first I was interested in the Central/ South Americans, then came the Malawi cichlids,
and now I am mostly intrigued Tanganyikan cichlids. The only other type of fish that I have been drawn to in
recent history has been rainbowfish.

At one point, I had about twenty aquariums in a one bedroom apartment with tanks ranging in size from 210
gallons to 5 gallons. Since marrying my lovely wife Fiona in July, I have cut that number down considerably.
Fiona and I currently have Labidochromis caeruleus, Benthochromis tricoti, Ectodus descampsi,
Cyprichromis leptosoma “Jumbo Blue Orchid”, Julidochromis transcriptus, Neolamprologus leleupi,
Melanotaenia lacustris
 Plant of the Month
Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus)
t PH. 281-586-8787
The Java Fern is a very unique aquatic plant. It is
very low maintenance and easy to cultivate—it even
does well in poorly lit tanks without extra nutrients
or CO2! There are a number of types of java fern
including the “Fish-tail” or “Windelov” and
“Narrow Leaf” varieties. It is also an ideal plant to
use in setups that contain burrowing or vegetarian
fishes since, in general, they will not disturb it. This
plant should not be buried in gravel, but rather fixed
to rocks and driftwood with its roots left loose in the
water. The roots will eventually attach themselves to
the rock or wood. Decaying leaves, if left alone in
the aquarium, will eventually produce dozens of java
fern plantlets. Normally, the older leaves to begin to
go black when they die. At that time, little ferns
sprout from the tips of the old leaves.
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!! Lets see what you are
working with…
Mike’s Tropical Fish and Pets
14203 Stuebner Airline
Houston, Tx 77069
Fax.281-586-8799
E-Mail. RunOverHere [at] hotmail [dot] com
Fish of the Month
Electric Yellow Cichlid (Labidochromis caeruleus)
Also known as the yellow lab, the electric yellow
cichlid hails from Lake Malawi in Africa. This
brightly colored fish has been a favorite amongst
aquarium owners since it was first introduced to the
United States in 1986. Yellow labs are maternal
mouthbrooders, meaning that the mother stores eggs
inside her mouth. She generally holds onto them
around three to four weeks, and eventually spits out
the young. Little to no care is given to the young by
the mother once they leave her mouth. In fact, it is
common for the fry to be eaten by larger yellow labs.
An interesting thing to note: the species name for the
yellow lab is caeruleus which actually means “blue”
in Latin. The yellow labs have different color morphs
– blue, white, and yellow. The first ones that were
found just happened to be blue, hence the scientific
name. The yellow variant has been the most popular
amongst fish enthusiasts, and therefore is the variant
most commonly available.