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I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish). Please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. I keep fishes both as a scientist and as a hobbyist and I currently maintain about 140 aquariums.
I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page
Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes
PhD (Toronto, 1993) MSc (Simon Fraser, 1986) BSc (British Columbia, 1983)
I find all fish fascinating, particularly their behavior. Besides questions about the fish themselves, I can answer questions about the study of fishes as a career.
Even though I work with fish everyday, there are still tons of things to learn!
There are over 28,000 species of fishes and they are incredibly diverse in how they reproduce. Surprisingly, many of them take wonderful care of their kids, ranging from guarding the eggs, to mouthbrooding and even to live birth in some species.
Unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there, both in pet stores and on the internet. Too often people reach for medicines to treat "sick" fish. Often the fish is not suffering from disease, rather it has been attacked by another fish. Only use medications as a last resort -- they can cause as much harm as good!
| User | Date | K | C | T | P | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas | 11/23/09 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| Alex | 11/21/09 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks. |
| jayne | 11/20/09 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
| Jason | 11/19/09 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Thanks. |
| lillian | 11/19/09 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | thanks!! |
Hi Amanda, Actually, if the tank contains ONLY males, the aggression will likely be much less. However, if there is even one female in there -- something for the males to fight over -- the aggression
Hi Jason, Is she "lying on the bottom", i.e., on her side, or is she "sitting on the bottom", i.e., upright? They are very different. The first indicates that she is seriously sick. The latter could
Hi Steven, We call that condition "bloat". The trouble with bloat is that it is just a description of the symptoms not an actual disease. Various things could cause bloat. The most likely problem
Hi Melissa, It could be a swim bladder problem but that doesn't fit the symptoms. The swim bladder really only aids in buoyancy. Unfortunately, a bent spine is often a sign of impending old age in
Hi Teresa, It sounds like a disease called ick. Ick can appear slightly different on different fishes but in general looks like a dusting of icing sugar on a fish. It can also manifest itself as patchiness
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