Species name: Carassius auratus Common names: Ryukin Goldfish Family: Cyprinidae Order: Cypriniformes Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) Maximum length: 12 in (30 cm). Minimum tank size: 50 gallon for an adult specimen Hardiness : Easy Aggressiveness: May nip at fins. Will eat fish that can fit in it’s mouth. Distribution: Central Asia, China, Japan Diet: Omnivore. In the wild, they feed on a wide range of food including plants, small crustaceans, insects, and detritus. In captivity, they will accept most aquarium food including pellets, flakes, and live prey such as worms. Additional information: Often referred to as the Japanese ribbon-tail, the fringe-tail or the veil-tail, the ryukin goldfish is a stunning creature. A member of Cyprinidae family, which includes all the ‘fancy goldfish,’ its sheer presence has captivated fish-fanciers for centuries. It’s thought to have arrived in Japan around 1770 via the Ryukyu Islands (from where it gets its name), which lie between Japan and Taiwan and early Japanese texts name the fish the onaga (long-tail), or the nagasaki goldfish. The ryukin goldfish is strikingly similar to the fan-tail but its most distinctive feature, a large hump just behind the head which develops as the fish matures, makes the ryukin easily identifiable. It has an unusually deep (almost as deep as it is long), egg-shaped body and a high dorsal fin which gives the fish a somewhat elevated appearance. The ryukin has a wide tail which typically has two lobes but fish with three or four lobed tails are not uncommon. They are normally red, white or a combination of the two in color. Nevertheless, there is a calico variant of the species which has a blue base color, a mixture of speckled pigments and the occasional metallic scale on its flanks. As with most goldfish differentiating between the sexes in ryukins is practically impossible until they have reached sexual maturity.

Species name: Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus Common names: Convict Cichlid, zebra cichlids Family: Cichlidae Subfamily: Cichlasomatinae Order: Perciformes Class: Actinopterygii Maximum length: 3.9 inch (10 cm) Minimum tank size: 20 gallons Hardiness: Aggressiveness: Aggressive Distribution: Central America: Pacific slope, from Río Sucio, El Salvador to Río Suchiate, Guatemala; Atlantic slope, from Río Patuca, Honduras to Río Jutiapa, Guatemala. Not in slope to Panama, Costa Rica or even Nicaragua, as formerly considered. Diet: Feed on worms, crustaceans, insects, fish and plant matter. Additional information: From Central America, Archocentrus Nigrofasciatus is commonly known as Convict Cichlid because their coloring is similar to that of human prisoners’ striped uniforms, some people call these fish zebra cichlids. It is not difficult to differentiate between the male and the female of the species. The male has black stripes and is grey, whereas the female has darker black stripes and has a pink or orange body. The female fish is more colourful than the male fish and she is smaller than he is. The male grows to approximately 7cms whereas the female only grows to approximately 5cms. The Convict Cichlid is an egg layer. Both the male and the female fish will care for the young. The adult fish will fan the eggs for the seventy-two hours it takes the eggs to hatch. The parent fish will continue to care for the young fish until the fry are about four weeks old. Both the male and the female adults are very protective of their young and will guard them should any other fish come near. The Convict Cichlid is a very aggressive fish and it is best to keep only one pair in your tank. If you wish to keep more of these lovely fish, you will probably need to separate the couples when one couple is breeding and when the fry are under four weeks old. You need to have a reasonably large aquarium to keep Convict Cichlids