Friendly-Fishy Blog » Africa

National Geographic Photo Exhibit at IMAX

The Aquarium Blogger — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

Many thanks to everyone who joined us "on safari" recently at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater. These guests were the first ones to view a new traveling photo exhibit that is currently on display inside the theater. "Through the Eyes of the Gods," gives visitors a unique perspective on some of the natural and cultural beauty of Africa. Photographer Robert Haas perched on the side of a helicopter to capture these images of some of the most remote and unspoiled corners of Africa. His inspiring shots are an excellent companion to the film, "African Adventure 3D." This exhibit is produced by the National Geographic Museum and is presented locally by the Chattanooga Zoo.

On this particular night, IMAX patrons were able to meet some unusual critters up close. Members of the Aquarium's education department facilitated these special animal encounters that caused a few wide eyes. Numerous questions followed tentative touches to a giant millipede or boa.

"African Adventure 3D" takes you on a virtual photo safari of the Okavango Delta. The filmmakers did an excellent job of placing the audience in the safari camp, boat and trucks during the 45 minute expedition. Lions, hippos and warthogs thrilled the audience, but my favorite part was hearing everyone react to the elephant scenes. Even after a second viewing, it's fun to see the 3D wrinkled trunk of an elephant swing in front of your face.

Several people won great safari-themed door prizes including an awesome plush tiger. We're told "her" new name is "Dottie."

Go on your own photo safari at the Chattanooga Zoo and upload your best shots to win a behind-the-scenes tour of the Chattanooga Zoo and Tennessee Aquarium. Check out the Zoo's Flickr photo group at: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1198278@N23/ Submit your images between now and October 23rd. Winning images will be exhibited at the Hunter Museum of American Art. Good Luck!

Buckle Up for Adventure!

The Aquarium Blogger — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:16:00 +0000

Star Trek: The IMAX Experience beams onto the giant six-story screen at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater tomorrow and runs through July 30th. Several friends who have seen the film already say they can't wait to see this film BIGGER. For those who haven't seen Star Trek yet, here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IptbC3p2lCk

Another film launching July 3rd is African Adventure 3D. This film takes you to the Okavango Delta in southern Africa for a thrilling photo safari. I have always wanted to go on one of these trips and this 3D adventure took me there. It was fun to take a virtual walk around a safari camp, boat through a maze of reeds and come face to face with lions, hippos and some amazing birds. If you love elephants, this is a must see. The encounters with the HUGE pachyderms will have you reaching out to touch their wrinkled trunks. AWESOME!

http://www.nwave.com/africanadv/multimedia/trailer/

Also showing at the Tennessee Aquarium IMAX 3D Theater is Under the Sea 3D. Everyone will love this brand new film by the makers of Into the Deep 3D and Deep Sea 3D, two of the most popular IMAX films ever produced. The array of wildlife is spectacular, the colors are dazzling and the crew captured some really cool animal behavior on film.

http://www.tnaqua.org/IMAX_underthesea.aspx

TWO FINS UP for all three of these giant screen flicks!

Synodontis Eupterus

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:24:11 +0000

Description of Synodontis Eupterus

The Synodontis Eupterus Catfish is also known as the Featherfin Squeaker and is from the rivers and lakes of Africa. The fish’s habitat is located in Chad, Niger. It is a wide-bodied catfish and is pale in coloration with many black spots. This species is also known as an upside-down catfish, as it will hang in an inverted position. These fish are usually kept singly in aquaria due to their territorial and aggressive nature when they reach maturity, but several can be kept in large, public aquaria.

As a digger, the Synodontis Eupterus Catfish will appreciate a fine sandy bottom with large roots and crevices for hiding places in a tank of 50 gallons or more. Sensitive to nitrates, good water conditions are necessary. It prefers a current in the aquarium. It can be kept as a schooling fish or in a tank with other Synodontis species. The Synodontis Eupterus Catfish may also be maintained with most African Cichlids of similar size.

Synodontis Catfish are omnivores and should be offered sinking catfish pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms and tubifex, plus a good quality flake food.

synodontis eupterus

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Ostariophysi
Family: Siluriformes
Genus: Synodontis
Species: S. eupterus

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Tropical Fish

John — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:11:00 +0000

Epidemiologic Tropical Fish Notes and Reports Aquarium-Associated Plesiomonas shigelloides Infection -- Missouri

In July 1988, a community hospital in southeastern Missouri reported isolating Plesiomonas shigelloides from the stool of a 14-month-old girl with watery diarrhea (no blood or mucus) and fever. Her highest recorded rectal temperature was 102 F (38.9 C). Her stool was negative for Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Aeromonas, and rotavirus. The child was treated with trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and her illness resolved after 5 days.

The child had consumed no shellfish and had never traveled more than 80 miles from her home. She had consumed water only from the municipal system and recently had waded in two area lakes. She attended a day-care center, but no other children in her age group were reported ill. The child did not have an aquarium or other close association with animals. However, 1 evening each week, the child stayed in the home of a babysitter who kept piranhas in an aquarium. When the aquarium was cleaned, the water was poured into the bathtub. The child routinely was bathed in the bathtub before going home. The babysitter reported that the child could have been bathed immediately after the aquarium water had been poured into the bathtub.

P. shigelloides was isolated from samples of aquarium water submitted to the State Public Health Laboratory. However, plasmid studies were not performed, and it was not determined whether the bacterial strain isolated from the child's stool was identical to that isolated from the babysitter's aquarium.

To estimate the prevalence of P. shigelloides in tropical fish tanks, investigators from the Missouri Department of Health (MDH) surveyed aquarium water samples from several sites in Missouri (Table 1). Samples were taken from 18 aquariums, including at least two tanks from each of Missouri's six regional health districts. P. shigelloides was isolated from four (22%) of the 18 tanks. The four tanks were located in three different aquarium fish shops: two in central Missouri and one in eastern Missouri. Employees of the three aquarium fish shops reported no health problems in the tropical fish in the culture-positive tanks.

MDH advised managers of all surveyed tropical fishshops to have employees wash hands after contact with aquarium water or tropical fish. No special precautions were recommended to managers of shops from which P. shigelloides was isolated. In addition, the baby sitter was advised to clean the tub thoroughly using chlorine bleach after discarding the aquarium water and before using the tub for bathing. Reported by: PS Tippen, A Meyer, EC Blank, DrPH, State Public Health Laboratory, HD Donnell, Jr, MD, State Epidemiologist, Missouri Dept of Health. Div of Field Svcs, Epidemiology Program Office, CDC.
Editorial Note: P. shigelloides, a gram-negative bacterial rod, is an opportunistic pathogen in the immunocompromised host and has been suspected to cause diarrheal illness in normal hosts (1,2). However, the organism failed to produce illness in volunteer feeding studies, and its role as an enteric pathogen remains unproven (1). Persons with P. shigelloides infection typically describe a self-limited diarrhea, sometimes with blood and mucus in the stool; appropriate antibiotic therapy appears to shorten the duration of illness (3,4). P. shigelloides can also cause cellulitis and septicemia.

This organism has been isolated from surface water, the gut of freshwater tropical fish, and many animals (including dogs and cats) and is particularly common in tropical and subtropical habitats (5). In humans, most isolates have been from stools of patients with diarrhea who live in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia; isolations from Europe and the United States have been rare and usually associated with foreign travel or consumption of raw oysters (3,6).

Although no other P. shigelloides gastrointestinal infections associated with aquarium water have been reported, the frequency of P. shigelloides in pet shop aquariums reported here suggests this could be a source of this rarely recognized infection. Basic precautions, such as handwashing after contact with aquarium water and preventing the contamination of potable or bathing water by aquarium water, should decrease transmission of potentially pathogenic microorganisms from aquarium water.

References

Herrington DA, Tzipori S, Robins-Browne RM, Tall BD, Levine MM. In vitro and in vivo pathogenicity of Plesiomonas shigelloides. Infect Immun 1987;55:979-85.
Nolte FS, Poole RM, Murphy GW, Clark C, Panner BJ. Proctitis and fatal septicemia caused by Plesiomonas shigelloides in a bisexual man. J Clin Microbiol 1988;26:388-91.
Holmberg SD, Wachsmuth IK, Hickman-Brenner FW, Blake PA, Farmer JJ III. Plesiomonas enteric infections in the United States. Ann Intern Med 1986;105:690-4.
Kain KC, Kelly MT. Clinical features, epidemiology, and treatment of Plesiomonas shigel loides diarrhea. J Clin Microbiol 1989;27:998-1001.
von Graevenitz A. Aeromonas and Plesiomonas. In: Lennette EH, Balows A, Hausler WJ Jr, Shadomy HJ, eds. Manual of clinical microbiology. 4th ed. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology, 1985:278-81.
Reinhardt JF, George WL. Plesiomonas shigelloides-associated diarrhea. JAMA 1985;253: 3294-5.

Tropical Fish Anatomy

John — Fri, 07 Apr 2006 02:57:00 +0000

TROPICAL FISH ANATOMY

Body shape

There is a tremendous diversity of fish in the world. Each species is adapted to life in a specific habitat. By examining the body shape of the fish, the aquariast can learn much about the habitat of the fish.

Overall Body Shape

The body shape is one of the best indicators in determining the fish’s environment. Surface dwelling fish have an upturned mouth, a flattened back. Tall bodied, laterally compressed species like Discus and Angelfish, are adapted to life in slow-moving waters. Slender, torpedo shaped fish are better adapted to moving waters. Bottom-dwelling fish have flattened bellies and inferior mouths. Some bottom-dwellers have altered swim bladders so they “hop” along the substrate instead of swimming.

Head

There are three general locations of the mouth in fish which often indicate the species’s feeding habits. Surface feeding fish usually have an undershot, upturned (superior) mouth for feeding on insects. Fish that feed in mid water have a terminal mouth, which is usually considered the “normal” fish mouth. Predatory fish usually have a wide mouth, while omnivorous fish have smaller mouths. Bottom feeding fish generally have an underslung or inferior mouth. Often, bottom feeding species are also equipped with barbels (“whiskers”), which are tactile and taste organs used for locating food in dark or muddy waters. Some bottom-dwelling fish, especially the Loricarids, have a suction-cup like mouth for rasping on algae, wood, plants, or mud (for small invertebrates).

Fins

The fins are used for movement, stability, nest-building, spawning, and as tactile organs. Fins can be single or paired. Many aquarium fish seen in the hobby have long, drawn out fins, which have been developed through selective breeding. In nature, these fins are not found.

The caudal or tail fin is used for propulsion. Fish that have forked caudal fins are regular fast-swimmers. Fish that have rounded caudal fins are fish capable of quick action like predators. Large, elongated caudal fins are often used to attract mates.

The single anal fin is located on the underside of the body just forward of the caudal fin. The anal fin serves to stabilize the fish while it is swimming. Long anal fins that are moved in an undulating manner are used for propulsion.

The paired pelvic or ventral fins are located forward of the anal fin. Ventral fins are used to provide further stability in swimming. Sometimes these fins are modified as long, thread-like fins used as a tactile organ. Then ventral fins are used by Corydoras catfish to hold the eggs during spawning.

The paired pectoral fins are located near the gill cover and are used for maneuvering the fish. These fins have been adapted, in the case of some bottom-dwelling species, so fish can prop themselves up or even walk around above or below water. Sometimes the pectoral fins are equipped with spines for defense.

The single dorsal fin is located on the back of the fish and serves to help balance the fish while swimming. The rays of this fin are often sharp, and a spine is often present.

The adipose fin is a tiny fin found between the dorsal and caudal fins on some fish.

Body covering

Most fish are covered with scales, which protect the body. Some fish such as catfish have bony plates which serve the same purpose. Other species have very small scales or no scales at all.

Body coloring

Although selective breeding has produced an number of unnatural colors and patterns, wild fish are still colorful. Color has an important role for fish. Some species rely on stripes or brown color to be camouflaged and escape the notice of predators. Other species use attractive coloration to attract mates, while some species use “eye-spots” to disillusion predators where to attack. Mouth brooding cichlids of Africa often rely on colored “egg-spots” for fertilization.

Color is determined by the pigment of the fish and the light reflection. Fish with solid, dark coloration usually have pigmented skin, while species with silvery iridescence rely on light reflection. Some species are able to alter their coloration, while some fish assume different coloration at night.

Healthy fish are almost always more colorful than unhealthy one. To keep a fish in top color form, maintain favorable water conditions, fed a variety of foods, and house with compatible tank mates. Some color-enhancing foods can help bring out certain colors n fish. During territorial displays, during the spawning season, and at spawning, the color of most species is enhanced.

Gills

The gills are the organ by which gases are exchanged between the fish and the surrounding water. Through the gills, fish are able to absorb carbon oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Like the lungs, the gills have a large area for gas exchange.

Some species have altered gills and other organs so that they can atmospheric air and extract the oxygen.

Because freshwater fish live in the environment that they do, water is constantly passing in to their body by osmosis. Osmosis is the movement of water from an area of less dissolved salts to an area of more dissolved salts. This is reason that water passes into the fish’s body. The outside water is trying to dilute the high concentration of body salts in the fish. Therefore, freshwater fish are constantly excreting water through their gills and never drink to keep the body salts non-diluted.

Mike from Canada adds: "Yes, from each gill arch soft gill filaments radiate poseriorly and are used in breathing and osmoregulation and all that, but the anterior face of the gill arch has, to a varying extent, bony gill rakers. Gill rakers point forward and can be long and thin for filter feeding or short, larger and fewer in number for trapping larger prey items inside the mouth cavity."

Lateral Line

The lateral line organ is a series of fluid-filled ducts located just under the scales. The lateral line system picks vibrations in the water. Thus fish are able to detect predators, find food, and navigate more efficiently. Many fish species can navigate without vision in darkness or muddy water. The Blind Cave Fish relies entirely on its lateral line system.

Swim Bladder

The swim bladder is an air-filled bladder used for keeping the fish in a state of neutral buoyancy where they neither sink nor float. Thus fish are able to sleep in mid water. Numerous species have altered swim bladders to fit their living habits. Some species can swallow air, which is passed to the swim bladder, where the oxygen is extracting. This adaption is especially convenient in oxygen-starved waters.

- Tropical Fish