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How do yall know so much!??

hotwingz

hotwingz

Members
With so many different kinds of kept cichlids i want to know more about each type of fish and all these crazy names yas keep callin um! So if anyone has any good sites or books or whatevers that i can get to study up a little that would be great!

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mdlnewman

mdlnewman

Members
They are all crazy. Actually all the names they spit out are made up on the spot. I'm pretty sure that I actually saw "Chief" in a wing of the hospital typing away on CCA forums under the handle UNCLERUCKUS. Don't trust anything Tony says it is all balderdash.
 
rich_one

rich_one

Members
Google. Forums. Advice from others, learning from their experiences. And then the best way of all... learning from your own experiences.

You seem like a guy who should come to a meeting and meet some of us one day. Once you come to one meeting, you'll be hooked. You'll meet great people. See great speakers. Buy awesome fish and fish supplies at embarrassingly low prices at auction... and have an all around good time.

And what do you know... a meeting is coming up on Feb. 11! And if you join the club, you might even win a 90 gallon tank! And I didn't even mention the free food!

What's not to love, dude? (am I selling this good enough yet?)... LOL... c'mon out and learn some more, man!

-Rich
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
It's Magic

Actually a surprising number of CCA members were prey or predator species of fish in past lifetimes, the hallmarks of which are still in evidence in the nature of their forum posts. But for really tough questions, I always refer to the Encyclopedia Aquatica, an obscure and exceedingly rare 20 volume metaphysical work on the central dogma of freshwater husbandry (see some of my earliest forum posts for more on this). A short compilation of some of my favorite passages are attached below.


"Be as a river unto all."
—Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter 1, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"Those who can do naught else go with the flow—rather, be the flow, spread wisdom as current does nutrients and dissolved oxygen".
—Transcendental Medication, Chapter IV, Volume XX, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"Prayers are of no use, but frequent water changes can work miracles".
— Transcendental Medication, Chapter IV, Volume XX, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"As in life and the planetary ecosystem, dynamic equilibrium is the ideal."
— Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter XV, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"Creative dominion is thine".*
— Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter 1, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

* The corollary to this as is discussed in the venerable text is the converse, i.e., that the Keeper as the arbiter of fate may visit desolation and ruin upon the Kept and so uncreate, either willfully or more often involuntarily.

"Releasing captive spawns into the world is the aquarist's communion and the only redemption for keepers of wild fish."
— Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter II, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"An aquarium is natural selection in a box. Evolution however, occurs on both sides of the glass". — Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter 1, Volume 2, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"As in nature, it is only successful breeders whom are ultimately relevant". —Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter II, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"Free-swimming fry are an aquarist's crowning glory and ultimate validation of all that it entails". — Freshwater Paradigms, Chapter III, Volume I, Encyclopedia Aquatica

"Like sex, raising hybrids is best kept private and should never be for sale". — Reproductive Strategies, Chapter III, Volume XII, Encyclopedia Aquatica
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
Sam, you crack me up. Rich hit the nail on the head. Read, ask questions, and most of all it's trial and error. Lots of us have tried things against others advice only to find out the hard way.

If you are looking for some great info on cichlids specifically, the website cichlid room companion is top notch. There is a membership fee but it is well worth it in my opinion. There are a lot of experienced fish keepers and collectors who frequent the site. The articles are hard to beat with respect to natural habitats and husbandry advice.


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hotwingz

hotwingz

Members
Haha wow again yall know too much! Lol. And i would love to come to a meeting sometime but i live way down at tip of florida and yall seem to be baltimore/D.C. ive got some groups down here id like to engage. But its like the more im starting to learn the less i know! Ha. So be ready for the onslaught of questions to keep coming. And im guna have to start writin down these fish names and yes use google! (And yes your pitch was good! Im in sales and you hit all the key points! Ha)

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hotwingz

hotwingz

Members
And as far as the cheap fish...i spend too much money on the things already! And learnin from yas is making realize i need to spend more haha.

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Shane

Shane

Members
Outstanding post Sam! I need to quote several of those passages in the future.
I am still rather concenered about the passage that implies the issuance of L Number L666 will be the end of times.
-Shane
 
dogofwar

dogofwar

CCA Members
I think a lot of us have been keeping fish for a long time - 25+ years for me :)

The Internet is great but I still like books...

I started with a few books from the library...then bought a few myself...then got an Axelrod's Atlas (probably read it 1000 times) for Christmas...a subscription to a couple of magazines...then stumbled onto the local fish club holding a show at the mall.

I think that folks get too wrapped up in the most recent name changes (although I'm all for using scientific vs. common names) and how books don't necessarily reflect them. I generally follow cichlidae.com and cross reference to books :)

Matt
 
UNCLERUCKUS

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
I READ FORUMS,GOOGLE,AND I WAS ON MFK LIKE EVERYDAY. THATS WHERE I HEARD OF CCA. THERE IS SO MUCH INFO OUT THERE AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WHERE YOU ARE WITH A TON OF EXPERIENCE TO HELP YOU OUT. ITS JUST A AMAZING RESOURCE OF INFORMATION AND HELP.BEFORE YOU KNOW IT YOU ARE AT A ACA CONVENTION @ THE AUCTION BUYING FISH AND LAUGHING AS "SOME DRUNK GUY" IS BUYING UP ALL THE FISH AND GIVING THEM TO YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE. MAKES YOU LOVE THIS HOBBY!!
 
Andrewtfw

Andrewtfw

Global Moderators
I have a closet full of books and subscribe to many different magazines. I read the experiences of others online and frequently check out availability lists to see what is new in the hobby and on the east coast. Then I go back and research the ones I am interested in. I also managed (part time) two (now defunct) lfs over the last dozen or so years. You learn a lot when people are putting their trust in you to provide accurate information and guidance.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
LMAO at Michael and Sam. Another great example of the uncanny responses that sprout from mundane questions. Best forum ever. ;)

To the OP - I've never bought a book that completely changed the way I looked at a hobby until I started buying some of the Cichlid Press books. I had been keeping cichlids on a smaller scale (a couple of cichlid tanks) for years before I cam across Ad Konings' Malawi Cichlids in their Natural Habitat book. It's simply unbelievable if you're into Malawi cichlids. There's so much information in there on behavior and species that cannot be found on the internet. Google many species from that book and nothing will come up. Ask anyone who has it and they'll all tell you the same thing. A bit pricey new if you're not into buying books, but worth every penny.

Alternatively, his Tangyanikan Natural Habitat book is every bit as good a resource if you're into the other lake.

When you decide to go deeper into cichlid geekdom, check out a quarterly magazine called Cichlid News. Great stuff and totally worth checking out. A bit more technical/specialized than TFH, but worth it.

The thing to remember with any of these resources (Cichlidae.com included) is that they directly fund our friends diving and describing new species in the lakes and rivers. No better way to justify dropping $40 on a book or $25 on a magazine subscription (or $10 on a website) imo.
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Sounds fishy

Shane said:
I am still rather concenered about the passage that implies the issuance of L Number L666 will be the end of times.
-Shane
Click to expand...

You must be reading from a bootleg imitation - nothing of the kind in the original text although it does intimate that continuance of current human recklessness will indeed trigger a catastrophic level of habitat loss/species extinction and other general mayhem/malaise. My interpretation and assessment is that we've already entered precisely the scenario you reference and that it's increasingly unlikely that we'll be able to reverse course, or even "stop the clock". Was just a few months ago I was looking at a group of Corydoras that no longer exists in the wild, guessing you have a whole list you can cite like that...
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Is the Encyclopedia Aquatica available in e-book format, Sam? Sounds like a great reference book.

Seriously, I've learned what I know (which isn't all that much) from club members, from this forum and other forums, and articles I've found on the interwebs. There are some great articles at speciality sites like Planetcatfish.com (hat tip to Shane) and various cichlid sites.

Be very careful about postings on any forums. Folks often make assertions without any scientific basis. For example, the debates about particular foods can be acrimonious and filled with strong assertions, based entirely on personal experience.
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
Is "electronic wisdom" an oxymoron?

mchambers said:
Is the Encyclopedia Aquatica available in e-book format, Sam? Sounds like a great reference book.
Click to expand...

Far as I know, I have the only known set of all 20 volumes. I don't say own because I consider myself merely a caretaker, even a servant if you will to it's inestimable wisdom.
 
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