The tropical season is in full swing and it seems that even the fish know it. These young Boesemani rainbows (Melanotaenia boesemani) were merrily displaying recently at our St Mellons store. A great choice for larger community aquaria, rainbows look spectacular in large groups where the males compete to outshine one another. In our stock tanks, this is often a staff perk, as they tend to get very excited when the lights come on and they greet the day.

Find out more about them here in our databank:

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/help-and-advice/freshwater/rainbow-fish/boesemans-rainbowfish

On the whole we tend to focus on modestly-sized community species but that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate the charms of fishes that require a tank that wouldn’t fit through the door! This handsome young Vulture catfish (Calophysus macropterus) is a ‘big cat’ that demands a spacious home and robust tank mates. With specialised dentition that allows it to bite chunks from large fish, this is not an animal that bothers with the vegetarian menu. One of its native names - Machete catfish, is testament to the effect of those attacks on injured or distressed fish being hauled in by fishermen. Despite this alarming natural feeding biology, Calophysus is happy to eat dead food items and even pelleted diets in captivity. They don’t appear in our stores very often, which is why it was a treat to see this kitten in our Guildford branch.

The tiny but ferocious shell dwelling cichlids of Lake Tanganyika are fantastic fishes. They have all the character and attitude of their larger kin in a conveniently small package that fits inside the empty snail shells they call home. This fearless Lamprologus ocellatus ‘Gold’ would be seriously hazardous at a foot long but fortunately for their keepers, it’s a laughing matter when one of these fish bites the hand that feeds it.

This little psychotic muppet was one of a number of different shell dwellers at our Farnham store and they have simple requirements which can be found here in their databank profile: https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/help-and-advice/freshwater/cichlids/ocellatus-shelldweller