Japanese Iris (Iris ensata ‘Jell-O’) at Maidenhead Aquatics

There are some very striking plants flowering in our pond sections right now, including the rather fancy Dinner plate series of Japanese Iris (Iris ensata ‘Jell-O’) with their distinctively horizontal lush blooms. Garden Irises are traditionally moved and propagated after flowering, so once you’ve admired their beauty you can repot them into a bigger basket for even better flowering next year. This was one of many choice pond plants looking good at our Cwmbran store.

Strawberry leporinus (Leporinus granti) at Maidenhead Aquatics

Something of an action shot of these restless fish, the Strawberry leporinus (Leporinus granti) is best described as quarrelsome. Providing them with strong water movement will help to keep them busy, as will keeping them in odd numbers unless in a good-sized group. Tankmates should be robust and happy in fast-flowing water, plants should be either tough or expendable. This group were seen recently at our Reading store.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/characins/strawberry-leporinus

blue of a Blue Oranda. Labelled as Blue iron goldfish at Maidenhead Aquatics

As photos go, this one’s up there alongside shots of Bigfoot and Nessie but seeing is believing – these were a new variety of pond goldfish seen at our Rokers store, combining the body shape of standard goldfish with the blue of a Blue Oranda. Labelled as Blue iron goldfish, these should be an interesting addition to a clear pond and would serve as a great contrast to Canary and Sarasa forms. For those seeking a compact alternative to Koi, a few of these new blue fish had chocolate markings giving them a distinct Ochiba look.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/pond-fish/goldfish-

Domesticated discus (Symphysodon hybrids) at Maidenhead Aquatics

Domesticated discus (Symphysodon hybrids) are very popular fish, and as the colours get further from the wild type, they seem to get easier to keep. The original white-headed red strain was dubbed the Marlborough red, due to its similarity to the cigarette packet of the same name. Once freed of dark pigment, the stage was set for a whole range of red, yellow and white discus to brighten the aquaria of their fans. As these fish are unable to signal to their tankmates by using their body bars it means that aggression isn’t so easily appeased and bullying can be the result. for this reason, it’s important to keep these fish in large groups, the bigger the better. Not all of our stores carry discus, but these were looking good at our Cardiff branch.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/cichlids/discus

Orange chromide (Pseudetroplus maculatus) at Maidenhead Aquatics

A rare sight in its wild form, this Orange chromide (Pseudetroplus maculatus) is an Asian cichlid that’s more familiar in the selectively bred red form, which is bright orange. To add further confusion, this ancestral form is usually more green than orange leading to potential confusion with the Green chromide (Etroplus suratensis), a much larger relative that is a popular food fish in its country of origin and is best thought of as India’s version of a Severum (Heros sp.). For this reason, we refer to the bigger fish as the Banded green chromide to avoid confusion with wild orange chromides being sold as green by our suppliers! Whatever you call them, these hard water dwarf cichlids are a great choice for a roomy community set up and deserve to be more popular. These were seen at our Lechlade store.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/cichlids/orange-chromide

Calico ryukin at Maidenhead Aquatics

This time of year, fancy goldfish will enjoy a summer break in a well-filtered outdoor pool that offers protection from predators. With natural sunlight, live insects to eat and a decent water volume, they’ll grow and develop rapidly. The flip side to this is that they’ll then need a large aquarium when they come back indoors in autumn, but fish such as these Calico ryukin just get better with age. This batch of youngsters were seen at Reefkeeper Moss End, a store that specializes in marines but offers a lot more besides.

https://www.fishkeeper.co.uk/fish/freshwater/coldwater-aquarium-fish/calico-ryukin