My objective was to discover why the export of the legendary Blue-Eyed Pleco from this region came to a standstill in the mid 1990s. What could have caused this sudden change?
In Search of the Blue-Eyed Pleco
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AMAZONAS Excerpt Articles
AGA Aquascape Winners 2012
The Aquatic Gardeners Association Aquascaping Contest is the world’s oldest contest of its kind. This was our 13th year, and I have been privileged to judge both this contest and the Aqua Design Amano IAPLC from the inception. Over the last 13 years we have seen a tremendous growth of interest in aquatic gardening both in the U.S. and worldwide. One of the nice things about our AGA contest is that anyone can go onto our website, www.aquatic-gardeners.org, and see every tank ever entered, including all the details on the tanks and the judges’ comments.
Megadroughts Impacting Amazonia
The scientists found that during the summer of 2005, more than 270,000 square miles (700,000 square kilometers, or 70 million hectares) of pristine, old-growth forest in southwestern Amazonia experienced an extensive, severe drought. This megadrought caused widespread changes to the forest canopy that were detectable by satellite. The changes suggest dieback of branches and tree falls, especially among the older, larger, more vulnerable canopy trees that blanket the forest.
New Fishes from Brazil
Crizanto and his fishermen have found a number of particularly colorful armored catfish species, illustrated here, in the previously little-collected Rio Itacaiúnas in the lower Rio Araguaia.
AMAZONAS March/April 2013 Preview
The second issue of the New Year for AMAZONAS spans many interests, from rare plecos that cause catfish lovers’ hearts to race, to the many exotic and wonderful fishes of Myanmar (Burma), and world-best planted tank aquascapes in a gallery of awe-inspiring images from the Aquatic Gardeners Association Annual competition
Zhou’s Vermilion Goby
When the first Rhinogobius zhoui began appearing in the aquarium trade in September 2010, a tremor ran through the goby community. Everybody had to have one.
Damming the Río Xingu: field update
With the specter of an ecosystem-killing hydroelectric dam project moving ahead in Brazil, the eyes of many concerned observers, especially those interested in the fate of native fish species, are on the Lower Xingu River.
Presidential Darters: A Fish Called Obama
Biologists have described five new species of darters in freshwater river systems in the eastern United States and named them after four U.S. presidents and a vice president: Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Barack Obama.
World’s Smallest Vertebrate?
Dr. Ralf Britz at the British Natural History Museum asserts that the world’s smallest vertebrate is still a fish, if consistent systems of biological measurement are used.
Finding and Breeding The Sentani Rainbowfish
The next morning, though, we were greeted with a surprise. We saw gorgeous fishes radiating bright red all over their bodies, with a hint of pink and bold black edgings to the fins.There was no longer any trace of pop-eye! Had it been the long period of transportation or the pure oxygen I had put in the bags at the meeting? We had no idea—the main thing was, they were healthy. We both sat in front of the tank and celebrated like small children, even after several decades together in the aquarium hobby.
