English fire crews were called out to aid dying fish in Northampton, BBC News reports. Members of the public noticed that fish had died in a lake in Abington Park and notified the authorities. The fire crews pumped up water from the lake and then sprayed it back in an effort to increase the oxygen content in the water.

The Environment Agency is now investigating the cause behind the incident. According to their tests, the problem was not caused by low oxygen levels and might instead be related to weather or disease. “It could have been low oxygen – although we have since found out this is not the case – it could be the hot weather or it could be disease. We don’t know at the moment.” an Environment Agency spokeswoman said to the BBC. The spokeswoman also caution against releasing aquarium fish into the wild since it can spread disease.

Starting September 2008 Switzerland legislation is going to be enforcing some new guidelines to for fish owners.  Aquariums will no longer be allowed to be transparent on all sides, and any fish over 20cm will have to be housed in a tank/pond that meets the size restrictions that will be put into place. The new legislation also speaks of the importance of proper maintenance, and water quality, temperature, oxygen levels and salinity should be correct for the individual species being cared for.

Social Fish, to include goldfish, will no longer be able to be kept in a solitary habitat, but will require at least one friend. Forget about freezing your fishy friend or flushing it down the loo. From now on fish keepers will be required to stun the fish before killing it, using a non-prescription narcotic available to the general public.

To read this article in its entirety and see how the new legislation will effect anglers throughout Switzerland visit: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/item.php?news=1671

Saibi Ramli, a Malaysian fisherman, has caught a snakehead fish with a 2 cm (0.8 inch) horn on its head, Underwatertimes.com reports. Saibi Ramli caught the fish in a fish pond behind his home in Siburan, Kuching, using hook and bait. Ramli says he has never seen anything like it in his life and refuses to sell the catch since he is positive that the fish will bring him luck. “I have received many offers from wealthy people but I told them it’s not for sale”, Ramli explains.

You can read the full article and watch the picture of the horned creature at Underwatertimes.com. http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=45107920638 (source:http://www.brunei-online.com)

Asian Snakeheads, especially the Arowana Scleropages formosus, are viewed as bringer of luck by many Asians. Snakeheads are often referred to as “Dragon fish” in Asia, not chiefly because they somewhat resemble dragons but because they are seen as an incarnation of the mythological Asian dragon itself. In European fairytales the dragon is normally perceived as something evil that should be slaughtered, but this is certainly not the case in Asia. The Asian dragon is associated primarily with happiness and good fortune and keeping “Dragon Fish” in your aquarium is believed to attract luck to your home and ward of evil.

You can learn more about Asian Snakeheads here and about Scleropages formosus in particular here .

A video about the snakehead situation in the Potomac river. In certain areas of the river snakeheads now are established and competing with local fish species such as local bass. Hopefully they will be kept confined to certain parts of the river and won´t spread to other parts of the country. We will just have to wait and see. in the meen time the snakehead is turning into a popular game fish luring sport fishers to the area. For more info see the almost 3 min long video.

Releasing caught snakeheads are illegal and catches should be reported to the local fish and wildlife service.

According to an article published by The Guardian, scientists believe that krill have declined 80 per cent since the 1970s. Why this has happened remains unknown, but it might be due to global warming. According to estimates made by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), there is roughly 100 million tonnes krill left, while krill harvesting companies place the figure at 400-500 million tonnes. The Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources allows 4 million tonnes of krill to be caught in the Southern Ocean per year. Until now, this number has seldom been reached; in a normal year, less than 20 percent of the permitted 4 million tonnes have been caught.

Today, the emerging interest in health products such as Omega 3 oil and Omega 3 fortified food is causing a boom in krill fishing. A majority of the fished krilled is used to produce Omega 3 oil and other health supplements, or as fish-farm feed. So called “suction harvesting” is now used to meet the demand for krill.

So, why care about a tiny crustacean? The truth is that entire ecosystems depend on krill and krill are also able to help us remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Some species, such as the gigantic Blue Whale, feeds directly on krill. Other species, such as penguins and seals, are indirectly depending on krill since they feed on animals that feed on animals that eat krill.

If you want to learn more about krill and hear different experts explain their view on the current situation, read the full article at The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/mar/23/fishing.food

Lungfish (not the fish in the story) Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

Well, it is not really his birthday since no one knows exactly when he was born, but as of 2008, Granddad has lived at Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium for exactly 75 years. Granddad is an Australian lungfish and the longest-living fish in any aquarium in the world, according to the Daily Herald. Travelling by steamship and train, he arrived to Chicago from Sidney in 1933 to attend the Chicago World’s Fair. At that time, he was already fully mature and scientists estimated that he was at least 5 years old. Nobody knows how old an Australian lungfish can become, especially not when well cared for in captivity. Today, Granddad is 4 feet (over 120 cm) long and weighs 25 pounds (over 11 kg). He lives in a spacious 6000 gallon (22700 L) aquarium together with four other members of his own species, some smaller fish and a few turtles.

According to George Parsons, director of fishes at the Shedd Aquarium, Granddad’s favourite food is actually something he would hardly encounter in his native environment in Australia – raw sweet potatoes! Granddad is also served romaine lettuce heads and a variety of different seafood and fish to stay healthy and happy.

You can read more about Granddad in the Daily Herald: http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=153970

Just like all the other lungfishes, Granddad is equipped with both gills and a primitive type of lungs. This means that he can breathe oxygen directly from the air above the surface. This adaptation makes it possible for lungfish to survive in oxygen depleted waters. You can read more about lungfish here: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/lungfish.php

To the Greek, the Amazons where a mythical ancient nation consisting of females only. According to BBC News, scientists from the University of Edinburgh now believe that the Amazon Mollies – who also live in this type of all-female societies – might occasionally grab some DNA from males of other species to avoid the problems linked to cloning. Just like the ancient Amazons who, according to the Greek, visited a nearby tribe to engage in sexual activity with men once a year, the Amazon Mollies does interact with males – but only males from other species and only to trigger cloning. According to the researchers, the Amazon Molly has survived for 70,000 years without engaging in normal sexual reproduction.

Interestingly enough, the Amazon Mollies interact with males of other species and there are no male Amazon Mollies to be found. This interaction with male fish seems to be required to trigger spawning in the females. According to the scientists at Edinburgh University, the females might also occasionally use some DNA from the males just to refresh their gene pool a bit and avoid the typical problems linked to cloning.

The Amazon Molly does not live in the Amazon region of South America; this species is instead found in north-eastern Mexico and south-eastern Texas, U.S. where they typically interact with males belonging to the species Poecilia latipinna, Poecilia latipunctata, Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia sphenops.

You can read more about the Amazon Mollies and their mesmerizing reproductive methods at BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7360770.stm

The Edinburgh-led study was carried out in collaboration with Dr Dunja Lamatsch at the University of Wuerzburg, now at the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The research is published in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.

Imperator angelfish – Copyright www.jjphoto.dk

Colour in fish is probably an advanced for of communication, according to Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University, Queensland. In an article in Telegraph.co.uk, Professor Bellwood shares his knowledge about fossil specimens of reef fish from Monte Bolca, Italy. By studying these prehistoric fishes, Professor Bellwood was able to determine that spotted and striped fishes have been swimming in our oceans for at least 50 million years. According to Professor Bellwood, it is probable that they also were very colourful.

So, why would a fish devote so much energy to the development of vivid colours and attractive patterns? According to Professor Bellwood, the look of a fish might be a way for fishes to communicate with each other. It can for instance be used to broadcast status in a pecking order or find a suitable mate. Colours and patterns can also be used to send out disinformation, e.g. in order to confuse predators. A dark spot near the end of the tail can for instance cause a predator to attack the tail instead of going for the real head of the fish. This type of fake eye is not a new thing in the kingdom of fishes; it appears on million year old fish fossils.

“Bright colouring is clearly a highly successful trait. The odd thing is that mammals, including humans, appear to have lost it.” says Professor Bellwood.

You can learn more about the secret language of fish here: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/02/20/scifish120.xml

Though her methods are different from the average fish keeper’s, 83 year old, Ada Shaw, has definitely proven to be the world’s best goldfish keeper. Goldie, her .99 cent feeder goldfish has grown into a 15.7 inch long Goliath! Weighing in at over two pounds, Goldie is now verging on the ripe old age of 16; which by goldfish standards, is antique.

So whats her secret? Nothing we would think of. Ada says that after each weekly water change she tops off old Goldie’s tank with, believe it or not, some boiling water; something unheard of in the world of goldfish keeping, considering the fact they are a cold water fish. Ada also says that she ” leaves the light on at night so he is not in the dark and if the sun is glaring on him (she) will draw the curtains so he doesn’t get too much sun.”

Ada also explains that Goldie is fed flakes, twice daily, like clockwork, and is given plenty of attention and conversation. Her methods may be out of the ordinary, but Goldie is all the proof Ada needs that her love and attention has given her goldfish the upper hand; or fin. Goldie has managed to not only out live the average goldfish (10 years) (Common goldfish can live atleast 35 years. Admin) but also succeeded in surpassing the lifespans of both Adas pet dog and cat.

While Goldie is just three inches away from the world record for the worlds longest goldfish, Ada still insists that she ” sometimes think (she is) making too much of a fuss over him.” Rest assured, there are many fish enthusiasts now marveling over Goldie, and wondering how an 83 year old British woman, went against all the logical fish keeping rules, and produced such a beautiful specimen.

Read the entire story and see a picture of the goldfish here