Fish Resources on the Internet
by David Snyder
1998 Issue # 17
The Internet and World Wide Web is a great resource for just about everything. While the media loves to talk about the pornography that abounds on the net (and in fairness, it does abound there), the net is also a fantastic resource for aquarists. In fact, now that net-capable computers can be had for $500 or so, I would like to suggest that no well-equipped fish-lover can afford to be without Internet access. In this article I will review just a few of the thousands of resources one can find online.
Fishnet on CompuServe
CompuServe is one of the oldest online services around. For the same monthly
fee that you would pay for access to the internet only, you can have access to
the net plus access to CompuServe. CompuServe is divided into "forums," which
are simply areas of interest. A forum is normally comprised of a message area
(think of it as a community bulletin board) on which members post questions and
engage in public discussions, as well as files that you can download. A forum
is not the same as a chat room, because in a chat room messages are posted,
read, and responded to in real time, much like a live conversation. In a forum,
messages remain posted for several days or weeks, and you can read them at your
convenience and respond as you wish. So a person in Germany might post a
question in the morning, I might see the question six hours later and post a
response, someone in Australia might respond ten minutes after I do, someone
else might read all three posts (called a "thread") next week, etc.
The area of CompuServe dedicated to all things fishy is called "Fishnet." In addition to the forum messages, you can also search the file archives for articles and pictures on almost anything. For example, I searched on the keyword "bristlenose" on Fishnet and found an article on breeding them written by our own Steve McDonald. Fishnet can be a useful resource.
The World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a collection of "sites" on any topic imaginable. A site
contains one or more "pages." Sites on the WWW pertain to everything from the
erudite to the downright tawdry. To get to a site you have to find it, or know
it's name. Since no one can possibly know the names of even a small fraction of
the available sites, there are search engines that will find sites for you. You
simply enter the key word on which you want the engine to search (a key word is
a topic of interest), and the search engine will instantly provide a list of
sites that you can visit simply by clicking your mouse.
For example, in writing this article I went to one of the better search engines, Alta Vista, and did a search on the word "cichlid." I narrowed the search to English-language sites only. How many pages do you think Alta Vista found? 50? 100? 500? Well, Alta Vista found 8,965 pages on the WWW that contain the word "cichlid." Now, not all of those sites would be useful, but you can imagine that some of the sites on this list could be extremely interesting.
Thinking that perhaps I should be a little more selective, I searched on the word "haplochromis." Haplochromis is a rather large cichlid genus, but not even all hobbyists would recognize it, so it's a pretty specialized word on which to search. Still, Alta Vista came back with 702 pages on which the word "haplochromis" appeared!
Just for kicks I clicked on the first site that appeared on this list, and it turned out to be a pretty detailed account of spawning Haplochromis sp. "thick skinned," a species that is not even scientifically named yet. Not only could I read the article, or print it for later reference, but I could e-mail the author if I had questions.
Clearly, the WWW can be an incredibly rich source of information.
Classifieds2000
Do you have anything, fishy or not, that you would like to sell? Looking to
pick up something? Classifieds2000 is a free WWW site comprised entirely of
classified ads from around the world. If you ask it to list all the current ads
in the pet section under the word "fish," you will get a list of 100 or more
ads. Not everything listed there can be shipped to you (imagine having a 150
gallon complete saltwater setup, with fish, shipped), but you can find some
pretty good stuff.
You can also sell your stuff on Clasifieds2000. I recently sold a mated pair of Hemichromis lifallili for $25, a pair of Kribs for $10, and a pair of Firemouths for $20. The buyers were thrilled to get them, and I was happy to move them, since I had all the fry of each that I wanted.
Some Selected Specialty Sites
One of the things I have found useful is to surf around for commercial sites on
various types of fish. For example, suppose you're looking to pick up a pretty
specialized variety of Discus, the Blue Diamond. You won't find them in local
pet stores, and in the two years I've been a member of the GVAC, I do not
remember any being available in our auctions. Where can you get some, or even
find out more about them? Well, there are lots of Discus sites on the WWW.
There you can find information about them, get contact information for Discus
lovers who have spawned them, and even find a list of several Discus specialists
from whom you can purchase them. The same goes for Guppies, Angels, Bettas, and
pretty much all of the more popular fish. You can find salt water fish, too.
Here are some sites that specialize in Discus, followed by Guppy sites, then Angelfish sites. I have purchased fish from a few of these sites, but I can't guarantee that the individuals associated with all of them are reliable. As always, buyer beware. I have not rated these sites, but most seem to me to be worth a visit. Note that all site addresses must be preceded by "http://".
Discus
The Discus Page -- www.ee.pdx.edu/~davidr.
This comprehensive site includes an extensive selection of articles written by
different hobbyists, research, pictures and discussions of diseases, a trading
post, and a lot more.
Discus Breeders' Web Site -- wwwsinfo.clio.it/cultura/associazione/DBWSrb/DBWSrb.htm (note: this is not a typo; there is no "." after "www" in this address). Another extensive reference, this site has had almost 140,000 visits in a little over two years. It features an extremely active web forum in which Discus enthusiasts can post messages and questions and participate in discussions with Discus fanciers from all over the world.
Beginner's Discus Page -- members.aol.com/bgdiscus. According to the author, "After studying many Discus pages on the web, piles of books and my own fish, I decided it was time someone put a page out here for 'beginners'. It's not as hard to keep Discus as some would have you believe. . . . Actually, there aren't many fish who are as forgiving of their keepers' mistakes or oversights as Discus are. You will find here that the needs of the "King of Freshwater" are not as extremely demanding or precise as you may have heard" Although the typos on this site are annoying, it is a useful site to anyone starting out with Discus.
Bing Seto's Discus World -- www.discusworld.com. This site doesn't have a lot of information about Discus. It is a small site promoting the fish that the owner has for sale. If you're looking to buy Discus, this is a site you should check out.
Rocky Mountain Discus -- www.kkreate.com/rkymtn. There's not a lot to this site, but if you're interested in buying Discus, this is a good place to go. I have purchased Discus from Al, and he is always willing to talk to anyone interested in Discus.
Gwynnbrook Farm's Discus Hatchery -- www.kkreate.com/gwyn. Another commercial site, the prices on this one struck me as high, unless its prices are in Canadian dollars, in which case it is pretty reasonable for Americans, given the favorable exchange rate. It's worth a visit if you're comparison shopping.
Discus Unlimited -- wwwsinfo.clio.it/discus_unlimited. Although this commercial site seemed to be extremely slow to load, it is worth the wait if you are looking to buy Discus. The author, Jim Quarles, claims to have kept Discus for 45 years and written two books on them. He says he will be happy to answer anyone's questions in e-mail. Although he offers Discus for sale, he does not specifically say that he is selling ones he breeds. He does imply that he imports fish from Asia.
Domestic Discus -- www.erols.com/jnselms/awm/dd/domestic_discus.htm. This commercial site is little more than a price list. Don't bother visiting this site unless you are comparison shopping only.
Universal Discus -- www.infinex.com/~univdisc. Another commercial site, this one had the lowest prices on Blue Diamond Discus of any that I checked at the time I wrote this article. It also claims to have much more than a price list, including articles and other resources, but there was nothing that I could find other than pictures and prices.
Rainwater Discus -- www.rainwaterdiscus.com/index.html. Another commercial site, this one promises a lot more than a price list, but most of the site was unfinished when I visited it. Like most of the other commercial sites, it is worth a visit if you're in the market to buy Discus.
Jack Wattley Discus -- www.wattleydiscus.com/prices.htm. Of course the biggest name in Discus breeding has to have an internet site. Worth a look if you want to buy Discus, otherwise there's not much on this site. Still, Wattley's prices are only a little higher than those of other lesser-known breeders.
Guppies
Championship Show Guppies -- www.showguppies.com. Stephen Kwartler is a long-time guppy breeder and IFGA judge. If you want quality guppies, be prepared to pay for them at $60 a trio or two trios for $100. There are lots of good articles and pictures on this site too.
International Fancy Guppy Association -- www.guppys.com/new/index.htm. The IFGA is the pre-eminent Guppy organization, and this site doesn't disappoint. Nicely laid out and with lots of information, this is a must-visit for anyone interested in Guppies. One complaint: there is a coding error on this site that prevents it from entirely disappearing from your screen when you click on one of their links to other sites. Or perhaps this is an intentional design, but it is annoying nonetheless.
Laurel Lake Guppy Hatchery -- www.guppies.com. This interesting site has tons of pictures and other information about Guppies. It is run by a hobbyist who is keeping the site commercial-free.
Laurel Lake Guppy Hatchery -- www.guppyman.com. The commercial site that corresponds to the site listed above, this one is devoted to selling Guppies. The site was under construction when I visited it while writing this article, so I could not compare prices.
Eddie Richmond's Guppy Sales -- members.aol.com/edguppy/eddit.htm. This site isn't particularly well-designed, and since it is hosted on AOL, it is S-L-O-W, but if you are interested in comparison shopping, it is worth a visit. At $100 for three trios, the prices are actually not bad if the quality is world-class.
South Jersey Guppy Group -- members.aol.com/fancyguppy. Although this site could use a cleaner design, it has tons of information about Guppies. Definitely worth a visit.
Chucky's Guppies -- www.vis-pro.com/chazues/guppies.html. This site is a single-page price list. The prices are too good to be true -- $10-20 per trio plus shipping, which is much less than the going rate for world-class Guppy trios. Definitely worth a look if you're price shopping.
World Guppy Association -- userpage.fu-berlin.de/~guelmez/wga.htm. I really have no idea what this site is about. It appears to be some sort of competitor to the IFGA, but it's clearly not designed by a native English speaker. Here is a quote from the site: "In the last years, the Guppybreeding has won in many countries of the world lovers to it more and more." If anyone can make sense of that, please clue me in.
Lonestar Guppy Hatchery -- hometown.aol.com/Lsguppy/guppy.html. This site has quite a bit of information about raising Guppies, although it is primarily a commercial site. At $105 plus $28.50 for shipping for three trios, the prices are on the high side.
Angelfish
AngelsPlus -- www.angelsplus.com. Steve Rybicki is one of the pre-eminent Angel breeders in the US and has made a full-time business of the hobby. His prices range from $4 to $10 per fish for juveniles; mated pairs usually cost $150 and up, plus shipping. The fish are high-quality, but you'll pay top prices to get them.
Oodles of Angels -- www.oodlesofangels.com. This site has some good information, including quite a bit on genetics. A unique feature is a "genetics calculator" which allows you to determine what any combination of varieties will produce. I tried to order fish from this site once, and despite many promises, I still didn't have the fish after three months had gone by. So I don't know if these folks produce quality fish, but I do know that their service is not exactly world-class.
Angels West -- www.angelswest.com. These folks bill themselves as "California's Premiere Angelfish Hatchery." I don't know about that, but I do know that their prices are astronomical. For example, Double Dark Black Angels are $10 each. The same fish from AngelsPlus are $6 each.
Angelfish Breeding FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) -- colorpro.com/angels. If you're a beginning Angelfish breeder, this site may hold some interest. It is primarily an article on breeding and raising Angels.
How to Raise Quality Angelfish -- www.badgerstate.com/JAWS/faqs/angel4.htm. Jody Ghianna is the most famous name in Angelfish breeding because he developed one fish, the Koi Angel. This is an article by him that can be read online or printed.
Angelfish Article -- www.actwin.com/fish/species/angelfish.html. This is another one-page site that contains an article covering the bare basics of Angelfish keeping and breeding. This one will appeal to rank beginners only.
Breeding the Angelfish -- members.aol.com/angelbook. Want to read an entire (short) online book on Angelfish? Here it is. This site is surprisingly nicely laid out.
The Uphaus Angelfish Corner -- www.fn.net/~bpuphaus/jwz/home1/angelfish. Yep, another article on breeding and raising Angels. This site is distinctive, however, in that it is the worst-named and hardest to read site I have encountered. If you want to read long lines of small green text on a variegated blue background, you might enjoy this site. The article is actually quite comprehensive and is worthwhile, especially for beginners. I recommend that you print it rather than attempting to read it online.
Well, that's only a tiny fraction of the wealth of online materials available for the fish hobbyist. If you aren't online already, I hope this will whet your appetite.
The End