Out of the Freshwater Aquarium

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Aside from our familiar domesticated Betta, there are numerous wild Betta species. Though these are strictly freshwater fishes, they are now found on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo as well as on the Asian mainland because of falling and rising sea levels. because of human interference. because of continental drift. because of the late Cretaceous extinctions.

2. "Epiphytic algae" grow on the leaves of our aquarium plants. Both in the aquarium and in natural waters, they are an essential part of organic detritus. the microscopic plankton. the biofilm community. the nitrifying bacteria.

3. Adult fish require less protein than juveniles and can fast for days at a time without harm. True False

4. Only three species of cichlids are native to India and Sri Lanka. They are all members of the genus Etroplus but more familiar to aquarists as "Chromides." "Tilapia." "Haplochromines." "Geophagus."

5. "Operculum" is an evocative anatomical label in describing fish, because in Latin it refers to the "little lid." "sawtooth edge." "throat teeth." "working jawbone."

6. In 1857 a German pharmacist living in Caracas (Venezuela), who had a strong amateur interest in biology, sent some interesting unknown fishes to Berlin, where they languished in jars in a museum collection. The males and females weren't even identified as the same species. The rediscovery of these colorful fishes in 1866 is owing to a missionary named Attilio Scalare. Martha Carnegie. John Lechmere Guppy. Oscar de Garcia y Astronota.

7. The floating bubblenest of a gourami serves to disguise the eggs as frog spawn. eliminate bacteria. provide a floating raft for downstream dispersal of the fry. keep the eggs close to a source of oxygen.

8. Sphagnum peat is a source of beneficial tannins and helps to lower the pH of aquarium water. True or false: Sphagnum "moss" is actually a fern. True False

9. Most fishes' eyes are all but immobile. One fish that can move its eyes almost as if it were winking, however, is a Snakehead. Corydoras catfish. Honey Gourami. Black Ruby Barb.

10. You've decided that your community tank is too much of a mish-mash. You're going to make it a purely "Amazonian" tank. So you'll have to find a new home for your Black Neon Tetras (Hyphessobrycon sp.) Spotted Headstanders (Chilodus sp.) Pencilfish (Nannostomus sp.) Severums (Heros sp.)